Image: Mike Vanden Bosch / Pattison Media / Demolition activity from Monday, February 5 at the Island 22 homeless camp, located at 45645 Cartmell Road in Chilliwack.

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Island 22 encampment

Island 22 homeless camp nearly demolished, but some trailers have popped up elsewhere

Feb 7, 2024 | 6:17 AM

CHILLIWACK — Once an eviction notice of Thursday, January 31 arrived, trailers inside the Island 22 homeless encampment at 45645 Cartmell Road in Chilliwack were no longer tolerated.

Roughly a week after the eviction deadline forced at least 40 unlawful squatters on the privately owned property off the land, however, some trailers have popped up elsewhere in Chilliwack.

A Chilliwack resident sent Fraser Valley Today a picture of two RCMP cruisers parked on Cartmell Road keeping the peace Tuesday morning (Feb. 6), as a tow truck appeared to be ready to remove one such trailer just east of where the encampment once stood.

Image: Submitted / RCMP cruisers were on scene Tuesday, Feb. 6 on Cartmell Road near a trailer that was apparently uprooted from the Island 22 homeless camp and located here, presumably illegally.

Another unsightly trailer has popped up on Industrial Way on the north side of the highway, west of Lickman Road, in Chilliwack.

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Image: Submitted / A trailer is now parked on Industrial Way on the north side of the highway in Chilliwack. It is believed this trailer belonged to one of the Island 22 encampment squatters. An eviction notice resulted in approximately 40 residents of the camp being displaced.

During a visit to the encampment on Monday morning (Feb. 5), a Fraser Valley Today reporter witnessed approximately three to four trailers outside the premises, while garbage cleanups continued inside the camp. There were at least three individuals cleaning up the camp, including one operating a Deere excavator, another working alongside a dump truck, and another man with a vest deeper into the camp, a distance from the road.

There are reports from witnesses that some of the Island 22 residents, possibly as many as 10 individuals, who have just crossed Cartmell Road and begun living in the bush. A picture sent by a Chilliwack resident to Fraser Valley Today shows a trail of personal effects and garbage located in bushes and trees on the north side of Cartmell Road.

Some Chilliwack River Valley residents have expressed concerns that Island 22 residents will somehow migrate to the Chilliwack Lake Road corridor and set up shop where bylaw enforcement has been few and far between. As of Wednesday, February 7, there are less than 10 homeless encampments outstanding in the Chilliwack River Valley, according to information collated by Ross Aikenhead, who is heavily involved in Chilliwack cleanup efforts.

Cpl. Carmen Kiener of the Chilliwack RCMP says police will act accordingly if there are specific situations where a member of the public is breaking the law.

“As police, we are responsible for enforcing federal and provincial statutes,” Cpl. Kiener said in an email to Fraser Valley Today. “If we come across a situation where someone is contravening a specific act, we will deal with it appropriately.  This applies to all calls for service whether it be an assault, mischief, or someone parking an uninsured trailer on a roadway or derelict trailers on private property. We receive hundreds of complaints a day from members of the public spanning all issues that police are responsible for. If we receive a complaint relating to trailers originally from Island 22, we will deal with it according to the laws and our authorities as police officers.”