Campers at a Downtown Eastside park attempted to move into Stanley Park Sunday night.
The entrance to the park was closed by police for several hours to prevent any more campers from attempting to move in.
A small group set up camp near the totem poles in Stanley Park, but were quickly asked to leave by Park Board staff.
The group voluntarily packed up their belongings about an hour later.
A court injunction hearing on the Oppenheimer park protest got underway Monday morning at B.C. Supreme Court.
City officials cite health and safety concerns for moving campers out of Oppenheimer Park and into two new shelters.
Advocates for the protest say the campers haven’t been given enough notice to find new living spaces and are planning to seek a delay in the process.
Debate: Solution for homelessness on Vancouver streets?
The BC Supreme Court decision to remove the homeless tent city that’s taken over Oppenheimer Park will get underway tomorrow morning. City councillors Geoff Meggs and George Affleck debate the solution on BC1.
In court Monday, a lawyer for the city said there’s no evidence the campers will leave the park without an injunction being granted.
A lawyer from Pivot Legal Society, representing the campers, argued for a 10 day adjournment to deal with an injunction order.
The judge said police concerns about crime and safety are legitimate, and set a hearing for Tuesday at 10 a.m.
Fire crews also spent the night monitoring a stubborn fire in an old growth tree in Stanley Park. The fire broke out Sunday morning at a homeless squatter’s camp near Second Beach.
At one point, fire crews thought they had extinguished the blaze, but it flared up again later in the afternoon.
As the tree is old growth it cannot be chopped down. The Vancouver Park Board plans to meet Monday with an arborist to decide the tree’s fate.
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