DEBATE
Toronto refuses to impose curfew
Toronto city council yesterday rejected Councillor
Giorgio Mammoliti's proposal to impose a curfew on children under the
age of 16 in an effort to prevent crime.
Councillors voted 30-10 against pursuing a curfew for
young people.
Mr. Mammoliti said the decision proved city council
was not interested in ending the gun violence that has endangered the
city over the last several months. "We're having a ton of murders and
kids walking around with guns, and I'm trying to do something about it,"
Mr. Mammoliti said. "This council doesn't care. And I think the citizens
of Toronto deserve better."
Adam Chaleff-Freudenthaler, a representative of the
Toronto Youth Cabinet, said yesterday's decision "affirmed council's
confidence in young people."
"Without a question, youth have rights, and council is
not willing to compromise them because one councillor has decided the
War Measures Act is necessary to reassume community safety," he said.
Councillor Janet Davis agreed the measure was not
acceptable. "A curfew would penalize all of our young people, whether
they are behaving well or badly," Ms. Davis said. "I'd rather have our
police rounding up young people than rounding up kids."
An Ipsos-Reid poll released this week conducted on
behalf of the National Post, Global News and CFRB suggested 66% of
Toronto residents supported a citywide curfew of 11 p.m. for children.
But Ms. Davis argued provincial legislation already
imposes a midnight curfew, but police rarely enforce it. "We do have the
tools if the police feel it's an appropriate approach," Ms. Davis said.
If the legislation "was actually enforced," a new
curfew would not be needed, Councillor Suzan Hall said. Police Chief
Bill Blair has said repeatedly he does not support a curfew of any kind.
Councillor Howard Moscoe said the idea would
"scapegoat young people." "I've learned that the best way to have kids
respect themselves is to demonstrate respect. And this motion has no
respect for kids," he said. "The moment you start hardening the rules,
you create disrespect for the law, so I submit to you this motion has no
place."
Mr. Mammoliti's proposal "plays on the politics of
fear," Mr. Moscoe argued. "People in Toronto are fearful of guns, but
they're also fearful of young people, and this is a way of playing on
that fear," the councillor said.
The provincial government should assume responsibility
for governing Toronto because council is failing to adequately address
mounting gun violence, Mr. Mammoliti said. "I'm contemplating asking the
province to look at this council and see if it's dysfunctional and
asking whether or not they should take over," the councillor said.
"Crime is a serious issue in this city, and this council doesn't see it
as a serious issue and I think the province needs to step in."
The councillor argued numerous other municipalities
already have curfews, including Los Angeles and Chicago along with towns
and cities in Alberta, New Brunswick and Quebec.
James Cowan
27 October 2005
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/toronto/story.html?id=3bbc7046-9068-4323-a39f-60bf59e6d2ef
