Residents of Maple Ridge’s Anita Place Tent City will be part of a trio of tent cities that will hold a news conference at the Victoria courthouse on Monday, said the Alliance Against Displacement.
The news conference will follow a hearing in B.C. Supreme Court in Victoria in which the City of Saanich and the province are seeking an injunction to allow them to clear Camp Namegans tent city just outside Victoria.
The application was adjourned two weeks ago to allow legal representation for the residents. On Monday, the lawyer for the Victoria-area camp planned on asking for cross-examination proceedings, which would further delay the process.
The Alliance said the injunction application is “is just one example of government efforts to break up tent cities before the winter begins in southern British Columbia,” said a release.
“Rather than spend public dollars on housing and services for homeless and low-income people, governments in Maple Ridge, Nanaimo, and Saanich are investing in displacing and punishing homeless people.”
The group didn’t say how many residents of the Maple Ridge camp will make the trip to Victoria.
Residents from Discontent City in Nanaimo also will be at the conference.
A recent attempt at cooperative cleanup of the Anita Place Tent City in Maple Ridge to improve safety conditions failed because residents and the fire department couldn’t agree on details and city workers were not allowed to enter the camp.