Tent city residents in limbo in midst of looming injunction judgement
On Thursday, the City of Vancouver will see if a judge will order the removal of tent city residents
The City of Vancouver is set to meet residents of a Main Street tent city in B.C. Supreme Court Thursday, as officials argue for an injunction to have the camp removed.
On Monday, residents who call themselves the "ten year tent city" camp at 950 Main Street were served with a notice of civil claim, which detailed the City's cause for their removal.
Maria Wallstam is an organizer with the a group calling themselves the Alliance against Displacement, advocating for the tent city residents.
She says when they head to court Thursday morning, they will request an adjournment in order to better prepare their defence to the injunction.
"It's a pretty basic ask, to have enough time to have due process and a fair hearing. What we're talking about here is actually like, people's lives are at stake," said Wallstam.
The City says the camp residents are trespassing on their lot, which, according to court documents, was purchased in 1998 for the purpose of social housing.
Since then, nothing substantive has come of the property until April 26 when a development permit application on behalf of the Lu'ma Native Housing Society was received by the City.
In a statement, the City says the proposed development will include 26 units of social housing, serving Aboriginal adults who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Officials say the camp and its structures need to be removed so that environmental remediation work can begin on the site.
Wallstam says the injunction to remove residents will do more harm than good, with no alternative housing offered by the City of Vancouver.
"It's a lot that's been empty for over twenty years, they've owned this since the nineties. Suddenly it's an emergency that 50 homeless people have made this into a home where they support each other and they provide shelter the government is not providing," said Wallstam.
Joyce Jackson is a camp community member and the group's treasurer. Before making a home at the tent city she says she was living on the street or in shelters.
"We clean, we cook, we have Narcan training, It's like being at home with your friends," said Jackson. "It's safe here and we all respect each other."
Jackson says that while some residents may respect the injunction if it is granted, she, along with the majority of camp dwellers, will fight any attempt at their removal.