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Rob Ford’s suggestion on a radio show that homeless people should be forcibly swept off the streets during bouts of cold weather drew skepticism and ire from poverty activists Thursday.

Speaking to John Oakley in the morning, Mr. Ford weighed in on the dangers of wintertime homelessness by indicating people “shivering on a grate” should be moved into shelters.

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“We can’t leave people out on the sidewalks freezing to death. I’m sorry. I’m going to tell the social workers, get them off the street, get them into a shelter,” Mr. Ford said.

When the radio host seemed surprised at the suggestion of force, Mr. Ford replied: “What are you going to do?… I’m not going to walk by someone shivering on a grate when it’s -20 out. That’s just inhumane. And if I was like that, I’d want someone to pick me up and say, OK, here’s a warm bed, we’ll take care of you.”







While “you can’t force anyone to do anything,” Mr. Ford later told the