Homeless fight against $75 fine for erecting tents

VANCOUVER — Homeless people who were ticketed for erecting tents in Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park this summer would have to collect the recycling refund on 1,500 soda bottles to pay the fine of $75.

Bottle returns is one of the few ways that a person on welfare can generate extra income, Laura Track, a lawyer with Pivot Legal Society, said yesterday.

But she doubted that anyone would pay the fine, regardless of how many bottle refunds were required.

"No one is going to be paying these tickets. They are homeless and the idea of them having $75 to pay a ticket for sleeping outside is pretty absurd," she said in an interview.

As many as 80 people are sleeping in tents and under tarps in Oppenheimer Park in the city's Downtown Eastside neighbourhood. Police issued tickets earlier this month for violation of a city bylaw prohibiting the erection of shelters or tents in a park. However, police recently suspended efforts to clear out the park and appealed to provincial and city housing authorities to help the campers find housing.

Several people in the park who were ticketed have turned their tickets over to Pivot, a legal advocacy group that champions social justice and poverty-related issues. Pivot intends to challenge the city's authority to prohibit people from sleeping in a park when no alternative is available, Ms. Track said.

"We know shelters are running at maximum capacity every night. They are turning away dozens of people every day," Ms. Track said. "When there is a lack of affordable housing for people to move into and when shelters are turning them away and they have no place to go, it is unconstitutional to ticket them for sleeping outside.

"The [Charter of Rights and Freedoms] protects people's right to life, liberty and security of the person. We say ticketing people for sleeping outside when they have no other realistic alternative is a violation to their right of security of the person."

City prosecutor Ellen Gerber said later in an interview that she has not yet been told about the unpaid tickets. She cautioned that the homeless will not automatically end up in court if they refuse to pay.

Under B.C. law, a prosecutor, not police, decides if a charge for a bylaw infraction is laid. Considerations in reaching a decision include whether the prosecution has a substantial likelihood of obtaining a conviction, whether the public interest is served and whether alternative methods are available to enforce compliance, she said.

But she has not yet dealt with the issue. "I have not received any tickets and so I cannot comment on it," Ms. Gerber said.

Spencer Herbert, a Vancouver Park Board commissioner who is seeking an NDP nomination in next year's provincial election, said activities in Oppenheimer Park will be discussed at a meeting on Tuesday. Police and representatives of the park board are being invited to a meeting with Pivot, he said.

One of the concerns is the open illegal-drug market in the park, Mr. Herbert said. Some people sleeping in the park told The Globe and Mail this week that crack cocaine is readily available at some tents.

"If drug dealers are moving in, we want to find a way to keep them out. It's unsafe for the residents," Mr. Herbert said.

Constable Tim Fanning of the Vancouver Police Department said the suspension of ticketing those who violate city bylaws in Oppenheimer Park should not give any solace to the drug dealers in the park.

"We will enforce Criminal Code violations," he said. "Right now we are not enforcing the bylaw about erecting any structures or tents, but if we see criminal code offences, we may deal with them, depending on the circumstances."

Meanwhile, organizers of this weekend's Powell Street Festival are breathing a sigh of relief after meeting with some of the people at the park. The organizers were concerned that the festival, which takes over the park on Saturday for its 32nd annual event, would run into a conflict with those sleeping there.

"Everybody we spoke to knew about the festival and were open to helping us out," Kristen Lambertson, the festival programming director, said in an interview. "They were willing to share the space. They will move out and let us use the park for the day."

The festival organizers agreed to allow the homeless people to keep up one tarp and hand out information about their issues, she added. "We understand why they want to maintain the pressure and make it known why they do not have housing," she said.

Source:Globe & Mail National Top Stories