City accused of waging war on homeless
Panhandler facing 8 counts of contravening municipal bylaws
The City of Penticton is waging “war on the homeless,” says the local lawyer defending a well-known street person. Paul Braun, 59, is facing eight counts of contravening municipal bylaws by causing an obstruction while panhandling. Braun was not present in provincial court in Penticton on Wednesday for a first appearance, but was represented by his lawyer, Paul Varga.
“This isn’t just a bylaw offence for Mr. Braun, this is essentially a war on the homeless. Not on homelessness, it’s a war on the homeless, by the city, and that’s inappropriate,” Varga said outside court.
Varga is representing Braun pro bono. He said he was speaking with Braun moments after the city subpoenaed him and offered his services.
“Situations like this, where the city is attacking its most vulnerable citizens, I’ve got to step in,” Varga said.
The saga began with city bylaw officers ticketing Braun earlier this year for blocking a downtown breezeway, a spot Braun has been for the past six years. They were fines Braun had no way of paying.
The city has asked Braun to relocate to Nanaimo Square in a move Varga says is attacking Braun’s revenue stream.”
“If you’re going to fine him, well, I guess he is going to have to sit there longer to get more money for his fines because that’s his revenue stream,” Varga said.
Court heard Wednesday the city has made an offer to try and resolve the matter prior to a trial.
Varga said Braun now has a roof over his head, but just one individual fine of $110 essentially represent Braun’s food budget for the month.
The city is also capable of fining Braun for the cost of prosecuting him, Varga said. Braun is facing the possibility of thousands of dollars in fines as well as incarceration.
“They need to stop targeting Mr. Braun, they need to stop targeting the homeless and they certainly need to address the real issues of homelessness,” Varga said.
“How many homeless people were actually invited to participate in the city’s forum on homelessness. How many? Zero. I asked Mr. Braun if he was invited. No, he wasn’t.”
Braun is scheduled for a return to court on Dec. 20 to arrange future court dates.
City bylaw services supervisor Tina Siebert said the case is not about unpaid fines, but rather non-compliance.
“We want to make sure he’s complying with the bylaw. So it’s not about the money. It’s not that at all,” Siebert said.
“We understand, absolutely, we try to show compassion and if you do have financial issues, the city does have a lot of options on how to deal with those.”
Siebert said bylaw services has advocated for Braun to be provided with services and housing, and is happy to hear Braun has found a place to live.
She also noted she works with hundreds of people on compliance agreements each year, reducing fines for continually complying with bylaws for example.
“We work with people, but we’ve had no success with Mr. Braun unfortunately. That’s why it’s, OK, nothing is changing your behaviour so we’re kind of at that next step,” Siebert said.
She said the city hopes to resolve the matter outside court before the next scheduled appearance.