Last night we went to a barbeque/birthday party for one of my wife's friends on the east side of Vancouver. On our way there we passed through the notorious East Hasting's area, known for it's open drug use and crime.
Having lived in Vancouver for only a few months, I hadn't had the "pleasure" of visiting East Hastings. It was shocking. The area reminded me of one of those end of civilization science fiction movies, only much much more depressing and horrifying because this isn't fantasy. The street was jammed with people, most of whom looked half-dead -- poorly clothed, skeletal, desperate shells of humanity. There is open drug use and prostitution. You can almost smell death down here. The buildings are boarded up and empty and disintegrating -- an entire neighbourhood in the centre of the most expensive city in Canada lost to these desperate souls. Even the most depressed neighbourhoods in Toronto (Sherbourne between Dundas and Queen, and Parkdale come to mind) can't compare with this.
That the municipal government could let this happen is equally as shocking as the neighbourhood itself. It seems morbidly ironic that this place could exist as Vancouver was ranked the best place to live in the world by the Economist. And for the fifth year in a row no less. I expect the judges weren't given a tour of East Hastings when visiting the city.
With the Olympics coming the Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments must come together to find a solution to this problem. Building more affordable housing, addiction treatment centres and other services would be a start. Leaving the area as it is would be an embarrassment to the entire country.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment