Open letter – CRAB Park

Dear Brennan Bastyovanszky,

I write to express my grave concerns about the recent announcement that the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation plans to permanently close the Temporary Designated Area of CRAB Park by November 7th. When I wrote to you in April to share the report and recommendations from my review of homeless encampments across the country, I highlighted that forced evictions are a violation of human rights under international law. I, therefore, urge you to reverse this decision and to put policies and practices in place that respect and protect the human rights of people experiencing homelessness on lands under your jurisdiction.

I visited CRAB Park in August 2022 and met with residents and volunteers to hear from them about their situation. Since then, my staff and I have stayed in touch and been monitoring the situation in the park. I also had the opportunity to speak with some of the affected people during the CAEH Conference in Ottawa (October 29-31, 2024). In these many conversations, I have heard how policies and practices of the Board of Parks and Recreation undermine the dignity of encampment residents, put them at risk and violate their basic human rights. For example:

• A failure to provide for the basic necessities of life, including restrictions on residents ability to adequately shelter themselves and access heating, cooling, food, sanitation and hygiene;
• Lack of respect for the privacy of residents, including arbitrary inspections of tents;
• Arbitrary destruction or confiscation of residents' belongings, including essential survival items, compounded by a byzantine process put in place for residents who want to reclaim their personal items;
• Arbitrary rules and enforcement that don't recognize the realities of residents and serve only to destabilize people and make them more insecure; and
• A failure to respect Indigenous rights, including principles of national reconciliation.

I understand that it has been the Board of Parks and Recreation's intent to try to close the Designated Area in CRAB Park, at least since the Amendments to the Parks Control By-law – Temporary Shelter in Place were introduced in April. This decision will have a much bigger impact than just the 6 people identified in the Closure Plan. I understand that there have been more than 100 unique individuals who have sheltered in the encampment since April 2024.

I am also concerned that closure of the Designated Area will eliminate the last option for people experiencing homelessness to shelter during the daytime. Restricting people only to overnight camping is inhumane and undermines a person's dignity. Shelter from the elements and privacy are not things that people need only at night. People who are already exhausted, and who may be in ill-health, are forced to pack up early in the morning and carry all their possessions with them, or risk their loss. This is why I also recommended, in my report, the end to all policies or practices that restrict access to encampment sites during daylight hours or require daytime tear down of tents and removal of personal effects.

In April, I called on the Board of Parks and Recreation to engage in a genuine process of meaningful engagement with encampment residents to explore solutions that would be rooted in human rights principles. In my final report I provided some guidance on what human rights-based engagement should like, including:

• Engagement should be managed through people trusted by encampments residents.
• Wherever possible, people with lived experience of homelessness and housing insecurity should be employed as leaders and contact points in the process.
• Value the time of people taking part in the engagement process, including by providing stipends to compensate for their time; provide food and beverages at meeting; provide transportation as needed; and ensure meeting spaces are culturally safe.
• Ensure that there is enough time for meaningful engagement, including the time needed to build trust and good communication.
• Respect Indigenous protocols and decision-making processes.
• Any community consultation processes must take into account the tremendous power imbalances between encampments and their housed neighbours.
• Avoid unnecessary turnover of staff involved or too many people being involved.
• Make clear commitments to effective monitoring and follow up.
• Ensure that all aspects of an engagement process are documented and that these documents are publicly available.

The consultation process described in your Closure Plan and very tight timeline between your announcement and the deadline do not respect these principles. I firmly believe that there are better solutions available than eviction and you will be able to identify them if you invest in meaningful engagement rather than an enforcement approach.

I recognize that the long-term goal is to find adequate housing solutions and supports so that people living in encampments can be re-housed as rapidly as possible. Until such housing solutions are available, authorities like the Board of Parks and Recreation have obligations to ensure respect for the rights of people experiencing homelessness.

As always, I welcome an opportunity to engage in further dialogue with you to explore how my office and findings in my Final Report can contribute to a human rights-based approach by the Board of Parks and Recreation.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Yours sincerely,

Marie-Josée Houle
Federal Housing Advocate

c.c.: Scott Jensen, Board Vice Chair
Laura Christensen, Commissioner
Tom Digby, Commissioner
Angela Haer, Commissioner
Marie-Claire Howard, Commissioner
Jas Virdi, Commissioner
Ken Sim, Mayor
Paul Mochrie, City Manager
Francie Connell, Legal Services and City Solicitor
Hon. David Eby, Premier
Hon. Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing
Kasari Govender, BC Human Rights Commissioner
Terry Teegee, Regional Chief