City: 570 structures removed from DTES encampment since August, tensions rising

Protesters held a sign reading “no displacement” and “eviction kills” on Friday, March 24, 2023. Vancouver police and city staff are continuing efforts to dismantle what's known as the East Hastings encampment, as per a July order from the fire chief. (Twitter/ VANDU)

Protesters held a sign reading “no displacement” and “eviction kills” on Friday, as Vancouver police and city staff continued work to clear a tent city growing in the Downtown Eastside.

Around noon, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users posted photos on Twitter showing a heavy police presence at Gore and Hastings Street.

Members of Car 87—a municipal program that pairs a psychiatric nurse with a plain clothes police officer to attend non-emergency mental health calls—also responded to the scene, according to the tweet.

“One resident has refused to vacate his home,” VANDU said.

Less than two hours later, the group wrote online that its “decampment team” had moved down to Hastings and Columbia streets, where another eviction was underway.

The group also posted photos of items allegedly discarded by city staff—including fire extinguishers.

In an email to CTV News, the city said it intends to bring the East Hastings encampment to an eventual closure—as the fire chief ordered for last summer.

“At the request of the City, the VPD is present to assist our crews in ensuring their safety as they continue work,” the email reads.

“There has been a noticeable increase in violence and tension associated with the encampment zone,” the city said. “While there are people in the encampment who are vulnerable and without housing, many others are not there for shelter alone and are there engaging in commercial and/or illicit activities.”

In addition to public safety being at risk, the city says its engineering crews are “encountering increased aggression” as they conduct cleaning and by-law enforcement.

HUNDRED OF STRUCTURES REMOVED SO FAR

According to the city, a total of 570 structures have been removed from the area since August, when the encampment reached its height of 180 items.

Earlier this month, a spokesperson told CTV News that the number was down to 74.

A variety of options for shelter, housing, and storage are being made available to people living in the encampment, the city said in its statement.

“The work is critical in terms of addressing life safety risk and returning the street to diverse activities,” it concluded.

Since Vancouver Fire Chief Karen Fry ordered for the removal of tents and structures on East Hastings, she says her crews have responded to at least 370 structure fires in the area.

On Sunday, multiple tents were destroyed near Main and Hastings streets in a blaze that spread to a building before being extinguished. The next day, VFRS wrote on Twitter that another small tent fire had erupted directly across the street.