May 26, 2026 · 37 min · 12 segments
Send us Fan Mail **When judges become social engineers, democracy starts to wobble.** Gavin and Stephen examine the Waterloo homeless encampment…
Stephen ThieleHostNo entities detected.
Listen, this is, uh, there's no doubt that homelessness is a, is a terrible reflection.
Gotta tell you, I can think of a lot of tropical beaches that would just be really great to lie out on, you know.
But hey, maybe that's just me, that a cold street corner, you know, Portage and Main in Winnipeg would not be my choice.
I guess maybe the laws are different in some other, uh, countries that if you pitched a tent and started living in it, uh, somebody might do something, i.e. the police, and they might remove you from your, uh, uh, temporary abode.
Like, I have to say, like, we, you know, look, we're really becoming the old geezers of the internet on this podcast.
Whatever you want, the whatever generation has their name for people who are down on their luck.
Um, but I have to say that it's become an absolute epidemic in urban centers across Ontario.
I don't know if that's a fun- I mean, many people will blame, point fingers all over the place, but I can't recall a time where there have been more social safety net sort of handouts by government for all sorts of outreach programs, if you name it.
And yet homelessness and, uh, you know, people living on the streets and, you know, is at a, certainly from an anecdotal perspective, an all-time high to the point where it, it's just, it's mind-boggling to me how many people are literally living on our streets.
It, it makes no sense when we supposedly have this great system that protects them, that certainly more than it did 30 years ago.
Well, look, like, uh, uh, you know, it makes no sense, Gavin, given the size of Canada, uh, one, and we have a significant social safety net.
And, and we don't have the density, right? We're not a country with billions of people, uh, where you see shanty towns.
Listen, this is, uh, there's no doubt that homelessness is a, is a terrible reflection.
Gotta tell you, I can think of a lot of tropical beaches that would just be really great to lie out on, you know.
But hey, maybe that's just me, that a cold street corner, you know, Portage and Main in Winnipeg would not be my choice.
I guess maybe the laws are different in some other, uh, countries that if you pitched a tent and started living in it, uh, somebody might do something, i.e. the police, and they might remove you from your, uh, uh, temporary abode.
Like, I have to say, like, we, you know, look, we're really becoming the old geezers of the internet on this podcast.
Whatever you want, the whatever generation has their name for people who are down on their luck.
Um, but I have to say that it's become an absolute epidemic in urban centers across Ontario.
I don't know if that's a fun- I mean, many people will blame, point fingers all over the place, but I can't recall a time where there have been more social safety net sort of handouts by government for all sorts of outreach programs, if you name it.
And yet homelessness and, uh, you know, people living on the streets and, you know, is at a, certainly from an anecdotal perspective, an all-time high to the point where it, it's just, it's mind-boggling to me how many people are literally living on our streets.
It, it makes no sense when we supposedly have this great system that protects them, that certainly more than it did 30 years ago.
Well, look, like, uh, uh, you know, it makes no sense, Gavin, given the size of Canada, uh, one, and we have a significant social safety net.
And, and we don't have the density, right? We're not a country with billions of people, uh, where you see shanty towns.
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