April 1, 2016 carnegie newsletter

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NEW S LE TT ER 401 Yain Street., Vancouver

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The Charter of Rights & Freedoms

APRIL 1, 2016

CHARTER CARD

The Charter of Rights & Freedoms People's ultimate rights & protections in Canada are codified in a document, The Charter. It is framed under glass on this Centre's 3rd floor &represents almost a thousand years of struggle, conflict & resolution.

Jim Lymburner led a workshop on Saturday March 26th in which facts & figures were interwoven with laws, revolutions and the subsequent changes that now permeate every aspect of our land.

He started with how, in 1066, the King of England was surprised on a hunting trip by a whole group of nobles and landowners and people fed up with the high-handed way that they were subjected to arbitrary laws, royal edicts, taxation at the whim of the ruler ...

The King was presented with the Magna Carta and a demand that he sign it. He did.

Magna Carta is referred to as the beginning of the written rights of individuals and the concept of Common Law. The still-to-be-realised ideal is that all are equal before and under the Law. Well and good. Stories and insights permeated Jim's presentation, always coming back to how such have affected the rights & freedoms now ensured in law.

All governments, all laws, rules, regulations; all those who are employed in or by governments must abide

by The Charter. A corollary is that no law can be made that contradicts or overpowers the rights & freedoms set out in the Charter.

Terrorism is fast becoming a bugaboo that our cherished rights are up against. When the Police confront anyone the tactics used to get information, to detain someone on the street, to conduct searches, to force the one(s) detai ed to answer questions, to elicit betrayals or even incriminate oneself can be in direct contravention to Charter rights. If you are the one in this situation a knowledge of the legally required procedures can be a life-saver.

A Charter Card has been prepared. If someone "in authority" begins to treat you in a threatening or even questionable manner, having a Charter Card in your pocket can make all the difference. These cards are available in the Community Centre Association office

Process for ArrestlDetention under Sec. 10 Charter Rights & Freedoms and reasons for arrest/detention outlined in Criminal Code S. 495 provisions.

Authorization

of as

Statement

I am an officer with the- [Authority Granting Powers] (Identity Card Given)

Statement

of Intent

(Sec 495(2) (d) Criminal Code

I am arresting/detaining you(s) for (State Reason for arrest/detention)

_ _

on'

(State Time and Date).

Statement

of Rights

It is my duty to inform you that you have the right to retain and instruct counsel of your choice in private without delay.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, I can give you the number and a phone to contact a 24 hour duty lawyer with legal aid.

I also want to advise you that you are not obligated to say any1hing at this time, however if you do the statements can be used against you as evidence in a court of law.

Optional I have reason to believe that you are'

_

(Offence stated). Therefore in accordance with the provisions of the (State Act & Section) I will require a sample of your

(Body Substance/Print)

Closing Do you understand what I have explained to you(s)?

Do you wish a lawyer?

Lawyer

Contact

No.[

Donated by Eedy & LymBumer FOUNDATION

CHARTER of RIGHTS & FREEDOMS

•

The Charter contains the following legal rights,'subject only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society'.

Key Sections

are Summarized

Below

5.2 Everyone has freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, peaceful assembly and association.

5.3 Everyone who is a citizen has the right to vote to elect members of parliament.

5.6 Citizens have a right to enter, remain & leave Canada.

5.7 Persons have a right to life, liberty & to be secure except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice properly applied.

5.8 Persons have the right against arbitrary search & seizure.

5.9 Persons have the right not to be arbitrarily detained.

5.10 Persons have the right upon arrest/detention (see over) (a) To be informed of the reasons for the action(s) (b) To be informed of the right to a lawyer (c) To be informed of the right to remain silent (d) To have the validity of the actions validated by 'habeas corpus' or to be released immediately.

5.11 (d) To be presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court.

5,12 Not subjected to cruel or unusual treatment/punishment.

ByPAULR TAYLOR

5.15 Everyone is given equal access, protection & benefit of the laws no matter their race, nationality/ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical condition.

Charter

copy:

www.justice.gc.ca

2010

VOLUNTEERS Historic penalty against landlord is second big win for West Hotel tenants The Province of BC issued a $5000 penalty against West Hotel landlords Community Builders and Navtez Bains for ignoring a Residential Tenancy Branch order to restore heat in one tenant's room. Harvey Huot, a senior with disabilities, lived without heat for over a year and moved out recently stating "nothing is ever going to change here." The West Hotel became infamous recently for 94 tenants suing their landlord for no elevator, security and hot water in the biggest case against a landlord in BC history.

Huot's neighbour Dan Zimmermann, Tenant Organizer & lead tenant on the case with the 94 tenants, also helped his neighbour get an order from the court to restore heat in the tenant's room. "But of course they ignored it," said Zimmermann. He said Huot went back to court again, was awarded financial compensation & an ongoing rent reduction. "At that point they brought in the radiant heater," said Zimmermann, "and then threatened to evict Harvey if he didn't start paying full rent again. But he had no heat. The damn thing still isn't hooked up."

Joshua Prowse of Community Legal Assistance Society said this is "the first time the BC government is making a landlord pay an administrative penalty.

Tenants and advocates have been requesting these for years. I hope this sends a message to landlords that they cannot ignore the law and I hope this encourages tenants to come forward and challenge their landlords when the law isn't being respected."

"Dan & Harvey did so much work to get this impact and we're sorry that Harvey had to move out," said Wendy Pedersen, Coordinator of the Downtown Eastside SRO Collaborative. "We're celebrating the penalty, but also hoping that the RTB helps all tenants more often and especially in our other hotels." The SRO Collaborative, supported by the Atira Development Society is also organizing habitability campaignsin the Lion, Regent, Balmoral, Astoria and Cobalt Hotels.

For more information, please contact: Joshua Prowse, 604-440-2608 Wendy Pedersen, 604-839-0379

Volunteers of the Month- March 2016 Antoine Censi, Dishwasher Carl Winter, Computers Congratulations! !

!April is Volunteer Appreciation Month!

Volunteer Committee Meeting Wednesday, April 6th @ 3:30 pm, Classroom 2 Customer Service Training Workshop for Volunteers Thursday, April 7th @ 9:30am-12:30pm, Learning Centre. Sign up at Volunteer Program office Volunteer Dinner Wednesday, April 13th, 4:30pm, Theatre Volunteer Appreciation Party Friday, April 15th @ 4:00pm, Theatre Volunteer Appreciation Week Sunday, April 10- 16, 2016 Volunteer pamphlet of events for that week will go out April 1st

April is National Volunteer Appreciation Month.

Here at Carnegie we plan a special week for our amazing Volunteers April 10th -16th .That week we want to make sure we show our volunteers they are loved, appreciated, respected, valued, recognized, and most importantly how grateful we are for them! There is nothing more powerful than gratitude. We should all take a moment to feel grateful that we have this unique and special place called Carnegie. The living room of the Downtown Eastside and TRUE COMMUNITY CENTRE. Thank you to our amazing volunteers for the part they play in making it the amazing place that it is. We truly are grateful! . Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy.

You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote everyday about what kind of community you want to live in." ~ Author Unknown

5

From "the LibrarY Thanks so much to everyone who submitted a name for our library Alien mascot. We had 170 entries and have narrowed them down to the top three for further voting by you, the library patron, and 10 Honourable Mentions. Pop by to see if your suggestion was on the list. The top three, chosen by staff were Kaazoo, Mooley and Laika! Top prize will be donated by UFO*BC. For further information, try these library titles: Ancient Aliens (DVD) - VPL has purchased Season 8 of this series by the History channel, delving into the unexplainable from crop circles to encrypted messages, and mysterious humanoid drawings.

Encounter in Rendlesham Forest: The inside story of the world's best-documented UFO incident (2014)

by Nick Pope. This book is based on two witnesses' stories, officers from aNA TO military base in England whose lives were changed in 1980 when a UFO landed close by.

The Super Natural: A new vision of the Unexplained (2016) by Strieber and Kripal. These two authors present an intellectual analysis on alien abduction and the reality of paranormal phenomena.

How UFOS Conquered the World: The history of a modern myth (2015) by David Clarke. This slightly cynical book explores the origins of UFO sightings prior to World War 1. It hints at conspiracy theory and flying saucers, but takes a closer look at actual reports The Presidents and UFOs: A secret history from FDR to Obama (2015) by Larry Holcombe. While the book has a heavy focus on the U.S., it does track a detailed history of UFO sightings in connection to Presidents, and their significance.

In other library news, VPL has announced that Renae Morriseau is this year's Aboriginal Storyteller in Residence! She will be doing a presentation here at the Carnegie on Saturday April 9th at 3:30pm. Renae was eo-producer of the film, Native Women (DVD) which highlighted the perspective of First Nations women and their view of self-government. See you there.

Natalie, your librarian http://www.dalannahgailbowen.com/Donate.html

Where Have All the Greenbacks Gone . Inspired by Wall Street when the Bubble Burst "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" by Pete Seeger

Where have all the green backs gone?

Shorted by passing; Usury Wall Street built upon.

Short while ago; No greenbacks to play a pawn; Gone to experts, Dem and Con; When will these experts learn? Explain it so experts learn!

Where have all the experts gone?

None are passing.

Experts get to putt the lawn, With a drink to go!

Jobs are what men base worth on.

Jobs not kids to thrive upon.

When will the mothers learn? Job share so mothers learn!

Where have all the good jobs gone?

Global passinq; Menial jobs just make us yawn!

Do the job or go.

Big profit players wait and fawn.

For profits some work dawn till dawn.

We need profits, fathers learn Kids hurt please fathers learn!

Where have all the profits gone?

Play buck passing; Balance sheets by brain plus brawn; Play fair or go.

Share those greenbacks. GO! GO ON! Earn your money! Don't wish upon!

When will our leaders learn? Please help our leaders learn!

Where have all the greenbacks gone?

Let's be passing, Greenbacks for all to live upon; Let it all go.

Spend the money to lite the dawn.

How to share? Use brain and brawn!

When will we ever learn? Now WE ALL must learn!

Love and Awe, Lora B

DOWNHILL CLIMBER

(getting higher) The Minister of Indigenous Afterlife & the old'new & newly dead to be named later takes pride in knowing his children will be the bullies not the bullied this upstanding man is a crusader as other people are always chained to him in case he needs somebody else to take the blame, any laws he sets in motion are built out of unknown even unsubstantiated lies He was built to be a cool fool under pressure while the Ministry of Abandoned Platforms with its billions from tourists terrorism & poverty with high levels of low age death - this is their version of how to compromise as they are anti-activist anti-poor but all for poor-bashing, and build their truths out of every cent they can take again An accomplice is just another tool in their tax-funded arsenal of unethical practices yes he can force us to listen at gunpoint. ..

Have we been bought out by prestigious yet benign members of our society like fresh paint over old grave stones? How dare you claim the Moon is second-rate & what you've just done out-glistens the only reason you were not shot in the head: We have problems but you just say we are the ones further ahead! The Peace racist is keen to keep BC one percent Black while Aboriginal & white are never to be on the same page If I could choose Empress Christy & her private plane (which has cost us half a mil) 'cause I hear lightning's attracted to selfish extremely rich flying things while airborne that resemble a cage - if that were to happen I would fear for whatever evil may be waiting for us: I would not go to sleep; I would crawl under my bed like a term in contradictions looks aren't everything but to me it is the words that mean so much When the Minister of Free Information starts bankrupting us we only asked for the truth - is this asking for so much Soon you'll have to be a multi-millionaire to live here how many will balance their options, fill up a needle with everything you've got from your friends & see that it's just the beginning of a mass exodus from life.

"Take these mortal coils again cuz we shall be th dead -the slow whimper of a thousand years of pain will be felt & shared across what once was, at least to me, an awesome city; like winnin an academy award for best life-supporting actor in our hearts we could take this & so much more back but we do not kill - unlike our cops & pathetic government somewhere in this there is a true & powerful pity for once not all of you usurpers are in agreement about the whole world turn-

ing big blue eyes down on us! You want us to go You have told us to leave but we know your sinister coldhearted plans if only a single life mattered we would not be making a life out of climbing out of a hill of debt making fun of the fact that no one you 'own' is even listening to your commands, the god that sways between fiction & fact To Act or Retract will eventual ly find its way to a theatre near you It's morning in America again as self-obsessed Nancy Reagan mourners offer burial plots half-price real evil builders of a billion shattered dreams make misery sound like it is beautiful- the ultimate ice food banks & hospice buildings are on their way out WiFi zones are killing trees but we don't care as finer restaurants charge ten dollars to sit & have a free glass of water The Downhill Climber has got himself hooked & doesn't know whether to be glad or scared inside his soul as he watches his entire life go by it can't be shut off no matter how loud or long he screams a relative of a relative of eleventeen other relatives who know someone who was around when Shakespeare died 400 years ago this year he also thinks to himself if Earth were to explode into a trillion pieces they wouldn't be small enough but STILL someone would save us we'd have all nine levels of abusement in Dante's hell • With the downhill climber desperate to get higher and welcoming devastation - what has he to lose that he hasn't already lost - but when things can't get worse (quality oflife) whose mailbox do we put the cost in?

Do we deserve mercy or every available hereditary flaw do what you will. In all its infinite glory that Downhill Climber is our witness - he will be the one with the truth, the one who knows.

By ROBERT McGILLIVRA Y "Which form of proverb do you prefer: 'Better late than never, or better never than late?" -Lewis Carroll

INTRODUCTION GeAP's annual Hotel Survey and HQusing report measures whether lbw income people can afford ¡to remain living in their commupity. CCAP checked 85 privately owned and run hotels for rentihforrnalion, About' 3360 people live in these hotels, often considered Hie last resort before homelessness.

It is now two years since the Downtown Eastside (DTES) Local Area Plan (LAP) was approved, and two years since the City stated that "the primary purpose of the LAP Process is to ensure that the future of the Downtown Eastside improves the lives of all those who currently live in the area, particularly lowincome people and those who are most vulnerable ..."

This 7th annual Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) Hotel and Housing report shows that the housing situation for low-income and homeless residents in the DTES has not improved since the LA{i was approved. Since CCAP's last hotel and housing report, released in 2015, the DTES has experienced the highest homeless count ever, reaching 836.

SRO rooms continue to be lost at an alarming pace as gentrification pushes up rents and land values. The traditional low income neighbourhood continues

to be filled with high rise market housing and a growing number of "areas of exclusion" catering to new residents.

One important fact in particular should be at the top of every policy maker's mind when it comes to the DTES: homeless people have about half the life expectancy as other BC residents.

According to a 2014 Megaphone report, • the median age of death for a homeless person in B.C. is between 40 and 49 years, almost half the life expectancy of 82.65 years of the average British Columbian.[3] A third of homeless people in the City of Vancouver are .

Indigenous.

Far from being inevitable, homelessness can easily be prevented if all levels of government took measures to protect and improve the existing low-income housing stock and invest in the mass construction of social housing that lowincome people can afford.

HIGHLIGHTS What did we find out?

•

Between 2009 and 2015 the average lowest rents in hotels surveyed increased from $398 to $517.

•

Between 2014 and 2015 the average lowest rents increased from $495 to $517.

•

The vast majority of privately owned and run hotels now charge more than $425 a month for rent.

•

Residents surviving on social assistance of $610 a month and paying the average lowest rent of $517 a month have a mere $93 a month left for food and everything else.

•

Average rents in the eight fastest gentrifying hotels have virtually doubled from $444 a month in 2009 to $905 a month in 2015.

•

Average rents in 3 hotels are above $1000 a month and one hotel is advertising a SRO unit on Craigslist for $1500 a month.

Vancity

Thank you to Vancity for supporting CCAP's work. Support for this project does not necessarily imply that funders endorse the findings or contents of this report.

AVERAGE LOWEST RENT If rooms have rents above the welfare shelter rate ($375), low income people who depend on welfare, disability or basic pensions can't afford to rent them.

average rents have increased from $398 in 2009 to $517 in 2015. If rents had increased by only the rate of inflation since 2009, they would only rent for $447.

For the first time in the seven years that CCAP has been doing this survey, average lowest rents have escalated above $500 per month. Meanwhile welfare and disability rates have remained frozen.

This means that people on welfare who pay the average DTES privately owned SRO rate of $517 a month. for SRO rooms, the last resort before homelessness, have only $93 a month left for food, bus fare, clothes, personal hygiene, etc.

As you can see from the table below

AVERAGE LOWEST RENT AND WElFARE REMAINING AFTER RENT IS PAID (S) 600

1

500

•

400

Average lowest rent ($)

300

200

GJ 100

0 2009

2010

2011

2013

2014

2015

Welfare remaining after rent is paid ($)

G'ENTRIFICATION This year CCAP looked at rent increases in eight of the fastest gentrifying hotels. Average rents in these eight hotels have more than doubled from $424 in 2009 to $905 in 2015, and average rents in three of these hotels are now over $1 ,000 a month.

Although the Woodward's development included 125 units of welfare-rate social housing, the climate of investment and gentrification it produced destroyed at least 404 privately-owned SRQ hotel rooms in.a one block radios of Woodwards. One of the hotels, 'the Golden Crown, located across the street from Woodward's, is now advertising an SRO unit for a staggering $1,500 a month on Craigslist

AVERAGE RENT IN TOP EIGHT GENTRIFYING HOTElS (S) :_

900

(

800

500 400 300 200

'.. "-1

•. - .e-

~

I I

700 600

~ ,

I

..11 I I I I I I .11 I I I I I I 2010

2011

. 2012

2013

.

I

I

I I I I I I I I I Ii 11 I I I I I I 2009

.-

_11'-

2014

Shelter rate $375

2015

The graph is the average rent in the top gentrifying hotels. The hotels included are: The Lotus Hotel, Alexander Court, Burns Block, Golden Crown, Metropole, New Columbia, Station, Thornton Park and York Rooms

The rate of change looking into the future, with OTES developments Q[Qposed or under construction as of the end of Feburary 2016, is about 8 units above welfare rate for every one unit at welfare rate, or 1,663 unaffordable units to 205 units at welfare rate.

In its 2005 Downtown Eastside Housing Plan the City of Vancouver called for keeping the rate of market housing development to social housing development to 1:1.[11] At the same time, the City's motto was "revitalization without displacement."

Planners recognized that if the rate of change is too fast, and market housing dominates, low income people can be forced out of their neighbourhood through gentrification. However, since the adoption of the Local Area Plan in 2014, the City has changed its policy

about rate of change. It now allows and encourages market development even when not enough social housing is being built to keep the rate of change 1 to 1.

This is especially true in Chinatown, where the new zoning doesn't require developers to build a single unit of social housing as part of their new developments. tAs a result of a high rate of change with market housing dominating, land values have been skyrocketing in the neighbourhood, pushing up taxes and rents.

COME PICK UP A COPY OF THE 2015 HOTEL REPORT AT CCAP'S OFFICE ON THE 2ND FLOOR OF THE CARNEGIE, OR READ THE REPORT ONLlNE AT: hHps:j / ccopvoncouver.wordpress.com/ ccop-reports/ Thanks to all the votounteers who collected the data, with special thanks to Mohammad

Valayati.

UP(OMING (CAP MEETINGS OUR HOMES CAN'T WAIT

I 2PM, SATURDAY, APRil 2ND

Help organize the Carnegie Community Action Project's first action for the Our Homes Can't Wait campaign. We need: new social housing on at least 10 sites in the DTES; a rent freeze on all ~ousing until welfare, disability and minimum wages go up a lot; measurses to preserve and improve the SRO hotel rooms until we get enough new social housing. Help CCAP fight for these goals and for our Community Vision for the city-owned site at 58 W. Hastings. The meeting will be

held in the third floor classroom of the Carnegie.

OUR COMMUNITY VISION FOR MENTAL HEALTH 16PM, MONDAY, APRil 4TH Next week, we will start our street survey. Come to our regular Monday meetings, 6pm on the third floor of the Carnegie to learn more. We will be doing the street survey at noon, Monday to Thursday next week. We wm meet in the CCAP office on the second floor of the Carnegie at noon and then hit the streets together. Also, keep April 11th available for a town hall on mental health at gallery gachet, more details to come.

REGULAR CCAP VOlOUNTEERMEETINGS

I 11.15 EVERY FRIDAY

The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) is a project of the board of the Carnegie Community Centre Association. CCAP works mostly on housing, income, and land use issues in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver so that the area can remain a low-income friendly community. The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) usually meets every Friday at 11 :15 on the 3rd floor of the Carnegie Centre, however THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 1ST. THE FRIDAY MEETING IS CANCELLED.

9 YEARS AND NO RAISE? By the time you read this, people from the Downtown Eastside and beyond will be marching down Main 8t. and shouting for higher welfare and disability rates and to restore the bus pass. The march and rally is scheduled for April 1, the 9 year anniversary of no increase in welfare rates. It will start at Carnegie at 11 am and then people will march to Thornton Park for hot dogs and speeches.

In the last provincial budget, the government announced that disability rates will be going up by $77 on 8ept. 1. Then they announced that people on disability who get the $45 a year transit pass will have $52 a month deducted from their disability cheque to pay for the pass. Giving with one hand and taking with the other. This has enraged a lot of people so we are hoping for a good turnout so we can send a message to the government: $610 is not enough; $906 is not enough for people on disability; and we need to keep our $45 a year bus passes.

Check out the amazing poster for the rally

by CCAP Volounteer, Debra Mcnaught

L'intendante

You My Love

Below the malebolge slants Hastings Street This domain of the pimp on his beat Each in their world of drugging and crime Swinging hopelessly hopeful, begging a dime Wherewith to purchase a half-pint of piss And be cheated, even in this.

I hope, tho' I doubt it, that somebody knows That here, where chancres blossom like the rose: Sees faces, not few, in such hard despair Nothing like grief finds entrance there.

And on this scene from all excuse exempt Moutains gaze low; with fury, contempt.

Yet this, this is Vancouver my friend: Yours to absolve of ruin, or make an end.

J

-"

..

~

-,

~

~~

The one who makes my heart melt Roger Brouillette

~

BUDGET ACCOUNTABILITY

Theft, Thieves & Thievery not just property the native woman from Alberta said, "It's only clothes - can be replaced" She left on the next bus, her children 'in care' ..has to arrange with "social worker" to visit -Son playing hockey in Edmonton -Boyfriend expecting her arrival.. other girl- young and temper mercurial Wants to kill me!

Then says she's sorry; I talk about issues of Freedom, Equality, Justice.

Makes them nervous" being raised by The System Used to the guards (the 'pastors') the lawyers and their system of justice Many words, many tongues, many meanings White man speak with forked tongue Pity all the innocent serpents: Enemy to all Fighting for peace, for harmony rather than harm reduction - one man's reduction, another man's criminal activity Go figure, Pilgrim Wilhelmina

'-"~!t

. I

Pelanger

.L

The one who broke my heart and left me withoutthe abilityto love You who helped me restore my love, you who I love and adore Don't let me fail, keep me strong Help me to find love again, I willgive you everything Because you are all to me, Iwillbe there day after day To give you my love and all you need I hope that turn after turn, to give ourselves to each other To take care of you my love, so Iwillwait everyday I hope to be there forever To give you love and to take care of your heart but don't be afraid J I'mthere to serve your needs with romance and affection .•• To you with happiness my beauty Princess

Miles

What are budgets? Whether federal, provincial or municipal they are little more than a giant shell game - rewarding the elite, privileged, the 'upper' class and breaking campaigns of the poor, downtrodden, destitute .. kicking them in the teeth when it is they who are in desperate need .

Where are the provincial welfare rates going? Every year for the last nine years there is no change; actual impacts ofthis are an ever-growing loss of purchasing power. Food, rent, transportation, necessary in everyone's life, are that much harder to maintain ..People in poverty are doubling in single rooms in bug & vermin -infested flophouses with one toilet per floor, elevators that last worked 10 years ago ... This has no impact on the budgets of any level of government. The ones who can address it couldn't care less.

The dictates of communication have such people blaming these deplorable conditions on those experiencing them. 'It's your choice(!) This is the lifestyle 'you seem to cling to(!!) It's entirely up to you to improve your lot(!! !)" The idea of legislated poverty is nonsense to these people in their ivory towers. They seem to be saying that if you don't like it, leave.

To make our world a better, caring place we all must fight to overcome barriers, obstacles, and the unequal distribution of justice.

ROBYN LlVINGSTONE.

And now it was all lost to me, again, because I woke up about an hour ago. But so as not to feel cheated, I am writing this to recapture the moment and the years long past, without hunger.

Garry Gust

Sweet Haunting It's 20 past midnight. I just woke up from a dream in which I was back in the Downtown Eastside again, living at one of the better cheap hotels.

THE GRAM A Q&A FOR CURIOUS MINDS

I was coming home from a walk in the morning about an hour before sunrise. People were preparing for some sort of DTES morning market, and I got caught up in a group which seemed interested in where I was going.

Curious about cannabis news? Don't know where to start? Concerned about dispensaries?

We want to hear from you!

I told them I lived nearby & they seemed to accept my answer.

Soon we started singing together. It was a song about a woman who'd died of AIDS. Suddenly, a group of big men casually strolled in single-file.

I watched them and somehow knew by their demean or that they were Colombian cartel members. Only then did I become afraid, because my face was much paler than the others in the group. But the Colombians left shortly after making their stiff presence known.

I had earlier set out on my walk in quest for food from an allnight grocery store. And now, the white shopping bag in my hand made me feel aware that the others might think it had in it cocaine or some other dope to be peddled after sunrise.

e

I let the bag slip to the floor and used my foot to push it slightly under the bar.

The singing continued for a while, then the gathering broke up.

As I made my way down a hall to the exit a large obese man stood by the 'door. He made an insulting remark to me, and I Ireturned one to him. He only smirked as if.to say "Just wait."

I came to my room, got undressed, then discovered I'd left the white shopping bag behind. I got dressed and returned to the gathering place and found my bag immediately. I looked inside and saw that the sliced meat package had been opened and a big bite taken out one complete corner of the meat.

"A pity" I thought to myself, then walked down the hall pretend- _ ing not to have noticed the damaged package.

The tall obese man opened the door, and as I went out he chuckled and thanked me for the snack.

I dumped the bag in a garbage bin, then strolled slowly by the Carnegie Centre wishing it were open this early. The part of my brain controlling apatite filled my nose with phantom smells of the second-floor cafeteria where I had spent so many hours years ago attending ths pseudo University of higher knowledge The classes of the Newsletter were not really classes, but very brief lectures of "Just Write!" The music sessions in the basement, the art classes at a table just outside the cafeteria were where I honed any skills I may presume to possess.

Q What is going on with 4120 this year? I heard that it's no longer going to be at the Vane, Art Gallery ...

A Sunset Beach has been proposed as the new site for 4120! Although endorsed by VPD Chief Adam Palmer there are still concerns from the Park Board about safety, refuse left behind and, mainly, th non-smoking bylaws for city parks and beaches. Considered an appropriate alternative to the congested urban gallery, Sunset Beach has successfully hosted Pride Festivals and could offer a larger celebration of protest against prohibition!

Q What is 'shatter'?

Shatter is the end result of the process of extracting THC using a solvent, the most common being butane.

If you've ever seen the letter's 'BHO', this refers to 'Butane Hash Oil' - another name for shatter.

Named "shatter" for its brittle texture and tendency to break into glass-like shards; this powerful concentrate may not be suitable for the inexperienced cannabis user. Shatter and other concentrates boast a THC percentage of anywhere from 70 to 99 percent. It is often vaporized in a concentrate pen, or toked in a dab rig, a specific type of water pipe used primarily for smoking extracts.

Submit questions to the Newsletter or the Farm Dispensary; have them answered in the next edition.

It's Tax Cut Time Once Again The Liberals in Ottawa have just announced that they have surveyed their prime constituergsy, the middle class in the suburbs - and surprise, surprise! They are going to introduce a new batch of tax cuts for the affluent.

The tax cuts the nee-cons (of whatever political label: NDP, Liberal, Conservative) have introduced over the past 40 years, have come at the expense of the poor.

So, get ready for more user fees, sales tax increases, reductions in agency staffing, etc. etc.

Harper's Fairy

FREE:LAUNDRY~(SIGN

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Dumpsters I was living on Fraser Street at the time. I had all new furniture, including a new chesterfield, since I was working then. A friend from Manitoba used to _come and visit me.

One night I got this phone call. My friend was drunk and he had gotten into a dumpster to sleep. He should have phoned me; he could've slept on the chesterfield But my other friend said he didn't wake up in time & the garbage truck came & he was crushed to death because they make the trash compact ...

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Sc,::nd.the income tax receipt to: Name: Address:

Marlene Wuttunee

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NEWSLETTER

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We'acknowtedge that Camegie Community Centre, and this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory. .r

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. THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Associ~on ..

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -MargaretMeade

WANTED Artwork for the Camegie Newsletter

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Small illustrations 10 accompany articles and poetry.

Cover art - Max size: 17cm(6 "/.")wide x 15cm(6a)high. -: Subject mal1er pertaining to issues relevant to the .

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women played a key role in defeating (Photos on this page by Ed Bil)

/he misogynist

and racist Harper

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