Leaked City of Vancouver document proposes ‘escalation’ to clear DTES encampment

The City of Vancouver has drawn up plans to escalate the removal of structures and decamp people living along East Hastings Street, according to a leaked document seen by Postmedia.

The document proposes a two-stage plan, with engineering workers and the Vancouver police starting with “lower risk sites” along Hastings that are east of Main Street and west of Carrall Street.

The plan also includes the deployment of “roving” teams of city engineering and VPD staff that will enforce decampment and remove structures both inside the Hastings encampment and around the city as needed, once the first two stages are complete.

So-called “Quick Response Teams” would initially operate daily and could operate for “several weeks or longer,” according to the document. Weekly assessments would determine how often the teams are deployed and the mix of city and VPD staff.

In stage one, engineering crews with VPD support would “no longer disengage when tensions rise or protesters/advocates become too disruptive,” according to bullet points listed in the document. “(This) signals an escalation in approach, in advance of larger event.”