National

More shelter beds for people in Victoria street camp cited by police for 'hostility'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 Aug, 2024 11:41 AM

Dozens of new shelter beds are opening for people living on the streets in Victoria, including at an encampment where police escorts have been required for emergency responders.

A statement from the Housing Ministry says that up to 72 new beds will be made available for people living on Pandora Avenue and elsewhere.

It says BC Housing is funding up to 40 new spaces at shelters run by Our Place Society as well as 32 at a shelter operated by The Salvation Army.

Victoria Police last month announced that firefighters and paramedics would only attend the 900 block of Pandora Avenue with a police escort.

The move came after a paramedic was attacked and police were swarmed by a crowd, part of what police called an increase in "violence and hostility."

Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon says it's "critical" that people experiencing homelessness have indoor shelter in order to get out of encampments.

"We are determined to provide a path out of homelessness and add even more housing throughout Victoria," he says in a statement.

The ministry says the spaces at Our Place Society shelters are for people 19 and older, while the Salvation Army spaces are for men seeking a recovery program.

Marianne Alto, mayor of Victoria, says in the provincial statement that she was "gratified" to see the new shelter spaces being made available.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

B.C. man who pushed senior during dispute outside Costco loses manslaughter appeal

The B.C. Court of Appeal has upheld the manslaughter conviction of a man who claimed he lashed out in self defence, in part because of his claustrophobia, resulting in an elderly man's death at a Vancouver Costco in 2017. A ruling released Monday says Thomas Toth was convicted of manslaughter in 2020, three years after he got into a physical altercation with 86-year-old Orlando Ocampo "that had tragic consequences."

B.C. man who pushed senior during dispute outside Costco loses manslaughter appeal

B.C. to add 240 complex-care housing units in communities throughout the province

British Columbia is planning to add 240 new units to its complex-care housing program, providing homes for people with mental-health and addictions challenges that overlap with other serious conditions. The Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions says in a statement 200 of the units will be located in Abbotsford, Burnaby, Kamloops, Kelowna, Nanaimo, New Westminster, Prince George, Sechelt, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria.

B.C. to add 240 complex-care housing units in communities throughout the province

B.C. port terminal among sites blocked in co-ordinated pro-Palestinian protests

A blockade by pro-Palestinian protesters at a major port terminal in Metro Vancouver disrupted operations for several hours before dispersing on Monday. Terminal operator GCT Canada said the protesters' actions were illegal and stopped container trucks from accessing the Deltaport facility by blocking the Roberts Bank causeway for several hours.

B.C. port terminal among sites blocked in co-ordinated pro-Palestinian protests

B.C. woman found dead after alleged abduction, man arrested: RCMP

An RCMP investigation into the alleged abduction of a woman from Lumby, B.C., has turned into a probe of a suspicious death. Mounties say in a statement that officers with the North Okanagan detachment found the woman's body in a rural area on Sunday, and a man believed to have been involved was arrested in the vicinity.

B.C. woman found dead after alleged abduction, man arrested: RCMP

B.C. celebrates 10 billion seedlings planted since 1930

British Columbia officials are celebrating the planting of 10 billion seedlings since reforestation efforts began nearly a century ago. A statement from the Forests Ministry says two billion of those seedlings have been planted in the last seven years.

B.C. celebrates 10 billion seedlings planted since 1930

B.C. home sales slide almost 10 per cent in March despite mortgage rate drop

Home sales in British Columbia fell by almost 10 per cent in March compared with the same period last year, in a slowdown an analyst says could be buyers waiting for lower interest rates. The B.C. Real Estate Association says the province saw 6,460 residential unit sales in the Multiple Listing Service systems last month, a 9.5-per-cent decline from March 2023.