By: Olivia Sherman, News Writer
Since 2018, Fiona York has dedicated her time to advocating for some of Vancouver’s most vulnerable populations. Unhoused residents of Vancouver parks, such as CRAB Park and Oppenheimer Park, are subjected to street sweeps, exposure to the elements, and discrimination. In an interview with The Peak, York discussed these acts of injustice and the human rights complaint against the City of Vancouver.
On December 18, the BC Human Rights Tribunal (HRT) agreed to proceed with a complaint against the City of Vancouver and the Parks Board, voicing concerns over unfair treatment of residents of Vancouver’s parks. In a December 14 letter, the HRT states both the city and the parks board “discriminated in Services [ . . . ] based on Indigenous Identity, Race, Colour, Ancestry, Place of Origin, Physical and Mental Disability, Sex and Age.” The inadequacies include “insufficient washroom and showering facilities, no shade in summer, insufficient electricity, and a lack of comprehensive sanitation of public facilities.”
York seconded the statements made in the letter, saying, “none of these amenities have been [provided] in a consistent manner, and when they’ve been provided, it’s usually too little and has been taken away again.”
In January of 2022, the BC Supreme Court granted a section of CRAB Park available for 24-hour camping, allowing residents’ tents to remain standing all day. As the unhoused population in Vancouver grows, more tents spill into the non-designated areas, breaking the city bylaw. The BC government is set to impose a seasonal moratorium on evicting residents from CRAB and Oppenheimer Park in the winter months. A seasonal moratorium involves the temporary suspension of certain laws or regulations. Advocates for residents call to postpone the eviction to spring, when the weather warms. In a correspondence with Global News, the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation stated, “this is not a decampment. We’re not asking people to leave, we’re asking for people to comply with the bylaw.”
However, York noted, “If there was a real interest or desire to provide those services, there would be, or should be, some means of doing that.” For York, “It’s not a matter of not being able to provide these services, it’s a matter of making the decision not to provide these services.”
Residents of park encampments are often subjected to street sweeps. The Belongings Matter report analyzes current laws and how they’re enforced against vulnerable populations and their belongings. The treatment of people’s personal belongings differs depending on where they’re located, such as city property, a park, or elsewhere. The reality for unhoused people who face street sweeps is often having their property destroyed or disposed of. York says this is “part of a bigger belief system that [unhoused] people don’t deserve to have belongings,” which is “negating the very humanity of people.”
