Mayor John Tory met with three prominent members of Toronto’s hip-hop community on Friday to discuss possible solutions for the recent spate of gun violence in the city.
Filmmaker Director X posted a message on Instagram saying he joined rapper Kardinal Offishall and producer Taj Critchlow to start talks they hope will lead to “solutions both long and short term.”
The music video and movie maker says it’s part of Tory’s outreach to a number of members of the local hip-hop community following a string of shootings that left three people dead and at least eight injured over the past week.
In his own post, Kardinal wrote that Tory is “very much aware of the large task that is at hand.”
The rapper says he believes there is “no one solution” to the issue, but he explained to the mayor the “importance of an empathetic outlook” towards the community that brings people together, rather that isolates them.
Tory also met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday morning to discuss various issues, including gun violence. He has said all three levels of government must work together to address local gun crime.