Halifax no longer advising homeless people tenting in Grand Parade to leave - Halifax | Globalnews.ca
globalnews.ca/news/10108023/halifax-not-advis...
globalnews.caPosted Nov 22, 2023, 5:14 PM UTC
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globalnews.caSo now they’re allowing only 8 tents… but how do you choose who gets to stay? Gonna make a wait list for this housing too?
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The site by me is for “four tents.” There have been anywhere from six to a dozen tents there for over a year. The “limits” are ridiculous.
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Because seriously where are they going to go every open space is already covered in homeless encampments, the reality is we are running out of space.
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No. This province and city still has lots of space. Plenty of much better areas for privacy and sleeping. Prime area in the middle of downtown is not where they need to be.
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Privacy is nice but not particularly safe.
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Thunderdome. It's the only fair way to do it.
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Actually they should be vetting and prioritizing who gets to stay there if they wish.
I get the “everyone has to go somewhere” rhetoric but that doesn’t mean everyone deserves equal priority.
Those who: Pass a drug test Have proof of employment Have no violent criminal record We’re a resident of HRM for at least one year before becoming homeless
Should get first choice. Those people deserve to at least have the most “stable” environment they can to help them get back on their feet. We keep hearing “all homeless are not addicts” so let the non addicts live in an addict free space. Let the people who became homeless in HRM have priority over someone who was already homeless in Truro and came to halifax to pitch their tent. Those people can stay if they want. The next group can go onto one of the other locations with other “like minded” people.
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Just to clarify: you think that there should be some kind of administrative process implemented to create a waitlist for the most desirable location to be living outside, in a tent, in the winter, surrounded by foot traffic. Like a highly sought-after apartment building with no vacancies, or a student housing facility. Except outside. Where there are no walls or barriers to prevent anyone from setting up their tent.
What is your fear here? Immigrants and/or Ontarians are taking up all of our best tent spots?
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No I never said or implied any such thing. There should be an opportunity for people who were already HRM residents to avail themselves of whatever limited services (paid for by HRM) are available to these tent sites ahead of people who come from another area (like Truro or nb) that are not paying anything towards these services. If you are going to be stuck in a tent there should be an opportunity for people who have jobs, are trying to get out of the situation, are not addicts and are not violent to at the very least live on tents next to similar people. It’s bad enough they need to live in tents without adding crime,violence and drug use around them. If you are going to allow tents in the highest traffic area in HRM and remove access to the general public then at least limit the needles and human waste and violence to an area where less people are exposed.
People who have homes have the right to public spaces and safety too.
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That's all cool but make those requirements for renting or owning homes first while you're at it. If we're going to dehumanize some people we may as well face to blood shed and dehumanize everyone else too.
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No one is dehumanizing anyone. You are just making stuff up. Society has been prioritizing assisting people since the start of time. Women and children first right? Citizens of a country can vote while non citizens can’t. Citizens get free medical care while visitors have to pay,
We create safe spaces for abuse victims. Are we dehumanizing abusers by not allowing them in that space.? Why can’t we create a safe, drug free violence free space for homeless people who want to be in that kind of space.
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What kind of drug test? That shouldn't necessarily matter. People can do drugs and not bother anyone.
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Illegal drugs. You know the kind that leave deadly needles around, lead to crime and violence . You know the kind that lead to several of the units in Dartmouth sitting empty and the need to hire private security. The kind that require contestant police intervention at the Dartmouth units and the Doubletree Hotel.
Those kind of drugs 🙄
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Jesus Christ, grow a pair already.
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People can't even build their own shelters like in the ol pioneer days. I understand that some of the bureaucracy is needed... it just makes you feel powerless as you have to just wait and try to survive... while other people shame you for being homeless.
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How did we let it go this far? My guess is people are too afraid to look insensitive towards the homeless.
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More flip flopping, I'm shocked.
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Are you for or against "flip flopping"?
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I thought it was flop-flipping? Flip-flopping takes more skill.
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I prefer flerp florping
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It does have a better ring to it”. Unless you are employed by the city, that is. :)
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That didn't even last a day.
Permanent encampment sites now.
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Permanent until someone get's hurt I guess. I'm thinking it's like countries going to war. The city will wait for a casus belli so they can remove the tents and people without the city rising up in protest.
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Tested the water, noped out.
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Instead, the municipality says it will enforce a limit of eight tents in the Grand Parade.
Lol no they won't. City loves to talk about tent limits, as if there is any enforcement. Not saying there should or shouldn't be enforcement, but it's clear the city has absolutely no follow-through on this.
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Kick them out Holy fuck.
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The problem with solving the homeless problem is that there is a huge disincentive to solving it. If you solve the homeless problem in Nova Scotia, you will have inward migration of any homeless person in Canada who is capable of travel and your solution will be quickly overwhelmed.
The housing problem needs a federal solution that does not favor one province over another.
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There is a solution. Let the homeless die, and you can't tell me that the idea hasn't crossed their minds at least once or twice
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They are probably calculating possible revenue outcomes using actuarial tables.
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Should have left a month ago.
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lol didn’t see that coming.
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Yes no yes no yes no
Leave stay leave stay leave stay
Jesus what a shit show HRM council is
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What... 8 tents? So you are going to force 7 tents out, how do you decide who? Wtf nonsense is this? It doesnt even make sense...
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Just pathetic. Make a damn decision, own it, move forward with it. Getting a little nauseous from the back and forth.
Who the hell believes they will "limit" the area to 8 tents; who is going in when the 9th tent is pitched and removing it? What a joke
Admit you've lost control, you have absolutely no idea what to do or how to fix this, you're throwing out words and statements like you have some kind of control, and then backing down every time... all the while people are still living in tents and probably starting to freeze overnight.
Pathetic.
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all this flip flopping reminds me of Peter Kelly days.
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They don’t want the parade ppl can’t see the homeless
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The city wasn’t going to force people to leave anyway, it was an advisory I believe. But flip flopping on your message just makes it very obvious the city doesn’t know what it’s doing. Poor leadership from city council and the mayor.
"Flip flopping" is a positive quality in politics. Why is it used as a negative so often?
It doesn't mean they "don't know what they're doing". It indicates they're flexible and willing to adjust based on what the people want. Doing what the people want is literally their job.
No it’s not, nothing is ever achieved when you change your mind every two days. This reversal just maintains the status quo, it’s a bad situation why would you want it to stay the same?
You crushed your logic in the first three words. Policies have evolved quite a bit since this issue has become a crisis and no one had the right idea from the very beginning. So as resolute and righteous as you decide to portray yourself, you're the last person I'd ever want to input creative solutions to a problem - we'd still be violently tearing tents out of parks.
You talk about an evolution over a course of years. I’m talking about an announcement that was made and then reversed two days later. These are not the same.
What a shame is housing is a provincial issue. The city just bares the weight of it
People camping in city parks is a city issue but thanks for playing the pass the buck!
Housing is provincial, but go off. The city stepped up as much as it can according to their mandate, and gets crapped on constantly by keyboard warriors when they were the only ones doing anything to try to help. The province did absolutely nothing and was more than content to let these people continue to be homeless. The province is also more than happy to let the ignorant masses think it’s all the city’s fault and let them be the fall guys while the province looks like a hero for doing the bare minimum, when in fact homelessness is the province’s responsibility.
So it’s fine for the city to mishandle communication on this and cause confusion? You approve?