Permanent liveaboards at North Vancouver’s Mosquito Creek Marina are breathing a sigh of relief following the news the boatyard will be keeping them safe from its impending mass eviction.
Yet the sigh is a small one. While in the clear for now, long term residents are still in fear of being given the boot further down the line, while the hundreds of part-time residents and boat and boatshed owners still face an uncertain future and potential large-scale financial loss.
“Residents can stay beyond the May 31 deadline, but how far longer than that is anybody’s guess. It could be another month, it could be another three months,” said Eddie Osland, who has lived permanently on Mosquito Creek Marina for the past 16 years.
Osland said the community is still is “shell shock” with residents in “a mad scramble” trying to understand their options.
“I feel like I have had my world ripped out from underneath me, I’m scratching my head as to what I’m going to do.”
On Tuesday Dec. 5 Nch'ḵay̓ Development Corporation, run by the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), announced it would be closing a number of the marina’s docks for repairs, with 459 houseboat, boat and boatshed owners told to vacate their slips or moorage by May 31, 2024.
Residents had been in floods of tears on Wednesday as they grappled with the news, fearing the loss of their homes, workspaces, and local community, said Sasha Selby.
“What am I going to tell my children? That we’re homeless? It’s horrific,” Selby, who has lived on a boat in a boatshed with her husband and two children for nine years, told the North Shore News Wednesday.
“This is not only ripping a home away from me, this is ripping away my studio space, my income, and all of our savings,” she said.
In a meeting with residents Thursday evening and in a release issued on Friday, Nch’ḵay̓ said it had reconsidered its decision following the public outcry from residents.
“We understand that this news is having a significant impact on the community at Mosquito Creek Marina,” the release said.
“We now have a more fulsome understanding of the reliance many community members have on the docks for their primary housing, and the full impact of this notice on those residing on boats and in boat sheds at Mosquito Creek.”
Nch’ḵay̓ said it will “repair and reorganize” some of the marina’s docks in a way that will ensure permanent tenants can stay, alongside those living in float homes.
“In response to new information about people currently living on their boats or in boat sheds as a primary residence, we will be working directly with these residents to explore viable options for their homes,” it read.
“While we are currently unsure of what those options may entail, we can assure these residents that they will not find themselves without a place to live come May 31st, 2024.”
In the lengthy, multi-page Q&A, the development company also addressed rumours that the evictions were to make way for further development at the marina, adding how there is no plan for the marina beyond “ensuring the safety of people and the environment.”
“MCM and the Squamish Nation face an urgent situation and emergency repairs will be made immediately to endeavour to stabilize several MCM docks for the winter,” the release read.
Nch'ḵay̓ said the marina and the Squamish Nation faces an “urgent situation” and emergency repairs will be made immediately to stabilize the docks for the winter.
Planning work will begin in January to develop “extensive” rehabilitation or redevelopment plans, with the May 31 departure date for the affected MCM tenants remaining an “unfortunate necessity,” they said.
Mina Kerr-Lazenby is the North Shore News’ Indigenous and civic affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
