Groups ask Nanaimo, B.C., council to delay tent-city eviction

NANAIMO, B.C. – Dozens of individuals along with advocacy and health groups have signed on to an open letter to Nanaimo council asking that it extend a deadline to close a homeless camp.

The letter urges council to honour its commitment in Nanaimo’s action plan to end homelessness that it agreed to earlier this year.

The B.C. Supreme Court gave the city an injunction last month due to be applied on Oct. 12, although the court said it was important that the dismantling occur in an orderly and sensitive fashion.

The 70 groups and individuals supporting the letter include the Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, the United Way and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

The letter says that extending the Friday deadline will align with the Ministry of Housing’s plan to bring in 170 temporary modular housing units from Fort St. John within the next week.

No one was immediately availablefrom the city to speak about the request.

The letter says solving the challenges of poverty and homelessness requires all three levels of government, as well as the non-profit sector.

“Municipal councils cannot address these pressing social issues alone and yet they face them daily as they show up at the local level within our communities. This is why it is so important to align your commitments with provincial and federal strategies to address homelessness when you can, and this is an opportunity to do that,” the letter concludes.