Victoria homeless advocate says measures taken at Vancouver encampment unlikely to occur here

As City of Vancouver staff and police sweep through tent encampments in the city's Downtown Eastside, an island advocate says he doesn't think a similar approach will occur in Victoria.

Grant McKenzie, director of communications for Our Place in Victoria, describes the crackdown on Wednesday as tragic.

"I think it's a really sad day," he said.

"I think when you're moving someone off of the streets it should be happy, it should be them moving into housing, moving in to get the supports that they need to get healthy and well," said McKenzie.

"Just moving them out by force with no place for them to go really is a failure by us as a society."

Vancouver police, city staff and the premier have defended the police enforcement that occurred Wednesday, saying that something had to be done amid safety concerns at the encampments in the Downtown Eastside.

Fire risks, escalating violence and reports of sexual assaults were among the main reasons for the evictions, according to local officials.

At a news conference Wednesday, city leaders faced criticism for not having enough housing available for the people that were being moved out of the encampments, and there were claims that some existing housing had cleanliness issues, like rats, pests, and other unsanitary conditions.

B.C. Premier David Eby described Wednesday's sidewalk evictions as "a very sad situation and a sad day."

He pointed to the province's plan to open 300 more housing units in Vancouver by the end of June, though there's concerns that as many as 1,300 people are on a waitlist for housing in Vancouver.

VICTORIA EVICTIONS?

McKenzie believes it's unlikely similar evictions would occur in Victoria due to the scope of its homelessness issue.

"We don't have as big a problem here in Victoria as they do in the Downtown Eastside. People are much more established there," he said.

"On Pandora, people tend to move their stuff every morning. Bylaw comes by, police come by, so people don't get as entrenched," said McKenzie.

While similar police action isn't expected in B.C.'s capital, McKenzie says he believes more shelters and more housing should be built for people currently living on the streets.

"I don't believe anybody should be living on streets or in parks," he said.

MOVING TO VICTORIA?

McKenzie does not think Victoria will see a large influx in homeless people amid the crackdown in Vancouver.

"We may see some individuals who may think they can get similar supports here than what they get in Vancouver. But for the most part it's a community and most people don't want to part from their community," he said.

McKenzie believes all people move for similar reasons, such as work, family, or love.

If some unhoused Vancouver residents have family or work opportunities here they may move, but generally he thinks most people will stay in Metro Vancouver.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog agrees with the sentiment.

"I'm not concerned about the folks in Vancouver coming to Vancouver Island," he said.

"We're no better off here, we have no better services to offer."

Krog says that despite the province providing major funding for the housing crisis, the situation remains dire in B.C.

"The issue for British Columbians is, after decades of significant investments, literally in the billions of dollars, it looks worse now than it did," he said.

"I don't think there's' a lot more happy people on the streets living than there were 30, 40 years ago," said the mayor.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos