How widespread are the homeless/mental health/addiction issues in your city/province?

[Acajack]

Noticing this morning photos on social media of the large homeless tent city in downtown Gatineau along the banks of the Ruisseau de la Brasserie being completely dismantled by the city. Not sure where the people will go or if there is a contingency plan associated with the dismantling.

[Acajack]

Heard on Radio-Canada yesterday that incidents requiring the involvement of transit police and security in the Montreal métro are up 40% year over year.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Noticing this morning photos on social media of the large homeless tent city in downtown Gatineau along the banks of the Ruisseau de la Brasserie being completely dismantled by the city. Not sure where the people will go or if there is a contingency plan associated with the dismantling.

I suppose you guys could simply bus them to the other side of the Ottawa River?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

I suppose you guys could simply bus them to the other side of the Ottawa River?

ding! ding! ding!

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Heard on Radio-Canada yesterday that incidents requiring the involvement of transit police and security in the Montreal métro are up 40% year over year.

Interesting and troubling stat. Incidents on the TTC are actually down after the post-COVID spike, though it's no longer uncommon to see homeless people sleeping on the subway. For the most part they don't bother anyone but it's obviously not a good situation. Montreal didn't seem nearly as bad as the TTCs worst spike* but I haven't been in over a year now.


*Despite the rhetoric it statistically remained one of the safer (if not safest) ways to travel but the public perception of these things matters just as much as reality.


Homeless encampments here have gotten noticeably more common, and as they're cleared new ones just pop up. It seems like they are trying to target certain higher traffic areas for removal but there aren't exactly many options as to where these people go. I've seen a few tents pop up in High Park but they are usually removed in a few days, for instance. Less traveled "natural" parks are more likely to remain, as are the ones in areas where homelessness has always been an issue.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by niwell

Interesting and troubling stat. Incidents on the TTC are actually down after the post-COVID spike, though it's no longer uncommon to see homeless people sleeping on the subway. For the most part they don't bother anyone but it's obviously not a good situation. Montreal didn't seem nearly as bad as the TTCs worst spike* but I haven't been in over a year now.


*Despite the rhetoric it statistically remained one of the safer (if not safest) ways to travel but the public perception of these things matters just as much as reality.


Homeless encampments here have gotten noticeably more common, and as they're cleared new ones just pop up. It seems like they are trying to target certain higher traffic areas for removal but there aren't exactly many options as to where these people go. I've seen a few tents pop up in High Park but they are usually removed in a few days, for instance. Less traveled "natural" parks are more likely to remain, as are the ones in areas where homelessness has always been an issue.

I would agree that the mayhem in Montreal has been on a lesser level than it has been in Toronto, both on transit and on the streets. Montreal and Quebec I find often have a lag when it comes to certain social trends that take root elsewhere in North America. This can have both good and bad sides. Often they play out here later and less strongly.

Anyway, good to hear that things might be calming down in Toronto.

[Hecate]

Incidents in Toronto transit have increased, but so has ridership. So it appears there’s less incidents. But look around, gun crimes up, murders up, carjackings up. Nothings improving.

[whatnext]

The latest lunacy unfolding in BC. This should be a cautionary take for any other province stupidly thinking of decriminalization:

B.C.’s political blind spot on public safety
THE EDITORIAL BOARD
PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO

British Columbia’s New Democratic Party government’s blind spot on public safety was on display this week, with the promise of a task force to draft a policy around open use of illicit drugs and possession of weapons in the province’s hospitals.

For more than a year, hospital workers have watched the use of illicit substances increase after the implementation of the province’s decriminalization policy, raising concerns for the safety of staff and patients alike. The province’s response followed a predictable pattern when it comes to matters of law and (dis)order: Deny, deflect and downplay, and if that doesn’t work, promise to study the matter. Action may follow, but only after the problems have grown to the point that they are difficult to remedy...

... since the policy change, hospital workers have reported a marked increase in the use of illicit substances in patient rooms and bathrooms – even in the maternity unit of Victoria General. That puts front-line workers and other patients at risk of exposure to drugs that can be lethal in small doses. As well, there are more episodes of violent and aggressive behaviour related to patients under the influence, and patients carrying shanks or knives. Hospitals are less safe, something that has been documented by WorkSafeBC investigations.

Last summer, an internal memo from a northern hospital provided the following guidance to staff: Because of decriminalization, patients can have and use illicit drugs in their hospital rooms, and visitors can bring unlawful substances in without fear of search or seizure. In terms of weapons, blades under 10 centimetres in length should be ignored....


https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opin...public-safety/

Absolute insanity courtesy of the BC NDP and the drug enabler lobby.

[Innsertnamehere]

the number of encampments in Hamilton has been absolutely skyrocketing. It used to be that they were mostly only in a handful of parks in the downtown. Now there are tents in basically every green space in the lower city and are popping up in parks on the Mountain too.

[Luisito]

Indirectly related to this but I heard on the radio the other day that HIV is up 25% in Canada. Sex work and drug use were cited as partial reason for the sharp increase. Saskatechwan and Manitoba seem to be the hardest hit by this rise in HIV cases.