The province erected fences at tent city Saturday in an effort to keep new campers out of the courthouse camp.
The move came four days after a B.C. Supreme Court judge ordered the camp to be shut down and gave the province authority to prevent newcomers from setting up on the site.
“Construction fencing has been set up around the perimeter of the camp to ensure that only those people who resided there prior to July 5 will continue to have access to the site,” said Lindsay Byers, spokeswoman for the Housing Ministry.
The metal fencing also replaces a makeshift barrier of wooden pallets that had surrounded the tent city. The wood structure was to be removed to comply with fire code regulations.
Tent city advocate Chrissy Brett said campers are comfortable with the barriers. “I think people will welcome the privacy, and I’m OK with it,” she said.
“But again: Out of sight, out of mind. That seems to be society’s way of dealing wth poverty and the result of the failing system.”
Victoria bylaws allow overnight camping in city parks, but tents and belongings must be removed during the day.
Those rules don’t apply to the courthouse property, which is owned by the province, and tents began appearing on the lawn last year.
As the number of campers grew, so did the concerns of neighbours, who complained of increase crime and disturbances.
Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled July 5 in favour of the province’s most recent bid to close the camp based on evidence of deterioration and safety concerns.
Hinkson ordered that all structures be cleared and residents moved out no later than Aug. 8, when a former Johnson Street care home purchased by the province to house the campers is ready.
Over the past year, the province has secured more than 300 units of transitional and permanent housing for people who are homeless.
Some of those spaces are already available, including 40 spaces at My Place shelter on Yates Street, 50 spaces at Choices in View Royal, and 38 at the former Mount Edwards Care facility.
Another 140 units of supportive housing at the former Central Care Home facility on Johnson Street will become available in August. In October, the former Super 8 hotel on Douglas Street will offer 51 units.
The beds that are already available are full and have wait-lists, and some, such as Choices in View Royal, are only temporary.
Between 60 and 70 per cent of tent city’s estimated 100 campers have signed up for housing options, Brett said.
But she and others plan to stay beyond the Aug. 8 deadline.
Some people are still falling through the cracks, she said.
“I think it’s amazing that permanent housing solutions have been created, but when we look at the years and years of government ignoring its commitment to social housing, this is the end result,” Brett said.
“I don’t see us going anywhere, not until they come up with solutions for everyone here in Victoria and across the province.”
