Court injunction to force Main St tent city to close
Posted May 8, 2017 4:54 pm.
Last Updated May 8, 2017 6:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The City of Vancouver is cracking down on dwellers at a tent city on Main St, about a week after the camp was set up.
The camp, north of the Pacific Central Station, was established on April 28th, and the City initially told the group to leave by 9am on the 29th.
Camp leaders haven’t packed up, so the City has now applied for an injunction to gain access to the site.
In a statement, the City says everyone at the camp has been directed to remove tents and leave the property. The City says the campers are trespassing, and violating a land regulation bylaw.
The site is set to become a social housing development for Aboriginal adults at risk of homelessness, and the City says some funding for the project could be negatively impacted by delays.
Soil testing and drilling is due to commence on the site this month.
Campers have no plans to leave
Maria Wallstam with the Alliance Against Displacement, the group supporting the camp, says there are about 50 people calling the site home.
“We’re going to fight back and ask for an adjournment. What we’re talking about here with this tent city, is tent cities actually save lives. It’s a life and death situation for homeless people on the streets.”
“No one is leaving, no one has anywhere to go.”
Wallstam isn’t deterred by the City’s argument about delays to the social housing project, saying only one-third of the social housing units would be affordable to homeless people.
“It would just house a tiny fraction of the city’s homeless population.”
Crystal Cardinal is one of the campers at the Main St site, and says she has no plans to leave.
“We’ve been living on the streets and we found this site and it seems to be nice and safe for everybody. They prefer to stay here than in shelters, because shelters aren’t safe for them.”
The City says housing outreach staff are working with BC Housing to secure accommodation for those on site who are willing to engage.
There is also a tent city at Maple Ridge, where campers have been served with a trespassing notice.
