Shadow of Mordor in a nutshell.

The goal of an emergency fund is to be available for an eventual emergency. If you lose your job and need to live on saved up money for a few months, you might be forced to sell stock at the wrong time, losing capital. There is a middle ground where you invest that money in a low-risk investment product that will grow with time, without the volatility of the stock market.
To be fair, 6 month is a lot, and most likely not the first goal someone should have when it comes to personal finance starting from zero.

And what are we supposed to do? Legalize all drugs and being drunk in public just to avoid having to fine them, and install beds everywhere in the Underground City (and in this post’s case, in emergency stairwells at the Complexe Desjardins) with no regard for their regular use?
Sure, let’s work on proposing more accessible legal alternatives. Just take note that these laws weren’t created to punish the homeless, but to have a clean and safe public space - which have been degrading for some time now.

It’s not “being homeless” that is illegal, though. It’s drinking in public, begging or sleeping in the metro. And it sure is tough not staying in the metro during winter. There are some organisms that can provide shelter, but not enough for everyone, and it usually cost a couple dollars, which not everyone have everyday. And it’s a real problem on both sides, as the metro was not meant to become a shelter for the homeless, and people have been complaining more and more that they feel unsafe there.