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Vancouver police enforce injunction to close homeless camp on port land

VANCOUVER — Police say they began enforcing a B.C. Supreme Court injunction on Tuesday to remove a homeless camp on land owned by the port authority in Vancouver.

VANCOUVER — Police say they began enforcing a B.C. Supreme Court injunction on Tuesday to remove a homeless camp on land owned by the port authority in Vancouver.

Vancouver police say one person was arrested for mischief and released without charges after officers arrived at Crab Park at 6 a.m.

The injunction issued last Wednesday gave campers three days to remove tents from a parking lot on land owned by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.

A statement supporting the campers says they moved to a second lot they believe is not covered by the injunction but they were threatened with arrest if they do not leave the area.

The injunction says allowing campers to remain on the port authority land would create the same health and safety issues that prompted the closure of a much larger encampment at nearby Oppenheimer Park.

Chrissy Brett, who speaks for the campers, said last week that the injunction did not include details about possible housing options and she feared the evicted residents would end up on the street.

The ruling referred to housing offered to former Oppenheimer Park residents but Brett said housing provided by the provincial government doesn't work for everyone.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 16, 2020

The Canadian Press