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    Federal Solicitor General Announces Over $8 Million for 119 Crime Prevention Projects in Ontario


    TORONTO, May 2, 2003 – The Honourable Wayne Easter, Solicitor General of Canada, today announced that 119 projects in Ontario received over $8 million in funding from the National Crime Prevention Strategy.

    Minister Easter made the announcement today at the LaMarsh Centre for Research on Violence and Conflict Resolution. The LaMarsh Centre’s national strategy on bullying was one of the projects that received funding.

    "This investment reflects the excellent cooperation between the people of Ontario and the Government of Canada, and further strengthens our partnerships for healthier and safer communities," said Minister Easter. "The level of commitment witnessed here today, inspires us to continue our efforts to build strong and vibrant communities for ourselves and for our children."

    Many of the projects announced today focus on school-based violence and youth. Bullying is a serious personal safety concern in many Canadian schools and communities. Research has shown that bullying occurs frequently -- once every seven minutes on the playground and once every 25 minutes in class. The impact of bullying extends beyond the bully and victim to the peer group, school, and community as a whole. Studies indicate that 30% to 40% of children with aggression problems grow up to have problems with violence as adults.

    Through local action, many of the projects announced today will help Ontario communities develop and implement grassroots responses to problems associated with school-based violence.

    Dr. Debra Pepler of the LaMarsh Centre said a national strategy on bullying would build a national coalition to promote awareness and supportive interventions to address problems of bullying across many domains. "We anticipate that this collaborative approach, based on empirical and interdisciplinary research, will lead to a system-wide change in how organizations and communities prevent bullying and intervene to support troubled children and youth," said Pepler.

    The National Crime Prevention Strategy takes an early intervention approach to crime prevention and community safety and supports innovative, community responses to factors that contribute to crime and victimization. The National Crime Prevention Strategy has identified children and youth, Aboriginal people and communities, and the personal security of women and girls as its key priorities for investing in community-based responses to crime.

    Launched in 1998, by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and the Solicitor General of Canada, the National Crime Prevention Strategy has supported over 3,000 projects in more than 740 communities across Canada. For more information, please consult the attached Backgrounder or visit www.prevention.gc.ca.

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    Government of Canada
    Tables Annual Reports
    on Anti-Terrorism Act
    Provisions (Report)
    (2003/05/01)



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