A militant advocacy group saying it speaks on behalf of Victoria, B.C.'s homeless community has claimed responsibility for an overnight vandalism attack on the home of the city's mayor.
Dean Fortin awoke Friday to find the letters ACAB scrawled in red paint on the back door of his white Honda. The back passenger window was also smashed out, with glass shards littering his driveway.
Vandals also spray painted the number 72 and the letters PG in white lettering on his garage.
Speaking to reporters in his driveway, Fortin said he was told the number 72 refers to the number of shelter beds that were reduced in the city because of new shelter and affordable housing projects. PG stands for Pandora Green, the area of downtown Victoria frequented by the city's homeless, and the target of a new beautification project that has forced some residents out.
"Obviously we were disappointed, disrupting the security of the family, the two young children that are here," he said.
A group calling itself ‘PG72' sent a fax to media outlets saying its "militants" were the ones who damaged the mayor's property in retaliation to the city's recent move to cut 72 shelter spaces.
"The city has declared war on the poor, and we're fighting back!" the message wrote.
The group said the tag "ACAB" on Fortin's garage stood for ‘All Cops are Bastards,' and referred to "bylaw officers who beat street people."
PG72 said the city's policies inflict violence and hardship onto Victoria's street community and that police regularly harm the homeless population.
"Now there are 72 new homeless in Victoria created by government policy, but they're not allowed to sleep in their community and street lights on Pandora Green. Where the f*** are they supposed to go?" the message said, signing off "In Love and Rage."
Fortin defended his homelessness policies Friday morning, saying it's an issue he's passionate about.
"Part of why I ran for mayor is to make sure we can deal with affordable housing and homelessness and that's something that's very important to me," he said.
As Fortin talked to press, Victoria city councillor Pamela Madoff arrived with condolences.
"I just came to say how sorry I am," she told Fortin, hugging him.
"There's nothing like feeling personally attacked on invaded when all you've tried to do is the right thing."
Madoff called the attack disappointing, adding that the mayor and current council have taken great strides in helping the homeless situation in the city.
"If in fact this is a statement on the situation around shelters not only is it misinformed it is also misguided," she said.
Fortin's neighbour Lori Frank, who lives three doors down, said she didn't hear anything overnight. She called the attack personal and unfortunate.
"Whether if you have an issue with the mayor or not, that it's brought to his home where his children are and that's very disconcerting."
A spokesperson for the Victoria police said they have little suspect information. A sweep of the neighbourhood yielded little results. Forensic investigators planned to take samples of the paint and glass and dust the area for fingerprints Friday morning.
A local advocacy group, The Committee to End Homelessness, issued a statement to denying its involvement but said it understood the motive behind the attacks.
"When there are attacks on the homeless like those by City Council forcing desperate people off Pandora Green, this is an expected reaction."
