OPINION: 'Guelph has become a cold and mean place in recent weeks'

The comments under the article are a real shitshow.

I agree with the writer... people have a right to safety and security of the person, but homeless people have that right just as much as 'taxpayers'. People who try to make that distinction, pushing the "homeless problem away" so to speak, are creating externalities that really should be paid by those businesses. Sitting, standing or sleeping on a bench, in an alley or on a corner is not disruptive behaviour despite many characterizations as such.

People need a place to eat, sleep, and relax to keep their existence fulfilling, but not everyone has financial means to do so in a private place with a roof over their head. Every city needs an equivalent to Vancouver's CRAB park where disadvantaged people can feel like they have even a temporary spot they can call their own, where they can decide the rules for things that don't impact anyone else.