There has been another tragedy on the Toronto transit system recently – a young teenager was murdered in what appeared to be a random stabbing by a person who has a history of violence.
This was not the first such crime committed on public transit, nor will it be the last. What sets this apart is that it happened in Toronto.
Even those of us who live in rural Ontario and rarely use public transit in cities, have the expectation of safety when we do. Public transit systems in this country are for the most part clean and well run. Granted, on occasion, someone gets on a bus or subway car and behaves in a manner that makes other passengers feel irritated or unsafe – using offensive language, eating something smelly, or getting into someone else’s personal space, for example. And on rare occasions, when the behaviour becomes confrontational, police are called and the person is removed.
What seems to be aggravating the situation in Toronto and other major Canadian cities is the growing presence on public transit of people who have some major issues.
Folks use public transit for a number of reasons, not all of which involve getting from one place to another. Unfortunately, bus shelters, subway stations, and the transit vehicles themselves are becoming places to sober up, take drugs, conduct illegal transactions of various kinds, and simply find refuge from the cold and hang out with friends.
It may well have started during the COVID pandemic, when a lot of the usual gathering places used by people living on the margins of society were closed – drop-in centres, coffee shops, public libraries, shopping malls and other public areas. Most of us just stayed home – not an option when “home” is a cot in a shelter.
It most certainly grew worse as once-affordable housing became unavailable – and unaffordable when it was available. First came the tents in the parks, which city officials in their infinite wisdom tend to remove. People who live in nice neighbourhoods want their parks free of meth heads and piles of human waste and discarded needles in the bushes. However, there is always a bus or bus shelter.
The tragic death of that boy is not a sign the police have dropped the ball and left public transit unprotected. What it is, is a resounding alarm that our vaunted social safety net has developed some gaping holes through which people are falling.
Rural Ontario does not have much in the way of public transit, but we have our own red flags. Communities that never had a problem with homelessness and addiction are seeing it now.
We have our collections of tents, grocery carts and assorted debris in parks and under bridges, people huddling under piles of blankets in shop doorways, and unusual comings and goings from garden sheds.
We also have massive and growing waiting lists for people in need of subsidized housing. This issue has law enforcement, social services and health-care aspects, but more than anything else, it is a housing problem.
It is well-nigh impossible to treat people for mental illnesses and addictions when they live on the streets. Their priority is not recovery, it is survival – a place to grab a bit of sleep or some hot coffee, even something to help them forget for a while how miserable they are. Prescribed meds do not accomplish that as effectively as the kind brewed in car trunks and motel rooms by people with more arrest warrants than teeth. Keeping an appointment with a health professional takes a distant second place to locating a sandwich.
A lot of people who live on the street have mental health and addiction issues – if not a reason they are on the street, then a result of them being there.
The answer is not more jail cells, but more subsidized housing, beds in addiction treatment facilities and, yes, psychiatric facilities.
In the meantime, police are doing the best job they can, to keep public transit safe. Bravo to them.
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Pauline Kerr is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter currently working for Midwestern Newspapers. She can be reached at pkerr@midwesternnewspapers.com.
