By Josh Szczepanowski, Martlet, 19 November 2008
Ben joined panelists Bernie Pauly and Rose Henry at a forum organized by the UVic Faculty of Law to discuss the Tent City legal decision, suggesting that "civil disobedience has done a lot more than civil obedience"
With a Victoria bylaw passed last month that allows temporary shelters, the consensus of the Community Forum on the Tent City Decision was: where do we go from here?
The forum, which took place on Nov. 17, was organized in conjunction with the UVic Association of Women and the Law (UAWL), the International and Human Rights Law Association (IHRLA) and the Environmental Law Club (ELC).
One of the main organizers, Rachael Lake, a member of UAWL, said seeing how the decision was received in the media made her and others involved want to bring people in to talk about the overall meaning of the tent city.
The four panelists were Ben Berger, a UVic law professor, Lisa Helps, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto studying the history of homelessness in Victoria, Rose Henry, an anti-homelessness advocate and member of Homeless Nation, and Bernie Pauly, a UVic nursing professor. A fifth candidate, Jamie Pearce of the Victoria Police, was unable to attend the forum due to traveling conflicts.
Henry, who works closely with Victoria’s homeless population, said that right now homeless people are “in a state of confusion,” mostly due to the enforcement of tents only being permitted in between 9 p.m and 7 a.m.
“[Homeless people are] not wanting to go to Beacon Hill Park [to camp anymore] … they’re afraid of being arrested,” Henry said. “Nobody trusts the mayors, nobody trusts the police, nobody trusts each other.”
Three people who had been arrested in Beacon Hill Park on Oct. 31 were in attendance at the forum — former Victoria mayoral candidate Kristen Woodruff, activist David Arthur Johnston and former Victoria council candidate Jonathan Le Drew. Also in attendance was Janine Bandcroft, publisher of Street Newz who is also active in the homelessness community.
“I see this case as a victory for people and their right to live on the common land,” Woodruff said.
With homeless people already popping up tents before the new bylaw, Berger said that this decision is a unique one for Canada, but that “not a lot changed after the ruling.”
Another point brought up by the panel was the availability of emergency beds in the city’s shelters.
“Every time [the activists] get arrested, the city coughs up more beds,” Henry said, although both she and Pauly clarified that by “beds” it is meant that more mats are provided on a church floor.
While many believe the tent city decision is taking a step forward to end homelessness, bylaws not only in Victoria but throughout the rest of the country still need to be updated.
“The law always has to catch up to life,” Helps said.
The bylaw allowing homeless people to set up temporary shelters was passed Oct. 14, when the B.C. Supreme Court found that doing otherwise was violating the Charter Rights to life, liberty and security.
“If the government’s not [providing shelter], do you have the right to set up and take care of yourself?” Woodruff asked the panel.
Ben Isitt, UVic history professor and Victoria mayoral candidate in 2002 and 2005, finished the forum commending the activists for what they’ve done with the tent city.
“Civil disobedience has done a lot more than civil obedience,” Isitt said.
Pauly shared in Isitt’s sentiments.
“We call this the City of Gardens but it’s beginning to feel like the City of Gates,” Pauly said. “This is an urgent wake-up call for our community.”
