Manure on homeless camp leads to Abbotsford lawsuit

Homeless people and protesters are launching a human rights complaint against the City of Abbotsford after chicken manure was spread on a camp earlier this year.

• Police slashed homeless tents, say advocates in Abbotsford, B.C.
• Police pepper-sprayed Abbotsford camp, says homeless woman
• Abbotsford, B.C., sorry for using manure to drive out homeless

The move comes only one day afterAbbotsfordMayor BruceBanmantold homeless campers in the city's Jubilee Park they had48 hours toleave, citing nightlyceremonial fires and possible drug overdoses as safety risks.

The campers, some of whom have been in thepark for 37 days, say theyare trying to bring attention to the way drug addicted andhomelesspeople have been treated inAbbotsford.

So the B.C./Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors, the group behind the camp, and six homeless individuals have announced they plan to suethe city and theAbbotsfordPolice.

In a newsrelease,Pivot Legal Societys D.J.Larkin, who is representing the group,cited previous incidents in whichAbbotsfordofficialssmearedchicken manure on ahomelesscampand police allegedlyslashedandbear sprayedtents and property earlier this year.

Barry Shantz, 57,founder of the Abbotsford chapter of the B.C./Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors,says he's spent time living on the streets.

"It's obvious the city isn't going to take care of us, it's obvious the province isn't, feds aren't. Nobody wants to deal with this group of people."

The association is a grassroots organization of current and former drug users formed in 2009toimprovethe lives of people who use illegal drugs through peer support and education.

Abbotsfordofficials say they are considering replacing the 16 tents set up in the park withpermanent structures and are heading to Portland to see how their 'dignity camp' works.

But Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman says the camp is a safety issue, and it's got to go.

"Since the weather turned cold we now have people using open barbecues, open heaters, candles, the tents and clumped together, this is a real fire hazard," said Banman.

"There's not that many that are really homeless in that particular camp. So we will work with them to make sure we find them a place."

Shantzsays30 to 40 people are sleeping at Jubilee Park each nightand many of them are homeless andhave nowhere to go.