WATCH: A plan to raise awareness of homelessness in Maple Ridge has turned into a war of words. Nadia Stewart reports.
A proposed barbecue at a Maple Ridge homeless camp has been cancelled after an outcry from local residents.
“This is not taking us in a forward direction, this is taking us back,” said Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read, hours before Social Housing Alliance BC, which was organizing the event, announced it wouldn’t be going forward.
The barbecue was going to take place this Saturday at the Cliff Avenue camp. It’s a stretch of road near a ravine where as many as 60 people live in tents.
There have been increasing tensions over its presence, and the proposed barbecue – which was to be attended by many people bused in from outside Maple Ridge – added fuel to the flames,” says Read.
“Mostly people are reacting to…that they’re actually going to bring carloads of people on to narrow streets that is a residential neighbourhood. In their opinion it’s inflaming the situation.”
Alan Guilbault, a homeless man who has lived near the camp for two years, is hopeful that a similar event can be held in the future.
“They’re not really happy with us being here anyways. To have a barbecue, to them, is like us celebrating, and that wasn’t the point of it,” he said.
“It’s kind of gone sideways on us. So be it. We’ll stop the barbecue at this point, and hope to get it on to another sight.”
– With files from Nadia Stewart
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