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> appalling to Canadians and Western Europeans Having lived in Vancouver's downtown east side, and spent time in the neighbourhoods of various Western European

• deanCommie 10y ago
  Actually, I've lived there too. These addicts and homeless have access to: * 3 meals a day at various food banks * Safe injection sites to decrease disease risk as a result of intravenous drug use * Universal health care for when any of the above fails * A sympathetic and protective police force that ensures people do not hurt themselves or others. As a result I've never felt unsafe living there like I do when I wander through San Francisco. Is the system perfect? No. The legacy of conservative governments meant that mental health assistance budgets were severely cut, and so there are a lot of people on the street that really need more government help, not less. And let's not even get into the fact that Vancouver has most of the homeless population of Canada because it's the only city in the country where you can be homeless through the winter and not die from exposure.