Task force not needed to figure out the problem in the city
By Lethbridge Herald on January 6, 2024.
Editor:
I read with bemusement and some anger the article in the Lethbridge Herald with the heading, “Downtown task force to be discussed by city council.”
It states a draft of terms the task force will adhere to including guiding principals.
It then goes on to list them in numerical order.
The more I read, the more I was in amazement of the total list of nonsense.
It appears that the folks running this gong show still haven’t figured out what the problems are with our city and especially the downtown area!
Well, here I come riding my magnificent steed to save you the trouble of having another committee/task force and another waste of my tax money.
That tax money includes city property taxes, provincial taxes and federal taxes. At the age of 76, I still go to work each week to make sure you have enough money for another study.
Now for my take on the problems of the City of Lethbridge. I’ll list them in numerical order.:
1. Drug addiction. That’s it!
Here is how it goes. Drug addicts have one thought when and if they wake up in the morning: “I need my drug of choice, how can I pay for my drug of choice, and do I have my drug dealer on speed dial.”
Yep, that’s it. They don’t care about their family, their friends, the businesses in the city, the bleeding hearts, whether you or I live or die.
Nope, sniffing, snorting, injecting, smoking drugs is their life, full-stop.
Now, knowing that this is the main problem for our city, what can we do?
Well if we really want to protect the rest of society and help the drug addicts, there is really only one answer:
Put the addicts in rehab by whatever means possible and help them get clean and sober, offer them education, trade training and whatever else we can to turn their lives around.
I do realize that some of those that are addicted might be too far gone to bring back.
Those people should be provided safe housing, three square meals a day and also become clean and sober.
When the addicts stop using, the drug dealers move to,oh say, Vancouver where their solution seems to be making sure the addicts are using “safe” drugs.
This way they will still die but have “safe” drugs in their system when their body destroys itself!
Sounds like a real caring bunch.
So there you have it. You don’t need your task force and I’m not charging the tax payers of Lethbridge a cent for my input. You are welcome!
Of course I’ll now be referred to as a Nazi by the “we are saving lives” committee.
Doug Cameron
Lethbridge
26-25
Bang on, Doug! But what can we do about it? Lethbridge keeps voting these morons back in.
But how will we know that we are not harming these precious criminals without studying it to death?
There was some talk recently, by I think the Alberta Gov., to force addicts into treatment but that was probably shot down by the same people who give “award ribbons to all participants and no one wins the race” crowd.
Force these street crawlers to get treatment or lock them up. It can’t be any simpler than that!
If forced treatment was suggested, and it wouldn’t surprise me if it had, and if the idea was “shot down,” as you say, that was probably done by those pesky lawyer types – you know the folks who have read the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
exactly
Doug you are an obvious Guru of Knowledge, can you help the City with this unsolved connundrum to ensure another committee is not created to solve this one?
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/lethbridge-sees-300-increase-in-reported-fires-in-2023-1.6713909
The usual answers are that it is up to the law-abiding citizens to make sure they are doing THEIR job. An example is; “We’re asking business owners who have a dumpster to make sure they’re locking it so that people can’t get inside,” he said. Really? So the fires are just something we are suppose to live with now? I will say that John Middleton-Hope is trying his best to turn things around but it is a real uphill battle and I do understand that we have turned the law so upside down now, that I don’t know if there is any going back. It appears that the law now is almost totally on the criminal’s side and the rest of us are just suppose to suck it up.
Well, your so-called “Guru of Knowledge” is right about one thing: His ideas are textbook fascist.
Great rant! 🤣 Thank you!
Legislation is set up however the Crown won’t arraign and police burn through the entirety of their time and exertion in paper work, just to have it tossed out!
Some examples:
Canada Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)Causing disturbance, indecent exhibition, loitering, etc.
175 (1) Every one whoo (a) not being in a dwelling-house, causes a disturbance in or near a public place,
§ (i) by fighting, screaming, shouting, swearing, singing or using insulting or obscene language,
§ (ii) by being drunk, or
§ (iii) by impeding or molesting other persons,
o (b) openly exposes or exhibits an indecent exhibition in a public place,
o (c) loiters in a public place and in any way obstructs persons who are in that place, or
o (d) disturbs the peace and quiet of the occupants of a dwelling-house by discharging firearms or by other disorderly conduct in a public place or who, not being an occupant of a dwelling-house comprised in a particular building or structure, disturbs the peace and quiet of the occupants of a dwelling-house comprised in the building or structure by discharging firearms or by other disorderly conduct in any part of a building or structure to which, at the time of such conduct, the occupants of two or more dwelling-houses comprised in the building or structure have access as of right or by invitation, express or implied,
is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.
Evidence of peace officer
(2) In the absence of other evidence, or by way of corroboration of other evidence, a summary conviction court may infer from the evidence of a peace officer relating to the conduct of a person or persons, whether ascertained or not, that a disturbance described in paragraph (1)(a) or (d) or an obstruction described in paragraph (1)(c) was caused or occurred.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 175 1997, c. 18, s. 6
Trespassing at Night: The crime of trespassing is mainly dealt with at the provincial level across Canada, though Section 177 of the Criminal Code addresses the act of (loitering or prowling) trespassing at night. Financial penalties are handed out by the provinces while the maximum penalty for violating the federal statute is two years in jail.
The purpose of any trespass legislation is to give landowners greater control over their property. While trespassing is usually defined as the unlawful entry onto the private land of another, it also includes performing an unlawful activity on the land and refusing to leave when told to do so. Police can also arrest you after you have left the premises if they believe that you have just committed a trespass.
You may be found guilty of trespass at night without the Crown needing to prove that you were engaging in criminal activity. Additionally, “night” is defined as being from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning, despite the significant seasonal variations in the period of darkness within many places in Canada. If you are found on someone’s property during these hours, you could be charged.
In Alberta, maximum fines up can reach $10,000 for a first offence and $25,000 for subsequent offences, as well as possible prison time of up to six months. In addition, corporations that help or direct trespassers can be fined up to $200,000.
Night
The period from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning.
Summary conviction
Summary convictions are used for lesser offences with penalties, fines and short jail time. They reflect the majority of offences as defined in the Code.
Trespassing
Being on someone’s property without permission, or refusing to leave when asked. The Code makes it a crime to loiter on someone’s property.
But for God’s sake, don’t you dare let your downtown parking meter expire!!!! Not that I ever go downtown anymore unless it’s an absolute must. I see our property assessment just went up another $36,000 so we’ll be bracing for our new tax bill.
It’s good you are looking forward to help pay for the extra police, courts and jails y’all are clamoring for.
haha! yup – freedom! me thinks the fascist right wing version of freedom – indeed, with all of its long term incarcerations and policing of virtually every human choice on the planet, save for guns, costs a good bit more than the sharing and caring left wing version. but, alas, sharing and caring is for suckas and losers. even the good bible thumping folk know that the jesus approach of sharing and caring just does not work.
We all know that Biff and the other aliases he has used to comment on this thread are not backed up by facts, tangible proof, but come from his social media crowd. For an addict I have to wonder Biff just how you find the floor when you get up in the morning!
Research by bona fide medical organizations have proven that christian based addiction treatment programs have the highest success rates.
But you want to see all of your buddies kill themselves on the streets instead. You can force people into treatment when the program is deployed properly and that is why drug courts do work!
You are great at attacking others with your factless attacks, and many now ignore you. Your comments are proof you are ignorant to this serious crisis!
your type has underscored fascism and the curtailment of fundamental freedoms throughout history.
btw – the alias accusations are a hoot! is paranoia a part of the scriptures?