Friday, September 28, 2012

How "equal" are the homeless?

Oh irony! A new statue in downtown Toronto says all people are equal under Law.

What do I see below the statue?

An elderly homeless man. How equal is he?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are services to help him if he chooses to access them.

In all likelihood he is an addict. Understand that addiction is a bigger, more expensive medical challenge than even cancer.

If gov't healthcare were to fully pay for the treatment of addicts the entire system would collapse, probably within months.

Treatment centres can cost 10 of thousands of dollars per and have very low success rates.

There are no easy answers. Be wary of politicians who say they have answers.

Bluegreenblogger said...

I have visited here a number of times. When I read a blog post about a number of succesful private prosecutions recently, I was astounded. It has nothing to do with your post, but I thought: 'Aha, I know of someone who might be interested in this, and might actually want to answer my question'. Since Elections Canada is about the worst investigator of electoral malfeasance imaginable, and are being used by the current Government as a fig leaf, why cannot private prosecutions force the issue and oblige the Police and courts to actually deal with breaches of the elections finance act(s)? From what I understand, any citizen who has evidence of a breach in any law that allows for penalties to be applied can initiate a private prosecution. Once in front of the court with supporting evidence, the Attorney General is obliged to refer to police investigators, carry the prosecution itself, allow the private prosecution, or stuff it back under the carpet. I am asking because I have long been interested in electoral finance (from a campaigners perspective) and disgusted at how blatantly the laws of the land are disregarded by all and sundry. It seems this could be a useful tool to shine a bright light into dark corners that Elections Canada prefers to leave un-touched.

lungta said...

Equal is romanticized a lot.
Getting beaten and sexually abused as you grow up won't leave you "equal at getting a job out of the paper" as say a well nourished loving upbringing will.
One might even leave you sleeping in your old age at the base of a statue. Given the on your own; fend for yourselves; self redemption; faith healing; god will bless you if he chooses.. conservatives except for incredible luck ...both might.
Even "equal under the law" fails with the ability to get all the justice you can afford with a lawyer.
An Alberta DUI is criminal,$1000 min fine and a year suspension on your own
With a $30,000 lawyer you get a pass.
I have been a fan of mincome, a Canadian experiment in universal income.
It is a good call on ironic as we enter an era of the largest inequality gap ever in Canada, with an Orwellian double speak twist title.
I do hope that the statue is of a button busting, thinly veiled likeness of your huge fat rob ford
as irony would then reach some kind of perfection.
(watch him plead ignorance (provable I'm sure) and avoid dismissal.