It’ll be at least a month before the fate of Victoria’s tent city is decided in court.
CTV News has learned the province will take campers back to B.C. Supreme Court for a two-day temporary injunction hearing tentatively scheduled for June 27-28.
The latest injunction request comes after a fire commissioner deemed the camp a high risk for a deadly blaze last week.
B.C.’s housing minister Rich Coleman had previously said the province would seek another injunction to shut the camp down if health and safety conditions weren’t met by a May 25 deadline.
The province already has a court date for a permanent injunction request Sept. 7, which could proceed depending on the decision in the temporary hearing.
Many have argued that while the controversial encampment began as a form of protest, it has devolved into a breeding ground for violence and drugs.
A CTV camera operator was attacked by a tent city resident on camera last week. The week before that, a Victora police officer was injured while arresting a female resident of the camp.
Others have reported being robbed and assaulted in the area of the Victoria courthouse, though not all of the attacks have been officially linked to tent city.
Last week, Coleman said about 190 people have been housed from the site since it first sprang up last fall.
He also said there are spaces available at Victoria-area shelters for every single camper that could be forced out of tent city.
The province had previously filed a temporary injunction request in April to remove campers, but it was denied and the permanent hearing was set for September.
