Park board looks to end ban on sleeping overnight in Vancouver parks

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver parks might soon be an option for a safe — and legal — place to spend the night for homeless people.

The Vancouver Park Board is looking at updating its bylaw governing park use at night. A special meeting will be held on Monday to discuss the issue.

Three sections of the bylaw currently prohibit sleeping in parks: one that bans people from entering parks at night, another that prevents people from loitering overnight and the third which makes it illegal to erect a tent without permission.

But staff at the park board acknowledge that for the last ten years, courts have struck down laws that trample on the rights of homeless people to erect temporary shelters in parks.

In 2009, a decision in the case involving the City of Victoria ruled homeless people have a constitutional right to erect temporary overnight shelters. Another municipal bylaw was later struck down in a case involving the City of Abbotsford.

In a report that will be presented to park board commissioners on Monday, board staff say given the court challenges, the board has stopped enforcing its bylaw. Park rangers, the report says, have been allowing the homeless to seek temporary overnight shelter but request that tents be removed in the morning.

The report goes on to say the updated bylaw “must be updated to ensure it is enforceable and that it recognizes the needs of all park users.”

According to the park board, park rangers responded to 625 per cent more cases in parks from 2015 to 2019. Cases involving temporary structures rose dramatically from 2017 to 2019.

The report says although encampments may provide a sense of security, they can negatively impact the health and safety of neighbourhood businesses and residents. The updated bylaw would still require tents to be dismantled by 8 a.m.

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The discussion comes as the encampment at Vancouver’s Strathcona Park grows to about 150 tents.

Chrissy Brett has been speaking for the homeless at various Vancouver parks and says campers should be able to use parks around the clock.

“You have a right to create shelter. It’s not just for ten hours, not four hours, or not eight hours a day,” she says. “According to a supreme court decision, you do have the right to create shelter, it doesn’t say only night time shelter.”

She says there’s a reason why people choose to congregate and create tent cities in parks.

“We have a community, and a community of over 130 volunteers that are helping and doing the job that Canada refuses to do in holding up its most vulnerable.”

The proposed update will include some restrictions. No tents will be allowed within a 25-metre buffer around playgrounds, near sensitive environments, in forested areas, along trails, and in gardens.