The camp at Saanich’s Regina Park gives more than 100 residents something they can’t find anywhere else, lawyer John Heaney said Friday.
The site, adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway, offers “personal safety, safety of possessions and a sense of community,” said Heaney, who represented the campers in B.C. Supreme Court proceedings.
Saanich and the province are seeking a court injunction to remove people from the camp, which has been in place since May. The hearing wrapped up Friday and a ruling from Justice Ward Branch on the future of the tent city is scheduled for Sept. 7.
Saanich Fire Chief Michael Burgess has testified that there is a risk of a catastrophic fire due to tents being close together, propane tanks and gas cans being kept inside tents, and the presence of synthetic materials that burn easily.
Heaney said the case should not be just about fire. He said people are attached to the camp and read submissions from residents to prove the point.
“I feel that this is my new family,” one wrote. “We look out for each other,” wrote another.
Saanich lawyer Jeff Locke said the site needs an estimated two to three weeks of refurbishment and remediation to get it into good condition, due in part to the sheer volume of material that has been brought in.
In one instance, a U-Haul trailer was pulled up beside the camp and furniture was unloaded, he said.
Locke said Saanich wants the residents to vacate to allow cleanup to take place and for a layer of wood chips to be put down.
They could return if they agree to confine the use of overnight shelters to 7 p.m. to 9 a.m., but could otherwise be in the park from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Heaney said that would mean less privacy, with people having to spend the day “sitting in wood chips and in public view.”
Locke added that crime has been an issue, telling court that police believe a bicycle “chop shop” is operating at the camp and that a resident in a nearby house has been threatened with violence.
Several tent city residents and supporters were in the courtroom on Friday.
Campers also staged a protest against the legal action when it began Monday, along with people from other tent cities in Nanaimo and Maple Ridge.
