Homelessness is not always a failure of political and public service agenda and policy, but if this “problem” is aggressively and well funded, our society could move a long way toward alleviating much of Canada’s homelessness.
Statistics Canada tells us there are almost a quarter million Canadians homeless during the course of any year. Most likely there are more. These are Canadian citizens, mostly males — brothers, fathers, sons — but increasingly females — mothers, daughters, sisters — and families. Many are disabled and or just disadvantaged. Additionally, there are quite possibly several million Canadians who suffer from inadequate access to safe and predictable resources like food, shelter and clothing. These Canadians have not yet found a space in a society that accommodates their differences.
All three levels of government, led by the federal government, could, I say should, be re-directing the millions of dollars now being misdirected to migrants and unsustainable immigration to provide for Canada’s homeless citizens the same level of safe, clean, protected, serviced, semi-permanent accommodations that now are being given to a flood of invading outsiders. It is evident the Haitians invasion is a crisis (for Canadians also), but so is, and has been, the long-standing issues of homelessness and inequality in our society.
If public land, outside of parks, in larger communities isn’t available, government should purchase substantial plots of land (and stop selling what they have now) on the edge or closer toward the centres of larger urban centres (like Penticton). That’s where people usually gain access to necessities.
What we need are semi-permanent places of shelter in predictable locations (on public land outside of parks), even if consisting of temporary structures, like that Canadian Forces are now providing for the massive flood of unwanted migrants in (mostly, so far) Quebec. Coincident with this, it’s also time to realize not everyone in Canada is going to own their own home.
The invasion of migrants now assaulting Canada’s borders — and our national, social, ecological and economic integrity — will cost Canadians billions of dollars in the long run; money that should be redirected to caring for Canadas homeless, for the betterment of just under a million seniors who now live at or near a poverty existence, for soaring health and education requirements, and for law enforcement and policing. All these Canadian “needs” — yes, Canadians want them but they need them — are going by the wayside in order to glorify the political elites chest thumping about Canada’s “greatness” and “generosity” on the worlds immigration stage. I fail to see how they can honestly make those outrageous assertions when millions of people in this country are suffering and hurting.
Canada is hurting from forced social engineering of extreme and unwanted immigration of the likes we now suffer. Whether Trudeau and his followers like it or not, we are locked in a battle for where limited resources are being spent; when this government fails to protect and serve Canadians first, then we, Canadians of every cut, are being penalized. What has been lost in this ugly mess are the rights of Canadians citizens to defend themselves against the increasingly destructive actions of a government using our resources and our country for self serving political grandstanding.
Dr. Brian L. Horejsi
Penticton