Events in Nanaimo and Prince George make people wonder about the welfare of homeless people
Recent events at homeless camps and tent cities in B.C., like a violent attack, have made people wonder who is responsible for them and what is being done to help homeless people in the province.
On Monday, a man was shot at an encampment in Nanaimo,On Vancouver Island while trying to get back something that someone who lived there was said to have stolen.
The city of Prince George voted the next day toMake a central camp for the homeless in the Moccasin FlatsArea, so that camps don’t spread all over the city. This is to keep people safe.
The incidents bring up hard questions about what rights homeless people have and who is responsible for their well-being.
Here are some answers to what you asked.
Is it against the law in B.C. to be homeless
No, there is nothing in Canada’s Criminal Code that makes being homeless a crime. However, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects people who are in public places.
“The most important part of our Charter is thePeople are taking shelter outside, is section 7“, said Anna Cooper, a lawyer who works with homeless people at Pivot Legal Society.
“It protects your safety and the safety of your things,” he said.
People who live in tents or makeshift shelters in cities, on the other hand, may be breaking city rules about zoning, camping outdoors, or fire safety.
Cooper also says that if someone is sleeping outside, police can charge them with the crime ofobstructing a peace officerCivil penalties can also be enforced by the police.trespassing on private property.
Why are tent cities and camps for the homeless allowed
Even though many homeless camps break city ordinances or trespassing laws,courts have ruled beforeThat cities can’t kick them out without giving them a place to live.
For example, in 2021, Christopher Hinkson, a judge on the B.C. Supreme Court, ruled that the City of Prince Georgecould not dismantleThe Moccasin Flats encampment because residents didn’t have any better options.
Cooper said, “We’ve had cases where [homeless] people win at first, but the city just keeps pushing through the courts until they get that rubber stamp to evict people, even if it’s to nowhere.”
Do cities have a legal duty to give people a place to live
Cooper says that there are no specific laws in Canada that give people a right to housing.
She says that Canada’s Charter and federal laws are still behind.Treaties between countries about human rightsThe government has agreed to, which give people the right to housing and the right not to be evicted against their will.
“On the other hand, governments do have rules toNot discriminate against people, “she said. “The way that being homeless shows up is…It hurts marginalized groups more than others. protected by those codes.
“There is an argument that governments are being unfair in how they provide services like housing.”
What are the cities and the province doing about it
Under B.C.’s Local Government ActWhen it comes to housing, cities have a wide range of powers, from zoning to property taxes, but they can’t pay for and build their own housing.
Crown companies like B.C. Housing are mostly in charge of that kind of thing.
Premier David Eby said that B.C. was working with communities around the province to “get them the resources” they needed to open housing and close encampments. This was in response to concerns about the Moccasin Flats encampment.
“Squats are not the answer to homelessness,” he told CBC’s Carolina de Ryk.Daybreak North“The most important thing is to get people into decent housing.”
When asked if he would overrule local decisions on homelessness, as he did when he was president,He asked for a shelter in PentictonEby said that he would only stay open in 2021 if there was a “major issue.”
He said that B.C. Housing is buying buildings in the city to turn them into homes, but that problems with workers and the supply chain are slowing down the process.
A spokesperson for B.C. Housing said that since 2017, more than 40,000 new homes have been built or are in the process of being built. There are over 5,000 supportive homes for low-income people, and another 2,200 are being built.
Are camps for the homeless in one place a solution
Cooper said that the idea of a police-monitored, centralized homeless camp, as is being proposed in Prince George, doesn’t take into account the fact that homeless people are not all the same.
She said, “I’m very worried that cities will use single-managed encampment spaces to get homeless people out of all public spaces.”
Marie-Josee Houle, who works for the government on housing issues, was also worried.about the plan, saying it would violate Indigenous rights.
Eby said that he understood the advocate’s point, but that it would be “far more constructive” for the federal government to join the table and talk about how to pay for housing.
“The federal government hasn’t been involved in this area for a while.”