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Homeless protesters leaving wooden structure on McCallum

Move brings residents back to strip of Jubilee Park
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The homeless residents living in a structure on McCallum Road are moving out to a strip of Jubilee Park.

The homeless residents living inside a wooden structure in a parking lot on McCallum Road are working to move back to a small strip on the edge of Jubilee Park.

The homeless people are part of a protest camp that previously occupied Jubilee Park and recently moved into an adjacent parking lot.

On Friday, the B.C. Supreme Court granted the city an injunction that called for protesters to leave the structure, which was built overnight last Wednesday as a donation from an unknown source.

While the city received the ability to move protesters from the structure, representatives from the city said they would not act on the order until the next court hearing.

The city and the homeless will go to court tomorrow (Tuesday), where the city will ask for a further injunction allowing them to force protesters to cease occupying Jubilee Park and other city parkland, and to allow police to arrest anyone who does not comply with the order.

After the protesters departed Jubilee Park last week, the city closed the park and erected a fence around the perimeter, citing public safety concerns.

Barry Shantz, protest organizer, said the residents will now move back to a small area of Jubilee that is not behind fencing.

Shantz said they are hoping that after tomorrow's hearing, the court will allow protesters a few weeks to figure out where to go and what to do next.

He said they are hoping to maintain the materials from the structure, but is unsure whether that will be possible.