January 7, 2010

Constitutional right to sleep in tents is upheld

Friends,

The Court of Appeal has upheld the trial judge’s ruling in the Victoria

right to shelter case! People who are homeless and have no choice but to

sleep outside have a constitutional right to protect themselves from the

elements, says the highest court in the province. While a tent/tarp is

obviously far from an adequate standard of shelter, this decision is a big

deal!

Can you believe our elected representatives wasted tens if not hundreds of

thousands of dollars to appeal this minimal level of protection for some of

the most marginalized and vulnerable members of our society? And that this

situation only exists because of their ongoing failure to ensure sufficient

housing and, at a very minimum, adequate shelter beds? Well they did. And

they LOST!!

Laura Track

Housing Campaign Lawyer

Pivot Legal Society and Pivot Legal LLP

678 Hastings Street East

Vancouver, BC V6A 1R1 | Coast Salish Territories

tel: (604) 255-9700 ext. 112 | fax: (604) 255-1552

Pivot Legal Society: www.pivotlegal.org