City: 570 structures removed from DTES encampment since August, tensions rising
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.