Municipal bylaws banning overnight camping in city parks could be in jeopardy following a British Columbia court ruling.
Earlier this month, B.C. Supreme Court justice Carol Ross ruled that homeless people in Victoria have the right to erect tents, tarps and other forms of temporary shelter in public spaces.
In ruling on a legal dispute between the city of Victoria and a group of people it evicted from a tent city in Cridge Park three years ago, Ross said it is unconstitutional for the city to prevent people from erecting shelters to protect themselves from the elements, given the community’s lack of safe and secure beds for the homeless.
She also described bylaws that prohibit camping in parks as “arbitrary and overbroad and hence not consistent with the principles of fundamental justice.”
The decision has forced Victoria to allow overnight camping in its parks, although the city has put a new bylaw enforcement policy into effect limiting the hours. Shelters may only be in place from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. and may not be permanently erected.
The policy also restricts the use of “temporary overhead protection in public spaces” to homeless people, and prohibits cooking, campfires and fire pits, as well as the placement of tents or temporary structures on streets, sidewalks and boulevards.
Camping will also only be allowed when there are no shelter beds available.
Although the city is appealing the court ruling, the appeal process is expected to take about a year.
“This issue is not about the right to camp or the right to sleep in parks; it’s about one’s right to shelter. And no one will argue that everyone should have a roof over their head,” said Victoria’s Acting Mayor Dean Fortin. “But the answer to not having enough shelter beds and supported housing is not opening up our parks and public
spaces for camping.”
He added that the new policy is a stopgap measure that aims to comply with the court order while minimizing hazards created by people living in the city’s parks.
As a result of the ruling, the province announced funding for the immediate opening of an additional 45 shelter beds, although it has been estimated that there are more than 1,000 homeless people in Victoria and only about 400 shelter beds.
The city of Victoria has said it will be looking to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Union of BC Municipalities for support in its appeal of the court ruling.
