New bylaws target the most vulnerable

Details: Published on Thursday, 12 December 2019 08:52; Written by editor

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Dear friends and supporters,

Imagine being deprived of your right to make a living. Imagine being excluded from public spaces you rely on. Imagine being criminalized for trying to survive.

Right now, across BC, municipal governments are passing oppressive bylaws targeting vulnerable people.

One example is Salmon Arm’s new Street Solicitation Bylaw modeled after the provincial Safe Streets Act. The bylaw criminalizes behaviours like panhandling that exist because of poverty, homelessness, and mental health issues.

We need your support to ensure we can continue to take proactive action against these cruel bylaws.

Donate $5 today

Salmon Arm’s new bylaw has restricted most of the downtown from non-aggressive panhandling, enforcing a de facto community-wide ban. Remarkably, the bylaw bans people from soliciting while sitting or lying on sidewalks, sitting on a public bench, or within a public plaza.

The housing and affordability crisis continues across BC. Yet rather than address the underlying causes of poverty and homelessness, municipal governments have chosen to deprive individuals of their means to secure financial support - impeding freedom of expression and access to public space.

The BCCLA will oppose such bylaws with letters to council, media outreach, and proactive research on local governments developing similar bylaws.

Without your support, we cannot continue to mobilize against the development and enforcement of these discriminatory bylaws.

DONATE NOW

We are incredibly grateful for your sustained support of our fight for civil liberties and human rights in all corners of Canada.

Sincerely,

Latoya Farrell
Staff Counsel (Policy)

BC Civil Liberties Association
Tel: 604.687.2919
Toll-free: 855.556.3566
www.bccla.org

306-268 Keefer Street
Vancouver, BC V6A 1X5 You're receiving this message because you are a donor or volunteer with the BCCLA, or you have opted in to receiving communications from us.

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