Plan in place to move homeless campers from provincial park to housing: Minister

LANGFORD, B.C. — The B.C. government says a plan is in place to provide shelter and housing for all homeless campers currently staying at Goldstream Provincial Park, and those who remain past Tuesday will face eviction.

In a statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Housing Minister Selina Robinson says people will transition into housing and shelters in the coming days and BC Parks will notify the public when the campground is ready to reopen.

Robinson says transportation and storage for the campers’ personal belongings are also being co-ordinated for Monday. She says BC Housing and outreach staff are working to match campers with housing that fits their individual needs before the 14-day maximum stay at provincial parks is reached on Tuesday.

Pacific Housing will continue to deliver daily outreach and provide harm reduction supplies and other necessities to campers until then.

Robinson says the goal is to have the campers leave voluntarily, but those who choose to remain past Tuesday will be evicted according to parks policy and in co-ordination with the RCMP, other ministries and outreach workers.

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The same group of campers was ousted from provincially owned land in nearby Saanich early last week, just days after a court order forced them out of another park that some had occupied since the spring.

The Canadian Press