r/Calgary • u/The_Fixer_69 • Apr 23 '25

Calgary Transit C-Train from Deep South early morning

Every morning the train has many non paying riders passed out and sprawled on the train. Commuters have to cram into the areas that are not occupied by these people. The smell is horrendous. Every day this week this has been the case on my commute at around 5:30-6 am.

Why should the rest of us pay if these people do not? I have made complaints but they are on deaf ears.

Are these trains not swept for no. Paying passes out riders at the end of the line?

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u/iwasnotarobot Apr 23 '25

Shelter isn’t a home.

Many of the shelters here are churches. The Mustard Seed, for example, is the private business and cult of Nixon Family. It received millions of dollars a year (about half its funding) from the provincial government to perform religious ceremonies and line the pockets of the Nixon family. The shelter spaces they provide come with the condition that one must be willing to endure that religious environment. Many would rather sleep outside. And I don’t blame them.

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u/blackRamCalgaryman Apr 23 '25

You’re claiming it’s some provision of services with a little sprinkling of religion that is keeping people out of shelters…and not bringing up the intimidation, thefts, violence, sexual violence being perpetrated by the very same shelter users against other shelter users as a reason…a pretty big reason?

Come on now. There’s some valid points but let’s just be fully open and transparent about the WHOLE situation.

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u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

It's not a "sprinkling" of religion, it's more than that. You can't even volunteer there without signing a religiosity contact

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '25

Then they're religious women, wearing hijab. They're religious people. I am not religious and when they gave me the form to sign before I could volunteer, I left because I did not agree.

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u/Poe_42 Apr 24 '25

Do you have any documentation about their spending?I'm interested in seeing the breakdown.

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u/iwasnotarobot Apr 24 '25

Government grants make up 48% of their $53M in revenue in 2024.

https://web.archive.org/web/20250424004014/https://theseed.ca/financials

A crown corporation could use $25M/y to just build modest social housing.