Tent encampments have been around in Canada for a long time. But since the pandemic, the number of camps have grown drastically as Canadians struggle with soaring housing prices and homeless shelters often operating at full capacity.

Meanwhile, cities have gotten more aggressive in removing these camps — claiming they’re lawless, unhealthy environments. So how did the city of Vancouver end up with a fully legal tent community in CRAB Park? 

Sarah Berman, an investigative journalist based in Vancouver, explains what the story of CRAB Park reveals about Canada’s war over encampments and the effects of cutting off these makeshift communities.

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