It's been almost three days since the B.C. Supreme Court struck down Victoria's anti-camping bylaws, but the province's minister of housing and social development, Rich Coleman, is yet to make a public statement about the ruling.
Coleman did, however, speak about the case with Victoria Chamber of Commerce representatives yesterday. The Chamber members happened to be meeting with Coleman anyway, said CEO Bruce Carter, and the topic of the camping case arose.
“[Coleman] said people sleeping on the streets is unacceptable and they want to solve homelessness,” said Carter. “He didn't think people sleeping in parks is a reasonable solution.”
The minister said the province already has 4,600 housing beds in Victoria and is building a new shelter in the city, said Carter, but he acknowledged it's not enough. The minister also said other municipalities in the region need to help out, Carter said.
The minister has had requests for comments from at least five media outlets, but so far has not responded to any of them. Carter said Coleman said he is taking the time to review the 112-page reasons for judgment before talking to the press.
Asked if he wants to handle more of Coleman's calls, Carter laughed and said, “We're the Chamber of Commerce. We're the spokesmen for the business community.”
Justice Carol Ross found it is unconstitutional to prevent someone from erecting shelter for themselves when there are so many more people homeless than there are available shelter beds. Housing is a provincial responsibility, and Victoria Mayor Alan Lowe and Carter have pointed to the need for the province to do more.
“We need the other levels of government to pay attention to this Supreme Court decision,” Lowe said on October 14. “This judgment demonstrates what years of cuts to social programming and housing programs has done.”
Vancouver housing activists are pushing for the precedent to be adopted in B.C.'s largest city as well, to the chagrin of mainstream columnists.
Victoria's city council today decided to appeal the ruling.
A spokesperson for the city said she did not know how much money the city has already spent fighting this case for the past three years, but the city pays a fixed fee to keep their legal counsel on retainer.
The city may also have to pay the costs for the lawyers who challenged the bylaws. One of the lawyers, Irene Faulkner, said they will be seeking to recover money for their costs, but could not say yet how much.
The city council also adopted a new bylaw enforcement policy:
· This policy shall be in effect at all times when the number of homeless persons in Victoria exceeds the number of available shelter beds.
· The erection and overnight use of Temporary Overhead Protection in Public Spaces is restricted to Homeless Persons.
· When this policy is in effect, homeless persons will be permitted to erect Temporary Overhead Protection in Public Spaces between the hours of 9:00pm of one day and 7:00am of the following day.
· Permanent camps or tent cities are not permitted in any Public Spaces.
· Temporary Overhead Protection may be erected and used only between the hours of 9:00pm of one day and 7:00 am of the following day. All such temporary structures must be removed by 7:00am along with any associated chattels.
· City Staff will remove temporary shelters remaining in Public Spaces after 7:00am in accordance with standard City enforcement policy.
· Temporary Overhead Protection may only be erected and used in Public Spaces.
· Erecting temporary shelters on Streets, Sidewalks and Boulevards is prohibited.
· Cooking, campfires and fire pits are prohibited.
· Persons who erect and use Temporary Overhead Protection as permitted by this policy must comply with all other provisions of the Parks Regulation Bylaw.
Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.
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carfreed
3 years ago
homeless
The judge made a good point but should have added more conditions.
Many homeless people would prefer to stay in a park on their own than use a shelter house or even a residence.
I know of people classified as homeless who have permanent campsites in outlying areas. They are discreet, they keep their sight camoflauged and well maintained. They go in to victoria once a week for laundry, supplies and perhaps medication for a mentl illness.
They prefer to live like that and I can understand that.Setting up in parks close to the down town is courting disaster for health and safety reasons. There will be violence. Severe social problems. The greater public will want to and need to avoid the park. This is no solution.
Better to bus people out to a designated park site for people with resdiential issues.
I have experienced episodes of homelessness in Victoria and the Gulf Islands due to inability to find new affordable housing because of the high priced rental market and landlords selling or renovating.
I stayed a few times at the shelters and a tent in a park is the Ritz compared to those places. But we are not talking about the odd tent or makeshift shelter in a park. We will see very ugly sprawling tent cities once the word is out. There will be rapes, injuries and fights.Garbage will be left about. Dogs will form pacts or fight. It will be a MESS!
zalm
3 years ago
Tents only for the homeless?
The new bylaw means protest cities won't be allowed now either. No protests against the provincial government, ministries, ministers, government departments or anything else.
Something seems wrong here when the public's right to view the flowers unsullied by another's lifestyle is deemed more important than free speech.