Gun violence in Waterloo region should prompt election discussion on gun control: Doctor

A Kitchener doctor says recent gun violence in Waterloo region should have local federal election candidates talking about gun control.

Dr. Neil Arya is a family physician in Kitchener, founded the Kitchener-Waterloo Refugee Health Clinic and has written and lectured about peace through health.

He is also president of the Canadian Physicians for Research and Education in Peace and a member of the Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns.

Arya says gun violence doesn't just impact those involved in the act, but the community as a whole.

"I do see that this issue is a part of the health and well-being of all of my patients and of the community. And we've seen that happen and we've seen people who are distressed with this," Arya said, adding at the refugee health clinic he helps individuals who lived "in conditions where they were much more exposed to such weapons."

"So I do see the mental and physical effects of the use of such weapons," he added. "It certainly is scary as a citizen to see that on your own street."

Crimes impact wellness of community: Larkin

Two shootings occurred in Kitchener Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning. Ontario's Special Investigations Unit is investigating the Wednesday evening shooting, which saw a man taken to hospital with serious injuries.

"It's believed the male's vehicle struck a police cruiser and that the male threatened an officer with a weapon. As a result, the officer discharged his firearm," the Waterloo regional police said of Wednesday evening's shooting.

Early Thursday morning, there were reports of multiple shots fired in a parking lot in the area of Highland Road West in Kitchener. No injuries were reported in that case.

Those two shootings follow an investigation on Saturday when Waterloo regional police responded to a shooting where one man was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

In a release following the incident, police Chief Bryan Larkin said Saturday's shooting was the sixth this month in the region.

"These crimes have a significant impact on public safety and the wellness of everyone in Waterloo region," Larkin said in the statement.

Arya says now that a federal election is underway, he supports calls by the Canadian Doctors for Protection from Guns to have a national conversation about the need for gun control measures as well as investment in communities and education to curb gun use.

Dr. Najma Ahmed is a trauma surgeon in Toronto and co-founder of the organization.

"Over the next five weeks, we will be seeking strong commitments from all candidates to take an evidence-based, public health approach to reducing gun injury and death in Canada," she said in a release.

Among the group's asks are a national handgun ban, creation of a national firearms research and policy centre, a strategy to address social determinants of gun violence and a harm-reduction approach to the advertisement and sale of guns.

"This election offers the potential to open a new era for public safety and gun control," Ahmed said, and she called gun violence an "unacceptable and preventable harm."

Listen to the full interview with Dr. Neil Arya: