The BC Coroners Service has confirmed it is investigating the death of a 37-year-old man at the homeless camp on Pandora Avenue.
According to the BC Coroners Service, the death was reported on April 17, 2020.
There are more than 100 tents crowded along the 900-block of Pandora Avenue and countless others scattered around the city, including a growing number at Beacon Hill Park, as homeless people face closures of services due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The temporary homeless camp at Topaz Park, approved by the City of Victoria, is at capacity with 200 tents. BC Housing and the City of Victoria have secured nearly 200 motel rooms, including several at the Howard Johnson on Gorge Road.
Earlier this month, Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps and two councillors, Jeremy Loveday and Sarah Potts, are pushing even harder. They are putting forward a joint motion to city council urging the province to use its emergency powers to secure more motel rooms, whether they’re offered up voluntarily or not.
READ MORE: ‘Fraught with challenges’: Victoria motel manager voices concerns after housing homeless
City council then voted to ask the province to use its emergency powers to start seizing hotel rooms to house the city’s most vulnerable.
BC Housing said it’s in contract negotiations with several other motels and is also in the process of securing a location for an emergency response centre, that would provide more spaces for those who need it most.
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