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Homeless camp springs up on Burnside Road in Saanich

Head of local community association questions council’s lack of a housing strategy
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This make-shift camp site has recently sprung on Burnside Road. Rob Wickson; president of the Gorge Tillicum Community Association; says it is further evidence that Saanich lacks a strategy to deal with homelessness.

The presence of what a local resident calls a “tarp town” on Burnside Road has the president of the local community association raising some pointed questions.

“Saanich does not have a clear strategy for homelessness and it shows,” said Rob Wickson, president of the Gorge Tillicum Association. “And it is most prominent in our neighbourhood. I wonder what the action would be if this was at Ten Mile Point?”

Ten Mile Point an oceanside residential area in the Cadboro Bay neighbourhood is home to Saanich’s most valuable properties.

Wickson made these comments after receiving questions about a makeshift camp site on Burnside Road.

Saanich resident Jon Knoll who lives near what he calls the “tarp town” estimated it has existed for about a week, but could not say definitely for how long it has been there.

If the timing of its emergence remains uncertain, its presence appears obvious. “It’s very visible,” said Knoll. “They are not trying to hide themselves in the park.” It is not clear who currently lives in the campsite. While Knoll said he has “seen a couple of guys wandering around,” he has not had any direct contact with any residents.

Knoll said he was not aware of anyone in the neighbourhood, who has had contact with the would-be residents of the campsite. “They have not been bothering people across the street,” said Knoll. “They are keeping to themselves.”

Wickson said he does not know much about the camp. “I have been in touch with the police and they keep telling me it is a difficult situation,” he said.

While details about the camp site are scant, it continues to point towards ongoing homelessness issues in Saanich generally and the Gorge Tillicum neighbourhood specifically, as Wickson’s comments suggest.

Early this year, police and provincial highway crews closed down a homeless camp that had sprung up on a highway offramp near Burnside Side. A woman and a man had been camping at that location. It is not clear where they currently reside.

Late last year, the neighbourhood mourned the death of “Mayor” Dave Armitage, a homelessness person, who had been living in the area for years.