Victoria City Council Debates Cracking Down on Pandora Encampment

The Victoria City Council proved sharply divided over an emergency motion introduced by Stephen Hammond calling for enforcement of bylaws against daytime sheltering on Pandora Avenue.

The motion called for an effective crackdown on the encampment following an incident last Thursday in which about sixty unhoused people swarmed first responders answering a call for a patient having a seizure which degenerated as one of the responding paramedics was assaulted.

Hammond was having a fit today about public safety and the lack of law enforcement, while lacking any perspective of the underlying issues which led to this crisis. I recently wrote about how the Alto administration simultaneously closing municipal parks to sheltering while also shutting down indoor shelters led to acute overconcentration of the unhoused on the 900-block of Pandora Avenue, nowadays known for continual violence.

Of course Councillor Marg Gardiner, whom I have repeatedly labelled a rambling idiot extraordinaire, fell little short of herself labelling every homeless person in town an undead junkie—probably for being bound by council decorum. But it is Councillor Jeremy Caradonna who stood out as the most unhinged today, by calling upon Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to dispatch the Canadian peacekeepers to do the work of outreach workers, a proposal I have called outright “bonkers” in two media interviews just outside the council chamber.

In contrast, Councillor Krista Loughton proved most conciliatory by challenging those stereotypes. She also introduced two amendments, which were adopted, calling upon the council to invite people with lived experience of homelessness at the council table, along with indigenous advocates. Councillor Susan Kim joined her voice in painting a different picture of the homeless population and the challenges they face.

On his end, Councillor Chris Coleman offered that Housing First had failed because it hadn’t been properly implemented, those being precipitously moved indoors having been left to their own devices without the support they needed. As for Councillor Dave Thompson, he sought to dispel the notion that the city can arrest its way out of the problem, instead concluding that systemic solutions had to be found, even if that meant working with other levels of government.

Ultimately, the motion was adopted after two extensions allowing more time for debate. Susan Kim was the only dissenting voice. Either way, the motion as worded is vague and noncommittal; it only invites more discussion on how to address this crisis. So don’t expect an actual crackdown any time soon as a result of this vote—much to Hammond’s dismay.