Park rangers remove tents in Vancouver's CRAB Park

For people like Zee, being forced to pack up their belongings at Crab Park is a familiar feeling. She was a camper at Oppenheimer Park as well. I was decamped at that time, and I’m going to be decamped again, even though I have nowhere to be. Vancouver Park Rangers moved into Crab Park in the morning, telling people to tear down their tents. Zee says she lost many of her belongings the last time she was told to move, and she’s worried history is repeating itself. Literally. They’re going to take everything I need to keep myself safe, warm and dry. And mobilized and I’m going to be left with nothing. Campers on site were given time to pack up for those who weren’t there. Park Rangers throughout their tents. You’re forcibly removing someone’s home and you’re putting all of their belongings into the garbage can, some bystanders objected. The woman who lives in that tent wasn’t here at the moment. She’s going to return to a blank piece of grass with her tent and all her belongings somewhere. Park Rangers were enforcing a bylaw on behalf of the Vancouver Park Board. It requires temporary shelters to be taken down during daytime hours. The board says that’s to balance the needs of those who want to visit the park during the day. Less than a month ago, the city cleared people from this encampment to clean the area. They set up a designated site where campers could leave their tents up. But advocates say the city only made room for 14 tents. There’s so many people that have been staying on this hillside, just desperately clinging to the hill, waiting for the chance to move into that designated area so they’d have some protection and be able to stay there until they can get housing. York says those asked to leave were not offered housing. Usually what happens is when people lose all their belongings, they end up going to somewhere that’s even more and more remote, more precarious, more risky. For Zee, the immediate future is very uncertain. Yeah, I don’t know where I’m gonna go tonight and and indefinitely. Joel Ballard, CBC News Vancouver.