VICTORIA — Dozens of homeless people have a date today in a Victoria courtroom located a few steps from where many have been sleeping for months.
British Columbia's government is expected to be in B.C. Supreme Court to seek an injunction to shut down a camp that has seen more than 100 people living in tents on the courthouse lawn since last spring.
Housing Minister Rich Coleman says the B.C. government has homes for every courthouse camper but some are refusing to leave, forcing him to go to court in an attempt to take down the camp.
Coleman says he's already started looking for landscapers to clean up the grounds.
The camp grew from a few tents but quickly expanded as many of the homeless moved from alleyways and parks to the highly visible, manicured grounds of the downtown courthouse.
Lawyers for the campers say they will argue that residents of the tent city have been working co-operatively with police and fire officials, suggesting that both the homeless and the broader community will be better off if the camp is allowed to exist for the time being.
