Not surprisingly, the RNC declared Thursday there is no law against panhandling, and thus it cannot accede to a request from Coun. Art Puddister that officers tell road-median panhandlers to move along.
The cops likely sought a lawyer’s answer to the question, “Is it illegal for people to stand on road medians?”
This is just a guess, but the probable answer was “no.” Otherwise, medians would likely have signs reading, “Stay off the median,” or, “Begging on median prohibited,” or, “Get a job. Tim’s is hiring.”
If the lawyers told the RNC that people can indeed legally stand on road medians, Puddister and council’s attempt to attain police removal is busted.
There is also the small matter of freedom of speech. If it is legal to stand on a median — regardless of whether or not there is a bylaw against panhandling — it wouldn’t matter whether a person’s cardboard sign read, “The End is Nigh,” or “Stop raising taxes,” or, “Laid off and broke,” or, “Need beer.” Another guess: the Charter right to free speech would trump any bylaw against panhandling.
I don’t give money to the road warriors. I don’t like the tactic. It seems too similar to the infamous “squeegee kids” who plagued big cities a few years ago. They’re taking advantage of having a captive audience.
Some might say it’s just fine that they can apply pressure to people’s guilty conscience. In other words, panhandling has gone corporate. It’s the same reason why I say “no thanks” at the checkout counter when the cashier asks if I’d like to donate $2 to that day’s worthy cause. I’ll decide when and where to give away my money. Pressure is not necessary or welcome.
On the other hand, I regularly give money to panhandlers downtown. Despite what some people say about panhandlers being lazy, it’s fairly easy to look at a person and determine whether they really are needy and/or destitute. If you’re unsure, just ask yourself, “What would Ed Martin do?”
At least when you drop a loonie in a person’s cup on Water Street, neither of you are in danger of being hit by a speeding driver, although these days you never know.
Such an accident is marginally more likely to happen at a road median, but the safety factor cited by Puddister is overblown.
You have to be skeptical whenever anyone in a position of authority cites safety as a reason to outlaw something (see: weed). Just this week, authorities in southern Manitoba and Turkey — in the Bible Belt and the Qu’ran Belt, respectively — denied permits for gay pride parades because of their alleged threat to public safety.
“Our police officers might run amok and beat up the wrong people,” is as sensible an explanation as any, given that it’s all absolute nonsense.
If Puddister and his council cohort are really concerned about road safety, perhaps they could ask the RNC to put more patrols on the streets to nab habitual speeders, or they could fix the potholes and crumbling pavement that are hazards all over the city.
In the meantime, the median panhandlers would do well to keep a lookout for any retired city hall managers who happen to pull into their turning lane, because they might be in a mood to share some of the bundles of cash they left with.
Brian Jones is a copy editor at The Telegram. He can be reached at [email protected].
