Vagrancy laws re-instated in Kelown

[fishertwo]

In my opinion it is about time, People in this town have been complaining for years about homeless, beggars and transients on our streets, And how to deal withe problem, maybe , Now, they can solve the problem, As I have been stating for years, the people living on the street , that have severe mental problems, Really need our help, The rest , the drunks, drug addicts and lazy ner do wells need a giant kick in the *bleep* to smarten up. the ignorant people who call these diseases, ought to be made to pay for these people who have enjoyed these SELF INFLICTED problems.These people are on the streets, by choice, and anyone who does not understand this------- Give your head a shake.But when Years ago we used the Vagrancy laws to keep these people off out streets, And it worked really well., Until the first trudeau decided that he would change the laws, strike down the vagrancy laws and fill the streets with those that were drunks and druggies that did not want to work and decided to live on the streets. This happened in 1968. It did infringe on their rights, Their right not work, their right to live on welfare their right to stay drunk or under the influence of drugs by choice, And to sleep on the streets wherever it was warm enough, Like kelowna or Vancouver, Ever notice they are gone from Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, etc in the winter,.I only hope kelowna gets a bit stonger with the Vagrancy Laws and ships them down the rod to somewhere else. And remember most of them won't go to shelters because their are rules which infringe on above noted rights.

[Bpeep]

They can always arrest them, incarcerate them and put them to work building furniture and pounding rocks like the prison system in the usa has been doing since the civil war- more so now that all those private contracts are in place. There's contracts to keep a minimum occupancy.

Corcan could probably use all the free labour.

Don't laugh either- it's bound to eventually happen here.

Be a good way to get em off drugs...

[onestop67]

They can always arrest them, incarcerate them and put them to work building furniture and pounding rocks like the prison system in the usa has been doing since the civil war- more so now that all those private contracts are in place. There's contracts to keep a minimum occupancy.

Corcan could probably use all the free labour.

Don't laugh either- it's bound to eventually happen here.

Be a good way to get em off drugs...

Really? I understand your post drips of sarcasm.

But aren't you also 100% against the injection site?

Let them sleep on the streets, but don't give them a safe place to inject, and by going to that safe site, they might actually get the help they need?

[whatwhat]

It is just a vicious cycle.

Make being homeless illegal. Give them fines they can't afford to pay, so they get sent to jail. In jail they "get clean" by force, and with no emotional help so the addiction is going to come right back once they are on the street. They come out of jail with a criminal record so finding a job and place to live becomes even more difficult, which will only feed into their addiction more. Which then puts them back on the street and starting the cycle all over again.

But thank god they will be out of "our" town. God forbid the privileged in Kelowna have to view the horrors of the real world. Apparently let's just ship them off to the next town. What great citizens of Canada we are, let other people deal with our problem.

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

What I think it will mostly do is make them hide better..
And get them off the sidewalk...maybe not far away..
The 50.00 fine, it could be double or triple and not much matter to those that cant pay...

[bob vernon]

You want sarcasm? How about this. Mayor Basran says this law about sitting on the sidewalk doesn't target the poor. Well, I want to see it enforced for all. Like the next time there's a parade in downtown Kelowna and a bunch of little kids are sitting on the curb watching it go by. Start writing tickets for them. Or does this new law really target the poor? Of course it does.

[Straight Shooter]

Took a walk downtown on Leon Ave. between Ellis and Abbott St. and this was my observation. Between Ellis and Water St. there is the Ki Low Na Friendship Society building and across the street is the Interior Health Out-Reach Clinic. Both cater to the homeless as well as for people with drug and achohol addiction. Don't know if the Ki Low Na Society is strictly for Idigenous people or is open to anyone in need. So, after crossing Water St. you reach the area that is most commonly known as Kelowna version of East Hastings, which is not a pretty site. Now, it seems with Interior Health wanting to put a Safe Injection Site close to the Ki Low Na building it only seems natural to vision that E. Hasting will eventual span two city blocks instead of one. Is this why Mayor Colin Basran is directing City By-Officers to enforce the new by-law concerning loitering?

[django]

It is just a vicious cycle.

Make being homeless illegal. Give them fines they can't afford to pay, so they get sent to jail. In jail they "get clean" by force, and with no emotional help so the addiction is going to come right back once they are on the street. They come out of jail with a criminal record so finding a job and place to live becomes even more difficult, which will only feed into their addiction more. Which then puts them back on the street and starting the cycle all over again.

But thank god they will be out of "our" town. God forbid the privileged in Kelowna have to view the horrors of the real world. Apparently let's just ship them off to the next town. What great citizens of Canada we are, let other people deal with our problem.

At some point you need to realize that not everyone can be helped, it may help you to know that the junkies can get drugs inside prison so they don't have to clean up if they don't want to. There is support in prison both professional and peer groups, and theres work for people with records if they really want to work.
I'd venture a guess that most of the so called "privileged" in Kelowna have worked hard or very hard to get where they are and were not born into some sort of utopia, if the drug addicts put half the effort they expend getting that next fix on getting their crap together they'd be just fine.
Like I said though, there are those who cannot be saved.

[onestop67]

You want sarcasm? How about this. Mayor Basran says this law about sitting on the sidewalk doesn't target the poor. Well, I want to see it enforced for all. Like the next time there's a parade in downtown Kelowna and a bunch of little kids are sitting on the curb watching it go by. Start writing tickets for them. Or does this new law really target the poor? Of course it does.

lol at you. Definitely one of the biggest NIMBY's I have ever seen.

The fact is there is homelessness. Some of those have drug addictions, some don't and are just simply down and out.

But this is just NOT going to disappear.

So let's try to be proactive and at least take the time to try new things...such as injection sites...

Do some research, these injection sites aren't just in Vancouver, they are in a lot of countries around the world. And they are working...

[whatwhat]

At some point you need to realize that not everyone can be helped, it may help you to know that the junkies can get drugs inside prison so they don't have to clean up if they don't want to. There is support in prison both professional and peer groups, and theres work for people with records if they really want to work.
I'd venture a guess that most of the so called "privileged" in Kelowna have worked hard or very hard to get where they are and were not born into some sort of utopia, if the drug addicts put half the effort they expend getting that next fix on getting their crap together they'd be just fine.
Like I said though, there are those who cannot be saved.

True, I am sure many people in Kelowna work hard for what they have, myself included. But just because I work hard I don't think that gives me a right to dictate where people should or should not live. Saying we should just ship all our homeless people to the next city is ridiculous, and I think it makes us look like sh*tty Canadians by expecting others to take care of our problem.

Kelowna is growing. And what comes with living in a larger city is increasing problems like theft, drug use and homeless people on the street. And with these issues increasing, we have to increase our services not only to help them but to also help other people in our community. We can't just expect to send our problems away for others to deal with.

Kelowna isn't going to become some "Pleasantville" little town. Homelessness, drug use, crime, sex work etc are all real life issues. And will only continue to grow in Kelowna as our city grows.

[Atomoa]

You want sarcasm? How about this. Mayor Basran says this law about sitting on the sidewalk doesn't target the poor. Well, I want to see it enforced for all. Like the next time there's a parade in downtown Kelowna and a bunch of little kids are sitting on the curb watching it go by. Start writing tickets for them. Or does this new law really target the poor? Of course it does.

Haven't you clued in that most laws are targeted and enforced on the lower classes?

The police are not here to protect society. There are there to protect private property. If you don't own things they are not your friend. Originally "police forces" were funded 100% by the cities large factories and businesses. The police were there to make sure you didnt get too drunk that you couldn't work the next morning and to prevent workers from organizing. The boot on the neck of the lower classes. Had nothing to do with social order, the police were just a private security force to protect the business class and their assets/profits and not much has changed.

The drug war is just a method of control and subjugation placed on the lower classes.

I really like your point. This law will not be applied evenly throughout our cities population.

[w84u2]

Haven't you clued in that most laws are targeted and enforced on the lower classes?

The police are not here to protect society. There are there to protect private property. If you don't own things they are not your friend. Originally "police forces" were funded 100% by the cities large factories and businesses. The police were there to make sure you didnt get too drunk that you couldn't work the next morning and to prevent workers from organizing. The boot on the neck of the lower classes. Had nothing to do with social order, the police were just a private security force to protect the business class and their assets/profits and not much has changed.

The drug war is just a method of control and subjugation placed on the lower classes.

And this is a problem? How?

[Queen K]

The War on the Poor is upon us.
Be careful what you wish for.
This could happen to anybody.

I see people on facebook sites begging for help all the time. Mostly for places to rent, so they don't end up on the street.
Now Rich Old Kelowna has made it illegal to be on the street or sleep anywhere other than a nice soft bed.
Nice.

I am saddened by this development.

Are Victorian Work Houses far behind?

[the truth]

Took a walk downtown on Leon Ave. between Ellis and Abbott St. and this was my observation. Between Ellis and Water St. there is the Ki Low Na Friendship Society building and across the street is the Interior Health Out-Reach Clinic. Both cater to the homeless as well as for people with drug and achohol addiction. Don't know if the Ki Low Na Society is strictly for Idigenous people or is open to anyone in need. So, after crossing Water St. you reach the area that is most commonly known as Kelowna version of East Hastings, which is not a pretty site. Now, it seems with Interior Health wanting to put a Safe Injection Site close to the Ki Low Na building it only seems natural to vision that E. Hasting will eventual span two city blocks instead of one. Is this why Mayor Colin Basran is directing City By-Officers to enforce the new by-law concerning loitering?

you are correct it will expand to 2 blocks, then 3 then 4 then 5, on and on it goes

[Atomoa]

And this is a problem? How?

Rules should apply to everyone.