The federal government has declared the first Friday in June the National Day Against Gun Violence, but we need to work to stop gun violence at the provincial level as well. Today, I will be tabling a bill to also declare the first Friday in June the provincial day against gun violence in Ontario.

Gun violence shatters lives and traumatizes communities. The number of shootings is rising, from 251 in 2005, which was dubbed the “year of the gun,” to 365 last year—and these are only Toronto statistics. Gun violence, like a virus, is spreading across the province.

On Friday, a number of community groups will be at Queen’s Park to ask the Ontario government to address gun violence through a program of prevention, intervention and healing.

Prevention begins with addressing the root cause of gun and other community violence, which is poverty and the growing gap between rich and poor. We’re calling on the government to raise the minimum wage, double ODSP and OW rates and build affordable housing so everyone has a home.

Intervention requires the police, but as the police say themselves, they alone cannot solve this issue. You cannot arrest your way out of gun violence.

Healing means we must deal with the trauma coming out of each episode of gun violence before it spirals into a vicious cycle of revenge. We need to prevent, intervene and help communities to heal.

I hope the Legislature will support my call to declare the first Friday in June the provincial day against gun violence in Ontario.

From 2011 to 2021, over 31,000 Ontarians were the victims of gun-related violence. In 2021, there were 114 firearm-related homicides in Ontario, the highest of any province in Canada.

Promoting prevention, intervention and healing is necessary to reduce and ultimately eliminate gun violence. Awareness of this problem of gun violence is a first step in this process, and therefore, this bill proclaims the first Friday in June in each year as the Provincial Day Against Gun Violence in Ontario.