Park board won't pursue court order to evict campers at Oppenheimer, chair says

Vancouver's independent park board has voted not to pursue a court orderto force people living in Oppenheimer Park from the grounds, saying an injunction won't bring the city any closer to a solution for its extensivehousing problem.

Chair Stuart Mackinnon said Friday the boardis asking the city to create a multi-jurisdictional task force between itand the city to pour more resources into addressing homelessness across Vancouver as a whole, arguing that people in the city wouldn't need to campif appropriate housing was available.

"We need both a short-term and long-term action plan that will render unsanctioned encampments such as Oppenheimer unnecessary," Mackinnon wrote in a letter released Friday. "Everyone deserves a safe place to call home."

People living in more than200 tents in Oppenheimer received eviction notices two weeks ago. Around 40 people still remain in the Downtown Eastside park, the city said, with others havingmoved into housing through B.C. Housing and other non-profit groups.

Watch: Oppenheimer Park campers happy with vote against injunction

Campers at Oppenheimer Park pleased with park board's no-injunction decision

5 years ago

Duration 1:49

Campers at a tent city in Oppenheimer Park say they're happy the Vancouver Park Board has decided not to pursue an injunction to force them out. They say evicting them would only create more problems and potentially more tent cities.

The Vancouver Park Board has jurisdiction over the park.Mackinnon'sletter callingfor a unified task force comes days after Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart asked the board to hand authorityover the parkto the city,saying the board needed to "step up" its deliberations to come up with an action plan.

The mayor said the city would quickly enact its own planshould it win control over the park, but declined to specify what thatwould entail.

"There's all kinds of ways to move folks into better housing, and we're going to have to explore all options on how to do that," Stewart said. "I do have some ideas for plans, but I don't do hypotheticals. If they turn jurisdiction over to me, you will see a plan."

Lack of injunction sets 'dangerous precedent,'says commissioner

Mackinnon said the board voted in favour of proposing a task force after meetinglate Thursday to discuss options for the park.

Park Board Commissioner John Couparsaid he was the sole vote in favour of an injunction.

"I think there is a pressing health and safety issue," he said, referencinga recentshootingand attack involving a machete in the park.

"I believe everybodydoes deserves a home as well ... but Ido not believe that is the mandate of the Vancouver Park Board. The mandate of the Vancouver Park Board is to provide clean and safe parks for everybody and I think this is a dangerous precedent," Coupar said.

"I think our parks will soon be occupied across the city and I don't think that's what residents expect."

Ahead of MacKinnon's news conference Friday, Stewart said he was aware the park board had planned an announcement later in the day but didn't know what it would be about.

"I'm interested to see what they have," Stewart told reporters at a separate news conference hours earlier.

In a statement issued after the announcement, Stewart said it was clear the park board had not considered his request to turn jurisdiction of Oppenheimer Park over to city council.

"While I have already made a personal request to Park Board Chair Mackinnon to consider this request seriously and urgently, I have reiterated this request in writing to him," Stewart said.

"I again urge the Park Board to help us move forward by meeting before September 16 and voting on my request."

Vancouver is the only municipality in Canada with a directly elected park board. The boardhas jurisdiction over actions inside Oppenheimer Parkbut relies on funding from the city for about half its budget.

The park board can only cede authority of a park if it is approved by two-thirds of both park board commissioners and city council, as mandated by the provincial charter governing the City of Vancouver.