There are all kinds of reasons people choose to settle in a city like Penticton.
You can visit any number of promotional websites that explain the weather, the scenery, the beaches, the many activities and the friendly, friendly people.
All of this can be yours.
As long as you have a place to live.
Recently the friendly, friendly city council amended its good neighbour bylaw to include a $100 fine for people sitting or lying down on certain downtown streets during prime tourist season.
The move sparked some deserved outrage by social advocates. A protest - a sit-in - was held on the weekend and drew considerable media attention.
Whether that publicity will turn out to benefit the city overall remains to be seen. It might appeal to anyone with a horror of tripping over strangers while on vacation. On the other hand Penticton will not make the Top 10 in the annual Most Compassionate Cities in Canada awards.
Numerous remarks have been made by the city’s mayor characterizing the behaviour of homeless residents as intimidating and “bad.” It’s a poor defense that promotes a stereotype and does nothing to address real issues.
Poverty is a problem. Homelessness is a problem. Mental illness and addiction are problems that are sometimes - but certainly not always - associated with poverty and homelessness.
None of these serious and painful social woes are helped in the least bit by telling a person he or she can’t sit down.
What this bylaw really says is that some individuals are unattractive and embarrassing and others would prefer not to look at them - especially in summer when everyone is trying to have a good time.
Come back in December. We’ll have a nice sidewalk waiting for you.
- The Similkameen Spotlight