It’s been over two years since the 2005 Boxing Day shooting that killed 15-year-old Jane Creba. Thanks to our inept judicial system, those responsible for Creba’s death have yet to be brought to justice.
Last Friday, Justice Timothy Lipson lessened the charges for two of the men involved.
Only one of the accused, Jeremiah Valentine, will be tried for second-degree murder charges while other men involved, Louis Woodcock and Tyshaun Barnett, have had their charges lessened from second-degree murder to manslaughter. All three are also charged with attempted murder for shooting and wounding six bystanders in the same incident. Four other men are charged with manslaughter in the Creba case.
After the shooting, the public demanded tougher gun laws and sentences. Why then? Toronto had already seen nearly 80 murders in the city that year, 51 of which were gun related. Innocent people had been caught in the crossfire before, including Jason Huxtable, 18, while visiting a friend living in the wrong area of town, and Livvette Olivea Miller, 26, caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting, but their murders barely made the news for a few days.
The truth is that little was done before the Boxing Day shooting because Jane Creba was white. Most people who live comfortably and safely in the suburbs don’t pause when they hear about shootings in poorer areas, especially if the victim of a shooting is black. Sadly, these suburbanites assume that the victim was probably involved in gang activity, and therefore brought it upon him or herself.
Of course, we don’t all think this way. I would hope that the majority of us are well educated enough to know the difference between being black and being in a gang. Still, even after we recognize the escalating problem of gun violence, what are we doing to make a difference?
The first change we must make is political. It starts with who we elect to government. From the start of his mayoral campaign, David Miller made it clear that crime was not a great concern to him, and it doesn’t seem probable that he will take effective action to mend this problem.
It wasn’t until the shooting of Jane Creba that Miller took minimal interest in restricting gun laws. The mayor admitted that the shooting affected him because he remembered shopping with his family on Yonge Street just as Creba was shopping with her family. If Creba had not been white and shot in an area familiar to David Miller, would he have shown as much interest?
Then there is Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Given his white, upper- class background, it’s doubtful he relates to the majority of people caught up in gang violence, innocent or not, because they do not live in similar circumstances. Instead of programs designed to uplift those susceptible to joining gangs by ending the cycle of poverty, Harper is intent on creating diligent crime and punishment laws. A large branch of his supporters would never allow him to ban handguns.
If we the public wish to make a change, we have to start with our political choices. We need politicians who are able to relate to more than a minority wealthy elite living in safe areas, but rather to all residents of the city. Only then will we see change for the better
