Homeless camps persist east of Chilliwack despite working group’s meetings

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“The collaborative interagency approach of the Chilliwack River Valley Homeless Encampment Stakeholders Working Group continues to address the environmental, public safety and social welfare concerns in the Chilliwack River Valley,” Supt Lee said. “The recent announcement of $200,000 in new funding to the FVRD’s rural cleanup effort is a step in the right direction. We will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to find long-term solutions to this ongoing issue.”

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The working group’s stated purpose is “to work collaboratively to provide supports to those experiencing homelessness and solutions to address the safety and environmental risks associated with homeless encampments in the Chilliwack River Valley.”

While the working group continues to meet and strategize, Ross Aikenhead, a Chilliwack cleanup volunteer, reports there are an estimated nine occupied homeless encampments east of the Vedder Bridge, not to mention 19 RVs, an occupied tent, four abandoned vehicles, six structures, one industrial-sized steel fuel or oil tank, and large amounts of debris at four sites.

In short, the problem isn’t going anyway anytime soon unless the province steps in, Aikenhead reckons.

“All the sewage and garbage from these camps is going straight into the environment, and all the camps are illegal,” Aikenhead said. “As long as it’s allowed to continue, the problem will just keep getting worse. All the camps are illegally occupying Crown land, or Indigenous land, and need to be dealt with accordingly but no one wants to take responsibility for enforcing the laws. The whole situation is just an example of how disorganized the government agencies are.”

The province encourages B.C. residents to report all poachers and polluters (RAPP) by calling 1-877-952-RAPP for any of the following violations:

• Illegal waste disposal, such as household or business waste and waste dumped on Crown Land
• Unlawful open burning, such as burning prohibited materials or burning when or where prohibited
• The discharge of chemicals or sewage to lakes or rivers
• Damage to fish or wildlife habitat

However, Aikenhead says he’s not sure what has happened to these RAPP reports as it relates to squatters occupying Crown land in the Chilliwack River Valley and causing untold environmental damage with stolen goods, fires, excrement, and other fluids that get dumped.

“The fact that no one knows what happens to the RAPP reports doesn’t surprise me a bit because they just disappear with no results,” Aikenhead said. “Like I’ve said, the problems will never end unless action is taken.”

Image: Supplied / A homeless camp in the Chilliwack River Valley.

Aikenhead takes issue with the notion that some of the homeless camps are clean and orderly.

“The attached pictures are from behind the fifth wheel on New Borden Forest Service Road,” Aikenhead said. “That doesn’t look very clean or orderly to me.”