Smelly, and controversial ploy to chase itinerants in British Columbia

The city of Abbotsford, in west coast British Columbia, has come up with an idea to keep vagrants, the homeless, and drug users from congregating and sleeping in a grassy area of the city.

Several city department heads agreed to the idea of spreading manure along a stretch of Gladys Avenue.

The area centres around a specific tree, a large cedar, near the local Salvation Army centre.

Once the media became aware of the manure spreading, municipal director, George Murray accepted responsibility and offered an apology.

In emails obtained by the CBC under the Access to Information Law, it was evident that several local officials were involved in the decision.

As the news became public, one official wrote to the interim parks director saying he thought the move was to discourage public drug use and prostitution, and not to target the homeless.

The manure spreading was the culmination of months of discussion about the situation in which solutions ranged from cutting down the healthy tree, cutting down all the surrounding bushes, and/or placing large concrete blocks around the tree.

Civil rights groups claim the city is engaged in a “war against the homeless”, chasing them from place to place like “undesirable animals” rather than offer them suitable housing.

Other municipalities in the Greater Vancouver area like Port Moody, and Surrey have also spread manure on areas where homeless gather, and have also had to offer public apologies.

The agency Pivot Legal Society, which advocates on behalf of the less fortunate met with homeless people in Abbotsford this week to discuss possible legal action against the city.