Image: Submitted, used with permission / A homeless camp is pictured in the Chilliwack River Valley near Chilliwack Lake Road. Frustration is growing over these continued toxic homeless camps by residents of the Chilliwack River Valley, despite efforts by government agencies to clean up the garbage associated with these camps and to help bring alternate housing situations to some individuals residing in these camps.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Frustration over homeless camps

Frustration grows over continued homeless camps in the Chilliwack River Valley

Jul 13, 2023 | 10:55 AM

CHILLIWACK — Two Chilliwack River Valley residents who live close to the Chilliwack Lake Road corridor are expressing frustration over the continued presence of toxic homeless camps in the otherwise pristine backcountry.

For years now, homeless encampments have been occupying forested venues north and south of Chilliwack Lake Road at the expense of the environment and normal code enforcement. They are often littered with household effects, including stolen goods, and they produce excrement and other toxic output that adversely impact salmon habitat and other ecosystems. Fires have broken out intermittently in the past two to three months at a couple homeless camps.

Image: Submitted, used with permission / A homeless camp in the Chilliwack River Valley.

Renee Marlatt lives just south of Chilliwack Lake Road east of the Tamihi Rapids bridge. She says there’s a disjointed system in place where government agencies will only address their specific jurisdiction, meaning there’s a patchwork of laws and policies in place.

For example, Marlatt says Crown is responsible for all land on either side of Chilliwack Lake Road, while provincial and federal authorities will only deal with abandoned vehicles on the actual road itself, not the road side. Meanwhile, BC Parks will only deal with issues within their park boundaries, and the Fraser Valley Regional District has the power to issue dump passes to cover costs associated with rubbish removal.

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“What Crown and FVRD can do is change the bylaw to allow for the signage at the bottom of Chilliwack lake road all the way to the top,” Marlatt said. “The signs [related to] no parking and no camping would allow RCMP to enforce the rules. Currently there are no rules past Tamihi.”

As another solution to mitigating homeless camps in the Chilliwack River Valley, Marlatt recommends that a task force of social workers be assigned to each person currently camping out to support long-term housing plans.

Image: Submitted, used with permission / An abandoned Nissan Altima is seen near Chilliwack Lake Road in the Chilliwack River Valley.

“What this does is prevent future squatters, or at the very least, deter people from parking/camping,” Marlatt said. “My proposal includes allowing for designated areas throughout Chilliwack Lake Road where people can park/camp. Those areas would be set back from rivers or sensitive areas. They could be cleared of brush to prevent fire risks. It would easier for the community groups to target cleanups. Most importantly, it allows for greater visibility of those most vulnerable. It’s one small step we can take to reduce fire risks, increase community safety, support the vulnerable and protect the environment. We aren’t going to solve homelessness because that’s a much bigger provincial issue. We can protect our backcountry by being strategic about where people can go and what they can do.”

Marlatt said she emailed the Fraser Valley Regional District director for the Chilliwack River Valley, Patti MacAhonic, on Tuesday, July 11 because she feels exasperated by what she perceives is a lack of concrete action.

“I feel incredibly frustrated that there continues to be no action to address the environmental issues caused by people living along Chilliwack Lake Road,” Marlatt wrote in her email to MacAhonic. “The problem continues to be out of control in our province and our local backcountry. The problem has continued with no efforts to change the outcome.

Fraser Valley Today has been given a copy of MacAhonic’s response to Marlatt, in which MacAhonic empathized with Marlatt’s frustration.

“Thank you for your email,” MacAhonic wrote in her response to Marlatt. “I hear your frustration. I have been a resident in the valley for 32 years and I am aware of what you are referring to. Although you may not see action, there definitely is, we have been able to help find some housing and been able to move some on to more appropriate situations for them.”

MacAhonic touted the $200,000 in provincial funding that she says she was able to successfully lobby for, saying the money can address garbage from encampments. She urged Marlatt to report encampments to the RAPP (Report All Poachers and Polluters, 1-877-952-7277) hotline and encouraged others to do the same so that items get actioned. MacAhonic said in her email to Marlatt that the situation has been going on for years and would not be fixed overnight, but that good progress could be achieved if people collaborated.

Ross Aikenhead, who has helped clean up parts of the Chilliwack River Valley repeatedly over the years, says he has personally filed hundreds of reports with the RAPP hotline and says absolutely nothing was done about them.

Derrick Kramer, another Chilliwack River Valley resident who lives just south of Chilliwack Lake Road east of the Tamihi Rapids bridge, feels equally frustrated by the lack of action to specifically target homeless camps in the Chilliwack River Valley.

Image: Submitted, used with permission

“They could start by moving the no camping signs farther up the valley for the side of the roads, especially in the spots that are wide enough to house trailers and campers,” Kramer said. “That’s a start. The people in the homeless camps do what they want, they have fires, they make a mess, and who knows where the sewage goes? If a trailer is in one spot for a year, where do they defecate? If they do it in the bush or the river, it’s a health hazard. I’m just so tired of the lip service from this province.”

Kramer faults the government for not stepping in faster to address homeless camps, particularly if the responsible individuals had money, assets or other resources.

“If these people had money, they would be after them so they could fine and make money off of them,” Kramer asserted. “It’s a broken system and people are getting to a boiling point that it may turn out ugly for everyone because the government is not doing enough. I’ve been in this valley for 50 years and I’m so damn tired of it. I’m so disgusted and disheartened by the lack of concern for our streams and valleys.”