toronto as detroit

Last night at 3 a.m. there was another shooting and death at the intersection near my apartment building. It was on the other side of my building this time, at Wellesley and Sherbourne. I was expecting something when the Phoenix concert club closed, as it was exactly one week since the deaths on Homewood. And this time it was a single shot, sounding like a shotgun, and I could see the police cars and ambulance coming up Sherbourne. There were witnesses this time, citing a black SUV as the drive-by vehicle.

Royson James, in Sunday's Toronto Star, wrote movingly about this 'other Toronto', which has existed a long time, and is now, in an escalating summer, becoming undeniable.

"How could a city that so carefully laid a foundation of social equity and safety nets appear to be losing so many on the edges of a massively diversified city? It's a wake-up call for a town whose motto is: Diversity Our Strength."