Fxford Case

Wednesday marked a landmark victory for the homeless, particularly those fighting for a place to set up temporary shelter.
The B.C./Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors sued the City of Abbotsford after city workers used chicken manure to disperse a homeless camp. Another Abbotsford homeless camp was dispersed after police pepper-sprayed residents and destroyed their tents.
“"We are deeply apologetic for any hurt this may have caused. I personally feel incredibly bad," said then-Abbotsford mayor, Bruce Banman, to CBC in regards to the manure incident.
After being heard before the BC Supreme Court, Chief Justice Christopher Hinkson decided that Abbotsford’s bylaw –- which prohibits homeless people from camping in parks overnight--- violated

Although the ruling will allow for the homeless to set up tents in parks, some limits were put into place.
“A minimally impairing response to balancing that need with the interests of other users of developed parks would be to allow overnight shelters to be erected in public spaces between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. the following day," read the judgment. The language in the ruling will prohibit long-term camps from being assembled.
Hinkson criticized the actions taken by the City of Abbotsford, calling them “disgraceful and worthy of the court’s disapproval.”
It remains yet to be seen if the city will agree with the BC Supreme Court ruling, or if they will decide to appeal the decision to the BC Court of Appeal.
Henry Braun, Mayor of Abbotsford, believes that the homeless in the city are camping in the parks in spite of having other options of shelter
“Some of them, they just want to be left alone: ‘Leave me alone, I want to camp.’ And they use that term: camping.” said Braun to the Globe and Mail. “I’m not sure what to do with that.”
The lawsuit parallels another case, which took place in Victoria in 2009. The BC Court of Appeal made the decision then that homeless would be allowed to use tents as shelter to sleep in public parks