On Tuesday morning, the homeless camp that had moved to provincial land on Ravine Way and Carey Rd was dismantled by Saanich police.
About two dozen of the now displaced tent city occupants have since moved to Goldstream Park where they expect to stay for two weeks – the maximum amount of time that people are allowed to camp there.
Camp organizers and activists are calling for food, water, and other donations as occupants are now “more isolated” and have “less access to services, food, etc”.
Background
On Tuesday morning, a large police presence was observed at Ravine Way and Carey Rd as officers from Saanich, Victoria, and Oak Bay dismantled the tent city that had moved there from its original location in Regina Park.
The property is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, and Saanich police had been asked to help the province ensure that all campers vacate the premises.
For the most part, the residents complied with the police orders. However one supporter of the camp was arrested after crossing police tape.
Residents at the new tent city in Saanich, off Ravine Way and Pat Bay Highway, appear to be complying. They are dismantling their tents as dozens of officers from @SaanichPolice and @vicpdcanada surround the encampment. #yyj #saanich pic.twitter.com/CNkTTC6sd6
— Victoria Buzz (@victoriabuzzes) September 18, 2018
A photo of a Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) vehicle was also posted on Twitter by activist Marilou Gagnon, who then called the eviction process a “war on the homeless and the poor”.
Saanich police responded with a tweet stating that this is not true, and ended their message with the hashtag #fakenews.
Simple put that is not true. That's the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team vehicle and is not part of any "police operation" today. #FakeNews
— Saanich Police (@SaanichPolice) September 18, 2018
The tent city that dubbed itself ‘Namegans Nation’ on Saturday, September 15th consists of approximately 75 homeless people that were ordered to leave their original encampment at Regina Park by the BC Supreme Court.
On Sunday, Saanich police stated that the new encampment has a “significantly more confrontational tone“.
On the same day, the BC government issued an eviction notice to all the people residing on the provincial land along Ravine Way north of Uptown Mall.
On Monday, BC Housing announced 25 shelter beds at the Native Friendship Centre will open up Oct. 1st every night until the end of March. In the past, this shelter was only used if an extreme weather alert had been issued.
