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"In Vancouver, the “Street Sweep” refers to the daily practice of City Engineering Workers and VPD officers moving throughout the Downtown Eastside (DTES), notionally in order to ‘clean’ City property. This practice draws its authority from several different bylaws depending on the particular location, and the main justification is Street and Traffic By-Law, which prohibits people from placing objects, structures, obstructions, or garbage on a City street (which includes sidewalks). Street Sweeps can infringe on constitutional and human rights law in two main ways: by endangering people’s lives and security of the person, in violation of section 7 of the Charter; and by discriminating against protected groups, including Indigenous people, Black people, People of Colour, drug users, and people with disabilities. The practice of displacing people and confiscating and presumably destroying their possessions, can be unconstitutional, against human rights law, and grounds for a civil lawsuit based on the seizure and destruction of private property. For everyone who relies on public space, the daily practice of Street Sweeps perpetuates a cycle of displacement that diminishes the dignity, safety, and well-being of people. The negative impacts of Street Sweeps on low-income and street-involved communities in Vancouver have been widely-documented as a harmful practice. During Homelessness Action Week 2021, a Street Sweep counter-patrol was formed to research, document, and analyze the impact of Street Sweeps in the Downtown Eastside. For five consecutive days, this counter-patrol tracked the work of City Engineering Workers and Vancouver Police Department officers in a small radius within the Downtown Eastside."