It’s hard to grasp the impact of the City of Victoria’s ongoing bylaw seizures without seeing one in progress, and hearing the angry and agonized outbursts from people losing all their worldly possessions yet again. “Your fcking karma is going to be brutal! I’m glad I’m not you!” yelled David helplessly to bylaw officers on one morning last week as they carried away four people’s possessions. He’d been in the process of packing up when the City taped off the area, which instantly stops anyone from retrieving any of their stuff unless they want bigger trouble from the police accompanying bylaw.The number of seizures are up in 2026 compared to 2025, hitting a record high of 192 seizures in August alone. The number of returns are down, hitting an all-time low for 2026 in that same month of 13 per cent of all goods seized (though that’s still an improvement over the 3 per cent returned in December 2025). A question for municipal candidates as Oct 17 election day draws near: How does any of this improve the situation for anyone? “I’ve got mixed feelings on the bylaw stuff, because what goes on out here is pretty fcked up,” acknowledged one Pandora resident. “But it’s pretty obvious that bylaw enforcement is not the answer.”