The unhoused encampment, and protest site, in front of Nelson City Hall has been cleared out.
A number of the city’s unhoused community members moved to City Hall on March 21, shortly after the Nelson Committee on Homelessness was forced to close the Coordinated Access HUB on Vernon Street.
However, on Wednesday morning, June 26, the city enforced a trespass notice that was handed out at the protest site on Monday and forced everyone out of the area.
“The camp began as a protest, but after more than three months, it was really taking on the look of a permanent occupation on city property. It was just time to ask them to move along,” said Mayor Janice Morrison.
“We’ve been very compassionate and patient, and we’re always trying to balance the needs of the entire community. We have to be able to provide safe access to the city and provincial services that are in our building, and it’s just not an appropriate use of City Hall.”
The city worked for weeks developing an appropriate strategy to conduct the eviction. Consultation was done with the Nelson Street Outreach Team, Bylaw, Nelson Police, Nelson Fire Rescue, and REDUN to ensure the residents were aware and prepared to move along ahead of time.
Morrison said Wednesday’s cleanup was received well by protesters and remained relatively peaceful.
“We are caring and compassionate, and we’ve always, in my view, handled all the circumstances there justly, while keeping not only the safety of other citizens in mind, but the safety and security of the members within the encampment as well. So I think that made it so that there wasn’t any anger. I think people understood.” she said.
When unhoused community members set up at City Hall three months ago, they were protesting the closure of the HUB and bringing light to the issue of homelessness. Morrison said the move was effective in highlighting the urgency to find appropriate housing solutions in the community.
“I think that really raised the need for everyone to see that we need to have more appropriate housing. That’s really helped facilitate the discussions I’ve been having with BC Housing in terms of a housing-first model. We need to get these people housed, and we need to do it sooner rather than later.”
As a result, significant progress has been made to get the North Shore Inn in operation, which was purchased by BC Housing in 2022 to provide supportive housing services but needs significant renovations before it can be occupied at full capacity.
However, Morrison couldn’t provide details on where the project stands now but says she’s hopeful BC Housing’s redevelopment plans will be done soon and allow many of the community’s unhoused population to find appropriate shelter by late fall.
“I think that the protest being so visible in front of City Hall kind of facilitated the city and BC Housing being able to move quicker on a plan for housing.”
Protesters at the site weren’t given any direction on where to go in the interim, although community members have reported many relocated to Government Road.
Vista Radio reached out to the Nelson Street Outreach Team for a comment on what the clear-out process looked like but was told it was too contentious at this time to speak.
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