“We cannot do this alone!” MPP Mitzi Hunter pushes Bill 60 in Parliament

BY PAUL JUNOR

The issue of gun violence has received attention from both the provincial, municipal and federal government as they initiate steps to address this problem.

December 2021, MPP Mitzi Hunter introduces Bill 60, “The Safe and Health Communities Act.” Details of Bill 60 can be seen at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s website: https://www.ola.org. In the explanatory note it states, “The Bill amends the Health Insurance Act. Insured services shall include prescribed hospital-based and community-based violence intervention programs. They shall also include trauma-informed counselling for survivors and others affected by gun violence.”

There are further amendments to the Health Protection and Act to ensure that, “Boards of health shall have programs and services for increasing the capacity of the community to assist survivors and others affected by gun violence.”

In her newsletter to her constituents MPP Hunter writes, “I am urging the Premier and the Minister of Health to adopt my bill into government legislation immediately so we can deliver these supports to those affected by gun violence as soon as possible. We cannot do this alone.” In order to push this legislation, she has started a petition at Change.org titled, “A Public Health Crisis-Supporting Communities to Heal from Gun Violence.”

The introduction to the petition states, “Gun violence is a serious problem and a crisis that cannot continue to be ignored. It is both a public health and a social issue that leaves long-term impacts on our communities, and an issue that we see in more marginalized communities rooting from the underlying systemic inequities that persists here in Ontario.”

The petition outlines the long-term impact of gun violence not only on the targeted individuals but the wider community as well. It spells out that, “Exposure to gun violence has led to mental and physical health impacts that extend far beyond the victim. It results in long-term effects on communities characterized by feelings of fear, anxiety and helplessness, and are often unable to access long-term support, affecting behavioural response to trauma.” The petition states that because of a lack of hospital-based violence intervention programs, hospitals normally “treat and release” affected victims.

This returns “Violently injured patients to the same environment where they were injured, without a viable strategy for how to stay safe, manage community pressure to seek revenge, or options to positively alter their life course trajectory.”

Currently, Toronto Public Health (TPH) is pushing for the government to approve the 2019 version of the bill. The fact that the City of Toronto has unilaterally accepted the bill is all the more reason why it should be accepted. The petition concludes, “We have an opportunity here to intervene before that bullet is fired or trafficked or pointed at one of our neighbours. We can tackle the issue at its root and more importantly give communities the resources to heal.

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