As we continue to build for the future in Canada, I am still waiting for an investment in one of the most pressing issues facing communities right across the country.
Yesterday the federal government announced a 2.3 billion dollar strategy to help people adopt, use and protect themselves from A.I., short for artificial intelligence.
While they were doing that, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ Big City Mayors’ Caucus was calling for Ottawa to spend billions on help reduce homelessness, urging them to treat the issue with the same attention paid to infrastructure and energy projects.
Our federal government has been pushing ahead with many amazing plans and projects, but their silence on this issue speaks volumes, and the risk is very real.
This week, there was a major fire on the west side of Belleville which destroyed a vehicle, a carport and a home while seriously damaging another.
A 38-year-old Belleville man of no fixed address was charged with five counts of arson.
This story isn’t common, but it’s also not unique. We have seen it before with vehicles, residences, and even commercial buildings like Thrashers, where a man who was homeless was later convicted of arson for the fire which destroyed the original storefront.
In simple terms, it’s meaningless to build the physical infrastructure of a nation while the social infrastructure is being eroded. You can’t put a price-tag on hope, but if you don’t even try to find it, then you will find the bill is much higher than you expect when it finally comes due.
I’m Paul Martin and that’s what I see looking Beyond the Headlines.
