Homeless man fined $115 for spitting

A homeless man in Calgary has been handed a $115 fine for spitting, a ticket an advocate for the homeless says borders on bullying because the man was spitting in a trash can.

The man was ticketed by police Monday at a C-Trainstation downtown under a provincial environmental protection law for the "improper disposal of waste."

Dermot Baldwin, who runs Calgary's Drop-In Centre for the homeless, said the ticket borders on bullying.

"To serve and protect has a much broader, deeper meaning to me," he said.

"I'd almost be ashamed to give a ticket to somebody who doesn't have any money for spitting in a trash can."

Baldwin plans on sending a photocopy of the ticket to other homeless sheltersand is calling on homeless people to eachsend a penny to pay off the ticket.

Not the meaning of the act: lawyer

The head of Alberta's Environmental Law Centre is also questioning the ticket.

Cindy Chiasson said it's notappropriate for police to use the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act for such tickets. The law is intended to deal with people who dump garbage in inappropriate places, she said.

If the homeless man had the resources, he would have a good chance of successfully fighting the ticket, said Chiasson.

"There are better ways of dealing with this than by issuing this guy a ticket under the environmental legislation. There is a risk there that someone could argue there is abuse of process and also that there's not really an environmental danger."

The city of Calgary is movingahead with enforcing a new bylaw that allows fines of between $50and $300 for spitting, urinating or loitering in public.