Residents of a waterfront Vancouver tent city will host an emergency rally tomorrow to defend their camp against a court-ordered injunction.
On Wednesday, the B.C. Supreme Court granted an injunction against the tent city set up in a parking lot owned by the Port of Vancouver. Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson ruled that the campers had three days to pack up their belongings and leave the property.
Estimates vary, but the tent city has grown substantially since it first emerged in the parking lot. According to Red Braid Alliance, there are currently 82 tents and 100 residents in the encampment.
The deadline to vacate the park is Saturday at 2 p.m.
However, residents of the tent city and their supporters plan to mount a street defence against the court-ordered displacement.
Cst. Tania Visintin, Media Spokesperson for the Vancouver Police, tells Vancouver Is Awesome in a phone call that the department anticipates the campers will follow the injunction.
"We do expect everyone to comply with the injunction," she states. "We are anticipating that it will go well."
As for what will happen if campers refuse to leave, Visintin says that the VPD have a plan in place. However, she can't disclose details.
Crab Park campers and their supporters say they want to see, "10,000 units of permanent, adequate housing renting at welfare/ pension rates and operated under the control of residents councils, with cooking facilities, no guest restrictions, and where people can safely use drugs."
In addition, they want the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Parks Board, and Port Authority to honour their commitment to work with Indigenous organizations to establish a healing lodge at Crab park.
After hearing the decision, Kylii, a Crab tent city resident said, “Is the judge gonna take me in? Where am I supposed to go?”
Back in April, the B.C. government unveiled a plan to move close to 700 homeless people from camps in Vancouver and Victoria into hotels, motels and community centres. Under the Emergency Program Act, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth ordered that all residents of Oppenheimer Tent City evacuate the park by noon on May 9. This order was said to promote health and safety of residents, visitors, health workers, and support workers from COVID-19.
However, not all of the former Oppenheimer campers felt that the move served their best interests. A few of them state that many homeless people have been negatively affected by the move, while others say they were bumped off the housing list.
The emergency rally in the parking lot adjacent to Crab Park is set to take place on Saturday, June 13 at noon.
