SOUND OFF: City, Mustard Seed must do more to protect residents near Yacht Club shelter

Let me tell you of a recent experience we’ve had. Today, myself and another resident took it upon ourselves to recover several thousand dollars worth of structural steel that was stolen from our property over winter. This stolen material was all found on the riverbank behind the Yacht Club. This whole area appears to have been occupied all winter by various people who, owing to lifestyle choices, are not admitted to the temporary shelter. There’s the remnants of a small village down there. They choose to encamp there overnight owing to the proximity of resources available at the temporary shelter. These encampments were not there in that number prior to the Yacht Club being used as a temporary shelter, and they are abandoned now that the temporary shelter is closed.

Some of the residents of these encampments have waged a crime spree up and down River and Lorne Street over winter, stealing any useful materials they find on private property. We were reasonably certain we would find our stolen materials there but did not attempt to retrieve them for safety reasons. Last week, we learned that the police and city attended to these encampments to recover stolen goods and clear out the persons and belongings and garbage. That gave us an opening to retrieve out property, which we exploited. We’ve recovered all of our structural steel.

I fully expect that next winter the Yacht Club will be used as a temporary winter shelter. I expect that we will again see the illicit encampments behind the Yacht Club and the attendant criminal behaviours. What I and others would like to see is the Mustard Seed and the city not only look after the at-risk population in the shelter, but take responsibility for protecting the residents of this neighbourhood who are impacted by the people attracted to the vicinity of the temporary shelter.

City by-laws and the police should regularly do foot patrols on the riverbank behind the Yacht Club to discourage criminal behaviour. We realize only a small percent of the people encamped there participate in criminal behaviour. But, those that do are right there, flaunting the law in broad daylight. They’re easy pickings.

If the Mustard Seed and the city proactively addressed these concerns, I’m sure they will enjoy the continued support of their neighbours. The city and Mustard Seed are doing good work, necessary work, to protect these unfortunate people. We whole-heartedly support this work. I, for one, believe this is a good temporary use of the Yacht Club and support the Mustard Seed’s efforts. It’s time, however, that the Seed and the city stepped up and protected us, their neighbours. Be a good neighbour.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.

by Peter Reid

SOUND OFF: City, Mustard Seed must do more to protect residents near Yacht Club shelter

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