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Anti-poverty activists arrested at Maple Ridge homeless camp

Ivan Drury, a spokesperson for Alliance Against Displacement, chants words of support for the homeless in front of Victoria Police at the entrance to the Hotel Grand Pacific near discussions between federal, provincial and territorial ministers about the housing crisis in Canada during a protest in Victoria, B.C., Tuesday, June 28, 2016.
Ivan Drury, a spokesperson for Alliance Against Displacement, chants words of support for the homeless in front of Victoria Police at the entrance to the Hotel Grand Pacific near discussions between federal, provincial and territorial ministers about the housing crisis in Canada during a protest in Victoria, B.C., Tuesday, June 28, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

Longtime anti-poverty activist Ivan Drury has been charged after an incident at Maple Ridge’s Anita Place homeless camp.

According to Ridge Meadows RCMP, Drury and another woman were arrested at the camp on Tuesday when police were called to the site “while the City of Maple Ridge continued work in the area.”

Activists say city crews were on site removing tents and structures belonging to campers who have not been “verified” as residents of the camp by the City.

Advocates for the campers say up to 30 homeless residents were excluded from verification because they were not at the site of the camp when the City conducted its official count.

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Police say Drury was arrested under the Trespass Act, while the woman was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer.

Drury, 41, a vocal organizer with the group Alliance Against Displacement, has been charged with resisting or obstructing a peace officer, and has been handed several conditions including not going within one metre of the fence surrounding the camp.

The woman has not been charged, and was released on a promise to appear and not to go to the encampment.

In a tweet, Alliance Against Displacement called Drury’s arrest “politically motivated” and “in line with Mayor [Mike] Morden’s agenda to repress homeless organizing and destroy Anita Place tent city.”
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