Poverty Papers #3 - University of Regina

Social Policy Research Unit (SPR)
July 2009
Regina’s Ban on Panhandling
Sweeping the Poor and Homeless off the Streets
Garson Hunter
with
Adam Belton, Tanessa Johnson and Sarah Pedersen
THE SOCIAL POLICY RESEARCH UNIT
The Social Policy Research Unit (SPR) is the research arm of the Faculty of Social Work
at the University of Regina. SPR’s primary goal is to conduct critical analytical research
that will enhance the quality of life for individuals, families and communities.
SPR supports the research conducted by faculty and students in the Faculty of Social
Work. It also works with community-based organizations, government departments and
research and policy institutes so as to contribute to informed social policy and human
service developments in Saskatchewan and elsewhere. SPR disseminates research
findings through conferences, a speaker series, noon-hour seminars, the media, the Web
and publications.
SPR’s publications include an occasional paper series, a working paper series and project
reports. These publications are intended to identify research trends, initiate discussion
about policy issues, and/or serve as resources for policy development, teaching and
educational work at the university and in the community at large. SPR Occasional Papers
and SPR Working Papers are peer reviewed according to the standards followed by other
scholarly publications. SPR Project Reports are not formally peer reviewed.
Poverty Papers
As part of its project reports, SPR produces poverty papers. The papers focus upon an
aspect of poverty in society and offer analysis and perspectives for change. The views
expressed in the papers are those of the authors and not necessarily those of SPR, or the
University of Regina.
Faculty of Social Work
Education Building Room 464
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
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978-0-7731-0675-8 (online)
Revised June 2013
i
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements and Abstract .................................................................................... iii
Sweeping the Streets Clean of the Poor .............................................................................1
Regina’s Bylaws Regarding Solicitation for Gifts...........................................................14
Regina’s Panhandling Procedures....................................................................................20
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................34
Works Cited .....................................................................................................................37
Appendix A Safe Streets Act, 1999 .................................................................................42
Appendix B Safe Street Act .............................................................................................45
Appendix C Tag Day Bylaws ..........................................................................................48
Appendix D Downtown Ambassador Employment Details ............................................86
Appendix E Downtown Business Guide..........................................................................87
Appendix F Regina Streets Magazine Cover ...................................................................88
Appendix G Court Conviction for Panhandling ..............................................................89
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1: Regina Downtown Patrol Ambassador ............................................................22
Figure 2: F. W. Hill Pedestrian Mall................................................................................32
Figure 3: Monument Commemorating the On-To-Ottawa Trek and the Regina Riot ....33
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Saskatchewan Yearly Welfare Benefits by Family Type (2007) ......................12
Table 2: Regina Downtown Board of Directors ..............................................................24
Table 3: Results of Prosecution for Panhandling in Regina ............................................33
ii
Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge the kind assistance of the city of Regina officials involved with
the Tag Day Bylaw, the Regina City Solicitor, representatives of the Regina Downtown
Business Improvement District, as well as Beric German of the Toronto Disaster Relief
Committee and Toronto Street Nurse Cathy Crowe for their permission to use portions of
their work on Philip Mangano. Thank you also to Fiona Douglas and Miguel Sanchez for
their comments on this manuscript.
Garson Hunter
Associate Professor
Faculty of Social Work
University of Regina
Abstract
Since 1986, the city of Regina has had an outright ban on the poor soliciting for funds
(panhandling) in the downtown area. Using a bylaw initially created in 1960 to control
the public solicitation of funds by charities, the city expanded the bylaw to include the
poor asking for money. The city of Regina downtown business association has come to
play a major role in regulating the behaviour of panhandling with the hiring of
Downtown Patrol Ambassadors.
The treatment of panhandling by Regina city council, the Regina Police Service and the
downtown business association is placed within the larger context of the current effort to
make the poor ‘invisible’ in the metropolitan areas of North America. The weakness of
the human rights approach to social change is also identified. The paper concludes with a
question of whether the relationships among citizens in public spaces, including the
relationship with the poor, should be determined by business and commercial interests or
citizens themselves.
iii
Sweeping the Streets Clean of the Poor
This report sets out to document the wile of the Regina City Council and the Regina
Downtown Business Improvement District regarding the public solicitation of money
(commonly referred to as panhandling) in the downtown city core by the poor and
homeless. Documents will be presented that indicate that the city of Regina expanded the
scope of its 1960 public charity solicitation bylaw for the downtown area to include, in
1986, an outright ban on the poor soliciting money in the downtown area. Further, the
paper will give details of how the Regina business association hired ‘ambassadors’ to
move the poor who panhandle within the downtown out of the area and subsequently out
of public view.
Historically, the relationship between the individual and the labour market has had two
themes crucial to understanding the criminalization of certain types of poverty. 1 The first
theme has been problems related to labour control, including work discipline, and the
related issues of motivation and work force incentives. The second theme, which is of
more importance to this study, is related to the social control of those outside the labour
force. It is those not in the labour force who also pose a threat to the stability of a good
ordered work force and must be controlled by other means. For our purposes, we are
concerned with the act of panhandling by the poor and homeless.
The word ‘panhandle’ originates in the United States and dates from the 1850s. The word
may originate from the notion that the hand is stuck out like a panhandle 2 when used to
approach and obtain from a stranger assistance in the form of food, or more often, money.
The act of panhandling is itself a verb defined by Roget’s New Millennium Thesaurus 3 as
‘to beg,’ with assorted synonyms associated with panhandling, including ask alms, bum,
cadge, freeload, hit up, hold out one’s hand, hustle, live hand to mouth, mooch, pass the
hat, scrounge, solicit charity, and sponge.
In 1986, the city of Regina criminalized panhandling by the poor through a bylaw
change, but records indicate that the bylaw was never enforced through the courts.
Therefore, the question arises of why the city sought convictions against downtown
panhandlers in 2008. In answering this question, we see that the movement towards
criminalizing panhandling in Regina is actually part of a larger trend in North American
1
Peter Golding & Sue Middleton, Images of Welfare (Oxford: Martin Robertson and Company Ltd, 1982),
7.
2
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third ed., s.v. "panhandle",
http://dictionary.reference.com// (accessed January 12, 2009).
3
Roget's New Millennium Thesaurus, First ed. (v 1.3.1), s.v. "panhandle", http://thesaurus.reference.com//
(accessed January 12, 2009).
1
cities to make the poor ‘less visible.’ Consider the following examples from Toronto and
Vancouver: 4
Extreme street sweeps of homeless people and/or panhandlers, always predictable during
Olympic Games, visits by Popes and Queens and the summer tourism season are now a
matter of course and policy in many Canadian cities. 5 It may be called Housing First,
Streets to Homes, Hostels to Homes or a '10-year plan to end homelessness' in your city.
Whatever its name, it warrants closer examination.
Philip Mangano, past Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on
Homelessness and often referred to as Bush's homelessness Czar, had been travelling
North America promoting what he called a housing first policy. The biography page of
Mangano’s government web site stated of him:
He has led the application of cost benefit analysis and business planning to the
issue of homelessness. The Christian Science Monitor credited the Council for
“taking a business-school approach to the problem,” and financial magazine
Fortune, commenting on the Council’s work, said that “while applying the metrics
of business to homelessness may sound icily clinical, ultimately this is the language
of hope.” Bloomberg News noted that the new approach “offers practical solutions
to a costly problem.” 6
Mangano was a strong supporter of the Bush administration, which financially promoted
and funded his "street homeless" approach. He equated his mission with the abolition of
slavery and in regards to homelessness refers to himself as an abolitionist. When he
referred to the Republicans, who were slashing and burning social and housing programs,
he stated, "Republicans ended slavery and they'll end homelessness too."
By 2006, 220 communities across the US were adopting Mangano’s policies.
Homelessness was becoming ugly and particularly evident in the largest city centres of
commerce. The blight of panhandling and the encumbering of sidewalks became too
much and the visibility of homelessness, a national "disgrace." Mangano's voice appeared
proactive: "We are no longer content to simply manage the crisis; we're beginning to end
the disgrace." But by "end homelessness", Mangano meant: remove the visible homeless
4
To examine the various bylaws in Canadian cities concerning panhandling see, City Of Toronto, "Table
Of Canadian Bylaws Restricting Or Prohibiting Panhandling,"
http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/ex/bgrd/backgroundfile-12539.pdf / (accessed February 03,
2009).
5
The authors would like to thank and Cathy Crowe of Cathy Crowe's Newsletter #48 - Summer 2008
Newsletter, for allowing us to publish this edited version of an article “Sweep the Streets! An opinion
piece: 'Toronto adopts Bush Homeless Czar's plan: Another View of 'Streets to Homes' Programs.'”
ByBeric German.
6
Interagency Council On Homelessness, September 27, 2007, "Biography - Philip F. Mangano,"
http://www.ich.gov/mangano.html. (accessed January 19, 2009).
2
from the wealthy urban centres - simply move them out of sight. A critic from San
Francisco referred to the Bush-Mangano approach as "weapons of mass displacement"
(WMD). It is not known at this time whether the new Barak Obama administration will
change any of the policies of the Interagency Council On Homelessness outside of
recently appointing a new acting Executive Director to replace Mangano.
Like Bush, Mangano was a propagandist extraordinaire. At times you might think that he
is a housing activist, and he seems to share progressive views on "housing first". And
Mangano too, had made strong statements on radio and elsewhere that punitive police
approaches didn’t work. The Mangano show travelled the continent, city after city, with
both Canada and the US taking up his vision. It helped that he had a strong showbiz
background. He was the agent and the manager of the famous musical groups Peter, Paul
and Mary, and Buffalo Springfield. Mangano's plan - that of cleaning up cities'
downtown cores - has now been packaged and sold at the expense of responsive
initiatives for homelessness and poverty. In Canada, the ongoing consultations around
poverty reduction taking place are cheap and insulting when the government continues to
ignore communities that ask, "Where is the raise in welfare? Where is the housing?
Where is the employment insurance? Where is the higher minimum wage?", as responses
to poverty and homelessness.
Canada's response to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Eleventh session,
Agenda item 6; Universal Periodic Review: Report of the Working Group on the
Universal Periodic Review Canada is instructive. Section II Conclusions and/or
Recommendations of the review of Canada lists under recommendation number 17 that
Canada: "Develop a national strategy to eliminate poverty." Canada's response (June 05,
2009) to this recommendation from the United Nations Human Rights Council was:
Canada does not accept recommendation 17 or the related recommendation from
Ghana to develop a national strategy to eliminate poverty. Provinces and
territories have jurisdiction in this area of social policy and have developed their
own programs to address poverty. For example, four provinces have
implemented poverty reduction strategies. The Government of Canada supports
these measures, notably through benefits targeting children and seniors. These
efforts have had a positive impact: low-income rates for seniors, women and
children have fallen considerably in the past decade. 7
The argument that Canada does not have a national responsibility to eliminate poverty,
since under the BNA Act and the Canada Constitution Act it is a provincial responsibility
to eliminate poverty, is without merit. The federal government has been involved in
program funding for poverty programs in Canada for decades. It is the second point that
is of concern. Poverty reduction in Canada has been used as a euphemism by provincial
governments to continue dismantling welfare programmes established under the previous
national/provincial Canada Assistance Plan and use the phrase "poverty reduction" to
7
http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/inter/101-eng.cfm
3
continually marginalize and reduce eligibility and/or benefits of social assistance
programmes. Now the federal government is using poverty reduction as an excuse for
rejecting a call from the United Nations Human Rights Council for the elimination of
poverty in Canada.
Unfortunately, the debate around inequality in Canada has become dominated by the
poverty reduction mantra. It is one thing for governments to adjust their social assistance
'workfare' schemes under the banner of poverty reduction to further establish a residual
welfare state, but quite another for so-called anti-poverty groups to take up the call.
Campaign 2000, the National Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, the
National Council of Welfare, the Canadian Council on Social Development and
numerous other groups in Canada advocate for governments to bring in poverty reduction
schemes. Indeed, any government in Canada that has announced a poverty reduction
agenda in their welfare programs (Québec, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick
and Ontario) are cheered out of hand by Campaign 2000 with no critical analysis of what
is actually being done to the welfare programs. When asked about popular group support
(as opposed to advocacy groups) for poverty reduction schemes in the US, the Director of
the Poor Peoples Economic Rights Campaign (PPEHRC) responded, "Which one child
should a mother be asked to have his or her poverty reduced in the next four years and
which of her other children will just have to wait?" 8 The poor have a different analysis of
poverty and a different vision for its ending than the advocacy groups. Economic social
justice, not amelioration, should be our goal with the poor. Poverty is violence, but you
will not hear an advocacy group in Canada call, for example, for battered spouse
reduction. Reduction advocacy speaks to our society’s ease in tolerating the violence of
poverty.
Dominique Clement 9 mentions that most civil liberty and human rights groups are not
representative of the populations for whom they speak. Although they claim to speak on
behalf of everyone, often the constituent populations have little interest in joining these
organizations. Many civil liberty and human rights organizations adopt a strategy of
elitism; i.e., litigation, lobbying and use of the media, which are tactics that do not require
mass mobilization. Elitism eschews endeavors to mobilize constituencies to take direct
action.
The approach of the largest national anti-poverty advocacy groups in Canada is the
opposite of the PPEHRC approach in the US. Rather than reduction:
The emphasis on ending poverty is important. For business and industry, poverty is
the raw material in the productive enterprise. The vision and program of most
8
Cheri Honkala Director, interview by Authors, November 12, 2008, transcript, Poor Peoples Economic
Human Rights Campaign.
9
Dominique Clément, Canada's Rights Revolution: Social Movements and Social Change, 1937-82
(Vancouver: UBC Press, 2008). Discussion with Dr. Clément about his definition of elitism conducted
through email exchange on March 16, 2009.
4
advocates and policymakers involve “reducing” poverty or “ameliorating” its
effects while “managing” it through economic and social service instruments. 10
(emphasis in original)
Poverty reduction advocacy, as carried out in Canada, smacks of elitism and
demonstrates no understanding of the violence of poverty or inequality. As the current
recession deepens, we are left with an inadequate welfare system reduced by an assault of
neo-liberal and neo-conservative ideology adopted nation-wide to ride out what growing
human misery the economic disaster will bring.
This report documents that the city of Regina, in contrast to many other cities in
Saskatchewan and Canada, has an outright ban on panhandling in the downtown area.
However, Regina’s bylaw on panhandling is very unclear not only to the public, but for
City Council, the police and merchants as well. Before looking at the confusion
surrounding Regina panhandling bylaw, two other major Canadian areas that have
province-wide Acts governing panhandling are examined. One is the province of Ontario,
selected because it chose a provincial rather than a municipal approach to the regulation
of panhandling. The other region examined is the city of Vancouver, which is selected
because it also has provincial legislation but deals with panhandling in a similar fashion
to Regina. The similarities between Vancouver and Regina are the involvement of their
downtown business associations in regulating panhandling and the use of patrol
ambassadors.
Ontario’s panhandling law, when first introduced, was different from the treatment of
panhandling in the municipalities within Canada. The government of Ontario introduced
province-wide legislation concerning panhandling rather than municipalities developing
their own bylaws. Ontario’s legislation regulating panhandling was introduced in 1999
and is referred to as the Safe Streets Act (the Act is included as Appendix A). Until then,
municipalities had dealt with panhandling through individual by-laws. 11 British Columbia
has also introduced provincial legislation regarding panhandling in that province (See
Appendix B). As Hermer and Mosher note, “the Safe Streets Act is a particularly
aggressive example of anti-homeless and panhandling legislation that has become
popular in the United States and to a lesser extent in Canada.” 12 Ontario’s provincial
legislation is examined later in this study within the context of the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms. Some good work has been done in this area within the book
Disorderly People: Law and the Politics of Exclusion in Ontario.
10
Mary Bricker-Jenkins, Willie Baptist, Sarah Gentry, Marsha Johnson & Corrine Novak, "That History
Becomes You: Slave Narratives and Today's Movement to End Poverty," in The Strengths Perspective in
Social Work Practice, ed. Dennis Saleebey (New York: Pearson Education Inc, 2006), 224.
11
Joe Hermer and Janet Mosher, “Introduction.” In Disorderly People: Law and the Politics of Exclusion
in Ontario, eds. Joe Hermer and Janet Mosher, (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2002), 12.
12
Ibid, 11.
5
Vancouver’s poor have also experienced a similar aggressive policy to clean the
downtown area of poor people who panhandle and/or are homeless. The Downtown
Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA) has hired Downtown
Ambassadors whose job is to ‘move along’ the homeless and/or panhandling population
from the commercial area of DVBIA businesses. The city of Vancouver and the DVBIA
contracted the private security firm of Genesis Security to perform this function. The
security firm carries out actions such as asking the panhandlers and homeless to ‘move
along,’ stop searching in garbage cans for recyclables, and identifies certain individuals
as undesirable, restricting them from so-called ‘no go areas’ as well as following and
photographing them. Commenting on the behaviour of the Genesis Security firm, David
Dennis, the Vice President of the United Native Nations organization, states that the
security outfit specifically and therefore discriminately targets panhandling by aboriginal
people and the disabled. 13 In response, the PIVOT Legal Society, the Vancouver Area
Network of Drug Users (VANDU) and the United Native Nations organizations have
filed a human rights complaint against the city of Vancouver, the DVBIA and Geoff
Plant in his role as Civil City Commissioner. 14 The nature of the complaint argues that
the ambassadors routinely tell homeless people to ‘move along’ regardless of their
location. Such practice denies them equal access to public space and is therefore
discriminatory as many homeless people are Aboriginal and people with disabilities.
Closer to the city of Regina, Saskatchewan’s other city with a population of over
200,000, the city of Saskatoon, has a panhandling bylaw (July 14, 2003) which stipulates
the following regulations on panhandling behaviour:
DISTANCE RESTRICTION
Within 10 meters of:
a) financial institutions
b) automated bank machines
c) a bus stop or bus shelter
AGGRESSIVE PANHANDLING RESTRICTIONS
No person shall panhandle at any time on a street, sidewalk, or other public place in
a coercive manner.
OTHER TYPES OF RESTRICTIONS
Shall not engage in panhandling a person who is in a motor vehicle.
13
PIVOT, July 17, 2008, "Groups Say DVBIA, Civil City Actions Discriminatory,"
http://www.pivotlegal.org/News/08-07-17--DowntownAmbassadors.html. (accessed August 28, 2008).
14
PovNet, "Groups File Human Rights Complaint Against Vancouver Business Association,"
http://www.povnet.org/node/2825/ (accessed August 29, 2008).
6
SPECIFIC FINE MIN./MAX
1ST: $100
2ND: $250
3RD: up to $10,000
In default of payment of a fine, a term of imprisonment of not more than 1 year.
Looking at the Saskatoon bylaw, it is difficult to understand the justification for the
distance restrictions. The Saskatoon bylaw is similar to Ontario’s Safe Streets Act (1999)
and British Columbia’s Safe Street Act (2004), but what have distance restrictions to do
with public safety? As Moon argues:
The most that can be said about these regulations is that they seek to protect
members of the public from communication by a beggar (aggressive or not) in
situations where contact with her/him is difficult to avoid or escape from quickly or
where the “beggee” may feel more embarrassed by her/his refusal to give. The
problem to which these regulations respond is not physically aggressive or
intimidating or harassing begging but rather the feeling of invasion or discomfort
that the passer-by may feel when confronted by, or even when confronted with,
beggars. 15
Most panhandling is non-aggressive or even polite. Canada already has laws that address
behaviours that are physically aggressive or threatening. Bylaws that include distance
restriction clauses have nothing to do with public safety. The main purpose of distance
regulation clauses in panhandling bylaws has more to do with regulating behaviours
found uncomfortable to some than with public safety or the flow of people and traffic.
Further, the safety of panhandlers is not addressed by the various acts and bylaws in
Canada.
As with welfare reform, the reform of the streets has been undertaken in the name
of the public, with the express goal of making the streets safe for the public. But
this is not an inclusive public; the streets are not being made safe for those who are
actually threatened on the streets, the homeless. 16
Panhandling restrictions are concerned with the commercial interests of business, by
attempting to guarantee the consumer as pleasant as possible a shopping or tourist
excursion.
15
Richard Moon, "Keeping the Streets Safe from Free Expression," in Disorderly People: Law and the
Politics of Exclusion in Ontario, eds. Joe Hermer and Janet Mosher (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2002),
75.
16
Janet Mosher, “The Shrinking of the Public and Private Spaces of the Poor,” in Disorderly People: Law
and the Politics of Exclusion in Ontario, eds. Joe Hermer and Janet Mosher (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing,
2002), 51.
7
Of course, that is the issue. Do public spaces such as downtown core areas belong solely
to business and commercial interests, or do they belong to the public, all the public, for
whatever purposes they choose as they exercise their rights as laid out in the United
Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms? People understand that shopping malls, movie theatres and many recreational
facilities are private enterprises, but do public spaces belong to the public or do they not?
History provides lessons when public space conflicts with commercial interest.
The act of restricting public access to public land to serve commercial interests is as old
as capitalism and industrialism itself.
Enclosure (the enclosures of open fields and conversions of arable land to pasture during
the earlier Tudor period in England) has been called a revolution of the rich against the
poor. 17 The lords and nobles were upsetting the social order, breaking down ancient law
and custom, sometimes by means of violence, often by pressure and intimidation. They
were literally robbing the poor of their share in the common, tearing down the houses
which, by the hitherto unbreakable force of custom, the poor had long regarded as theirs
and their heirs. The fabric of society was being disrupted; desolate villages and the ruins
of human dwellings testified to the fierceness with which the revolution raged,
endangering the defenses of the country, wasting its towns, decimating its population,
turning its overburdened soil into dust, harassing its people and turning them into a mob
of beggars and thieves. The king, his council, the chancellors and the bishops struggled
against depopulation and defended the welfare of the community against this "scourge."
The second trail of strength that emerged a hundred years later was different though, for
this time the enclosures were more often wealthy country gentlemen and merchants as
opposed to lords and nobles. The government of the Crown run for nobles was replaced
by a government that was being lead by an economic class - the class which brought in
and prospered from industrial and commercial progress. 18 That class was the capitalists,
and those who employed the rising middle class. Enclosure was to lead the way for one
of the most profound upheavals in society, the Industrial Revolution. With
industrialization a new creed emerged, one that was completely materialistic. Polanyi’s
great insight, the great transformation of his book, was the emergence of the domination
of markets over all other social activities. With that came the need to change the
fundamental relationships in society. The secondary importance of markets to the primary
importance of social relationships was reversed, and social relationships became
submerged within the economic system. The market economy could only exist in a
market society, where everything is available for barter, truck and exchange. Several
commentators suggest that the criminalization of poverty, in a less extreme manner, is
still a tenant of current social welfare policy. 19 20 21 22
17
Karl Polanyi, The Great Transformation (Boston: Beacon Press, 1957).
18
Ibid, 38.
19
Golding and Middleton, Images of Welfare. (Oxford: Martin Robertson and Company ltd, 1982).
8
Certainly not all commentators share a jaundiced eye towards the market system and
capitalist relations; indeed, some social policy writers see the capitalist market system as
the principal (which it may currently be) and effective (now that is debatable) way to
meet human need. The University of California American welfare professor Neil Gilbert
states:
…we must begin by recognizing that the market is a marvellous mechanism. Who
in full possession of their senses would choose to live in the pork-barrel aesthetics
of public housing over privately designed architecture, tailored to individual tastes,
or to dine at the buffet of a state-run restaurant over a private table at Chez Panisse?
Whose children would rather be taken to the state-run fair than to Disneyland?
There is much to appreciate about the free market for material consumption within
the domain of commercial life. Those who rail against the free market should try
celebrating their anniversary at a restaurant in Moscow. 23
One wonders if Professor Gilbert really thinks that the almost one billion people on this
planet that live with constant hunger 24 would really object to dining at the state
‘smorgasbord’ or if the hundreds of millions of those homeless or living in substandard
housing would not prefer public housing over surviving on shacks built upon public
waste sites? This content passes as ‘debate’ in the current social work literature which is
produced by a major publishing house. When turning to those who would be imagined to
help, social workers and the institutions of education and professional associations, the
poor and homeless may be in some trouble. Regardless of his motivation for writing such
nonsense, the capitalist economic system is a clear disaster for the majority of the
planet’s human population, the planet’s environment and for many of the planet’s plants
and wildlife. And it is not as if the countries with the hungry and the homeless have been
in a position to do anything to improve the economic environment.
Hudson 25 clearly documents how the US food aid program was designed under the
Eisenhower administration to develop US agricultural exports and not to develop farm
20
Reuben Hasson, "The Cruel War: Social Security Abuse in Canada," Canadian Taxation 3 (1981).
21
Dianne Martin, "Passing the Buck: Prosecution of Welfare Fraud; Preservation of Stereotypes," Windsor
Yearbook of Access to Justice 12 (1992).
22
Alec Pemberton, "Discipline and Pacification in the Modern Administrative State: The Case of Welfare
Fraud," Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare 17 (1990).
23
Neil Gilbert, Transformation of the Welfare State: The Silent Surrender of Public Responsibility (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 187-188.
24
Jeremy Seabrock, The No-Nonsense guide to World Poverty (Toronto: Between The Lines, 2003), 33.
25
Michael Hudson, Super Imperialism: The Origins and Fundamentals of U.S. World Dominance (London:
Pluto Press, 2003), 229-238.
9
sectors in countries receiving the aid. As the World Bank evolved into a development
lending institution, the mechanisms of the World Bank lending requirements resulted in
its administrators demanding “…that loan recipients pursue a policy of economic
dependency, above all on the United States as food supplier.” 26 It is easy to blame the
people of the poor countries but it is quite another to question the nature of their despotic
governments and the imposition by World Bank and the International Monetary Fund on
those countries of structural adjustment programs (without missing a beat now referred to
as poverty reduction programs 27) that required them to open their domestic markets to
competition, deregulate their financial structures, devalue their currencies, privatise their
utilities (water, electricity, telecommunications) and reduce public spending on welfare
state programs (health care, social services, education, nutrition). 28
The city of Regina information website informs the visitor:
Regina is a beautiful oasis on the prairies with more than 350,000 hand-planted
trees. There are many attractions and events that take place all year in Regina for
residents and tourists alike. This welcoming prairie city is the perfect place to call
home. It is an excellent location to raise a family, with an abundance of parks,
sports and recreational facilities, bicycle pathways, family attractions and an
exceptional quality of life. Regina is known for its generous, friendly people and
rich community pride, fuelled by the I Love Regina campaign. Whether you are
just visiting or looking to relocate, discover our great city and enjoy it every step
of the way. 29
The city had a population of 194,971 in 2006 according to Statistics Canada; and
“Regina’s resource based economy is fuelled by agriculture, oil and gas production and
development, as well as telecommunications.” 30
Due to increased development of oil and gas production in the province, the city has been
faced with a housing crisis with which it cannot cope. Commenting in the local CanWest
Global Communications media giant newspaper, city councillors decided to pass the
problem up to higher levels of government with Councillor Wade Murray, quoted as
saying, "This is more than just the city can handle." 31 And with respect to buying a house,
26
Ibid, 381.
27
International Monetary Fund, October, 2008, "The Poverty Reduction And Growth Facility (prgf),"
http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/prgf.htm. (accessed January 19, 2009).
28
Wayne Ellwood, The No-Nonsense guide to Globalization (Toronto: Between The Lines, 2001), 45-52.
29
City Of Regina, 2008, "City Of Regina Facts," http://www.regina.ca/Page197.aspx/ (accessed January 21,
2009).
30
Ibid, 198.
31
Veronica Rhodes, "City asks for help in rental crisis," Regina Leader Post, August 14 2008, sec. A, 5.
10
“Over the last 10 years, the average price of an urban bungalow in Regina shot up by 226
per cent - the largest price increase in the country for that type of property.” 32
According to the Fall 2008 rental housing report produced by Canada Mortgage and
Housing Corporation (CMHC), the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Regina
was $634 per month, $756 per month for two bedrooms and $908 for three bedrooms;
and the rental affordability indicator in Regina standing at 93 for 2008, the lowest level of
affordability on record. 33
In dealing with the housing crisis, the province of Saskatchewan has an inadequate
welfare system, especially during a time of inflationary rental housing costs.
Saskatchewan actually has two welfare systems, the Saskatchewan Assistance Plan
whose policies were developed to be more in line with the defunct Canada Assistance
Plan (1966-1996), and the Transitional Employment Allowance, styled more along the
lines of ‘work for welfare.’ 34 The table below indicates the yearly income for different
family structures from welfare in Saskatchewan: 35
Table 1: Saskatchewan Yearly Welfare Benefits by Family Type (2007)
BASIC
Additional
SOCIAL
SA
Federal
Provincial
Federal
Provincial
Total
ASSISTANCE
Program
Child Tax
Child
GST
Tax
(SA)
Benefits
benefit
Benefit
Credit
Credits
Income
1
$8,765
$0
$240
$101
$9,105
2
$8,570
$840
$257
$105
$9,772
3
$11,307
$0
$4,435
$0
$593
$210
$16,545
4
$15,001
$215
$6,244
$0
$716
$368
$22,544
1 = Single employable; 2 = person with a disability; 3 = Lone parent/one child; 4 = Couple, two children
Using the above figures, a single person with a yearly provincial and federal programs
income of $9,105 would have a monthly income of ($9,105 / 12 months) of $759 dollars.
With an average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Regina of $634 dollars, the
individual would have $125 a month to live on after paying rent. Obviously, the poor
32
Trevor Newell, "Booming Bungalows: Urban house values more than double in a decade," Regina
Leader Post, June 04 2008, sec. D, 1.
33
Rental Market Report: Regina CMA (Ottawa: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Housing
Market Information, Fall 2008), Government of Canada.
34
For more see Garson Hunter and Dionne Miazdyck, "Current Issues Surrounding Poverty and Welfare
Programming in Canada: Two Reviews," in Social Fabric or Patchwork Quilt, eds. Raymond Blake and
Jeffrey Keshen (Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2006).
35
Report Welfare Incomes 2006-2007 (Ottawa: National Council Of Welfare), 24, Government of Canada,
Winter 2008 Volume #128.
11
need to make other living arrangements to survive. And some may turn to other forms of
income generation, including panhandling, to supplement their federal/provincial income
supports.
Housing for lower income citizens does not appear to be as big a spending priority in
Regina as a new sports/entertainment facility. Commenting on a perceived need for a new
stadium in Regina, Mayor Pat Fiacco’s thoughts were given in the local newspaper:
He's [Fiacco] in favour of a new facility which would be more than just a football
stadium. He wants to see a venue built that could play host to everything from
sporting events to concerts to trade shows.
"(Building new) provides more opportunities for citizens," Fiacco says. "When I
talk to kids in elementary schools and high schools and to university students about
the future of this community, I realize we're not going to do this for us. It's about
the future.”
"This is about the community. It's not about the Saskatchewan Roughriders alone.
It's bigger than that. This is about building community." 36 (emphasis in the
original)
In the article, the mayor estimates the cost of a new stadium to be between $300 and $350
million dollars (all large construction projects have cost overruns, so it would be prudent
to add an extra one-third to the final cost of the stadium). The mayor states, however,
that he does not think Regina taxpayers will be asked to pay the whole shot, as “I’m
expecting the private sector to step up to the plate.” 37 In relationship to recreation
facilities, affordable social housing appears to be much less a priority than a new stadium.
Quoted in the same local newspaper one month later, Mayor Fiacco states that just over
$1 million in expenditures is being considered for housing in Regina. 38 Pending city
council approval, three housing projects will receive funding out of the $1,020,000
proposed funding. A total of $400,000 will go towards a 40-unit mixed housing project
designed for people living with chronic mental health conditions. Habitat for Humanity
Regina will receive $90,000 in funding and a city-owned residential lot to assist with the
construction of nine homes in the inner city. Finally, the Saskatchewan Housing
Corporation (a government corporation under the Ministry of Social Services) will
receive $530,000 towards the cost of constructing 14 townhouses and 39 apartments.
The mayor is quoted as saying, “It’s 102 new affordable housing units that are going to
be built as a result of city council support…I think that speaks volumes.”
36
Ian Hamilton, "Renovate, rebuild or relocate?" Regina Leader Post, February 21, 2009, sec. A, 1.
37
Ibid.
38
Joe Couture, "City ponders funds for housing," Regina Leader Post, March 18 2009, sec. A, 3.
12
Although not stated in the article, a significant portion of additional funding to complete
the housing initiatives would come from the provincial and most likely federal
governments under existing housing expenditure agreements with municipalities. As it
remains, it is a spending ratio of 350 to 1 in support of stadium expenditures over social
housing expenditures. Furthermore, there is no indication that the three levels of
government are ready to contribute to the housing projects. These proposed housing
initiatives have been put off three times by the city of Regina’s Executive Committee at
the time of this writing. In a rather public feud carried on in a newspaper article between
Mayor Fiacco and the Saskatchewan Minister of Social Services, Donna Harpauer
(Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Housing Corporation), the mayor stated:
“We’ve done a lot,” Fiacco said, noting funding approved for 100 – plus units.
“But it would have been nice for the province to at least be a partner with us.
That doesn’t seem to be the minister’s interest right now, and that’s too bad.” 39
For her part, the minister responded, “The municipal levels of government have authority
to have their own policies and incentive programs.” It would appear difficult for the city
to do so, however, without funding from the provincial and perhaps federal governments.
The difficulty appears to arise from tax incentives for construction. According to
Harpauer, the federal government appears to be no longer interested in using tax
incentives as an approach to housing construction, and the provincial government does
not appear to be willing to use its own provincial sales tax to create building incentives.
Regina Councillor Fred Clipsham is quoted in the article as stating that the province has
assumed responsibility for allocating federal housing dollars and the Minister should be
“…getting her department into the game instead of making excuses why she isn’t.”
Using the sports metaphor, the ‘game’ now stands at nothing-nothing. The stadium has
yet to be built although business association support for the plan has been suggested by
the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District and the Regina and District
Chamber of Commerce; with the province driving the discussion around the new stadium
construction. Housing for the poor has … well the goodwill of the citizens behind it.
Regina’s Bylaws Regarding Solicitation for Gifts
The city of Regina has an unusual manner of regulating panhandling through its own
municipal legislation. In actuality, the city uses legislation designed in 1960 to control
the behaviour of charities, the so-called Tag Day Bylaw, and applies revised versions of
the original bylaw to panhandling as well. Again, the Tag Day Bylaw was a piece of
municipal legislation created and designed to deal with charities. And it is this bylaw that
has been used to charge panhandlers in Regina with breaking a municipal ordinance
designed for charities wishing to solicit funds on public space. It is not clear what was
meant from the original use of the word Tag, whether it meant a) to touch someone to ask
them for money or b) a label attached for identification. Whichever, such action by
charities in Regina became known as “Tag Day” (all materials from the city of Regina
pertaining to the Tag Day Bylaw are included in this document as Appendix C – To assist
39
Joe Couture, "Housing policy stalled again," Regina Leader Post, April 17, 2009, sec. A, 5.
13
in referencing, each document page received in this Appendix has been numbered from
1-38 in the bottom left). An examination of the genesis of Regina’s Tag Day Bylaw will
assist in explaining how it has been employed to charge panhandlers with committing an
offence.
City of Regina Bylaw No 3336, passed May 17, 1960, established the Tag Day Bylaw
whose purpose was “…regulating the taking of public contributions on the streets or
public places of the city of Regina.” 40 Bylaw 3336 states:
Whereas the practice has grown up of soliciting contributions of money for
patriotic, benevolent and other purposes upon the streets of Regina by means of
the holding of Tag days; and whereas the Council of the city of Regina deems it
expedient to regulate and control the soliciting of contributions from the public on
behalf of any cause, whether patriotic, benevolent or otherwise; a Board, known
as “The Board to Regulate the taking of Public Contributions”, is hereby
constituted. 41
Bylaw number 3336 had the official title of A Bylaw of the City of Regina For the
Purpose of Regulating the Taking of Public Contributions on the Streets or Public Places
of The City of Regina. Since 1960 several changes have been made to the bylaw to
facilitate a less cumbersome process.
The original bylaw (3336) gave authority to a Board [mayor, chief of police, president of
the Regina Chamber of Commerce] to approve charity applications for a Tag Day. The
charity receiving approval had to publish that approval in a city of Regina newspaper,
wear a badge indicating that it had the authority to solicit funds, and only be allowed 12
permits in any given year. A violation of the bylaw would result, if convicted, of either a
penalty not exceeding $100 or commitment to a jail, guard room of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police or to a public lock-up up to, but not exceeding, 30 days. In 1983, the
bylaw (3336) was amended by bylaw 7477 to allow two Tag Days in one month, but no
more than 24 Tag Days in a calendar year. Again, in 1985, bylaw 3336 was amended
with bylaw 7968. This amendment was introduced to address the wish of charities to
hold their Tag Days during periods of milder weather but not during the summer months
due to family vacations. The bylaw therefore removed the restriction of no more than two
Tag Days per month, but still limited the number of Tag Days to no more than 24 per
year. At this time, the Tag Day Bylaw was operating under the authority of section 157
of the Urban Municipality Act of 1983-1984, c. U-11. Bylaw 8292 of August 1986, now
gave the bylaw the official title of Tag Day Bylaw. A major change in the bylaw was to
allow a designate to appear in place of the mayor, chief of police and the president of the
Chamber of Commerce. Another major change to the bylaw at this time was the penalty,
which increased to a fine upon conviction of up to $2,000 for an individual, $5,000 for a
40
Appendix C, 48.
41
Ibid.
14
corporation or, in default of payment, an individual could be imprisoned for up to 90
days. This bylaw also ended the previous bylaw numbers 7477 and 3336.
There is an interesting attachment to bylaw 8282 - the Tag Day Bylaw. Contained within
it is the only mention ever within any city of Regina bylaw documents pertaining to the
Tag Day that individual solicitation of money (panhandling) is a crime. 42 The abstract of
the document states:
The purpose of the change in the bylaw is to allow a designate of the Mayor, Chief
of Police or President of the Chamber of Commerce to appear in their place. In
addition, the bylaw will help to control beggars in the downtown who were
annoying the public and local merchants. 43
Up to and including August of 2008, 44 officials with the city of Regina insist that Regina
has no bylaw that speaks to panhandling and only has a bylaw to govern the behaviour of
charities. A city official is quoted in the local newspaper as explaining that “…the bylaw
was intended to be used for charitable purposes but was recently used by someone
wanting to panhandle.” 45 However, that position appears difficult to attenuate given the
statement quoted above from the abstract to bylaw 8292 of August 1986. The Prohibition
of bylaw 3336 (1960) reads quite differently from the prohibition of bylaw 8292
(1986) 46:
3336 (10)
No person, society or organization shall solicit contributions from the public on the
streets, sidewalks, and other public places in the City of Regina, on behalf of any
person, cause or organization until a permit to do so has been obtained as
hereinbefore provided.
8292 (9)
No person shall solicit or collect gifts or charitable donations, whether in the form
of money, merchandise or otherwise, on any street or other public place without a
Tag Day permit issued pursuant to this bylaw.
The addition of the coordinating conjunction of or between no person shall solicit gifts
[money] or a charitable donation that distinguishes the reading of bylaw 8292 from
42
See Appendix C, 59.
43
Ibid.
44
City of Regina Officials for Tag Day Administration, interview by authors, August, 2008.
45
Veronica Rhodes, "Tag day bylaw put to new use," Regina Leader Post, June 19, 2008.
46
See Appendix C, 49 & 57.
15
bylaw 3339. Bylaw 8292 speaks to two acts: soliciting money for/by a person and
soliciting money for/by a charity. The City Clerk is correct that the Tag Day Bylaw was
created to deal with charities and not panhandling; however, the changes of 1986 do
appear to broaden the scope of the Tag Day Bylaw to also apply not only to charities but
panhandling as well.
In March 1990, the bylaw was changed to remove the requirement of charities to publish
their Tag Days in a newspaper, and the committee structure of the Tag Day approval
board was changed. The mayor, chief of police and president of the Chamber of
Commerce (or designates) no longer had to sit on the approval board, and this function
was to be moved to the City of Regina Finance and Administration Committee (now
bylaw 9001, but the name of the bylaw did not change). In March 1995, the structure of
approval for Tag Day permits was again changed (now bylaw 9687). It was now felt that,
to relieve council meetings from being “…unnecessarily burdened with items” that could
be handled by Committees, the City Clerk now be given authority to issue Tag Day
permits and appeals to those permits be heard by the Finance and Administration
Committee. 47 It was also decided in 1997 that the city should only involve itself in
providing permits to those who were going to be “tagging” on public property. In April
2006, the Executive Committee of the city of Regina passed a motion that the city
solicitor bring forward a motion in the future to create an omnibus bylaw called The
Regina Anti-Social Behaviour Bylaw. 48 To be included in the bylaw as anti-social
behaviour was soliciting for money (panhandling).
The attempt to put panhandling into the category of anti-social behaviour, along with
bullying and fighting, graffiti, littering, loitering in parks, noise and obstruction of traffic,
is not unique to Regina. No less an institution that Canada’s national statistics agency
has done the same thing. In July 2008, Statistics Canada published “A profile of
perceptions of incivility in the metropolitan landscape.” 49 This report defined two types
of incivility: 1) physical incivility, including garbage or litter lying around or vandalism,
graffiti and other deliberate damage to property or vehicles, and 2) social incivility such
as noisy neighbours or loud parties, people hanging around on the streets, people sleeping
on the streets or other public places, people using or dealing drugs, people being drunk or
rowdy in public places and prostitution.50 The Statistics Canada report cautions the
reader:
These incivilities remind us that crime might be all around us and could potentially
intrude into our lives. For instance, garbage and litter strewn on the streets may
47
Appendix C, 69.
48
Appendix C, 79-85.
49
Leslie-Anne Keown, A profile of perceptions of incivility in the metropolitan landscape (Ottawa:
Statistics Canada), Government of Canada, Catalogue no. 11-008-X.
50
Ibid, 3.
16
serve as an indication that an area is not well cared for and that it may encourage
illegal activities like drug dealing; as such, the place may seem threatening and
increase our concern for our safety. 51
The connection between littering and illegal drug dealing is therefore made clear.
What is at issue is connecting the behaviours of what some poor people and homeless
people do to survive (panhandling, sleeping in open urban areas) to illegal activity. In the
case of the city of Regina, bullying and fighting are not of the same type as panhandling,
nor is panhandling an anti-social behaviour. The same holds for aggregating the acts of
the poor with illegal behaviour. Homelessness and sleeping on the streets are not of the
same type as dealing illegal drugs, nor is being homeless an act of incivility. Being poor
is not a crime, although there are often efforts to make it so. In December 2007, the
Executive Committee passed a motion, based upon the city solicitor’s report, not to
proceed with the bylaw. As a result, Regina still enforces its existing Tag Day Bylaw.
Indeed, Regina’s Tag Day Bylaw may be a violation of Canadian law. The authors of this
study are hesitant to bring the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms into this
discussion. To quote Richard Moon: “When poverty activists resort to the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedoms things can not be going very well. The Charter of
Rights will not eliminate poverty or gross disparities of wealth. It will not ensure that
affordable housing is provided to those in need. All it may be able to do is to protect the
individual’s right to ask for help, to beg in the streets.” 52 One of the authors of this study
is quoted in the Supreme Court Law Review journal as arguing:
According to Hunter’s perspective, advocacy based on the Charter fails to empower
the poor to address their own issues. It moves the debate from the “streets” to the
halls of the powerful and influential, where they meet with limited results. 53
When examining the city of Regina Tag Day Bylaw, strong arguments exist from other
jurisdictions in Canada that banning panhandling outright it is a violation of the Charter,
and it is cautiously observed that the Charter could be, at this time, an avenue open for
use on behalf of the poor. By circumstances, the poor do not have a bevy of lawyers and
lobbyists to make their case to governments and law makers. Therefore, the Charter may
be one tool to use to have some balance between the power of governments and the
disorganization of the poor. And of course, there is the weakness of the human rights
approach to social change. What is being asked for is not the elimination of
51
Ibid, 2.
52
Richard Moon, "Keeping the Streets Safe from Free Expression," in Disorderly People: Law and the
Politics of Exclusion in Ontario, eds. Joe Hermer and Janet Mosher (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 2002),
65.
53
Josephine Savarese and Bonnie Morton, "The Influence of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms on Social Justice Advocates in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan," The Supreme Court Law
Review 36 (2007): 297.
17
homelessness or poverty. Rather, all that is being asked for is the right to beg for money
on the streets.
PovNet, an online resource for advocates, people on welfare, and community groups and
individuals involved in anti-poverty work, identifies section 2 (b) and
section 7 of the Charter as protecting an individual’s right to panhandle. 54 Section 2 (b)
of the Charter, under the heading of “Fundamental Freedoms”, states that everyone has
fundamental freedoms, including “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression,
including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” 55 56 Section 7 of the
Charter, under the heading of “Legal Rights”, states: “Everyone has the right to life,
liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in
accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.” 57 Therefore, section 2 (b) is
interpreted as protecting freedom of speech and communicating with other people such as
asking for money, while section 7 is interpreted as allowing people the security of person
and the right to let others know of their need for money.
Legal arguments exist about whether the Charter applies in this situation. Is asking for
money a core expression of a political condition in this country and therefore viewed by
the courts as a more valuable claim than viewing asking for money as a marginal
expression and therefore a less valuable claim belonging to the ‘commercial’ realm
motivated by profit? 58 Section 7 would seem to add to the interpretation of 2 (b), as
Section 7 is dealing with security of person and letting others know of a need.
Combined, these two Sections of the Charter provide a case under Canadian law for the
right to panhandle.
As such, the city of Regina Tag Day Bylaw could be extending municipal jurisdiction
into federal jurisdiction. As Schneiderman relates, the authority of the federal
government to make criminal law stretches back to the 18th century before Canada was a
constitutional government. 59 However, as he notes, the federal government does not
raise issue with concurrency [overlap] with provincial law as long as provincial law does
not create inconsistencies with federal law. 60 If so, provincial law will defer to federal
54
PovNet.org, "A Panhandler's Rights In Vancouver," http://www2.povnet.org/panhandling_rights/
(accessed February 03, 2009).
55
For more on this debate see Moon, "Keeping the Streets Safe from Free Expression," 65-78.
56
Government Of Canada, 1982, "Canadian Charter Of Rights And Freedoms,"
http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter// (accessed February 03, 2009).
57
Ibid.
58
For more on the court distinction see Moon, “Keeping the Streets Safe from Free Expression,” 65 - 78.
59
David Schneiderman, "Constitutional Disorder of the Safe Streets Act," in Disorderly People: Law and
the Politics of Exclusion in Ontario, eds. Joe Hermer and Janet Mosher (Halifax: Fernwood Books, 2002).
60
Ibid, 83.
18
law to the degree that it deviates. Municipalities act as delegates of the provincial
governments and will enact bylaws that deal with streets and sidewalks and other such
matters especially as they relate to the movement of people and traffic. 61 However, the
city of Regina’s ban on panhandling in the downtown core would seem to be going
beyond the movement of people and vehicles and branching into the area of regulating
behaviour that might bother others (pedestrians, vehicles, merchants etc.). 62 The issue
remains, however, how does Regina’s Tag Day Bylaw create inconsistencies with federal
criminal law in Canada? To examine that question, we need to examine the manner in
which the city of Regina deals with panhandling.
61
Ibid, 85.
62
This argument follows from Schneiderman's evaluation of Ontario's provincial Safe Streets Act.
19
Regina’s Panhandling Procedures
“The law in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to beg in the
streets, steal bread, or sleep under a bridge.” 63
Regina’s panhandling bylaw issue came to the public forefront with the Regina Leader
Post newspaper article of June 19, 2008 under the headline “Tag day bylaw put to new
use.” 64 An individual in the city had made a written application requesting a “tag” for the
purposes of panhandling. “The individual submitted a written application requesting a
permit for the period of June 3 to 30 to raise personal funds for a short term … where
such funds would only be used for shelter, food, and personal needs.” 65 The City Clerk
responsible for issuing the tags” stated that the permit was granted since the application
met the criteria as stipulated in the city’s bylaw. It was also felt that this application set
the opportunity to review the bylaw, and the city of Regina’s Executive Committee
passed a recommendation “… to review the bylaw to clarify that its intention isn’t for the
solicitation of funds for personal gain.” 66 Again, there appears to be some lack of
memory among city administration of the bylaw change of 1986 which specifically
articulated that it was designed to allow designates to appear in place of the mayor, chief
of police and president of the Chamber of Commerce and also that “…the bylaw will
help to control beggars in the downtown who were annoying the public and local
merchants.” 67
To further explain how the city deals with panhandlers and also highlighting the
argument of ongoing efforts to criminalize the poor, the same newspaper article
contained a quote from the Regina police. The article states:
Insp. Brent Schmidt of the Regina Police Service said that while officers had used
the bylaw off and on for years as grounds for deterring panhandlers, the creation of
the service’s central division has led to greater enforcement over the past year and
an increase in the number of tickets issued.
“We’ve just done a lot of enforcement. We’ve even done some undercover work
with regard to it and issued a number of tickets and that’s where this kind of come
to a head. In the past we haven’t issued that many so no one was really concerned
63
Antole France (1894) qtd. in Jim Stanford, Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of
Capitalism (Halifax: Fernwood Books, 2008).
64
Rhodes, “Tag day bylaw put to new use,” A. 1.
65
Ibid.
66
Ibid.
67
See Abstract to bylaw 8282, the Tag Day Bylaw, Appendix C, 59.
20
about it. But now that we have, we just want to make sure we’re on the right track
with it,” said Schmidt.68
Now it might seem a bit extreme to mount an undercover operation to investigate
panhandling, but Inspector Schmidt’s comments do go a long way in explaining how the
city deals with panhandling.
Similar to other cities in North America such as Vancouver, the city of Regina has what
are referred to as ambassadors. In both Vancouver and Regina the ambassadors are hired
by city core business associations; in the case of Vancouver, the Downtown Vancouver
Business Improvement Association and in Regina, the Regina Downtown Business
Improvement District (RDBID). The ambassadors are an intrinsic element to how the
Regina Police Service deals with panhandling in the city.
The RDBID describes in their newsletter the ambassadors as follows:
A NEW LOOK for Downtown
2008 has marked a year of change for the Regina Downtown Business
Improvement District. Not only have we relocated our office to one of downtown’s
key gateways, Saskatchewan Drive, we have also launched a newly redesigned
website (www.reginadowntown.ca) and introduced a brand new look for the
Downtown Patrol Ambassadors.
Clad in their new blue and white uniforms, the Downtown Patrol Ambassadors can
be seen walking the streets of downtown acting as goodwill safety ambassadors,
offering assistance and providing information about downtown businesses, services
and events.
In addition to their ambassador services, the team also engages in preventative
measures and mediation techniques to address safety and security concerns
downtown. Acting as additional “eyes and ears” for the Regina Police Service, the
Downtown Patrol Ambassadors respond to calls concerning specific incidents,
monitor and document graffiti in the district, remove hypodermic needles, offer
safe walks, and compile incident reports and statistical data for downtown.
Throughout the year, the Downtown Patrol Ambassadors cover a lot of terrain. Last
year alone, the team walked a distance equivalent to travelling from Vancouver to
Thunder Bay and responded to just under 2,000 incidents. This year, two additional
positions have been added to the Downtown Patrol Ambassador team, allowing for
greater visibility and quicker response times. 69
68
Rhodes, “Tag day bylaw put to new use,” A. 1.
69
Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, Downtown News Spring Summer 2008,
http://www.reginadowntown.ca/siteimages/newsletter 2008.pdf. (accessed February 09, 2009).
21
Figure 1: Regina Downtown Patrol Ambassador
Image from Downtown News Spring Summer 2008 newsletter: no credit given for photo.
The RDBID hires the Downtown Patrol Ambassadors for Regina. A job order for people
wishing to apply for this employment position is attached to this document as Appendix
D. The phone number to reach the ambassadors is published by the RDBID Downtown
Business Guide Directory of Services (Appendix E). 70
A look at the Business Guide (Appendix E) lists many of the telephone numbers that
belong to services provided by the city of Regina such as park permits, fire, police and
also a listing for ‘Panhandling/Loitering in Progress.’ 71 With so many city services listed
in the Business Guide, a person might be led to believe that the panhandling/loitering
hotline is a service provided by the city. However it is not. Phoning the number listed in
the Business Guide takes the caller to the Downtown Patrol Ambassadors. This was
confirmed by the authors of this study who called the number and spoke to the
ambassadors who answered the call. They were quite polite and friendly and answered
our questions about who they worked for (RDBID) and if we could have the name and
70
Available at "Whose Job is It" at http://www.reginadowntown.ca/index.php (accessed February 05,
2009).
71
Appendix E.
22
phone number of their manager which they provided to us. The supervisor of the
Downtown Patrol Ambassadors is the RDBID Manager of Planning and Development
and Manager, Downtown Patrol Ambassador Program. The Manager of this program was
contacted and asked questions of clarification by the authors to get that individual’s
perspective about the ambassador program. 72
The ambassador program, at the time of the interview, consists of two teams and
therefore usually four staff. The program has been in effect for five years as of August
2008. The service used to be contracted out to private security companies, however, the
RDBID decided to create their own in-house service. The reason for the change is that
they wanted the program to provide more than security, they also wanted the program to
assist tourists and patrons of businesses. On the question of the legality of panhandling,
the manager stated that there was no bylaw for panhandling, rather traffic (i.e., Squeegee
kids) and pedestrian bylaws are used for enforcement. The manager stated that RDBID
wanted to encourage busking and wished to refer panhandlers to other services. It was
felt that there needed to be a definition between busking and selling ‘street news’
newspapers for a donation, on the one hand, and panhandling on the other. When asked
about what authority the RDBID had to deal with this issue, the manager agreed that they
did not have the authority to fine anyone. The procedure was for the ambassadors to ask
the person panhandling to stop and leave the area for the day. If the person was not in
compliance, they were informed that the ambassador was going to call the police to deal
with their behaviour. Bylaw enforcement officers could also issue tickets to panhandlers.
The hotline receives on average ten calls per day about panhandling on top of the reports
the ambassadors submit from their own observations of panhandling.
Therefore, the panhandling process in the city of Regina downtown area is currently dealt
with in the following fashion. The RDBID has created their own downtown patrol
service that consists of at least two teams of two that walk the downtown core looking for
panhandling. As well, the RDBID has created a Panhandling/Loitering in Progress phone
number to put the caller in touch with the Downtown Patrol Ambassadors. If the
individual persists in panhandling and does not leave the area, the individual is threatened
with a call being placed to the police. In addition to the ‘uncover work’ on panhandling
the Regina Police Service has already performed, the police or bylaw enforcement
officers may charge the individual with being in violation of section 8 of bylaw 9001
(Tag Day Bylaw). The ambassador program is a creation of the RDBID, but who
comprises this organization?
The RDBID states that their vision for the downtown region of Regina encompasses a
number of areas. They include:
•
•
Clean, safe and welcoming place to work, shop, live and play;
Prosperous business district with unique retail, services and hospitality;
72
Downtown Patrol Ambassador Program City of Regina Manager, interview by author, August, 2008,
transcript.
23
•
•
•
•
•
Center of commerce, government and office operations;
Vibrant residential community;
Diverse and growing community which appeals to people of all ages,
backgrounds and interests;
Alive with arts, culture and entertainment; and
Showplace for heritage and creative urban design. 73
In achieving their vision, the RDBID has a Board of Directors (BoD). The BoD at the
time the ambassador program was operating with poor people being charged for soliciting
money in 2008 was comprised of the following individuals along with their affiliate
organizations:
Table 2: Regina Downtown Board of Directors
Avison Young Commercial Real Estate
(Sask) Inc.
Harvard Property Management
TD Canada Trust
City of Regina Liaison
City of Regina
Nicor Group
Delta Regina Hotel
Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation
Colin O’Brian Man’s Shoppe
PCL Construction
Cornwall Centre
Royalty Developments
Saskatchewan Transportation Company
Executive Director
Mr. Dale Griesser (Chair)
Ms. Valorie Peddle
Mr. Kris Dahl
Mr. Jason Carlston
Councillor Michael Fougere
Mr. Ross Keith
Mr. Jim Kilkenny
Ms. Twyla Meredith
Mr. Colin Perkowitsch (Vice Chair)
Mr. Garth Tomlinson
Mr. Doug Kozak
Mr. Anthony Marquart
Mr. Shawn Grice
Mr. Michael Huber
It is instructive to examine the BoD that maintains the Downtown Patrol Ambassador
program to, among other things, dissuade panhandling in the downtown area.
Avison Young is Canada’s largest independently owned commercial real estate services
company. 74 The company has offices in most major cities in Canada from which they
73
Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, "About Us,"
http://www.reginadowntown.ca/index.php/ (accessed February 05, 2009).
74
Avison Young Commercial Real Estate 2008 Annual Review 2009 Forecast, by National Office Report (
2009), 2, Avison Young Real Estate Forecast 2009.
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/National/forecast2009.pdf/ (accessed February 05, 2009).
24
provide real estate services, including brokerage services, asset services, corporate
services, financial services and consulting and advisory services. Further, Avison Young
is part of the Grubb & Ellis Company of global real estate alliance providing services in
the United States, Central America, Europe and Asia. 75 The Grubb and Ellis Company is
headquartered in Santa Ana, California, and has $969.4 million in assets as of December
2007. 76
Harvard Property Management is part of The Hill Companies. Harvard Property
Management provides management services to commercial property owners, especially
in the area of the property’s tenants. Harvard Property Management is part of a larger
company, Harvard Development Inc., which includes Harvard Real Estate operating in
Saskatchewan, Alberta and the United States. In Saskatchewan alone, the Harvard Real
Estate “… portfolio of owned and managed properties exceeds 1.85 million square feet
and includes office, retail and industrial properties. “Hill Centre Tower I" and "Tower II"
(317,000 sq. ft.), "Bank of Montreal Building" (135,423 sq. ft.) and "FCC Tower Agriculture Place" (164,163 sq. ft.) are just a few hallmarks of the office portfolio. In
addition, retail and industrial properties include "Preston Crossing" (600,000 sq. ft.),
"Normanview Crossing" (217,000 sq. ft.) and a variety of other properties throughout
Saskatchewan such as Kramer Corner, Lakeshore Mall, Casino Moose Jaw, University
Place, Thatcher Crossing, Victoria Avenue East, Century Plaza and Trans Canada Centre.
Also, Harvard Developments is a major developer of residential subdivisions with
significant holdings of developable land.” 77 The Hill Centre Towers are managed by
Harvard Property Management. Harvard Developments is also involved in real estate
development, residential land development and leasing and brokerage. In turn, Harvard
Development is part of The Hill Companies which include Harvard Real Estate; UFR
Urban Forest Recyclers Inc.; Harvard Broadcasting, including Regina radio stations
CKRM, CFWF, CMHX, as well as other radio stations in Saskatchewan and Alberta;
surety bonds for the construction industry through the Western Surety Company,
insurance through its Cooks ISI Insurance company which is jointly owned by Harvard
Developments Inc. and publicly traded Western Financial Group, and oil and gas through
its Harvard Energy company, which is a petroleum and natural gas exploration and
production partnership based in Calgary, Alberta formed between a partnership between
the Hill family of Regina, Saskatchewan and a private investor from San Diego,
California. The Hill Companies is a dominate financial and business presence in the city
of Regina which started in 1903 with the Hill family's sale of land on which the
Saskatchewan Legislative Buildings are presently situated in Regina. 78
75
Ibid, 31.
76
Corporate search using http://www.hoovers.com/free (accessed February 05, 2009).
77
The Hill Companies, "Harvard Development Inc," http://www.harvard.ca// (accessed February 05, 2009).
78
The Hill Companies, "The Hill Companies: A Family Enterprise Leading A Diversified Group Of North
American Companies," http://www.hillcompanies.com// (accessed February 05, 2009).
25
TD Canada Trust is part of the Canadian charted Toronto Dominion bank headquartered
in Toronto, which is publicly traded on the TSX, the NYSE and the Tokyo stock
exchange. The company provides commercial and personal banking through TD
Commercial Banking and Canada Trust, United States commercial and banking through
TD Bank and TD Banknorth, wealth management through TD Waterhouse, TD Asset
Management and TD Ameritrade, insurance through TD Insurance and wholesale
banking through TD Securities. Toronto Dominion is one of the major banks in Canada.
Nicor Group is a property development company in Regina.
The Nicor Group is comprised of Nicor Commercial Property Services, Nicor
Construction, Nicor Property Management Inc., and Nicor Realty. The company has 500
properties and 100,000 ft2 of commercial space in Regina and has developed over $25
million in local real estate.
Delta Regina Hotel is part of Delta Hotels, a hotel management company. It currently
has a portfolio of 40 city-centre, airport and resort properties. In October 2007, Delta
Hotels was acquired by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
(bcIMC) from Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. The bcIMC company boasts of assets under
administration of $85 billion as of March 31, 2008, in investment funds management.
Their clients include public sector pension plans, the Province of British Columbia,
provincial government bodies (Crown corporations and institutions) and publicly
administered trust funds. bcIMC manages over 50 pooled investment funds in eight major
asset classes. 79
The Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation (SGC) is owned by the Government of
Saskatchewan and operates two casinos, one in the city of Regina and one in the city of
Moose Jaw. The SGC operates under the regulatory authority and supervision of the
Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) and under the direction of the
Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan. For 2007-2008, the corporation’s
annual report states that it had a net income, after casino operating expenses (i.e., wages)
and corporate expenses, of $43,772,000. The annual report states that 100 per cent of its
profits go to the provincial government’s General Revenue Fund. From the general
revenue fund, 25 per cent of SGC’s profit is distributed to non-profit community
organizations through the community Initiatives Fund and 25 per cent is allocated to the
First Nations Trust Fund to fund initiatives in First Nations communities. 80
Colin O’Brian Man’s Shoppe is a men’s clothier located in downtown Regina. The
owner, Colin Perkowitsch, is the Vice-Chair of the RDBID BoD, is a member of the
Regina Chamber of Commerce and sits on the BoD of Tourism Regina. According to
79
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, "bcIMC Investment Management Corporation,"
http://www.bcimc.com// (accessed February 09, 2009).
80
Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation, 2007 - 2008 Annual Report (: Government of Saskatchewan),
http://www.gov.sk.ca/SGC// (accessed February 09, 2009).
26
Profile Canada website search, this retail clothing business has approximately three
employees, with annual sales between $1 and $5 million.81
PCL Construction is part of the PCL Group of Companies with offices in Canada and the
United States. It is the largest general contractor in Canada as well as one of the largest
in the United States. The group designs, engineers and builds office and commercial
complexes, apartment buildings, sports facilities, hotels, hospitals, schools, airports, lightrail networks, highways, bridges, water-treatment plants, dams, power plants
(hydroelectric, combined cycle) and industrial developments for the petrochemicals, oil
and gas, mining, and pulp and paper sectors. 82 PCL is divided into operating companies
responsible for a geographic region and/or business line, and each company is
responsible for managing projects and procurement within their region, although supplier
registration is centralized. PCL has in-house capacity for pipe fabrication and module
assembly. Headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, PCL is a massive corporation within the
Canadian construction industry.
Cornwall Centre is a downtown shopping mall in the city of Regina. The mall is part of
the Oxford Properties Group. Oxford is divided into five complementary business
groups: Global Principal Investment, Global Asset Management, Finance, Legal and
Human Capital Management. In turn, Oxford is owned by OMERS (Ontario Municipal
Employees Retirement System), one of Canada’s largest institutional investors with over
$52 billion in net investment assets. Involved on a global scale, OMERS has a portfolio
of more than 2,800 stocks and bonds as well as real estate, infrastructure and private
equity investments. OMERS Capital Markets (OCM) manages the public market
investments, Borealis Infrastructure is responsible for infrastructure investing, Oxford
Properties Group is responsible for the real estate sector focusing on owning and
managing large-scale assets and OMERS Private Equity manages fund relationships and
direct investments. 83
Royalty Developments is a Regina real estate development company headquartered in the
downtown region of the city. It was established in 2003 as a business holding under
101043259 Saskatchewan Ltd., and became Royalty Developments in 2004.
The Saskatchewan Transportation Company (STC) is a Crown Corporation of the
province of Saskatchewan. It was established by an order in council in 1946. Its
operations are governed by its board of directors, under the authority of the Crown
81
Profile Canada, "The Key Contact Database For Canada's Leading One Million Businesses,"
http://www.profilecanada.com/ (accessed February 09, 2009).
82
International Trade Canada, Profiting from the Global Infrastructure Market,
http://www.neia.org/Export/Reports/Profiting_from_the_20%Global_20%Infrastructur_20%Market.pdf.
(accessed February 09, 2009).
83
Omers, "Omers Plan For The Future," http://www.omers.com/home.htm. (accessed February 09, 2009).
27
Corporations Act, 1993. STC provides bus passenger and freight service within the
province.
Councillor Michael Fougere is president of the Saskatchewan Construction Association
and co-chair of the Labour Market Information Committee of the Construction Sector
Council. He is also on the BoD of the governing Saskatchewan Party’s Enterprise
Saskatchewan Ministry. Mr. Fougere previously worked with the provincial government
in the areas of investment attraction, business development, and business immigration.
Within Regina City Council, he serves on the following committees: Regina Board of
Police Commissioners, Board of Directors of Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities
Association (SUMA), Chair of the Regina Planning Commission, and Vice-Chair of the
Finance and Administration Committee. 84
Mr. Michael Huber is the Executive Director of the RDBID and advisor to its BoD. Mr.
Huber is quoted in a local Regina community newspaper, Prairie Dog Magazine, with his
views on panhandling:
Through its street patrol program Regina Downtown strives to limit the amount of
panhandling that occurs in the downtown. While buskers are welcome, says
executive director Michael Huber, people who are observed panhandling are a
different story.
“We’ll refer [them] to social services,” says Huber. “The problem is, when people
panhandle, a lot of the money is going to fund addiction and that’s not something
we want to [encourage].
One idea Regina Downtown is considering, says Huber, is a program where,
instead of giving panhandlers cash, Reginians could give them “certificates for
things like a shower, or a hot meal, or a cup of coffee or whatever. That’s worked
successfully in other communities. It doesn’t clean up everything, but it does put a
dent in panhandling.” 85
Indeed, the provision of social services in the form of services in-kind (no money, rather
services in the place of money) is centuries old. In the example of Regina panhandling,
the poor are to be offered a special type of currency in the form of a ‘certificate,’ not
cash.
Commenting that in-kind assistance has been popular in the history of services for the
poor in the United States, Katz writes:
84
Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation, Biographies Enterprise Saskatchewan Board of Directors (:
Government of Saskatchewan, 2008), ttp://ww.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/
adxGetMedia.aspx?mediaId=422&PN=Shared/ (accessed February 10, 2009).
85
Gregory Beatty, "Please Don't Beg: Panhandling's biggest problem might be our attitudes," The Prairie
Dog, 2008.
28
As in-kind relief, they echo the centuries-old suspicion in welfare history that the
poor people are incompetent to manage cash. Both public officials and the agents
of charity have always preferred to give the poor redeemable orders for groceries,
fuel, rent money, clothes, or medical care – but not cash, which is too easily
fungible or wasted. Cash might be spent on drink or unjustified luxuries or just
frittered away. The search for alternative forms of currency more narrowly
targeted and less subject to abuse runs through the design and administration of
public assistance and private charity from the early days of public relief until the
present. Alternative currencies serve the interests of control as well as charity, for
they define the needs of the poor in terms set by those who command the
resources. 86
In the 21st century, it is hoped that a modern country like Canada would have moved
away from the ‘remoralizing’ the poor approach to dealing with poverty. Further, it is
one thing for a public relief agency or charity charged with assisting the poor to set those
terms; however, it is quite another for a business association to set the terms of a charity
or assistance relationship among citizens. Additionally, it is disingenuous of Prairie Dog
Magazine to write in their article:
Of course, my one-off need was genuine [author’s one time asking a store clerk for
25 cents bus fare]. Unlike, say, begging strangers for money regularly. Don’t
believe me? Just survey 100 random Reginians. As long as they’re being honest,
probably 95 of them would boldly opinion that the vast majority of panhandlers in
the city are screw-ups with big-time booze, drug and occasional gambling
problems. 87
First, the author of the Prairie Dog article does not know whether the people soliciting
money from strangers on a regular basis have a ‘genuine’ need for the money. Second,
the author has conducted no poll on which to predict the responses of people in Regina to
panhandling.
Here we find ourselves in the language and realm of psychiatry; the area of addictions to
alcohol or drugs or gambling with no ability to manage money. As has been noted, “…
the popularity of psychiatry appears to offer a technique for curing men (sic) individually
with a minimal reference to history; it appears to make us independent of history.” 88 Two
references to Regina’s history without recourse to personality or mental health failings of
individuals, but rather the intrinsic failings of the economic system, will be made in this
86
Michael B. Katz, The Price of Citizenship: Redefining The American Welfare State (New York: Owl
Books, 2002), 301.
87
Beatty, "Please Don't Beg: Panhandling's biggest problem might be our attitudes," 5.
88
Philip O'Conner, Britain in the 1960s: Vagrancy (Harmondsworth: Middlesex: Penguin Books Ltd,
1963), 17.
29
paper; one a reference to the Regina Riot and the other a reference to the Regina
Manifesto. However, first we will examine more recent Regina history: an attempt to
start a street newspaper as an alternative to the poor asking for money.
In the spring of 2008, there was an attempt to introduce street newspapers into Regina.
According to the North American Street Newspaper Association website, street
newspapers are defined as follows:
A street newspaper is a newspaper that primarily addresses issues related to poverty
and homelessness and is distributed by poor or homeless vendors. Vendors sell the
newspaper for a set price, usually $1, and have to pay the organization a fraction of
the price (20% to 40%) for each paper up front. The self-employed vendor sells the
papers on the street and keeps the money he or she makes. 89
Street newspapers also sell advertising space in the papers as additional revenue. In some
cities such as Edmonton, Alberta, the street sellers of the street newspaper Our Voice
have to buy the papers for 60 cents a copy and then attempt to sell them for a profit, or, in
the case of Regina, ad revenue covers costs and the vendors are given the paper at no
charge and keep whatever profits they earn. The first edition of Regina’s street newspaper
(a magazine more so than a newspaper) titled Regina Streets Magazine was published on
May 15, 2008. The point of our research is not to debate the merits of street newspapers,
whether the poor should appear to work for money, nor make light of the news content,
but we do want to mention the city of Regina’s reaction to the paper.
The June 15, 2008 second edition of Regina Streets contained several efforts to justify
itself and win sympathy with city officials. The front cover of the paper contained a
mention of section 15 (1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and beneath
the quote a photo from a war memorial honouring soldiers killed during the first and
second World Wars. Explaining the front cover, the newspaper/magazine stated:
We are aware that we likely would have gotten shot in most countries for what we
did last month and certainly would get shot for what we’re doing this month. We
have the freedom we have because of some heroes who made some huge sacrifices
for us. This month, we wanted to give those heroes more of the credit they deserve.
Every time we exercise free speech, cast a vote and experience the benefits of
freedom (in varying capacities) we should say thank you to our veterans. Sadly, we
only devote one day a year to honour everyone who has ever fought for our
country. 90
The back cover of the newspaper/magazine also carried a photo of city hall with the
Queen City’s most famous slogan, I Love Regina, as the publishers of Regina Streets
89
National Association Of Street Newspapers, "About Street Newspapers," http://www.nasna.org/
(accessed February 10, 2009).
90
"On the Front Cover," Regina Streets, June 15, 2008.
30
‘also love Regina.’ The edition also gave a “Bigs up to the City of Regina for the
support” however, the support from the city is not defined. The article paid homage to
the mayor of Regina by mentioning in an opinion piece, “We’ve got a great mayor who
has done some incredible things for this city in a very short time.” 91 It should be
mentioned that the I Love Regina campaign biggest supporter is the current Mayor Pat
Fiacco [mayor of Regina since 2000]. Fiacco’s biography on his city webpage states:
Mayor Fiacco credits 3 little words as the catalyst to the positive change that
Regina has seen in the last few years - those words being “I Love Regina”. This
positive mantra is not just a slogan but a symbol of the pride Reginians share in
their community and a desire for their city to be the best it can be. 92
However, all of the assurances of patriotic pride and support for city officials were not
enough. A complaint was brought forward about the magazine and the city of Regina
Tag Day bylaw was used against the poor people selling the Regina Streets Magazine,
forcing them to stop after the second edition. The city found no need for anyone to ‘be
shot,’ for selling the paper, rather all it took was the city’s blanket ban on panhandling in
the downtown area and its bylaw to stop distribution of Regina Streets.
There may be an additional issue besides panhandling with the prohibition against the
selling of Regina Streets Magazine. Fundamental freedoms of the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms state under section 2 (b) “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and
expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.”
Prohibiting the selling of this newsmagazine could be interpreted as violating a
fundamental freedom of the press in Canada. If challenged under Canadian law, this
could be a serious issue and a serious error on the part of city officials.
The insignia of Regina Streets Magazine 93 is a stylized rendering of the Hill Towers
numbers 1 and 2, leading to the F.W. Hill Pedestrian Mall (also known as the Scarth
Street Mall). The pedestrian mall is a convenient location to solicit money as people are
not in vehicles and the pace is leisurely. It also happens that the F. W. Hill Pedestrian
Mall was the scene of the Regina Riot of July 01, 1935. The Regina Riot was the end
point for the On-To-Ottawa Trek of single unemployed people heading to Ottawa to
bring their plight to the federal politicians. Riding on Canadian Pacific Railway cars
starting in Vancouver, the trek picked up more and more people as the freight trains
traveled eastward. Canadian Prime Minister Richard Bennett ordered the police to stop
the trek in Regina, and the freight trains were halted from traveling east. 94 A rally was
91
Ibid, 2; 21.
92
, "Mayor Pat Fiacco," http://www.regina.ca/Page2295.aspx/ (accessed February 11, 2009).
93
Please see Appendix F for a reproduction of the magazine cover.
94
Mark Zuehlke, The Gallant Cause: Canadians in the Spanish Civil War 1936-1939 (Vancouver:
Whitecap Books, Books), 16.
31
planned for the evening of July 01 in Regina’s downtown area known at the time as
Market Square; however, the rally broke out into a riot, instigated by the RCMP 95,
between the RCMP with the Regina city police, the unemployed and Reginians who were
sympathetic to the plight of the unemployed. The On-To Ottawa Trek was over. In the
height of falseness, a monument stands on the spot where the Regina Riot took place,
placed there by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada; Government of
Canada, on the F. W. Hill pedestrian mall, where the police are still used to ban the
destitute from communicating their need.
Figure 2: F. W. Hill Pedestrian Mall
95
Lorne Brown and Caroline Brown, The Unauthorized History of the RCMP (Toronto: James Lorimer &
Company, 1973), 77.
32
Figure 3: Monument Commemorating the On-To-Ottawa Trek and the Regina Riot
What are the current consequences for the poor who communicate their need for relief?
What are the numbers of people who have been charged for panhandling since “…the
creation of the service’s central division has led to greater enforcement over the past year
and an increase in the number of tickets issued”? 96 The authors contacted the city of
Regina Solicitor to gather information about enforcement 97. The City Solicitor stated
that up till the date of the interview, there had not been a Charter challenge to Regina’s
Tag Day Bylaw. The authors asked for and were provided with copies of every case of
an individual charged with panhandling. The breakdown is as follows:
Table 3: Results of Prosecution for Panhandling in Regina
There have been 13 charges in total during March 31 to November 04, 2008.
8 resulted in issuances of Bench Warrants.
2 were withdrawn for lack of evidence.
3 resulted in convictions (all on May 14, 2008), and each person was issued a fine of $45
and a $30 surcharge, and if in default of payment of fine, sentenced to serve 0 days. 98
96
Rhodes, “Tag day bylaw put to new use,” A. 1.
97
City of Regina Solicitor, Interview by Authors, November 17, 2008, transcript.
98
Please see Appendix G for a copy of a Conviction.
33
Each person was to be convicted under The Summary Offences Procedure Act, 1990.
Each charge against the 13 individuals reads as follows:
Did solicit or collect gifts or charitable donations, whether in the form of money,
merchandise or otherwise, on any street or public place without a Tag day permit
issued pursuant to this Bylaw, contrary to section 8 of the Tag Day Bylaw 9001.
(bold in the original)
As far as the authors are aware, these are the only cases (up to Nov. 04, 2008) that have
ever been brought to court against individuals for panhandling in Regina. The
enforcement of the Tag Day Bylaw clearly appears to act more as a deterrent to
panhandling than the actual prosecution of panhandling. It appears that the threat of
police involvement, rather than actual prosecution, is the objective of enforcement. The
city needs to rent space in traffic court to prosecute panhandlers, and the cost of court
time as well as police appearance makes prosecution a costly proposition.
Conclusion
The city of Regina, unlike many larger cities in Canada, has a blanket ban on
panhandling. The blanket ban is assisted by Patrol Ambassadors hired by the downtown
business development association (RDBID) in partnership with the Regina mayor and
city council (there is a city councillor and a city of Regina liaison person on the RDBID).
If panhandlers do not leave the area, they are threatened with intervention of the Regina
Police Service to charge them under the city’s Tag Day Bylaw. As such, the poor are
made less visible at least in the downtown area of Regina, and lose their ability to be
present, visible and participating in public spaces. 99
There is also confusion among city officials, Regina police and representatives of the
RDBID themselves as to the nature of the Tag Day Bylaw. As such, City Council has
been asked to review the bylaw 100, but it is not known at this time what the outcome of
the review might be, if the review ever materializes.
It is also not known if the outright ban on panhandling in the city of Regina could stand a
challenge under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. To date, no such
challenge has been mounted. It is also not clear if the ban could hold up under a
challenge to the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code as again no challenge has been
mounted by ‘persons’ protected under 2 (m.01) of the Code. Preliminary calls by the
authors of this report indicated that a third party challenge could be mounted on behalf of
99
Joe Hermer and Janet Mosher, “Introduction.” 11-12.
100
Rhodes. "Tag day bylaw put to new use." A. 1.
34
‘persons’ who have been confronted for panhandling; however, the Human Rights
Commission did not appear warm to the idea. Currently, there is a third party human
rights complaint against the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association
and the Civil City Commissioner of Vancouver alleging that the Downtown Ambassadors
discriminate against homeless people, particularly Aboriginal people and people with
disabilities. The complaint has been filed by the PIVOT Legal Society, the Vancouver
Area Network of Drug Users and the United Native Nations. 101
Those who solicit for money in Regina, at least in the downtown business district, face a
daunting array of opponents. On the one side are the mayor, city councillors, and the
BoD of the RDBID, who just among themselves, excluding other businesses and
corporations that they represent as Board members of the RDBID, stand for businesses,
corporations and financial institutions that control billions in assets. On the other side are
the poor with no lobby groups acting on their behalf or possessing political clout. With a
population of approximately 200,000 as well as being a provincial capital, the city of
Regina has enough business wealth to greatly influence the political and commercial
agenda of the municipality, while, at the same time the city is too small to have an
activist base to draw upon to challenge all of the issues faced by the disadvantaged, the
marginalized, the disabled and the poor who live in the city. In the fight between
panhandlers versus city hall, the match is not even close. However, it should not even be
necessary. No panhandling bylaw is required. We have laws governing aggressive
behaviour, and the communication of need for money should not be made a crime. Either
give money or not, but at least see and be confronted with the reality that in our society
there are many casualties of the current economic order.
In closing, along with the Regina Riot it is also useful to be reminded of one other event
that took place in the city of Regina. In 1933, a famous document was produced in the
city that became known as the Regina Manifesto, a document that gave birth to social
democracy in Canada. The Preamble to the Regina Manifesto reads, in part:
…The present order is marked by glaring inequalities of wealth and opportunity, by
chaotic waste and instability; and in an age of plenty it condemns the great mass of
people to poverty and insecurity. Power has become more and more concentrated
into the hands of a small irresponsible minority of financiers and industrialists and
to their predatory interests the majority are habitually sacrificed. When private
profit is the main stimulus to economic effort, our society oscillates between
periods of feverish prosperity in which the main benefits go to speculators and
profiteers, and of catastrophic depression, in which the common man’s (sic) normal
state of insecurity and hardship is accentuated.
101
PovNet, "Groups File Human Rights Complaint Against Vancouver Business Association.
35
The Manifesto, although produced in 1933, still rings true during the early years of the
21st century when the world is experiencing its worst recession since the manifesto was
written. In many ways, when it comes to the economic system little has changed. 102
We must ask ourselves: Will we allow business and commercial interests to determine
the types of relationships and interactions that happen among citizens, or will we, as
citizens, control our relationships with each other? If someone does not wish to give
money when asked, that is their choice. And, if there is some discomfort that
accompanies that choice, such is the price for living in a society that will not allow its
most vulnerable to be made invisible.
102
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, "The Regina Manifesto and the Birth of Social Democracy in
Canada," in 75th Anniversary Commemorative 2009 Calendar (Regina, Saskatchewan:
www.policyalternatives.ca, 2009).
36
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41
APPENDIX A
Safe Streets Act, 1999
S.O. 1999, CHAPTER 8
Consolidation Period: From December 15, 2005 to the e-Laws currency date.
Last amendment: 2005, c.32, s.1.
Definition
1. In sections 2 and 3,
“solicit” means to request, in person, the immediate provision of money or another thing
of value, regardless of whether consideration is offered or provided in return, using the
spoken, written or printed word, a gesture or other means. 1999, c. 8, s. 1.
Definition
2. (1) In this section,
“aggressive manner” means a manner that is likely to cause a reasonable person to be
concerned for his or her safety or security. 1999, c. 8, s. 2 (1).
Solicitation in aggressive manner prohibited
(2) No person shall solicit in an aggressive manner. 1999, c. 8, s. 2 (2).
Examples
(3) Without limiting subsection (1) or (2), a person who engages in one or more of the
following activities shall be deemed to be soliciting in an aggressive manner for the
purpose of this section:
1. Threatening the person solicited with physical harm, by word, gesture or other means,
during the solicitation or after the person solicited responds or fails to respond to the
solicitation.
2. Obstructing the path of the person solicited during the solicitation or after the person
solicited responds or fails to respond to the solicitation.
3. Using abusive language during the solicitation or after the person solicited responds or
fails to respond to the solicitation.
4. Proceeding behind, alongside or ahead of the person solicited during the solicitation or
after the person solicited responds or fails to respond to the solicitation.
5. Soliciting while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs.
6. Continuing to solicit a person in a persistent manner after the person has responded
negatively to the solicitation. 1999, c. 8, s. 2 (3).
42
Definitions
3. (1) In this section,
“public transit vehicle” means a vehicle operated by, for or on behalf of the Government
of Ontario, a municipality in Ontario or a transit commission or authority in Ontario, as
part of a regular passenger transportation service; (“véhicule de transport en commun”)
“roadway” has the same meaning as in the Highway Traffic Act; (“chaussée”)
“vehicle” includes automobile, motorcycle, van, truck, trailer, bus, mobile home, traction
engine, farm tractor, road-building machine, bicycle, motor-assisted bicycle, motorized
snow vehicle, streetcar and any other vehicle drawn, propelled or driven by any kind of
power, including muscular power. (“véhicule”) 1999, c. 8, s. 3 (1); 2002, c. 17, Sched. F,
Table.
Solicitation of captive audience prohibited
(2) No person shall,
(a) solicit a person who is using, waiting to use, or departing from an automated teller
machine;
(b) solicit a person who is using or waiting to use a pay telephone or a public toilet
facility;
(c) solicit a person who is waiting at a taxi stand or a public transit stop;
(d) solicit a person who is in or on a public transit vehicle;
(e) solicit a person who is in the process of getting in, out of, on or off a vehicle or who is
in a parking lot; or
(f) while on a roadway, solicit a person who is in or on a stopped, standing or parked
vehicle. 1999, c. 8, s. 3 (2).
Permitted fund-raising by charities
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to fund-raising activities that meet the following
conditions:
1. They are conducted by a charitable organization registered under the Income Tax Act
(Canada) on a roadway where the maximum speed limit is 50 kilometres per hour.
2. They are permitted by a by-law of the municipality in which the activities are
conducted. 2005, c. 32, s. 1.
Definition
4. (1) In this section,
“outdoor public place” means,
(a) a place outdoors to which the public is ordinarily invited or permitted access and, for
greater certainty, includes but is not limited to a sidewalk, street, parking lot, swimming
pool, beach, conservation area, park and playground, and
(b) school grounds. 1999, c. 8, s. 4 (1).
43
Disposal of certain dangerous things prohibited
(2) No person shall dispose of any of the following things in an outdoor public place:
1. A used condom.
2. A new or used hypodermic needle or syringe.
3. Broken glass. 1999, c. 8, s. 4 (2).
Defence
(3) It is a defence to a charge under subsection (2) for the person who disposed of the
condom, the needle or syringe or the broken glass to establish that he or she took
reasonable precautions to dispose of it in a manner that would not endanger the health or
safety of any person. 1999, c. 8, s. 4 (3).
Offence
5. (1) Every person who contravenes section 2, 3 or 4 is guilty of an offence and is liable,
(a) on a first conviction, to a fine of not more than $500; and
(b) on each subsequent conviction, to a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment
for a term of not more than six months, or to both. 1999, c. 8, s. 5 (1).
Subsequent conviction
(2) For the purpose of determining the penalty to which a person is liable under
subsection (1),
(a) a conviction of the person of a contravention of section 2 is a subsequent conviction
only if the person has previously been convicted of a contravention of section 2 or 3;
(b) a conviction of the person of a contravention of section 3 is a subsequent conviction
only if the person has previously been convicted of a contravention of section 2 or 3; and
(c) a conviction of the person of a contravention of section 4 is a subsequent conviction
only if the person has previously been convicted of a contravention of section 4. 1999,
c. 8, s. 5 (2).
Arrest without warrant
6. A police officer who believes on reasonable and probable grounds that a person has
contravened section 2, 3 or 4 may arrest the person without warrant if,
(a) before the alleged contravention of section 2, 3 or 4, the police officer directed the
person not to engage in activity that contravenes that section; or
(b) the police officer believes on reasonable and probable grounds that it is necessary to
arrest the person without warrant in order to establish the identity of the person or to
prevent the person from continuing or repeating the contravention. 1999, c. 8, s. 6.
7. Omitted (amends or repeals other Acts). 1999, c. 8, s. 7.
8. Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Act). 1999, c. 8, s. 8.
9. Omitted (enacts short title of this Act). 1999, c. 8, s. 9.
44
APPENDIX B
SAFE STREET ACT
[SBC 2004] CHAPTER 75
Assented to October 26, 2004
Contents
Section
1
Definition
2
Solicitation in aggressive manner prohibited
3
Solicitation of captive audience prohibited
4
Arrest without warrant
5
Consequential Amendment
6
Commencement
Definition
1 In this Act, "solicit" means to communicate, in person, using the spoken, written
or printed word, a gesture or another means, for the purpose of receiving money or
another thing of value, regardless of whether consideration is offered or provided in
return.
Solicitation in aggressive manner prohibited
2 (1) A person commits an offence if the person solicits in a manner that would
cause a reasonable person to be concerned for the solicited person's safety or security,
including threatening the person solicited with physical harm, by word, gesture or other
means.
(2) A person commits an offence if the person engages, in a manner that would
cause a reasonable person to be concerned for the solicited person's safety or security, in
one or more of the following activities during a solicitation or after the solicited person
responds or fails to respond to the solicitation:
(a) obstructing the path of the solicited person;
(b) using abusive language;
(c) proceeding behind or alongside or ahead of the solicited person;
(d) physically approaching, as a member of a group of 2 or more persons, the
solicited person;
(e) continuing to solicit the person.
Solicitation of captive audience prohibited
3 (1) In this section:
"commercial passenger vehicle" means a motor vehicle operated on a roadway by
or on behalf of a person who charges or collects compensation for the transportation of
passengers in that motor vehicle, and includes a vehicle operated by or on behalf of the
45
British Columbia Transit Authority or the South Coast British Columbia Transportation
Authority to provide a regularly scheduled public passenger transportation service;
"roadway" means a highway, road, street, lane or right of way, including the
shoulder of any of them, that is improved, designed or ordinarily used by the general
public for the passage of vehicles;
"vehicle" includes non-motorized vehicles.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), a person commits an offence who does any of the
following:
(a) solicits a person who is using, waiting to use, or departing from a device
commonly referred to as an automated teller machine;
(b) solicits a person who is using, or waiting to use, a pay telephone or a public
toilet facility;
(c) solicits a person who is waiting at a place that is marked, by use of a sign or
otherwise, as a place where a commercial passenger vehicle regularly stops to pick up or
disembark passengers;
(d) solicits a person who is in, on or disembarking from a commercial passenger
vehicle;
(e) solicits a person who is in the process of getting in, out of, on or off of a
vehicle or who is in a parking lot.
(3) No offence is committed under subsection (2) if the person soliciting is 5
metres or more from the following:
(a) in the case of subsection (2) (a) to (c), the automated teller machine, pay
telephone, public toilet facility entrance or commercial passenger vehicle marker, as
applicable;
(b) in the case of subsection (2) (d) or (e), the commercial passenger vehicle or
vehicle, as applicable.
(4) No offence is committed under subsection (2) (a) if the person soliciting
(a) has express permission, given by the owner or occupier of the premises on
which the automated teller machine is located, to solicit within 5 metres of the automated
teller machine, and
(b) solicits only on the premises.
(5) A person commits an offence if the person, while on a roadway, solicits a
person who is in or on a stopped, standing or parked vehicle.
Arrest without warrant
4 (1) In this section, "peace officer" means a peace officer described in paragraph
(c) of the definition of "peace officer" in section 29 of the Interpretation Act.
(2) A peace officer may arrest without warrant any person who the peace officer
believes on reasonable and probable grounds is committing an offence under this Act.
46
Consequential Amendment
[Note: See Table of Legislative Changes for the status of section 5.]
Section(s) Affected Act
5 Motor Vehicle Act
Commencement
6 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
47
APPENDIX C
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
APPENDIX D
86
APPENDIX E
87
APPENDIX F
88
APPENDIX G
89