Homeless campers have lost their makeshift new home at Oppenheimer Park after a B.C. Supreme Court judge signed off on the City of Vancouver's injunction application to evict them.
Judge Jennifer Duncan rejected Pivot Legal Society's argument they had a constitutional right to remain there because it is safer than living in shelters and gave the 150 to 200 people residing there until next Wednesday (Oct. 15) to clear out by 10 p.m. She said park bylaws had repeatedly been violated, including a ban on open flames, and there were no exceptional circumstances to allow the encampment to continue.
Police responded to a total of 364 calls to the park in the three months after the encampment began in July.
In a statement released the same day as the ruling, the city said outreach staff working with B.C. Housing have so far placed 56 homeless campers from the park into existing housing options. The Carnegie Outreach Team is also currently working with 23 more people and has collected working information to assist another 34.
