Ford wants some mental health funding to go to police in wake of Danforth shooting

Thestar.com
July 24, 2018
Jennifer Pagliaro

Some of Ontario’s $1.9 billion in spending on mental health and addiction supports “will be going to the police,” Premier Doug Ford said after an impromptu city hall summit on fighting gun violence.

Ford did not elaborate during an interview with CTV News Toronto on how much money will flow to police, what it will be spent on or how that could help prevent tragedies such as Sunday’s Danforth mass shooting in which a gunman killed a 10-year-old girl and an 18-year-old woman, and injured 13 others.

Bill Blair, federal minister of border security and organized crime reduction; Mayor John Tory; Premier Doug Ford; and Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders sit in the mayor’s office prior to discussions following the Danforth shooting.

The family of 29-year-old Faisal Hussain, who died after his rampage, said in a statement Monday he struggled with psychosis and “severe mental health challenges” his entire life.

Ford --who met with Mayor John Tory, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders and Bill Blair, federal minister of border security and organized crime reduction --noted that Ottawa has also previously pledged to spend $1.9 billion on mental health.

Experts say only a very small percentage of people who experience mental health issues act out violently, and the chance of being killed by a mentally ill stranger is exceedingly rare.

When asked how he views the court system and gun crime, Ford said he’s “pretty biased when it comes to this.”

“Our sentences aren’t tough enough for people with guns that commit violent gun acts,” Ford, who refused to speak to waiting reporters when he left the city hall meeting, later told CTV.

“I think we have to toughen up the sentences and we can’t let these people out in a few years on parole and let it happen again. Or somebody gets arrested on a Friday night and they get bail and are back out on Wednesday for retribution. That’s absolutely unacceptable and I think there was a consensus in the (meeting) room on that and I think the laws have to be changed.”

Tory spokesperson Don Peat said the mayor “is on record talking about the need for tougher gun laws and parole laws.”

At the start of Monday’s city council meeting, the mayor said, “I promise all the people of Toronto, but most importantly those directly affected by this tragedy, that we will all be relentless in getting answers about why this senseless attack happened.

“There are far too many people carrying around guns in our city and our region who should not have them.”

As photographers snapped photos before the city hall meeting, Blair said, “We stand united --all three levels of government stand united behind our first responders and the city of Toronto ... to bring all the support and resource that is required to keep Toronto a great safe and livable city.”

As he left Tory’s office, Blair called the meeting “excellent.” His communications aide did not respond to a request for the minister’s reaction to Ford’s comments.

Monday’s council meeting was to start with debate over a recently proposed plan to curb gun violence after a spate of Toronto shootings. Instead, that debate was postponed until Tuesday as Tory and councillors for the east-end neighbourhood expressed their grief and sorrow.

Tory acknowledged his lobbying of senior governments to take steps to stem the flow of guns to Toronto criminals won’t completely eliminate such shootings, but he vowed to keep up the pressure.

Councillor Mary Fragedakis, who lives in and represents the part of the Danforth where a mass shooting occurred Sunday night, is comforted by her council colleagues in the chamber on Monday.

Much of the city staff-proposed $44-million, five-year gun violence reduction plan, which proposes $30.3 million in spending on at-risk youth in priority neighbourhoods, is targeted at gang-related shootings and those involving young people.

The plan won’t address the most pressing issues, such as mental health, that are said to be at play in this most recent violence, local councillors said Monday.

“Last night when we got to the scene, we were told it was not gang-related violence but this lone-gunman violence, which is new and unique in this way to the city of Toronto and very troubling, very disturbing,” said Danforth-area Councillor Paula Fletcher. “I do think talking about guns is important.”

She and Councillor Mary Fragedakis, who lives on and represents the stretch of the Danforth where the shooting took place, said more needs to be done to help people with “emotional issues.”

“We’re failing as a society,” Fragedakis said. “People need help. They’re not getting the help that they need and they’re lashing out in a number of ways and this is one of them. And this has a lot of consequences, obviously, for other people who are collateral damage.”

Approving the plan is up to council.