campAbbotsford council will be discussing changes to their Park’s Bylaw on Monday. The BC Supreme Court ruled in October, that homeless people ARE allowed to camp overnight in parks if they have no access to shelter, but only between the hours of 7pm and 9am. Mayor Henry Braun says the city accepted the ruling and have been taking action on it.

“We did a number of things right off the bat, once we knew what the decision was….a 40 bed temporary winter shelter was the first thing that was on our mind.  Following that, staff was instructed to look at our bylaw and bring it into sync with the court’s ruling, and I believe they’ve done that, and that will be before council on Monday for consideration.”

He says the temporary shelter on Riverside has been a big success so far, and already 9 people have found permanent housing through working with the Lookout Society. The Gladys homeless camp is on land that’s not currently considered a “park”, but look for that to be addressed as part of these bylaw changes.

“…with respect to Gladys, even the judge said it’s not safe, and it should come down…I’ve said that too and we’re gonna do that respectfully, and carefully as much as we can.”