By Spencer Sterritt

Discontent City pushes back against fire order to remove tarps

Jul 26, 2018 | 3:10 PM

NANAIMO — No one from outside Discontent City in downtown Nanaimo will be allowed through their gate as residents fight back against a fire safety order.

“There’s nobody who’s going to come in and take away everyone’s tarps, rummage through their things and take the only thing (residents) have to protect themselves,” tent city organizer Mercedes Courtoreille told reporters at a rally Thursday afternoon.

A provincial fire order was issued by the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General against the camp in early June after inspections found numerous fire code violations. Remedies included having tents at least one metre away from each other and the removal of combustible material like wood.

An interim order from the BC Supreme Court gave the camp one week to remedy the situation. The timeline expired Thursday.

The biggest issue tent city residents have with the provincial fire order was the requirement to remove their tarps from their tents and other structures.

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Courtoreille said tarps provide shade and help keep their already hot tents from becoming unbearable in the summer heat. She also said BC Housing, who’s now part of the conversations happening about tent city with the City of Nanaimo, is trying to offer tarps to Discontent City residents. To the best of her knowledge and other advocates on site, tarps were never an issue in previous tent city disputes across the province.

Now their main gate leading into 1 Port Dr. will be blocked off as a sign of protest against the fire safety order.

In a release, City attorney Troy DeSouza said they will now “proceed with all legal options including contempt, police enforcement and increased costs which will be made against the remaining occupants. Deliberate disobedience of a court order is not an option.”

Regarding the apparent rush to comply with the provincial fire order, Mayor Bill McKay noted it was originally ordered on May 30. He asked how tent city residents could have run out of time fixing fire compliance issues when they had nearly two months to work towards a solution.

McKay told NanaimoNewsNOW while he can’t speak to any specifics, conversations are happening between the City, BC Housing, the province and Island Health about the tent city.

“We’re all in lockstep now and trying to find solutions,” he said.

The increased resistance from Discontent City residents comes as tensions throughout the community are steadily rising.

Melissa Burkhart, who lives inside the tent city, says she was hit in the neck with a bottle thrown from a watcher at the Port Place Shopping Centre parkade just across the street.

“I honestly think that’s being encouraged by this attitude from Fire Chief Karen Fry and officials in the fire department,” she said. “They can’t bottle us, they can’t directly victimize us, so they’re doing it by taking away our tarps, out ability to stay cool and demanding these ridiculous rules be complied with.”

Courtoreille agreed, saying every injury, every bottle thrown and every threat made online could be blamed on Fry.

NanaimoNewsNOW has reached out for comment from Chief Fry and this story will be updated with her response.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit