BC Lags Behind Other Provinces in Life Satisfaction

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Weitz

Maybe not increase. But sewer value without decreasing rental rates?

It depends on where you're talking about, but since this thread is BC-Centric...rental rates have to come down.

If you're a landlord then thats going to suck, but if you have a general cost of living that is out of whack with available wages then get used to people living on the streets.

You can say: "Hey if you dont like it then pound pavement!" and instead of living in your basement that guy is going to be living on your sidewalk.

People can bitch and moan but we had the same problem right here in Alberta where people were working good jobs with good incomes and it still wasnt enough.

I'm not going to say that we solved this problem because I'm not convinced that we did but you have to acknowledge the problem.

[activeStick]

Very close to home. I live across the street, and have a friend who lives in this building and I'm over at her place at least once every couple of weeks to hang out for pre-drinks before going out.

It's completely out of control when this is happening at dinner time on a Sunday with tons of people out. Dude literally followed her into her building.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/we-could-hear-...ding-1.6095148

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Very close to home. I live across the street, and have a friend who lives in this building and I'm over at her place at least once every couple of weeks to hang out for pre-drinks before going out.

It's completely out of control when this is happening at dinner time on a Sunday with tons of people out. Dude literally followed her into her building.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/we-could-hear-...ding-1.6095148

From the article:

Despite police recommending the suspect be held in custody, the courts released Flores-Bebington. He’s due in court Oct. 13.

“It’s a joke,” said Stephens. “Everyone in the building is super worried because we did take him down and stop him – what if he wants revenge and shows up?”

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Locke

It depends on where you're talking about, but since this thread is BC-Centric...rental rates have to come down.

If you're a landlord then thats going to suck, but if you have a general cost of living that is out of whack with available wages then get used to people living on the streets.

You can say: "Hey if you dont like it then pound pavement!" and instead of living in your basement that guy is going to be living on your sidewalk.

People can bitch and moan but we had the same problem right here in Alberta where people were working good jobs with good incomes and it still wasnt enough.

I'm not going to say that we solved this problem because I'm not convinced that we did but you have to acknowledge the problem.

Haha ooooooo I’d be a little careful as a Calgarian looking down my nose at Vancouver for the homeless problem. No question Vancouver is bad, tent city, etc. however Calgary is trending in the wrong direction as well.

I just visited Calgary and was downtown last week and the increase of homeless people today vs. 1 year ago vs. 6 months ago to hell even just 2 months ago is a very clear and alarming trend. Very anecdotal / subjective but wow, Calgary now has a homeless issue. They are everywhere.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by chemgear

From the article:



Despite police recommending the suspect be held in custody, the courts released Flores-Bebington. He’s due in court Oct. 13.



“It’s a joke,” said Stephens. “Everyone in the building is super worried because we did take him down and stop him – what if he wants revenge and shows up?”

Yeah it's scary. The building only has a security guard on Fridays and Saturdays from about midnight to 5am too. Any other time, there's no security.

[Zarley]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Haha ooooooo I’d be a little careful as a Calgarian looking down my nose at Vancouver for the homeless problem. No question Vancouver is bad, tent city, etc. however Calgary is trending in the wrong direction as well.

I just visited Calgary and was downtown last week and the increase of homeless people today vs. 1 year ago vs. 6 months ago to hell even just 2 months ago is a very clear and alarming trend. Very anecdotal / subjective but wow, Calgary now has a homeless issue. They are everywhere.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of the homeless count they are doing right now. I live in the Beltline and I haven’t really noticed a sharp increase recently in the number of rough sleepers around, but it’s also more difficult to notice a change when you are in a place everyday. I do think there’s been an increase in antisocial behaviour and disorder though, especially on the C-Train system.

We also had a similar incident in Inglewood recently where some lowlife randomly killed a guy in his own building hallway.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Yeah it's scary. The building only has a security guard on Fridays and Saturdays from about midnight to 5am too. Any other time, there's no security.

Very few condo buildings have security guards.
1) They shouldn't need them
2) The strata fee cost is massive

But very scary & maybe it will have to become more of the norm .

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Haha ooooooo I’d be a little careful as a Calgarian looking down my nose at Vancouver for the homeless problem. No question Vancouver is bad, tent city, etc. however Calgary is trending in the wrong direction as well.

I just visited Calgary and was downtown last week and the increase of homeless people today vs. 1 year ago vs. 6 months ago to hell even just 2 months ago is a very clear and alarming trend. Very anecdotal / subjective but wow, Calgary now has a homeless issue. They are everywhere.

Oh I'm not. I understand that its a considerable problem here as well as in Vancouver.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by activeStick

Yeah it's scary. The building only has a security guard on Fridays and Saturdays from about midnight to 5am too. Any other time, there's no security.

I guess this is the way now.

Arrest but don't hold them . . . and now don't bother even arresting them because you're not going to hold them . . . don't even call in the crime because nothing is done.

https://www.thestar.com/politics/202...is-futile.html

Murray Rankin told the legislature on Tuesday that increasing arrests is not the answer to battle crime.

Opposition Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon told the legislature the government’s ongoing “catch-and-release” policy where repeat offenders are quickly freed from custody despite being accused of violent crimes has created fear for residents in cities from Vancouver to Terrace.

“Criminals emboldened by the lack of enforcement of this government, and four violent random attacks in Vancouver every single day,” he said.“Most recently a young woman in Vancouver followed into her apartment, thrown on the ground and assaulted by a young man. Just the other day.”

The report states: “In Terrace, the mayor and a councillor reported, ‘The stats don’t tell the truth. Crime isn’t going down. It’s the worst it’s ever been. People aren’t reporting because there’s no point because they’re out so fast.’”

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

Haha ooooooo I’d be a little careful as a Calgarian looking down my nose at Vancouver for the homeless problem. No question Vancouver is bad, tent city, etc. however Calgary is trending in the wrong direction as well.

I just visited Calgary and was downtown last week and the increase of homeless people today vs. 1 year ago vs. 6 months ago to hell even just 2 months ago is a very clear and alarming trend. Very anecdotal / subjective but wow, Calgary now has a homeless issue. They are everywhere.

Calgary’s homeless issue might be worse than it has been recently but I think you’re exaggerating. Working downtown, I can’t say I can perceive any noticeable difference between this month and the same time 3 years ago. If anything, it’s gotten better near my office, so maybe people are just more set up somewhere else.

I’ve heard the train is quite bad, which is an issue. But that really depends on the source, too. Pre-COVID it was not unusual to be in a car with obviously homeless people passed out, fighting, or generally causing a disturbance.

I feel like, in part, people have really forgotten some of what being in public and around others in an urban environment is like. To say Calgary “now” has a homeless issue is either to have been totally ignorant of the issue that was already there, or hyperbolic in evaluating where it is today. Especially downtown, when you’re situated between places like the Drop In, Chumir, Mustard Seed, Cups, these people exist in numbers and have for a long time.

The concerning part is the stories of random attacks.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by chemgear

I guess this is the way now.

Arrest but don't hold them . . . and now don't bother even arresting them because you're not going to hold them . . . don't even call in the crime because nothing is done.

https://www.thestar.com/politics/202...is-futile.html

Murray Rankin told the legislature on Tuesday that increasing arrests is not the answer to battle crime.

Opposition Liberal Leader Kevin Falcon told the legislature the government’s ongoing “catch-and-release” policy where repeat offenders are quickly freed from custody despite being accused of violent crimes has created fear for residents in cities from Vancouver to Terrace.

“Criminals emboldened by the lack of enforcement of this government, and four violent random attacks in Vancouver every single day,” he said.“Most recently a young woman in Vancouver followed into her apartment, thrown on the ground and assaulted by a young man. Just the other day.”

The report states: “In Terrace, the mayor and a councillor reported, ‘The stats don’t tell the truth. Crime isn’t going down. It’s the worst it’s ever been. People aren’t reporting because there’s no point because they’re out so fast.’”

Yeah that last bit is important. People will point at the stats and say "Crime is going down!"

But it isnt. Its the opposite. Its just become so rampant its not worth reporting or the Police dont show up and make a report so its not in the database.

Its the odd case where public perception, although commonly dismissed, is probably more accurate than Police Statistics.

[activeStick]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Very few condo buildings have security guards.
1) They shouldn't need them
2) The strata fee cost is massive

But very scary & maybe it will have to become more of the norm .

Very true. When I lived in Toronto a lot more of them had 24 hour front desk folks who were essentially security guards. It's very rare in Vancouver to have these for condos.

[JohnnyB]

Some data from the VPD on random attackers from back in July. Obviously mental health is an issue, but I actually find it kind of surprising it's not more than 73% of cases. What's up with the 27% of people who are both in good mental health and randomly attacking strangers?

https://twitter.com/user/status/1549132540203524096

[blankall]

A major thing to take into consideration is that homeless people often travel. In Calgary, homeless people are likely to leave. In Vancouver, a significant portion of the homeless are from other provinces.

[chemgear]

https://vancouversun.com/news/crime/...ific-offenders

B.C. calling in experts to help deal with 'catch-and-release' criminals

Some of those individuals are unlikely “to take up voluntary supports,” Eby said, which is why the experts will look into ways to make addiction or mental health treatment a compulsory part of sentencing.

The government could have taken immediate measures, Stone said, such as requiring provincial courts to order stricter bail conditions or appointed a prosecutor whose sole focus is on prolific offenders.

Eby said provincial prosecutors are hamstrung by federal law, including provisions that require police and courts to ensure that an individual be released at the earliest opportunity instead of being held in jail.

One of the examples cited in the B.C. Urban Mayors’ Caucus letter is the case of a Kelowna man who has been the subject of 346 police files since 2016 and has 29 convictions for property crime and assault offences. The mayors say the offender is routinely released with conditions, only to reoffend.

“The catch-and-release system has had an impact on our residents sense of safety,” Basran said.

Vancouver residents are “frustrated by the outsized impacts a small number of repeat offenders have had” on communities, he said in a statement.

For example, 40 people in Vancouver are responsible for over 6,300 incidents, Stewart said.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by blankall

A major thing to take into consideration is that homeless people often travel. In Calgary, homeless people are likely to leave. In Vancouver, a significant portion of the homeless are from other provinces.

Recent studies show that around 70% of Vancouver’s homeless are locals.

[cKy]

Define local. Do you have had to live there for a year with a registered address? is Burnaby different from East Van?

I hate Vancouver, but if I am homeless and I know I'm going to be for the rest of my life - i'm picking the west coast as I can probably survive a winter there than one in AB/Sask/etc. Well, I wouldn't - I'd be eaten alive the first week on the streets.

[chemgear]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1577327787874332673

[blankall]

Originally Posted by peter12

Recent studies show that around 70% of Vancouver’s homeless are locals.

Not sure this is correct:

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanc...isis-epicentre

In the City of Vancouver’s 2019 homeless count, based on those who responded, 16% (156 people) of the homeless reported they were from an area elsewhere in Metro Vancouver, while 31% (299 people) were from another area of BC, and 44% (435 people) from another area of Canada.

There were similar proportions in the municipal government’s 2017 count, with 15% (166 people) from elsewhere in Metro Vancouver, 27% (288 people) from the rest of BC, and 48% (515 people) from the rest of Canada.

In 2016, Vancouver’s count of homeless individuals who have been in the city for less than a month recorded 16% of the new arrivals from elsewhere in Metro Vancouver, 28% from the rest of BC, 22% from Alberta, 8% from Saskatchewan, 5% from Ontario, and 4% from Quebec.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Calgary’s homeless issue might be worse than it has been recently but I think you’re exaggerating. Working downtown, I can’t say I can perceive any noticeable difference between this month and the same time 3 years ago. If anything, it’s gotten better near my office, so maybe people are just more set up somewhere else.

I’ve heard the train is quite bad, which is an issue. But that really depends on the source, too. Pre-COVID it was not unusual to be in a car with obviously homeless people passed out, fighting, or generally causing a disturbance.

I feel like, in part, people have really forgotten some of what being in public and around others in an urban environment is like. To say Calgary “now” has a homeless issue is either to have been totally ignorant of the issue that was already there, or hyperbolic in evaluating where it is today. Especially downtown, when you’re situated between places like the Drop In, Chumir, Mustard Seed, Cups, these people exist in numbers and have for a long time.

The concerning part is the stories of random attacks.

It is certainly possible my anecdote is exaggeration of the problem for sure. I would not say my observation is the 100% fact based we need to roll with I just have noticed on my recent trips back to Calgary many more numbers of homeless people. It's possible they are just migrating around more I suppose, or that my view is skewed because of the new place I am living where there are fewer-ish kinda.