The Shrine

Given our board's large Canadian population, I'd like to ask how our Northern neighbors feel about homelessness there.

I had always assumed most homeless, if not all, migrated South to the States. A Canadian winter on the streets is a death sentence for many homeless people.

But I see Canada does have native homeless as well, and there are multiple reports of a new homelessness epidemic since roughly 2002. Only Vancouver's crisis seems to be severe enough to warrant its own article; but there is an increase across the board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Vancouver

I hardly ever see homeless people, even in the big centers like Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto. It's a very uncommon site. When I do see someone, I either A. assume they're here from another country and don't know what they're doing, or B. Think the municipal government really dropped the ball. It's not that we have fewer because they can't survive the cold either - Sweden is just as cold, but has WAAAY more homeless and beggars.