City of Vancouver determined to clear CRAB Park tent encampment despite increasing services, facilities

The City of Vancouver maintains that the eventual goal is to clear the tent encampment in CRAB Park, despite more than $700,000 being spent to increase services and facilities for those living there.

Last week, CTV News revealed that a $715,000 portion of a major funding grant from the federal and provincial governments will be used exclusively for CRAB Park. 

On Tuesday, the Vancouver Park Board said in a statement that the majority of the funding ($660,000) will be used to increase ranger patrols in the park, and $55,000 had been allocated to “add and service a temporary washroom nearby in the park.”

City Councillor Peter Meiszner said the goal is still to ensure people are not living in parks.

“Top of mind to me is returning the park to the neighborhood and returning it to its state before the encampment,” Meiszner said. “We are working as hard as we can to move people into housing, but it is taking a considerable amount of time.”

Meiszner said a portion of the funding will also be used to offset money already spent on the park.

“In the past, with the Strathcona and Oppenheimer park encampments, there’s been significant costs incurred by the city and those were borne by Vancouver taxpayers,” he said. “So now we are using this $715,000 from the federal and provincial governments to offset the costs incurred by Vancouver taxpayers.”

B.C. Opposition leader Kevin Falcon said funding more facilities for the park “makes no sense,” adding he fears it will cause the encampment to grow in size.

“If you build shower facilities, you put bathrooms into a tent encampment that you’re apparently trying to get rid of, it is not going to work,” Falcon said. “It’s going to attract more people into the encampment.”

Residents of CRAB Park told CTV News that park rangers already visit the park every morning. Park board commissioner Angela Haer was asked why there was a need to increase ranger presence.

“Mostly just to make sure that the park is being well maintained and it’s clean and safe, and that’s is accessible for all residents of Vancouver,” Haer said. “Our goal is to make sure the park becomes very safe and also accessible for all residents.”