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BԪַAn invasionBԪַ: Victoria homeless decry city and cops confiscating tents, food

Trent Smith, who is living homeless in Victoria said bylaw officers will take belongings arbitrarily
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Trent Smith stands in front of a pile of leaves he cleared from the park where he lives. He says he enjoyed cleaning up the park until bylaw officers confiscated his rake, broom and shovel. (Hollie Ferguson/BԪַ Staff)

Just hours after the cancellation of an extreme weather response, City of Victoria bylaw officers began to confiscate tents and blankets from an unhoused community in Stadacona Park on Pandora Avenue.

Trent Smith, who describes himself as a disabled person who is homeless, said he was in the park at 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 4 when bylaw officers arrived with officers from the Victoria Police Department and began breaking down unoccupied tents.

BԪַThere was a tent with nobody in it and they took that right away and they took half of another guyBԪַs stuff, and left him with whatever,BԪַ he said. BԪַThey ended up taking a truck load full from one of the campers.BԪַ

Smith said he didnBԪַt ask the police and bylaw officers why they were removing the belongings from the park, but added that he was disappointed to see it because a extreme weather response (EWR) was issued by the for Feb. 3 and only cancelled early in the morning of Feb. 4.

According to the , a community representative, like the coalition, can issue an extreme weather response to enable more beds at shelters to open up in the event of extreme weather like the high winds Greater Victoria saw Feb. 3.

BԪַBylaw services were out here a quarter after seven this morning (Feb.4), so I just feel that when there is an emergency weather protocol, people shouldnBԪַt be bothered first thing in the morning,BԪַ Smith said.

Smith has been unhoused going on a little over two years, and said the removal and impounding of unhoused peopleBԪַs belongings is something he has seen often and even experienced himself.

BԪַThey go through all your stuff and that is just an invasion on itself, and then they decide what youBԪַre going to keep and what youBԪַre not going to keep,BԪַ Smith said. BԪַThen they keep it until you come and get it, unless they give you an order that you have to have a third party to come get your stuff.BԪַ

Smith uses a cot due to his medical needs and said it was impounded a few weeks ago and he wasnBԪַt able to get it back for four days, despite the bylaw stating that objects impounded must be BԪַmade available to be claimed by a person entitled to its possession BԪַ within six hours of it being removed, seized or impounded.BԪַ

Colleen Mycroft, manager of city communications for the mayor and city managerBԪַs office, said bylaw officers will tag unoccupied items and then return to the site and impound items if they remain.

BԪַIf they are working with someone to help clean up and there were blankets that had biohazards on them, they would discard them if they were a safety issue,BԪַ Mycroft said. BԪַThey wouldnBԪַt just discard things without speaking to the individual and if the structure was impounded, if there were unsafe belongings or something that was moldy or beyond salvagable, then they would do that.BԪַ

The bylaw also states that things impounded can be sold if not picked up within 30 days and the director of parks deems it to have market value, but Mycroft said she has not heard of that happening.

Smith said taking things from the disabled is common, and heBԪַs seen bylaw services remove food and cooking equipment.

BԪַIBԪַve seen all sorts of things over the last year or two that I have been here, everything from taking stuff from a one-legged man in a wheelchair,BԪַ he said.

Mycroft said that during extreme weather situations, ideally there would be no one sheltering in tents, but would be in the cityBԪַs warming centers.

However, for a myriad of reasons, Smith said there are a lot of unhoused people who like himself, tend to separate themselves from the shelters, even during rough weather.

His main reason for avoiding shelters is because he struggles being around heavy drug users, which he said is the case with many of his fellow campers.

The states BԪַa homeless person muct not place in a park a structureBԪַexcept between the hours of 7:00 oBԪַclock p.m. of one say and 7:00 oBԪַclock a.m. of the next day.BԪַ Therefore, bylaw officers will start removing camps in the morning.

BԪַOur bylaw staff are out there helping folks move along and comply with the bylaw, but they also know the folks who are sheltering and theyBԪַre there to work with them and help them pack up, and do that with the utmost respect and compassion that they can,BԪַ Mycroft said.

Niki Ottosen, who runs a community organization called the Back Pack Project that delivers mutual aid and humanitarian aid to people who are unhoused, said she has been keeping track of when extreme weather responses are put into place and monitoring if bylaw officers are confiscating belongings. She said the enforcement of removing tents is due to an April 2021 agreement the province made with Victoria to .

BԪַThey are trying to break up those encampments and how they do that is by constantly taking peopleBԪַs tents and blankets and food and water and clothing, until they push them to the outskirts of town or get them to move,BԪַ Ottosen said.

Smith said the removal of personal belongings is a barrier to progress for many, including himself.

BԪַWe spend most of our time getting our things from bylaw and the police and it makes it really hard to have a mental state where you need to find a home,BԪַ Smith said. BԪַWhether they are taking your stuff or not, youBԪַre seeing them take other peopleBԪַs things and you realize you could be next. ItBԪַs a big picture and we need to change things, fast.BԪַ



hollie.ferguson@vicnews.com

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Hollie Ferguson

About the Author: Hollie Ferguson

Hollie moved to Victoria from Virginia in September 2022 with her partner Zachary and their two pups, Theodore and Bibi.
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