Those living in a shelter set up at Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre will be relocated as the arena is set to be used for the upcoming FIBA Olympic basketball qualifying tournament later this month.
The lease on the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre temporary shelter could not be extended, the B.C. government said Monday, and BC Housing will relocate the 43 people in the arena shelter to Mount Tolmie Hospital, which is currently not being used, as well as other housing sites in the region.
The PHS Community Services Society will transition from the service operator of the arena to Mount Tolmie Hospital.
The arena was used as an emergency shelter from May until September of last year and then put back into use in March as part of the province’s plan to move people experiencing homelessness into safer, temporary accommodation and help slow the spread of COVID-19.
The Olympic qualifying tournament is slated to run from June 29 to July 4. The tournament was postponed from last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
B.C. Premier John Horgan says he does think any fans will be allowed to attend the tournament, which will feature teams from six countries, including Canada, competing for a spot in the men’s basketball tournament at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
— With files from Richard Zussman
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