By Spencer Sterritt

NNN’s top 5 of 2018: A summer of discontent city

Dec 28, 2018 | 12:47 PM

NANAIMO — There was one inescapable topic of conversation in Nanaimo for eight months of the year: Discontent City.

The sprawling tent city took over 1 Port Dr. across from the Port Place Shopping Centre in mid-May and lasted until early December. It swelled to roughly 300 people but no matter how big or small, it was always going to divide the community in a way few other stories could.

At the peak of summer, all news sites had to do was post a headline with the words “tent city” in it, or post a photo from 1 Port Dr. and they’d be flooded with comments and messages. Facebook was a hotbed of off-the-cuff political analysis, rumour sharing and blatant fear-mongering the likes of which few communities ever have to deal with.

Discontent City first started as a political protest against the lack of affordable housing in Nanaimo but it quickly became so much more. By the end, few of the original organizers attended rallies or were even spotted at tent city. A council of residents making decisions for the encampment lasted only a few weeks before falling apart. The situation became more unwieldy after a criminal element moved into tent city after several months.

Next thing you knew, the groups Alliance Against Displacement and the Soldiers of Odin were going at it in the street during two massive midsummer rallies which led to no change in the status quo and was a waste of resources. As summer stretched on, the messaging about tent city strayed further and further away from the initial protest about a lack of housing.

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Before tent city opened, a homelessness count in Nanaimo showed there’s roughly 400 people considered absolutely homeless. This means they’re living in the bush or parks with nowhere to go besides the overcrowded shelters.

Even before the count, a City of Nanaimo social planner warned there was a good possibility a tent city would be set up in Nanaimo.

Yet nothing was done to mitigate the issue until the absolute last minute, despite ongoing negotiations between the City and the province all summer.

A Supreme Court Justice ordered Discontent City be closed by Oct.12, giving residents 21 days to pack up their belongings and head elsewhere.

Only a few days before the gates were to close at 1 Port Dr., the province announced 170 units of temporary workforce modular housing was purchased for Nanaimo, installed at 250 Terminal Ave. and on City-owned land on Labieux Rd.

The housing sites are predominantly filled with tent city residents and are proving to be equally divisive, with successful petitions and civil suits already filed by upset community residents.

BC Housing is calling the two temporary sites a success. While it does mean Discontent City is closed and roughly 170 people now have a roof over their head, it’s a sweaty success at best.

A true success would be having a more comprehensive and thorough solution presented to the community at a time other than the last available moment. Where was the idea for the temporary housing when Discontent City had been open for two months? What about at the end of August, when it was clear the situation was spiraling out of control and a wet winter was on the way?

As of Dec.10, Discontent City is closed and has returned to the barren concrete patch of land it once was.

But the housing crisis is far from over and many are already wondering where the next major tent city will spring up in Nanaimo.

spencer@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit