It wouldn’t be surprising to see tents still on the courthouse lawn one to two years from now, says a Victoria councillor.
“I guess it’s up to the province whether that’s an appropriate site for the next one to two years as a regional housing strategy is implemented, or whether an alternate site would be preferable,” said Coun. Ben Isitt.
“We can’t get diverted from the objective of ending homelessness, and I think having that site there has created more leverage to end homelessness and it’s created more units of housing quicker than anything else,” Isitt said.
He said he doesn’t believe there’s growing anger in the community about the tent city. “I’m not hearing a public outcry around that camp. There’s a much bigger public outcry right now relating to bike lanes,” Isitt said.
“So the reality is that this is not actually a major controversy in the community in terms of what I’m hearing from the public.”
Coun. Chris Coleman has a different view, saying frustration over the tent city is growing. “I think Ben should be going to some of the meetings that I’m going to.
“If I feel frustrated, I can only imagine how disconsolate adjacent neighbours must feel.”
Stephen Hammond, founder of the citizens’ group Mad As Hell Victoria, said it may be true that there’s not much concern among people who don’t live near the encampment. “But they’re throwing their fellow residents to the wolves.” Hammond said the city should be providing around-the-clock police protection for the neighbourhood surrounding the camp.
Hammond can’t fathom the idea of the encampment being there for a couple of years. “You will see such a change in this neighbourhood, because anyone who can get out will get out.”
On Tuesday, B.C. Supreme Court Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson refused to issue an injunction to evict the campers. The province will be back in court in September seeking a permanent injunction.
Isitt agrees with Mayor Lisa Helps that it’s now key that the province step in to manage the encampment to lessen its impact.
But some say that’s probably easier said than done.
“I don’t believe that trying to manage a tent city or micro housing is the way to go,” said Coun. Geoff Young, adding that authorities are already closing their eyes to bylaw violations such as open fires. “You need more rules. I don’t think we should be saying to people: ‘You set the rules we’ll provide the food and the space and it’s open doors.’ ”
Young disagrees with Isitt about the level of neighbourhood concern over the tent city and worries that the court decision could make managing the tent city even more difficult.
“More people will come there given its quasi-permanent status and I think there will be a greater willingness on the part of [its] residents to test the limits of management,” Young said. “On the other side, the province may recognize that a lot more management is needed than simply depending on Victoria police and fire.”
Don Evans, executive director of the Our Place shelter which has been managing temporary shelters such as My Place and Choices, said the province will face a tough task in trying to manage the tent city because it doesn’t have a strong relationship with the people there.
“And I don’t think the people in there are going to be open to having anybody manage or oversee them.”
Our Place is planning additional supports for the tent city this summer, given the mental health and addiction issues among the residents, Evans said. “We definitely see that it’s going to grow over the summer and stay at capacity. This is the time of the year that we start to see a bit of the transient population travelling across the country, so we’ll see some people coming into town — which we’re already starting to see.
Kathy Stinson, executive director of Victoria Cool Aid Society, said the biggest challenge is likely that the people living in the tent city “are looking to self-manage.”
“I think from the provincial perspective, staying focused on the real solutions is key. Let’s find homes and let’s find alternatives for people so they don’t have to be in tent city,” Stinson said.
