Consultation builds on work of Task Force on Safe Streets and Healthy Communities
Today in the inner-city neighbourhood of Cabbagetown in Toronto, Stephen Harper held a round-table discussion with front-line workers who serve urban youth at risk.
“Every child should have the right to grow up in a safe and secure environment. We must help young people avoid crime and avoid becoming the victims of crime,” said Mr. Harper during the discussion.
The event was held at the Cabbagetown Youth Centre, which provides social, recreational and skills development programs for children, youth and their families in the inner-city neighbourhoods of Cabbagetown and St. Jamestown in Toronto. The Centre’s boxing club was once home to both former world amateur champion Shawn O’Sullivan and former Canadian and Commonwealth champion Donovan Boucher.
The front-line workers who shared their advice and expertise with Mr. Harper included municipal and community leaders, youth outreach workers, law enforcement officers, and members of churches that minister to inner-city families.
The round table discussion was facilitated by Jim Flaherty, former Ontario attorney general and the current Conservative candidate in Whitby-Oshawa, one of the two chairs of the Conservative Task Force on Safe Streets and Healthy Communities. The other task force chair is Russ Hiebert, M.P. (South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale). Toronto Centre candidate Lewis Reford also participated in the discussion.
“This dialogue is important because government cannot possess all the answers,” Mr. Harper observed. “We need everyone’s involvement to ensure that young people grow up in a safe, secure, supportive and reaffirming environment."
