Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

Vancouver confirms CRAB Park temporary sheltering area will close next week

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 01 Nov, 2024 11:24 AM
  • Vancouver confirms CRAB Park temporary sheltering area will close next week

The City of Vancouver says the remaining seven residents of an encampment at a Downtown Eastside park have a week to pack up their belongings and leave, or they must remove their tents each day as the area returns to regular daytime use.

A statement from the city says people may continue sheltering at CRAB Park overnight, but structures must be taken down by 8 a.m. each day starting Nov. 7.

It says reserved shelter spaces will be available for those who choose to leave.

The city says it confirmed the date of the upcoming closure of the designated area for sheltering in the park and a return to regular daytime use by the general public following a week of consultation with the encampment residents.

The joint statement with the Vancouver Park Board says each of the seven people has housing, health services, income supports and transition plans in place, developed alongside city outreach workers, B.C.'s housing provider and others.

The city says workers are now focused on supporting residents in the move away from the waterfront park.

In a statement earlier this month, the city said seven people living in the encampment had been offered shelter previously, but they declined.

The earlier statement said "ongoing non-compliance" at the encampment continued to pose health and safety risks, as well as an "unsustainable" strain on the park board's resources, and concern was growing as winter approaches.

The Crab Park encampment began in 2021, and remained in place in 2022 when a B.C. Supreme Court judge set aside eviction notices, partially because the city didn't have enough indoor shelter spaces to accommodate those living at the camp.

The city had previously forced people out of the encampment in March to clean up the area, and residents were allowed to return to the designated area in April.

The park board has said CRAB Park serves about 6,000 people within a 10-minute walk in an area with very few other green spaces nearby.

MORE National ARTICLES

Suspicious activity with van

Suspicious activity with van
Police in Metro Vancouver say they're investigating two reports of suspicious interactions involving a man driving a white van approaching young girls. New Westminster police say they received the second report after issuing a public statement about the first interaction involving two 12-year-old girls on October 26th.

Suspicious activity with van

Pedestrian dies in vehicle crash

Pedestrian dies in vehicle crash
Ridge Meadows Mounties say a female pedestrian died last week after being struck by a vehicle in one of three crashes involving cyclists or pedestrians in the area in the last seven days. Police say the fatal crash happened on Lougheed Highway on October 25th, when the 49-year-old victim from Pitt Meadows died at the scene despite live-saving efforts from emergency workers.

Pedestrian dies in vehicle crash

Canadian election watchers to gather in bars, homes to watch polarizing U.S. vote

Canadian election watchers to gather in bars, homes to watch polarizing U.S. vote
Canadians engrossed in the drama of the U.S. presidential election expect to gather in bars and living rooms to watch the votes roll in Tuesday, but many say the usual fanfare of watch parties will be muted by anxiety over the especially combative race.

Canadian election watchers to gather in bars, homes to watch polarizing U.S. vote

Day parole extended for Kelly Ellard

Day parole extended for Kelly Ellard
The Parole Board of Canada has granted another six months of day parole to the woman who beat and drowned 14-year-old Reena Virk with an accomplice in 1997. Kerry Sim, formerly Kelly Ellard, has been allowed day parole regularly since 2017 and the latest decision says she has displayed "stable and cooperative" behaviour.

Day parole extended for Kelly Ellard

Union issues strike notice in B.C. port labour dispute, employers say

Union issues strike notice in B.C. port labour dispute, employers say
Employers at British Columbia's ports say they have received 72-hour strike notice from the union representing about 700 foremen in an ongoing labour dispute. The two sides had been negotiating with the help of a federal mediator for the last three days in a bid to avoid a work stoppage that would affect all ports in B.C.

Union issues strike notice in B.C. port labour dispute, employers say

Survivors call on Canada to criminalize residential school denialism

Survivors call on Canada to criminalize residential school denialism
Residential school survivors are calling on Canada to criminalize residential school denialism, echoing one of the findings in a report about unmarked graves and burial sites associated with the institutions. Doug George, a survivor of the Mohawk Institute, said Canadians need to acknowledge the schools' place in history and to ensure the children who died are not silenced.

Survivors call on Canada to criminalize residential school denialism

PrevNext