Responding to questions from Abbotsford Today regarding the peaceful protest in Jubilee Park by the Abbotsford Chapter of the BC/Yukon Drug War Survivors, Deputy City Manager Jake Rudolph told Today the City would prefer for the “illegal occupation” of the park to end and that the City has “no choice but to proceed through the courts.”
Rudolph’s comments were made in response to questions about the procedure within City Hall to make the decisions which have escalated the issue. The issue has not been discussed at an open council meeting but, as Rudolph told Today, “”Council has the authority to make decisions in Special Closed meetings for legal and other matters as set out in the legislation. I can assure you that the legal proceedings have been implemented pursuant to Council direction to have the park restored to it’s intended purpose.”
On the matter of the process followed, Rudolph told Today,”The City submitted documentation to the courts this past Thursday seeking a legal remedy to have the occupation ended. While the entire matter is In Camera as a legal issue I can confirm that Council has been fully aware of the process and staff are working within the mandate established by Council. The posting of notice is a procedural requirement which will form part of the submission to the courts.”
While Rudolph told the Abbotsford News, the local media used to announce the decision to give protesters notice to take their belongings out of the park, that the City has received, “surprisingly few complaints,” he told Today on Monday that “Numerous local property owners have contacted City Hall with concerns.”
“I would like to emphasize that the City would obviously prefer for the illegal occupation to cease without delay and the normal use and enjoyment of the park can resume for a variety of users. Regrettably the occupation is not only continuing it has been growing in recent weeks and the issues of concern are escalating. Numerous local property owners have contacted City Hall with concerns and the City has had no choice but to proceed through the courts.”
“Council has the authority to make decisions in Special Closed meetings for legal and other matters as set out in the legislation. I can assure you that the legal proceedings have been implemented pursuant to Council direction to have the park restored to it’s intended purpose.”
Looks like the City of Abbotsford has asked Deputy City Manager Jake Rudolph try his hand misleading Abbotsfordians with a response eerily reminiscent of the Parliamentary Secretary, Paul Calandra (who’s recently become infamous for confounding reality with nonsensical answers (see Huffinton Post Paul Calandra web link: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/11/27/ask-paul-calandra-website-tory-mp_n_4351393.html).
Instead of working to help resolve homelessness in Abbotsford, the City has doggedly pursued a policy of harassment that is seen to be an inhuman, abysmal failure. That policy shooed the homeless from one “illegal” camp to another only to see the cycle repeated, over and over and over…. It soon dawned on bystanders that while being homeless isn’t “illegal”, living outside a home in Abbotsford is. Bit of a sticky problem that is.
But Mayor Banman grinds on by thwarting the most reasonable solution brought forward to date by refusing to put Abbotsford Community Services excellent Transition House proposal up for a Council vote.
So here we are with a City that can help, but won’t and helpless people who refuse to evaporate.
Into that unfortunate mix steps Deputy City Manager Jake Rudolph to announce that the City has, “…“no choice but to proceed through the courts.”
Yes, they’ve had many choices but the City made the wrong ones at each & every opportunity.
The homeless have been pushed around long enough. Many reasonable folks are fed up: on behalf of human decency, I respectfully declare Jubilee Park legal until such time that the City has provides the homeless with reasonable alternatives.
I’m hopeful that reasonable Abbotsfordians will help shield the homeless from further harassment by the City of Abbotsford until a permanent solution is found for our fellow community.
Until then, shame on the Deputy City Manager Jake Rudolph, the mayor and council for the nonsense they’ve visited on our community’s family.
City has no choice but the courts -Rudolph
The city did have a choice and they chose to ignore the homeless
problem by simply expecting to drive them out of the Downtown
Abbotsford Business Area using police and chicken manure to
drive them out of the area.
If they had made the choice to try to find a permanent homeless site
for the homeless years ago in fact a few months ago,instead of
dumping manure on their homeless camp on Gladys, they would
not be in Jubilee Park right now!
The only people to blame are those at the city, who have had
the authority to address the homeless problem but did nothing
to help find a permanent site away from the business area in Old Downtown, who are now calling the city on a daily basis to have
the homeless moved out of Jubilee Park.
Drug War Survivor, Barry Shantz is an advocate for the homeless
and the business people should see him as someone who is trying
to find a solution for getting the homeless out of Jubilee Park.
The stalemate has occurred @ City Hall and now more tax $$$
are being used to once again, move the homeless.
Where does the city think they’ll move to and who will supervise
camps for safety issues or do the safety concerns only apply because the homeless are in Jubilee Park?
While, I do believe the homeless camp does not belong in Jubilee Park,
until, a permanent site is found, what is the purpose of moving them again and again?