EDMONTON — Even after more than 30 years in policing and public safety roles, I could not have predicted having to argue that a tent isn’t suitable shelter for anyone, let alone in an Edmonton winter.

Just yesterday, I saw a notice of an upcoming rally to collect tents to help people fortify for winter. I saw this as I was reading the latest reports from our high-risk encampment team. We’ve visited more than 3,600 sites this year, in response to ongoing high levels of community complaints and to seek to get people to services and support. The juxtaposition between the rally plans and the actual conditions on the ground was striking.