Ousted tenters vow to stay together
Scores of police surround Saanich’s new encampment to enforce vacate order
Residents of Saanich’s new tent city were forced out of a Ravine Way green space Tuesday morning but they’re vowing to stay together and camp as a community.
Before 8 a.m., about 80 police officers from Victoria, Oak Bay and Saanich surrounded the encampment en masse to enforce a trespass notice issued by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
Citing safety concerns, the province asked police to remove people from the camp immediately.
Yellow police tape encircled the camp on the green space between Highway 17, Carey Road, Ravine Way and Vernon Avenue. Police cars with flashing lights parked on the surrounding roads.
By early afternoon, 28 tents had come down and more than 40 homeless people had packed their belongings into green garbage bags and storage bins.
Most of the campers are former residents of a tent city that began five months ago in Regina Park. That camp was shut down Thursday when Saanich police enforced a B.C. Supreme Court injunction, forcing more than 100 people to disperse.
Ashley Mollison, spokeswoman for Alliance Against Displacement, rented two U-Haul trucks to help people move to another location.
About 12:30 p.m., Mollison and tent city residents drove to Rudd Park, but Saanich police were waiting for them and refused to let them take their belongings out of the U-Haul.
A Saanich bylaw permits camping in 102 designated municipal parks from 7 p.m. to 9 a.m.
Campers were told that during the day they could bring only what they could carry into the park. The exchange became heated and the campers returned to Ravine Way.
But by this time, a fence had been placed around the property to prevent campers from returning.
“Everyone has been driven out of the site and now we have everybody’s stuff in moving trucks and we have nowhere to go,” said Mollison.
“As we’ve been saying all along, people who have been living at the site have nowhere else to go. It’s as simple as that. … But today, we saw the forceful displacement of 45 to 60 individuals from the park behind me.”
The campers are devastated and have vowed to bind together and continue to camp together, she said.
“We know people are safer when they are together. We know they can look after their belongings, look after each other, when they are together. They can fight off anti-homeless people together and essentially keep themselves safe,” Mollison said.
B.C. has an affordable housing crisis that affects many more than you see in tent cities, Mollison said. Seniors are losing their homes. More people are becoming homeless every day. Others are barely surviving in their apartment buildings, she said.
“We aren’t allowed in the parks. We’re not allowed on the streets. We’re not allowed in tent cities. Where are homeless people allowed to go in this district?” she asked.
Mollison said her question was for the B.C. government, explaining that the campers chose to relocate to Ravine Way because housing is a provincial issue.
By late afternoon, tent city residents were back at Rudd Park.
The plan was to leave their belongings packed up and to have a discussion about the next step.
“People do want to stay together,” said Mollison.
It was expected they would put up tents and camp in Rudd Park after 7 p.m., a decision that will not be popular with many in the neighbourhood. On Friday, tent city residents went to Rudd Park after being displaced from Regina Park.
Neighbours quickly complained that the sports field and playground used by many community associations was not an appropriate place for the campers. Washrooms were not open and campers used a nearby convenience store and gas station. The campers said they were harassed during the night by residents.
A statement from the Housing Ministry said outreach workers, including B.C. Housing staff, staff from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, and staff from Pacifica Housing, were at the camp Tuesday speaking with campers and assessing their housing and support needs. B.C. Housing and community partners will continue to provide support and resources as required, it said.