April 15, 2022 Carnegie Newsletter

APRIL 15, 2022 carnegienewsletter

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401 Main Street Vancouver

Canada

V6A 2T7

(604) 665-2289

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The Downtown Eastside Writers Festival is a first. Writers and Poets are everywhere, and seek outlets for expressing each unique view of the world. Upcoming on Thursday, May 5 and running with events daily through to Sunday, May 8 the Festival promises to provide a wealth of interactive presentations, workshops and performances. Following are what to look for:

A WRITING VACATION facilitated by Elee Kraljii Gardener ACTIVISM AFTERNOON facilitated by Diane Wood COMIC POETRY facilitated by Hue Nguyen CREATIVE WRITING at W.I.S.H. facilitated by Danielle Laf'rance CREATIVE WRITING at MEGAPHONE INTRO TO SONGWRITING facilitated by Dana Oikawa J-to-I BLUE PENCIL CONSULTATIONS with Fiona Lam

PICNIC TABLE STORIES at Ray-Cam with Aleks POETRY CABARET facilitated by Diane Wood

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POETRY & PROSE AS PROTEST PUBLISHING 101 facilitated by Penny Goldsmith

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SCRIPTWRITING & INDIGENOUS STORYTELLING facilitated by David Geary SLAM POETRY facilitated by RL Weslowski SLOGAN WRITING facilitated by Mildred Grace German STORYTELLING CABARET facilitated by Jim Sands VOICING RESiSTANCE at FIREWRITERS facilitated by Heidi Greco WEAVING-THE PATH

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Documentary hosted by Isabel Stewart

ZINE-MAKING facilitated by Hari Alluri

https:lllndiandayschools.com Federal Indian Day School Class Action This is the Class Counsel website for Federal Indian Day School Class Members. This national Class Action is the first of its kind and seeks compensation for the damages . and abuses suffered by all Indian Day School students who were forced to attend Indian Day Schools and were excluded from the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.

Find out if you are eligible for compensation and how you can submit a claim.

This may be an important step in your healing journey.

Claim Due By: July 13, 2022

There are 91 days to go. ..,.

Who can submit?

f Eligible individuals include those who attended one of the identified Federal Indian Day Schools or Federal Day Schools and experifenced harm. Check the List of Federal Day Schools . (Schedule K) to find out more.

How do I submit a claim?

Eligible individuals can complete a Class Registration, and then complete and file the Claim Form with the Claims Administrator. Help is available to support you in this process.

What is the claims process?

The Claims Process in• volves mandatory tasks that need to be completed and submitted to the Claims Administrator.

Find out what steps you need to take and what to expect along the way.

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Chin ••• Rew Y•••. 2022: YEAR OF THE TIGER ':'1 _'. ~."1.

Ambush, growling, streaked, affectionately paired with gunpowder. PqW! Sparkles! BOOM! Hail Up! All Dynasty wake up the Ancients in their tomb, Come, come cross the river, of course the brave Tiger flawless being an excellent swimmer.

Oh! But here comes the striped orange cool treat, black licorice swirling dream.

In a waffle cone 3 scoops of Tiger ice cream!

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Brilliant and shining, gold-rush eyed, mining inside ripping to shreds all my short-coming and defects.

Gentle purring and an accurate pounce and splash and dash of orange, yellow, white and black.

Red and golden lined envelopes intact. Open it up Hey! You're Lucky!

Let's reign in and parade and remember, all the animals in line crossing to meet .

The Jade Emperor.

Priscilla R. Balak aka Sharkee

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I Carnegie Community Centre has been offered free tickets to the Dress Rehearsal and Performances

of Vancou-

, ver Opera's HMS Pinafore at Queen Elizabeth Theatre. This performance is in English.

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Here are the dates: Dress Rehearsal (100 Tickets Available): Thursday, April 28 at 7:00pm "*Carnegie members and volunteers can book up to 4 tickets' 't

I Performances (10 Tickets Per PerformanceAvailable):

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Sat Apr 30 I 7:30PM Thurs May 5 I 7:30PM Sat May 7 I 7:30PM Sun May 8 I 2:00PM Runtime: 140 minutes, with 1 intermission *Carnegie members and volunteers can book up 1 ticket Overview Gilbert and Sullivan's comedic tale is a delightful combination offorbidden love across class divides and the shenanigans that take place along the way. Poking fun at social hierarchies and packed with absurd characters, this wildly popular operetta delivers plenty of laughs and memorable music. This joyful production is directed

by Brenna Corner, c-i>nductedby Rosemary Thomson and features the Vancouver Opera Orchestra and Chorus. email beverly.walker@vancouver.ca with the request+ the person's contact information.

Tickets will be held at Will Call (the Box Office Window) under: First Name, Last Name Carnegie Community Centre

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If you'd like to block book some tickets for an out trip, please feel free to do that.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I look forward to connecting with you soon.

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Beverly Walker I Community Programmer, Arts & Education Carnegie Community Centre I City of Vancouver 401 Main Street, Vancouver, B.C. V6A 2T7 p: 1-604-665-2213 I w: camegiecentre.ca

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So the Pope Apologized ...

Yeah right Big hairy deal Where's the apology for opulence of Vatican library' as Indigenous People continue , to live in dire poverty under boil-water advisories Where's the apology for the five-hundred-year genocide ongoing First Nations Apocalypse wherever Catholic/Christian capitalists continue destroying unceeded lands for pipelines palm trees and hamburgers Where's the apology for shaming Native spirituality -best hope for Earth/human connectionsuch that Roman lies dominate killthe Indian in the child convert her to colonist's lies to belief she is a sinner not free interdependent symbiotic alive in nature's splendour where culture creates a good life Where's the apology for using starvation as a tool of conversion for using threats of torture to force belief in a god who himself cannot save Where's the apology for ongoing medieval hierarchy abuse of virility from pretend celibate male clergy full garbed in symbols of aristocracy 't' with zero women in positions of power deprived of agency over their own bodies Where's the apology for the falsity of religion serving divide and conquer with lies of a split between body spirit Earth lies that promote necro journeys over wonder of wholeness here now with Heaven, Earth, Universe of myriad being within all our relations uniting us within all our relations uniting us Gilles Cyrenne '-:

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Lane Level - We are Reopening Soon Hi Everyone, We are happy to announce that the Lane Level will be reopening the first week of May. As you know the lane level has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. During this time, we did some minor renovations and cleaning of the space in an effort to better serve our guests, but we're not done yet. Things will look and be a little different - here's what to expect.

Hours of Operation'"

The lane level will be open from 10 am - 7 pm daily. The hours will be different

for the seniors lounge, pool room & weight room & dependant on staffing/volunteers.

Lane Level Renovation & Information Highlights Senior's Lounge - The seniors lounge will be open for Senior Carnegie Members dur[ng programs.

It will

also be available at times for everyone as a TV room when there are no programs scheduled.

Newly Painted * New Chairs & Tables * New Large Screen TV * Kitchenette Refresh * New Air Purifier Pool Room'" Hours dependant on staffing & volunteers.

Must have a Carnegie Membership.

• Painted & As Good as New • New Air Purifier Weight Room - The weight room will not be opened at this time. Hopefully by the end of June.

Newly Painted .~ Replacement of New Weight Room Equipment - coming & in progress t Art Room Arts & Crafts Programs will resume. , . '; Public Washrooms • Both public washrooms will be opened from 10 am - 7 pm

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"On January 18, 1915, six months into the First World War, as all Europe was convulsed by killing and dying, Virginia Woolfwrote in her journal, "The future is dark, which is on the whole, the best thing the future can be, I think." Dark, she seems to say, as in inscrutable, not as in terrible. We often mistake the one for theother. Or we transform the future's unknowability into something certain, the fulfillment of all our dread, the place beyond which there is no way forward. But again and again, far stranger things happen than the end of the world.

Who, two decades ago, cou 1d have imagined a world in which the Soviet Union had vanished and the Internet had arrived? Who then dreamed that the political prisoner Nelson Mandela would become president of a transformed South Africa? Who foresaw the resurgence of the indigenous world of which the Zapatista uprising in Southern iMexico is only the most visible face? Who, four decades ago, could have conceived of the changed status of all who are nonwhite, nonmale, or non straight, the wide-open conversations about power, nature, economies, and ecologies?"

With the above 2 paragraphs, Rebecca Solnit begins the first chapter of her incredible book Hope in the Dark subtitled Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities. It was originally published in 2004, yet this influential book continues to shine a light into the darkness of our time.

In chapter after chapter Solnit looks at devasting events of the late 90s and early 2000s and reviews how dark the outlook was. Much of the focus is on American hubris and the ways that such policies and practices were impacting peoples in other countries, but the lessons and parallels are easily seen in our lives here and now.

After any defeat, people regroup and rethink what happened. Leaders are vilified, the victor of the day

is put on a pedestal and often starts being beaten with their own words and actions right away. Witness Donald Trump and the groaning of the world at how every action is open to belittlement. Witness how the protests in Ottawa by pro-COVID blanks impacted the rest of the country. Witness how the Indigenization of discourses are changing how we relate to the Aboriginal wisdom finally being seen and heard.

Each time the proclamation of the world ending is made, Solnit brings perspective to bear on what people can do and often did in the face of the doomsayers. This writing is one of profound possibilities in the face of the future.

One last quote from Astra Taylor, an admirer: "Hope in the Dark changed my life. During a period of pervasive cynicism and political despair, the first edition of this book provided me with a model for activist engagement that I have held dear ever since ... Despite all the obstacles, we must not lose sight of the fact profound transformation is possible]' ByPAULR TAYLOR

Hope

in the Dark Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities

Dear Mayor and Council, I support Councillor Swanson's motion to implement a mansion tax on Vancouver's wealthiest property owners. This will raise funds that can be used to build affordable housing for Vancouver's most vulnerable citizens, homeless persons with mental health and addiction issues.

Contrary to its claims that dismantling government services in order to allow a "free" market to enrich everyone, the only benefits that trickle down from increasing wealth for a shrinking minority of ruling class billionaires and millionaires has been trickle down middle class debt and poverty, trickle down working class deprivation, trickle down homelessness, trickle down addiction, and trickle down mental health disease.

More equal societies have significantly longer life-expectancy, better social mobility, and fewer social problems: less crime, fewer people in jail, less addiction, fewer mental health problems, less violence, less obesity, fewer teen pregnancies, fewer deaths at birth, and fewer hIgh-school dropouts. (The Spirit Level, Why Equality is Better for Everyone. Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. Also see his Ted talk) Capitalism, especially the ideological neoliberal market fundamentalist cancer type, which elevates greed to a pathological virtue does not nor will it ever solve the homelessness and addiction issues which plague the streets of every North American city.

A mansion tax will not inconvenience the super wealthy; it will not limit their ability to buy a fourth or fifth car, acquire another home in another desirable city, will not curtail their travel plans and it will not stop the wealthiest 5%, who do most of the investing in "public" companies, from speculating in derivatives which does nothing for the real economy. And even if it did limit them in some ways, that's a good thing because the wealthy create 75% of the emissions responIsible for global warming. Clipping their wings benefits the world. We can no longer afford their extravagance.

The mansion tax could provide homes for our homeless citizens, could help families live in poverty get more secur housing, and help the DTES in ways the the market never will.

Governments are the primary means through which we can create a more equal, equitable world.

This work begins at the local level. I urge Vancouver Council to implement this mansion tax as part of a more progressive taxation system.

Gilles Cyrenne, President, Camegie Community Centre Association

COUNCIL. MEMBERS' MOTION

2.

Asking for a Change to the Vancouver Charter to Allow the City'to Levy a Progressive Property Tax

Submitted by: Councillor Swanson WHEREAS

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1.

A progressive tax imposes a lower tax rate on people who are less able to pay and a higher rate on those who are most able to pay;

2.

British Columbia's provincial income tax is progressive: designated by income those with a higher income;

3.

Canada's federal income tax is progressive, as it is determined by income bracket, with lower income-earners paying a smaller percentage of their earnings than higher income eamers;

4.

British Columbia introduced an additional school tax in 2018 that is a progressive property tax. Properties valued under $3 million do not pay this tax; valuations between $3 million and $4 million pay 0.2% tax and those valued at $4 million and above pay a 0.4% tax;

5.

Vancouver's city property tax is currently regressive, as it imposes the same rate on all properties regardless of the assessed value;

6.

Vancouver needs a fair way to raise additional furtds that does not put an undue burden on most people but can raise the money from those with enough wealth to be able to pay for needed public services, combat climate change, reduce homelessness, support affordable housing;

7.

A recent staff report to Vancouver City Council itemized over $200M in

.

costs downloaded on the city by provincial and federalgovernments https:llvancouver.calfiles/cov/12-03-2021-council-memo-city-funds-( allocated-to-downloaded-services.pdf; 8.

The 2016 Statistics Canada Financial Security Survey shows that share of land wealth and total net worth in BC increase together, with the richest households holding by far the most land wealth and the poorest households holding the least. Progressive property taxation, rather than a flat rate taxation, would reduce wealth inequality https:llwww.policynote.calland-wealth-is-a-massive-source-of-inequalityin-bel;

9.

A provincial program provides a low income grant supplement for senior home owners earning less than $32,000 a year https:llwww2.gov.bc.ca/gov/conteiltltaxes/property-taxes/annual-propertytax/home-owner -grantlsenior/low-income;

10.

BC homeowners who are 55 years or older, a surviving spouse, or eligible persons with disabilities can also apply to defer their property taxes.

Deferment is also available for homeowners who financially support a dependent child. https:llnews.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018FIN0023-000951;

11.

Extra money from a progressive tax could be used to build housing and reduce homelessness; and

12.

For example, if there were an additional surtax of 1% on the value of residential properties assessed at over $5 million and 2% on the value over $10 million, the City could have collected approximately $225,000,000 from 4,806 properties in 2021; Modular housing costs approximately $300,000-$500,000 per 320 square foot unit which would mean 450-750 new homes could be built per year.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOL VEO A.

THAT Council request the Mayor, on behalf of City Council, to urge the Province to amend the Vancouver Charter to permit Council to impose different rates of property tax based on the value of the property.

B.

THAT Council direct staff to investigate options for the legal and financial structure of a Vancouver progressive property tax and how it could help to end homelessness, and report back by Q4 2022.

The motiion above is being brought to City Council be Jean Swanson. It calls for a Mansion Tax on the very wealthy, those with homes and property*woilfi fens of millionsof'dollars. It's high time for the very well-off to pay their fair share.

Jean Swanson, now in her 80s, sent out word that she wa running again for City Council. Her talk at the press conference was reprinted in the Carnegie Newsletter and at the end Jean asked that the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) nominate her. This has happened! \

Announcements from Carnegie Director Please join me in welcoming the new Carnegie Community Centre Director, Jamie McGregor. Iamie will be joining the Carnegie Team on April

19th• Jamie's career has been primarily working for non profit organizations and most recently worked for The Bridge Youth & Family Services Society

As the Recovery & Addictions Manager in Kelowna. Jamie is exited to move to Vancouver and is even more excited about working at Carnegie. rd I encourage you all to pop up to the 3 floor program office to say hello and welcome Jamie to the neighborhood and to the Centre.

With Jamie's arrival, that means I will be leaving nd

the role as your Director ... for the 2 time as I th retire once again. My last day will be April 29 •

As was the case before, it has been my absolute ',' pleasure and honour to work in such a wonderful f neighborhood and there will forever be a special prace in my heart for the Carnegie Community Centre and all of you. May our paths cross again.

Respectfully, Sharon Belli, Director Carnegie Centre

Oppenheimer Park Some good news to share with you. As of right now, the project ct)mpletion date for Oppenheimer Field House Restoration is April 2 I st. Between now and then, there is still lots to be done. Iwill continue to work with the renovation team as well as Jenn and the park team to get us ready. I will provide additional updates as we approach occupancy.

The reopening of the Field House signifies the park being fully open to community members! I want to thank the park team for being so versatile and good natured in delivering core programming and services during the past number of months through all kinds of weather no less .•

rrom "the Library Today we had Mono Brown, a Vancouver-based death doula, visit the Camegie Theatre for a warm and caring session exploring dying and grief. With a candle lit, Brown guided the group through the concept of loss and, by the same token, an exploration of what makes us feel alive. Ireally valued hearing others' stories of loss and the chance to share my own thoughts. Ileft with an appreciation for what Ienjoy about living and a sparked curiosity for the process of letting go at the end of life.

Mono Brown will be joining us again at the Oppenheimer Park on Tuesday, April 19th from 10:00AM - 12:00PM for a session that focuses on grief work and grief rituals. This is part of the Community Death Care Project (CDCP) that is happening over the course of the year.

Another CDCP event to look out for is the series of Sacred Memorial Shrine Workshops for Front Line Workers. The first worksho~ takes place online via Zoom on Tuesday, April 26 h from 2:00PM- ~ 4:30PM. Presenters Paula Jardine and Marina Szijarto will be leading an online tutorial on crafting simple memorials "to honour those whose'~· .~ deaths have affected our lives." The workshops are open to frontline staff and volunteers serving the ;.. public in the DTES. Visit the Camegie Reading Room, give us a call at (604)665-3010, or visit www.communitydeathcareproject.ca for more information about future events and how to register.

All the best, -Jzzy

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The First Annoai Art Exhibition of graduating Artists ofCamegie\s Artist Workshop is on now in the 3rd . floor Art Gallery. Michael Edward N. (centre) is proud of the artists and-their work, which includes Acrylic and Watercolour Paintings, Drawings, Pastels and Mixed Media. Feast your eyes!

CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Notice of Nominating Meeting: Nominations for positions on the Board of Direc:::-tors will take place on Thursday, May 5,2022 at 5:30pm, in the Carnegie Theatre. To be eligible, one must have a valid membership purchased no later than April 1st 2022.

AGM Notice The Carnegie Community Centre Association will hold its' Annual General Meeting on Thursday, June 2nd, 2022 @ 5:30pm at the Carnegie Community Centre, 401 Main St., Vancouver, B.C. The Board of Directors election, nominees from May 5, 2022 board meeting, will be held at this meeting. To vote at this meeting you must havepurchased a membership card on or before May 18, 2022. Registration will take place between 5:00 and 5:30 pm.

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"Life is an opportunity, benefit •• , from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is a dream, realize it."

Quote by Mother Teresa.