Dear Editor:
Mr. Hasek has my deepest sympathies. The Ledingham Park neighbours deserve an enforced "no night use" park bylaw. But before Burnaby can enact such a rule it must site a local permanent emergency shelter. Otherwise the bylaw will likely be unenforceable. It would conflict with the "right to shelter in parks at night" granted by the B.C. Court of Appeal to homeless people in cities that lack permanent emergency shelter beds (like Burnaby and Victoria.)
Given that the trouble in Ledingham Park is sparked by hooliganism rather than homelessness, a local emergency shelter would not directly solve the problem. But it would ease subsequent enforcement of an anti-camping/night use bylaw aimed at hooligans in local parks.
A growing coalition have gathered together to back the siting and building of a local permanent shelter and related transition housing. The sooner this proposed project gets going, the sooner the RCMP and bylaw inspectors can be given the legal tools to properly target hooligans in Ledingham Park at all hours of the day and night.
G. Bruce Friesen, Burnaby
