The Canadian Press
Dirk Meissner
VICTORIA–A group of homeless people who pitched tents in a B.C. provincial park near Victoria are expected to move into approved shelters and living spaces before a government-imposed deadline, Housing minister Selina Robinson said yesterday.
Robinson said people have started moving out of Goldstream Provincial Park and she was confident all members of the group of about 20 campers will be in new living spaces by today.
The park’s campground has been closed since the homeless campers arrived Sept. 20.
“I’m convinced that people will want to leave,” Robinson said, adding that meetings with government support and outreach workers over the past week have addressed many of the needs of the campers, including housing.
“All of the people who’ve been at Goldstream for the last couple of weeks will be in places that are better for them,” Robinson said.
“Safer, warmer, drier, with supports.”
Steps also will be taken by officials to reopen the park, Robinson added.
A spokeswoman for the homeless people at Goldstream said the group planned to leave the park this morning, but not everybody will move into the housing options the government is providing.
Chrissy Brett said many members of the group want to live together and are considering moving together to other locations in the Victoria area, including Langford, Saanich, and Oak Bay.
The campers previously have stayed in those communities over the past year.
“Yes, we’re all going to have a place to stay because we’re going to stay together,” Brett said.
“That’s what has kept people together this long is a sense of community and a sense of family.”
The campers arrived at Goldstream park days after they were ousted from provincially-owned land in nearby Saanich.
Earlier last summer, Saanich used a court order to force the campers from another park that some had occupied since the spring.
On Thursday, the government said campers choosing to staying in the park past today would be evicted.
Some local residents have said they were concerned about potential damage to the park.
