Fire department officials and bylaw officers from the City of Maple Ridge entered the Anita Place homeless camp over the weekend to seize items they say pose a fire and safety hazard to residents. Listen Chen, a community organizer, said the seizure left camp residents out in the cold. Fire and safety hazardsAnita Place was established by homeless people and their supporters in May 2017 to protest the closure of a 40-bed shelter in Maple Ridge. Since then, residents of the camp and their lawyers have fought off two attempts by the City of Maple Ridge to evict them in the courts. The city said camp residents had been warned numerous times that this posed a risk of electrocution.

Source: CBC News February 25, 2019 01:30 UTC