The tent city is untenable as a long-term response to homelessness, the province said Friday in its application for a court injunction to move campers from the lawn of the Victoria courthouse by Monday evening.
The smell of woodsmoke filled B.C. Supreme Court as residents of the tent city crowded the benches of the public gallery. Victoria police officers and sheriffs kept a close eye on the campers, who walked into the courtroom backwards and turned their backs on Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson when he entered the room.
The province is asking for an order prohibiting the campers from constructing new shelters and ordering them to stop setting fires, dumping garbage and living on courthouse property, which is owned by the province.
The province is also asking the court to authorize municipal police and the RCMP to arrest and remove people from the courthouse lawn. But Hinkson has already indicated he will not make that order.
“If I am going to impose an order, there will be no enforcement clause in it,” said Hinkson. “I will expect the police to enforce one.”
The chief judge allowed tent city residents to move up and sit at tables normally reserved for lawyers. Hinkson also allowed the campers to interrupt the province’s submissions with statements and questions.
He told Sarah Bevan, the lawyer representing the provincial government, he regards drug addiction as a health issue. Hinkson said he did not consider low barrier shelters with no means of addressing health issues “much of an option.”
The provincial government is arguing that the individuals are trespassing in their continued use of the courthouse lawn. The campers have also failed to comply with an order issued under the Fire Services Act and discouraged public access to the courthouse and the Justice Access Centre.
The province is also arguing that the campers have created health and safety hazards by burning wood and garbage on open fires, burning candles in tents and defecating on the grounds in and around the tent city and in front of courthouse doors. The campers have also left garbage, including needles and syringes, on the property, and criminal activities such as stabbings and drug dealing have taken place there, the documents say.
On Jan. 8, the government posted a notice asking campers to leave the tent city. On Feb. 4, a second notice was posted asking the campers to leave and remove their belongings by Feb. 25.
But despite the creation of three transitional housing facilities providing accommodation for 128 homeless people, only 50 campers left. Between 60 and 70 tents are still standing on the courthouse lawn.
