Poverty Awareness in York Region

Well my last blog sure woke some people up and got people thinking and that was the reason for writing it - to encourage people question everything - no matter how good intentions sometimes seem.

I just read an article in the National Post about Vancouver's sharing programs which are beginning to have urban dwellers sharing cars( more than 1000 in the city are shared), tools, gardens, clothing, kitchen supplies, offices, etc in groups set up to conduit this. Sounds wonderful all this sharing, but it's all because people are slowly being made unable to afford cars..and tools..and property.
Community Property

Sharing community property whether through food in community gardens, food distribution depots / banks or community dinners are also all Marxist ideas in origin, and a free society need allow one the dignity to access food in a way of their choosing and eat in privacy or with their family - not one thrust upon them so that if they don't use it communally they'll go hungry. That may not be where we are at quite yet but eventually it'll get weaved in as part of the solution. There is enough income produced in this country, it's just not trickling down to those in need. Sharing 101 we fail at miserably as a society so why buy into a communist-like model?

Once they can say - "Well they can join our garden program if they want to eat fresh food" or  "Well if they are hungry we have community dinners "- or the clothes depot will do for them" then the government can shirk its responsibility to take care of these people in need - not chosen one charities and corporate feel-good campaigns like Campbell's Soup type photo-op solutions that make people sicker long run both physically and mentally taxing the 'system' even more.

The solution is simple - give people enough to work with from the beginning - to feed themselves in dignity. People don't need "Do-gooders" dishing it out for them. Eliminate those excess "jobs".

So no fancy community grow programs that most can't get to regularly anyway - but their own back yards or balconies are fine if they choose to. No forced transit use or "apply for" transit passes programs - but provide enough money to purchase them if they need one or pay a car bill. No special charity run "training" programs that don't pay them a full wage since they are working for these "charities" doing catering, construction, food distribution, bagging, fundraising and more. No more unneeded shelters - women's or otherwise - just build what we actually need - more affordable housing. No more feel good corporate charities that pay out millions of dollars in administrative fees and claim to build things like affordable housing but hand pick certain people only, who must meet a certain "criteria", and who will agree to being public faces for them for the very few units they do build.

Speaking of sharing, I've been following Newmarket's many proposals of late from developers for developing Glenway, Slessor Square, Main St. etc and none include building more affordable housing - even though the official plan dictates a certain percentage of all new built housing need include some. I noticed the presenter conveniently avoided allowing me a question at the Lion's Hall town event recently...he claimed Main St.'s proposal displaces only 2 residents from housing but left out that they'd already stopped renting / rooming people out of there some time ago leaving only 2 now so when time comes they can say it affected no one. But where are those who've they slowly displaced up until now? Who knows...they'll be forgotten in the mix since they apparently don't exist - except 2. Okay so are they building 2 affordable units for them in their model then? Somehow I doubt it.

Just be wary my friends, be wary...Dig deeper into these wonderful charitable "solutions" that slowly erode at your freedom, privacy, and dignity.