For years, a vocal minority of social activists have effectively dictated public policy in Canadian cities. Homeless encampments in parks and beside playgrounds have not simply been tolerated, but recharacterized as legitimate neighbourhoods to be protected. Indeed, drive around Toronto and you’ll see signs that read “I support my neighbours in tents” outside million-dollar homes, where the families who sleep inside ostensibly have private backyards to enjoy. (Lower-income families without backyards, by contrast, actually have to share public outdoor spaces with those “neighbours in tents.”)
