The BC Human Rights Tribunal is considering a complaint against Vancouver's Downtown Ambassadors program, which critics say has been harassing homeless people in the city.
Ambassadors' official mandate is to patrol the downtown core, providing directions to lost tourists and act as eyes and ears for the police. The program is operated by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and funded by the City of Vancouver.
But the Pivot Legal Society, which lodged the complaint against the program, alleges that ambassadors actively discriminate against homeless people – many of whom have drug addictions, as well as mental or physical disabilities – by shuffling them out of sight.
"They have been systematically removing people who appear to be street homeless from the downtown core," the society's John Richardson said. "We believe this is a violation of the human rights code, and illegal."
"It needs to be stopped."
Charles Gauthier of the DVBIA insists that ambassadors help the homeless, and "reach out and assist [them] each and every day."
The first witness called was former ambassador Jamie Hilder, who testified that a supervisor referred to the homeless as the "scum of the earth."
The tribunal's proceedings are closed to cameras. The hearing is set to end in just over three weeks, on June 22.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger
