Penticton encampment eviction couldn’t come at a worse time for sharing information

Residents of the controversial Fairview encampment in Penticton are getting evicted, again, but this time both relevant levels of government are in a transition period and not saying much.

A BC Supreme Court injunction barring anyone from staying there take effect at noon on Oct. 30. The decision was made at the request of the provincial government. It’s a redo of the eviction notice served in 2025, after which the camp popped back up.

The encampment is on provincial land, so it’s the province’s responsibility to enforce the eviction, just as it was in 2025.

This time the provincial election results haven’t been finalized and the new Penticton mayor and council won’t be sworn in until Nov. 3, leaving questions unanswered.

The city said it didn’t have any operational details about how this eviction notice will be different from the June 2025 attempt. The city referred iNFOnews.ca to the Ministry of Transportation but all provincial ministries are still in a ‘caretaker’ role which limits activities and engagement before a new government is formed. It’s not clear what actions, if any, the province will take after the deadline.

“During the post-election interregnum period, government remains in temporary caretaker mode. Communications are limited to critical health and public safety information,” Ministry of Transportation communications officer Murray Sinclair said in an email.

Incoming mayor Dan Ashton declined to comment on the grounds that he hasn’t been officially sworn in yet.

The city said its responsibility is to enforce overnight sheltering bylaws and help connect people with services once the encampment is cleared out.

“Overnight shelters are not permitted in City parks or public spaces during daytime hours,” the city said in a release. “The city remains supportive of Provincial efforts to connect unsheltered people with appropriate housing and other necessary resources and will continue to encourage unsheltered individuals to connect with Provincial services.”

This is a similar situation as the eviction in June 2025. Some residents of the encampment were cleared out, outreach workers cleaned the site and connected some people with services. But, some people stuck around and there were still safety concerns for those still in the camp and the surrounding community.