Video shows homeless man being restrained as Vancouver rangers seize tent

One day after Mark Menard was featured on CTV News criticizing Vancouver's daily evictions of homeless campers, the Oppenheimer Park resident was restrained by police as park rangers seized his tent and some of his belongings.

Video posted on social media shows the 58-year-old Indigenous man pleading with authorities to leave his few possessions alone.

"Let me get my stuff out of there, please," Menard cries in the recording. "Get my backpack out of there."

Police also arrested a 29-year-old woman who tried to intervene in the seizure.

According to Menard and advocates who were present, the rangers eventually took away his tent, tarp and blankets, leaving him without anywhere to sleep Friday night.

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation told CTV News staff were unavailable to discuss the incident.

Menard, who is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, spoke out this week about his experiences living in Oppenheimer since May 2023, and how challenging it's been since the city decided to increase enforcement of a bylaw requiring campers to pack up their tents every morning.

"I'm so exhausted," Menard said. "I never asked to be here. I'm just trying to survive."

Menard is one of many homeless people who choose to camp outside rather than stay in the limited shelter spaces available in the city, for a variety of concerns that range from cleanliness to a lack of secure storage for their belongings.

Amanda Burrows of First United, a Downtown Eastside service organization that has called for an end to Vancouver's bylaw, interviewed the homeless man after his tent was seized on Friday, and shared the video with CTV News.

In the recording, Menard speaks directly to Mayor Ken Sim, who has insisted that his government takes a "compassionate" approach to homelessness while also supporting decampments.

"You're just evil, sir," Menard says. "I shouldn't even call you sir. You're a little man."

The city began increasing bylaw enforcement at CRAB Park and Oppenheimer Park last fall, despite outcry from advocates who have urged officials to consider a moratorium on evictions during the colder, wetter months.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation said the number of park rangers being sent to Oppenheimer daily has also recently increased due to "resistance to voluntary compliance" with the bylaw.

"This work will continue to support the daytime access of the park to the whole community, while also continuing to accommodate sheltering overnight," the spokesperson said.

"Until such time as there is a systemic solution to the homelessness crisis in the region, (rangers) are doing their best to balance the demands on the limited green space in our city."

Police have been escorting rangers during the daily evictions, but have noted they are not there to take part in the removal of tents, only to "ensure the safety and well-being" of the rangers.

Asked whether the woman arrested in Oppenheimer remained in custody Friday afternoon, and what charges authorities were considering against her, a police spokesperson only said the file "remains under investigation."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Isabella Zavarise