On the front page of Tuesday March 10’s Abbotsford Times (story below) there was a picture of the City’s latest homeless victim and a story mindlessly parroting the City’s media spin, but there was no comment from the City’s victim himself nor were any of the obvious questions asked of the Orwellian horde from the City.

“This is an individual who very clearly needs help.” So they ‘helped’ him by destroying his home leaving him out on the streets with the clothes on his back facing a night that the weather reports called for snow and a string of subzero temperature days and nights. Then claim “This was the right thing to do.” No it was not – if you treated a dog that way the SPCA would be hauling you into court.

For the record: the City was informed that this individual was not ready to come inside and would relocate to another camp site if displaced – no matter how life threatening the weather was.

I had spoken to the victim Friday to enquire as to whether there was something I could do to help ensure his survival. I spoke to him again on Tuesday because I felt it only fair to get his input before I wrote about the reality, not the City’s spin or pabulum, of what took place on Friday.

His evaluation of the Times reporting of Friday’s events was pithy, consisting of two four letter words; the first word beginning with B*** ***T and the second word ending with T. He then proceeded to ask several of the questions that should have been asked of the police or the City’s spin doctor – Katherine Jeffcoatt, manager of communications and marketing.

If the police were so worried about the “…health of the individual.” why were they turning him out of his home into weather predicted to include snow and that has been setting low temperature records in the province knowing this person would not come inside but would seek out another place to camp?

He wished Ms Jeffcoatt to explain to him what was “compassionate” or “respectful” in destroying his home, carting away his belongings and leaving him without his shelter in life threatening weather? He found statements by the City about the availability of social services laughable. I again draw to the readers attention the fact that the City had been informed that this individual would not avail himself of social services.

He found Ms Jeffcoatt’s comment about “…how vulnerable homeless people are in our community.” to be highly ironic in light of the fact that it is the City and their police who repeatedly take advantage of that vulnerability to abuse or violate the rights and dignity of the homeless.

He wanted to know why, if citing of the fire death of Jean Genereux was more than a handy excuse and the city was actually concerned about people dieing by fire, they were not also turning people out of apartments, houses and condos since far more people die in these locations by fire?

He stated that any digging had been done by the previous tenant and not by him. He felt very sceptical that the bridge was so poorly engineered and built that in was in any realistic (that is to say non excuse-mongering) danger of collapsing; asking why, if there was worry about a collapse, the bridge had not been shut down until a full engineering study and evaluation could be made?

He pointed out that when you have no vehicle being allowed to “…organize his personal possession to take with him.” is more B*** ***T asking “How much can you carry away on your back?”

He made the point that if the police had been there to make sure his rights were respected, they would have been arresting city employees destroying his camp. He spoke of the BC Supreme Court ruling that he has the right to set up a camp in Abbotsford and that if the City has any doubt about this they should seek the guidance of the BC Supreme Court as to the rights of homeless in Abbotsford.

His final comment was that the coverage of his illegal eviction was one-sided and all about making the city look good while ignoring the true facts of the matter.

Having now heard from the victim of City action (and the coverage of that action) I leave you to judge the action and the coverage for yourself.
Rafe Arnott, The Times
Published: Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A homeless man living along the Trans-Canada Highway was evicted from under the Peardonville Road overpass Friday morning for health and safety reasons, according to local officials.

A fire in a similar makeshift shelter on the north side of the same overpass claimed the life of Jean Genereux, 43, on Feb. 11. Police believe Genereux was trying to keep warm at the time.

Abbotsford Police and several staff members representing city and provincial agencies along with a cleanup crew cleared out hundreds of kilos of garbage, old furniture, clothing and belongings and loaded it into a moving truck for disposal.

Traffic was reduced to one lane on the overpass for several hours as the refuse was loaded and the man was allowed to organize his personal possessions to take with him. Outreach workers were on scene to address the man’s living arrangements.

Const. Casey Vinet with the Abbotsford Police described the homeless camp as “bunker-style,” and that a considerable amount of the ground under the overpass had been dug out over time.

Vinet said this led to concerns that the structural integrity of the overpass could be eventually compromised. A large collection of material had been building up for perhaps as long as several years at the site, according to Vinet.

Vinet said police were there for safety precautions and to make sure the man’s rights were respected.

Katherine Jeffcoatt, manager of corporate communication and marketing for the City of Abbotsford said, “We always use the most compassionate and respectful way of working with [the homeless] and making sure they connect with social service agencies.”

According to Vinet, the police department’s concerns echoed those of the city’s and added that “the very unsanitary conditions of the area were [also] of concern to the city – and of course police – in terms of the health of the individual.”

Jeffcoat said Genereux’s death was “a tragic reminder of just how vulnerable homeless people are in our community.”

It was good to step out Saturday morning and see that the snow they had been predicting for Friday night/Saturday morning had not arrived, even though it was unseasonably cold for March.

The City of Abbotsford, despite the predictions of snow and subzero temperatures, had just torn down the home (his camp) of an acquaintance of mine: turning him out into weather that had extreme weather shelters opening across the lower mainland to provide protection from the predicted freezing weather.

I spoke to him after his home was hauled away and he assured me he had already found another spot to camp. Still it is a different matter to be headed into freezing cold weather in an camp you are just setting up, rather than a camp that was well established and in which you had already survived the earlier snowfalls in.

The City had been informed that there was no housing suitable to meet the housing needs of this individual (and others like him) and that because there was no place for him to move to, tearing down his camp would render him without shelter from the elements.

The only thing the City’s actions accomplished, other than wasting the limited resources of the City, was to place this person’s health and life at risk by turning him out into the freezing weather.

Abbotsford seems desperate to close down the camps before the image of the Peardonville bridge fire fade from the public’s memory and they lose their excuse to be turning people out of their shelter, their homes.

And it is no more than a deceitful excuse until they start throwing everybody out into the street from apartments, condos and houses to protect them from fires – since far more people die from fire inside than out.

With the City apparently dedicated to continuing their pointless behaviour of tearing down homes and forcing people to relocate to a new camping location, other experienced homeless are asking about my supply of (or access to) blankets. Thus when the City comes by to haul their shelter away they will be able to get replacement bedding to survive the weather and the elements.

With all the money the City has wasted over the years I have been watching and writing about this pointless behaviour of chasing the homeless around the city, the City could have built the needed housing. But no, the City would prefer to cry poverty while pointlessly wasting taxpayer’s money – as opposed to spending it wisely and accomplish something.

Message to City Council: we are in a recession; we cannot afford this continued pointless waste of money; we need thoughtful behaviour for a change.

If Mayor George Peary is correct and the Abbotsford Police lack “adequate resources”, why are they wasting any of their limited resources chasing the homeless from campsite to campsite around the City of Abbotsford?

I would not have thought that engaging in the pointless moving of the homeless from campsite to campsite around Abbotsford would have been a priority the APD would be spending its limited resources pursuing.

I am reasonably sure that in this time of cutbacks and restraint (at least for other city councils in BC) that taxpayers, having to dig deep in their pockets for the $4,000,000 increase in the police budget, expect to have that money spent wisely on priority needs.

I am also reasonably sure that taxpayers do not consider chasing the homeless from campsite to campsite a priority when gunfights are breaking out on city streets.

So why are we?