‘A lot of criminal activity’: Why are there so many homeless camps in Abbotsford on provincially owned land?

A fatal shooting at a homeless camp in Abbotsford is prompting questions about safety at the sites and plans for the vulnerable residents.

As police continue to search for a gunman after a deadly shooting in an Abbotsford homeless camp this week, there are mounting questions about why so many camps exist in that community, including one that was supposed to have been shut down months ago.

Investigators were back at the Whatcom Road encampment Wednesday, gathering evidence in the killing of a 69-year-old man who lived there.

An advocate for the homeless said he’s not surprised by the violence.

“There’s a lot of criminal activity going on in this camp. And it’s actually very dangerous when the lights go out and it’s dark out,” said Joseph Sikora of Ground Zero Ministries.

He said the province’s growing homeless crisis can only be solved with more detox and treatment facilities.

“BC Housing’s model is housing first. They don’t deal with the addiction,” he said.

Surrey-Cloverdale MLA Elenore Sturko, who has also been vocal on addiction and mental health issues in B.C., said that “across the board, we have far too few services for people with complex needs south of the Fraser.”

She said while there are a variety of reasons why people stay in homeless camps, including inability to afford costly rent, “probably the majority of people, they have complex mental health and addictions needs and simply finding a cheap place to live isn’t the solution for them.”

“They need a much more intense level of care and currently we have an extreme shortage of that type of care,” Sturko said.

The Whatcom encampment, which sits on the Whatcom Park and Ride, is one of four camps on provincial lands in Abbotsford.

Farther east is the Cole Road Rest Area. It’s filled with RVs, many of which appear vacant, but a camper told CTV News about 18 people still live there.

“I don’t have any money to go anywhere, right? It’s hard to look for something when you don’t have damage deposit and a job,” said Glen Henderson, who has been living at Cole Road in a camper for about three years.

The Cole Road Rest Area was shut down last November. Campers were given notice, but the date was pushed back several times.

A March 23 notice from the Transportation Ministry that was given to campers said they need to be out by April 1. A week after that, “the ministry will take steps to cause all occupants and materials to be removed from the lands starting at noon on April 7, 2026,” the notice reads.

“Every time they say we’re getting kicked out, I can’t do anything, right? I’m stressed out and that’s all I can think about,” said Henderson, 53.

The ministry told CTV News in a statement that the rest area was being shut down after ongoing issues including vandalism and concerns for public safety. The ministry said that it has taken a “phased approach,” working closely with provincial partners and outreach agencies.

Henderson said he has been offered some alternate housing options, though he hadn’t decided on anything yet.

Meanwhile, the City of Abbotsford said that, while it does not have authority on provincial lands, it has been facilitating clean-ups, including at the Whatcom encampment last week, where 15,000 pounds of trash were taken out.

“It’s like living in a garbage dump and we shouldn’t be allowing people to live in those types of inhumane conditions,” Sturko said.

“And it may be tough love to enforce not allowing overnight camping in these areas, but the reality is that it would be safer for the government to be doing this enforcement and moving people to places where they can live in a clean and safe environment while they stabilize and find them long-term housing.”

A statement from the Housing and Health ministries said “homelessness is a significant issue in communities throughout B.C.”

“We know more needs to be done to help the most vulnerable members of our communities. Encampments are not safe for the people sheltering there or for the surrounding community,” the ministries said.

The province said it’s building safe, secure homes and providing needed supports to help people overcome homelessness.

“Currently, in Abbotsford, there are over 300 supportive homes open or underway. There are 43 approved emergency weather response (EWR) spaces and 10 temporary winter shelter (TWS) spaces in Abbotsford this winter season, along with 145 shelter spaces,” the statement reads.

The ministries said supportive housing provides subsidized housing and on-site supports like meal programs, training for life skills, referrals to community service and health supports.

Sikora said one of the problems is that people facing addiction won’t want to spend income supports on housing.

“They spend it on drugs and addiction,” he said, adding that the homelessness crisis is growing in Abbotsford, where more than 650 homeless people were identified in the last count.