Nanaimo protesters vent frustration with crime after shooting at encampment - Action News
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British Columbia

Nanaimo protesters vent frustration with crime after shooting at encampment

On Thursday morning, more than 100 people gathered in Pearson Park near downtown Nanaimo, B.C., to express their anger with what they see as escalating crimes and a lack of policing in the city.

Demonstration comes after local business owner was shot while reclaiming stolen property

Two women are holding placards that read 'jail violent offenders' and 'help us now' on the sidewalk.
Two women are pictured holding placards at a rally near Nanaimo, B.C.,'s Pearson Park to express their frustration with what they see as escalating crime. (Claire Palmer/CBC)

More than 100 people joined a rally in Nanaimo, B.C., Thursday morning to express their frustration with what they describe as escalating crimeand a lack of policing in the city.

The gathering startedinPearson Park, a location nearwhere local mechanic shop owner Clint Smith was shot while trying to retrieve his stolen tools from a makeshift encampment on the weekend.

According to a GoFundMe page set up for Smith, he underwent a third surgeryon Wednesday, but is still in a medically induced coma while recovering.

Collen Middleton, interim chair of Nanaimo Area Public Safety Association,said in a press release Wednesday that he organized the rally to show local residentsare "completely fed up" with what he claims is rampant theft and lawlessness in the Vancouver Island city of more than 170,000 residents.

"Current provincial and federal policies are leaving the RCMP and justice system woefully under-resourced, and in our view, unable to serve and protect the public and effectively offer justice to the victims being constantly confronted by prolific criminals," he said in the written statement.

Rally attendees including people who had accompanied Smith to reclaim stolen property congregated at the park, holding placards with slogans like "jail violent offenders" and "keep in custody."

A man with beard and in black jacket is pictured holding a dog on leash.
Clint Smith has undergone his third surgery after being shot while trying to retrieve his stolen property from a homeless camp, according to a GoFundMe page set for him. (Kari Warner/GoFundMe)

Growing concerns with crimes and vigilantism

The demonstration comes after the Nanaimo RCMP said they don't condone the actions taken by Smith and five other people, who tried to retrieve stolen items without seeking help from the police. Mounties said saying taking justice into your own hands "never ends well."

In light of Smith's injuries, advocates working with the homeless population have also warned against vigilantism.

Four men in black hoodies that read 'justice for Clint' stand together in front of trees, with the one at the far left holding a placard that reads 'keep in custody.'
Jeff Callaghan, second from left, who was a part of the group who attempted to retrieve Clint Smith's stolen property, is pictured attending the rally in a hoodie that reads 'Justice for Clint.' (Claire Palmer/CBC)

Desiree Surowski, the co-founder of thePenticton and Area Overdose Prevention Society, told CBC earlier this week thatconfrontation with unhoused people living in "survival mode" can lead to violence.

A 2019 Statistics Canada report found that people experiencing homelessness reported violence against them at three times the rate of those who had never been homeless.

B.C. should invest in addiction treatment: local politicians

Nanaimo Coun. Sheryl Armstrong, who attended the rally with two other city councillors, said she is concerned about what she described as a "catch-and-release" justice system, but she argues that the province needs to put more money into addiction treatmentto address crime.

"There's no investment to send these people to treatment," Armstrong said. "Jail's not the place for a lot of these people."

Simon Fraser University health sciences professor Julian Somers, who also attended the rally, said addiction treatment needs to come with social reintegration.

"All of the things that are modifiable have to do with why are so many people demanding those drugs? Anyone here can go and buy fentanyl after the rally. None are going to, because we have better things to do with our lives," he said.

People are holding placards on the sidewalk that say Unjust System, Jail More and Lead us to Safety while other people walk by and cars drive by.
Rally attendees are pictured holding placards that read Jail More, Unjust System and Lead Us to Safety on the sidewalk near Pearson Park. (Claire Palmer/CBC)

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, who arrived at the rally shortly before it ended, agreed about the importance of investing in addiction treatment and supportive housing.

"I don't want to sound like a broken record, but I've been talking about the whole issue of mental health, addictions, trauma, brain injury, homelessness, and the crime that goes with feeding an addiction for a very long time," Krog said.

"People just get really frustrated they don't feel safe. ... You've got a whole range of folks who are upset by the current situation."

With files from Claire Palmer