“If anything happens, I love you.”
This is the only line that appeared in the award-winning American 2D animated short film, “If Anything Happens I Love You” (2020). Its story follows two grieving parents as they struggle to confront the death of their daughter, who was killed in a school shooting.[1]
The title of the short film is inspired by the texts received by students from their loved ones during the 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.[2]
Gun violence is not something new for Americans.
According to recently published statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020, 45,222 people died from gun-related injuries in the United States.[3]
You may be wondering now, “what does that have to do with Canada?”
Since Canada and the United States are neighbours and have many similarities in their legal system, the upward rising gun violence in America also has an impact in Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, criminal gun violence has risen in Canada by a significant margin. Between 2009 and 2019, the criminal use of firearms increased 81 per cent.[4]
School shootings may not be as far from us as we think.
Four days ago, on Feb. 24, 2022, an 18-year-old high school student was shot and killed at David and Mary Thomson Collegiate in Scarborough, Ont.
For many Ontario residents, this has been a shocking case.
It is too close to home.
Scarborough is only about 200 km away from London.
Even though London did not have any school shootings in the past decade, homicides are not new to the Londoners. Every year, London experiences approximately five to ten homicide cases, some involve gun violence.[5]
Out of all the homicide cases in the province, why did this one receive so much media attention and caused public fear?
That is because the accused is a minor.
He is very young.
The accused, the person who brought the gun to school and shot the 18-year-old high school student, is only 14 years old.
Parents across Ontario were devasted after hearing about this case.
There are many questions to this case.
How did a 14-year-old gain access to a gun? Why would a kid do such a thing? Was he under any external influences? Is he aware of the consequences following his action? Who should be responsible for his behaviour?
In fact, in Canada, the age of parties involved in homicide cases is getting younger and younger. In 2022 alone, one-third of homicides in the city have involved victims or accused under the age of 20.[6]
Unlike many states in America, there are no death penalties or similar sentences for accused in Canada.
Life imprisonment in Canada is the longest sentence that perpetrators can receive for certain offences. Per every sentence, it has a length of 25 years with a chance of parole, which means that the person may be able to leave the prison before serving the full 25 years.
Canada happens to have one of the mildest life sentences around the world. This is one of the major reasons that lead to increasing criminal offences within the country.
Studies show severe punishments and criminal sentences can deter people from committing crimes; this is why the law exists in Canada.
Can 25 years “buy” a person’s life?
Of course not!
Under Section Seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”[7]
The right to life is one of the fundamental rules in Canada and it is one of the most important human rights.
Twenty-five years are far from enough for criminal offences like homicides.
Fifty years or even seventy-five years are more reasonable for criminal offences as horrible as homicides.
Even 50 and 75 years are not enough to “buy” a person’s life, but it can at least act as a deterrence to reduce such offence.
The Canadian Legal System needs to implement harsher punishments to deter criminal activities and provide a safer environment for its citizens.
Do not let traumatic events like the Scarborough shooting happens again and again!
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11768948/awards/?ref_=tt_awd
[2] https://www.republicworld.com/entertainment-news/hollywood-news/is-if-anything-happens-i-love-you-a-true-story-all-about-netflixs-animated-story.html
[3] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/
[4] https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2020001/article/00010/tbl/tbl01-eng.htm
[5] https://www.londonpolice.ca/en/about/Crime-Statistics.aspx
[6] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/scarborough-school-shooting-david-mary-thomson-1.6352346
[7] https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/check/art7.html
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