A U-Haul used by the roving tent-city group was seized by West Shore RCMP this morning, after locks were cut to the Thetis Lake campground in View Royal.
At about 12:40 a.m., a caretaker who lives at the Thetis Lake campground saw a U-Haul truck and suspicious people inside the compound, which was secured by locked gates. Seeing that the lock on the gate was cut and the hinge was broken, the caretaker called police.
West Shore RCMP determined the U-Haul and associated individuals were members of the tent city protest group, which has been moving throughout the region in recent months. The U-Haul truck was seized and the matter remains under investigation, West Shore RCMP said in a statement.
“The suspects were committing a crime of mischief by cutting the lock, damaging the gate and entering onto the private property,” said Const. Nancy Saggar.
View Royal Mayor David Screech said the actions of the campers have taxed valuable police resources.
“I find it really troubling that people are going to break through a locked gate and trespass on private property,” he said. “I think it’s time that they accept the shelter that’s been offered to them, as opposed to continuing to travel around the region. When you have any group that trespass onto private property, I think it definitely tests the patience of the public.”
The incident comes two days after Central Saanich police arrested 10 homeless campers and removed them from Woodwynn Farms Saturday afternoon. The group had spent Friday night at the provincially owned property after moving from Oak Bay’s Cattle Point, which police in that municipality told them to vacate.
The tenters were charged with mischief and are scheduled to appear in provincial court on Jan. 9. The protest group has dwindled to around 20 people, down from the 115 campers who set up at Saanich’s Regina Park in April.
Anyone with information about the Thetis Lake incident is asked to contact West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, or victoriacrimestoppers.ca.
