CRAB Park encampment remains after eviction deadline, VPD ‘assessing next steps’

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) — The deadline for people encamped near CRAB Park to leave voluntarily has passed, with homeless people and their supporters still gathered on the site waiting to see if the police will move in.

Fiona York, with the Carnegie Community Action Project, says some people living in the tent city have moved on but most have remained.

“Many people want to stay, they want to see the sacred fire continue, they want to be there until the end,” she says.

RELATED: B.C. Supreme Court rules to clear CRAB Park homeless camp

An injunction was granted in BC Supreme Court Wednesday giving people 72 hours to vacate.

“The 72 hours have expired,” York explains.

“At any time that eviction can be enforced with the VPD so we’re anticipating that they can come and start removing people from the site.”

She says for many people, the encampment represents the “last stop” on a grinding journey.

“They have been to so many places. There is one couple that I spoke to that had been moving from place to place every single day for two years and this tent city is the first place where they’ve been able to stay for a week consecutively. So many people feel there’s simply no other place to go,” she says.

“Many people [are] just so tired of going from place to place, carrying all of their belongings, being displaced every single day by park rangers, by the police, losing belongings at every turn. Having to move along, just the emotional and psychological exhaustion of that, they just want to stay.”

York says no one from the municipal or provincial government has been in contact to discuss alternatives for residents.

She says existing homeless shelters and SROs are full, and aren’t appropriate or adequate for all people experiencing homelessness.

At a rally Saturday afternoon, campers and their supporters reiterated their demands, which include housing for everyone who doesn’t have safe and secure shelter, and acknowledgment that the site of the camp is not private property or federal land, but rather the unceded territory the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh.

They’ve been told to leave, but they don’t plan on moving without demands being met. 72 hours after residents of #Vancouver’s CRAB Park were ordered to clear out, they chose to hold a rally instead. Full story: @CityNewsVAN @NEWS1130 @BT_Vancouver pic.twitter.com/o481uUInl2

— Ashley Burr (@AshleyBurr_) June 14, 2020

In a statement, the Vancouver Police Department said it can’t comment on any plans for enforcement.

“We’re expecting everyone to comply with the court-ordered injunction and are working to assess next steps. Our primary purpose is to protect the safety of the people living in the encampment, the public and the police,” reads a statement from Cst. Aaron Roed.

“We do have plans in place to deal with situations that may arise, however, for security reasons we would not share publicly what those plans are.”

The Port Authority says it is responsible for the safety and security of port lands, but did not indicate any plans to send in security to clear campers.

“We acknowledge and understand that there are complex social and public health issues involved with the tent encampment, and continue to work closely with both provincial and municipal authorities to coordinate next steps and ensure any and all actions are taken peacefully and respectfully,” a spokesperson wrote in a statement.