Dodd-Woodruff-Johnson-Ledrew...Taken away...Again
The homeless are still under attack in Victoria after winning a three year battle against the city of Victoria for the rights to pitch a tent with in the city limits. David has been arrested once since the short lived victory. The battle continues...Here is this afternoon's press line straight from the Times Colonist.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Activist David Johnston was arrested at Victoria City Hall's Centennial Square this morning.
Sgt. Grant Hamilton of Victoria Police Department says that night duty officers reported a tent had been erected by Johnston and three others in the Square.
The campers ignored repeated warnings from police to remove their belongings.
At about 9 a.m., 13 officers arrested one woman and three men for contravening the City of Victoria's bylaw that states overnight campers can only erect shelters between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Sgt. Grant Hamilton of Victoria Police Department said no one resisted arrest.
Johnston was arrested for breaching a court order that states he must obey the direction of any police officer enforcing any city bylaw. That court order stems from Johnston's Oct. 17 arrest, along with five others, for camping at Beacon Hill Park.
Johnston had been repeatedly for camping on public property, notably on the grounds at St. Ann's Academy where security officers were often left cleaning up a mess.
Johnston has renewed his overnight camping campaign after a B.C. Supreme Court decision ruled that it is unconstitutional to prohibit the homeless from protecting themselves from the elements by erecting an overhead shelter as long as there are an insufficient number of shelter beds available to them.
Johnston has likened shelter beds to "internment camps" and says he wouldn't sleep in them even if they were available.
The woman and two men arrested with Johnston were to be released on a promise to appear.
Bylaw tickets will be issued to the individuals. Police are preparing a recommendation for charges to be forwarded to Crown counsel.
Johnston is still in custody. He will attend a tele-bail hearing Saturday morning in connection with breaching the conditions of his release.
Is it legal to arrest a mayoral candidate when the charge is related to the city`s most pressing issue? Homelessness. Perhaps it is fair to say, that the woman arrested has been violated. At the very least in terms of her federal human rights are concerned. Everyone has the right to protest peacefully as protected in the charter. There is arguably further protections to people who are in the running for a political office. Is it not an abuse of the current mayors power to make law rather than follow the law as interpreted by the highest court in the land, is it not an abuse of the mayors power to play an integral part in the arrest of one of his political opponents? Any charges against her are politically motivated, and as she was at the last protest in beacon hill park, the police know who she is before they arrested her this time, and then released her, and then drove her to her political meeting, meaning that the powers that be had information as to her community standing before they made the decision to arrest her. She has the right to take all of them to civil court, and the federal government in charge of hearing the peoples human rights complaints should give her a complaint form. The bylaw ticket is all the evidence required, and she should staple it to her human rights complaint form.