| Calgarians support social programs
A strong majority of Calgarians are concerned about homelessness and think long-term solutions like affordable housing are the best way to tackle it, according to a survey released last week. The survey also suggests that many Calgarians support better social programs to help deal with drug abuse and prostitution.
"People want to see something more long-term than just band-aid solutions," says Robert Roach, research director for the Canada West Foundation, which conducted the survey. "Calgarians are quite thoughtful about this."
The Looking West survey examined a slew of urban issues across seven Canadian cities, and found that homelessness, safety and crime were all major concerns for residents. While most respondents supported police action to combat prostitution and drug use, they also felt the roots of social problems had to be better addressed.
"There’s a sense of anxiety about safety, but also a healthy understanding that there are underlying issues," Roach says. He hopes Calgarians looking at the survey will see it as a challenge to do more on social issues.
Louise Gallagher, manager of resource development at the Calgary Drop-In Centre, says that Calgarians have become more aware of homelessness and this has resulted in more support for her organization. Donations of blankets increased this past winter and more companies are volunteering their time to serve food at the shelter. Homelessness has increased in recent years, spurred in part by rapid development in the city that has seen low-income housing torn down without being replaced, she says.
The social causes of homelessness are deep-seated and there are no easy answers, says Gallagher. "It’s not about housing, and it’s not about jobs. It’s about social issues (such as poverty) at the core of the problem. If it was about jobs, there wouldn’t be a problem," she says.
She’s encouraged by the survey results and hopes it will push all levels of government to do more to tackle homelessness. "It comes at the right time," she says. "If we are concerned as individuals, let’s start taking action."
A total of 66.9 per cent of respondents in Calgary said that reducing homelessness was a high priority, and nearly half said affordable housing was the best way to deal with it. The second most popular option was to increase support programs for the homeless, while adding shelter beds and other short-term solutions ranked last. Canada West surveyed 3,500 people in Calgary, Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina and Toronto. The results are considered accurate within plus or minus 1.7 percentage points 19 times out of 20. The margin of error for Calgary’s results is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
OPPOSITION CRIES Foul Over mega-mall support
The provincial agriculture ministry is backing a controversial development north of Calgary and awarded it an $8.3 million grant, according to government documents released Monday by the Liberals. The planned mega-mall and racetrack near Balzac is facing opposition over its plan to take water from the Red Deer River, and the provincial environment ministry has yet to decide whether or not it can proceed.
The documents, which include ministerial briefing notes signed by Agriculture and Food Minister George Groeneveld, indicate that the ministry supports the project because it will benefit rural Alberta and that several cabinet ministers and the treasury board have discussed it. One letter dated August of last year and signed by then-agriculture minister Doug Horner states that the multi-million dollar grant will support water infrastructure for the Balzac development.
The Liberals, who obtained the documents through an access to information request, argue that it’s a conflict of interest for the government to support the project when it also has to make a decision on its water usage. "Behind closed doors, the Stelmach government remains committed to this water transfer," Liberal leader Kevin Taft told Fast Forward.
The mall and racetrack’s water-usage plan has drawn criticism from water experts, the opposition Liberals and the town of Drumheller, which says the river can’t sustain the project’s demand and that it would ultimately take water away from people in central Alberta who depend on the river for drinking water. |
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