Once again this year, the Victoria Pride Society (VPS) has received reports that unhoused folks camping in Victoria West Park were displaced by City of Victoria by-law officers ahead of the Memorial Drag Ball Game today, July 1, 2024. As we have stated, VPS strongly believes that displacement of those sheltering the park is unacceptable.
We’re told that the City of Victoria by-law states that people sheltering in parks must leave by 7 am. By-law officers do daily sweeps to remove people from parks. As VPS strives to be an organization that stands with our most equity-deserving community members, we reached out to the City of Victoria ahead of time to ask that they not remove people from the park on July 1st as they have historically used our event, the Memorial Drag Ball Game, as an excuse to ask the campers to leave the park. We made several attempts to reach people and left messages.
In the days leading up to the event, VPS representatives went to the park personally to speak to the residents, let them know they were welcome to stay for the event, and brought them food, water, and dollar store gift cards. We spoke to the individuals personally.
Despite our efforts, by-law officers did a sweep of the park at 7 am. Some people did leave and others moved to a less noisy part of the park due to sensory needs or because they did not wish to be around the crowd. When leaving the park today, we again visited the residents and left more food and water.
VPS recognizes that the housing crisis causes a great deal of harm in our communities and disproportionately affects gender, sexual and relationship diverse (GSRD) and other equity-deserving communities. We will continue to work to ensure our events are inclusive, safe, and accessible for all and recognize that there will always be more to be done. We are here to do that work and will continue to reach out to the City of Victoria by-law offices to ensure the residents of Victoria West Park are treated with dignity and respect.
The Victoria Pride Society Team
The Victoria Pride Society acknowledges that it organizes and works on the traditional territories of the Lekwungen Peoples and that the land’s relationships with the Songhees, Esquimalt, and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples have existed since time immemorial. Further to this acknowledgement, the Victoria Pride Society affirms that colonialism and the attitudes and practices that have accompanied it contribute to systemic discrimination and violence against Indigenous Peoples and all marginalized and equity-deserving people. Read more.
