Victoria allows homeless to sleep in parks
New legislation could cause a domino effect across Canada, legalizing temporary shelters in public places
“I’m sleeping in a tent-city tonight,” David Johnson declared in an email from Victoria, B.C.
Johnson, who is homeless, has been an outspoken opponent of by-laws that until Tuesday made it illegal for homeless people to set up “temporary abodes” in the city’s parks and other public spaces in Victoria.
The laws were struck down this week when the B.C. Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional.
In her ruling, Justice Carol Ross said the the bylaws violated section seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – which guarantees life, liberty, and security of the person, except “in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”
Ross noted that while there are more than 1,000 homeless people living in Victoria, there are less than 350 shelter beds.
“I have found that a significant number of people living in the City of Victoria have no choice but to sleep outside in the City’s parks or streets,” she wrote.
“The City’s Bylaws prohibit those homeless persons from erecting even the most rudimentary form of shelter to protect them from the elements.”
The ruling came after a lengthy court battle which began in October 2005, when police evicted Johnson and a group of at least 20 others from Cridge Park, near Victoria’s downtown, where they had set up camp.
Advocates for the homeless lauded the judgement.
“We’re happy with the ruling,” said Chris Aung-Thwin, coordinator for Homeless Nation, a non-profit organization that uses Internet tools to empower homeless people all over Canada.
Catherine Boies Parker, one of the lawyers involved in the case, said the ruling will affect the way cities write laws in the future.
“[This decision] means that when lawmakers are legislating, they have to take into account the impact of those laws on the people who live on the streets, the people who are really most vulnerable to the use of state power,” she said.
The ruling could also cause identical bylaws in other Canadian cities to be declared void, according to McGill law professor Armand de Mestral.
“Depending on the wording of bylaws in other municipalities, it could well have implications on their bylaws as well,” de Mestral explained.
But Victoria mayor Alan Lowe has already voiced opposition to the ruling. He believes the emergence of tent cities could compromise public safety, and open the door to crime and environmental degradation in the city’s parks.
“We have seen first hand the ill effects of tent cities,” Lowe said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
“In 2005, at Cridge Park, we saw a tent city that became a hub of illegal activity, health concern, and vandalism.”
Lowe said the city may try to appeal the ruling, and shifted the problem of homelessness in Victoria to federal cuts on social spending and housing. He called on other levels of government to take action.
“Municipal governments were never in the business of providing housing and social support services to individuals in need,” Lowe said.
Comments
David Arthur Johnston wrote:
Press Release For 'Right to Sleep' Charter Ruling (Victoria, BC, Canada)
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Good day and patience be with us all.
It is phenomenal, what is happening here in Victoria and soon the rest of Canada and the Commonwealth. Essentially, non-property holders have been given the right to exist and property holders are freaking. A BC Supreme Court ruling on the Constitutionality of municipal Bylaws that prohibit sleeping (in a temporary abodes in crappy weather) in public spaces has just come down. The crux of it is, quoting the presiding judge, the Honourable Madam Justice Ross, "In these circumstances I have concluded that the course that is most appropriate is to grant a declaration that the Bylaws are of no force and effect insofar as they apply to prevent homeless people from erecting temporary shelter." Leaving the municipality the responsibility of guiding away the temporary abodes to places more fit for the job than any public access land that might not be so (from deep bush to the lawn in front of city hall). In the case of Victoria, however, the city's response was the inception of a new bylaw restricting temporary abodes between 7:00 AM and 9:00PM, during the day when even you can't sleep at any shelters. The city is aware that it is unconstitutional, it is only a matter of time before they are held accountable and they realize they can restrict all tents from parks if they did have a place for them to go (these places, of course, lest they turn into internment camps, will have provisions for growth and mayhaps even the barest of amenities).
The dramatic concern and biggest excuse in resenting tent-cities is the crime it attracts. No doubt, along with the soon to be massive influx of 'ordinary Joes and Janes', the most undisciplined of society will be attracted to the notion of having their own space at tent-cities... so sometimes it becomes the responsibility of the individual accepting notions of maturity, standing and not putting up with meanness, period. People will find tent-cities have lives of their own and adjust just as efficiency dictates.
With that, I would suggest that the 'Crown' will never acknowledge total financial collapse and subsequently is not preparing for it, beyond resorting to psychotic behaviour to live as long as it can (A.K.A. Tent-cities are not in the 'management' plans of the rulers).
So, with all sacredness, patience be with us all.
Presume innocence of each piece of life, at least until you know better, and the joy of a loving community will be yours.
cheers and peace,
David Arthur Johnston
Victoria, BC, Canada
Hatrackman@Gmail.com
Home page- http://www.angelfire.com/apes/hatrackman
Journal of the Occupation of St. Ann's Academy (Victoria, BC, Canada)- http://www.angelfire.com/apes/hatrackman/welcome.htm
Crimes of Necessity- http://www.loveandfearlessness.com (from filmmaker Andrew Ainsley. Very comprehensive.)
Oct 23 at 03:51 PM
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