Duelling protests fuel tension over Nanaimo homeless camp
NANAIMO — Tensions flared over a homeless camp Sunday as two sets of protesters traded insults from opposite sides of a downtown street.
Those who want DisconTent City dismantled yelled at supporters to put up homeless people in their backyards and supporters chanted “Homes, not hate” in unison.
About 400 opponents eclipsed a slightly smaller number of supporters, following a threat made on social media by the Soldiers of Odin, an international anti-immigration group, to break up the camp at 1 Port Place.
Some opponents said removing the camp is long overdue. Soldiers of Odin had said it would happen at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
As the hour drew near, opponents lined up on the Port Place mall side of Esplanade and individuals shouted sporadic jeers at the camp residents. At the same time, people worked to reinforce the camp gate with old furniture and a pickup truck turned sideways.
Nanaimo RCMP rerouted traffic and built a line of police vehicles and officers down the centre of Esplanade, forming a physical barrier between both sides.
Camp sympathizers turned out to answer a public appeal for help, issued by camp organizers.
“It pisses me off if people are coming down here to make trouble,” said Keith Addison, a forest worker and Nanaimo resident.
Addison said tearing up the camp would only serve to disperse homeless people into the community, from a camp he described as “fairly clean and organized, and self-contained.”
“I support Tent City because of the B.C. housing crisis,” said Byron Dunbar. “We need more affordable rental housing.”
By 12:30 p.m., camp opponents were staking out sidewalk real estate on the opposite, mall side of the street.
Much of the conversation among opponents centred on government inaction to remove the camp.
“I think it starts at the top — the City of Nanaimo should have shut this down when it started,” said Mike, who, along with his wife Jackie, declined to give their last names citing safety concerns.
“We live downtown and we’ve had nothing but people pulling their pants down in the street and going to the bathroom,” Jackie said. “We’re just fed up.”
Mike was among the first to yell catcalls across the street to camp supporters.
Others expressed disgust over the camp’s impact on the downtown core.
“Would you like to come in on a cruise ship and see this?” said Diane, who declined to give her last name.
She said a B.C. Ferries employee told her many of the camp supporters came from Vancouver, asking for directions to the camp upon arrival.
Seeing Nanaimo city councillor Gord Fuller handing out cookies to the crowd, Bonnie Stolz peppered him with a string of graphic, profane insults.
She said Fuller earned it at a protest rally two weeks ago, where he handed out flowers.
“I told him Tent City’s got to go,” and Stolz said Fuller swore at her.
“He pointed right in my face and yelled,” Stolz said.
Fuller insists he’s not taking sides in the dispute.
“I’m not on any side, I’m on the side of the City of Nanaimo,” Fuller said. “I came down here to hopefully bring calm to the situation.”