Bylaw amendments adopted by Victoria council on Thursday will prohibit overnight sheltering at all times in Beacon Hill Park and Central Park, a ban that could soon be extended to Stadacona Park.
In a motion that will come back to council in two weeks for adoption, council voted 8-1 to add Stadacona to the list. “The reality is that the status quo is just simply not working, and it’s time to shake things up,” he said, adding the goal is not to just pass on the problem to another park or area of the city, but to find a better solution for those in the tents.
Caradonna conceded that adding Stadacona rather than Topaz Park, for example, may seem arbitrary, but he called it a test case. “This is a test case to see if we can hold ourselves accountable, get people in a better situation, and move on from sheltering in parks,” he said. “And if we’re successful here, we’ll apply it to other parks.”