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Nanaimo bylaw finds fewer illegal homeless camps, more campers

Jun 24, 2017 | 9:16 PM

NANAIMO — Though the City of Nanaimo is seeing more homeless camping in parks or private property, they say there’s less illegal camps.

Bylaw manager Rod Davidson explained those experiencing homelessness can legally camp overnight in parks between 7 p.m. and 9 a.m. due to a Supreme Court decision and many homeless campers leave within the legal time.

He said this year bylaw services has had to move on 11 illegal camps, which is down from 2016.

“People aren’t going to (well-used) parks anymore,” he said. “They’re either finding areas that are farther out of the downtown core…or they’re back into public or private lands and setting up back in those areas where they’re either not causing issues or they’re staying for a short period of time and we’re not finding them.”

Though bylaw services have cleared less illegal encampments, Davidson said the overall number of camps has risen 50 per cent from 2016, which itself was 50 per cent more than 2015.

Davidson, as well as organizations working with the homeless, said Nanaimo has recently seen an influx of homeless people or transients moving in from shuttered tent cities in Victoria and Duncan.

Given Nanaimo’s geography, Davidson said it could take time to find various camps since there’s large tracts of private, undeveloped property all over the city.

“If there’s an area where nobody goes, it might be a while before it’s discovered.”