Lack of data on transit violence amounts to ‘blanket of ignorance’: Toronto researcher
Global News
He noted a sharp spike in violent crime, mostly at stations, which are operated by the Toronto Transit Commission.
Canada needs standardized data on violence on transit systems to help tackle issues ranging from a lack of mental health supports to eroding public trust, say researchers, citing the recent stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto station as the latest example of random attacks on commuters.
Prof. Murtaza Haider, director of research at the Urban Analytics Institute of Toronto Metropolitan University, said the public should have easy access to such information.
Haider collected data on all violent incidents from the Toronto Police Service between January 2014 and June 2022 and said his recent analysis showed 7,306 incidents were reported on the city’s transit system during that time.
He noted a sharp spike in violent crime, mostly at stations, which are operated by the Toronto Transit Commission.
In February 2021, nearly 12 violent incidents were reported per one million riders, compared with two incidents for the same number of riders in 2019, Haider said.
“My concern is that I don’t even see transit authorities reporting such data regularly,” he said, extending that concern to public transit agencies across the country.
Data is one way that transit agencies and experts are trying to come up with solutions to violence that has reached “crisis levels,” according to comments by the head of the Amalgamated Transit Union Canada in January.
The TTC has recently been forwarding its data to the City of Toronto, a spokesman said.
The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing another sanctioned oil tanker accused of helping Venezuela evade U.S. sanctions, as pressure mounts on vessels tied to its shadow fleet.
Charitable organizations across the country say they are feeling the impact of the rising cost of living. In some cases, donations are down and need is up.
Federal public servants are expected to learn about job cuts in their departments when they return from their holiday break when leaders share their plans.
Waterloo Region is facing a newly identified water capacity issue, raising concerns about growth, aging infrastructure and long-term climate resilience.
Montreal police have arrested two teens in the stabbing of a 12-year-old boy last month. The victim’s injuries are no longer life-threatening.
U.S. forces stopped another vessel off Venezuela as Trump escalates pressure on President Nicolás Maduro and enforces a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers.
A paraplegic German engineer fulfilled a lifelong dream Saturday, floating in space after launching aboard a Blue Origin rocket, calling it the "coolest" experience of her life.
Police in Welland, Ont., have arrested a suspect in a stand-off during which an officer was shot. The officer was not seriously injured and has been released from hospital.
Rubio faced several questions on U.S. military operations in Venezuela, negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, and the ongoing commitment to NATO in a year-end press conference.
For the week ending Dec. 13, Canada saw 11,646 new cases of the flu being detected, which means 27.7 per cent of all the tests conducted in the country came out positive.
In a letter sent to Anand, NDP MP Jenny Kwan and Liberal MP Gurbux Saini called that behaviour "an egregious violation of personal dignity and basic diplomatic norms."
Less than two weeks remain to take advantage of some tax strategies that will help to get more money back when it comes time to file.
In one notable move, Quebec Court of Appeal judge Marie-Josée Hogue, who led Ottawa's foreign interference inquiry, becomes deputy minister of justice.