[Red Star]

They will sleep there at night, and huddle around there getting stoned all day. I feel like that sand will be a hazard for needles too! What a sad time this is, anything quasi decent is viewed from how much the zombies will use it as opposed to the general public.

It's sad but true. No one is really serious about solving the homeless/opioid crisis...and this is why we can't have nice things.

Glass panels on the Peace bridge? Nope
Want to sit down at a bench in C-Square in East Village? No way.
If you're a woman and want to check your phone at City Hall C-train station? Don't relax.

I have a co-worker from China and he is surprised by the amount of homeless people in Canada. He said that in Guangzhou you can walk the busy streets at any time of day and night and never feel unsafe, never see open drug use or never see homeless people.

 

[maestro]

It does feel like it. There will always be supply, even with harsher penalties, but maybe it would slow down supply enough to at least slow down the rate of new users, and help slow down the amount of new dealers? Right now there's not much of a deterrence to trafficking or supplying fentanyl. Someone got 16 years for tracking recently, but many of the sentences are like 6-10 years, which in Canada translates to about half that.

There's too much money vs an honest job for harsher penalties to discourage people to get in the business if the demand remains and also supply is in Canada. Keeping it out of Canada when a coffee can of Fentanyl is equal to a cube van of other drugs feels like an impossible endeavour.

 

[CalgaryTiger]

Where are those of you who say we need some TOD?

350 Units coming to Franklin LRT. Ground breaking in 2026.

Of note 50 per cent of the units will be at below market value, and the mix of units will include three-bedroom configurations for families.

Onward Homes selected as the developer of Franklin LRT Station TOD site - LiveWire Calgary

Onward Homes has been named the partner for the redevelopment of the land around Franklin LRT Station, the next step in the area’s revitalization. Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek and Onward Homes board chair Bryan Romanesky made the announcement on May 13, 2025, and now work begins on getting to a...

livewirecalgary.com

 

[CalgaryTiger]

I have a co-worker from China and he is surprised by the amount of homeless people in Canada.

China is pretty harsh with their unhoused and drug addicted population. That's definitely one way you can deal with it.

Edit: For those who don't know... China has some of the harshest anti-drug laws in the world. Possession or trafficking of more than 50 grams of heroin, methamphetamine, or cocaine can result in the death penalty.

Recently a Canadian citizen was sentenced to death and executed because of drug possession. So yeah China doesn't have a drug problem.

 

[Nimbus]

Not sure who is behind it, but there is a project out there for one of the blocks on 5th avenue adjacent to Riley Park looking to go 12 storeys.

 

[trtcttc]

Recently a Canadian citizen was sentenced to death and executed because of drug possession. So yeah China doesn't have a drug problem.

Should also point out they are all Chinese-Canadian dual citizens, and China is one of the countries that don't recognize dual citizenship. There's at least one known non-Chinese Canadian that was sentenced to the death penalty for alleged drug trafficking, he's still alive.

 

[Red Star]

China is pretty harsh with their unhoused and drug addicted population. That's definitely one way you can deal with it.

Edit: For those who don't know... China has some of the harshest anti-drug laws in the world. Possession or trafficking of more than 50 grams of heroin, methamphetamine, or cocaine can result in the death penalty.

Recently a Canadian citizen was sentenced to death and executed because of drug possession. So yeah China doesn't have a drug problem.

Huh...and their society doesn't have an opioid crisis. Interesting.

 

[blue12]

It's shocking how clean China manages to keep their own population from Fentanyl despite being the largest country of origin for all Fentanyl on American streets.

https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf

 

[konradiical]

well communist countries usually dont have a homelessness or drug issues (at least that are visible) to the public eye.

 

[Surrealplaces]

I don't think harsher sentences is the be all end all, but I have to believe it would help slow it down. The other side of the coin is the users, if the users are in jail or in rehab, there's less people to sell to. I suspect that's the case in countries like China. At the same time it makes you wonder how Scandinavian countries can have relaxed punishment for drug offenses, and still not have the issues we have.

 

[outoftheice]

Not sure who is behind it, but there is a project out there for one of the blocks on 5th avenue adjacent to Riley Park looking to go 12 storeys.

Are there any shadowing protections for Riley Park? I'm all for continuing to add density in this area but at the risk of sounding like a NIMBY, I also don't want to see anything that diminishes our limited inner city parks.

 

[FCC1982]

^Hear hear - I second that !

 

[Nimbus]

South side of Riley park already has those tall trees, so I think a building to the south will cause minimal shadowing during the sunniest times of the year (and some may even seek out that shade). With plenty of park to the north that can still soak up the sun. I think 12 storeys should be the max for those remaining lots on 5th.

 

[rbt]

... At the same time it makes you wonder how Scandinavian countries can have relaxed punishment for drug offenses, and still not have the issues we have.

Sweden is zero tolerance for most drug offenses, both sale/manufacture and use. Illegal drugs includes cannabis. Zero-tolerance includes driving after consuming a number of legal drugs [alcohol or even some prescription] as well. The health-care system oversees rehab which usually takes place in a distant community from where you live (both for privacy and to remove you from your sources); a prison term often follows.

Can't speak for the rest of Scandinavia.

 

[Surrealplaces]

Sweden is zero tolerance for most drug offenses, both sale/manufacture and use. Illegal drugs includes cannabis. Zero-tolerance includes driving after consuming a number of legal drugs [alcohol or even some prescription] as well. The health-care system oversees rehab which usually takes place in a distant community from where you live (both for privacy and to remove you from your sources); a prison term often follows.

Can't speak for the rest of Scandinavia.

So the prison terms are harsher in Sweden? Not disagreeing, just asking. I had been under the impression they were more lax than ours, but I might be thinking of Denmark or Norway.