With the upcoming Winter Olympics in Vancouver mere months away, the requisite issues have come up. Particularly the issue of performance-enhancing drugs among competing athletes. But a separate drug issue has become arguably more important to an Olympic committee looking to make a good impression on a global viewing audience. So how is the city planning to deal with the squalor, homelessness, and addiction that plagues their east side?
The problem of homelessness and drug addiction has been a long-running issue in the city, where an idyllic climate and liberal drug laws have endeared it to addicts. Drive through certain parts of the city late at night and you’ll think you’ve entered some sort of zombietown. While Vancouver officials have attempted to address the issue with diplomatic sensitivity, Olympic officials are concerned about the eyesore it could cause for what is arguably the single-greatest event in Vancouver’s history.
While a study this past summer even offered free heroin to area addicts, the city has been looking for a solution to a troubling homeless population that has already been noticed by some sports media. While initial plans were for officials to empty Vancouver’s downtown east side of its homeless during the Olympics, officials now admit that their best option is to provide government-run housing and treatment programs. This noticeable homeless community, 32% of which is made up of aboriginal people, has drawn a series of recommendations from the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Adequate Housing, especially since Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics.
While the Vancouver Police Department originally considered adopting a “home for the holidays” program to effectively transport area homeless and addicts out of town, they now admit that open drug dealing and drug use will retain a presence during the upcoming Olympics. Granted, Vancouver has made some interesting innovations with these games, including billing the Games as carbon neutral. But time will tell how this concession in the face of a global audience affects Vancouver’s approach to its local problem. Either way, it should be interesting to see how the issue plays out once the world’s athletes and sports-lovers descend on the beautiful city.
Discuss
Kelvin Gawley on August 28, 2009, 3:43 AM
This demonstrates purely the flawed way of thinking we have here in BC. As if drug addicts and the homeless are posing a problem to the olympics when is quite clearly the exact opposite.
Yeah, let’s ship them out of town for two weeks so the world doesn’t have to face what’s being let happen in the name of their party. Our provincial and federal government has spent billions upon billions of dollars building venues, improving roads to venues (sea to sky highway to Whistler). And building high end accomodation for the athletes. A small amount of this money spent on affordable housing for British Columbians suffering and dying in our streets would improve the situation greatly.
Liberal drug laws? Although this may be written from the perspective of an American who is used to seeing life sentences for possesion that is still an absurd statement.
Although we as British Columbians are used to this sort of article it doesn’t make any less insulting. Instead of trying to figure out how to hide those damn addicted natives from the world why not get these Canadians the help they need and stop worrying about a dent in the profits of this party for the rich. Americans like to refer to Canada as a socialist nation but a governement that bends over backwards and hands out to big bussisness while allowing it’s citizens to suffer and die in filth and poverty isn’t exactly socialism.
Tom Burke on September 1, 2009, 10:13 PM
Check out my story on this controversial topic: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/228313-vancouver-olympics-pre-olympic-competition-is-potent
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or Register