Homeless people in Abbotsford say they're suing after city officials admitted to using chicken manure to drive away vulnerable citizens last month.
Pivot Legal Society lawyer DJ Larkin said about 50 homeless residents met Tuesday and decided to take action against what they’re calling a “campaign of harassment” by the city and local police.
“They’re galvanized and they’re unified and they’re angry,” she said.
Local advocates condemned the Fraser Valley community after city workers showed up at a gathering place in June and spread feces several centimetres deep in a plot to make Abbotsford’s homeless leave town.
“I would like to think that we can use this as a teaching moment on how to deal with people in a compassionate manner with dignity and respect,” Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman said after the incident. “This is now about moving forward and repairing the damage that’s been done.”
Homeless residents also allege that Abbotsford police officers slashed tents and used pepper spray to make their camps uninhabitable.
Pivot, a non-profit advocacy group, will represent individual small claims cases in connection with the allegations of tent-slashing, and a group human rights complaint regarding perceived harassment and discrimination of the city’s homeless.
Larkin said efforts to improve the quality of life for homeless people in Abbotsford has been met with stiff opposition from businesses who oppose social housing at every turn.
“It’s hard to move forward with positive change when people are saying ‘not in my backyard,’” Larkin said in a news release. “There is no time to wait, Abbotsford is in crisis and the only way forward is for this city to undergo a major attitude adjustment and start cooperating in some creative solutions to create a city that respects all of its members.”
Larkin said 5 and 2 Ministries will lead the human rights complaint, which will take a couple of months to get organized and drafted.
She said Pivot hopes to file some of the individual small claims cases in the next few weeks.
