Parking lot campers evicted from Vancouver beach after occupying spaces for months
Parking lot campers evicted from Vancouver beach after occupying spaces for months
Months after threatening action, Vancouver’s park board has evicted campervans and motorhomes parked illegally at a beach on the city’s west side.
The operation started early Tuesday morning at Spanish Banks, with park rangers knocking on doors to give occupants a final warning that their vehicles had to leave. A tow truck arrived at 8:30 a.m.
The number of vehicles parked at the/ location rose sharply at the end of the summer, upwards of 50 were there overnight despite the lots closing at 10 p.m. Warnings were handed out in October with owners told they would be fined and have their vehicles towed – but that never happened.
In an email to CTV News Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Vancouver Park Board said 187 notices had been issued since October, reminding vehicles owners of the parking rules. Just a few days ago there were still around two dozen vehicles parked overnight.
CTV News spoke with one of the owners, Tony, who declined to give his last name.
“I just kind of came home yesterday and the gates were locked and there was a note on the windshield that said there was an event coming so you have to move your vehicle,” he said, adding he knew of a few other places he could park instead.
CTV News has learned the event is a film production, with the parking lots booked for what’s known as ‘the circus’.
Tony had been living in the lot for about two months because he “thought it would be a fun idea to save some money (and) it’s cheaper than rent.”
Another vehicle owner, Lucas Phillips, needed to have his motorhome towed as it had broken down. Though he wasn’t too concerned.
“It feels like, OK, I (was) here for a while and I was happy – good view, good people, good community. So, that’s good for me,” Phillips said.
Phillips also drives a white Tesla, which he uses to make a living through Uber. He said people are often “confused” and “surprised” that he drives the luxury EV and lives in a motorhome.
“I’m living my dream so it’s OK,” he said.
Many of the owners moved their vehicles willingly after receiving notices to vacate, others accepted the offer to have vehicles towed out of the lots – though the vehicles were only moved down the road to on-street parking. It’s not known if other parking rules will be enforced at the new location.
As of noon Tuesday only four vehicles were left, with rangers unable to find the owners. The park board's spokesperson said if they were not removed by 5 p.m., they would be towed.
U.S. President Joe Biden arrived Thursday evening in Ottawa for a whirlwind 27-hour visit expected to focus on both the friendly and thorny aspects of the Canada-U.S. relationship, including protectionism and migration on both sides of the border.
Canada and the United States are negotiating a deal that could see asylum seekers turned back at irregular border crossings across the border, including Roxham Road in Quebec.
As the federal government looks to renegotiate the Safe Third Country Agreement with the U.S., an eastern Ontario mayor says his city needs more help from Ottawa to deal with the influx of asylum seekers arriving through irregular crossings like Roxham Road.
Amid renewed questions over the pervasiveness of alleged interference by China in Canadian elections and affairs broadly, opposition MPs voted Thursday afternoon to affirm a parliamentary committee's call for the federal government to strike a public inquiry.
A majority of Canadians have seen a mistake on their grocery receipts in the last year, according to a new survey conducted by Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University.
An asteroid discovered just last week will pass closer to the Earth than the orbit of the moon this weekend, an occurrence so rare it happens only once in a decade, according to NASA.
The number of Canadians receiving employment insurance benefits are at record lows and down 44 per cent from last year, new figures from Statistics Canada show.
Two Kanien'keha:ka (Mohawk) sisters from Montreal are on a mission that is close to their hearts: to save their ancestors' first language by developing video games young and old can play.
A Victoria man’s life of crime has turned into one of survival, hope and advocacy amid ongoing conversations in the community about how best to tackle public safety matters.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has cited an energy company for causing a series of earthquakes, including the largest recorded tremblor in the province's history.
An Ontario man said he was shocked when his truck was stolen not once but twice, and the second time it was taken he was surprised to discover he was no longer covered for theft.
For the first time, the owner of a building in Old Montreal has responded to questions about the fire — through his lawyer — addressing allegations that the building was unsafe.
The political class at the National Assembly has condemned the 'violent' and 'hateful' remarks that columnist Gilles Proulx allegedly made about Quebec solidaire MNAs during Richard Martineau's show on Qub radio in recent weeks.
Manitoba First Nation police have arrested a man connected with a shooting on March 19 on Long Plain First Nation that resulted in the community going on lockdown.
Manitoba’s labour force is growing at a rate to supply enough workers for available positions into 2026, according to the province’s labour market outlook.
An alleged victim of a former staff member of Legacy Christian Academy can now be identified after she successfully petitioned in court to have a publication ban lifted.
In the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s provincial budget, school divisions in Saskatchewan were expecting funding levels to increase, with the province repeatedly touting its $1 billion surplus.
A recent report from the province’s privacy commissioner says the Métis Addictions Council of Saskatchewan Inc. (MACSI) failed to take appropriate steps after patient treatment files were discovered in a recycling bin.
The Tim Houston PC government remains firm in their promise they'll fix the health-care system by spending more taxpayer money on health than any previous government before.
Potato farmers on Prince Edward Island are taking the federal government to court due to the decision to restrict the movement of P.E.I. seed potatoes.
The new provincial budget features items specific to southwestern Ontario, including a new English public elementary school in London, Ont. that will serve 556 students and include 88 licensed childcare spaces.
A young Strathroy, Ont. man believes there's a promising way forward in the effort to fight his disease. But, he's being told, right now, that path isn't open to him. Friends and family are stepping up to try and make a case for Kyle McPhee to receive immunotherapy treatments.
The co-owners of a new liquidation store in North Bay, Samuel Quesnel and Chloé Boivenue, say they want to bring a treasure hunt shopping experience to the city.
The ‘Catch the Ace’ jackpot is still up for grabs in Hagersville. There was no winner Thursday night so the total prize money is now an estimated $1,526,067.
The resurrection of Zellers is officially underway with the Cambridge location opening its doors to eager shoppers who lined up ahead of the store's official reopening.
