Cory Morgan: Addiction Treatment First, Housing Second a More Sensible Approach to Solving Homelessness

Commentary The city of Edmonton recently removed some troublesome tent encampments and the reaction from activists was outraged, predictable, and misguided. Every city in Canada is trying to cope with growing and increasingly dangerous homeless encampments. They’re in a difficult position as citizens and businesses demand the removal of the encampments, while activists accuse the cities of being heartless when they do. In a tent encampment in Calgary last December, several guns were found along with hundreds of grams of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Edmonton police have found that gangs are controlling many of the camps. Fires, overdoses, and assaults have become endemic in homeless camps, and residents of the camps often spread out to commit robberies in surrounding areas. Even police officers aren’t safe, as an RCMP officer was stabbed to death in a homeless camp in Burnaby....