Resource Allocation and Courage

I am familiar with a common municipal rhetoric: 

limited time, limited budget, limited space, 

no people, no capital, no way.

I spent back to back weekends in the downtown of Edmonton and Calgary respectively.

There were some common themes. 

Nice weather, happy people, fun shopping, and nice eateries.

Simultaneously both downtowns seemed shadowed by a zombie like horde of homelessness and drug abuse. Watching multiple daytime instances of sidewalk meth use in the open, amongst the public, unhampered. 

Wild.

It seemed slightly ironic this week, when I received a detailed written warning from the City of Edmonton regarding not wearing a life-jacket on the Jetboat (I had one next to me, simply not on at that moment), that perhaps we are pointing our limited resources in the wrong direction. 

After spending an afternoon observing multiple homeless tent-encampments, littered with debris, and reeking of waste, It struck me very clearly that there is a gross double standard, and a misallocation of efforts. Five productive adults, spending thousands within the city on hotels, food and accommodation, respectfully enjoying the city... Versus bands of squatters, polluting the urban scape uninhibited, compromising public safety and business viability.

I find myself bewildered when I try to rationalize how our society continues to tolerate and enable bad behaviours of drug abuse, squatting, and general public indecency. Accountability has been traded for a victim mentality, labels and excuses.

It is time for reform.

Like a parent afraid of saying no to their child, our communities and leaders appear terrified of implementing the ‘tough love’ solutions. 

Take a stand against bad behaviour.

Laws should apply to all citizens.

People thrive when they add value to the whole,

And it’s time we held society accountable.

• Now that’s a peak ethos.