Ville-Marie is repurposing its old parking meters to collect change for the homeless.

A nice idea, or an outré plan to banish the jab of guilt the well-heeled feel when they make eye contact with the less fortunate? On the one hand I can see the point of collecting money in this way to support an organization that helps the homeless. On the other, there's a certain depersonalization that happens when you drop fifty cents into a parking meter rather than into the hand of someone who has asked you for help.

There's this chronic bureaucratic idea that you can and should force the homeless to queue in an orderly way for your bounty, and not introduce an element of waywardness into your urban scene. I am not convinced.
posted at 11:40