What would Jesus do, and could he get a permit for it?

Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and his NPA-controlled City Council like to give uplifting names like "Project Civil City" to the projects they undertake to cope with the city's escalating homeless crisis. However, when it comes to religious organizations who wish to ease the suffering of the homeless, the response from the city isn't civility, it's bureaucratic hostility. In the spirit of such institutionalized anti-social behaviour as forbidding transit users to share bus transfers at the end of their ride, Vancouver City Hall insists that the 10th Avenue Church and other religious organizations need a 'social services permit' in order to continue to carry out local mission work to feed, clothe, and provide shelter for the people at Vancouver's margins.

This page is by no means a religious person, but I do recognize that where government and business have failed, the only other people holding up the social safety net besides strong trade unions are the churches. As a liberal democracy, Canada subscribes to the separation of state, and this page says that separation cuts both ways. Particular religious viewpoints should be infiltrating public institutions, and the state should not prohibit the church from conducting traditional activity that benefits the entire community.

Matthew 22:21 says "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and render unto the Lord what is the Lord's" I hope the 10th Avenue Church and their allies can forgive this page as I say to City Hall: "Caesar, get the f**k out of the way!"