Homeless camp residents say they don't know where to go as Prince George issues eviction, evacuation orders - Action News
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British Columbia

Homeless camp residents say they don't know where to go as Prince George issues eviction, evacuation orders

The city cites the risk of fire as the province admonishes the municipality for its decision to close the encampment without adequate supports in place.

City cites risk of fire, as province admonishes municipality for decision to close camp without supports

Tarps cover a number of makeshift structures.
The Millennium Park encampment has been ordered to be shut down by Friday. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)

Large moving trucks and a dumpster are onsite at a downtown Prince George, B.C., homeless camp whose residents have been told to leave by the end of Friday.

The city issued the order to vacate Millennium Park on Aug. 31,but many of the peoplein the camp say the nine-day notice is not enough for them to find a new place to live.

"I feel like they didn't give us enough time at all," said Marisa Marie James. "We need places to live. We have no places to live."

"Honestly, it hurts," said fellow resident Tyneesha Savory. "Where are we gonna go?"

An evacuation order and eviction notice that says, Notice to Immediately Cease Occupation of Millenium Park, on a wire fence.
An evacuation order and eviction notice are posted outside the downtown Prince George, B.C., Millennium Park encampment site. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)

In addition to the eviction notice, which was issued by city council followinga closed doormeeting, the city's fire chief has also issued an evacuation order effective Sept. 7, citing an "imminent and serious danger to life" due to the risk of fires and explosion in the camp.

The evacuation notice also calls for the immediate removal of all hazardous materials, including flammable and combustible materials, while the eviction notice warns any materials left behind after Sept. 8 will be disposed of.

Unhoused Prince George residents face deadline to leave local park.

The decision to shut down the camp is the latest in the north-central B.C. city's efforts to tackle the rise of homeless camps that have established a presence in downtown Prince George over the past three years, resulting in two lost court cases, public anger and admonishment from the province, while the city's mayor insists efforts are underway to establish appropriate housing for those who say they have nowhere else to go.

Court-protected camp

The first publicly visible homeless camps in Prince George, which serves an immediate population of roughly 90,000 and acts as a service centre for northern B.C. as a whole, were established in 2021.

At the time, there weretwo primary locationsspanning several blocks: an empty lot across from the downtown courthouse and a separate site a few blocks away, which came to be known as Moccasin Flats.

In the fall of 2021, the city issued eviction notices to residents of both sites and filed an injunction in B.C. Supreme Court in a bid to dismantle the camps.

However, thejudge in the case ruled the city had failed to prove there were enough suitable alternatives for residents to move into, resulting in Moccasin Flats effectively being protected by court order.

A small trailer on cinder blocks at an encampment in Prince George, B.C.
The small Atco trailer at Moccasin Flats in Prince George, B.C., is staffed by volunteers and peer workers 24 hours a day, providing harm reduction supplies, snacks, and a place to warm up when it gets cold. Staff say it is a lifeline for those living at the court-protected encampment. Pictured here on April 16, 2023. (Kate Partridge/CBC)

That protection was reinforced in 2022 when a second judge ruled the city had violated the previous court orderby tearingdown several structures the city claimed were abandoned but which residents testified they were still using as shelters.

The decision to shut down the campsalso drew criticism from the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, with regional Chief Terry Teegee pointing out the majority of homeless residents in Prince George are Indigenous, many with direct ties to residential schools and a foster care system that has been responsible for breaking up families, contributing to addiction and mental health struggles.

Since then, Moccasin Flats has continued to stand, andseveral service organizations have established operations in the area, providing a supervised consumption site, dumpsters, a warming trailerand portable toilets.

Meanwhile, another camp wasestablished several blocks away in Millennium Park, next to a regional district office and along the Highway 16 entrance into the city, prompting complaints of it being both an eyesore and a safety hazard, with nearby buildings increasing security as a result.

In response to both these developments, city councilendorsed a centralized encampment model of redirecting campers to the court-protected Moccasin Flats sites.

But not everyone wants to move: residents of both sites say there are good reasons to keep two separate camps so people who do not get along or pose safety risks to each other aren't forced into the same location.

As Savory put it, "It's gonna cause nothing but a bunch of fights" to force everyone together.

Province admonishes city's plans

Mayor Simon Yu said he would prefer that people being evicted from Millennium Parkgo intohousing while admittingthere are currently not enough spaces available for them to do so.

When asked what happens if people choose not to leave the park, Yu said, "I hope we do not have to cross that."

Yu was first elected to public office in October 2022, and one of his central policy platforms was a promise to build emergency sheltersto address the housing situation, similar to those he had helped constructin the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in Indonesia.

Ravi Kahlon frustrated by the Prince George's plans for homeless encampment

He has since backed away from that plan, instead focusing on a June agreement between the city and province tofast-track temporary shelters and permanent housing.

At the time, Premier David Eby pointedto Prince George as an example of a city willing to work on solving the housing crisis impacting communities provincewide.

A man in a suit jacket and open-collared white shirt speaks at a podium bearing a sign that says StrongerBC.
Premier David Eby announces an agreement with the City of Prince George, B.C., in June 2023 with Mayor Simon Yu, far right. (Andrew Kurjata/CBC)

But the decision to shut down the Millennium Park camp seems to have frayed those ties: provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlonresponded with a public statement of disappointment, saying his office had offered Prince George resources, including a dedicated encampment response team and temporary housing unitsthat were turned downand admonishedthe city for acting "unilaterally" to shut down the camp before supports were in place.

In turn, several city councillors said they were unaware any such offers of help had been made, while Kahlon said in a follow-up interview with CBCNews that discussions had been ongoing between municipal and provincial staff members up until the point of last week's eviction announcement.

"We did offer [the city of Prince George] significant dollars so that we could get more shelter spaces open, but it was a matter of landing on locations that were viable," he said.

Asked about the differing understandings aboutresources offered by the province,a city spokesperson said, "The city continues to look into this issue and will issue a statement in due course."

Mayor Simon Yu talks about safety concerns and the early dismantling.

Camp residents feeling abandoned

Prince George Coun.TrudyKlassensaid she also felt there was a disconnect between the sense of urgency from the province and city council, as they saw more and more people lighting fires to keep warm with summer coming to an end.

"Nights are already getting significantly colder, and people are already using fire to keep themselves warm at night," she said, pointing out that Millennium Park is more densely packed than Moccasin Flats, thereby posing a higher fire risk.

The decision to shut down the camp also comes after an explosion at an unoccupied restaurant, which investigators have not linked to the homeless population but which has reignited general feelings of anger about the state of downtown from many business owners who say they are regularly dealing with theft, vandalism and harassment.

Crews sift through rubble in the aftermath of an explosion and fire.
An Aug. 22 explosion in downtown Prince George reignited feelings of anger among business owners that the area is being neglected by city leaders. (Gian Paolo Mendoza/CBC)

Following the explosion, city manager Walter Babicz sent an email to city staff, which was leaked to several media outlets, including CBC News, promising efforts were underway to shut down encampments while acknowledging the city's previous missteps in court.

"We havebeen focused on checking all the boxes required to ultimately bring an end to outdoor camping in Prince George," he said, indicating plans to shut down Millennium Park had been months in the making but had not been publicized due to legal concerns.

For his part, Yu acknowledged there was some "misalignment" between the city and the province but emphasized there is a shared goal of moving people off of the street and into safe housing, especially before winter hits.

But at Millennium Park, people likeMarisa Marie James, who aremost affected by the decision, say they are feeling abandoned as they are forced to move their belongings with no clear place to go.

"I don't feel like it's unsafe here," she said. "It'sa community ... there should be no reason why they're tryingto kick us out."

With files from Jason Peters, Kate Partridge, Sonya Hartwig and Daybreak North