Victoria courthouse campers faces eviction; Majority accepts governments offer while others still refuse

Housing Minister Rich Coleman asked the courts assistance to take down Victoria courthouse camps. The B.C government already has allocated homes for every camper but some still refuse to leave.

Chris Parent who is one of more than two dozen people that faces eviction and refuses to leave said that they are making a political statement. "Some of the people here have slipped through the cracks and we're looking for a place where we could feel at home," he added. "People don't want to leave here." 

According to CBC News, the camp has grown from a few tents last spring to more than 100 people that moved from alleyways and parks down to a highly visible grounds of downtown. Victoria city laws permit camping overnight in parks if shelters are full but campers need to pack in the morning and leave the place.

Coleman said the government has already allocated a housing for every camper. This was after they converted a senior residence and youth jail into a homeless shelter. He said  they are taking care of the vulnerable people and are now looking for the people that are there for the wrong reasons.

Donald Smith is one of the homeless that will leave the tent city in Victoria. He said he is tired of fighting the system and has agreed to live in the government's shelter. He added he is suffering from a lot of mental illness and is willing to accept the help from the government, as reported by The Globe and Mail.

An application that was filed in B.C Supreme Court claims that some people that were living in the camp are trespassing and have defied repeated request and orders to flee the property despite the government's warning. Campers also are creating health and safety concerns by creating fire hazards and even defecating all over the camp site. Criminal activity and drug trade have also been rampant in the area.

But Kelly Newhook, the executive director of Together Against Poverty, said they will oppose the government's injunction to evict the campers. She added that people have the right to live and build a community, as per CTV News.

According to Dan McTavish, resident service director for Victoria's Cool Aid Society, the campers are drawing public attention to the issue of homelessness. He said that a large number of the campers have already accepted the government's offer and are already willing to transfer to the property that the government has prepared for them.

Tags

Victoria Courthouse, Victoria courthouse campers, Victoria campers eviction, Housing Minister Rich Coleman, Dan McTavish, Kelly Newhook

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