He is no stranger to the gun violence rocking our city, Toronto senator Reverend Don Meredith has been on the front lines trying to tackle gun and youth violence.
Rev. Meredith is a longtime anti-crime advocate and told 680News politicians just need to look at all of the bodies piling up from the gun violence.
“I’ve buried several people in this city and we seem to be very reactive. We need a strategy that allows us to be proactive on these issues.”
He said people in at risk areas need opportunities and we need to engage them in a positive way.
“More officers on the streets, I don’t think that’s the way to go. I think we need to begin to look at more resources within these neighbourhoods,” said Rev. Meredith. “We need to begin in how we’re going engage our youth, how we are going to encourage them and how we are going to empower them.”
He said the problem is not just here but across Canada, and police need to see that.
“They need to just look at the history over the last ten years. How many bodies have we buried not just in Ontario? This is a problem that is not just endemic to Ontario, it’s right across our country.”
Meredith also says Canada needs to stop the flow of illegal guns and develop a national strategy to tackle youth and gun violence.