North Of Fair

This episode untangles the evidence and arguments around supervised consumption sites, contrasting public-health and clinical perspectives with skeptical columnists and provincial politics.

We explain what closures actually do on the ground—displacement, increased overdose risk, and strained services—and why outcomes depend on whether replacements and community supports exist.

Renting used to be messy, local, and human — references, conversations, and reputations mattered. Over time, lenders’ tools — credit bureaus, scores, eviction databases, and algorithmic screening — migrated into the rental market and turned tenants into borrowers to be underwritten.

That shift created a power imbalance: landlords became risk managers, applicants faced blunt rules (minimum scores, income multipliers, strict eviction...

This episode breaks down how NIMBYism—“Not In My Back Yard”—turns reasonable worries into barriers that keep people unhoused. We unpack the emotional fears, the common myths about who becomes homeless, and the structural causes like housing costs, low wages, healthcare gaps, and criminal-legal barriers.

Then we shift to solutions: more deeply affordable housing, prevention and emergency assistance, supportive services, and accounta...

Welcome back to the North of Fair podcast on Podbean Live.

This episode explains why “standing still” isn’t neutral: keeping the same rules and housing patterns pushes prices up and pushes people out. We define deeply affordable housing, show how single‑family zoning limits supply and access, and explain how modest zoning changes (duplexes, triplexes, backyard homes) can stabilize neighborhoods without erasing character.

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Today’s episode breaks down non-market housing—co‑ops, social and non‑profit units, and rent‑geared‑to‑income homes—and explains why Canada’s existing stock (roughly 600,000–700,000 units) still leaves a gap of about 250,000 deeply affordable homes.

We connect the numbers to real lives: people on ODSP, OW, OAS/GIS, and low‑wage workers face housing instability that market supply alone won’t fix. The episode argues for a durable, mi...

This episode examines what happens when cities shift funding from street outreach to a single centralized hub: who benefits, who’s pushed further from help, and the real-life risks when people can’t—or won’t—come through the door. We unpack outreach, drop-ins, shelters and hubs, show how trust, early warning data, and lifesaving contacts vanish when outreach is defunded, and expose the costs that show up in ERs, crises, and lost li...

Homelessness isn’t a single story — it’s a mix of invisible struggles caused by rising rents, job loss, medical bills, and gaps in our systems. This episode breaks the stereotype, explains how losing housing compounds other problems, and exposes why criminalizing people living outside doesn’t work.

We explore proven approaches like Housing First, prevention and supportive housing, and coordinated services, and offer practical ways ...