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Robert Barron column: Let’s hope homeless issues don’t lead to increased violence in Cowichan Valley

It was like the wild west right in the middle of Nanaimo’s busy downtown area
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The shooting of a man last week in Nanaimo who was trying to retrieve items stolen from an auto repair business from a nearby homeless camp is a prime example of what can happen when the homeless situation is not being dealt with properly.

After items from the auto shop, including a table saw, that were stolen in a break in were spotted at the homeless camp in Nanaimo’s downtown core, the owner of the business and two friends decided to confront the alleged perpetrators and retrieve the items.

I imagine the business owner called the RCMP to deal with the issue, but it’s a fact that police resources are already stretched pretty thin and they have limited ability to effectively deal with homelessness issues, including petty crimes like theft under $5,000.

So the three men decided to take matters in their own hands, with almost deadly results.

The confrontation led to a number of the unsheltered people bringing out a baseball bat, a .22-calibre rifle, a pellet gun and a hand gun (which apparently jammed in the melee).

Of course, the business owner and his two friends turned and ran as fast as they could, like anyone with any common sense would do, but the campers chased them across a busy street firing away the whole time.

In the end, one man was taken to hospital with a bullet wound to the stomach, and another man also suffered what police described as a “serious injury”.

From what I’ve read, it was like the wild west right in the middle of Nanaimo’s busy downtown area, with shots being fired across a well-used roadway where innocent people were driving, going about their lives.

An incensed Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said in a statement that Nanaimo is facing a public safety crisis resulting from the failed policies of senior governments that is beyond the city’s capacity to control or repair.

“I call upon the federal and provincial governments to recognize their responsibility to our residents and to step up and take meaningful action now,” Krog said in a city press release.

“Our city is not able to fix the underlying issues that have led to the problems we are facing and the kind of situation that unfolded here on (March 12). When government is no longer able to protect people and their property, we are in a dangerous place.”

The downtown area near the popular Maffeo-Sutton Park in Nanaimo is a place where I spent a lot of time over the years, and I always felt safe there, so I find it disturbing that such a violent altercation took place that could have easily involved innocent bystanders.

Krog is right in saying that it’s time that senior levels of government step up and do something about the increasing problems of having desperate and homeless people living on our streets.

Many of the homeless issues that are plaguing our community these days originated from federal funding cuts to affordable housing in the 1980s and 1990s, and when you add in lack of income at a time of increased inflation and prices, it has made for a perfect storm that is now resulting in incidents like what happened in Nanaimo.

I pointed out in another column on this issue that I recently wrote that the ongoing issues around homelessness in the Cowichan Valley are not the responsibility of local governments and they won’t be fully resolved until senior levels of government begin to acknowledge their responsibilities.

Local governments are doing what they can by supporting some affordable housing projects and other initiatives, but to take this issue head on is well outside their mandate.

Property taxes, which are one of local governments’ main means of income, are on the rise again and they are, rightfully, concerned about placing the financial burden of dealing with the problem on their taxpayers.

So, again, I’d encourage people to reach out to their MPs and MLAs and let your voices be heard before shoot outs and other mayhem become the norm here as well.



robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com

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Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
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