26576 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

...although there are a myriad of reasons that people end up homeless, they eventually only fall into two camps — those that want help and those that do not want help," Bailey said. "And those that are refusing to get help… shouldn't be granted the additional ability to break laws such as tent encampments on the sidewalk or urinating or defecating in public...

This.

[Victoria Watcher]

New organization aims to tackle homelessness in Nanaimo

First order of business will be to build connections with non-profits serving the city’s unhoused populations and develop a plan in collaboration with the community, says board chair

 

https://www.timescol...nanaimo-6684310

[Victoria Watcher]

[aastra]

 

New organization aims to tackle homelessness in Nanaimo

First order of business will be to build connections with non-profits serving the city’s unhoused populations and develop a plan in collaboration with the community

 

Every day has been day one for tackling homelessness, for decades running. Building connections, developing plans, collaborating, etc.

[Victoria Watcher]

Yes, that article was laughable.

The problem all along has been the lack of “connections to resources”! Who knew.

[Victoria Watcher]

A businessman is in hospital after a dramatic shooting that saw bullets fly across Nanaimo’s Terminal Avenue Sunday afternoon.

 

The Nanaimo man and supporters had arrived at an encampment located down a steep slope next to the Millstone River to retrieve stolen property spotted at the site.

 

“They chased us across the highway shooting,” Jeff Callaghan of the Van Isle Cleanup Team — who was part of the group — said on social media.

 

The businessman was shot three times. He has undergone emergency surgery and is expected to have more, representatives of the Newcastle Community Association said Monday.

 

RCMP said the man is believed to be in stable condition. Another person was injured and a weapon was found. Two people are in custody on ­unrelated warrants.

 

Callaghan, who was not injured, said the group went to the area to retrieve stolen property taken from a friend’s shop.

 

“They were not happy we were there and we gathered up the stolen property and things went sideways — first punches were thrown and then one pulled out a gun and began shooting.”

Another individual then also began shooting a rifle.

 

The group crossed busy Terminal Avenue while being shot at, he said.

 

At some point, the businessman was shot, Callaghan said. “So our thoughts and prayers are with him.”

 

RCMP Reserve Const. Gary O’Brien said police were called to the encampment about 3:30 p.m. on Sunday in the area of Mill Street and Barsby Avenue and came across a group of adults in a Terminal Avenue parking lot, including the injured person.

 

 

https://www.timescol...hooting-6691690

 

 

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said it was “highly dangerous” for the group to have gone to the encampment, saying there are “desperate people” living on city streets. The incident was like a “wild west movie,” he said.

 

Krog said it’s time for the provincial and federal governments to focus on the consequences of 30 to 40 years of failed social policy around mental health, addictions, trauma and brain injury.

 

Half the city’s budget increase this year is related to public safety, he said. “[But] you can’t hire enough police or community safety officers or bylaw officers to prevent this kind of street disorder that is the root of what’s happened here.”

 

________________________

 

Representatives of the Newcastle Community Association said campsites on the slope have been a concern for four years, describing them as a major source of crime, violence and social disorder.

 

Karen Kuwica, association president, and Fred MacDonald, vice-president, are calling on governments to immediately address “safety and security issues and protect us from the criminal element that has been allowed to camp out and lay siege to our community.”

 

Residents want the province and city bylaw staff to remove the campers, she said.

 

Kuwica said area residents are in shock about the shooting, calling the businessman who was shot a “helpful community member.”

 

“When the snow hit, he went out in his all-terrain-vehicle and he plowed the shops, he plowed the sidewalks, he plowed by the schools. He’s neighbourly and he’s a helpful community member and business member.

 

“He cares about his community and he gives back.”

 

Kuwica said thefts have become so commonplace in Nanaimo that residents are increasingly looking to retrieve their items. She noted that she saw three of the campers returning to the encampment on Monday afternoon.

 

“This is about innocent people paying the price of failed policy and we are not safe,” Kuwica said.

 

 

 

 

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said it was “highly dangerous” for the group to have gone to the encampment

 

 

 

 

Maybe it's also "highly dangerous" and just plain wrong to let these miscreants steal and possess property that's not theirs.  I'm sure the firearms they used are legit and duly registered.

 

We do not allow shop-owners to shoot suspected shop-lifters.

 

Hopefully those responsible here will be charged with attempted murder.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2023 - 03:38 AM.

[Mike K.]

Krog said it’s time for the provincial and federal governments to focus on the consequences of 30 to 40 years of failed social policy around mental health, addictions, trauma and brain injury.

Krog, a former NDP MLA, knows it’s not practical to blame solely the BC Liberals for all of society’s current woes, which we hear the current government doing.

[Nparker]

You can understand why Krog chose to leave his position as an NDP MLA. He's just not in sync with contemporary wokeness.

[Mike K.]

No, he isn’t. His work as mayor has shown that he’s not in that role as a partisan politician. It sounds like Nanaimo is fortunate to have him.

[Victoria Watcher]

Comment: A personal appeal to David Eby: Please help Victoria

 

There is overwhelming evidence that in and around the province’s supportive housing facilities, there is too much crime and disorder.

 

Stephen Hammond

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...ictoria-6694943

 

 

The day after International Women’s Day, six Victoria councillors and the mayor, four men and three women, were more concerned about the fragile ego of one of the most privileged men in our country than they were about a businesswoman who has been threatened with rape.

 

On March 9, I, along with Coun. Marg Gardiner, presented a motion to council asking Premier David Eby to make our city safer because there is overwhelming evidence that in and around the province’s supportive housing facilities, there is too much crime and disorder.

 

We supplied council with evidence which clearly and ­unequivocally shows that in some (not all) of these facilities, there is criminal activity both inside and outside.

 

We gave direct quotes of Police Chief Del Manak from a Times Colonist article noting how VicPD has seized drugs, weapons and cash from one of the most notorious supportive housing facilities at 844 Johnson and he said it’s “extremely troubling.”

 

We noted that a woman whose husband was housed and then died at 844 Johnson referred to it as a “kill shelter for dogs.”

 

______________________

 

Dear Premier David Eby:

 

Your government policies and the inaction of senior bureaucrats are making my city, the City of Victoria, more dangerous. It appears you are spending vast amounts of money in preparation for an election, hence it only seems fitting that you can throw a few pennies (relatively speaking to billions) our way, to give just a glimmer of hope to Victoria residents and businesses that you care one iota about their safety.

 

When you put too many people with addictions and mental-health problems into one facility, and your government doesn’t do the basic homework to find out if some of these people are dangerous criminals, then you put the other most vulnerable people inside these facilities at risk. Victoria’s police chief has given us loads of stats showing how dangerous some of these supportive housing facilities are, and for some reason that has no tangible impact on your policies.

 

 

 

 

 

When you put too many people with addictions and mental-health problems into one facility, and your government doesn’t do the basic homework to find out if some of these people are dangerous criminals

 

 

^ I don't think that is actually a criteria for not housing people.  They accept all comers. 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2023 - 12:44 PM.

[Barrrister]

If you are going to accept dangerous criminals into a housing facility then you sure as hell need to address security concerns both for other residents as well as the community.

 

Both the city and the province seem to have adopted the Putin solution of simply lie and state there is no problem then you dont have to take any responsibility for either fixing the problem or acknowledging that you have created the problem.

Edited by Barrrister, 14 March 2023 - 01:03 PM.

[aastra]

 

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said it was “highly dangerous” for the group to have gone to the encampment

 

We were seeing these same kinds of statements re: the courthouse lawn tent city. Translation: certain areas should be off limits to certain classes of people. We've all forgotten how Canadians used to brag because we didn't have "no go" zones in our cities. Now we brag because we do have them.

[Victoria Watcher]

The victim, Clint Smith, owner of auto repair shop Ernie’s Blackpoint Repair, remains in hospital after being shot three times while being chased from the encampment, along with a number of supporters who had gone with him.

 

An online fundraising page described Smith as “a stand-up dude, a stand-up citizen and a stand-up humanitarian” and said he has been operated on but still needs more surgery.

 

“It will be a long road ahead of recovery and as a business owner there is no banked sick time or [long-term disability] to fall back on,” the page said. “This fundraiser helps to ease the stress of that for the family and they are truly thankful for the giving and prayers of many.”

 

https://www.timescol...-crisis-6698299

 

Sometimes officers’ hands are tied if there are no serial numbers or other identifiers to pinpoint stolen goods, O’Brien said.

 

He said people can get “very frustrated” and may feel that the court system isn’t working and police can’t do enough.

 

“But to go into the hornet’s nest is extremely dangerous,” O’Brien said. “Suspects have been injured and citizens have been injured, as well.”

 

 

GoFundMe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How about instead, we do not have hornet's nests full of armed criminals?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 March 2023 - 04:09 PM.

[Nparker]

...How about instead, we do not have hornets nests full of armed criminals?

You really hate the "most vulnerable" don't you?

[Victoria Watcher]

A 2019 Statistics Canada report found that nearly one in 10 Canadians had been homeless at some point.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...ntism-1.6777970

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 March 2023 - 06:24 AM.

[Mike K.]

Homelessness advocates weigh on Nanaimo shooting:

York argues that vigilantism is "always going to be problematic."

"It never would be a recourse for people to take matters into their own hands like this, except in terms of building communication or building a relationship or engaging on a different level," she said.

…

Desiree Surowski, the co-founder of the Penticton and Area Overdose Prevention Society, says it's always risky for a large group of people to approach a vulnerable population living in "survival mode."

"If they feel threatened, their brain will only be able to fight, flight or freeze," Surowski said, adding that if unhoused people choose to fight back, this often leads to injuries as it did in Nanaimo.

…

Surowski asks members of citizen groups not to address criminal matters on their own because the consequences can be severe as they were in Nanaimo.

"Someone will lose their life eventually," she said. "It might not be the unhoused person, and it might not be the person taking the law into their own hands — it could be an innocent bystander."

"Nobody wants that on their conscience, and nobody wants to see that happen."

- https://www.cbc.ca/n...ntism-1.6777970

Meanwhile in Victoria, City council refused to endorse a motion by councillor Stephen Hammond, calling for stepped up security and safety measures for the general public living near provincial housing facilities. At every turn, the public is being told to accept the violence, and accept the threat of harm, and when someone stands their ground or fights back, they are vilified.

I don’t think this is going to be a winning strategy.

[Barrrister]

It won both the last city and provincial elections and that is all they care about.

[Mike K.]

I know we’re all wondering, if the shooter had a PAL, and if he’s aware of the current federal ban on legal gun owners with a license for restricted firearms, on using their lawfully acquired handguns?

For safety reasons, etc.

[Victoria Watcher]

I know we’re all wondering, if the shooter had a PAL, and if he’s aware of the current federal ban on legal gun owners with a license for restricted firearms, on using their lawfully acquired handguns?

For safety reasons, etc.

 

I'm sure he was licensed and kept the gun in the required storage facility.

 

Actually, you cannot be homeless and have a firearms license.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 March 2023 - 07:58 AM.

[Mike K.]

Because only legally licensed gun owners with legally acquired guns are a problem in our society, are you saying the shooter wasn’t homeless?