Video shows homeless man being restrained as Vancouver rangers seize tent
CTV
One day after Mark Menard was featured on CTV News criticizing Vancouver's daily evictions of homeless campers, the Oppenheimer Park resident was restrained by police as park rangers seized his tent and some of his belongings.
One day after Mark Menard was featured on CTV News criticizing Vancouver's daily evictions of homeless campers, the Oppenheimer Park resident was restrained by police as park rangers seized his tent and some of his belongings.
Video posted on social media shows the 58-year-old Indigenous man pleading with authorities to leave his few possessions alone.
"Let me get my stuff out of there, please," Menard cries in the recording. "Get my backpack out of there."
Police also arrested a 29-year-old woman who tried to intervene in the seizure.
According to Menard and advocates who were present, the rangers eventually took away his tent, tarp and blankets, leaving him without anywhere to sleep Friday night.
The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation told CTV News staff were unavailable to discuss the incident.
Menard, who is a member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, spoke out this week about his experiences living in Oppenheimer since May 2023, and how challenging it's been since the city decided to increase enforcement of a bylaw requiring campers to pack up their tents every morning.
