ECA Review 2019-05-23

4 M ay 23'19 Ha NNa /CORONa TION/STETTLER, a B. ECa REVIEW
Lifting up the
broken, lifts us all
Brenda Schimke
ECA Review
“Our priority is for more manpower
for those we’re afraid of and not the
ones we’re mad at”, said newly
appointed Edmonton Police Chief, Dale
McFee, at his swearing in ceremony.
“We will be equally relentless in
leading solutions to help the vulnerable
within our city that make up the
majority of our calls for service and
where the best path forward might not
be a jail cell.”
For those who work with the homeless,
addicted, mentally ill and those
experiencing domestic violence,
McFee’s comments speak truth to
power. Each year multi-millions of tax
dollars are simply poured down the
drain in the revolving door of policing,
health care, justice and jailing of the
homeless, mentally ill and addicted.
“
What an economic
and social boom if
provinces worked with
cities to embrace Vienna’s
humane and economically
successful strategy.
Not more than two days later during
a conversation with a 40-year-old successful
businessman, he opined, “we
have homelessness because we treat
them too well”.
Therein is the divide between those
who interact daily with the homeless,
mentally ill and addicted and those
who see them as lazy, coddled nuisances
whose presence trash property
values.
This millennial was absolutely right
on one point; homelessness takes an
economic toil on property values, livability
and businesses in downtown
cores of cities. The strategy has been to
push them further from the core,
reduce their benefits and services or
give them one way tickets to British
Columbia.
Just a walk through downtown Red
Deer, especially by the river, is proof
positive this approach has completely
failed.
Last year I travelled through many
European cities, but the most impressive
city was Vienna, Austria for the
simple reason it has no homelessness.
EDITORIAL
“
OPINION
Not in the downtown core, nor anywhere
else. Simply they have invested
in the root causes of homelessness,
specifically addictions, mental health
and young people fleeing abuse at
home.
Government leaders need to stop
being mad at our homeless, addicted
and mentally-damaged citizens and
start to see them as human beings who
require our help.
In 2009 Edmonton City Council and
its mayor, Don Iveson, developed
Edmonton’s Plan to End Homelessness.
It focuses on strategies to quickly find
a home for those experiencing homelessness
and then give the supports
they need to keep that home.
Progressive politicians understand
it is cheaper for society to provide
housing and in-house supports for the
newly-liberated homeless than continue
the insanity of police,
doctors, judges and jailers simply
recycling the same victims.
Communities of former homeless
people need on-site visits from psychologists,
doctors, nurses, social
workers, career counsellors and lifeskill
coaches. They need house
mothers, addiction programs, safe
injection sites and social service
agency supports.
What an economic and social boom
if provinces worked with cities to
embrace Vienna’s humane and economically
successful strategy.
A couple million dollar penthouses
on the river with spectacular views are
for sale in downtown Red Deer.
They’ve been for sale for a few years.
The reason they aren’t selling – they sit
on the path of the homeless.
For the winter games, Red Deer’s
City Council sanitized downtown
areas by pushing the homeless further
down the river which just moved the
problem to a south side residential
neighbourhood.
I hope the words of Edmonton’s Chief
McFee’s message strikes a chord with
our new provincial government when
planning their next budget.
Maybe a trip to Vienna for Premier
Kenney and his cabinet would convince
the homeless haters of the value
of spending money on the root causes
of homelessness. Leaving our vulnerable
on the streets simply keeps the
rage of the ‘successful’ or ‘lucky ones
born into good families’, festering
towards these broken people and does
nothing to make our downtowns safer
or more inviting for economic development
and tourism.
The opinions expressed are not necessarily
the opinions of this newspaper.
MAIL BAG
No fossil fuels burned
in Canada by 2050
Dear Editor,
While I was banding fertilizer,
picking rocks and seeding our crop, I
was listening to a CBC interview with
Green Party leader, Elizabeth May on
the growing green movement across
the country.
She was saying recently elected conservative
governments across Canada
just don’t know how to read and understand
the climate change scientist’s
data and absolute urgency of the crisis
climate change is posing.
Of course, she used the much used
phrase, “the end of human king”, as a
result if immediate action is not taken
in Canada. Canada must stop using
fossil fuels by 2050.
Cars and homes will be supplied by
renewable energy and all buildings in
the country will be rebuilt to extreme
conservation of heat and cold
standards.
This will generate huge amounts of
construction opportunities.
Just one problem, I see. Who will pay
for this with no carbon tax to collect?
The alarming and extremely dangerous
outcome at this proposal is the
fact that all world food production and
distribution is almost entirely reliant
on fossil fuels.
If by some mens a green government
was elected and these policies implemented,
I am certain Canadians would
freeze in the dark with their store
shelves empty.
A great example of this type of mismanagement
is Venezuela where this
scenario is being played out as you
read this.
People like Elizabeth May either are
very short-sighted or very naive as to
how the world functions. These people
are very dangerous, to quote her,
“ending human kind”, due to disastrous
policies and unrealistic goals.
I think everyone is informed enough
to realize “Canada contributes less
than two per cent of the world’s CO2
emissions.
Canada’s emissions for a day are
equal to China’s emissions in 23 minutes.
I think we have to explore these
very dangerous people’s true motives.
I think most of us well take our
chances with an ever-changing climate
than disastrous policies created by
unrealistic politicians.
As I always say genius and stupidity
are similar but genius has limits.
Walter Suntjens
Farmer, rancher, businessman
Hanna, Alta.
Correction
In the May 2 edition of the East
Central Alberta Review under the
article ‘New business parking lot
sparks concern’, it was noted that a taxpayer
named Denise Radomske had
concerns regarding the parking lot.
She, in fact, sent a letter of support. The
ECA Review apologizes for this error.
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