This is a letter written to Victoria council to express deep concern and outrage over the city’s continued funding and execution of bylaw-led "street sweeps" – an inhumane practice that disproportionately harms Victoria’s most vulnerable residents. It has come to my attention that over $4 million has been allocated to these actions, which result in the forced dismantling of tents, the destruction of personal belongings, and the systemic displacement of unhoused individuals from public spaces, including along Pandora Avenue in front of Our Place Society – a rare lifeline for people in crisis.
These sweeps are not just a waste of taxpayer money – they are a violation of basic human rights.
People experiencing homelessness rely on their few possessions to survive. Yet city-funded bylaw officers routinely confiscate and discard tents, warm clothing, medications, personal items, and critically, identification and bank cards. These losses have catastrophic impacts: without ID, individuals cannot access shelter systems, apply for housing, cash cheques, open bank accounts, or receive essential medical care. It traps people in a devastating cycle of vulnerability and exposes them to even greater risk – particularly during cold weather, heat waves, or periods of poor air quality.
Displacing people from the area near Our Place Society is especially cruel, as it isolates them from one of the only support services available in Victoria offering food, hygiene, counseling, and community.
This is not compassionate. This is not responsible governance. This is punitive, and it is deadly.
The United Nations has declared that forced evictions of homeless encampments without access to alternative adequate housing constitute human rights violations. Canada is a signatory to international human rights treaties that uphold the right to adequate housing and the dignity of every human being. The City of Victoria must honour these obligations.
I am calling on council to: Immediately cease funding and executing street sweeps against the unhoused population; Stop the criminalization of survival in public spaces; Ensure that no personal belongings – especially identification, financial tools, or medication – are ever discarded; Invest these funds instead in meaningful shelter alternatives, harm reduction, affordable housing, and peer-led outreach initiatives.
Every action you take either saves lives or endangers them. The current approach is costing lives.
Breanna Bandet
Victoria
