People living in tents and other structures along a busy street in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside have received notices saying the spaces will be removed.
The release from the City of Vancouver said the removal would first focus on the highest risk areas, adding in a statement that the process would begin on Tuesday and last for weeks.
Mid-morning Tuesday, in one area between Carrall and Main streets, the sidewalks were still lined with dozens of tents. In some sections, the sidewalks were impassable because the tents and sheds were clustered so tightly.
The city’s fire chief ordered the tents cleared last month, saying they posed an extreme fire safety hazard.
Forced displacement is a human rights issue: advocate
Advocacy group Pivot Legal Society said clearing the community would violate a pact signed by the city, province and Vancouver Parks Board to provide support for the homeless.
“A big part of the problem is that people have nowhere to go. Forced displacement to nowhere is at odds with numerous human rights issues,” said Anna Cooper, a lawyer for the society.
“The reason people don’t have a place to go is BC Housing and the city has actually recognized that we don’t have enough adequate housing options available at this point.”
Tents are pictured along the sidewalk on East Hastings Street near Main Street in Vancouver’s downtown Eastside on July 26. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
The society said in a statement that the city had created deteriorating conditions at the camp by failing to provide promised storage, sanitation facilities and garbage disposal, but now cited those safety and health concerns as the reason for the forced removal.
Pivot called on Vancouver to provide “livable, decent and affordable housing” and the fire department to recognize the unique needs of encampment residents by creating a harm reduction approach to fire safety that takes into account challenges ranging from toxic drugs to police violence and trauma due to colonization.
The city cites a risk to public safety
Last month, the Vancouver Fire Department ordered the immediate removal of tents and structures along East Hastings Street in the downtown Eastside due to “numerous urgent safety concerns.”
The city said the order, signed by Fire Chief Karen Frye, highlights the increased fire risk associated with the shelters currently located along the road.
There were several fires in the area in the weeks before the order went into effect, including ones that destroyed a community church and a Value Village store.
Fry said the fire department has seen a 103 percent increase in fires since 2018. As of July 25, there have been approximately 840 fires in the downtown area this year.
Tents line the sidewalk on East Hastings Street near Main Street on July 26, a day after the city ordered their removal due to a fire hazard. (Ben Nelms/CBC)
The fire chief also said crews have seen an increase in tents downtown since July.
“They’re getting more and more crowded … and we’re getting reports from building occupants that they can’t leave through the emergency fire escape,” Fry said.
Cooper said advocates agree fire safety needs to be addressed, but disagree with the city’s approach.
“Fire safety is 100 percent a public safety issue, and none of the advocates are saying it’s not,” she said. “What we’re saying is that this is not the only public safety issue, and it can’t be addressed in a way that excludes other safety issues.”
When asked where the people living in the tents are expected to move, the City of Vancouver referred questions to BC Housing. The housing agency does not specify where people could settle.
LISTEN | Pivot Legal Society lawyer Anna Cooper spoke about the impending removal of the tent:
Early Edition9:18am Tent removal is set to begin today in the Downtown Eastside
An order to remove tents along several blocks of East Hastings streets will be enforced later today. We will take you live to the venue.
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