To resolve youth violence, Canada must move beyond policing and prison

Two fatal shooting incidents at Toronto high schools, 15 years apart, show just how little has been done to address the root cause of violence in schools. Here people protest gun violence in Toronto in March 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ben Singer

The most recent shooting involving a Toronto high school student this October highlighted a rising problem with gun violence in North American schools. In Canada’s largest city, it raised alarms about how the crisis is getting worse and skewing younger.

The recent tragedy is reminiscent of other high-profile shootings within Toronto high schools. In 2007, 15-year-old high school student Jordan Manners was fatally shot at school. In the years since Manners’s death, numerous recommendations on gun violence came out of reports and committees. However, little has been done to improve the danger of gun violence for Toronto teens.