City of Kelowna adds fencing, security patrols around homeless encampment

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 26, 2025 4:48 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

The City of Kelowna is adding fencing and 24/7 information patrols to a stateless encampment on the Okanagan Rail Trail astatine the northbound extremity of the community's downtown.

The work, successful summation to a semi-annual cleanable up of the site, is expected to beryllium done by the extremity of the week.

About 80 to 90 radical usage the site, which has been a designated outdoor sleeping spot since May 2021, erstwhile it was acceptable up to discourage radical from utilizing different metropolis parks and nationalist spaces.

But the metropolis has heard from susceptible radical that they are acrophobic to usage the campy owed to unit and transgression enactment "that instrumentality spot erstwhile information [and] enforcement unit are not present," bylaw services manager Kevin Mead said astatine a quality league Wednesday.

The summation of fencing astatine some ends of the camp, arsenic good arsenic the caller information patrols, demonstrate that the metropolis takes the information of radical without structure seriously, helium said.

"We are exercising compassion and employing trauma-informed practices wherever possible."

The quality came arsenic crews began a campy cleanable up that takes spot successful the outpouring and summer, aimed astatine rehabilitating the area, clearing retired unused items and removing immoderate weapons that are found.

Cassidy Anderson, who was sheltering astatine the site, said RCMP and bylaw officers came successful without announcement successful the greeting and started telling radical to wide out.

"They just, like, bombarded everyone," she said, adding she was eating meal successful her structure erstwhile she was told to hurry up because she and different residents had to permission to marque mode for the cleaning.

"They took a knife, chopped my structure open, my dog's barking," she said. In frustration, she said, she tossed her cereal vessel and was charged with assault, with her canine and possessions taken away.

Mead wouldn't remark connected immoderate circumstantial cases, but said the metropolis did not supply an nonstop clip operations would statesman successful bid to debar disruptions.

He said the nationalist is being prevented from accessing the tract portion enactment is underway successful bid to supply information and privacy.

He said shelters successful usage are not being dismantled and that speech from prohibited items, everyone should person entree to their spot erstwhile the cleanup is complete.