"I was shocked, quite honestly, about the proposal to remove Centennial Square from the prohibited list of sites," said Lisa Helps, Friday.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps voted against allowing homeless shelters to return to the square.

The province says the Comfort Inn at 3020 Blanshard Street will be used in the short term to house about 65 people from the camps on Pandora Avenue and in Topaz Park.

The province unveiled a plan to use hotels house the homeless living in Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park and Victoria's Topaz Park and Pandora Avenue late last month.

The encampment, known as Camp Namegans to residents, has been in place at Regina Park since May. 

Fences are up and debris is being hauled away from the now-vacant homeless camp outside Victoria's courthouse, but British Columbia's housing minister says the cleanup will be long and costly.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has reserved his decision on the fate of a homeless camp on the grounds of the Victoria courthouse.

A ruling is expected today on the British Columbia government's application for a temporary injunction to remove a homeless camp on the grounds of Victoria's law courts.