Who is responsible for tent cities and homeless encampments in B.C.?
CBC
Recent incidents at homeless encampments and tent cities in B.C. have raised questions about who is responsible for them, and what is being done to help people experiencing homelessness in the province.
On Monday, a man was shot at an encampment in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, while attempting to retrieve an item allegedly stolen by someone who resided there.
A day later, the city of Prince George voted to create a centralized homeless camp in the Moccasin Flats area, to stop camps from spreading across the city due to public safety concerns.
The incidents raise the complicated questions of what rights are afforded to those experiencing homelessness, and who is responsible for their welfare.
Here are some answers to those questions.
No. There's nothing in Canada's criminal code that makes it a crime to be unhoused; the Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes protections for people in public spaces.
"The main section of our Charter, which applies in the context of people sheltering outside, is section 7," said Anna Cooper, staff lawyer at Pivot Legal Society who works with unhoused people.
"[It] basically protects the safety of your person and your possessions."
However, people who live in tents or makeshift shelters in cities can be in contravention of municipal bylaws around zoning, outdoor camping or fire safety.
Additionally, Cooper says, police can charge someone sleeping outside with the criminal offence of obstructing a peace officer. Police can also enforce the civil penalty of trespassing on private property.
While many homeless encampments are in violation of municipal bylaws or trespassing acts, courts have ruled before that cities may not evict them without providing residents appropriate housing.
For instance, B.C. Supreme Court justice Christopher Hinkson ruled in 2021 that the City of Prince George could not dismantle the Moccasin Flats encampment, due to a lack of suitable alternatives for residents.
"We've had cases where [unhoused] people win at the first instance, but then the city just keeps pushing through the court system until they get that rubber stamp to evict people, even to nowhere," Cooper said.
According to Cooper, there are no specific laws that guarantee a right to housing in Canada.
The City of Edmonton is developing a wildfire strategy to mitigate risks within the municipality and help neighbouring regions, the city's emergency advisory committee heard Wednesday.
About 20 workers, students and local MPP candidates gathered outside Hamilton's Mohawk College Wednesday — where a fifth of full-time jobs have been cut since December — to call on the province to better fund post-secondary education.
In a busy race to Queen's Park, nine candidates are vying for the Sarnia—Lambton seat — a riding that's been conservative for nearly 20 years.
There's just over a year left in the Canada-Alberta child-care agreement and it's shaping up to be a rocky one for some parents, who — for this first time in the history of the agreement — will see their fees increase as a new phase of the program rolls out.
B.C. MLA Adrian Dix says he gets texts, emails, and even stopped at his local Safeway. He says people urge him to cut off power or even water to the U.S.
B.C. cities, in general, would be among the least vulnerable in Canada if U.S. President Donald Trump follows through on tariff threats, according to new data from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Here's where and when you can vote in advance polls in Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County
Voting day is Feb. 27 in the Ontario election, but people can cast their ballots this week in advance polls.
Staff with Summerside Electric say they're not getting many updates from Maritime Electric after a failure at the utility's Sherbrooke substation over a week ago caused strain on the city's electrical grid.
The N.W.T.'s public utilities board has ordered the Northwest Territories Power Corporation (NTPC) to start paying Naka Power $48,500 per month to use a transmission line in the Hay River area, starting March 1.
Ideologically motivated violent extremist groups are using antisemitism in a bid to recruit followers and inspire violence, according to a report from Canada's spy agency.
It's a move that could reshape North American trade.
Ontario's main political parties are competing for the hearts of voters by appealing to their wallets, with a mix of tax cuts and money-back rebates pitched as helping with the cost of living.
With one full week to go before voting day, Elections Ontario is working to reverse a recent downward trend in voter turnout, which set a record low of 43 per cent the last time Ontarians went to the polls in 2022.