Homeless campers on Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure land in Saanich are facing another eviction after a trespass notice was issued Monday.
“As stated before, highway land is not a safe location for camping, and earlier today the ministry asked campers to vacate the site within 48 hours, under the Transportation and Trespass Act,” said B.C. Housing in a statement.
“Outreach staff are also visiting the campers to remind them of the opportunity for shelter and support services.”
The campers have set up tents on land adjacent to the Patricia Bay Highway and the Saanich municipal complex, including the district’s fire and police stations.
They were hoping the location — near washrooms and other facilities — would accommodate them while permanent housing options are found.
The land had been offered by the municipality to house up to 60 of the 2,000 modular homes being offered by the province, but it was deemed by B.C. Housing to be unsuitable because it is sloped.
Camp organizer Chrissy Brett said she will wait until police arrive to enforce the trespass notice.
Brett said that if B.C. Housing, the District of Saanich and Saanich police commit to finding land and building modular housing that the homeless campers can access first, the group would be willing to take transitional housing in the meantime.
Brett said she is working with a non-profit society in the hopes of creating a partnership to temporarily house the homeless campers until modular housing options and other more permanent housing options can be found.
As in the case of a grassy area of provincial land off Ravine Way — where the campers stayed following a five-month stay at Regina Park — the province says the Ministry of Transportation land currently being used is not appropriate for camping.
After Regina Park, the campers spent a night in Rudd Park, then a few days at Ravine Way, before moving to Goldstream Provincial Park in Langford, then a private property at 5090 West Saanich Rd. They moved to the latest patch of Transportation Ministry land on Saturday.
The homeless campers turned down 10 shelter beds offered by the province at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre two weeks ago. They said the facility couldn’t take the entire group and it was not appropriate for couples.
The beds, in a gymnasium, are no longer available, said executive director Ron Rice. About 20 beds are being used by the same people nightly and five are being used by people needing a bed for the night or in an emergency.
