Past deadline, some campers remain on west side of Vancouver’s Strathcona Park

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The deadline to clear out half of Vancouver’s Strathcona Park has passed, with nearly a dozen tents still occupying an area now meant to be public space again.

Some campers, with no access to affordable housing, were supposed to move from the west to the east side by 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Jamie Maclaren, a social justice lawyer who lives a few blocks away, says only a few campers have actually packed up and moved to the east side of the park.

“There are about 11 tents still standing, so it seems that the deadline was respected by some, but not all. There’s no sign of park staff in the park trying to move the rest of the tents, so still a lot of work to do,” he said.

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“[I’m] hoping that the Park Board finds a way to enforce its order and finds a humane and workable way for everyone to move into safe and warm shelter elsewhere. The goal is for everyone in the park to get safe, warm and appropriate housing within Vancouver,” Maclaren added.

The Vancouver Park Board is working with BC Housing, with the goal of finding homes for every camper by the end of April.

In an effort to reclaim half the park, the Park Board has split the property off with fencing to limit the size of the controversial encampment. Campers on the east side can stay, but those on the west side will have to move over.

We’ve been told Park Board staff are not available to comment before Thursday.

-With files from Tarnjit Parmar, Miranda Fatur, and Kathryn Tindale