Saanich park is no place for campers

Re: “Not compassionate to treat people as trash,” letter, April 15. I think the letter-writer makes some good points regarding the developing situation in Cuthbert Holmes Park. However, I believe some clarification is needed to avoid slipping into an unhelpful exchange of entrenched opinions.

I see several issues that have not yet been addressed in any of the public discussions.

First, the question of a right to seek shelter has displaced the question of the actual behaviour of this particular set of campers. Having spent far too many nights huddled miserably on sentry duty, I have some compassion for anyone who finds himself living in the bush. But I do not think that the need to take shelter in the woods licenses bad behaviour.

What I have seen firsthand at these campsites amounts to a level of vandalism that is well beyond what could be justified by a need for shelter. I might agree with the letter-writer if the behaviour of campers indicated at least some level of respect for the environment or for other park users. It does not.

The second issue I believe needs discussing is that of responsibility for public space. As with some other parks in Saanich, the burden of care of Cuthbert Holmes Park has been largely taken up by community volunteers.

Their activities include assisting in fish management, removing invasive species, assisting in monitoring blueheron nesting, assisting in park planning and conducting outdoor education activities with local schools. Much of this work is being undone by campers.

Some of the educational activities have already been curtailed because of confrontations with campers insisting that they “own” pieces of the park.

The third point I wish to make is that the letter-writer makes a very compelling argument regarding a need for more housing. However, this problem has been raised repeatedly over the past years and found no traction with decision-makers at municipal, regional or provincial levels. There has been a great deal of artful handwringing, but no actual progress.

Allowing campers to continue to camp in Cuthbert Holmes Park contributes to the lack of interest this issue gets from our elected officials. Rather than accusing Gorge Tillicum residents of lacking compassion, it might be more accurate to describe them as fed up with the lack of attention that allows some of our fellow citizens to languish in conditions that would embarrass any selfrespecting refugee-camp manager.

It is hard to look at one of these campsites without feeling an overwhelming sense of compassion for anyone left to live like that.

Finally, I believe there is an overriding concern with fire hazard that is not mentioned in the writer’s letter. Yet there have been a number of reports of campfires, generators and abandoned propane tanks, as well as one credible report of meth-cooking, in the park.

Compassion aside, the risk warrants taking action before a serious fire renders all our debates moot.