City council’s recent decision to allow the homeless to set up 24/7 camps in Polson Park is just wrong.
Council claims it is bound by a court decision in Victoria a couple of years ago that ruled the homeless could camp on any public property they wished to when there were no beds available at the local shelter.
I would suggest that the lawns of the Legislature (probably little used) to which this court decision primarily applied, and a city park, housing a children’s playground and water park, are two distinctly different animals.
I’m sure I don’t need to go into detail about what Polson Park may look like if the homeless are allowed to set up residence there, and I believe city council’s duty to children supersedes its obligation to allow homeless camps. That court decision does not fit for Vernon and as with any court decision, it can, and should be, challenged.
So I call upon our city Councillors to do the right thing here and stand up for the kids. Challenge the court decision.
If readers agree, I hope they too will contact council members to let them know how they feel about this.
And yes, the homeless need to be able to sleep somewhere, but not in the kids’ park.
Sandie Hober
Vernon