Homeless camps are full of stories that justifiably tug at heartstrings: residents are destitute, often abandoned by their families, and often victims of crime. But that doesn’t mean that governments should surrender public space to maintain nylon shantytowns. Indeed, they really shouldn’t.
But that’s the suggestion of the federal housing advocate. Her name is Marie-Josée Houle, and her final report on the management of homeless camps was released earlier this month. In her report, she recommends, among many other things, a nationwide end to “forced evictions” of homeless camps.
