{"id":18125,"date":"2020-11-01T08:30:50","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T13:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/?p=18125"},"modified":"2020-11-02T13:44:26","modified_gmt":"2020-11-02T18:44:26","slug":"last-day-from-quinsam-road-camp-in-campbell-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canada-info.ca\/en\/last-day-from-quinsam-road-camp-in-campbell-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Last day for Quinsam Road camp in Campbell River"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Roy L Hales<\/p>\n

Friday, Oct. 30, was the last day for Quinsam Road camp<\/a>\u00a0in Campbell River. There were only three residents remaining and all left peacefully when the\u00a0RCMP<\/a>\u00a0and Ministry of Natural Resources went up to clean the site.<\/p>\n

Quinsam Road camp<\/h2>\n
\"Quinsam<\/a>

Photo of camp at Quinsam road taken from a neighbourhood complaint. Photo courtesy of Strathcona Regional District.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cAt one point, there was about twenty people living in four or five different camps,\u201d said\u00a0Cst. Maury Tyre<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the 5-6 months, the property was occupied, the RCMP opened more than 50 case files: for theft, assault and fires.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest one was environmental issues, which is probably why the Ministry of Natural Resources got involved \u2014plus it is their property,\" Tyre added.<\/p>\n

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\"Map<\/a>

Adapted from Google Maps by Roy L Hales.<\/p><\/div><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Camping at Nunn's Creek Park<\/h2>\n

Some of the people from Quinsam Park are now camping in\u00a0Nunn\u2019s Creek Park<\/a>, while others have found different housing options.<\/p>\n

In what some regard as the\u00a0first step in establishing a right to housing in Canada<\/a>, a 2015\u00a0BC Supreme Court ruling<\/a>\u00a0recognized that homeless people have\u00a0the right to sleep in public space.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s part of the reason you see tent cities in many cities. There is no allowance for permanent structures,\" Cst. Tye explained. \"In Campbell River, I believe they have said people have to have their tents taken down by 9:00 AM. The understanding being that it is still a public space and the rest of the public gets to use those areas. That\u2019s the area that the city of Campbell River has allotted to people, if they do wish to camp.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell River's homeless community<\/h2>\n

There are believed to be about 100 people \u2018without permanent housing\u2019 in Campbell River, and much smaller numbers on\u00a0Quadra<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Cortes Islands<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a previous interview<\/a>, Sue Moen, the Salvation Army\u2019s representative in the\u00a0Campbell River and District Coalition to End Homelessness<\/a>, spoke to the definition of \"homeless.\"<\/p>\n

\u201cHomeless, according to the definition used by BC Housing, includes people who are precariously housed, or couch surfing, or aren\u2019t paying rent directly to a landlord. They may be sharing a room, but their name isn\u2019t on the rental agreement. They don\u2019t know if they\u2019ll have housing for the next thirty days \u2026 Also, there are a lot of people who are living in vehicles, RVs, and some even in campsites \u2026 If they are off the beaten track and do not connect with services, they sometimes do even consider themselves homeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere isn\u2019t \u2018typical.\u2019 People become homeless for every reason that there is a person experiencing homelessness. It could be fleeing violence, family break-down, fire, flood or an expected loss of employment,\" she added.<\/p>\n

Twenty are now temporarily housed in the former\u00a0Rose Bowl restaurant<\/a> and BC Housing has partnered with the city to build more permanent accommodation.<\/p>\n

Quadra Island\u2019s homeless community<\/h2>\n

\u201cOne group, possibly two, [of homeless people] off the beaten track on Quadra,\" Moen mentioned.<\/a><\/p>\n

Cortes Island\u2019s homeless community<\/h2>\n

Cortes Currents is aware of two year-round \u201chouse-challenged\u201d Cortes residents. Prior to the pandemic, one was a frequent volunteer at community events. He camped in the woods and sold marijuana to raise money for necessities. The other would be more accurately defined as a \u201csquatter,\u201d who parks his camper on vacant lots. He was once a logger, and for a time sold firewood on Cortes.<\/p>\n

Seasonal homelessness<\/h2>\n

The real problem on Cortes is\u00a0seasonal homelessness<\/a>. Some of the most valued members of our community are tenants throughout the winter months, but\u00a0need to move out during the tourist season<\/a>. A significant number became tenants in other communities. Though it is becoming increasingly more difficult, others eventually purchased homes. For many, couch surfing or camping out during the summer months has become an annual event.<\/p>\n

This appears to be a widespread problem.<\/p>\n

Moen\u2019s description of Campbell River\u2019s homeless community<\/a>\u00a0includes people who \u201crent resort cabins, motel rooms or trailers during the winter and are evicted from their homes during the summer months to make way for\u00a0vacation rentals<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

(As a Cortes Island landlord pointed out, it isn't an 'eviction' when the tenant agreed to rent their unit for a specified period of time.)<\/p>\n

This article was original published on Oct. 31 and additional material added to the written version of the story on Nov.1, 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n

Links of interest:<\/p>\n