The occupation of Allen Gardens – Toronto’s major drug problem
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
146.20877
Summary
A park in Toronto has been overtaken by a tent city and I find that disturbing. These people are abusive and seem not to recognize that they are squatting in a public park. I wish somebody would have the guts to clear this place out.
Transcript
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I'm standing here in Allen Gardens in downtown Toronto, a corner of College and Carleton,
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and it seems this park recently has been overtaken by a homeless encampment.
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There seems to be a mix of those who are addicted and Indigenous natives who are living in this park.
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In fact, the city has set up a sacred fire pit for the Indigenous to use, with no issue about fires being set in parks.
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So here we are at the beginning of the summer season, and this park has been completely overtaken by a tent city.
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These people are, as I discovered, walking through, quite abusive.
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And they seem not to recognize that they are squatting in a public park.
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Of course, this has been set up by the politicians who have enabled them to overtake a park.
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What I find especially disturbing, besides them occupying a public park,
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is that there are plenty of shelter spaces in the system at more than $200 of taxpayer money per night for them to occupy.
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But they have chosen to squat in a public park.
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Having just been to the east side of Vancouver, where the drug addicted are squatting on sidewalk after sidewalk,
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with no end in sight, I fear that the same thing is happening in Toronto.
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The media, the legacy media, turn a blind eye to it, and the politicians allow it to happen.
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I can only imagine what people who are trying to walk their dogs or just enjoy the park on a warm afternoon might feel.
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I don't see many people actually sitting here and enjoying Allen Gardens.
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And that really disturbs me, that a park can be taken over by people who are aggressive and abusive,
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This is not the city that I came to many, many years ago.
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The attitude of the people who are squatting here is that it is their God-given right to be here.
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Well, I'm sorry, it is not their God-given right.
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And I wish somebody would have the guts to clear this place out.
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And I wish somebody would have the guts to clear this place out, and I wish God-given right to be here.
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And I wish somebody would have purchased the house.
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And what I wish somebody would have the solution to the house.
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I wish they would have the guts to clear this place out.