In response to the story on the decommissioning of homeless camps Nov. 27, a recent B.C. Supreme Court decision (Abbotsford (City) v. Shantz, 2015 BCSC 1909) ruling prompted the City of Chilliwack to amend its parks bylaw to allow homeless people to camp in municipal parks.
The same parameters have the potential to exist here in Vernon.
Whether or not the people whose homeless camps were decommissioned in the story above, or others, choose that option remains to be seen.
As Juliette Cunningham stated, the broader problem is that a provincial matter is being downloaded on to municipalities.
This is clearly a responsibility of the provincial government.
We haven’t seen a concerted strategy from the other two levels of government,
I guess my question would be, has there been any follow-up to a suggestion in council last spring that the city staff put together a homeless strategy for MP Mel Arnold to take to Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister of family services?
Dean Roosevelt
Vernon
