5846 replies to this topic

[Rob Randall]

Again, I'm saying it's a long play. That at some point this type of weapon will not be economical or practical to manufacture in North America for the civilian market. I say we would be better off.

[RFS]

Again, I'm saying it's a long play. That at some point this type of weapon will not be economical or practical to manufacture in North America for the civilian market. I say we would be better off.

Just like we got all the opioids and fentynal off the ‘civilian market’?

[Rob Randall]

^But those drugs can be cooked up in a basement.

 

Would you agree there is nothing substantial to be done about firearm violence and we simply must accept it?

[Mike K.]

Yeesh, firearms-related violence is not going to be stopped by making things more difficult for law abiding citizens to acquire or use currently legal firearms.

We already have some of the strictest firearms legislation and licensing in the developed world, and illegal use of illegal firearms is rapidly growing because the checks and balances don’t apply to criminals.

The Liberals plan is hysterical. It’s absolutely useless, like as useless as a City of Victoria heritage panel feedback session.

[RFS]

^But those drugs can be cooked up in a basement.

Would you agree there is nothing substantial to be done about firearm violence and we simply must accept it?

In Canada the focus needs to be on law enforcement, cracking down on gangs, and worrying about the guns that are already illegal that are actually being used in crimes. 90% of gun violence in Canada is in Toronto and surrey so maybe look at immigration policy?

[Victoria Watcher]

some of us don’t really think we have a gun violence problem. if you aren’t mixed up in gangs and drugs you’re safe mostly.

[Victoria Watcher]

Organizers of a foreign-policy election debate that was scheduled for next Tuesday have cancelled the event because Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau won't participate.

 

Rudyard Griffiths, chair of the Munk Debates, said no one had a bigger impact on Canada's foreign policy over the last four years than Trudeau.

 

"Regrettably, the prime minister's refusal to attend our debate has denied Canadians the only real opportunity they had this election to see his foreign policy record challenged in a substantive and sustained fashion," Griffiths wrote in a statement.

 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...elled-1.5295101

 

disappointing.  i wonder if some munk people have liberal leanings.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 September 2019 - 01:54 PM.

[shoeflack]

some of us don’t really think we have a gun violence problem. if you aren’t mixed up in gangs and drugs you’re safe mostly.

 

I agree with this. And you know what, this is where municipalities can actually make a tangible difference.

 

Very generally speaking, people make the switch to a criminal lifestyle in their youth, sort of that early to late teens range. Do you know what program area municipalities are most likely to cut funding for, as has been proven time and time again? Youth programs. Youth don't bring in revenue, and parents generally aren't as vocal about municipal recreation departments ensuring youth programs versus, say, child care or after-school programs. So those programs that are particularly important for at-risk youth get cut. And then where do they go if they don't have a safe space like a rec centre or youth program? They start doing things that aren't all that great. So perhaps these municipalities (with help in the form of federal/provincial funding) should double down on their funding for youth programs to keep kids from becoming criminals in the first place.

 

Somehow people become criminals. Perhaps the better solution than restrictive gun laws or longer prison terms is to actually put some money towards programming for at-risk youth and stop the problem at the source before they even become criminals.

[Victoria Watcher]

i might agree but it's hard to point to areas or cities where they are great youth programs and thus the crime take-up rate is low.  we DO know the crime take-up rates is low among higher income and 2-parent families.     but you can't nor should you legislate parents staying together.

[Mike K.]

Agreed, it has much more to do with a kid's home life and upbringing than what they do with their free time.

 

Kids need parental supervision and strict guidelines/rules. The absence of one or more of those two things is a recipe for disaster.

[Victoria Watcher]

Agreed, it has much more to do with a kid's home life and upbringing than what they do with their free time.

 

 

 

although one could argue a wealthier parent/family can enroll their kids in more activities or a cooler home life.  lots of factors.  but we all know families with parents that by all appearances were excellent where the kid or kids still went bad.

[Mike K.]

^lax rules.

 

Great parents. Great family life. But junior got $100/week for school lunches that eventually went towards drugs. Dad was up working late into the night, mom, was asleep by 9 and had to be at the office by 6:30. Junior had too little oversight.

 

Scenarios like this are not unheard of, for sure.

[shoeflack]

Absolutely home life plays a significant role, but there are plenty of kids who came from "broken homes" who stayed clear of criminal life. Ask any of those kids that made it through what helped along the way and 9 times out of 10 they'll talk about strong school programs, strong adult role models (not necessarily their parents either, but other family or teachers or youth workers), etc.

 

So when municipalities cut funding for youth programs, there goes an outlet that otherwise provided a safe escape for those kids. I know of a couple municipalities that recently have cut funding for youth programs that were heavily used by at-risk youth, keeping them out of tougher situations.

 

There are a lot of ways to help reduce crime/gun violence. It's not as simple as lengthening criminal sentences or banning guns, is all I'm saying.

[Victoria Watcher]

9 times out of 10 they'll talk about strong school programs, strong adult role models (not necessarily their parents either, but other family or teachers or youth workers), etc.

 

this i believe to be true.  i bet almost all kids from a tough situation that stayed clear of trouble cite a person that cared.  is "big brothers big sisters" still a thing i think it can be good.

 

it is:

 

History[edit]

The youth mentoring movement began in the USA in 1904^[4], when a young New York City court clerk named Ernest Coulter was seeing more and more boys come through his courtroom. He recognized that caring adults could help many of these kids stay out of trouble, and he set out to find volunteers. He asked a number of his friends to spend some of their time – lending a hand to youngsters, starting with 39 volunteers. That marked the beginning of the Big Brothers movement. By 1916, Big Brothers had spread to 96 cities across the United States.^[5]

In 1912, similar events took place in Canada and the first Canadian Big Sister agency formed in Toronto ^[6]. Closely afterwards, in 1913, the first Canadian Big Brother program began in Toronto. Both groups continued to work independently until 1977, when Big Brothers of America and Big Sisters International (in America) joined forces and became Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. In 2001 a similar merger occurred between the two Canadian organizations and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada was formed. Interest grew from outside North America, spurring the formation of Big Brothers Big Sisters International to help other countries get started and facilitate communications between countries running similar programs.^[5]

 

 

https://en.wikipedia...sters_of_Canada

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 24 September 2019 - 02:30 PM.

[Mike K.]

An important program that was cut was the VicPD liaison program.

[shoeflack]

An important program that was cut was the VicPD liaison program.

 

Exactly. You know what exists now within VicPD for youth outreach? Basically the remnants of the Chief's Youth Council. I believe VicPD also recently lost Sgt. Paul Brookes who was basically the officer for youth engagement in Victoria and Esquimalt. So really there's not much of anything now. And that is basically all at the hands of the City.

[Mike K.]

Right, that's true.

 

But we also need to communicate to young people through a tough-on-crime platform that there are repercussions for their actions.

 

Today's youth are told that police can't do anything, their parents have no control over them, and the criminal justice system has no teeth. They feel empowered/emboldened to do stupid things. That's not going to end well.

 

In our own community 14-year-olds are used as pawns by drug dealers and gangs. Cops can't do anything to those kids if they catch them, and the criminal element knows it.

[Mike K.]

A promo shot of Elizabeth May was photoshopped to include her holding a reusable cup and a metal straw.

🤷‍♀️

https://nationalpost...f-elizabeth-may

[spanky123]

A promo shot of Elizabeth May was photoshopped to include her holding a reusable cup and a metal straw.



https://nationalpost...f-elizabeth-may

 

Of course Ms. May knows nutting

[Victoria Watcher]

that’s not even accurate. apparently the original was disposable and not reusable as her team said.