Vancouver Pride
As we enter the heat of one of Canada’s most bizarre civic elections, you’ll hear the candidates make promises on homelessness and affordable housing.
NPA’s Peter Ladner and Vision’s Gregor Robertson (yes, we have “Vancouver only” political parties) have solutions to the crisis…
Robertson: Insuring enough shelter beds to move people off the street; using city bylaws to keep buildings open and in decent condition at owners’ expense; improving outreach services to the homeless; establishing a mental health advocate to coordinate services and providers; more training to help street youth learn work and life skills; protect the current level of rental units and lobby to change provincial tenants’ rights laws; strengthen relations with other levels of government to “assure they live up to their responsibilities.”
Ladner: Increasing income by fast-tracking homeless people to welfare and pressing Victoria for higher shelter and welfare allowances; providing more supportive housing; ramping up addiction and mental health services.
I think the situation is hopeless with the current appeasement of the homeless – more needles, better services – without any effort to get these people off drugs and make it difficult for those that chose not to.
Any ideas?
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:06 pm
Raise welfare rates = draw more people to welfare
Make drug use acceptable = draw more people to drug use.
It ain’t rocket science, it’s human nature.
Maybe they should make it compulsory that the people who use shelters do some paid work at the shelters . . help clean-up, do laundry, something to get them feeling like they are working for their benefits not just getting a freebie, cause things that are free have little value while things you work for you respect and things you work really hard for you cherish.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
It’s a good thing the CMA is looking to Vancouver as an example of how to deal with drug addicts…not.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Ah yes, helping the homeless and poor receive housing at the expense of the state (or using the State to impose rules and regulations that are against the best interests of the owners [using city bylaws to keep buildings open and in decent condition at owners’ expense;]), that has an uncanny resemblance to what happened south of the border now, dosen’t it?
And the result was?
Vancouver will be in for good times when these measures pass…..
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:40 pm
Vancouver civic politics is completely depressing. last time i read an article on David Plant’s career in making pitches to get cash behind closed doors from provincial government officials, it made me puke (figuratively that is). expect it to not change whichever party gets elected.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:44 pm
If you are a diabetic in BC you cannot get free needles unless you claim you’re a heroin addict. Think about that for a while. I know a kid who’s parents both work minimum wage jobs and they can’t get free needles for him. He’s a diabetic.