B.C. leaders urged to halt planned evictions at Abbotsford homeless encampment
Vehicles and structures at the Lonzo Road encampment will be removed on Wednesday, according to the province
Two British Columbia organizations that speak on behalf of vulnerable residents have sent an open letter to B.C.'s housing minister urging him to halt imminent evictions at an encampment in the Fraser Valley.
The B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) and the Pivot Legal Society are asking Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon to stop any evictions at the Lonzo Road encampment, located on provincially owned land originally intended as a park-and-ride in Abbotsford.
Monday, June 26, was previously announced as the deadline for people to leave the encampment.
Vehicles and structures were originally slated to be removed on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson with B.C. Housing, although Kahlon later said it would happen on Wednesday.
When the encampment clearing was announced two weeks ago, Kahlon said everyone at the site would be offered help to relocate to available shelter or supportive housing spaces, along with an offer of rent supplements.
One year encampment resident Trish said she's been offered a shelter bed in a dorm room housing 15 women, which is less than ideal because of her two dogs.
"Between a shelter and out here, I'd much prefer to be out here," she said. "I don't even know what to feel right now."
According to Abbotsford Police, the Lonzo Road encampment was home to 22 people at its height, but only 12 remain.
The site is populated by a number of trailers and structures, some abandoned, dilapidated or burned out. Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens earlier called the camp the most violent in the city.
Abbotsford Police say they received 1,500 calls about encampment in 2022 and another 600 so far in 2023.
On Monday morning, police and Abbotsford Fire Rescue were called to the encampment to put out a non-suspicious trailer fire.
"There were no injuries to any person, luckily," said Abbotsford Police media officer Const. Art Stele.
Stele said the Ministry of Transportation, which is responsible for the Lonzo Road park-and-ride site, will oversee the structure removal on Tuesday with the support of police if needed, but he expected everyone remaining will have left by then.
A pastor providing outreach at the encampment said the evictions will solve nothing.
"It's the good old Abbotsford shuffle, playing soccer with people [as the ball] again," said Pastor Ward Draper of The 5 and 2 Ministries.
"All these solutions are temporary responses to real social issues ... We just need more permanent housing for multiple demographics that are experiencing homelessness now."
The province has promised to build a new 50-bed shelter on the Lonzo Road site to replace an existing 40-bed shelter on Riverside Road.
The letter from the BCCLA and Pivot reminds Kahlon that several B.C. Supreme Court rulings have found forcible eviction illegal when other housing options are inadequate. It calls on him to uphold an earlier statement that pledged to ensure encampment residents are "safe, healthy and treated with dignity.''
with files from Joel Ballard, The Canadian Press