Vancouver police and the city’s mayor are denying unhoused people are being told to move ahead of FIFA, despite a homeless man’s claim he was told he would no longer be able to sleep under the Cambie bridge – because it was within the two-kilometre “beautification zone” around BC Place.
Although the city of Vancouver has billed the upcoming FIFA World Cup as an inclusive event, Wayne Bouchier told Global News that not everyone is feeling welcome.
“Every city in this world has homeless, you can’t just force homeless people away from the place you want to have, like, a certain aesthetic appeal to it,” Bouchier said in an interview.
Until earlier this year, Bouchier, who survives on a disability pension, and his dog ‘Chewy’, had been camping under the north end of the Cambie bridge.
The Indigenous veteran who had previously lived in the former CRAB Park encampment and at times, in an RV, said the site was central to the services he needed.
“This is the place I had to be because my doctors are on the west, all my food and resources are on the east,” Bouchier said, adding it was close to a public washroom in Coopers’ Park, where there was access to water during the summer.
After several months of taking down his tent and packing up his belongings every morning to comply with Vancouver’s overnight sheltering bylaw, Bouchier said daily enforcement by the city and police changed in February.
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The VPD, he claims, had a heavier presence and police officers would be the ones waking him up, while city workers mentioned a two-kilometre radius around BC Place stadium.
“A no-go zone for anybody who was tenting or drug using or anything that doesn’t fit FIFA standards,” recalled Bouchier.
Both city workers and police, he said, told him the area under the bridge would be off limits during FIFA because it was within the two kilometres.
“First, the city would tell us, but then when the VPD officers come back to you know, just make sure were cleared out, they’d inform us that we’d have to move away from this area because eventually FIFA’s going to come,” Bouchier told Global News.
“We got to get this area cleared out in order for them to meet their standard, whatever, beautification.”
“The VPD is not telling homeless people to move out of the two-kilometre zone around the dome,” said Sgt. Adam Donaldson.
Vancouver police said in terms of enforcement, FIFA’s two-kilometre controlled area or “beautification zone” means nothing, and there is no change in policy for front-line officers.
“As long as any unhoused people or homeless people are abiding by existing city of Vancouver bylaws or they’re not on private property, they’ll be able to continue as they were throughout the event,” Donaldson said in an interview Thursday.
The VPD also said there’s been no change to how officers support city staff and park rangers in enforcing overnight sheltering bylaws, and police would only ask people to move if they were obstructing something or for public safety reasons.
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Mayor Ken Sim was unavailable for an interview Thursday and his office told Global News it was unable to comment on this specific case in question.
In an interview on Sunday April 26, Sim said, regardless of FIFA, the city has always had a plan to make sure vulnerable residents are treated with care and empathy.
“Because they’re going through challenging times and so that won’t change,” the mayor said. “What will look a little different is in certain areas there will be, you know, street beautification, so more let’s say, trash removal and you know, sprucing up.”
In a statement provided by his office Thursday, Sim said throughout the World Cup, the city will continue its ongoing daily work across Vancouver to keep parks and sidewalks in compliance with bylaws to ensure all public spaces are safe and accessible.
“This work requires individuals to remove structures and pack up belongings that impact public access or safety,” said the mayor’s statement. “The City has no plans to ask residents to leave their neighbourhoods within the 2km controlled area surrounding BC Place.”
The City of Vancouver refused to do an interview Thursday, claiming, “We don’t have a spokesperson available.”
Bouchier and his dog are now staying in a private single-room occupancy (SRO) building, while the tents in the area he once called home are cleared out.
“FIFA, they want the world to come here and show the world – they don’t want the world to see the dirty laundry of the country,” Bouchier said. “You’re not going to be beautifying the city if you keep sweeping things under the rug.”
There’s two kinds of people in Vancouver; immigrants and homeless. If you aren’t one, you’re the other.
The beautification zone should cover the whole province and be permanent
At Anonymous- Only dumb assholes speak before they absolutely know anything.
A Whitecaps ticket is one of the best sporting values in the city,
Cheapest WhiteCaps ticket is $21 dollars.
For $50 -$75 you can sit close to mid field.
Only rich asholes can go to the games anyway
“ Bouchier and his dog are now staying in a private single-room occupancy (SRO) building, while the tents in the area he once called home are cleared out”
Sorry the story ends with him sheltered indoors & it’s presented as a bad thing he’s not allowed to squat on busy public sidewalks?
At Les- Climate and access to drugs and services.
If you are going to live on the street best to do it the warmest climate you can find.
Looks like he’s capable of workin… But made a choice not too………
@Doug Brekfaust Why would a homeless person from outside B.C move to one the most expensive cities in the country? That makes no sense.
At Lib Sucks- Most are not from here to begin with. It was estimated that,
Ai- “ A significant proportion of the homeless population (34%–42%) identifies as Indigenous”
Another 1/3 are from outside Vancouver and are from other parts of BC and the rest of Canada.
About a 1/3ish are actually from Vancouver. Like Bob B says below.
If these people’s own communities managed them, then Vancouver would have 2/3 less homeless.
Look it up.
Why is this guys tribal community not helping him out? Isn’t that what the FN say they are all about? They are always going on about taking care of nature and their people and yet 1/3 of homeless are FNs.
Go figure eh?
The man has a tent pitch on the side of the street in Yaletown. Sorry that’s not considered an encampment area. Plus FiFA warned the public plenty in advance about the 2 km rule. So the fact the media is trying to spin this is pathetic!
It’s always part of any deal with FIFA that they control areas around events. So asking people to move out of the area is believable. With FIFA it’s all about the money and making things look good
Maple Ridge’s population about to increase, “Anonymous”.
Maple Ridge only had 1 homeless man before 2010 Olympics. Back then they actually gave homeless people $200 checks to leave Vancouver. Surprised that wasn’t reported in here
Just watched this story. Why did Global emphasize the fact that the homeless man was First Nation. What does that have to do anything. Seems very unprofessional to make this about race. Stop being racist global.
Why is it necessary to state the man’s ethnicity? Does being indigenous make his plight worse than others?
They put them on buses to the interior and let the small towns deal with it.…
So you put them out of view? You better hope they don’t see downtown. You people are happy to get a big payday but you don’t give any compassion to the people who have nothing.