The City of Vernon鈥檚 proposal to ban shopping carts on public lands has drawn the ire of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA).

Vernon council voted to support and expand the recommendation of its Activate Safety Task Force to ban shopping carts, indicating that 鈥渄irection in regard to shopping carts will be brought back to council within the next month for consideration and endorsement.鈥�

BCCLA sent a letter to Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund and city councillors, urging them to abandon the proposal due to its 鈥渇lagrant targeting of Vernon鈥檚 homeless residents.鈥�

鈥淚t is senseless and cruel to deprive people of access to public spaces simply because they are using a shopping cart,鈥� said BCCLA staff counsel Meghan McDermott.

鈥淲e know that Vernon shelters are at capacity, so such a measure will impair peoples鈥� ability to make a temporary shelter when their only option is to sleep outdoors.

鈥淔or many people without a home, the use of a shopping cart provides a means to carry supplies to set up a crude form of temporary shelter.鈥�

The letter points out that the various rationales that have been provided for the new bylaw are not sufficient to justify the infringements of people鈥檚 rights to liberty and security of the person as enshrined in section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The full BCCLA letter can be found .

Reached over lunch Thursday, Mund said he鈥檚 read the letter and will let administration to take it to the city鈥檚 legal counsel.

鈥淎t the same time, I do believe our administration has taken the recommendations to legal counsel to see how, if we can produce a bylaw through council鈥檚 resolution of banning shopping carts.鈥�

Information will be brought to Vernon council for its Sept. 4 meeting.

鈥淚鈥檓 sure we鈥檒l get lots of feedback, both from legal and administration on a go-forward basis,鈥� said Mund.

An Armstrong woman started a to buy wagons for Vernon鈥檚 homeless. Sarah Anderson鈥檚 goal was $1,000 to buy 15 wagons.

Her campaign, to date, has raised $1,800.

roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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