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
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.