A Hamilton councillor’s recent experience witnessing a baby born in an encampment in the city demonstrates the “unacceptable” housing crisis residents face and “eye opening” situations paramedics and police officers are currently responding to, he says.
Coun. Matt Francis (Ward 5) told CBC Hamilton he was doing a ride along with police on a cold morning in late November when they were called to a medical emergency at an encampment tucked away in an industrial area in the east end.
They arrived at the same time as paramedics and “to our surprise,” he said, a woman had given birth in a tent and was holding the infant with the umbilical cord still attached. There was another person in the tent with her.
“I was one of the very first people to see this child born and I was shocked and saddened at the same time,” Francis said in an interview Monday.
Paramedics cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a blanket, while police helped the mother onto a stretcher. She and the baby were taken away in an ambulance, he said.
“My heart goes out to the mother and any other mothers in such a terrible situation,” said Francis, a father of two. “My heart goes out and breaks for the children too that are born into the world that way.”
This intuition kinda works on average but even on average it may not apply fully. Yes you could trace cost increases to the real estate market but those might still not neutralize the upside for owners. Most real estate owners bought years or decades ago. Sure their property taxes and other costs are going up. However people’s properties who bought 10 years ago have more than doubled in price. From their point of view, things are not bad at all. The ones that don’t own are hit disproportionately. And many if not most are spatially isolated from the shantytowns, courtesy of urban sprawl. 😑