April 1, 1993, carnegie newsletter

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401 Main St., Vancouver

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V6A 2T7 (604)665-2289

You're Invited!!

Rally and march for justice!! rime: Thursday, April 15, 1993 at 5:30 pm 'lace: Steps of Art Gallery (facing Georgia St. in Vancouver)

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No jobs Low minimum wage Low welfare rate The increasing need for charity UI cuts . North American Free Trade Deal Federal cuts to social services, education and health High taxes for low and middle income people; low taxes for rid Federal cuts to housing And other manifestations of the corporate agenda Put justice into "Hunger awareness week"

Justice not charity!!

Round trip bus fare paid for low income people who attend.

ISponsored by End Legislated Poverty . Call 879-1209 for more info.

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Why A F a s t ?

The a p p r o p r i a t e way f o r me t o o b s e r v e t h e Hunger Awareness Week d e c l a r e d by t h e American- s t y l e "Taste o f the1 lNationll event (April 10 - 1 7 ) i s t o f a s t .

A f a s t i s a reminder t h a t hundreds o f thousands o f Canadians, many of them c h i l d r e n , do not have an adequate d i e t . A f a s t i s an e x p r e s s i o n o f s o l i d a r i t y w i t h t h o s e who a r e hungry.

A f a s t i s a way of making hunger v i s i b l e .

There's a g r e a t d e a l o f d e n i a l t h a t unemployment, p o v e r t y 4 h u n g e r a r e s e r i o u s problems i n o u r c o u n t r y . Business lobby groups t r y t o prove t h a t 8% unemployment i s f u l l employment, & t h a t p o v e r t y i s n o t a major concern. Food bank l i n e s , however, a r e l i v i n g proof t h a t something i s t e r r i b l y wrong. Our p u b l i c s a f e t y n e t h a s c o l l a p s e d & o v e r 1 m i l l i o n Canadians, 40% o f them c h i l d r e n , have t o s u f f e r t h e h u m i l i a t i o n o f 'food banks i n o r d e r t o s u r v i v e .

For me a f a s t i s a s p i r i t u a l e x e r c i s e a time t o move inwardly - t o a s k t h e r i g h t q u e s t i o n s about what it means t o be a human being & how a human being should l i v e .

There is i n t h e world today a neoconserv a t i v e ideology s o v i c i o u s i n i t s a g g r e s s i v e , c o m p e t i t i v e dynamic o f accumulation t h a t I have t o hang o n t o my own s p i r i t u a l t r a d i t i o n s t i g h t l y i n order not t o f a l l i n t o despair.

This new world o r d e r o f c o n c e n t r a t e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l f i n a n c e means t h a t working peopple i n d i f f e r e n t c o u n t r i e s a r e thrown i n t o competition with one a n o t h e r i n t e r m s o f t h e lowest wage?, t h e worst working & environmental c o n d i t i o n s , t h e lowest corpo r a t e t a x e s E t h e fewest s o c i a l programs.

Why should we be i n c o m p e t i t i o n w i t h o u r b r o t h e r s 4 s i s t e r s i n Mexico, t h e P h i l l i p i n e s o r South Korea? Why should o u r prospe r i t y mean t h e i r poverty? Are we n o t human beings t o g e t h e r ? Do t h e y n o t want t h e same t h i n g s f o r t h e i r c h i l d r e n a s we do? Enough o f t h i s c o m p e t i t i v e impoverishment! We can work t o g e t h e r f o r a world i n which t h e Uni v e r s a l D e c l a r a t i o n o f Human R i g h t s a p p l i e s t o everyone. A s t a r t would be t o d e f e a t t h e NAFTA d e a l t h a t t h e T o r i e s a r e t r y i n g t o p a s s i n Ottawa.

The q u e s t f o r m a t e r i a l wealth h a s brought humanity t o t h e b r i n k o f d e s t r u c t -

ion. Our e a r t h ' s f o r e s t s a r e s h r i n k i n g h e r d e s e r t s a r e expanding & h e r s o i l s a r e ero& ing, a l l a t r e c o r d r a t e s . The gap between t h e r i c h & t h e poor i s i n c r e a s i n g , & w o r l d hunger i s i n c r e a s i n g . The book, "Our C 0 m on Future", warns t h a t d i s a s t e r l i e s ahead u n l e s s t h e n a t i o n s of t h e world develop a s u s t a i n a b l e i n t e r n a t i o n a l system o f COo p e r a t i o n . Yet c o r p o r a t e g l a d i a t o r s preach c o m p e t i t i v e n e s s i n t h e g l o b a l arena. Such & so I i d e o l o g i c a l r i g i d i t y i s madness f a s t a s a way o f g r i e v i n g f o r o u r c o u n t r y t h i s i s being d e s t r o y e d by t h o s e who have much E want even more.

A s f o r t h e p e o p l e a t t e n d i n g t h e American s t y l e , g a l a , gourmet, "Taste of t h e N&titjnI1 b e n e f i t d i n n e r t o r a i s e money f o r Food Rurr n e r s on A p r i l 15, I would s a y t h i s : T o p r o mote food banks without s t r i v i n g t o e l i m i n a t e p o v e r t y a t t h e same t i m e i s misguided, f o r the gov't p o l i c i e s t h a t help create g r e a t p o y e r t y a s w e l l as g r e a t wealth a r e not addressed. F u l l employment, w i t h adeqw a t e incomes f o r t h o s e i n 6 o u t of t h e p a i d l a b o u r f o r c e . must be a t t h e c e n t r e o f decj t i z e n s rant, not c h a r i t y .

BY SANDY CAMERON

"Inexhaustable wishes" "build" d i s p o s a b l e houses f o r "your1! "tyranny o f a f f e c t . I ' I t i s .as if an a n g e l became entangled i n some l o g i c a l dead end o v e r t h e f u t u r e embarkat i o n o f "your1f s o u l .

A s o l d i e r stumbles upon t h e g r a v e s of "hisrf e n t i r e f a m i l y , many y e a r s a f t e r t h e cessation of h o s t i l i t i e s , i n a country "hett was j u s t p a s s i n g through i n "his" long s e a r c h f o r home.

Dan Feeney

W e l l , h e r e we a r e a g a i n ; almost a s popu l a r a s Bob S a r t i ' s c h i l i . . K i t . CHEN KORR. n e r !

What about t h a t S a r t i , e h ? Contraband p o t a t o e s and s t u f f . . .

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Today's t o p i c : The C a r n e g i e Food P o l i c y l l ~ o o dp o l i c y ! Shmood p o l i c y ! We want m e a t NOW j u s t h o l d on t h e r e , Egor, a s a matt e r of f a c t t h e r e a r e q u i t e a few of you o u t t h e r e who d o n ' t want n e a t , & some who c a n ' t e a t & e a t , & some who j u s t t h i n k i t is b e t t e r f o r them t o n o t e a t meat.

Yes, i n f a c t , we do have a food p o l i c y h e r e i n t h e Carnegie Kitchen, & t h e g i s t of i t i s t h a t we a r e t r y i n g t o do somethi n g d i f f e r e n t & p o s i t i v e i n t h e way we s e l l o u r food p r o d u c t s , & i n most ways we a r e accomplishing t h i s The C I r n e g i e Food P o l i c y was n o t e n a c t ed on a whim. There h a s been much r e s e a r c h & even more d i a l o g u e , i n v o l v e d i n esta b l i s h i n g what we h e r e a t t h e Carnegie consume on a d a i l y b a s i s .

F i r s t of a l l , t h e C a r n e g i e - A s s o c i a t i o n p l a y s a l a r g e r o l e i n d e t e r m i n i n g what we may o r may n o t s e l l . 'The p o l i c y ' i s n o t j u s t some w e i r d i d e a p u t f o r t h by a bunch of c r a z y cooks j u s t t o d r i v e t h e meate a t e r s b o n k e r s , b u t c o n s i d e r e d by t h o u g h t f u l people with only t h e h e a l t h & wglfare of t h e p e o p l e of t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e on t h e i r minds. It i s meant t o p r o v i d e a b a l a n c e t o t h e t y p e s of food most r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e i n o u r a r e a . I n s t e a d of t a k i n g t h e e a s y r o u t e & pumping o u t t o n s of burg e r s & f r i e s , w e a c t u a l l y have t o p l a n o u r menhS. u s i n g some n u t r i t i o n a l guidel i n e s SO t h a t a l l o u r p a t r o n s may e n j o y e x c e l l e n t food a t v e r y low p r i c e s .

Some t h i n g s you may have n o t i c e d t h a t a r e a p a r t o f ' t h e p o l i c y 1 : we do n o t u s e w h i t e b r e a d f o r o u r sandwiches & we d o n ' t bake w i t h w h i t e ( r e f i n e d ) f l o u r , a l t h o u g h we do u s e some unbleached w h i t e f l o u r f o r t h i n g s s u c h as o u r S a t u r d a y t i i g h t p i z z a

3. dough.

We do n o t u s e w h i t e ( r e f i n e d ) s u g a r i n o u r r e c i p e s , a l t h o u g h i t i s t h e sweetener of c h o i c e f o r c o f f e e & t e a . We do u s e v e r y e x p e n s i v e & n u t r i t i o u s n a t u r a l sweete n e r s made from f r u i t ; f o r o u r baking.

These a r e j u s t a c o u p l e of examples but I t h i n k you know what we a r e g e t t i n g . a t .

A s d i f f i c u l t a s i t is t o b a l a n c e , we t h i n k we a r e on t h e r i g h t t r a c k ; w i t n e s s o u r r e g u l a r menu s c h e d u l e , SUNDAY i s u s u a l l y a meat & p o t a t o e s day.

MONDAY i s p a s t a n i g h t &, a s o f t e n a s n o f , i i s vegetarian.

TUESDAY i s v e g e t a r i a n d i n n e r .

WEDNESDAY i s Bob ( p o t a t o head) S a r t i ' s famous c h i l i , a l s o o f f e r i n g a v e g e t a r i a n chili.

THURSDAY is a s e a f o o d n i g h t .

FRIDAY i s v e g e t a r i a n d i n n e r .

SATURDAY i s p i z z a , w i t h a v a r i e t y of meat, vegy & vegan p i z z a s .

Rare i s i t t h a t we d o n ' t have something f o r everybody, a s f a r a s h e a l t h y & good t a s t i n g food g o e s , and t h a t ' s what i t s h o u l d b e a b o u t , d o n ' t you t h i n k ? !

A p r i l b r i n g s us our volunteer appreciat i o n week & V o l u n t e e r of t h e Year d i n n e r s Next t i m e w e ' 11 t a l k about some of t h e upcoming e v e n t s . T i 1 then..happy e a t i n g ! '

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D a t e s & P l a c e s i n one p l a c e !

T h i s i s t h e b i g g e s t N e w s l e t t e r yet, & some t h i n g s a r e happening r i g h t away.

F r i d a y , Apr .2: STREET MEET '93 ( V i c t o r i a ) Poor p e o p l e ' s Conference S a t u r d a y , Apr. 3: STOP CRIMES OF NEW ORDER March & R a l l y - APRIL FOOL'S DAY PARADE - TORA'S ART - La Quena Sunday, Apr.4: COPE A.G.M. Tuesday, Apr. 6: C a r n e g i e Board Meeting Wednesday, Apr. 7 : WOMEN 'S GROUP a t Carnegie 1 lam-noon, 3 r d f l o o r .

T h e r e ' s o t h e r s t u f f t o o , even k i t c h e n week! menus f o r -a,,"'sgn+" ' ON TO CAR~VAN

OT~CLAWA

Leaving Vancouver Sunday, A p r i l l a t h !

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Editor Dear Mr. Taylor, This is i n response t o your correspondence of February 19, 1993 i n which you r e quested M i n i s t r y a s s i s t a n c e of $1,000 p e r y e a r t o d e f r a y t h e c o s t s t o p r i n t "Help i n t h e Downtown Eastside" booklets.

Due t o t h e urgency of your r e q u e s t , I have taken t h e l i b e r t y of d i r e c t i n g t h i s m a t e r i a l t o my Regional D i r e c t o r , M r . Fred Milowsky, with i n s t r u c t i o n s t o c o n t a c t you t o e x p l o r e methods of a s s i s t i n g your e f f o r t s a s soon a s p o s s i b l e . I am confident t h a t you w i l l be hearing from M r . Milowsky s h o r t l y regarding avenues of Ministry funding a s s i s t a n c e .

Thank you f o r t a k i n g t h e time t o bring t h i s m a t t e r t o my a t t e n t i o n . I know t h i s u s e f u l guide t o booklet i s a v a l u a b l e which t h e M i n i s t r y would l i k e t o lend support.

Yours t r u l y , Joan Smallwood, Minister. ( E d i t o r ' s n o t e : Fred Milowsky c a l l e d t o say t h a t t h e $1000 would come from t h e Community Advocacy Program, t h a t funding would s t a r t r i g h t away even though t h e app l i c a t i o n d e a d l i n e had passed, 4wouJd send a form f o r n e x t y e a r . )

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a d v i s e them a g a i n s t it,..t h e y remain1 f r i e n d s & I don't p r e s s u r e them h e a v i l y about t h e i r habits.

I c o n s i d e r myself lucky s i n c e I received a lesson i n gambling a t an e a r l y age. A t 15 I earned $500 logging (equal t o about $1500 today). I went t o t h e PNE.to c e l e b r a t e & blew t h e f i r s t l a r g e sum of money I ever had on t h e innocent looking gambling games t h a t were p a r t o f t h e midway.

If gambling p a r l o u r s a r e t o be t r e a t e d a s p a r t o f t h e community, a s M r . Taylor seems t o be suggesting, t h e n why not consi d e r porn shops a community s e r v i c e ?

Mr. Taylor seems t o p l a c e a good d e a l of confidence i n government pronouncements, but t o me t h e y appear t o be more l i k e sbmeone whm a g r e e s t o p l a y c a r d s with you but keeps changing t h e r u l e s a l l t h e way through t h e game. T h i s may seem t o bureaucratically-minded people t o be a simpleminded E i n a c c u r a t e way o f looking a t t h i n g s , but t o my way o f t h i n k i n g it c u t s t o t h e h e a r t o f t h e m a t t e r & shows a r e a l i t y t h a t i s o n l y obscured by a c c u r a t e s t a t i s t i c s E co-opted jargon.

TORA Editor, Carnegie Newsletter:

C o n f l i c t o f I n t e r e s t i s a r u l e t h e media o f t e n a p p l i e s t o p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n s . The Zalm got i t i n t h e neck o v e r c o n f l i c t o f CASINO + WELFARE = ? i n t e r e s t , & t h e r e c e n t Wilson-Tyabji rewThe e d i t o r o f t h i s n e w s l e t t e r i s , i n my ance is another example of t h e kind o f opinion, blinded by conventional informaf a l l t h a t can be taken by t h e h i g h 4 m i g h t y t i o n & s t a t i s t i c s . Like many people, he over t h i s t h i n g c a l l e d c o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t does not seem t o understand t h a t a simple We a r e not s o c l e a r i n o u r r e c o g n i t i o n of e t h i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n i s more honest E desc o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t , however, when it c r i p t i v e of s i t u a t i o n s than a l l t h e d e a l s 6 agreements & manipulations represented ' happens c l o s e t o home, which i s why, i n my opinian, t h e e d i t o r bf t h e Carnegie by mere paperwork. n e w s l e t t e r can g e t away w i t h h i s g l a r i n g The r e a l i t y of t h e casino s i t u a t i o n i s c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t t h a t h a s been going t h a t a l o w - p r o f i l e , Chinatown-oriented on r i g h t under o u r noses f o r y e a r s . I'm gambling p a r l o u r i s being encouraged by r e f e r r i n g t o t h e f a c t t h a t M i s t e r Taylor t h e Carnegie Board t o r e l o c a t e d i r e c t l y o p p o s i t e t h e Centre i n a very high-profilt i s , a t t h e same time, e d i t o r of t h e newsl e t t e r & a member o f t h e Carnegie Board. l o c a t i o n on Hastings S t r e e t . Carnegie i s on one c o r n e r , Quick-Cash i s on one cornel He a l s o h o l d s s e v e r a l o t h e r o f f i c i a l p o s i t i o n s on p o l i t i c a l boards & a s s o c i a t i o n s . t h e Proposed c a s i n o w i l l provide t h e C l e a r l y , such a c t i v i t y p u t s him i n a ~ 0 i n . tof a s o r t of "golden t r i a n g l e " . c o n f l i c t of i n t e r e s t , s i n c e he i s always I t ' s not q u i t e a c c u r a t e t o say I am ~ h i l o s o ~ h i c aopposed ll~ t o gambling, s i n c f quick t o defend t h e a c t i o n s o f groups of which he i s a member.

I have Personal f r i e n d s who o f t e n blow The e d i t o r o f a f r e e d e m o c r a t i c a l l y run t h e i r e n t i r e welfare cheque. ~ i t h o u g hI

l e w s l e t t e r should n o t be involved i n any ~ o l i t i c a la s s o c i a t i o n . H i s a l 1 e g i a n e e : b ~ :he philosophys & a c t i o n s of p o l i t i c a l # p o u p s of which he i s a p a r t continuously :olour t h e opinions he e x p r e s s e s i n h i s nany e d i t o r i a l comments, & I t h i n k any deroted r e a d e r of t h e n e w s l e t t e r could a t t :st t o t h i s f a c t . Freedom of expression the freedom of t h e p r e s s , which we a r e a l Mays so quick t o defend, i s i n my opinion c l e a r l y undermined i n our n e w s l e t t e r by t h e c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t M i s t e r Taylor exh i b i t s by t r y i n g t o wear s o many h a t s a t mce.

Hard c o l d f a c t s & s t a t i s t i c s a r e Mister Taylor's s h t i c k he i s a b l e t o p u l l them out o f many p o l i t i c a l bags 6 juggle h i s a l l e g i a n c e s t o t h e p o i n t where any view t h a t might be damaging t o h i s p o l i t i c a l f r i e n d s can be n e u t r a l i z e d , r i d i c u l e d , o r simply done away with. I f he had t o defenc himself i n c o u r t a g a i n s t c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r e s t charges, t h e simple f a c t s of t h e s i t u a t i o n would d e f e a t him.

TORA .(Editor's note - f o r t h e record, E t o f u e l m y comments, "Mister Taylor" i s , f o r t h e

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CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION - Executive Director-at-Large, B. o f D. - Chairperson, Program Committee - member, Community R e l a t i o n s Committee manager, Bingo a t Carnegie - E d i t o r , Carnegie Newsletter FOUR SISTERS HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE - Treasurer, Board o f D i r e c t o r s - Chairperson, Finance Committee - a c t i n g c h a i r , Membership Committee member, P a r t i c i p a t i o n committee DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE RESIDENTSt ASSOCIATION - T r e a s u r e r , Board of D i r e c t o r s Chairperson, Finance Committee - member, Personnel Committee member, R e s t r u c t u r i n g Committee END LEGISLATED POVERTY Representative f o r Carnegie Assoc. s e c r e t a r y o f Board o f D i r e c t o r s member, Finance Committee TENANTSt RIGHTS ACTION COALITION - Representative f o r Carnegie Assoc. member, Board o f D i r e c t a r s - Co-chair, S t e e r i n g Committee

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ACTION CANADA NETWORK / B.C. - Representative f o r Carnegie Assoc.

Treasurer P o l i - - t i c : PROUT.

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Both of t h e s e were handed i n t o g e t h e r so i t ' s e a s i e r t o run them both then respond.

Spin Doctor is a c y n i c a l term a p p l i e d t o people employed a t luxurious s a l a r i e s by p o l i t i c i a n s & c o r p o r a t i o n s . They have made media p u b l i c manipulation i n t o a science 6 can p r e d i c t f a i r l y a c c u r a t e l y what words & / o r images w i l l produce almost any d e s i r ed r e s u l t .

- "golden t r i a n g l e t t . . .why not t h e casino, t h e p o l i c e s t a t i o n & Carnegie? o r t h e casino, Carnegie & C r a b t r e e Corner? If i t i s n ' t philosophy, why t h e attempt t o r i d i c u l e community e f f o r t s t o d e a l with t h e , problems of drug d e a l i n g & p r o s t i t u t i o n on E around t h e l o c a l elementary school?

- "porn shops a s a community service". "co-opted jargon "... yeah, l e t ' s put t h e two together,G i n t h e same context lump i n drug d e a l i n g , pimping *& serving sloshed a l c o h o l i c s u n t i l c l o s i n g time ...

I f l i f e was p u r e l y d a r k / l i g h t with nothing i n between, anguish o r p a i n o r rage o r powerlessness would a l l be n o n - s t a r t e r s i n responding t o Freedom o f expression, Freedom o f Speech, Freedom of Choice with t h e c u r r e n t r e a l i t i e s o f 12-year-olds p r o s t i t u t i n g themselves o r overdosing on heroin o r having such i d e a l s contained i n t h e s e tffreedomswbe p e r v e r t e d i n t o such a t r o c i t i e s a s rape, c h i l d porn o r even " f i s t fucking films".

- "gov' t pronouncement sf'. not s u r e how t h i s opionion r e l a t e s t o anything o r even what b i r t h e d i t . No gov' t a t a l l i s what c o r p o r a t i o n s want - no i n t e r f e r e n c e , only t h e s t r o n g *ill survive, no law/rules / r e g u l a t i o n s ; anarchy i s a philosophy t h a t p i c t u r e s any g o v t t a s t h e enemy of i t s own people. The l i v e s o f low income people a r e i n c r e d i b l y s e n s i t i v e t o t h e s l i g h t e s t whim of b i g g o v t t , but simply d e s t r o y i n g any form of g o v ' t is a f o o l ' s p a r a d i s e . The o n l y ltconf idence1' expressed i s on f i n d i n g t h e high p i l e s of b u l l s h i t supporting much of t h e paperwork, d e a l s E agreements.

- "hard c o l d f a c t s " . . . y o u ' r e r i g h t of course; t h e s e have no p l a c e i n honest n

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w r i t i n g o r reporting:;in any Newsletter!

Okay. what i t ' s worth Tora, I r e s p e c t your i n s i g h t s & p o e t r y & your c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e l i f e & c u l t u r e o f t h i s community. If my response t o your a r t i c l e i n t h e l a s t i s s u e f u e l e d t h i s , okay. '!Cohflict o f l i n t e r e s t " t h a t , by t h e l o g i c used, has robbed someone of t h e i r "democratic r i g h t ' ' to..what?

A simple, e t h i c a l o b s e r v a t i o n : C l i f f o r d Olson h a s democratic r i g h t s , but you'd be hard-pressed t o f i n d anyone who wouldn't a g r e e t h a t t h e b a s t a r d should be hanged.

If my c o n t r i b u t i o n s d o n ' t meet t h i s standa r d i m p l i c i t i n what you've signed your name t o , t o o bad, but it seems t h a t e i t h e r r e s i g n i n g from everything o r stopping a s t h e E d i t o r o f t h e Carnegie Newsletter a r e t h e only a c t i o n s s a t i s F a c t o r y t o t h i s judgement PAULR TAYLOR

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Thoughts p u t o f f n o t thought abou a t all; Just the f i r s t line o r so - d i s m i s s e d as b o o t l e s s s p e c u l a t i o n Yet t h e u n i v e r s e moves a s independen from wishes/dreams/fantasies and t h e f e e l i n g i s t h a t t h e P e r f e c t Ideology i s b i d i n g i t ' s time. ..in t h e shadows..

Time t o s t a r t f o r home.

S t a r t with t h e f i r s t s t e p and have f a i t h What e l s e i s t h e r e i n a world gone crazy?

With people q u i t e happy t o cut o u t your tongue and make you e a t i t .

1

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An Ode to Mom and Dad A t a t e n d e r you took a wife To be with a l l your l i f e Together you faced t h e l i f e ahead Not knowing where you would be led A f a m i l y of s i x , you would r a i s e through sorrow, t e a r s , l a u g h t e r & p r a i s e The e a r l y y e a r s were tough we know Because i n t h o s e y e a r s you had no dough The e n d l e s s walks t o make a d o l l a r Food f o r t h e k i d s s o they wouldn't h o l l e r Many a roof and many a s t r e e t From house t o house we would c r e e p The bob s l e d r i d e s , t h e wood t o c u t The c o a l t o h a u l , t h e a s h e s t o s i f t The t o i l e t t o move, it was f u l l o f s h i t Trudge up t h e empty road before t h e sun Back a g a i n a t twelve o r one Seven m i l e s each way you would t r u c k Had a good day, you made a buck Mom would s c r u b and p a t c h and sew A l i t t l e f a r t h e r t h e money would go We had no s t e a k but t h e meals were good Mom was a genius when it came t o food S a t i n f i n i s h s t i c k s , a s l a p on t h e can To s t r a i g h t e n our ways & make u s a man The swimming h o l e & t h e Sunday p i c n i c s Races t o run, t e a r s t o wine Here and t h e r e t o s t o p a-rfiaht u

taylor

There were days o f sorrow & days of t e a r s Days of l a u g h t e r E days of c h e e r With a w i f e as s o l i d a s a rock Who helped you through a l l t h e knocks For y e a r s & y e a r s you punched a clock Took a l l t h e i n s u l t s from t h e boss Grunted & groaned ti1 t h e hour o f f i v e J u s t t o keep t h e f a m i l y a l i v e Then one by one we l e f t t h e f o l d Struck o u t on o u r own, b r a v e E bold With l e s s o n s t a u g h t by Mom and Dad We wouiUd t a k e t h e good & t a k e t h e bad But now i s t h e time you can say To h e l l w i t h going t o work today From now w e ' l l l i v e a l i f e of e a s e Go where we want, do what we p l e a s e Sleep ti1 e i g h t maybe t e n This i s t h e l i f e f o r u s my f r i e n d s But s t i l l you can look back and say A l l your t o i l s were n o t i n v a i n

And now with your f a m i l y a l l around We wish t o show o u r l o v e abounds God b l e s s you both may your l i f e be Happy and h e a l t h y t o e t e r n i t y .

Submitted by Robert P i n n e l l

M A I L OR S L I D E UNDER THE DOOR OF THE NEWSLETTER

?HE NO RIGW OR WRONG

carry ,t XxIE'ARATIVE SURVEY TEST Gust 10. What do you think of people who kiss or fruit each other up in L. Who starred in the movie "Cool public Hand Luke" 13 (A) They need reaSsurance O (A) Steve m e e n U(B) They crave attention 0 ( B1 Paul Newman u ( C1 Who cares 2. Who recorded "A Whiter Shade of Pale" 31, 1999 do you think ll. On Cl (A Procol Harum the planet Earth will be a(B) Moody Blues G(A) Closer to destruction 3. 'The Big Chill" is the name of a i J (B) A better oiace Cl(C) Can't wank think about it P

5. According to the Hite Report how long should foreplay last D(A12 Min. 5(B)5 Min. @(C) Play it by ear 5. What is Foreplay O(A) Two couples playing tennis O ( B1 Pre-election speeches 0(C A warm-up for nooky 6. Who is the greatest American songwriter of the last half of this century D(A) Bob Dylan O(B) Paul Simon D ( C ) All the above 7. B.C. Place Stadium is a dull unoriginal name. It should be changed to (A) Terry Fox Stadium 0 (B) The Rain Bowl 0(C) Terry Fox Stadium!

8. The ' W e " Dollar coin is 0(A) A nuisance El(B One of Canada' s greatest ideas D(C) Don't Know 9. Do you think the people of Russia are better off since the breakup of the USSR El (A) Better off @ (B) Worse Off 13 (C) Too soon to say

7.

KIDNAPPED !

I was about 10 months o l d & my s i s t e r 2 y e a r s o l d when we were t o r n away from our mother by t h e Bureau o f Indian A f f a i r s .

I n t h o s e days t h e y c a l l e d it " l e g i t i m a t e surrendur" o f a l l Indian c h i l d r e n - t o change them E r i d them o f t h e i r Native Cult u r e . Nowadays t h e y c a l l it GENOCIDE, kidnapping & i l l e g a l confinement.

I was f o r c e d t o l e a r n French & Latin. I s t i l l laugh t o myself..a n o r t h e r n Bush Cree Indian coming home speaking Latin t o h i s p a r e n t s a f t e r 12 y e a r s i n confiqement i n a remote p a r t o f Northern A l b e r t a c a l l ed F o r t Chip. I wasn't s e x u a l l y abused but I was brainwashed by Roman C a t h o l i c Nuns and P r i e s t s . More n e x t i s s u e .

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By ALBERT MILTON P.S.:

Wouldn't European media have a f i e l d day about t h i s .

VICTORIA STREET COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION presents

1:30-Noon loon - 1:00 1:00-2 :00

Spokesperson Reports Lunch & F a i r Panel Presentation "Together A g a i n s t Poverty" "End L e g i s l a t e d Poverty" 2:OO-2 :3O Refresher Activity Group D i s c u s s i o n s 2 :30-3 :30 "The ~ o l uions" t 3 :30-4 :00 Spokesperson R e p o r t s 5 :00-4 :3O C l o s i n g & Open Microphone APRIL Znd, 8:30 - 4:30 GLAD TIDINGS CHURCH, 1800 Quadra Victoria I -1 --

I' The Poor P e o p l e ' s Conference Poor P e o p l e Get T o g e t h e r The V i c t o r i a S t r e e t Community A s s o c i a t i o n (VSCA) began i n 1992, f o l l o w i n g s e v e r a 1 community meetings t o d i s c u s s t h e issu e s of p e o p l e w i t h low incomes l i v i n g i n downtown V i c t o r i a . A group of committed p e o p l e who had been l i v i n g on t h e s t r e e t s d e c i d e d t o work t o g e t h e r t o make downtown Victoria a b e t t e r place.

The s t r e n g t h of t h e VSCA i s t h a t i t ' s a n o r g a n i z a t i o n of p e o p l e who have "been t h e r e " , o r a r e s t i l l t h e r e . Because we e l p e r i e n c e p o v e r t y & homelessness we know f i r s t h a n d what t h e problems a r e & what n e e d s t o change. his is why we'organizec S t r e e t Meet ' 9 3 , s o t h a t a l l of u s could spend a day t o g e t h e r n o t o n l y t a l k i n g abo u t t h e problems b u t a l s o o u t i d e a s on, how downtown V i c t o r i a c o u l d b e a b e t t e r p l a c e f o r p e o p l e w i t h low incomes t o l i v e When you s p e a k o u t a t S t r e e t Meet '93 you w i l l b e h e a r d ! Following A p r i l Znd, we w i l l c o n t i n u e t o work t o b e a t p o v e r t y & g e t b e t t e r , a f f o r d a b l e h o u s i n g . We want p e o p l e from S t r e e t Meet ' 9 3 t o j o i n u s .

Conference Agenda 8:30-9 :30 Breakfast 9:30-10:OO Introduction 10 :00-10 :30 Wake-up A c t i v i t i e s 10 :3O-ll:3O Group D i s c u s s i o n s "The problems"

OlaNSHaRO Sr.

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A s you r e a d t h i s , remember t h a t people !having input d i d n ' t make t h i s up - a l o t , iof ' s t r e e t s m a r t ' , f o r want o f a b e t t e r ' term, g e t s p a s t t h e u s u a l crud o f "plans Ifor t h e f u t u r e " & comes through. R e a l i t y i s n o t an academic i l l u s i o n .

NEIGHBOURHOOD HELPERS PROJECT S e n i o r s i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e

Neighbourhood Helpers i s a s e n i o r o u t r e a c h & community development p r o j e c t which o p e r a t e s i n Vancouver' s Downtown E a s t s i d e , where t h e main form o f housing is s i n g l e room occupancy (SRO) h o t e l s . We have 3 p a r t - t i m e s t a f f 6 2 0 olde r v o l u n t e e r s who l i v e i n t h e neighbourhood with whom we l i n k with i s o l a t e d seni o r s through a 1-to-1 r e f e r r a l system & a process o f community development with groups o f SRO r e s i d e n t s where t h e y l i v e .

The Downtown E a s t s i d e 6 S t r a t h c o n a , according t o S t a t s Canada, a r e Canada's l o w e s t 'income urban neighbourhoods. The D.E. i s a l s o BC's, i f n o t Canada's, most aged neighbourhood: 59% o f r e s i d e n t s a r e over t h e age o f 45; 19% a r e over t h e age o f 65.

The r e l a t i o n s h i p between poverty, age, h e a l t h & source o f income is nowhere cle* r e r t h a n h e r e . 85% o f a l l household i n come comes from g o v ' t t r a n s f e r . We have t h e h i g h e s t m o r t a l i t y r a t e i n BC; c h r o n i c i l l n e s s e s & i n j u r i e s abound. Many a r e r e l a t e d t o employment i n t h e r e s o u r c e , cons t r u c t i o n o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n s e c t o r s . Othe r s a r e t h e r e s u l t o f t h e hard l i f e s t y l e imposed by poverty.

One consequence o f a l l t h i s i s t h a t t h e g e n e r a l l y agreed c u t - o f f age f o r s e n i o r s i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e is 45. When we mention t h i s people o f t e n f e i g n amusement but i t ' s a s e r i o u s m a t t e r - d e a d l y s e r i o u s When you r e g u l a r l y meet 50 year-old men with t h e bodies o f 80 year-old men you b e g i n t o understand t h e magnitude o f o p p r e s s i o n t h a t i s imposed by poverty.

The i s s u e s we w i l l be d i s c u s s i n g c e n t r e on 4 themes: income $ employment, housing, h e a l t h & s a f e t y . Although we t r e a t t h e s e areas separately, they're a l l i n t e r r e l a t e d Intao:

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The main recommendations f o c u s on: 1. The n e c e s s i t y o f r a i s i n g p e o p l e ' s i n T comes through a h i g h e r minimum wage & GAIN/HPIA r a t e s ; and

2. The need t o provide moTe & b e t t e r h o u s 9. ing i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e .

We b e l i e v e t h a t t h e s e a r e a b s o l u t e prer e q u i s i t e s f o r any a t t e m p t s t o improve t h e h e a l t h & i n c r e a s e t h e s a f e t y of Downtown E a s t s l d e r e s i d n e t s . B e t t e r h e a l t h & s a f e t y r e q u i r e s t a b i l i t y 4 comfort.These a r e made next t o impossible when s c a r c i t y is imposed by low income E lack o f employ ment & bad housing c r e a t e s a f e e l i n g of i n s e c u r i t y . When such c o n d i t i o n s e x i s t i n g e n e r a l i n an urban neighbourhood, poor h e a l t h & danger become ways of l i f e .

INCOME 4 EMPLOYMENT I n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e , t h e s i n g l e l a r g e s t group o f people i s men o v e r t h e age of 45. The m a j o r i t y of t h e s e men a r e aged 45 t o 65 y e a r s . Most o f them a r e unemployed &, i f t h e y do owrk, o n l y do SO Qn iq c a s u a l b a s i s , Cxeat2on of permanent j o b s a t a minimum of $lOrhr must be a p r i o r i t y . More money could be made a v a i l a b l e f o r community groups t o work with s e n i o r s . Gov't must become d i r e c t l y involved i n t h e i o b c r e a t i o n process, r a t h e r t h a n l e a v i n g t h e e n t i r e burden t o t h e p r i v a t e s e c t o r , where t h e p r i o r i t y i s t o minimize t h e number o f employees & pay t h e lowest p o s s i b l e wages with t h e fewest b e n e f i t s .

Countless o l d e r & younger men i n t h e DE s t i l l a t t e n d t h e CEIC c a s u a l Labour Centre (known l o c a l l y a s t h e " s l a v e market") t o f i n d low-paying, o f t e n h i g h - r i s k j o b s when t h e y a r e a v a i l a b l e . Recently, many, i f not most, o f t h e s e men have been u n a b l e t o l f i n d any work a t a l l . When t h e y do f i n d such jobs, t h e y a r e penalized by t h e M i n i s t r y of S o c i a l S e r v i c e s (MSS) f o r t h e e x t r a mon ey t h e y earn, u n l e s s t h e y g e t p a i d "under t h e table", whihhmakesthem law-breakers.

Persons between t h e a g e s o f 40 & 65 have been v i r t u a l l y w r i t t e n o f f . I f y o u ' r e over 40 y o u ' r e t o o o l d t o work, t o o o l d f o r r e t r a i n i n g & t o o young f o r pension b e n e f i t s .

The u n u t i l i z e d 'man-hours ' o f p r o d u c t i v e labour which t h e s e people can p r o v i d e is s t a g g e r i n g . T h e i r n a t i v e i n t e l l e c t is a l s o being wasted, F u t u r e working g e n e r a t i o n s would o n l y b e n e f i t from t h e i r knowledge.

W E RECOMMEND:

1. THAT MINIMUM WAGE SHOULD BE INCREASED TO $10.00 PER HOUR; and 2. THAT THE PROVINCE PLAN 4 IMPLEMENT A J O B CREATION STRATEGY DESIGNED TO ABSORB BOTH OLDER & YOUNGER UNEMPLOYED WORKERS.

MSS Income Maintenance programs a r e called "Programs f o r Independence" when, i n f a c t , they maintain dependence by keepfng people below poverty l e v e l incomes. Real independence r e q u i r e s an adequate 1eve1 of income.

How can a person g e t along on $2lO/month - which must pay f o r c l o t h e s , t r a n s p o r t a t ion t o look f o r work, food & medications?

MSS must be given higher p r i o r i t y . There need t o be mare workers & l e s s policing.

The current l e v e l of caseloads p e r worker makes any kind of r e a l a s s i s t a n c e impossib l e . This w i l l again be r e f l e c t e d i n lower numbers of people on welfare.because t r u e a s s i s t a n c e w i l l be given, not simply p o l i c ing of i n d i v i d u a l s ' l i f e s t y l e s . As shown i n gov't overruns, p r e s e n t p o l i c i e s a r e not working.

Social workers a r e not c u r r e n t l y accoun* a b l e &rr e s p ~ n s i b l et o t h e i r c l i e n t s o r t a t h e communities they serve. Too ofteq,thby a c t a s i f t,he money i s coming from t h e i r own pockets.

F i s c a l r e s t r a i n t s shouldn't be c a r r i e d out on t h e backs of t h e people who can l e a s t a f f o r d it, those of u s with t h e low* e s t incomes.

A neighbourhood with r e s i d e n t s who have adequate & secure incomes, r e g a r d l e s s of how they g e t t h o s e incomes, i s a s t a b l e place. There w i l l be l e s s violenceEcrime i n such a neighbourhood. People w i l l be more independent; t h e y w k l l have much improved mental 6 emotional health. Wasted b u r e a u c r a t i c e f f o r t by d o c t o r s 6 MSS worke r s t o pigeonhole i n d i v i d u a l s a s employabJ b j unemployable o r handicapped w i l l be eliminated. The constant h a s s l e of appeals w i l l disappear.

In our s o c i e t y , goods & s e r v i c e s a r e rationed according t o a person's f i n a n c i a l means. By f o r c i n g people t o l i v e on low incomes, we a r e l i m i t i n g t h e i r access t o goods 6 s e r v i c e s & i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r l e v e l of dependence. A r e c e n t study has shown t h a t t h e most productive economies a r e those with t h e l e a s t s o c i a l inequality.

Legislated poverty i s a form of discrimina t i o n & t h e r e s i d e n t s of our neighbourhood must. l i v e with t h e consequences. I t ' s time t o change our dubious honour of being urban Canada's poorest neighbourhood.

WE RECOMMEND

HOUSING

1. THAT GAIN/HPIA BE INCREASED TO AT LEAS1 POVERTY LEVELS OF INCOME; and 2 . THAT MSS BE PLACED UNDER COMMUNITY CONTROL SIMILAR TO THE OOMMUNITY RESOURCE BOARDS OF THE EARLY 1970s.

When people t h i n k of ghe Downtown Easts i d e what f i r s t comes t o mind a r e terms such a s Skid Road, r a t & bug-infested hote l s , flophouses & s o on. These a r e i n f a c t t h e conditions t h a t many of t h e a r e a ' s s e n i o r c i t i z e n s have t o l i v e in: - o l d 6 e a s i l y jimmied y a l e locks t h a t make break-ins by s t r a n g e r s & even hote l s t a f f f a r t o o common - a s i n g l e lamp cord hanging from t h e c e i l i n g t o which a l l appliances must be connected - t h e supper time black-out when everyone attempts t o cook a t t h e same t i m e & t h e power is t r i p p e d o f f

There i s a d i r e c t l i n k between income & health. The economic b e n e f i t s of t h e $10 minimum wage above poverty-level GAIN/HPIP r a t e s w i l l be evident i n lower h e a l t h care c o s t s 5 increased s a l e s , & hence revenues t o t h e gov't. A d i r e c t means of evaluating t h i s would be t o examine t h e changes i n v i s i t s t o t h e S t . P a u l V s emergency ward.

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t h e constant b a t t l e with roaches & mice I f o r food leaking o r plugged hand basins where. you a l s o do your d i s h e s - i n t e r m i t t e n t meating, e i t h e r too hot o r too cold - u s u a l l y t h e l a t t e r .

Older r e s i d e n t s of t h e Downtown Eastside need affordable 6 s a f e housing. The 2 big i s s u e s a r e t h e need f o r more s o c i a l housing I!?, t h e need t o ensure t h a t SRO h o t e l s a r e affordable & have adequate h e a l t h and s a f e t y standards.

A v a i l a b i l i t y has never been over-abundant i n the Downtown Eastside. What used t o be occupied by loggers o r marine workers has gradually s h i f t e d with new a r r i v a l s from other c o u n t r i e s , o t h e r p a r t s of Canada, & people on t h e move within BC. There i s a very l a r g e population of s e n i o r s who have lived here f o r years I!?, who wouldn't move even if they were a b l e t o . There i s a genuine sense of community E they want t o do anything they can t o improve c o n d i t i o n s We sense t h e winds of change, blowing gently now, but with every week a b i t stronger & more t h r e a t e n i n g . The massive development of t h e Expo lands is on t r a c k ; Gastown g e n t r i f i c a t i o n i s r e a d i l y apparent More condos & o f f i c e s a r e being b u i l t a t t h e expense of older, low c o s t residences.

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SOCIAL HOUSING Waiting l i s t s a t BC Housing f o r s e n i o r s o r d2sabled persons a r e now a t 6800 & t h e DERA waitlist i s 2 years long. The best way t o keep housing p r f c e s under c o n t r o l & t o ensure t h a t t h e people l i v i n g here now can continue t o do s o w i l l be t o develop more s o c i a l housing s i m i l a r t o t h e housing t h a t DERA has already developed. For example, t h e i r p r o j e c t a t 133 W.Pender provide s 114 one-bedroom s u i t e s which r e n t out a t 30% of income & a r e a v a i l a b l e t o anyone who i s handicapped o r over 45.

With t h e funding cutbacks a t t h e f e d e r a l l e v e l we depend on our p r o v i n c i a l gov't t o seek new ways t o fund s o c i a l housing. New partnerships with business may be necessary. Social housing could be combined with r e t a i l space &/or parking. Large develope r s should be required t o b u i l d s o c i a l housing on s i t e o r pay a development t a x .

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flOTELS E ROOMING HOUSES A 10fx12' room with a bed, sink 6 perhaps a h o t p l a t e now s t a r t s a t $325 a mohth. I f i t ' s shared by 2 people, t h e r e n t can be..' $50/mo more. The provincial gov't i s d i r e c t l y r e s p o n s i b l e - f o r s e t t i n g t h i s base r a t e through t h e p o l i c y of s e t t i n g a s e p a r a t e s h e l t e r component i n MSS payments.

Last year t h e NDP gov't increased t h e s h e l t e r allowance, giving a d i r e c t $25/mo i n c r e a s e t o a l l landlords i n t h e area. A t theysame time it gave no l i v i n g allowance increase t o anyone except s i n g l e parents with 4 c h i l d r e n & those on handicapped pet+ s i o n s . The r e n t increases t h a t immediately went i n t o e f f e c t i n t h e h o t e l s were a hards h i p t o s e n i o r s who only got a 704 c o s t of l i v i n g increase i n t h e i r old age s e c u r i t y cheques t h a t year. The Residential Tenancy Act now covers h o t e l t e n a n t s . This is beginning t o make some improvement i n t h e treatmentpeopl'eget~rommanagersE l a n d l o r d However, t h e r e a r e two p o i n t s t h a t cause p a r t i c u l a r problems f o r r e s i d e n t s of t h e Downtown Eastside h o t e l s . The f i r s t probl lem concerns damage d e p o s i t s . Landlords r e g u l a r l y keep damage d e p o s i t s without cause one scam i s - t o t e l l t h e t e n a n t t h e deposit was returned t o MSS when t h i s has not been done, even when t h e tenant paid t h e deposit themselves. We d o n ' t know how much money t h e Ministry l o s e s t h i s way. The second problem with t h e Act i s t h e $15 d a i l y r a t e a s a c e i l i n g t o d e f i n e who is a h o t e l tena n t under t h e Act. The P a t r i c i a Hotel charges $110a week s o t h a t they do not have t o abide by t h e Act. In o t h e r h o t e l s a s well t h e r e a r e people, a l o t of them s e n i o r s , who a r e a l s o not protected because t h e Tent f o r a couple exceeds t h e l i m i t of $450/mo. Rent i n c r e a s e s w i l l i n time elimi n a t e everyone from p r o t e c t i o n u n l e s s t h e Act i s changed.

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RECOMMENDATIONS 1. .we need funding f o r s o c i a l housing i n o r d e r t o ensure t h e s u r v i v a l of t h i s neighbourhood. This needs t o include t h e funding of programming s t a f f who work w i t h t h e r e s i d e n t s . This i s e s p e c i a l l y important i n enabling s e n i o r s t o age i n p l a c e & i n providing housingfortheharcEto-house.

2. The h o t e l s need t o be required by law t o provide common space s o t h a t t e n a n t s have space t o s o c i a l i z e . The t r e n d i s t o eliminate such space t o make an e x t r a renta b l e room o r two. There a l s o needs t o be funding f o r community workers & advocates in t h e h o t e l s who can bring people togethe r t o c r e a t e a more s t a b l e environment.

This i s t h e f i r s t l e v e l of p r e v e n t a t i v e health c a r e t h e c r e a t i o n of a good l i v 4 ing environment. Funding of community work e r s w i l l pay o f f i n t h e long run with lowe r h e a l t h c a r e c o s t s , l e s s r e l i a n c e on h o s p i t a l emergency rooms, e t c .

3 . Training f o r h o t e l s t a f f should be one of t h e l i c e n s i n g requirements.

4. Rent c o n t r ~ l so r a r e n t , r e v i e w process should he put i n p l a c e & t h e r e n t a l s man's o f f i c e r e i n s t a t e d .

5. Change t h e RTA t o a b o l i s h s e c u r i t y d e p o s i t s (Ontario & Quebec have already done t h i s ) & t o d e l e t e t h e $15 a day r e n t l e v e l a s p a r t of t h e d e f i n i t i o n of a hote l tenant.

6. No more welfare i n c r e a s e s t o l a n d l o r d s The separation of s h e l t e r & l i v i n g allowance should be abolished. Until t h i s is done i l l i n c r e a s e s should be t o t h e l i v -

HEALTH

POVERTY i s t h e biggest cause of poor h e a l t h i n t h e Downtown Eastside. Poor peop l e age e a r l i e r so t h a t t h i s a r e a i s more l i k e a 3rd world country where l i f e exp-

ecEancy is low. Often people d i e of t h e d i s e a s e s of old age before they r e a c h 60.

Some examples of common h e a l t h problems a r e such work-related i l l n e s s e s a s asbesto s i s , s i l i c o s i s & o t h e r lung d i s e a s e s from exposure t o hazardous m a t e r i a l s i n mines o r s h i p s , depression from prolonged unemployment & substandard 1i v i n g condit ions, and malnutrition.

Most o l d e r r e s i d e n t s of t h e Downtown Eastside have l i v e d i n t h i s neighbourhood f o r many years. They need t h e support s e s v i c e s necessary t o age i n p l a c e h e r e with d i g n i t y . They do not want t o be moved out of t h e a r e a i n order t o g e t t h e housing o r care t h a t they need.

One of t h e most b a s i c requirements they need t o maintain t h e i r h e a l t h i s a low c o s t & a c c e s s i b l e food s t o r e . The c l o s u r e of t h e IGA on t h e o l d Woodwards food f l o o r i s a s e r i o u s h e a l t h t h r e a t f o r seni o r s who now have t o pay corner s t o r e p r i c e s & who cannot get t h e i t . f d o d d e l i v e r d .

WHAT WE NEED FROM THE BC GOVERNMENT 1. A p a r t n e r s h i p between t h e p r o v i n c i a l gov't, the c i t y , the private sector & t h e neighbourhood t o s e t up a v i a b l e food store.

2 . Long term c a r e f a c i l i t i e s within t h e neighbourhood. The waiting list f o r Cooper Place is almost a year & it o f f e r s only intermediate care. We need an integr a t e d , m u l t i - l e v e l f a c i l i t y s o people do not havetomove when they need a higher l e v e l of c a r e .

3. Adequate income f o r a l l . The s t a r v a t ion l e v e l of welfare r a t e s t h a t give a s i n g l e person a support payment of only $200 a month causes h e a l t h problems t o .; s e t i n e a r l i e r i n l i f e . By t h e time a p e p shn reaches 65 & g e t s a b a r e l y adequate : r l

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pensron, they a r e a l r e a d y i n a weaker state of h e a l t h , t 4 , More resources put i n t o community cdre, e s p e c i a l l y prevent at i v e s e r v i c e s such a s community workers, homemakers & commu~ i t y nurses. Hospitals have such severe problems with beds t h a t they send people home with no one t o look a f t e r them. I f t h e person i s e l d e r l y & has chronic healt h problems, they o f t e n s h i p them off t o a c a r e f a c i l i t y i n t h e suburbs where they a r e i s o l a t e d from f r i e n d s & t h e environment t h a t is f a m i l i a r t o them, i n s t e a d of p u t t i n g i n place t h e s e r v i c e s they n e e d ' t o s t a y i n t h e i r h o t e l room home.

5. SAVE UNIVERSAL MEDICARE. Direct b i l l ing needs t o be prevented. I f it spreads people w i l l d i e because t h e r e i s no way they can pay a doctor 4 g e t reimbursed.

neighbourhoods of t h e c i t y . Also, 80% of a l l Vancouver's licensed s e a t i n g capacity f o r alcohol consumption i s located i n the Downtown Eastside. There have always been drugs E p r o s t i t u t i o n i n t h e D . E . but we have now become t h e r e s t of t h e c i t y ' s durn ping ground f o r s o c i a l problems!

There is no concensus about t h e s o l u t i o n t o t h i s rapidly deteriorating situation.

SAFETY Some people say we need increased funding f o r p o l i c e t o be on t h e s t r e e t where t h e Many o l d e r people i n t h e Downtown Easta c t i o n i s so hhey w i l l serve a s a d e t e r r s i d e & Strathcona a r e a f r a i d t o go out a t n i g h t alone i n t h e i r own neighbourhood. In a n t t o violence. Others s a y t h a t drugs and t h e p a s t 3 t o 5 years f e a r of vholence, e s p r b s t i t u t i o n should be decriminalized s o they can be regulated o f f t h e s t r e e t s i n p e c i a l l y robbery, has grown considerably. our neighbourhood. ( I n c i d e n t a l l y , these Everyone here e i t h e r knows somebody who kinds of measures would probably avoid t h e has been, o r they themselves have been, murder of another 34 young a b o r i g i n a l womt victims of v i o l e n t robberies. V i r t u a l l y ew en i n t h e next 7 y e a r s . ) ! eryone we know who l i v e s i n t h e Downtown We have already made recommendations f o r Eastside i s i n a s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n , e i t h e r improvements i n t h e a r e a s of income & hous "having been o r having f r i e n d s who have ing. These, we b e l i e v e , w i l l go a long way been robbed. Many v i c t i m s of violence a r e t o providing a more s t a b l e & secure l i v i n g o l d e r r e s i d e n t s with m o b i l i t y problems s i t u a t i o n f o r Downtown Eastside r e s i d e n t s . which make them vulnerable t o violence.

They w i l l a l s o s e r v e a s a means t o begin aI WE RECOMMEND THAT THE PROVINCE HELP BC eroding t h e i n t e n s i t y of crime & violence.

TRANSIT TO IMPLEMENT A SCHEDULE THAT WILL We a l s o Believe t h a t people who v i s i t vioALLOW BLOCK-BY-BLOCK BUS STOPS I N THE DOWN l e n t crime on o t h e r s have l i t t l e o r no TOWN EASTSIDE AREA. connection t o any community & thus f e e l no r e s p o n s i b i l i t y toward it.

What i s t h e cause of t h i s s i t u a t i o n ?

The province needs t o begin funding proSince Expof86 t h e r e has been a massive ingrams t h a t a r e designed t o draw people inc r e a s e i n both t h e numbers of p r o s t i t u t e s t o t h e i r communities, t o empower them, t o working Downtown Eastside & Strathcona help them gain c o n t r o l of t h e i r l i v e s E t o s t r e e t s & t h e amount of drugs being sold & take responsibility f o r t h e i r actions i n consumed on our s t r e e t s . I n 1986, s t r e e t workers reported c l i e n t s t e l l i n g them t h a t t h e community, We r e a l i z e t h a t t h i s cannot s t r e e t youth had been pressured by t h e po- be done over n i g h t , f o r it i s not a simple process. Such programs o f t e n t a k e some 7. l i c e t o go t o Hastings S t . from t h e Mount time t o prove t h e i r e f f e c t i v e n e s s .

Pleasant & Granville Mall areas.

There a r e already c e r t a i n p r o j e c t s i n A r e c e n t s e r v i c e a u d i t by t h e Downtown existence, however, t h a t p o i n t t o such e f Eastside Youth A c t i v i t i e s Society found t h a t 50% of t h e i r c l i e n t e l e l i v e d i n o t h e r f e c t i v e n e s s . In Strathcone, r e s i d e n t s have

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undertaken t h e i r own p a t r o l s o f s t r e e t s a t night,'~independentof t h e police, a s a means of a s s e r t i n g t h e i r c o n t r o l over t h e i r neighbourhood. The s i t u a t i o n i n t h e Downtown Easts.ide, however, i s much more complex E c i t i z e n p a t r o l s t h e r e would l i k e wise r e q u i r e a more complex apprdach.

DERA's P o r t l a n d Hotel p r o j e c t i s a glowing example o f one way o f housing s o - c a l l attempting t o ed "hard t o house" people i n c o r p o r a t e them i n t o t h e b r o a d e r communit y . What t h e P o r t l a n d shows i s t h a t such an e f f o r t r e q u i r e s d e d i c a t e d s t a f f who a r e i n t h e b u i l d i n g around t h e clock & have bhe r e q u i s i t e s k i l l s t o d e a l with t h e i r c l i e n t e l e . I t ' s important t o p o i n t o u t , however, t h a t such housing is r e q u i r e d not o n l y i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e b u t i n t h e neighbourhoods 4 m u n i c i p a l i t i e s where ' ! I t h e r e a r e a l r e a d y people who need i t .

Another o p t i o n i s t o i n c r e a s e t h e number o f .community development workers i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e , t o d e a l with t h e many d i f f e r e n t groups o f people i n t h e neighbourhood, from s t r e e t people t o s e n i o r s .

There a r e many s e r v i c e workers i n t h e neighbourhood. Most o f them d e a l with c l i e n t s a t some l e v e l o f c r i s i s i n t e r v e n t i o n .

What i s s o r e l y needed i s n o t o n l y more s e r v i c e workers such a s t h i s , b u t people who a r e involved i n developing t h e s o c i a l n e t works o f r e s i d e n t s , h e l p i n g them g e t o r g a n ized f o r m a l l y o r i n f o r m a l l y t o begin suppo r t i n g t h e i r own neighbours E community, both i n t h e s t r e e t s 4 i n t h e p l a c e s where Downtown E a s t s i d e r s l i v e .

WE RECOMMEND THAT THE PROVINCE PROVIDE FUNDING FOR SOCIAL PROGRAMS THAT EMPOWER PEOPLE & GET THEM INVOLVED IN THE LIFE OF THE COMMUNITY.

SUMMARY These recommendations & commentary have been t h e r e s u l t o f much d i s c u s s i o n with our v o l u n t e e r s E w i t h people who u s e t h i s Centre (Downtown E a s t i i d e S e n i o r s Centre).

Most o f what is h e r e is common knowledge around t h i s neighbourhood; people t a k e it f o r granted. We d o n ' t l i k e l i n i n g up f o r sandwiches OT f o r a w e l f a r e cheque. We d o n ' t l i k e l i v i n g i n cramped, cockroachridden q u a r t e r s o r competing with each 0th e r f o r what d e c e n t , a f f o r d a b l e housing i s

a v a i l a b l e . We d o n ' t l i k e g e t t i n g mugged o r hearing about f r i e n d s who have been mugged, b d we d o n ' t l i k e h a v h g f r i e n d s d i e bef> r e t h e i r time. I t ' s time t o change t h i s .

Some of u s have been t o workshop a f t e r workshop r e g a r d i n g what t h e Downtown Easts i d e E i t s r e s i d e n t s need. We've seen one "needs" assessment a f t e r a n o t h e r . A s r e s i i e n t s o f t h i s neighbourhood, we know what the problems a r e . We a l s o know how t o :hange them, We need your h e l p t o do t h i s .

Ne a r e a s k i n g you t o make a commitment t o help t h e govftt implement t h e recommendat i o n s we have made, e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e conzerning housing & income 6 employment.

I t is important t h a t we s t a r t t o a c t now h r r e n t economic & s o c i a l t r e n d s , p o i n t t o uards an i n c r e a s i n g " B r a z i l i i a t i o n " o f Cam idian s o c i e t y , & f u r t h e r entrenchment o f :he p o l a r i z a t 5 o n between t h e well-off and :he poor. Ft is s t i l l p o s s i b l e , however, :o r e v e r s e such t r e n d s . The,recommenddhPdna ~ e f o r eyou a r e a good p l a c e t o s t a r t .

[Brief t o t h e S o c i a l Development Committee )f t h e New Deomcratic P a r t y Caucus)

S e n i o r S e r v i c e Team

LISTEN TO THE NATIVE PEOPLE

t

We a r e a group o f people who have been meeting f o r one year. We a r e made up o f w o r k e r s who s e r v i c e s e n i o r s . For example, SUCCESS, Health Department, DERA, Neighbourhood Helpers, S o c i a l Planning, Mental Health, Ray-Cam E S t r a t h c o n a community c e n t r e s . We a r e meeting t o i n c r e a s e c o l l a b o r a t i o n & cooperation. We a r e a l s o meet4 ing t o d e a l with i s s u e s , and w i l l be i n f o r ming you about t h e i s s u e s we a r e working with. P l e a s e l e t u s know i f we a r e on t h e r i g h t t r a c k . TO do t h i s you can t a l k with a s e n i o r ' s worker o r w r i t e t o : Long Link S e n i o r s Network, 104 - 512 Campbell Ave., Vancouver, B .C. V6A 3K3 I f r e p s from Seniors: grbups would l i k e t o j o i n u s , p l e a s e c a l l 251-2202 & someone w i l l g e t back t o you.

We're p r e s e n t l y working on t h e following.

1, Shopping The c l o s u r e o f Woodwards/IGA 4 ALICE h a s l e f t a gap i n t h e community.

We a p p l i e d f o r E r e c e i v e d funding from t h e neady- o r Not p r o j e c t t o look i n t o t h i s p r e blem. We're p r e s e n t l y h i r i n g someone t o meet w i t h s e n i o r s t o f i n d o u t t h e i r needs 6 t h e i d e a l p o s i t i o n f o r t h i s shop. This person w i l l do a market a n a l y s i s E t a l k t o , b u s i n e s s e s E g o v ' t t o t r y t o s e t up a l a r g e shop on Hastings S t r e e t .

1 2 . Chinese Meals on Wheels - SUCCESS i s working with M t ,S t . Joseph h o s p i t a l t o d e l i v e r Chinese meals t o people who cannot 111 make it themselves, S t r a t h c o n a community c e n t r e i s t r y i n g t o develop e t h n i c o r i e n t ed menus t h a t o t h e r a g e n c i e s E f a c i l i t i e s can u s e t o make f o r t h e i r c l i e n t s . '

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PEGGY HO, Community Health Nurse

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This i s a n o t h e r c h a p t e r taken from t h e Revolutionary Hippie Manifesto, w r i t t e n c o l l e c t i v e l y i n t h e w i n t e r o f ' 7 7 - ' 7 8 and published i n t h e S p r i n g o f '78.

"Listen t o t h e Indian People" "We must l i s t e n l e a r n from t h e advanced s e c t i o n of t h e North American Indian peopl e t o h e l p guide u s t o t h e p a t h o f revolut i o n . The Indian people a r e t h e most revol u t i o n a r y people i n North America. T h e y a r e t o g e t h e r and have always loved E r e s p e c t e d Mother Earth, t h e sun, t h e animals, t h e f o r e s t s and a l l l i f e .

Over t h e p a s t s i x y e a r s t h a t o u r commune has been i n e x i s t e n c e , we have developed a growing r e l a t i o n s h i p t o Mother Earth & t h e l o c a l Indian people. We t o o a r e s t r i v i n g t o become n a t u r a l people.

A t p r e s e n t t h e Indian people a r e t h e onl y ones we know who a r e a c t i v e l y engaged i n t h e f i g h t t o s a v e mother n a t u r e , knowi n g f u l l well t h a t t h e i r l i v e s & t h e l l i v e s o f a l l beings a r e dependent on t h e outcome of t h a t s t r u g g l e .

We whites who a r e slowly becoming aware of mother e a r t h had b e s t make h a s t e & r a l l y t o t h e support o f t h e Indian people. White s o c i e t y , by i t s domination, suppression 6 manipulation, is s t r i v i n g t o a s s i m i l a t e t h e Indians i n t o white s o c i e t y - (white v a l u e s ) . This i n f a c t . i s a f o r m o f g e n o c i d e .

We must support t h e i r land claims, t h e i r r i g h t t o nationhood & t h e i r r i g h t t o determine t h e i r own l i v e s . Support t h e i r s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e i r l a n d s , f o r e s t s , r i v e r s , and t h e i r c u l t u r e . " The way we s e e it i s t h a t t h e t r a d i t i o n a l Indian people w i l l p l a y a major r o l e i n t h e back-to-the-land movement. (They d o n ' t have a s f a r t o go.) The r e s e r v a t i o n s h e r e i n t h e Cariboo have some prime a g r i c u l t u r a l land. T h e i r ' s i s c l e a n land, unpolluted by t o x i c c h e m i c a l s , ~ a s p h a l t6 s o - c a l l e d ' s u s t a i n a b l e development'. Some t r a d i t i o n a l people a r e p r e p a r i n g t o make a move t o wards b r i n g i n g t h e s e l a n d s back i n t o commu n i t y gardens E farms & producing a s much of t h e i ~own food a s p o s s i b l e . We s e e a movement on t h e r i s e .

Ceeds

v

50TH BIRTHDAYS

The man they call Mr. Bob

NOAM CHOMSKY

Sun Anarclust Rcpor~cr

IIc came to us at the height of the.

Cold War, a clean-cut draft-avoidcr from the Big Apple. But as Bob Sarti turns 50 today, people are still asking: "Who really sent the man they call Mr. Bob?" ~ u r i n grecent interrogatio& in the new Russian democracy, former KGB agents were heard mumbling "Sarti" as they slipped in and out of consciousness. And .then there was

tlk recent arrest of a Mafia big-wig at the 13iltmorc Hotel alleged to be linkcd to thc Sarti family in the old country.

T h e Vancouver Sun has also learned that Somali secret police, as well as Terry Waitc, bclicvc Sarti is somehow associated with a militant Islamic fundamentalist sect and could in fact be Yasser Arafat. A very scratchy tape recording recovered when Waite released posed the following startling question: "Have you ever seen Bob and Yasser in the same room?" -

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YASSER

W oever sent this bearded wonder, Bob has managed to make the , most of his assignment here, getting more friends and relatives into the paper than even Ian Haysom.

He has taken control of the downtown eastside from where he runs his numbers racket, and also muscled his way to the forefront of the radical Vancouver Newspaper Guild, pouring a few cement shoes in the process.

Colleagues e i t h e r fear him, respect him oc like him or don't fear him, respect him or like him.

Paul Musgrove, a pre-Sartian Sun staffer, recalled his first meeting with the big guy: "We were down at this party in False Creek. It was 1969 ...I thought 1 should go upstairs and meet this guy. He looked like a while Joe America straight arrow guy. 1: fact, this guy looked like a fuuckin Nazi. That was my first imprcsslon of him."

But despite his navy three-piece suil, red tic and short hair, Bob soon showed his streak of rebellion.

"When he first showed up at the

rubella prolests, we lhoughl it was a joke," said Musgrove. "But then he started showing his true colors and they weren't red, white and blue."

By 1973, Bob was making a dill'erent kind of first impression.

I ? L, ,, i, ,.t ,-,In 1986, Ilol) had a cub rcportcr at thc Wcslcndcr (who was covering thc samc 1986 prcss confercncc on lhc Expo cviclions) a little confused at his unique journalistic technique.

The reporlcr, who refused to give his real namc and has sincc left the profession, lalcr asked another Sun reporter if "it was normal for a Sun reporter to start chanting into the microphone at the end of a prcss conference 'Stop the evictions, Stop the eviclions."'

Bob could hardly have imagined that the whole world would have changed and he would have one day turned 50. But it did and he has.

Much loved and much revered, we hope he'll be around for 50 more.

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Okay. We thought we had S a r t i under control..making c h i l i on Wednesdays..eating normal food a t t h e Volunteer's Dinner.. then h i s a s s o c i a t i o n with those r a d i c a l c r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s holed up i n t h e C a r i b o o c sparked one of t h e most outrageous a c t s of mass law-breaking e v e r seen a t Carnegie.

I ' m r e f e r r i n g of c o u r s e t o t h e p o t a t o e s served i n every way imaginable a t what he t r i e d t o pass o f f a s h i s "birthday party'.

Cariboo Potatoes - ILLEGAL POTATOES! The socred g o v ' t had d e c l a r e d them Against t h e Law 'cause t h e i r buddies i n a g r i b u s i n e s s found them t o o a l i v e t o be h a ~ v e s t e dwith machines. S a r t i smuggled 500 pounds o f t h e s e G l l i c i t s u b s t a n c e i n t o Carnegie. s t i l l o n l y a f r a c t i o n of t h e t o n s stashed i n t h e Cariboo h i l l s . No one has been a r r ested, y e t . I t was hoped t h a t S a r t i ' s lack of r e s p e c t f o r LAWEORDER would dwindle a f t e r t h e f i r s t half-century. .

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RECEIVING ORDERS???

A younger Bob

Carnegie Learning Centre has room f o r everyone! One of our most remarkable groups is t h e S e n i o r C i t i z e n ~ ' ~ ' E n g 1 i s ahs a Second Language" c l a s s . This group is made up af 7 Chinese-Canadian women whose ages range from 62 t o 83 y e a r s . Some of them have been a t t e n d i n g f o r 8 months, while o t h e r s have been coming f o r 1%y r s .

T h e i r names a r e : Wai Chung Ho,,Alice Ng, Nancy Wong, Chat So Chan, Yuk t i n Choi, Jenny Lee, Hing Cook Chan & S i u Yiu Ng. They a r e a f e i s t y , good-natured bunch, with a g r e a t sense o f humour f r e q u e n t l y making both t h e i r t u t o r s & s t a f f laugh.

One l e a r n e r came t o Canada i n 1957 but t h e o t h e r s a r r i v e d between 1979 & 1991.

They a l l came from Hong Kong with t h e i r f a m i l i e s o r joined them h e r e . Someofthem t a k e c a r e of t h e i r grandchildren.

They say t h e y l i k e coming t o t h e Learni n g Centre, which t h e y heard about from1 f r i e n d s o r r e l a t i v e s a t t e n d i n g ESL'classes h e r e . The women found Canada a b i g change from Hong Kong 4 t h a t i t took awhile t o g e t used t o t h e i r new country. Canada i s

.. . . . .

a b i t boring because they c a n ' t speak t h e language - t h e y a r e d e t e r m i n e d t o c h a n g e .

One of t h e group has never been t o a school, e i t h e r h e r e o r i n China, but a l l t h e o t h e r s went t o Elementary School i n China o r Hong Kong. None could speak any English when t h e y a r r i v e d i n Canada.

What do t h e y expect t o g e t out o f t h e c l a s s e s here a t Carnegie? Well, they espe c i a l l y want t o l e a r n u s e f u l phrases l i k e "Excuse me - I ' m l o s t . Can you h e l p me?" o r Where is t h e bathroom?" They a l s o -want t o l e a r n t o r i d e t h e buses & Skytrain.One woman wants t o l e a r n t o o r d e r a pizza!

They laugh now about g e t t i n g l o s t o r makc ing mistakes, but a t t h e time t h e y were scared. They s a y t h e y need t o l e a r n Engl i s h t o l i v e intheworld &enjoythemselves They l i k e coming t o c l a s s e s t o s o c i a l i z e ; o t h e r p l a c e s t h e y l i k e include t h e E a s t s i d e S e n i o r s Centre, where t h e y love t o p l a y Bingo. Some of them l i k e t o go t o o u r c a f e t e r i a f o r c o f f e e too. They a r e a g r e a t group of women- f u l l of f u n & enthusiasm. I t ' s a p l e a s u r e f o r t h e t u t o r s & s t a f f t o work w i t h them. Floyd Wong kindl y acted a s i n t e r p r e t e r f o r t h e i n t e r v i e w JOAN DOREE, Volunteer Tutor.

Are you looking f o r an i n t e r e s t i n g volu n t e e r job where you w i l l meet many t e r r i f i c people? If you a r e , come t o t h e Learning Centre on C a r n e g i e l s 3rd floor. Tutor o r l e a r n e r o r s t a f f , we come i n a l l ages, sexes & from a l l walks o f l i f e . On your a r r i v a l , t h e s t a f f w i l l s t a r t y o u o u t on a t r a i n i n g & o r i e n t a t i o n program..then you w i l l be teamed up with an i n d i v i d u a l s t u dent +or a small group of l e a r n e r s , whatever s u i t s you b e s t .

Some of t h e l e a r n e r s come t o our Centre t o upgrade reading & w r i t i n g s k i l l s while o t h e r s want t o g e t t h e i r high school diploma. A s a t u t o r you choose what you teach.

Here i s a b r i e f n o t e on one v o l u n t e e r t w b t , Lyle Davies Following a s t a y i n V i c t o r i a , where he obtained a B.A. & a Teaching DipJoma, Lyle came t o Vancouver & began working f o r t h e School Board p a r t - t i m e , t e a c h i n g English.

He a l s o taught ESL a t S.E.C.C.E.S.S. In Nov.'92 he came h e r e a s a v o l u n t e e r t u t o r . He t e a c h e s ESL, upgrading of reading & w r i t i n g s k i l l s & p r e p a r a t i o n f o r high school diploma..whatever l e a r n e r s want.

Lyle l i k e s working o u t i n t h e gyn) reading ( h i s t o r y & b i o g r a p h i e s ) & has been r e cycling, t r a v e l l i n g &;studying PETROGLYPHS ( F i r s t Nations1 rock carvings).. Lyle says, "Carnegie is a happening p l a c e providing a s a f e , r e l a x e d & democratic educational environment..for both l e a r n e r & t u t o r ! We a l l l e a r n about l i f e F, love t o g e t h e r and even have a few laughs."

Although Lyle i s a q u a l i f i e d t e a c h e r , t h i s i s not a requirement f o r being a l t u t o r a t our Learning Centre. Whatever your background, you. a r e welcome. Your l i f e e l periences can be your g r e a t e s t a s s e t a s a t u t o r . Come & s e e f o r y o u r s e l f .

Joan Doree

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-GED prep; - c r e a t i v e - Writing; -Native I s sues; English 11; -Math I 1 & much more.

* Free Welfare Advocacy course Mon G Wed.

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10-llam,

* Women Ss G r o u p , a t Carnegie

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s e l f - d e f e n s e f o r women;- given by women f o r women only.

WEIGHT TRAINING Saturday mornings a t loam; q u a l i f i e d i n s t r u c t o r ( e s s ) , h e a l t h y , f o r women only.

The Women's Group meets every w e e k o n t h e 3rd f l o o r on Wednesday morning from 11-12 So f a r : Wenlido, Weight Training, Poetry, Writing a s Healing, speakers, immigrant womenks i n f o forum, discovering women's s e r v i c e s with a human f a c e . . & much more.

For information on t h e Women's Grouy) c a l l SARAH a t 065-3013, , , WBLIDO

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student loan will be paid off."

Tax Refund

I

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I f you got a l e t t e i from t h e f e d s sayi n g they were keeping your refund, t h e r e i s a form ( c o p i e s i n t h e Newsletter Office) t h a t you can f i l l o u t t o show t h a t , such a holdback w i l l cause you & yours , h a r d s h i p & s u f f e r i n g . It c a n ' t h u r t ;

1

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passing s t r a n g e . . t A phonecall from Ye Olde Mayor's O f f i c e t o a s k why t h e y no l o n g e r g o t c o p i e s of t h e Carnegie Newsletter! They "missed it."

A dozen c o p i e s have been going t h e r e on t h e 1st 6 1 5 t h o f t h e month every month f o r o v e r 6 y e a r s , s o it was news t o me..

1 and p a s s i n g s t r a n g e . The system used i s t o 1 p u t 1 2 i n one o f t h e b i g envelopes t h a t I t h e C i t y of Vancouver u s e s f o r i n t e r n a l I mail, w r i t e "SECRETARY TO COUNCILLORS" on it, 6 o f f it goes.

I c a l l e d back a f t e r t h e woman s a i d s h e ' d check w i t h t h e s e c r e t a r y . She s a i d s h e had made s u r e t h a t t h e y would g e t them from i now on. I asked how long i t had been s i n c e , t h e y had g o t t e n them & s h e d s a i d "maybe 1 y e a r s . " G e t t i n ' -worse.. s o I c a l l e d Libby Davies, to see i f t h e r e was some of kind o f sculduggery a f o o t , g o t t h e s e c r e t a r y , & l o 6 behold, one each had gone t o t h e Coun c i l l o r s & t h e s e c r e t a r y kept one f o r hers e l f & t h e r e s t o f t h e o f f i c e s t a f f , one ' went o u t f o r t h e p u b l i c t o r e a d i n t h e waitiing room, & t h a t was a l l t h e r e were!

(Now I h l l have t o send a few more s o t h e Mayor g e t s one & d o e s n ' t have t o l i v e i n a vacuum.> PaulR Taylor, E d i t o r ,

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...PIIILIP.. .

1s).

I met him i n September when I came i n ? r e . I asked f o r a job. He p u t me i n t h e zightroom & I worked t h e r e , 2-4 Sundays. ? is a r e a l gentleman & we should have > r e l i k e him. I d o n ' t l i k e t h e way he r e s s e s though.. t o r n b l u e j e a n g , t o r n T s h i r + l a t ' s okay though, I s t i l l l i k e him.

Marie Rose

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Like t o t h i n k f a t a l i t y a c e s s a t i o n of guarded rhythms. Like t o hunger h o n e s t l y , without t h e c o l d s p l a s h of crayon maivete Like t o g i v e up t o t h e t e l l i n g , t o t h e t e l l i n g s t r i d e n c y coming loose.

Like t o s l e e p through n i g h t s a midway a d e s i r e s f o l d s i n t o i t s p a i s l e y o f propaganda and passion.

Mornings w i l l a r r i v e "casuallyll i n "uni formed s e m i - r e g u l a r i t y u , l i k e unobtrusive s o l d i e m i n "salvaged, unpeopled" s t r e e t s we've dwelt i n f o r y e a r s " l i k e r e t i r e d s a i l o r s . It Colourful p r o c e s s i o n s "dancef1 a c r o s s t h e lawns. "A s e c r e t vow p r e v e n t s you from p a r t i c i p a t i n g . " Labour's r e s i d u e of years.

Bastard s t r e e t s v i e f o r you uncomprisi n g l y, immune t b y o u r h a b i t u a l avoidances.

"Someone" w i l l ask you "the d i r e c t i o n s , " and t h e n w i l l "take you t h e r e . " Dan Feeney

I s e e your f a c e unmasked You a r e g i v i n g me t h e g i f t ? I asked.

Your f a c e is s o wan The f a c e o f d e a t h , y e t dawn I s e e your f a c e though you passed away decades ago Your f a c e it is s o : SO wan I yawn Your son spoke t o me and he gave me what I asked The f a c e o f my l i f e unmasked So b r i l l i a n t , l i k e a s t a r b u r s t I a c t e d out a p a r t unrehearsed I made s o many mis-takes And you k e p t on t e l l i n g me about the stakes; Very high I s i g h l i k e my mother b e f o r e me Not p e r f e c t , I .

I am o n l y human And you, though n e v e r inhuman So f a r above s o v e r y h i g h And seemingly o u t o f r e a c h S t i l l , you gave t o me A s t o your son You were n o t t h e o n l y one But I d i g r e s s I died i n d i s t r e s s Yet l i v e d by t h e g r a c e o f o n l y one of your t r e s s e s I long t o meet you and your son again Maybe on a t r a i n , t o I n d i a

E l i z a b e t h C. Thorpe

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a t t i t u d e of i n s p e c t o r s & p o l i c e & s o c i a l a g e n c i e s t h a t people h e r e a r e somehotg 2ndc l a s s when i t comes t o r i g h t s under t h e law. The s a f e t y & s e c u r i t y of r e s i d e n t s seems t o b e a much lower p r i o r i t y f o r enforcement t h a n is t o l e r a t e d i n t o b h i r t a r e a s O f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n , a s accorded t o o t h e r communities l i k e K i t s i l a n o , M t .

P l e a s a n t , P o i n t Grey, Shaughnessy , e t c . i s t h e f i r s t s t e p t o g e t t i n g t h e same s e r vices & protections a s these other areas.

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CITYPLAN i s an i d e a t h a t i s b e i n g lauded by l o t s of people i n Vancouver. I t ' s supposed t o b e a method of g e t t i n g i n p u t from " a l l c i t i z e n s " t o develop a p l a n f o r t h e f u t u r e of t h i s c i t y . I t ' s s u r e a s h e l l g e n e r a t i n g a l o t o f paper anyway.

Expecting n o t h i n g , a few people got tog e t h e r & s e n t o f f what f o l l o w s , which may n o t meet " t h e i r " e x p e c t a t i o n s of a s k i n g f o r more w h i t e p i c k e t f e n c e s & window boxes f o r ragweed.

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The f i r s t s t e p was f o r t h o s e .present t o s t a t e what, t o them, was t h e most p r e s s i n g problem i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e I n o r d e r of s u g g e s t i o n a) Safety/Security/~olicing; b) Housing; c) A c c e s s i b l e P a r k s ; d) O f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n by t h e C i t y of t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e a s a d i s t i n c t community ; e) ~ n f o r c e m e n toE l i q u o r laws (pubs overserving, etc.) ; 'f) T r a n s i t ; g) Garbage pickup & maintenance of l a n e s / propertylalleys.

2. F i r s t P r i o r i t y O f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n by t h e C i t y of t h e Downtown a s a d i s t i n c t community.

I t was a unanimous agreement t h a t t h i s a r e a is t r e a t e d - a s a dumping ground w i t h v i o l a t i o n s of laws, by-laws & other regulations tolerated here that would n o t b e t o l e r a t e d i n any o t h e r a r e a .

There ' i s .a r e a l concern t h a t s a f e t y & s e c u r i t y a r e l a c k i n g because of t h e

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3. P o l i c i n g / ~ e c u r i t y / s a f e t y /Housing (Main i n t e r r e l a t e d concerns) - Bars - o v e r s e r v i n g & non-compbiance i w i t h e x i s t i n g l i q u o r laws is t h e norm; - enforcement of l a w s governing o p e r a t i o n o f d r i n k i n g estabiishm-. e n t s i s t o t a l l y i n a d e q u a t e ; dhnKen-people on t h e streets i s a r e s u l t t h a t is somehow deemed a c c e p t a b l e i n t h e DowntownEast s i d e b u t n o t t o l e r a t e d elsewhere; i n a d e q u a t e inspection personnel, perhaps coupled w i t h t o o much leeway i n how owners/managers can continu e t o b e i n non-compliance w i t h r e g u l a t ibne/by-laws e t c . exaaerBates~trHa~situa~ion - S t r e e t Crime - p o l i c e seem t o have p r i o r i t i e s on what t y p e of c r i m e w a r r a n t s i n t e r v e n t i o n o r even t h e i r presence.

- S e c u r i t y r e s i d e n t s have much l e s s s e c u r i t y , are l e s s s a f e i n t h e course of d a i l y l i v i n g , thanle&&uh~ee The o n l y p e r c d i v e d d e t e r e n t is f o r major crime, w h i l e p e t t y crime, a s s a u l t s , s t r o n g arming, t h e f t , etc,. seems t o have much h i g h e r i n c i d e n c e t h a n elsewhere.

- drugs, alcohol & general s u b s t a n c e a b u s e c a r r i e s on with 80% o f Vancouver's s e a t i n g c a p a c i t y of l i q u o r e s t a b l i s h m e n t s w i t h i n 4 b l o c k s of Main & Hast i n g s Down-the-line enf orce=ls ment seems t o s t o p a f t e r one c l o s i n g of i n d i v i d u a l p l a c e s , whereas continued enf orcement might g e t more o f t h e o f f e n d e r s permanently c l o s e d .

- Housing l a c k of i n s p e c t i o n personnel t o a d e q u a t e l y r e p o r t on o f f e w s e s & t h e backing t o e x p e d i t e r e q u i r e d compliance.

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l i n e with t h e f i r s t above, t h e l o s s of housing u n i t s by way of p e r m i t a p p r o v a l , w h i l e t h e u n r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e a l s o ;means t h e non-existence of a Local Area p l a n . Such a plan f o r t h e comm9nity w i t h r e a l i n p u t from r e s i d e n t s would make proposed u s e s of l a n d / b u i l d i n g s / s i t e d e v e l o p ment comply w i t h t h e needs of t h e communi t y , r a t h e r t h a n t h o s e of i n d i d i u a l prope r t y owners. An example would be t h e remo v a l of a f f o r d a b l e h o u s i n g , i t s r e p l a c e ment w i t h expensive concominiums , & no requirement f o r t h e replacement of t h e l o s t u n i t s w i t h comparable u n i t s of t h e same p r i c e . . f o r r e s i d e n t s of t h e community.

Also, i f t h e community r e q u i r e s s p e c i a l needs housing mental h e a l t h consumers, Natives, s i n g l e parent families , e t c . t h i s k i n d o f housing would b e a f i r s t p r i o r i t y f o r d e v e l o p e r s who wish t o c o n s t r u c t o r r e n o v a t e b u i l d i n g s , r a t h e r t h a n t h e menti o n e d e x p e n s i v e condos.

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Recommendat i o n s 1. The f i r s t p r i o r i t y is a l s o t h e f i r s t recommendat i o n THAT t h e C i t y of Vancouver g i v e o f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n t o t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e a s a d i s t i n c t commiynity FURTHER THAT t h i s rec o g n i t i o n i n c l u d e t h e opening of a Local Area P l a n n i n g o f f i c e w i t h c l e a r a c c e s s & i n p u t t o t h e p r o c e s s by l o c a l r e s i d e n t s & community g r o u p s / o r g a n i z a t i o n s .

2. Following t h i s o f f i c i a l r e c o g n i t i o n THAT t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e g e t adequate p o l i c e , l i q u o r inspectors, h e a l t h ins p e c t o r s & housing i n s p e c t o r s t o uphold & e n f o r c e compliance w i t h e x t a n t laws, bylaws & r e g u l a t i o n s covered i n t h e i r resp, e c t i v e f i e l d s . FURTHER THAT t h e powers t o r e q u i r e compliance b e e x e r c i s e d w i t h t h e same d i l i g e n c e & c o n t i n u i t y a s i s done i n a l l o t h e r a r e a s of Vancouver.

3. The t r e a t m e n t of t h e Downtown East- - s i d e as a 'dumping ground' must be addressed THAT t h e CITYPLAN r e c o g n i z e t h e n e c e s s i t y o f d e c e n t r a l i s i n g t h e k i n d s & u s e s of v a r i o u s a g e n c i e s now overloaded i n o u r community; i.e. t h e r e f e r r a l s by v a r i o u s a g e n c i e s & even abandonment of d e i n s t i t u -

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t i o n a l i s e d mental p a t i e n t s t o t h i s a r e a u . e x c l u s i v e l y , a s though once h e r e t h e y can be w r i t t e n o f f . FURTHER THAT a working p l a n b e prepared f o r t h e implementation, when n e c e s s a r y , f o r a d e q u a t e c r i s i s s h e l t e r s . FURTHER THAT s u c h c r i s i s i n t e r v e n t ion no l o n g e r b e l e f t t o l a s t - m i n u t e ad hoc response ( u s u a l l y through c h a r i t i e s & ' / o r community f a c i l i t i e s i n a d e q u a t e a t b e s t t o t h e need) b u t t o an o r g a n i s e d , e f f i c i e n t & funded ~ l a n / p r e p a r a t i o n s .

4. Adequate & v a r i o u s p o s i t i v e s e r v i c e s need t o be c r e a t e d a l o n g w i t h more emphasis on c r i s i s s e r v i c e s . For example, t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e h a s no s p o r t s o r a t h l e t i c r e c r e a t i o n f a c i l i t y o t h e r t h a n unders i z e d gyms & pocket p a r k s t h a t a r e i n s u f f i c i e n t f o r u s e r e g a r d i n g t h e n$mbers of local residents.

5. There i s s t i l l t h e narrow-minded perce p t i o n t h a t h i s a r e a of t h e c i t y a s "Skid Road". P o s i t i v e a c t i o n on t h e above recommentations w i l l e n s u r e u s , a s r e s i d e n t s of t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e , t h a t , t h i s narrow-mindedness i s n o t o r i s no l o n g e r a t t r i b u t a b l e t o t h o s e promoting Vancouver as an " e x e c u t i v e c i t y " o n l y , w i t h "none x e c u t i v e s " b e i n g c o n s c i o u s l y squeezed out.

Respect f u l l y s u b m i t t e d , Margaret P r e v o s t Ian MacRae PaulR T a y l o r

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wbarc you pounding jour drurn into an insanc babbh w b arc you pistol whipping your drum a dawn

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why arc you shooting t h q h thc &ad ofyour drum and making a dnmr tragc$ of drums f thc drum is a woman don't abusc your drum don't abusc your drum don't abuw your drum I know thc night isfull of displatcd persons I scc skins stripcd withflamcs I know thc ugly dispositions of underpaid cjcrks thty constantt!y mcnstruatc through thc 9cs I know bittmcss embcddcd in&h , thc itching alonc can drivc you crazy I know that this is Amcrica and rhickcns are coming homt to roost on the MX mirsih But $ thc drum is a woman why arc you choking y u r drurn w b art YOU raping ycnw drum w b arc you saying disrcspcc@l thing to your mothcr drum your sistcr drum your w$ drum and injant datlghtcrdrum I f thc drum is a woman then unhrstand your drum your drum is not docilr your drum is not invisible your d m is not it$to you your drum is a woman so don't rcjcct your drum

"The plight of raped women as casualties of war is given credence only at the emotional moment when the side in danger of annihilation cries out for world attention.

When the military histories are written, when the glorious battles for independence become legend, the stories are glossed over, discounted as exaggerations, deemed not serious enough for inclusion in scholarly works. And the women are left with their shame."

E x m p t c d j u m an artirlr by Susan Bmwnmillcr pblishcd in Nn4?nucck, January 4, 1 9 9 3

don't try a dmninatc your drum don't bccmc wcak and cold and dcscrtyour drum don't bcforccd into thc position as an oppressor of hums and makc a drum tragedy of hums f thr drum is a woman don't abuse your drum don't abusc )nur drum don't abusr your drum

t

1

A Snowy S p r i n g I n '85

I t o o k a walk t h i s e a r l y morn And passed a row of d a f f o d i l s T h e i r golden heads were s d a l y bent A s t h e sun from them was s h o r n .

This spring s u r p r i s e s a r e i n s t o r e Because March winds blend i n with snow And i t ' s much l i k e a w i n t e r d a y , Even t h e t u l i p s d o n ' t know h t e s c o r e 1 t ' s noon now and t h e sun i s s h i n i n g The snow d i s a p p e a r e d a s f a s t a s i t came Even t h e primroses & c r o s u c a r e i n doubt I suppose t h e r e ' s no one t o blame.

We a l l l o v e t o s e e t h i n g s growing And i t ' s soon t i m e f o r f o r A p r i l showers What weather c o n d i t i o n s a r e b e f o r e u s ?

Hoping t h e elements improve f o r u s & t h e flowers Verna Johnston

The people GAME PLAY

I seen the l i g h t s For a h i g h e r power.

Freedom i s a l l we see.

L e t ' s h a v e a scheme t o o u r dream s c e n e .

The move's on People g e t higher, n o t lighter.

We g o t a s o l u t i o n get i t together. ~ o n ' tdream f o r Freedom i s h e r e H i g h e r Power

TODAY. Frank & J o e

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Editor, i f I were Bob Barker t h e question"1s.the p r i c e r i g h t ? " would c e r t a i n l y apply t o K i m Campbell's d e c i s i o n t o proceed with t h e purchase of t h e EII101s f o r t h e "bargain basement" p r i c e o f $5.8 6.

These planes, a r e supposed t o s e r v e u s i n 2 a r e a s p r o t e c t i n g o u r n a t i o n a l defence & o p e r a t i n g a s s e a r c h E r e s c u e . L e t ' s look a t each a r e a .

Where is t h e m i l i t a r y t h r e a t t o Canada? Ruesia i s s o broke t h a t most of its nuclear-powered s u b marines a r e s i t t i n g i n docks because t h e Russian m i l i t a r y c a n ' t a f f o r d t o o p e r a t e them. AS one commentator pointed o u t , i t ' d b e considerably cheaper f o r NATO t o purchase from Russia a l l of t h e i r nuclear-powered v e s s e l s f o r s c r a p r a t h e r than spend b i l l i o n s annually s e a r c h i n g t h e ocean f o r t h e handful s t i l l mperating. Clearlywe:donlt need t o spend $5.8 b i l l i o n t o - p r o t e c t ourselves; e s p e c i a l l y s i n c e t h e Ell-101s a r e almost 10;000 pounds o v e r t h e i r i n i t i a l d e s i g n weight T h i s l l l r e s u l t i n a n o t h e r expenditure t o r e t r o - f i t t h e c a r r l e r v e s s e l s , with no g u a r a n t e e t h a t t h e added r o l l i n s t a b i l i t y aotild be c o r r e c t e d .

I agree with Ms. Campbell t h a t our s e a r c h and rescue c a p a b i l i t i e s need improving, but not with t h i s $5.8 b i l l i o n expenditure. Boeing Canada has a l r e a d y w r i t t e n t h e Prime M i n i s t e r t o t e l l him t h a t t h e g o v ' t could save $1 b i l l i o n by l e t t i n g Boeing modernize 15 aged s e a r c h E r e s c u e helicopt e r s i n s t e a d of buying t h e new Ell-101s. The s e a r c h C r e s c u e component is r a t h e r u s e l e s s because, a s a n o t h e r commentator h a s pointed o u t , h e l i c o p t e r s s t a y up by pushing a i r down. Downdraft c r e a t e d by t h e Ell-101 i s such t h a t i t c a d t hover low enough t o s a f e l y r e a c h & p l u c k p e o p l e i n water.

L e t ' s improve o u r s e a r c h G r e s c u e c a p a b i l i t i e s i n o t h e r ways. I t ' s f a r from s a t i s f a c t o r y , p r i m a s i l y because Canada is d i v i d e d i n t o 4 s e a r c h and r e s c u e r e g i o n s with a l l o f f i c e s i n t h e southern p a r t of t h e country ( V i c t o r i a , Edmonton, Trenton & Halifax). Make t h e A r c t i c a s e p a r a t e regi'oni No "20-person bundlest1 o f h e a t e r s , f u e l , s l e e p i n g Sags, t e n t s &medical k i t s a r e s t o r e d i h t h e North should a p l a n e crash; It's a long haul from Edmonton. No i l l u m i n a t i o n f l a r e s a r e . s t b r e d $ i n t h e North even though darkness can be 24 hrs/day; again ittsalongwayfromEdmonton. No s e a r c h & rescue h e l i c o p t e r s which a r e f i t t e d w i t h s t r e t c h e r s and h o i s t s a r e s t o r e d i n t h e North. L e t ' s buy some new parachutes. The ones c u r r e n t l y used i n jumps by medical personnel a r e o f an a n t i q u a t e d mupd shape ( r a t h e r than h t e v a s t l y s u p e r i o r square parachutes used by t h e American m i l i t a r y ) . In t h e 1991 A l e r t c r a s h , every s i n g l e medical person was i n j u r e d jumping i n t o t h e craSh scene.Aswel1 t h e parachutes can o n l y be used i n winds o f l e s s . than 12 knots; t h e American o n e s can e a s i l y be used i n a 25-knot winds. Even more alarming is t h e f a c t t h a t t h e r e is no requirement f o r c o m e r c i a 1 f l i g h t s i n t h e North t o c a r r y s u r v i v a l equipment, e x t r a food, b l a n k e t s o r even emergency

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;:

l o c a t i o n t r a n s m i t t e r beacons. A s well, t h e crews of n o r t h e r n commercfal f l i g h t s a r e t r a i n e d i n a number e f emergency procedyres, such a s d i t c h i n g a t sea, but a r e n o t t r a i n e d i n A r c t i c s u r v i v a l .

People a r e c o r r e c t t o suggest t h a t Ottawa may not have chosen t h e EH-101 i f its main Canadian c o n t r a c t o r , Paramax, were n o t l o c a t e d i n M o n t t e a 2 home.of t h e M i n i s t e r a t t h e time, Marcel Masse.

K i m Campbell i s now pursuing t h i s purchase only t o save f a c e , She should swallow h e r p r i d e , canc e l t h e purchase, 6 t a k e t h e s e o t h e r s t e p s .

Darren L0We

Some Updates.

..

The new ~ a n u c k s 'Arena was approved a t a r e c e n t Council meeting.. . i n t h e f a c e of t h e g r e a t CITYPLAN t h a t c a l l s f o r " p u b l i c i n p u t on planning f o r t h e f u t u r e ' of Vancouver. I f you want i n p u t , you g e t a ' c i t y c i r c l e ' going, meet & t a l k , w r i t e your i d e a s down & send them i n t o I f you have $100 m i l l i o n , you j u s t g e t i t approved w i t h s t u d i e s on impact, e t c . , t o b e done s u p e r f i c i a l l y o r n o t a t a l l .

2. The Victory Square a r e a i s now known a s Crosstown. Council a l s o approved some g e n e r a l (vague) process f o r planning ( t o b e r e a d development) t h a t h a s very s p e c i f i c b o r d e r s . A t meetings i n Carnegie & a t t h e DERA g e n e r a l membership meeting, we demanded t h a t t h e e n t i r e Downtown EasP s i d e b e included i n t h i s o f f i c i a l design a t i o n , t h a t o u r e n t i r e community become invqlved i n planning, t h a t a Local Area Planning p r o c e s s b e set up r i g h t now. It d i d n ' t even make it on t h e r e p o r t , much less b e debated o r voted on by Council.

1.

.....

A s ' f a r a s t h e non-partisan m a j o r i t y on Council (NPA) is concerned, they won't set up any kind of forum where w e have> 'say i n what happens. Seems t h a t 'we make t o o much s e n s e ; r e p o r t s i n t h e media w them & t h e i r p r a c t i c e d s t u p i d i t y t o o ap a r e n t . Best t o c o n t i n u e pretending t h a t t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e i s n ' t h e r e . . e a s i e t o c o n t i n u e w i t h backroom d e a l s & l e a r e p o r t s a f t e r t h e i n k is dry.. .:

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'DOWNTO\VN EASTSIDE YOIJ'M ACTIVITIES SOCIETY

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STD C l i n i c - Monday t l l r o u g h F r i d a y , !lam - S p a .

FREE MEDICAL CLINIC - Mon, Wed, F r i d a y : 5: 30-7: 30pn1.

NEEDLE EXCHANGE - 221 Main; e v e r y d a y 9 a m - 5pm.

N e e d l e Exchange Van - on t h e ' s t r e e t Elon-Sat e v e n i n g s .

N . A . meets e v e r y Monday n i g h t a t 2 2 3 blain S t r e e t .

Out-to-Lunch

Bunch m e e t s d a i l y

at 59 P o w e l l ,

1992 DONATIONS: Cement I.lasons-$100 P a u l a R. -$20 Keith C. -$20 Nancy W.-$100 C o l l e e n E.-$25 Luba P.-$10 S t u a r t M.-$50 Robert -$I0 CEEDS -$SO Rotary Club o f Chinatown -$767.15 Four S i s t e r s Co-op -$SO0 J o y c e E.1.-$10 DERA - $500 The Old S a i l o r -540 Tom-$5 Legal S e r v i c e s - t 9 5 0 PLURA -$SO0 llazel M.-$25 E t i e n n e S .-$LOO C e c i l e C.-$20 F o r e s t Lawn -$25 B i l l T.-$20 Yvonne C.-$10 R o b e r t s ALC -$30 J e a n F.-$15 Eric E.-$10 S m i t h e r s S.S.-$45 Ken-$5 FAWS -$55 Mary G.+$25 'Wm. B. -$20 JOYT.$20 Anonymous -$I8 George Y. -$20 John K.-$50 B e r t T.-$10 Pam F.-$20 Wayne -$2.50 The Kettle -$I6 Lisa E.-$10

10-2:.30.

~ I NEWSLETTER E IS A PUBLICATION OF ~ I E

COWUNI.TY CENiRE ASSOCIATION. represent t h e views of i n d i v l d u ~ I contributors and not of the Associatlo~l.

CARNECIE Articles

NEED HELP ?

The Downtown E a s t s l d e R e s i d e n t s ' A s s o c i a t i o n c a n h e l p you with:

any w e l f a r e problem Informat ion OII l e g a l r i g h t s d l s p u t e s with landlords unsafe l i v i n g condlt ions income t a x UIC problems f lnd l n g Irons lng opening n bonk account Come i n t o t h e DEllA o f f l c e a t 9 East llnst l n g s S t o r pl~oneus a t 682-0931.

DERA's G e n e r a l Memberslrip meet.ing is on t h e r a s t F r i d a y o f e v e r y month i n C a r n e g i e T h e a t r e , s t a r t i n g a t LO:30am.

D E W IIAS IIISEN SERVING TIIE I)OWN1rOWN EAS'L'S I LIE F O R I9 Y EARS

THRONE-SPEECH A NON-STARTER FOR TENANTS The p r o v i n c i a l g o v t ' s throne speech o f f e r s no hope f o r improving t h e s i t u a t i o n of t h e one m i l l i o n t e n a n t s who l i v e i n B.C. "The t h r o n e speech has l e t down t e n a n t s .

This y e a r i s t h e t e n t h a n n i v e r s a r y of t h e a b o l i t i o n of both r e n t con-rols & t h e Offi c e of t h e Rentalsman. We expected f a r more from t h e NDP government," s a i d P e t e r Greenwell, Coordinator o f t h e BC Tenants Rights Action C o a l i t i o n (TRAC) "When t h e NDP was i n o p p o s i t i o n , t h e y brought forward l e g i s l a t i o n on a system of r e n t review, on s e c u r i t y o f t e n u r e , on funding f o r housing c o n s t r u c t i o n & f o r f i r s t time home buyers. Now t h a t t h e NDP i s i n government t h e s e i n i t i a t i v e s have been ignored. What h a s happened t o t h e NDP commitment t o t e n a n t s s i n c e t h e e l e c t i o n ? " TRAC h a s c a l l e d on t h e Harcourt g o v l t t o implement f o u r immediate reforms t o tenancy l e g i s l a t i o n a s a f i r s t s t e p t o t h e development of a comprehensive long-term housing strategy: 1 . . Rent c o n t r o l s ; 2. Reforming t h e system of s e c u r i t y dep.; 3 . E f f e c t i v e enforcement mechanisms when l a n d l p r d s d o n ' t do necessary r e p a i r s ; 4. P r o t e c t i o n f o r women who a r e being har a s s e d i n t h e i r homes.

Greenwell p o i n t e d o u t t h a t Consumer Serv i c e s M i n i s t e r Moe S i h o t a promised t o r e l ease a proposal on " r e n t review o r s t a b i l i z a t i o n " one year ago. In Dec. '92 TRAC r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s d e l i v e r e d l e t t e r s from over 2000 t e n a n t s from a c r o s s t h e provinueg,demanding r e n t c o n t r o l s , a b o l i t i o n of securi t y d e p o s i t s 6 b e t t e r r e p a i r mechanisms.

Yet no i n i t i a t i v e s on r e n t s t a b i l i z a t i o n have been produced t o d a t e .

On Thursday, March 18, Premier Harcourt s t a t e d t h a t : "For t o o long our e l e c t e d l e a d e r s have clung t o t h e s t a t u s quo & avoided t h e c h a l l e n g e o f change. BCcanwait no longer.*I Tenants a r e waiting f o r Premie r Harcourt t o a c t on t h e s e words. TRAC t a l k s t o a thousand t e n a n t s a month FrTRAC advocates s e e t h e i n c r e a s i n g f r u s t r a t i o n of t e n a n t s with t h e Harcourt government.

"Why a r e we s t i l l l i v i n g w i t h B i l l Benne t t ' s tenancy law? Premier Harcourt i s c l i n g i n g t o t h e s t a t u s quo. The NDP has a proud legacy of l e a d e r s h i p on housing and

tenancy i n i t i a t i v e s . Now is t h e time f o r t h e g o v l t t o s t a n d & d e l i v e r on long s t a n ding New Democrat p o l i c y , " s a i d Greenwell.

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I n s p e c t o r K. B jornerud, Van. P o l i c e .

Dear I n s p e c t o r Bjornerud, I am w r i t i n g on behalf of t h e Carnegi Community Centre Association. Th'e Assoc a t i o n r e p r e s e n t s 3000 members, most of whom l i v e i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e .

A t our r e c e n t monthly Community Relat i o n s Committee meeting t h e i s s u e of t h e s a l e of Ginseng Brandy & Chinese cookin wine was d i s c u s s e d .

A t Carnegie, we a r e o n l y t o o aware of t h e d e s t r u c t i v e n e s s of t h e s e forms of a cohol. We d e a l w i t h them on a d a i l y bas a s we encounter people who a r e s u f f e r i n from t h e e f f e c t s of e x c e s s i v e d r i n k i n g these substances.

The Board of D i r e c t o r s of Carnegie pas ed a motion at t h e i r March board meetin t h a t s t r o n g l y endorses t h e amending of t h e Liquor Control Act t o i n c l u d e t h e s a l e of Ginseng Brandy & Chinese cookin wine.

Sincerely, Margaret Prevost , Chairper9 Community R e l a t i o n s Committ

~ a r n e g i eCommunity R e l a t i o n s Commit t e e , The Women's Monument p r o j e c t was c r e a t ed t o honour t h e women who a r e v i c t i m s of v i o l e n c e , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e who have been murdered. It i s i n t e n d e d t o b e a p u b l i c space f o r women; a r a l l y i n g p o i n t f o r act i v i s m , a s i t e d e d i c a t e d t o women's issues. The Monument w i l l p y b l i c l y s t a t e t h a t we v a l u e t h e l i v e s of women.

T h i s l e t t e r i s t o inform your committee of t h e women's Monument P r o j e c t & t o a s k f o r your s u p p o r t . I n p a r t i c u l a r , we wish t o a s k f o r your b a c k i n g f o r o u r r e q u e s t t o t h e Vancouver P a r k Board f o r a p o r t i o n of t h e new p a r k n e x t t o S c i e n c e World. his new p a r k f a l l s w i t h i n ~ a r n e g i e ' s catchment a r e a & s u p p o r t from t h e C e n t r e is e s s e n t i a l f o r o u r r e q u e s t .

The s i t e ' s p r o x i m i t y t i t h e neighbourhoods where s o many of o u r s i s t e r s have , been murdered g r e a t l y i n f l u e n c e d o u r deci s i o n t o r e q u e s t t h a t s i t e . It is v e r y important t o u s t h a t t h e Monument b e loca t e d c l o s e t o where s o many of t h e women i t honours a r e murdered. We r e c o g n i z e * t h a t t h e murders of women i n t h e Downtown Eastside are treated differently, that t h e i r murders a r e o f t e n n o t i n v e s t i g a t e d & t h a t t h e i r murderers a r e r a r e l y caught.

We hope t h a t you a g r e e w i t h o u r b e l i e f t h a t t h e Monument's l o c a t i o n w i l l make a s t a t e m e n t t h a t we want t h i s p a t t e r n t o change.

A s a l a r g e s c a l e p u b l i c a r t endeavour, i t w i l l r a i s e awareness about t h e i s s u e & increase support f o r o t h e r anti-violence campaigns b d i r e c t s e r v i c e o r g a n i z a t i o n s .

A n a t i o n a l d e s i g n c o m p e t i t i o n , open t o women, w i l l encourage e n t r a n t s from a l l s e c t o r s of o u r s o c i e t y . We w i l l b e encour a g i n g j o i n t e n t r i e s & e x p e c t t h e outcome t o b e an i n n o v a t i v e , f e m i n i s t d e s i g n . o n c e o u r chosen s i t e i s s e c u r e d , t h e competition w i l l b e launched.

Women% Monument P r o j e c t s t a f f & commit t e e a r e now r a i s i n g t h e funds n e c e s s a r y Promote & b u i l d a l a s t i n g Monument.

The e n t i r e Women % Monument P r o j e e t , f ram its c o n c e p t i o n , t o i t s fund r a i s i n g s t r a t e g i e s , promotion, d e s i g n c o m p e t i t i o n and construction, observes a f f irmat f v e a c t ion p r i n c i p l e s . Women w i l l b e employed a t a l l

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s t e p s a l o n g t h e way, t o p r o v i d e opportuni t i e s f o r women t o work i n n o n - t r a d i t i o n a l a n d / o r male-dominated f i e l d s .

I n r e c o g n i t i o n of t h e number of Downtown E a s t s i d e women who have been musdere d , we have had ongoing d i s c u s s i o n s w i t h Cleo Reese of t h e C a r n e g i e C e n t r e & o t h e r women who a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n doing somethi n g t o s p e c i f i c a l l y honour t h o s e women.

It i s o u r i n t e n t i o n t o h o l d a j o i n t fundr a i s i n g e v e n t , p o s s i b l y i n , June. We h e l d a s j o i n t â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;&#x2122;und r a i s i n g e v e n t w i t h B a t t e r e d Women's Support S e r v i c e s l a s t November which was v e r y s u c c e s s f u l .

We hope t h a t t h e C a r n e g i e Community Rel a t i o n s Committee w i l l b e w i l l i n g t o supp o r t o u r e f f o r t s t o p l a c e t h i s Monument w i t h i n your neighbourhood. We l o o k f o r ward t o meeting w i t h t h e committee; we welcome your i n p u t & comments on o u r proj e c t a s w e l l a s your q u e s t i o n s .

In Solidarity, Cate J o n e s , C o o r d i n a t o r .

'.I

,

Marie is t h e messenger o f t h e G r e a t S p i r i t . Whenever I s e e h e r s h e t e l l s me t o p r a y t o t h e Great S p i r i t t o h e l p me when I f e e l t r o u b l e d . She b r i n g s me g i f t s somet i m e s s o I t h i n k s h e i s t h e Great Goddess of maybe a g u a r d i a n a n g e l . She i s a happy and p o s i t i v e i n f l u e n c e i n my l i f e .

Marie Rose Mercereau

A Response to the Commission on Housing Options' Report by the Tenants' Rights Action Coalition 93.03.23 ket can & does meet t h e needs of t h e major i t y of t e n a n t s i n BC fl 2 ) !that t h o s e whom t h e market cannot provide f o r due t o t h e i r e x c e p t i o n a l ' p o s i t i o n i n o u r economy have ' s p e c i a l needs'.

The Private Market The p r i v a t e market h a s n o t been a b l e t o provide a f f o r d a b l e r e n t a l housing f o r a v e P age households i n B C 1 s major urban c e n t r e s I r o n i c a l l y , t h e p r e v a i l i n g market r e n t s , ACTION COALITION which a r e t o o h i g h f o r average t e n a n t s , a r e too low t o prompt developers t o b u i l d new r e n t a l housing! I n f l a t e d land v a l u e s a r e t h e main reason f o r t h i s paradox.

CMHC, i n a r e c e n t s t u d y comparing p r i v a t e market r e n t a l c o n s t r u c t i o n i n v a r i o u s Canadian c i t i e s , c i t e d e x o r b i t a n t land The Tenants' Rights Action C o a l i t i o n p r i c e s a s t h e c e n t r a l reason f o r t h e l a c k (TRAC) i s one of t h e l e a d i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s of p r i v a t e r e n t a l c o n s t r u c t i o n i n Vancouvi n t h e province over t h e l a s t 10 y e a r s i n e r . CMHC concluded t h a t t o make r e n t a l pushing f o r a f f o r d a b l e housing. TRAC f e e l s c o n s t r u c t i o n a v i a b l e investment f o r develt h a t t h e o p p o r t u n i t y provided by t h e prov- opers, r e n t s f o r new c o n s t r u c t i o n i n Vani n c i a l g o v ' t through t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e couver would have t o r i s e a t l e a s t 20% Commission on Housing Options (COHO) was a p u t t i n g new 1-bedroom apartments i n t h e s i g n i f i c a n t o p p o r t u n i t y f o r B r i t i s h Colum- range of $800/mo, f o r example. The proposbians t o address t h e a f f o r d a b l e housing ed 400 "affordable" 1-bedroom r e n t a l u n i t s c r i s i s i n t h e province. a t Marathon R e a l t y ' s Coal Harbour s i t e However, TRAC h a s grave r e s e r v a t i o n s ab- w i l l have r e n t s above $1000! o u t t h e recommendations contained i n t h e This is n o t t h e first c r i s i s i n a f f o r d r e p o r t . The Commission's r e p o r t was c o n s t - a b l e housing t h a t BC h a s seen. However, r a i n e d by j u r i s d i c t i o n a l l i m i t a t i o n s & by t h e r e n t a l housing t h a t was b u i l t i n t h e t h e preliminary m a t e r i a l s t h a t s e p a r a t e d '40s, '60s 6 '70s d u r i n g t h o s e c r i s e s was people with ' s p e c i a l needs1 from t h e r e s t p a r t i a l l y financed through massive Federal of BC r e n t e r s whom t h e market i s capable & P r o v i n c i a l funding & t a x i n c e n t i v e s .

People a r e i n t h e midst of an a f f o r d a b l e , of providing f o r .

The COHO Report f a i l s t o b r i n g t h e e n t i r e housing p i c t u r e i n t o f o c - housing c r i s i s & one school o f thought i s us, thereby missing some o f t h e key i s s u e s t o throw more p u b l i c money a t t h e p r i v a t e f o r t e n a n t s i n BC today & i n t h e f u t u r e . developers i n a f u r t h e r e f f o r t t o b o l S t e r TRAC a s s e r t s t h a t any a n a l y s i s o f housa c h r o n i c a l l y f a i l i n g market i n s t e a d o f ing must work from a l i n k a g e o f p r o t e c t i o n f i n a n c i n g c r e a t i v e g o v l t & community i n i t f o r t e n a n t s , p r o t e c t i o n o f a f f o r d a b l e hou- i a t i v e s . C l e a r l y , i f t h i s market i s l e f t sing 6 t h e c r e a t i o n of new a f f o r d a b M hou- t o i t s own devices, it simply w i l l not s i n g . I t i s from t h e s e p e r s p e c t i v e s t h a t provide new a f f o r d a b l e ~ e n t a lhousing. t h e Commission's r e p o r t i s lacking.

OPTIONS FOR AFFORDABILITY or OPTIONS SQUANDERED?

,

THE MARKET AND 'SPECIAL NEEDS' The Commission's mandate was undermined by 2 assumptions: 1) t h a t t h e p r i v a t e mar-

'Special Needs'

The Commission's d e f i n i t i o n of ' s p e c i a l needs' s e t s up s t e r e o t y p e s t h a t a r e misle*

,

1

1

p-ding

6 u n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f r e a l i t y . For ex c r e a s i n g v u l n e r a b l e t o e v i c t i o n f o r f a i l u r e t o pay r e n t a s t h e i r co-tenants leave. ample, an average wage-earner .who makes; They pay r e n t i n c r e a s e s because t h e y have w i l l g r o s s about $1600 a month and no a l t e r n a t i v e 4 t h o s e i n c r e a s e s a r e not willt a k e home maybe $1250. She'd have t o c o n t r o l l e d by law. If t h e y f i g h t f o r repSpend $500-$650 (30-40% o f h e r g r o s s i n c ome) t o r e n t a modest 1-bedroom s u i t e i n a i r s , t h e y may f a c e r e t a l i a t o r y r e n t i n vancouver. If t h i s woman were a l s o a s i n g - c r e a s e s t h e y could n o t a f f o r d , l e p a r e n t , s h e ' d be forced t o l i v e i n e i t h Rent Controls e r overcrowded c o n d i t i o n s o r pay even more of h e r income t o a d e q u a t e l y s h e l t e r h e r The p r i v a t e s e c t o r p r o v i d e s 90% of accommodation f o r t e n a n t s . TRAC i s recommendfamily ($850-$950 f o r a 2-bedroom , u n i t ) . i n g changes t o t h e R e s i d e n t i a l Tenancy Act she'd t h e r e f o r e have t o pay 53-60% of h e r g r o s s income f o r b a s i c s h e l t e r . This exam- t h a t would t i e r e n t i n c r e a s e s t o t h e Conple i s only too t y p i c a l of t h e s i t u a t i o n sumer P r i c e Index (CPI). T h i s system has facing t h e over 1 m i l l i o n t e n a n t s i n BC. t h e advantage o v e r most ' r e n t review' s y s Can we c l a s s i f y a l l t h e s e people a s 'spec- tems o f being e a s i l y adminstered - reducing Eov't c o s t s i n running i t . i a l needs'?

The p r o f i t o b j e c t i v e o f p r i v a t e developRent c o n t r o l s geared t o t h e CPI would e r s under c u r r e n t market c o n d i t i o n s i s i n - remove a major d i s i n c e n t i v e t o t e n a n t s f o r c o n s i s t e n t with t h e g o a l of providing a f f - demanding r e p a i r s because l a n d l o r d s would ordable housing t o t e n a n t s . Other o p t i o n s no l o n g e r be a b l e t o t h r e a t e n t e n a n t s with - particularly legislative intervention & retaliatory rent inc~eases. gov" t housing programs - a r e c r u c i a l . These Rent c o n t r o l s provide more r e a l p r e t e c t , o p t i o n s were n o t a d e q u a t e l y explored by ion t o t e n a n t s t h a t t h e COHO recommendatt h e Commission a s t h e y were c o n s t r a i n e d by i o n s t o i n c r e a s e t h e s h e l t e r cmmponents pf t h e i r u n d e r l y i n g assumptions & t h e p u b l i c GAIN E SAFER & t o i n t r o d u c e r e n t supplemimpkrative of d e f i c i t r e d u c t i o n . e n t s t o working poor f a m i l i e s . The Report e s t i m a t e s c o s t s of t h e l a t t e r program a t $8 m i l l i o n annually. & o f f e r e d no e s t i m a t e of t h e G A I N & SAFER c o s t s . This $8 m i l l i o n a l o n e would more t h a n cover t h e c o s t o f a r e n t c o n t r o l program.

PROTECTING According t o t h e Commissioners however, they had no j u r i s d i c t i o n t o d i s c u s s r e n t THE AFFORDABILITY OF HOUSING ' c o n t r o l s (under t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n of ConsuTenants make up 36% of t h e households i n mer S e r v i c e s ) , b u t t h e y c l e a r l y saw f i t BC; t h e i r household incomes a r e o n l y 61% t o d i s c u s s t r a n s f e r s of money from S o c i a l of t h o s e o f home owners. Real wages have S e r v i c e s ' j u r i s d i c t i o n t o p r i v a t e landlords. f a l l e n province-wide w h i l s t r e n t s have The COHO p r o p o s a l s of r e n t supplements continued t o outpace them. Every y e a r t e n & s h e l t e r allowance i n c r e a s e s a r e not ona n t s pay more t h a n 30% o f t h e household l y c o s t l y b u t w i l l d r i v e up r e n t s u s i n g income i n r e n t . I n G r e a t e r Vancouver, a l t h e new allowances a s t h e base l e v e l . To most l i n 4 t e n a n t households pays more provide t h e s e supplements without r e n t t than 50% o f t h e i r income i n r e n t , c o n t r o l s would not b e n e f i t t h e t e n a n t s o r Tenants l i v e i n ciroumstances where t h e vacancy r a t e s remain low d e s p i t e t h e l a c k t h e ' p u b l i c t r e a s u r y . T h i s i s j u s t a transf e r of- p u b l i c money t o p r i v a t e l a n d l o r d s . o f r e n t c o n t r o l s . New ' a f f o r d a b l e ' r e n t a l PROTECTION OF stock i s n o t being b u i l t & e x i s t i n g s t o c k EXISTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING i s n o t being maintained t o c o n s i s t e n t , enLegalization of Secondary Suites f o r c e a b l e s t a n d a r d s . I t ' s n o t being r e p l a a ed when it happens t o be converted o r dem- TRAC s u p p o r t s t h e omm mission's c a l l f o r l e g a l i z a t i o n of secondary s u i t e s a c r o s s o l i s h e d f o r q u i c k - p r o f i t condominiums.

More & more, t e n a n t s a r e being forced t o t h e province by ensuring t h a t l o c a l govts double up & s h a r e housing. They become i n - do n o t e s t a b l i s h p o l i c i e s o r r e g u l a t i o n s

'

I

2

h a t u n r e a s o n a b l y impede t h e a b i l i t y of ;omeowners t o c r e a t e s e c o n d a r y s u i t e s The 2ommission e s t i m a t e d t h e r e a r e .75,000 2nd2ry s u i t e s i n BC - o b v i o u s l y a n i m p o r t a n t , a r t of o u r h o u s i n g s u p p l y . L e g a l i z a t i o n lay a l l o w f o r i n c r e m e n t a l d e n s i f i c a t i o n .n communities, & p r o v i d e new r e n t a l u n i t s a t t h e v e r y l e a s t it w i l l i n c r e a s e t h e s e c u r i t y of t e n a n t s now l i v i n g i n ' i l l e g a l ' s u i t e s . A l s o , l o a n s f o r u p g r a d i n g 2ndary s u i t e s a r e a necessary p a r t of l e g i s l a t i o n .

However, t h i s was a l s o t h e i n t e n t o f t h e Ontario g o v t ' s l e g i s l a t i o n t o l e g a l i z e secondary s u i t e s . But t h e r e h a s been a s t r o n g b a c k l a s h on t h e p a r t o f a n t i - t e n ant municipal govts. I t ' s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h a t g o v ' t may b a c k down on t h i s i s s u e .

T h i s must n o t b e t h e c a s e i n BC. The prov i n c i a l g o v ' t must e x e r t p o l i t i c a l leaders h i p i n p r o t e c t i n g t e n a n t s i n t h i s form of housing.

One concern TMC h a s i s t h e recommendat i o n t o a l l o w a 270 s q . f t . minimum s i z e f o r secondary s u i t e s . TRAC f i r m l y opposes t h i s minimum a s t o o s m a l l f o r d e c e n t l i v i n g s t a n d a r d s & recommends t h a t t h e minimum s i z e b e re-examined.

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Standards of Maintenance and Repair TRAC g i v e s q u a l i f i e d s u p p o r t t o t h e r e e ommendation f o r province-wide S t a n d a r d s of Maintenance & R e p a i r p l u s enforcement measures. Vancouver i s c u r r e n t l y t h e o n l y c i t y i n t h e p r o v i n c e t h a t e n f o r c e s rnaintenance s t a n d a r d s t h r o u g h a s p e c i f i c bylaw.

Other m u n i c i p a l i t i e s must b e g r a n t e d t h e same powers t h r o u g h t h e M u n i c i p a l Act. However, t h e COHO recommendation s a y s t h a t t h e Municipal Act "should e n a b l e l o c a l governments t o e n a c t s t a n d a r d s of maintew ance by-laws". Simply empowering t h e muni c i p a l i t i e s t o e n a c t minimum s t a n d a r d s is no g u a r a n t e e t h e y w i l l . M u n i c i p a l i t i e s should b e r e q u i r e d t o e n a c t minimum standa r d s & have t h e mechanism t o e n f o r c e compliance with municipal r e p a i r orders f o r . r e p a i r s through t h e t a x r o l l s .

t i o n of a f f o r d a b l e r e n t a l h o u s i n g o n l y where a d e v e l o p e r p r o v i d e s an e q u a l numbe r of a f f o r d a b l e h o u s i n g u n i t s , o r c o n t r s b u t e s t o a R e n t a l Housing P r o t e c t i o n Fund "Urban c l e a r c u t s " have l e v e l l e d l a r g e sect i o n s of Vancouver & V i c t o r i a . E x i s t i n g ' a f f o r d a b l e r e n t a l housing needs protecticn

CREATING AFFdRDABLE HOUSING TRAC does n o t s e e a s o l u t i o n t o t h e hous i n g problems f a c i n g t e n a n t s u n t i l t h e g o v ' t f i n d s more money t o s u p p o r t a f f o r d a b l e , non-market , r e n t a l h o u s i n g . I n f l a t ed l a n d v a l u e s b a ' h o t ' r e a l e s t a t e market make a f f o r d a b l e h o u s i n g an e l u s i v e dream f o r t h e a v e r a g e c i t i z e n . One of t h e manda t e s of t h e Commission was t o c o n s u l t t h e p u b l i c about how t o meet t h e h o u s i n g need of p e o p l e i n t h e * r e s t r b c t e d c i r c u m s t a n c e s of r e d u c t i o n s i n f e d e r a l f u n d i n g . However, t h e commission was n o t allowed t o f u l l y i n v e s t i g a t e a l t e r n a t i v e funding options.

TRAC p r o p o s e s bhe f o l l o w i n g methods of a c q u i r i n g moneys & l a n d s t o a d d r e s s t h e c r i s i s of a f f o r d a b i l i t y .

speculation Tax

..

The r e p o r t makes no r e f e r e n c e t o a specu l a t i o n of " f l i p p i n g " t a x t o d e a l w i t h t h e e s c a l a t i n g p r i c e of l a n d i n B C ' S majo r urban c e n t r e s . Land specuAation adds n o t h i n g of v a l u e t o t h e economy. W i n d f a l l p r q f i t s made by s p e c u l a t i o n s h o u l d b e t a x e d at a r a t e of 80% on p r o p e r t y bought & s o l d w i t h i n one y e a r . T h i s was a promise of t h e NDP b e f o r e t h e e l e c t i o n .

Demolition Control - .

Tax Reform , The Commission made no r e f e r e n c e t o proNo mention was made of changing t h e t a x t e c t i o n o f e x i s t i n g h o u s i n g s t o c k through a t i o n s t r u c t u r e . The 1976 U n i t e d N a t i o n s d e m o l i t i o n c o n t r o l s . We a d v o c a t e a R e n t a l , Conference on Human S e t t l e m e n t s ( H a b i t a t Housing P r o t e c t i o n Act t h a t a l l o w s demolg 7 6 ) , h e l d i n B C , a s s e r t e d t h a t " l a n d canA

a t

if

4

not b e t r e a t e d a s an o r d i n a r y a s s e t , con^ t r o l l e d by i n d i v i d u a l s & s u b j e c t t o t h e , p r e s s u r e s & i n e f f i c i e n c i e s of t h e market. " The 131 n a t i o n s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h i s conference adopted a r e s o h h t i o n c a l l i n g for g r e a t e r p u b l i c r e g u l a t i o n , taxat i o n & ownership of l a n d . They r e c o g n i z e d t h a t e x c e s s i v e p r o f i t s r e s u l t i n g from t h e i n c r e a s e i n l a n d v a l u e due t o development & change i n u s e a r e one of t h e p r i n c i p a l c a u s e s of t h e c o n c e n t r a t i o n of w e a l t h i n p r i v a t e hands. They recommended p r o g r e s s i v e t a x a t i o n methods and t h a t s f t a x a t i o n should n o t o n l y b e s e e n a s a s o u r c e of revenue f o r t h e community, but a l s o a s a bowerful t o o l t o encoura g e development of d e s i r a b l e l o c a t i o n s , t o e x e r c i s e a c o n t r o l l i n g e f f e c t on t h e l a n d market & t o r e d i s t r i b u t e t o t h e p u b l i c a t l a r g e t h e b e n e f i t s of t h e unearned i n c r e a s e i n l a n d v a l u e s . "

non-market h o u s i n g i n BC.

CONCLUSION The Commission's r e l u c t a n c e t o a d d r e s s t h e l i n k a g e s between t h e l a c k of p r o t e c t i v e measures, l a n d p r i c e s & s p e c u l a t i v e economic growth, r e s u l t s i n a r e p o r t t h a t does n o t a d d r e s s t h e i n a b i l i t y of t h e priv a t e market t o p r o v i d e a f f o r d a b l e r e n t a l housing f o r B C ' s t e n a n t s .

Enticements t o p r i v a t e d e v e l o p e r s o r cash t r a n s f e r t o p r i v a t e l a n d l o r d s w i l l n o t l e a d t o a l a s t i n g s o l u t i o n t o B C ' s a& f o r d a b l e h o u s i n g c r i s i s . B. C. n e e d s ajlong term public s t r a t e g y t h a t w i l l p r o t e c t tenants, protect the existing af fordable housing & encourage & s u p p o r t t h e a c r e a t i o n of a f f o r d a b l e , n o t - f o r - p r o f i t , h o u s i n g .

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S p e c i f i c a l l y TRAC encourages t h e g o v ' t t o evaluate e i t h e r a c a p i t a l gains t a x o r , a re-zoning t a x t o c a p t u r e t h e added v a l ue t h a t re-zoned l a n d g a i n s .

Social Housing Replacement Fund & Public Lands The e s t a b l i s h m e n t of a S o c i a l Housing Replacement Fund, b a s e d on c o n t r i b u t i o n s from d e v e l o p e r s who demolish a f f o r d a b l e r e n t a l h o u s i n g & t h r o u g h s p e c u l a t i o n &.l;ezoning t a x e s , i s c r u c i a l . T h i s fund would e n a b l e t h e p r o v i n c i a l g o v ' t t o a c t on i t s e l e c t i o n promise t o i n c r e a s e t h e number of non-market h o u s i n g u n i t s b u i l t i n BC. TRAC s u p p o r t s t h e Commission's c a l l t o make p u b l i c l a n d s a v a i l a b l e f o r h o u s i n g , but t h e y s h o u l d o n l y b e made a v a i l a b l e on long-term l e a s e s f o r f i r s t t i m e home buy. e r s , h o u s i n g co-ops & non-prof i t housing s o c i e t i e s . Public land should not be sold.

E s t a b l i s h e d NDP p o l i c y c a l l s f o r a ban on a l l s a l e s o f p u b l i c l a n d , even high-value government l a n d sites.

These s t r a t e g i e s would keep g o v ' t l a n d s out of t h e l a n d - p r i c e s p i r a l i n B C ' s majo r urban c e n t r e s & a l l o w t h e p r o v i n c i a l gov't t o s i g n i f i c a n t l y intervene i n land & h o u s i n g development, bhus i n c r e a s i n g t h e range o f o p t i o n s f o r s e c u r e & a f f o r d a b l e

A warm i d e a .

..

When t h e weather i s c o l d it i s p o s s i b l e t o send your h c i l d t o s c h o o l w i t h hand warmers t h e y can eat on t h e way t o s c h o o l o r l a t e r , c o l d f o r lunch. Twohot b o i l e d e g g s , one f o r each hand, o r i n c b a t pocke t s w i l l keep a k i d warm & g i v e them a warm b r e a k f a s t .

Dora S a n d e r s

.

An a c t i o n p l a n f o r affordable housing

There i s no s i n g l e s o l u t i o n t o t h e a f f ordable housing c r i s i s , We need co-operation from a l l l e v e l s of gov't. But our prov i n c i a l gov't can take t h e lead i n protect i n g t e n a n t s , preserving e x i s t i n g afforda b l e housing 6 c r e a t i n g more i n f u t u r e .

Protecting tenants 1. Return of r e n t c o n t r o l s , allowing them t o i n c r e a s e no more than t h e r a t e of i n f l a t i o n . This p r o t e c t s us from excessive increases; 2. S e c u r i t y d e p o s i t s must be abolished t o end t h e widespread abuse of d e p o s i t s by landlords. In New Brunswick t h e gov't holds them i n t r u s t ; Quebec & Ontario have abolished s e c u r i t y d e p o s i t s .

3 . F a s t e r G more e f f e c t i v e ways f o r tena n t s t o g e t r e p a i r s done t o our homes.

4. Measures t o s t o p harassment by landlords whether-it's directed against v i s i b l e m i n o r i t i e s , women, f a m i l i e s , gays E l e s b i a n s , o r low income t e n a n t s .

SAVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING 5 . Province-wide maintenance standards f o r , r e n t a l housing, p l u s enforcement meas: u r e s t h a t work.

6 . A Rental Housing Protection Act allowi n g demolition of a f f o r d a b l e r e n t a l housing only where a developer provides an equal number of a f f o r d a b l e housing u n i t s , o r giives,to a Sodial Housing:Replacemen.t Eund.

7. A t a x on p r o f i t s from land speculation with an exemption f o r owner-occupied homes, a s c a l l e d f o r by t h e NDP before.

8. A s t o p t o secondary s u i t e closures.

CREATING NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING 9. An immediate increase i n funding f o r s o c i a l housing, including support f o r p u b l i c , non-profit & co-op housing suitabl e f o r a l l of u s who cannot f i n d good h o u s h g on t h e p r i v a t e market. S e n i o ~ s , d i s a b l e d people, s f n g l e parents, n a t i v e people & people with low & moderate incomes a r e a l l a f f e c t e d .

10.Establishment of a Social Housing Replacement Fund supported by: t a x e s a n - r e a l e s t a t e speculation Erezonin mandatory c o n t r i b u t i o n s from developers who demolish a f f o r d a b l e r e n t a l housing.

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That was One Clever Creature An ESL s t u d e n t from South America remembers well an adventure she experienced r i t h a c l e v e r rodent.

S h o r t l y a f t e r she & h e r two children ~ovedi n t o a cement house near a wide jtream, she smelled a musty odour l i k e that of t h e s a l t y stream which was fed by the ocean a s h o r t d i s t a n c e away. I t f i l l e d :he house, even when a l l t h e doors & wind) w s were closed, so she assumed t h a t t h e r e nust be a family of rodents i n t h e house.

"We have t o do something about themY1lshe. told h e r two k i d s a s t h e y breakfasted.

"Set t r a p s , " h e r son s a i d .

"Put out poison,1v h e r daughter suggested..

"Good idea," t h e mother nodded. During a quiet moment they heard a s h u f f l i n g sound coming from t h e h a l l s t a i r s . They turned t o look i n t o t h e h a l l , a t t h e s t a i r s t o t h e 2nd f l o o r , and t h e r e was a l a r g e r a t , about t h e s i z e of a c a t , coming n o i s i l y down t h e wooden s t e p s . They a l l screamed & put t h e i r f e e t up o f f t h e f l o o r i n f r i g h t .

The r a t h u r r i e d down t h e s t a i r s & vanished down t h e h a l l .

The mother placed r a t poison a t several , s p o t s i n t h e house. A s b o r t time l a t e r she was alarmed t o f i n d some of t h e poison moved from where it had been placed t o ins i d e t h e kitchen cupboards, near food supp l i e s . That meant they had t o be careful of what they themselves a t e . This went on f o r about a week; then t h e smell of musky s a l t water got worse & t h e t h r e e had t o search out t h e source. They found t h e r a t dead & t h e mother removed it, throwing it back i n t o t h e stream where it must have come from by swimming from somewhere t o land on h e r property.

"That animal was t o o c l e v e r f o r its own good, our ESL student s a i d .

By DORA SANDERS

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Mornings on t h e buses, when .sun i s t o p i n c e r t a i n d i r e c t i o n s 4 an i n s i s t e n t sharp d i s o r i e n t s t h e head. t o o much a l r e a d y way i n t h e yellow breaking danger o f under labour, 4 everyone h e r e a t t h i s hour going one place, 4 t h e r e i s no s e c r e t t o i t . ~ ~ e r y o nt hei n k i n g i n swoops away from disbelief. Standing amid t h e accumulated t r y l s g r e s ~ i ~ nof~ avoidance, t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l s t i l l n e s s we l i v e i n s e r v e s i t s d i g ressive purpose w e l l . Weld never dream of venturing from t h i s contained immediacy of thought only t o be h o p e l e s s l y l o s t i n t h e confusion of accomplishments we never meat, snapped off from o u r l i t e r a l s o l i p sism.

O r again, r i d i n g t h e packed, parched buses home, f i n e orange d u s t seeping i n t o - our pores, fuzzying up o u r heads, while p a s t u s r o l l s t h e . e v e r more rythmic and f a m i l i a r landscape of s l e e p j I know where o u r heads a r e making tow. e. , a r d s then, why t h e b u i l d i n g s a r e a l l posed o v e r t h e makeshift l e c t u r n of sudset l i k e f a t q i s s i o n a r i e s , 4 t h e t i r i n g- s ~ i r i of t c o l o n i a l i s m groans i n a l l t h e t r a f f i c l i k e an unconscious, waking snore, while a l l t h e porches & balconies are darkened by t h e waking nightmare of e v e n t .

A l l I wanted t o s a y was t h a t f e a r f a v e r i s e t o t h i s moribund ocean, f e a r of what we'd have t o d~ if we hadn 1 t y e t l a s t f a i t h f e a r o f t h e next deluded second.

D~~ F~~~~~

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Lover1s Quarrel Lovely a s s h e is s h e i s deadly t o behold Much a s he would love h e r She is a s t h e mold Deadly a s she i s s h e would t a k e t h e world f o r you as he loves h e r Some l o v e a s you would Some l i v e a s 1 do May I spend t h e n i g h t o r day y e s you may A f t e r s u n r i s e i n t h e town love i s kind love is around.

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T O EVOLVE T H E G00S: ..AN EGYPTJAN W A Y OF*TW)NK/NG The a n c i e n t Egyptians e x p l a i n e d human 1if.e on E a r t h by a p r o c e s s whereby gods & goddesses descended i n t o t h e form of men & women i n o r d e r t o l i v e an e a r t h l y existence & grow w i s e i n human e x p e r i e n c e T h i s qhey e x p r e s s e d by t h e p h r a s e " t o become aged". The i d e a of a g i n g , o r growing o l d t h r o u g h c y c l i c change, was thought t o b e s i m i l a r t o t h e a g i n g of wine o r b e e r - a p r o c e s s of refinement , , d i s t i l l a t i o n & f e r mentation t h a b produced an evolved s u b s t a n c e The key t o t h i s "aging of t h e gods", a s i t was c a l l e d . i s t h e p r o c e s s of becoming (kephera) - t h e p r i n c i p l e of coming i n t o a new s t a t e of e x i s t e n c e , s e l f - r e n e w a l , which t h e E g y p t i a n s b e l i e v e d c o u l d not happen t o t h e gods:unless t h e y t o o k b i r t h i n human form. So t h e god Osiris, who was r e g a r d e d i n a n c i e n t Egypt a s t h e a c t i v e p r i n c i p l e of d e a t h & r e s u r r e c t i o n ( s i m i l a r t o Christ i n t h e Christian religion), must c o n t i n u o u s l y e n t e r o u r world i n a human i d e n t i t y i n o r d e r t o d i e & b e reborn many t i m e s , e x p e r i e n c i n g youth, matur i t y , o l d a g e , d e a t h ti u l t i m a t e l y r e b i r t h a s a c h i l d . T h i s w a s conceived t o be t h e only p r o c e s s t h a t o f f e r e d t h e gods t h e g i f t of wisdom gained through e x p e r i e n c e .

The r o o t of human conxciousness i s i n t h e c e n t r e of t h e e a r t h . T h i s h a s always been t h e c a s e . Each i d e n t i t y comes t o t h i s planet a t conception & takes root i b b i r t h Consciousness a r r i v e s a t an e a r t h l y locat i o n where it becomes human. Its d e s t i n y i s d e f i n e d by t h e changing geometry of t h e stars, s o t h a t t h e t i m e & p l a c e of our l i f e is experienced within t h e origina1 body of s p a c e , t h e Cosmic Mother "Nut? t h e goddess who g i v e s (pronounced E), b i r t h t o a l l gods & goddesses & i n t o whose body t h e y i n e v i t a b l y r e t u r n .

On E a r t h , e a c h i d e n t i t y wears an o r g a n i c a 'human body s p a c e s u i t , s o t o speak which r e f l e c t s i n i t s s t r u c t u r e t h e quali t i e s of t h e i d e n t i t y , allowing it t o move & e x i s t on t h e s u r f a c e of a p l a n e t , t o e x p l o r e t h e atmosphere of e a r t h l i f e .

The c o n n e c t i o n o r r o o t of each human ide n t i t y i n the planet's core t o the centre o f a t h e e a r t h , allows i t t o navigate the s u r f a c e o f t h i s unknown world & t o s p r e a d

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an i n t e r a c t i v e awareness i n t o i t s surround i n g s , t h e i n t e n s i t y of r e c e p t i o n & t r a n a m i s s i o n s i n t h i s i n t e r a c i t i v e process . ( i e t h e q u a l i t y of o n e i n d i v i d u a l e x i s t e n c e ) depends on how s o l i d & a c c u r a t e i t s conne c t i o n t o t h e E a r t h ' s c e n t r e i s & how completely i t can open i t s channel t o t h a t source.

The l i n e of p e r f e c t e q u i l i b r i u m o r b a l ance, t h e exact v e r t i c a l t o t h e Earth's c o r e is determined by t h e E a r t h ' s f i e l d of g r a v i t y , i t s s p h e r o i d shape & t h e accumulated e f f e c t of i t s motion i n space.

T h i s l i n e can b e demonstrated by a plumb l i n e o r weighted s t r i n g , & was symbolized t h i s way i n E g y p t i a n w r i t i n g . Today t h e e x a c t v e r t i c a l alignment o r - " s t i l l l p o i n t n . i n d i c a t i n g t h e ~ a r t h ' sc e n t r e i s such an obvious & ' a c c e p t e d f a c t of l i f e $hat t h e deeper s y c h o l o g i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e of i t h a s been overlooked i n f a v o u r of an easy appl i c a t i o n o f p r a c t i c a l mechanics.

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E v e r y t h i n g t h a t m a i n t a i n s a s o l i d form o i n motion o r a t r e s t i s c e n t r e d on t h i s i v e r t i c a l alignment t o t h e e a r t h ' s core. k ~t is t h u s t h e primary s u p p o r t of a l l ex- c i s t e n c e on t h e p l a n e t ' s s u r f a c e . The ver- u t i c a l l i n e t o t h e ~ a r t h ' sc o r e i s known :t by t h e a n c i e n t E g y p t i a n ward "maat". It nr i s feminine , symbolized by a s i n g l e f e a t k ' e r r i s i n g from t h e t o p o f t h e head on t h e v e r t i c a l alignment. The l i t e r a l t r a n s l a t i o n of t h e word "maat" is t h e s h o r t e s t d i s t a n c e between two p o i n t s , o r " d i r e c t truth". it h a s been lrardously expressed by ~ ~ ~ ~ t ~a s ij u ~ s t i cg e , i t r~u t ht , srighteousness , harmony, p e r f e c t i o n , e t c .

The d i r e c t t r u t h o f , e x a c t v e r t i c a l alignment t o t h e E a r t h ' s c o r e cannot b e achieved by m a n i p u l a t i o n it is not a m a t t e r .â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;&#x2122; w a l k i n g a t i g h t r o p e any d e v i a t i o n from p e r f e c t r e s t d i s t o r t s ' h a a t " & results i n an o f f - c e n t r e d e x i s t e n c e . SO t h a t

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alignment t o t h e E a r t h ' s c e n t r e

Ls only a r e s u l t of r e l a x i n g , g i v i n g up, letting

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t h e f o o t d i r e c t l y t o t h e c e n t r e of t h e E a r t h . The marriage of "maat" t o Thoth, a n o t h e r Egyptian d e i t y o r " n e t e r " symboli z e d t h e union of d i r e c t t r u t h & c r e a t i v e i n t e l l i g e n c e & t h e a n c i e n t Egyptians b e l ieved t h a t one c o u l d not e x i s t w i t h o u t t h e other. . TORA

go, e t c . I t ' s t h e s t i l l p o i n t upeach i d e n t i t y comes t o rest when Dn it g i v e s up c l i n g i n g t o a n y t h i n g b a l l o w s itself t o f a l l i n t o p e r f e c t co-incidence flit. i t s o r i g i n a l n a t u r e .

Maat alignment t o t h e E a r t h ' s c o r e , a thought by t h e a n c i e n t Egyptians t o p e r f e c t mot i o n , p e r f e c t r e s t , p e r feet t h o u g h t , speech, m o t i v a t i o n , wisdom, ,tc. These t h i n g s were n o t a r e s u l t of human a c t i v i t y , b u t of cosmic p r i n c i p l e s inherent i n t h e s t r u c t u r e o f t h e universe.

For t h i s reason t h e a n c i e n t Egyptians ,,nsidered "maat", t h e q u a l i t y of d i r e c t t r u t h a r i s i n g from hhe v e r t i c a l alignment, t o b e a c a t a l y s t f o r t h e b i r t h of godl i k e n e s s i n each human being.

The v e r t i c a l alignment t o t h e E a r t h ' s ore is c o n t a i n e d w i t h i n your body & gene r a l l y c o i n c i d e s w i t h t h e s p i n a l column & i i d d l e e a r (cochlea) which i s t h e e s s e n t p a l p o i n t of o r i e n t a t i o n f o r mind-body hnif i c a t i o n . When a p e r f e c t l y r e l a x e d , p a t u r a l l y e r e c t s t a n d i n g p o s t u r e i s ach.ieved, muscular c o n t r a c t i o n i s o n l y n e c e s &ecary f o r motion. P e r f e c t movement, Swhich is economically s p a r e & n a t u r a l l y Algraceful , r e s u l t s from a s t i l l , p e r f e c t l y -balanced c e n t r e . S i m i l a r e f f e c t s a r e produced by '.'maat", .the E a r t h ' s v e r t i c a l , on Fields Store -the mind & emotions stilling their rate of v i b r a t i o n , s o t h a t s p a r e , calm o b j e c t Welfare t o l d me t o go & p r i c e things. I ive t h i n k i n g & n a t u r a l l o v e & a f f e c t i o n t o l d my worker I d o n h t know how & she a r e p o s s i b l e . Maat a l s o , as t h e Egyptians s a i d t h a t i f t h e s t o r e had courtesy i t ' d conceived i t , produced an e t h i c a l a t t i t - . h e l p me. I approached t h e F i e l d s s t o r e & - ude & h e a l i n g e f f e c t s w i t h i n t h e body (a* asked t h e woman behind t h e counter t o t u a l l y , r e j u v e n a t i o n ) Whether s t a n d i n g , help me t o p r i c e t h i n g s . I explained t o moving o r l y i n g down r e s t i n g , t h e v e r t i c h e r t h a t I'm a l i t e r a c y student 6 t h a t I a l alignment p a s s e s through t h e c e n t r e of was going t o school a t Carnegie. The womour being. Relaxing i n t e r n a l l y i n t o t h e an s a i d , '.'No, we donkt have time f o r peop l e l t k e you," She gave me a d i r t y frown.

E a r t h ' s g r a v i t a t i o n a l f i e l d is t h e key t o Another woman s a i d t h e same thing. I was c o i n c i d i n g w i t h "maat".

I t ' s a l i t t l e known f a c t t h a t t h e ~ g y p t - upset & swore because it was racism. I ian word u s u a l l y t r a n s l a t e d a s "god" o r l e f t t h e s t o r e crying because I was very "goddess" - n e t e r a c t u a l l y means Cosmic h u r t . I phoned my wife & c r i e d on t h e Law o r P r i n c i p l e , s i m i l a r t o t h e p r i n c i p phone. She t o l d me not t o l e t it bother me - les of mathematics o r music. Maat was syn+ but it did. Then I went t o Army 6 Navy and - b o l i z e d by a woman wearing a s i n g l e f e a t h they helped me r i g h t away. I am going t o er i n a headband - t h e p o s i t i o n of which shop t h e r e a l l t h e time. I love a l l people with t h e l i n e of equilibrium but a l o t of people d o n P t love me. God that r u n s through t h e i n n e r e a r , s p i n a l loves you so do I . : & p o i n t of b a l a n c e on t h e s o l e of

By TERRY FLAMOND

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NAFTA i s not law yet. They've had these s i g n i n g ceremonies here & t h e r e but those were staged p l a y s t o convince people t h a t it i s i n e v i t a b l e . Nice t r y .

Regional r e p o r t s shared a c t i v i t i e s and events t h a t a r e ongoing throughout BC. Most c a l l e d f o r much more public education & t o l d of e f f o r t s around conferences, speakers a t community forums, r a d i o & TV coverage, workshops, l i t e r a t u r e & c o a l i t i o n building.

The b e t t e r p a r t of t h e afternoon was devoted t o work on a ~ r o v i n c i a ls t r u c t u r e 4 f o r ACN i n BC. There Hre now 5 'chapters' - Kelowna, Comox Valley, Shuswap, Tinwis, Vancouver - & p a r t i c i p a t i o n / s u p p o r t from : t h e BC F e d e r a t i o n of Labour i s now online i with energy, resources & people.

The bonding p r i n c i p l e s a t t h e base of a a l l participation are: * f i g h t i n g t h e llFree" Trade Agreement A *exposing t h e corporate agenda ( * promot ingr qqual i t y * s h a r i n g informat ion * developing r e a l a l t e r n a t i v e s through co-operation & c o a l i t i o n building, BE EFFECTIVE! The "bottom l i n e "

ACN i s t h e Action Canada Network i n BC; AGM stands f o r annual general meeting. I t happened a t t h e Teachers1 Federation on ~ u r r a r d& r e p s from community groups and unions and c o a l i t i o n s from d i f f e r e n t BC l o c a t i o n s converged f o r t h e day-long meet i n g on Saturday March 13th.

Tony Clarke, chairperson of t h e nationa l Action Canada Network, opened, t a l k i n g about how o t h e r provinces have s t r u c t u r e d t h e i r c o a l i t i o n s t o give t h e broadest r e p r e ~ e n h a h i 0 n .The ~ North American Free Trade Agreement remains a s t h e f o c a l p o i n t of e f f o r t s i n Canada, Mexico & t h e US of almost everyone who knows even a l i t t l e of what NAFTA i s & w i l l do. Action p l a n s a r e a l s o r e p o r t s on what has & i s being done, a s well a s what could happen i n t h e near f u t u r e . A t t h e most r e c e n t ACN assembly i n Ottawa, t h e unanimous f e e l i n g of r e p s from a l l s e c t o r s was t h e ache people have t o "do somethingf1 t o make NAFTA t h e i s s u e of everyone.

Tony gave some news about opposition t o NAFTA i n t h e S t a t e s ; a s it s t a n d s r i g h t now it w i l l not pass i n t h e US Congress.

However, t h e vested i n t e r e s t s transnati o n a l corporations have ' s i d e ' meetings going now i n Washington D.C. t o d r a f t ' s i d e ' agreements t o p l a c a t e ( b u l l s h i t ) enough people t o g e t i t signed. Oh Yes!

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By PAULR TAYLOR Anyone wanting t o volunteer, t o g e t involved, can c a l l Paul McKane a t 522-79 11. or - Ellen Woodsworth a t 736-7678.

P.S.:

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THE CALL How l i v i n g s were made. !low it became a l l but impossible t o make one. What was spokD i s t i n c t a r e t h e wards from t h e en o f i n those dark g a l l e r i e s , n i g h t s i n Heavens above. general marching j u s t beyond t h e g l a s s .

I t i s time, my beloved, whom I love.

Why h i s t o r y must be caged i n time t o t h e The w a i t has been long ' b e a t of new mechanics, t h e new paces of s i n c e My f i r s t c a l l t o you. n e c e s s i t y . Why legends arw t b l d near t h e f i r e Now you stand ready, and a l l along I n a b i l i t y t o s a y t h e d e a r momentary.

I knew Who llwaitsn a t t h e ltoceantl f o r you, t h e Did you? "ocean you w i l l never reach," counting on F a i t h h o l d s t h e keys which unlock waves t o achieve some kind of "resoiution. I t t h e door.

How t h e colours of h a b i t u a l d i s i n c l i n a A promise of l i f e t i o n leave f a i n t odours of s t a l e equations comes with t h a t reward. around your rooms. How t h e r e is l e s s & l e s s Grace He g i v e s f r e e l y t o t h e s p i r i t u a l l y ~ room f o r more 4 more concessions.

Heavenly Angels make t h e i r way tothe:Thro What descends l i k e a sugar concussion on with h u m s of g r e a t joy you. f o r your soul Dan Feeney which He owns.

R i t a Woodman '

he APRIL FOOL'S DAY PARADE! Saturday, April 3rd.

Go t o t h e Aquatic Centre ometime between noon & 1 p.m.

THE DOWNTO\VN EASTSIDE GOES EAST!?!

P a i n t i n g s by TORA (Carnegie' s "Poet Laureate")

w i l l be e x h i b i t e d f o r t h e month o f A ril

A t : LA QUENA 1111 Commercial

Opening night: Sat., APRIL 3 Entertainment with Poetry & Nusic!

DISPENSARY TO BE DrriMPED ON THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE T h e r e is a p l a n i n t h e works t o r e l o c a t e methadone d i s p e n s i n g s e r v i c e s from Grandview P r e s c r i p t i p n s a t 1 5 t h & Commercial t o t h e 400-block o f Abbott, b e s i d e Lubik's smoke shop. The p r o p o s a l i s a r e s u l t of c o m p l a i n t s from Commercial Drive b u s i n e s s es, r e s i d e n t s & GrandviewWoodland Council.

John Turvey, DEYAS D i r e c t o r , came t o t h e DERA g e n e r a l meeting on March 26th t o a s k Eor s u p p o r t i n f i g h t i n g t h i s p r o p o s a l . He :poke o f one d o c t o r , behind t h i s move, who is c u r r e n t l y under i n v e s t i g a t i o n by t h e C o l l e g e of P h y s i c i a n s & surgeons f o r v e r y q u e s t i o n a b l e p r a c t i c e s i n v o l v i n g unn e c e s s a r y p r e s c r i p t i o n d r u g s b e i n g put i n t h e hands of p e o p l e s t i l l a c t i v e i n t h e i r a d d i c t i o n s . The owners o f t h i s f or-prof i t d i s p e n s a r y a r e a l s o involved i n i n v e s t i g a t i o n by a u t h o r i t i e s .

Turvey h a s been quoted a s b e i n g opposed t o any c o n c e n t r a t i o n of d i s p e n s i n g s e r v ices. He s u g g e s t s t h e y b e d e c e n t r a l i z e d & l o c a t e d throughout t h e c i t y ; eg Shaughnes s y , Businesses i n t h e 400-block Abbott are concerned t h a t t h e d i s p e n s a r y w i l l i m c r e a s e s t r e e t crime, s c a r i n g a w a y c u s t o m e r s L u b i k ' s owner i s p a r t i c u l a r l y w o r r i e d abo u t s e n i o r s b e i n g h a r a s s e d . Pendera i s l o c a t e d r i g h t around t h e c o r n e r & s e v e r a l r2s::dents have a l r e a d y been mugged i n t h e alley.

Should t h i s happen, Abbott b u s i n e s s e s w i l l b e f o r c e d t o s h u t down o r move o u t of t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e . The 100-block . o f H a s t i n g s is a l r e a d y a v i r t u a l ghostown.

The proposed r e l o c a t i o n o f t h e d i s p e n s a r y t o t h e D.E. r e f l e c t s t h e t r a d i t i o n a l approach t a k e n t o s o c i a l problems; roughly " L e t ' s dump it on t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e . . nobody down t h e r e i s gonna complain."

T h i s w i l l c o n t i n u e t o b e t h e c a s e i f we d o n ' t o r g a n i z e a g a i n s t it."

Port/City

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waterfront planning process

There is a fundamental concern t h a t t h e r e w i l l n o t b e p r o p e r & r e a l community i n p u t i n t o t h e p u b l i c p r o c e s s i n development & impacts of t h e c e n t r a l w a t e r f r o n t The l a c k o f p u b l i c h e a r i n g s , normal p e r m i t s & s o n i n g & Board o f Variance p r o c e s s is a r e a l concern.

F u r t h e r , t h e a b s e n c e of independent & obj e c t i v e environmental & s o c i a l impact repo r t s & s t u d i e s leaves t h e surrounding neighbourhoods w i t h o u t a r e a l v o i c e .

The r e c e n t l e a k e d r e p o r t on a d e a l by t h e P o r t t o t h e C i t y o f Vancouver ( r e g a r & i n g Devonian P a r k , a c c e s s f o r people w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s t o Crab P a r k & a t r u c k r o u t e i n t o New B r i g h t o n Park) must l e a v e waterf r o n t neighbourhood groups w i t h apprehension & disbelief.

This IplanningVprocess. in-private, behind-closed-doors between C i t y & P o r t officials/fianners..does n o t a l l o w f o r r e a l i n p u t from o u t s i d e .

A d i s p l a y on p u b l i c p r o c e s s & d e c i s i o n t i m i n g is t o b e set up a t t h e Seabus s t a t i o n . T h i s l o c a t i o n f o r " p u b l i c involvement" e x c l u d e s t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e . I would recommend a meeting t o b e h e l d i n t h e D.E., a s h o u s i n g 6 ' 0 t a 8 $arki:dlU lbe h e a v i l y impacted by P o r t developments.

E a r l y t r a f f i c impact s t u d i e s need t o b e done a s t h e , p o t e n t i a l f o r heavy t r a f f i c a t certain periods, noise & air -pollution are serious.

The P o r t development needs t o b e planned a s a community, & a s a f e one. New h o u s i n g , mini-parks, community s e r v i c e s & t u r a l f e a t u r e s f o r a l l Vancouverites need t o b e a fundamental component of t h e P o r t development b e s i d e Crab Park.

I s o l a t e d meetings w i t h c e r t a i n groups & s u p e r f i c i a l p u b l i c showcase meetings w i l l n o t produce a new, s a f e & p r o p e r communit y on t h e w a t e r f r o n t o f o u r c i t y .

Don Larson

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NAFT'A: MORE O F THE S A M Et FREE TRADE AND THE CORPORATJ~AGENDA: W R RIGHTS VS OURS During t h e 1984 e l e c t i o n campaign, B r i -

an Mulroney s a i d : "Give me a mandate and you won't recognize t h i s country 10 years from now". I t t u r n s out t h i s was one promise the Prime Minister d i d keep. And he did it ahead of schedule.

A t t h e c e n t r e of t h e changes he purrsued was t h e Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA-), i n i t i a t e d by Big Business & f a i t h f u l l y followed through by t h e Tories. Now these two p a r t n e r s a r e moving t o extend that agreement into one that adds Mexico: the. North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Like t h e FTA, NAFTA i s n ' t prima^ i l y about t r a d e , but investment & s t i l l g r e a t e r Canadian dependency on t h e U.S. These agreements give corporations more freedom t o move f a c i l i t i e s , capture marke t s , i n v e s t where & how they p l e a s e without any s o c i a l r e s t r i c t i o n s . And by increasing our formal i n t e g r a t i o n with t h e U.S. - a country whose s o c i a l d i r e c t i o n Big Business admires but c a n ' t always s e l l i n Canada - they i n d i r e c t l y push u s along t h e same path a s t h e United S t a t e s .

The f l i p s i d e of t h i s increased corpora t e freedom & power i s a reduction i n freedom, & an i n c r e a s e i n our i n s e c u r i t y .

Giving corporations more r i g h t s erodes our own democratic r i g h t t o enauretfirough gov't a c t i o n s t h a t t h e economy a c t u a l l y serves t h e i n t e r e s t s of i t s c i t i z e n s . The FTA & MAFTA consolidate corporate power 6 l i m i t our a b i l i t y t o : * i n s i s t t h a t an American multinational taking over a Canadian company must a t l e a s t preserve jobs; * o r demand t h a t companies s e l l i n g here must include a commitment t o provide some jobs & investment here (e.g. we can no longer improve o r extend t h e aubo pact).. * o r use govlt purchases t o support l o c a l businesses; * o r charge Americans more f o r our energy 4 cutback on s a l e s t o them t o preserve our own stock. (A precedent t h a t ,

our

some argue, might a l s o a f f e c t our f u t u r e water supplies. Note t h a t Mexico, unlike Canada, refused t o go along with t h i s p a r t i c u l a r a s s a u l t on i t s energy 5 i t s sovereignty.) Canada can, however, s t i l l subsidize t h e production of energy f o r Americans with a s much of our t a x e s a s we want.

These f r e e t r a d e agreements d i d not emerge out of t h i n a i r . They a r e p a r t of a broader d i r e c t i o n aggressively puksued by t h e Bfg Business/'Tory partnership a f t e r t h e Tories came t o power i n 1984. That . . d i r e c t i o n , which has been dubbed "the corporate agenda," included p r i v a t i z a t i o n , deregulation, cutbacks i n s o c i a l s e r v i c e s 6 v i t a l national i n s t i t u t i o n s , t a x change t h a t favoured t h e r i c h F t h e corporations they owned, negleqt of a growing environ, mental c r i s i s , a t t a c k s on t h e c o l l e c t i v e bargaining r i g h t s of public s e c t o r workers & p o l i c i e s t h a t g e n e r a l l y lead t o t h e s t a g nation o r d e c l i n e of t h e l i v i n g conditions of working people.

What made " f r e e trade" such a c e n t r a l p a r t o f a l l of t h i s was t h a t i t t r i e d t o use an i n t e r n a t i o n a l agreement t o make t h e s e changes permanent - t o c l o s e o f f any a l t e r n a t i v e s t h e democratic process might come up with i n t h e f u t u r e .

BUT W A S N T THE FTA A SUCCESS? During h i s second e l e c t i o n , t h e Prime Minister s a i d : "Free t r a d e w i l l c r e a t e .jobs, e s p e c i a l l y f o r our young people, and put more money i n t o t h e pockets of our workers." And now t h e Tories & t h e i r business a l l i e s a r e running around t r y i n g t o t e l l us t h a t i n s p i t e of what we s e e bef o r e our eyes, t h i s promise has a c t u a l l y come t o pass.

They t e l l us t h a t t h e inflow of money from t h e US i n t o Canadian business has increased. But they pass over t h e f a c t t h a t f o r every such d o l l a r t h a t came t o Canada over t h e l a s t 3 years, $2.65 l e f t .

They t e l l u s t h a t exports a r e up. But they have nothing t o say about t h e r i s e i n our imports 4 t h e warning from t h e Canadian Manufacturing Association ( a f r i e n d i n t h e i r f i g h t f o r f r e e t r a d e ) t h a t "WePre l o s i n g our own market very, very quickPyegl (Toronto S t a r , 9/'92). Needless t o say, -.

-.heir "information k i t s " d o n ' t r e v e a l t h a t mr o v e r a l l t r a d e p o s i t i o n was i n s u r p l u s when t h e T o r i e s came t o o f f i c e , but today we not only have a d e f i c i t , but one of t h e highest t r a d e d e f i c i t s i n t h e world.

ALTERNATIVES

The s t a r t i n g point f o r an a l t e r n a t i v e d i r e c t i o n f o r our economy i s t h a t we r e j e c t t h e FTA $ NAFTA. They stand i n t h e way of anything we might t r y t o do t o change t h e d i r e c t i o n of our economy & g a i n some c o n t r o l over our l i v e s .

This need t o change direction, t o c r e a t e lore o p p o r t u n i t i e s , is important across bur country; but it i s p a r t i c u l a r l y c r u c i 11 i n a l l t h e s e regions where we have be:ome overdependent on resources & need t o mtervene d i r e c t l y i n t h e market i f econonic development of any kind i s t o occur.

Getting r i d of t h e s e agreements w i l l : e r t a i n l y cause t e n t i o n s with t h e Americm s - but, a s we've learned i n t h e p a s t , so w i l l doing anything US administrations io not agree with (even s i n c e we've had They admit t h a t t h e r e has been a recessthe agreement, they've continued t o do on but quickly add t h a t we're doing b e t t hat they want, agreement o r no agreement). :r than o t h e r s because of t h e FTA. But why If we want t o maintain our sovereignty, then does Canada have t h e worst unemployt h i s i s something t h a t must be risked. ment' r a t e among t h e major i n d u s t r i a l i z e d I t ' s important t o make it c l e a r t h a t we countries? a r e not a g a i n s t t r a d e t r a d e i s important A l l along t h e y argued t h a t by c o n t r o l l t o our country. What we oppose i s leaving ing US harassment o f Canadian goods & s e r the i s s u e of t r a d e & investment i n t h e unv i c e s we'd be more secure. But a s t h e 2ndi l a t e r a l hands of m u l t i n a t i o n a l s , with no in-command i n n e g o t i a t i n g t h e FTA r e c e n t l y s o c i x ~ linput. admitted ( i n f r u s t r a t i o n over what was And we're not a g a i n s t having economic happening i n softwood lumber, s t e e l , pork, r e l a t i o n s with l e s s developed c o u n t r i e s beer, e t c . ) , t h e t r u t h i s t h a t "the FTA l i k e Mexico. In t h e auto industry, f o r exhas f a i l e d t o . . . p r o t e c t Canadian exporters ample, we've argued t h a t it m a k e sense t o from t h e abuses of t h e American system" n e g o t i a t e a three-way auto pact between (Gordon R i t c h i e , 0ttawa C i t i z e n , ,l3/7/92).

Canada, t h e US & Mexico. Such a s e c t o r a l And NAFTA d i d n ' t c o r r e c t t h i s . US negott r a d e pact would include both regional . .i a t o r J u l e s Katz b l u n t l y s t a t e d l a s t f a l l : r u l e s (to s e l l i n t h e North American mark"Canada's hope of achieving an agreement e t , you have t o make a c e r t a i n commitment t o reduce US t r a d e harassment through here) & n a t i o n a l r u l e s (you a l s o have t o c l e a r e r r u l e s on s u b s i d i e s & anti-dumping make a commitment t o preserve & expand has l a r g e l y been abandoned.ll (Star,11/9/92) jobs i n each of t h e 3 c o u n t r i e s a s t h e i r F i n a l l y , t h e y t a l k proudly about a "remarket grows). a recovery which covery" having a r r i v e d What we oppose i s t h e hypocrisy of o f f i includes over one m i l l i o n Canadians on c i a l s who t e l l u s t h i s w i l l be good f o r welfare & t h e o o n t i n u a t i o n o f depressionMexican workers, when t h e i r chief i n t e r e s t e r a food banks, where almost 3 m i l l i o n Can i n Mexico i s low wages (a day's wages a r e adians a r e considered t o be l i v i n g below l e s s than our aveTage hourly wage) & t h e t h e poverty l i n e , where more than 1 112 r e s t r i c t e d s o c i a l , union & p o l i t i c a l . m i l l i o n Canadians c a n ' t f i n d work. r i g h t s i n Mexico - which a r e p a r t of keep* Some success. Some recovery. ing those wages low.

U S Share of the Canadian Market

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_i*

In t h e next s e c t i o n , we t u r n t o p o s i t i y e programs f o r using 4 devel.oping our product i v e c a p a c i t i e s .

Jobs Now T h e ~ ei s a deep economic c r i s i s i n t h i s country, a c r i s i s t h a t business & governments a r e ignoring i n t h e i r optimism about the "rec0very.l In a d d i t i o n t o keeping t h e ~ a n a d i a nd o l l a r & i n t e r e s t r a t e s low, d i r ect E dramatic a c t i o n s must be taken now to provide immediate jobs 4 b u i l d f o r t h e future.

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Revive the Movement to Reduce Work Time

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One f a c t stands o u t i n d t s c u s s i o n s about future jobs: they w i l l be hard t o f i n d .

Even i f we're successful i n implementing the above ideas, a s i g n i f i c a n t l e v e l of unemployment w i l l p e r s i s t . And t h a t i s an "nacceptable legacy t o leave f o r our c h i l dren when they e n t e r t h e workforce. ' E s s e n t i a l t o overconing t h i s f a i l u r e of u r s o c i e t y is a s e r i o u s r e t u r n t o an o l d dea i n t h e h i s t o r y of t h e labour movement , reduced worktime a s a way of opening up kork f o r o t h e r s . In s p i t e of breathtaking zhanges i n technology t h a t had t h e potenti a l t o f r e e u s from labour t o a degree unireamt o f , t h e movement f o r reduced worktime has l a r g e l y faded away over t h e l a s t 50 years, In f a c t , working c l a s s f a m i l i e s :pdgy s e l l more hours of t h e i r labour pow:r t h w t h e y dfd 50 y e a r s ago.

Each o f u s i s producing more than ever )efore, but not g e t t i n g t h e b e n e f i t s . I t . may be t r u e t h a t we c a n ' t expect t o have both l a r g e i n c r e a s e s i n our m a t e r i a l s t a n . iard of l i v i n g E s i g n i f i c a n t reductions i i $ow long we work. But we can f i g h t t o ' share i n t h e p r o d u c t i v i t y growth we s e e :ach day, & t h e r e f o r e a t l e a s t maintain )ur standard of l i v i n g while g r a d u a l l y r e . lucing our working hours. I t i s p o s s i b l e :o r e d i s t r i b u t e work s o everyone has work md more l i e s u r e ; more time f o r family an( G i l y r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , more time f o r be. .ng a c t i v e i n t h e union/community/politic:

I

In addition. t o what we should address i n bargaining, why not, f o r e x a m p l t ~ l e g i s l a t e a mandatory week (or 2 weeks) of t r a i n i n g a s a minimum labour standard? The focus Irrould be on t r a i n i n g , but t h e time away f .ram t h e job would a l s o c r e a t e s i g n i f i c a n t ob openings t o r e p l a c e t h o s e b e i n g t r a i n e d

Adjustment Programs For Workers: Jobs or Training We provide everyone below a c e r t a i n age t h e r i g h t t o go t o school. Why wouldn't we a l s o enshrine t h e r i g h t f o r a d u l t s - "Jobs. o r Trainingt'? Anyone temporarily unemployed would have t h e r i g h t t o get t r a i n i n g , t o d i v e r s i f y & develop t h e i r s k i l l s while waiting f o r another opening, 6 t o have i n come support during t h a t period.

I t i s a l s o important t o rkcognize t h a t "adjustment" does not only r e f e r t o p a r t i c u l a r s o c i a l programs l i k e Unemploment Insurance (which t h e Tories have been eroding d e s p i t e e l e c t i o n promises). Most of t h e s o c i a l programs play a number of r o l e s including adjustment. National medicare means we don't have t o wmrry about medical b i l l s i f we're between jobs; b e t t e r nationa l pensions p r o t e c t u s when we l o s e our company pensions; c h i l d c a r e programs provide e s p e c i a l l y , but not only, f o r s i n g l e mothers t h e access t o t h e job market t h a t l e t s them e n t e r t h e workforce o r g e t the traihing t o reventer. (It's also, l i k e p u b l i c education, about t h e f u t u r e develop ment of those kids & t h e i r f u t u r e s ) .

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But Where Will tRe Money Come From?

C a p i t a l markets a r e f a i l i n g i n t h e sense t h a t t h e r e i s a l o t of money around but it i s going i n t o speculation here 4 abroad, building o f f i c e towers t h a t stand empty, o r simply waiting f o r higher r e t u r n s .

This i s undermining t h e r e a l economy, We

X

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iave t o g e t a c c e s s t o such funds through re-regulating t h e finance sector; forcing f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s t o i n v e s t a given p o r t i o n o f t h e i r f u n d s i n a "National Renewal Fundu t o a d d r e s s n a t i o n a l economic development (a CLC p r o p o s a l ) ; r o l l i n g back t h e r e c e n t i n c r e a s e i n t h e amount o f money pension funds can i n v e s t o u t s i d e o f Canada (a p o t e n t i a l impact o f some $23 b i l l i o n ) ; & developing new mechanisms f o r r a i s i n g funds ( l i k e O n t a r i o o r Canadian Development Bonds with a s l i g h t l y lower b u t s a f e r a t e of r e t u r n ) .

We can a l s o r a i s e more needed f u n d s through t a x reform, through g e n e r a t i n g add i t i o n a l monies from t h o s e who can F,should t h o s e who would i n be c o n t r i b u t i n g more f a c t be paying more except for' t h e s p e c i a l t a x f a v o u r i t i s m t h e y g o t from t h e T o r i e s

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s i n c e 1984. Tax reiorm would Include L I E r e s t o r a t i o n of our formerly p r o g r e s s i v e t a x system (higher t a x e s on t h e r i c h ) , t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of a wealth E i n h e r i t a n c e t a x (Cznada i s one of t h e few c o u n t r i e s witho u t such a t a x ) , 6 a s p e c i a l t a x on- banks t o o f f s e t t h e i r windfall p r o f i t s ( t h e i r p r o f i t s had v e r y l i t t l e t o do with e f f i c i ency 6 v e r y much t o do with t h e gov't poli c y of propping up t h e d o l l a r v i a high i n terest rates).

Fiahfin~Back We have t o f i g h t back. When you d o n ' t , you i n v i t e Big Business F, governments t o go even f u r t h e r i n ignoring our needs and a t t a c k i n g our r i g h t s . When you do, you win some b a t t l e s , but a l s o b u i l d f o r f u t u r e , more s i g n i f i c a n t v i c t o r i e s .

Changes in Manufacturing- Jobs since the introduction of FTA in January 1989 (iobs in thousands) Food and Beverage

1

224.10

(

191s

1

1

Wood indushies

I

10920

I

75.10

I

-34

Furniture and

63.10

WJd~qrer

Rinling and pubSshirg Primary metals

~ircrai~airaaltarts aedricalpoducts Nonmetallic mineral

TOTAL. (int.small suclon)

1

41:.

12550 16200

108.70 114.00

99.40

m.80

43.70

1

42.00

!i

1

I

-

a

-312%

-34.4% -13.4% -19.7%

-19

I

-145%

-187%

I

-39%

129.00

100.40

-29

-222%

49.10

39.m

-3

-189%

-2lA%

I

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ACTION CANADA NETWORK

O N TO O n A W A CARAVAN

S T O P FREE T R A D E JOIN T H E F I G H T FOR OBS, JUSTICE & EQUALITY

Western Caravan ,Route 1

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BRITISH COLUMBIA (starts April 16 leaves B.C. April 22) Campbell River, Courtney, Port Alberni, Nanaimo, Ladysmith, Duncan, Victoria, *Vancouver, New Westminster, Mission, Hope, Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, Kamloops - Revelstoke, Williams Lake, Quesnel, Prince George, Dawson Creek - Fort St. John

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ALBERTA (enters Alberta April 22 leaves April 28) Grande Prairie, Peace River, AND ON TO OTTAWA FOR MASS DEMONSTRATIONS MAY 15TH ON PARLIAMENT HILL

50

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*Vancouver to Hope Calvalcade Leaves Vancouver Sunday, April 18th at 1 :00 pm from the parking lot at Hastings & Cassiar.

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Join us on the calvacade to Hope.

Under the Tories Ottawa is behond Hope.

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For further information please call: 522-791 1 (Paul) or 736-7678 (ACN) Donations very welcome.

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