Vancouver police, city works to clear Downtown Eastside encampment

Dozens of police officers and Vancouver city workers were on East Hastings Tuesday in an attempt to clear sections of the street congested with tents.

This comes in light of continued efforts to clear the space after a controversial fire order was issued in the summer.

One resident living in a nearby single-room occupancy (SRO) building, says the crowded streets don’t bother them.

“These people have no place to live and these are their temporary homes. So, if there seems to be a lot of stuff, it’s because it’s like taking your whole house and putting it into a shopping cart,” they told CityNews.

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But one individual says they’ve lived on the Downtown East Side (DTES) for 30 years, and says it’s time for the city to fully shut the encampment down.

“It’s nothing but fire hazards, there [are] more buildings that [have] caught on fire since these tents went up,” they said.

They add they’ve never felt so unsafe.

“The poor police out here are trying to keep the peace. There’s more shootings since this tent city came in, there’s nothing but violence.”

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Related video: DTES residents, advocates, speak out against decampment 

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B.C.’s Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon announced Sunday the provincial government will be opening over 330 housing spaces for people living in tents on the Downtown Eastside (DTES).

In the announcement, he says the DTES currently has 117 people sheltering outside, and 70 of them have expressed a desire for housing.

After the announcement, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said safety has been a major concern on the DTES.

“Every single day, we do hear heartbreaking stories related to vandalism, and theft, and overdose deaths, and tent fires,” he said.

Vancouver Fire Rescue Services says there have been around 15 tent fires in the DTES so far this year, and a tent fire earlier in March had Chief Karen Fry calling for change.

The new spaces are all expected to be available by the end of June.

With files from Angela Bower and James Paracy