Andrew Knack — "Encampment Response in Edmonton (May 2023)" (his own blog)

Posted to andrewknack.ca, May 2023. Knack's own written statement on the encampment crisis.

Direct quotes: - "Housing saves lives. Housing saves money. The evidence is clear." - "We are at a crisis point. The City of Edmonton will continue to do everything possible to help but we need the order of government who has the financial resources and the jurisdiction to fulfill their obligations." - "Housing, shelter operations, and mental health/addictions support are all provincial jurisdiction." - "I expect this year will see the most number of encampments ever." - "we have far more people sleeping outdoors than in Calgary and that number only increases as the weather warms up." - "I will be supporting this motion because if we don't approve this funding, there will be even more loss of life and there will be even more encampments than we have now." - "We are willing partners as we have proven through our collaboration with the federal government, housing providers, and other social agencies."

Reading: "Housing saves lives. Housing saves money" is the identical cost-benefit register Janz uses ("cost-effective solution to social disorder"). Both leaders default to arguing for the poor on the grounds that helping them is cheaper — the market logic swallowing the moral claim. The relentless jurisdiction-passing to the province is the escape hatch from municipal responsibility for the sweeps the city ran anyway.

Original source: https://andrewknack.ca/blog/EncampmentResponseMay2023 Retrieved: 2026-07-04