The City of Victoria has called upon a group of volunteers to remove a Community Care Tent from Beacon Hill Park.
The care tent recently reappeared in the park and organizers said that they had not received permission from the City of Victoria.
On Thursday morning, city bylaw officers visited the tent’s location – which is set up near the petting zoo in Beacon Hill Park – and told the group of volunteers that it would need to be taken down by the end of the day.
Victoria Police were also onsite during the interaction with officers present in order to keep the peace.
No action was taken by either side following the request.
Once bylaw officers left the vicinity, organizers told CHEK News that they didn’t have intentions of taking the care tent down themselves on Thursday.
Dozens of supporters remain on-site Thursday afternoon, around the care tent area, however, police and bylaw officers have yet to return. One person has even chained themselves to the structure in hopes of preventing bylaw officers from disassembling the tent.
This currently erected care tent, built by the grassroots group of volunteers, comes two months after a previous tent was taken down by city bylaw officers.
Organizers say the purpose of the tent is to provide “warmth, shelter from the winter elements, food, water, medical supplies and a hub where housed and unhoused community members can pool resources to support each other.”
The care tent is larger than the standard sheltering size bylaw and has not been authorized by the City of Victoria to be located in Beacon Hill Park at this time.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information is released.
Graham Cox
