Let’s focus on real change, not spare change

Several municipalities across Canada (including Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Quebec City, and Vancouver) have implemented anti-panhandling by-laws. In many U.S. cities, like Chicago, Illinois, panhandling has been banned and signs are posted reminding people that begging is illegal.

Still… we all see them. Standing at corners, ready at the traffic light with squeegee in hand, holding doors for us and signs explaining why they need the cash. Sometimes we give and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we look at them and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes they make us uncomfortable and sometimes they make us laugh with their attempts at humour meant to soften our hearts and loosen our purse strings.

The law already prevents people from using abusive language, becoming violent, obstructing a pedestrian or asking for money while intoxicated. So, the question is this: what additional legislation would be needed? Isn't making panhandling illegal excessive in a community that hardly has a serious problem with it and wouldn’t a law that would result in people possibly being arrested and being jailed be going too far?

There’s no denying that the sight of people begging may not be aesthetically pleasing to some or may irk those who reluctantly are making their way to jobs they may hate in order to pay their bills. Continually being approached by panhandlers on the street – no matter how politely- can certainly be annoying. But maybe we should be annoyed. Maybe we should be annoyed enough to question what’s truly not working for this problem to persist.

As popular a response as it may be for municipal governments to introduce anti-panhandling legislation, perhaps it’s time for us all to question why the need for so many people to rely on the charity of others in order to survive has increased so drastically. Quick fix solutions don’t provide long-term solutions and turning to the criminal justice system for what is essentially a socio-economic issue will not remedy the problem. Westmount city officials are right to ponder the problem before resorting to simplistic anti-panhandling bylaws which would simply mask the problem rather than seek to address it.