By Canadian Press

Group asks Vancouver for more time over Crab Park homeless site cleanup

Mar 25, 2024 | 10:01 AM

VANCOUVER — An advocacy group and others are making a final plea to the City of Vancouver to hold off on its second phase of a plan to clean up the site of a homeless camp in Crab Park. 

The group called Stop the Sweeps and residents of the encampment oppose the move, saying they’re being offered small, fenced pens to live while the city bulldozes their community, which includes a warming tent and kitchen.

An open letter that was sent to the city on Friday was signed by 450 individuals and groups, and says if the 40 tents at the site are moved it will be replaced by a managed tent city where no new residents will be allowed to live. 

Vancouver officials announced earlier this month that dozens of homeless people staying in the city’s only legal encampment would have to temporarily move because the site had become unsafe and unhygienic.

Vancouver’s deputy city manager Sandra Singh said the plan to shut down the section of park designated for the encampment this week will allow equipment to be brought in to clean piles of debris and unsafe structures.

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Residents living in the park have previously said discussions around leaving their homes should wait until a human rights complaint is heard that alleges they are not being provided with basic needs such as washrooms and electricity.

The Crab Park encampment began in 2021 and remained in place a year later when a B.C. Supreme Court judge set aside eviction notices in part because the city didn’t have enough indoor shelter spaces to accommodate those living in tents.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 25, 2024.

The Canadian Press