Upon Release from Jail

Last night we (about 5 or 6 people) set up a tent under a tree on the lawn outside City Hall in Victoria. The women slept in the tent while the men kept watch outside. At 7 a.m. we did not take down the tent (thus declining to conform with the City of Victoria's new "bylaw enforcement policy" which restricts the erection of temporary shelters to the hours between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.) Just before 8 a.m. two bylaw enforcement officers came and asked us to leave. We declined, on the grounds that the "bylaw enforcement policy" seems to have no real legal status--the "bylaw enforcement policy" seems to refer to the by-law that was struck down by Justice Ross's ruling on October 15th (in which the Supreme Court of B.C. ruled that by-laws preventing the construction of temporary structures are unconstitutional.)

Later--probably around 8:30 a.m., quite a few police officers arrived (maybe 12 or 15), cordoned off the whole area, and asked us if we would leave and take down the tent. We declined. They then proceeded to arrest first David Arthur Johnston, then me (Kristen Woodruff, candidate for Mayor), then Tavis Dodds and Jonathan LeDrew (both candidates for City Council), all on charges of obstruction. It was a peaceful, if surreal event, with onlookers yelling "don't you have some real criminals to arrest." I was held in cells for a couple of hours, then signed conditions of release--the police then drove me to an all-candidates' meeting. David Arthur Johnston, Tavis Dodds, and Jonathan LeDrew are still in cells. It seems we will all appear in court on December 12th, unless the charges are dropped (which the city might want to see happen, in order to avoid having to address the issue of whether their enforcement policy has any legal standing).

All of this came on the tail end of a community meeting held last night with lawyers Irene Faulkner and Catherine Boies-Parker, who represented the campers/homeless people in the recent B.C. Supreme Court case that struck down the city's anti-camping by-laws. The community meeting offered information about the legal implications of this case--and it seems that the city might well be contravening the legal requirements of the ruling by restricting the hours of shelter to 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Hence, it is by no means clear that Victoria City police have any authority to arrest people for erecting shelters outside those hours. Indeed, at the meeting last night some posited that the city might well be acting in contempt of court by enforcing a"policy" that refers to a bylaw that the courts have declared unconstitutional.

We were each also issued a ticket for $100, for "erecting a temporary structure without a permit." Again, the recent ruling permits temporary structures for the purpose of shelter, and so it is unclear whether the city has the authority to issue such a ticket.

This won't be the last we hear of this. In the midst of a municipal election, it will be interesting to see if the current Councillors and mayor will be held accountable by the court system for giving the Victoria Police the authority to make arrests on the basis of a "bylaw enforcement policy" of questionable legal standing.