Tale of Two Cities: Nanaimo vs. Discontent City court case underway
NANAIMO — The court battle between the City of Nanaimo and a sprawling downtown homeless encampment is officially underway.
The public hearing aspect of an injunction filed against Discontent City at 1 Port Dr. started Tuesday morning in BC Supreme Court in Nanaimo.
City representative Troy DeSouza leaned heavily on the sordid details of the camp, which now houses roughly 200 people and is often visited by RCMP and paramedics.
“There are divisions in the camp and we’ve got affidavit material to speak to how there’s weapons in the camp,” DeSouza said. “There is a reasonable cause for concern that factions within tent city could descend into a Lord of the Flies scenario.”