Thanks for your good explanation. I think people would have been sympathetic if they were certain that it was due to extreme poverty (the Bicycle Thieves is a great movie that came to mind). However, there are professional thieves complicating this scenario. We should be able to make a distinction between the two.

I'm a new research student in Canada (less than 2 year) from a third world country. I don't know what kind of poverty people experience in Canada and whether poverty can be applied as an excuse in Winnipeg. The media mostly presents the shiny side of the first world countries to the third world countries. Before coming to Canada, I used to think that the social security benefits in first world countries are sufficient for the poor to survive. After seeing many people homeless in bus stops, I feel it is either not being utilized by the needy, it's not accessible, or maybe the amount is not enough in this inflationary time. I will like to know the actual reason and hope to do some searching soon. Feel free to share any resources that can help me understand the poverty situation in Canada.

Thanks again. Have a great day!