December 15, 1994, carnegie newsletter

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ECEMBER 15,1994.

'TIS THE SEASON TO

lNVASlON O F THE YIJPPlES

By EPP SOMMERS

All the residents who have worked hard to make the neighbourhood a safe and liveable place were outgunned, shot down, creamed. One name some of us recognise is Inspector Bob Taylor He's the cop in charge of this part of the city and has always acted like he's a friend of the neighbourhood and the people down here.

But at a 6 hour Tuesday afternoon meeting at Vancouver City Hall, Taylor showed his true colours and spoke out in favour of a 12 storey condo development where the parking lot now sits at the corner of Cordova and Carrall St. That's right, 12 stori~s.That's higher than just about anything else around here. And it won't be for the likes of you or me. It'll be for yuppies who can afford to buy their own place. It's their vision of a World Class City; not our vision of a mixed community, a neighbourhood.

As you can see from the pictures, theirs will be a giant. And it's just the tip of the iceberg. This is a big experiment. It this project goes, buildings like this will be going up like flies around here.

As Downtown moves eastward, property values around this part of town are starting to go up and up. Property owners will do very well. Those of us who can't afford to own property, well we just better get out of the way.

Bob Taylor wasn't the only one to support this development. He was joined by the Gastown merchants and recent condo owners. These people represent property owners. Their primary interest is building up their own support base. So naturally they want more condo owners living of h o / / ~ / / ~ c sgroz4p.v c rs lhul in the neighbourhood. It gives them more power. In fact, /he pos~~ron t k c w is too much social housing in the nergl~hoz~rl~ood ulreu~&.They say that social housing is bad for the Downtown Eastside. What they really mean is it doesn't improve their property values. So if you're on a housing list around here, don't look to these people for help getting in.

Now all these well-heeled supporters of this development claim it is OK because this is a parking lot its going up on and no low income hotel residents are being displaced. It we look at the history of other cities, the reality is a little different.

What usually happens when large numbers of middle class people start to move into low income neighbourhoods is that the low income residents get eventually get pushed out. They don't even have to displace the housing where the low income people live. All they have to do is drive up property values, and then taxes and rents follow. Landlords start converting their low cost rental housing to other uses; people who can't afford to live anywhere else end up out on the streets.

All you have to do is look at what has happened in New York's Lower East Side, LA'S skid row, San Francisco's Mission District, or Cabbage Town in Toronto. These used to be neighbourhoods of low income renters. Now they're home to well-heeled yups who own

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property. The people who used to live there are now out in the streets. Can you see this happening in our neighbourhood?

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The arguments these Gastown property owners used are very telling of what the future will be like around this part of town. All talked of them about wanting to have a healthy community, without crime and violence, alcohol and drugs. But listening to them, you'd think they were the only people who cared about these issues or do anything about them. They ibmore all the work of the Community Health Plan group, the people working out of the Bank, numerous people working on alcohol and drug issues, mental health, safety issues, all the people at Carnegie working on more issues than I can think of, not to mention DERA, and DEYAS and everything the people there have done over the years. (One person even said they should get rid of the needle exchange. So much for a healthy community!)

They ignore us all deliberately. They can't come right out and say they support this 12-storey condo development because they want to build up their power base. Instead, they said that this

development, and the people who move into it, will "improve" the neighbourhood. What thev really mean is that the only way to "improve" the neighbourhood is for middle class people to move in and teach low income people how to behave, at least while we are still allowed to be here. Somehow, the very presence of people with money and property will magically make crime and violence, drugs and booze, etc. all disappear.

The big question that everyone is being very careful to avoid talking about is what will happen to the people already living here when the property owners start to push them out? The streets? No one wants to address this or deal with it. They hide it under all this bogus talk of improvment. So it's obvious, the people of the Downtown Eastside will have to be the ones to confront this issue.

If you're a Downtown Eastsider and you want to get into decent, affordable housing anvtime in the near future, you'd better start thinking about how to work with other people in the neighbourhood to get some built fast. Things are beginning to change very rapidly and we're only just starting to get a handle on it. If ever there was a time for us to get together, it is Now!

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30. Overcook a honeymaker _ , l / @ 3 1. Shelter for a panel truck 7

TACKPOT BINGO

Submitted by John LeBianc

This may be an out-of-date message. It was handed in in time for the December 1 st issue but ended up in a pile of paper and missed being printed.

The T'ien Kong Film Co, which is making a 'no budget' (very low budget) movie called NO REFUNDS is "seeking talented and energetic composer/musician to write and record 27 short pieces of music. Lyrics already written for a 90-minute colour movie. The music is of various styles, from soft ballads to noisy cabaret sing-alongs to outright noise.

There's room for nearly anyone to contribute music to our effort.

If composer/musicians are interested in publishing, please drop off a cassette demotape with Mike McCormick or Don Jackson, Learning Centre, Carnegie's 3rd floor."

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S.O.L.E.'s

United We Can Depot Project About T o Be Born

After several months of searching for space, Save Our Living Environment's employment development pro-ject hopes to open soon at 55 E. Cordova Street, under Wonder Rooms.

The prqject will offer training opportunities to local residents and provide a much needed service to "binners" looking for a convenient place to take in empties for full cash refunds.

While some of the technical details are still to be resolved, it is hoped that the Depot will be open before Christmas.

"SOLE people have been working to get this going for a long time now and are pretty excited about it," says Joe Anderson, SOLE president. "lt's the best Christmas present some of us have seen in quite a while."

Mark Wojciechowski, vice-president and hiring committee member, said that six employees have been hired to work in the Depot. "We had an enonnous response to the job postings and had to make some very difficult decisions," he said. "We wish that we could have hired everyone who applied."

For more information about the Depot Project and other environmental employment development activities planned by SOLE, please contact Ken Lyotier, Project Manager, at 775-2581, or drop by the old Bank of Montreal building at 390 Main Street. t

I left school because I thought I didn't need it anymore. I thought I could make it in this world no problem. As the years went by I never thought of going back. I thought that by being a full time mother it was fine. Yet, in the back of my mind, I still thought of being someone important.

I started school because I knew I could do something for myself. 1 do not want to sit at home and twiddle my thumbs or wait around all day doing nothing. Going to school will help me learn the things that I never understood. Then after that I can work towards my goal of helping foster children.

(August 1995) Larry Mousseau, co-chairman of the Seabird Island Festival, is holding the first committee meeting of this event in the Theatre of the Carnegie Centre, January 13 from l:00 4:00 p.m.

Among the topics will be nomination of secretary, along with 7 salaried positions to start sometime in February. Mr. Mousseau will be assisting in the fundraising.

This festival, which will embrace both New Age and Aboriginal music/teachings, is slated to run for one full week on the reserve of Seabird near Aggasiz. Upwards of 100,000 people are expected to attend.

EXCITED BY LANGUAGE His voice slowly rose His legs began to shake Tremors started in the hand Holding the book he was reading His dark eyes appeared to darken He was truly excited by the language As he read to me he got even more emotional Taken up by the English as a Second Language book He was reading.

1 was amazed He quivered with the pleasure Of studying, reading aloud Grabbed every hour he was given Selfishly asking for more He wanted to be able to learn to pronounce Each word correctly, each sentence fully As he read he was overcome by the svmple lesson Almost in tears at the flow of words He was reading I was truly amazed

\ Letter Editor, Just read your latest Newsletter ((Dec. I), and I liked it until I read One Too Many Bowling Balls. Wow, was that racist. Why did you print it. Would you print something like, "Sure white people are stupid. We did not kill all the Indians when we first arrived here."

I was wondering how that piece got by your editorial crew. Please let me know.

Scott Kerr

After a time I too got swept up In this English exercise class He tired me out Wore me down I could hardly stand the tension It was more than I could take One day he stopped to say "I've travelled the world, And learned many languages I've been to Europe and Asia And each language excites me More than the one before."

Someone sitting in on a lesson said, "Man, he's sexually excited by that book He makes it almost pornographic."

I asked, "Would you take over for me?"

"Hell no," he said. "He's too taken up by the things he feels about English The book is his bedroom And the language his lover. No way."

Dora Sanders

w Scott, There is a comment in here by a "recovering bowling ball" that answers some questions. To answer yours - printed as a real experience by a real person; no I wouldn't print what you suggest; there has been no other comment except yours and "recovering's". .. and the Carnegie Newsletter has called certain politicians and civic "leaders" everything from idiots to running sores. The editorial crew is quite competent.

Why 1 Think the 'Bowling Balls' Are So Stupid In today's Newsletter 1 came upon a piece by Mo Dlson - "One 7i)o A4unjl Howlrng Hd1.v.. .

He asked a whole bunch of questions that I'll give my opinion on, as possible answers, and hope it hclps. * .'Why are white people so stupid?" Why are rocks hard, Mo? They, we, me, just are. But the reasons why we end up like bowling balls are hidden in your other questions. * .'Why do we wear our hair so short?"

Conformity, Mo. Conformity to standards set by other bowling balls who can't stand individuality ... so the society's standards are set to mould, shape and repress originality of people of either gender. Yes Mo, there are female bowling balls too! * "Why do they profess all this JesusMoly Virgin shit, then come down to make it with women of different races?" 2000 years of repression of "normal" sexuality has left an indelible imprint of an almost schizophrenic nature on our collective being. Sexually, most "western" males are terrified of intimacy and that translates into dysfunction, that the sufferers aren't even aware of themselves.

That's where all that macho shit about having to prove one's 'potency' by 'balling anything that moves' comes from. It's somnambulant sexuality that comes from repression. Heaven help the women of this world who actually have a functioning appetite for normal sex.

It's a homing beacon for the G.I. Jerk-offs of the world. * "Why do bowling balls work at jobs they hate for other bowling balls who yell at them all the time?" You said it yourself, Mo ... they are miserable, ignorant, corrupt, racist bastards who want everyone else to be just

l ~ k ethey are - dead from the neck up..or is 7. that the neck down?.. whatever.

Bowling balls have no honour, Mo. They don't respect the diversity that's imminent within every living person. They have no eyes to see the next person of any race, creed, shape, whatever, as their distant cousin, their uncle, their spiritual brother. They see the Earth as dirt, not as the living being it is. They are blind to love in its true state so they transfer that love into lust for things like money, illusions like power and hate for anything and anyone who isn't as miserable as they are.

Jesus? Money? Lying Bullshit? It's the old Bowling Ball game of smoke 'n mirrors and they can't even see their own reflections. * "Why is hate so contagious?" Because hate is easy. Hate is easy when it is rewarded. Hate is easy when it confirms the sickness you've been talked into, brainwashed into believing about yourself. Hate is easy because it's easier to go along with the bowling balls than to fight them honourably. Hate is everybody's friend; "Hey there's someone to hate LET'S STOMP 'EM." Hate is camaraderie; Hate is conspiracy; Hate is cowardice. Hate is all things to all people once a price has been established. Basically, hate is the tool of the well-heeled to divide and conquer the good people of the earth by turning us against each other.

Brother, Hate is your enemy. Give him no sway in your life for his reward is misery, the misery of an empty soul, the ultimate eternal misery. Hate is a tool for making coffins. Hate is a tool for making bowling balls.

I hope that helps you understand why we're such a screwed-up lot. Sign me a recovering bowling ball.

AN EXCERPT FROM A LETTER,

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FROM A COUSINE,

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W o n ' t know i f C h r i s t m a s w i l l come t o my house t h i s y e a r .

Ic a n ' t seem t o g et i n t h e mode, p r o b a b l y due t o t h e n e g a t i v e u n c e r t a i n t y t h a t s u r r o u n d s me everyday a t work and t h e f o r e v e r t h r e a t o f l a y offs.

Hard t o be p o s i t i v e m e n t a l l y when gloom and doom i s everywhere, even though one t r i e s t o c h e e r fv o t h e r s up.

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Readers For those of you who are in the habit of reading this rag every time it comes out, please be warned that there will be no paper On lanuary st.

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If you begin to suffer serious withdrawal symptoms, well, it's a hard life. (You can always make a donation!

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TRIBULATIONS

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When I f a c e overwhelming odds, And t h e r e ' s no one t o s t a n d a t my s i d e , I f Ic r u m b l e l i k e a sandcastle i n the r a i n , 1'11 s e a r c h f o r ways t o f o r g i v e m y s e l f .

"OLD FOLKS ARE WORTH A FORTUNE" 1

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"What are seniors worth? We are worth a L fortune! Remember, old folks are worth a fortune - the silver in their hair, gold in their teeth. stones in the kidnevs. leadin their feet and gas in their stomachs!!"

"I'm seeing five gentlemen every day. When I wake up, WILL POWER helps me out of bed.

Then I go see JOHN. Next CHARLIE HORSE comes along,.

And when he is here he takes a lot of my time and attention.

When he leaves, ARTHUR RITE shows up and says the rest of the day but he doesn't like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint.

After such a busy day I'm really tired and glad to go to bed with BEN GAY. What a life! Oh yes, I'm also flirting with AL ZYMER." &

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The Fight for the Carnegie Community Centre

Part 3

DERA Rises on a Wave of Democratic History After the Second World War, many Canadians who had lived through the suffering of the Great Depression and the horror of war, began to believe that as citizens they had the right to a decent life. Full employment and wages above the poverty line were reasonable demands by people who had struggled as soldiers and workers on behalf of their country. By the end of the war, Canada was the fourth largest industrial power in the world.

In 1955, Rosa Parks, a black woman in Montgomery, Alabama, took the bus home after a long day at work. Gradually the bus filled with passengers, but she refused to give . up her seat to a white person. She was arrested, and within days the black community organized a boycott of the buses.

This action was the beginning of the civil rights movement in the United States. It gave hope to oppressed people everywhere.

I In August 1963, Martin Luther King spoke at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and his inspiring words travelled around the

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"When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty we are free at last!'

The democratic vision of government of the people, by the people and for the people was very much alive in the 1960s.

Pierre Trudeau talked of a just society, and was elected Prime Minister in 1968. In the 1970's a powerful First Nations movement for self-government transformed the colonial relationship between First Nations and the Government of Canada.

Citizens' groups in Vancouver protested the plan for a downtown freeway in the late 1960's and, after extensive public debate, the freeway plan was defeated.

Efforts to build a third crossing of Burrard Inlet were defeated by Vancouver citizens in 1972, and the money set aside for the project was used to build the Seabus ferry system.

In 1968, the Strathcona Property Owners and Tenants Association (SPOTA) was formed to stop the disastrous urban renewal plans of City Council. Between 1961 and 1967, City Hall expropriated 57 acres of residential land in Strathcona, bulldozed the houses, and moved 3300 people into private and public housing projects.

Citizens stopped the bulldozers and saved Strathcona. A committee was formed in 1969 with representatives from the federal government, provincial government, city government and SPOTA. It was the first time in Canada that a citizens' group had equal power with

The Interview - Carnegie Learning Centre governments in the planning of a community.

In 1971, a group of mothers from Raymur Place blocked the Burlington Northern Railway tracks because the company refused to act on its promise to build a walkway over the tracks so their children could go to Seymour School safely. Within a few days the railway company reconfirmed its promise and the walkway was built.

In the early 19707s,citizens protested against the Four Seasons Hotel site at the entrance to Stanley Park and, in a special referendum in 1973, Vancouver voters authorised the City to purchase the land which became Harbour Devonian Park.

These actions by caring citizens showed that Vancouverites were not happy with development that threatened the quality of life in their community. They wanted City Council to know that Vancouver was a place where human beings lived, not simply a product to be exploited.

As Bessie Lee of SPOTA said in an interview in the book Opening Doors, "We have to remind the City that when they decide to change things in a community, they must always consider the total planning of that community and the concerns of the people who live in it."

The Downtown Eastside Residents' Association (DERA) would agree with that statement.

By SANDY CAMERON To be continued.

As J look around the room to see so many learning faces, I wonder who I will interview on this bright and shiny day. I guess it will be at his or her discretion if they will talk into the mike for me, tell a story or two, tell me why they are here and what they want to do.

For some it is late in life to learn something new, but they have no choice but to learn and learn until they know exactly what they would like to do.

For the young it is still a game to be played.

It is out in the streets where they learn. There will come a day when they realise that life has different rules, and education is the key to the rule book, not a lock keeping them out.

To learn is to wake up fiom a deep, deep sleep and to open one's eyes to education - to see the light of day for the tirst time.

By HARVEY DUCEDRE

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MORE THAN POLITICS? Politics is a forever war. It can never create peace and understanding. By its very nature politics is a loser's game... arranged like a sports event with opposing teams struggling to "win" eternal skirmishes. In politics, even when you think you've won the big game the game to end all games - sure enough another game is being conjured up in some back room somewhere that will hit the papers tomorrow. Some people think this constant struggle with political concepts is heroic.

Why, I don't know. It seems absurd, totally ridiculous, that good minds engage in activities that can never lead to satisfaction & completeness.

Of course, I haven't always thought this way. I used to think that politics was the only thing that mattered - the most important activity in life, or at least the most heroic.

Heroism is usually thought of as a sort of image of the underdog fighting against the odds & finally, after many defeats, winning the big contest, overthrowing oppression & becoming famous for setting the masses free.

Of course if such a thing was possible (setting the masses free & all that) wouldn't they just use their freedom to cause more trouble?

I refuse to believe that life is just a never-ending fight against overwhelming odds & that we must perpetuate this cycle continuously... on the other hand what else is there?

Politics requires a knowledge of laws, rules, regulations - a sense of time & location, an agenda or wish list, the ability to push money, ideas & people around in a clever enough way to dominate the particular action that's being played out at the moment. It has peculiar sign languages & speech patterns of its own & ultimately you rise or fall according to your

skill at debating points like a lawyer & maintaining the demeanor of a wise judge ... of course you could let your emotions push you around & come out like some bomb-throwing radical or political prophet of doom & gloom ... & I've tried them all at one time or another but the futility of it wears you down & that's good because 'burn-out' is just the Angel of Death tapping you on the shoulder, whispering that things must change.

But how can they change?...and isn't everything changing all the time anyway? ...& isn't that one of the main things that creates these interminable problems? Most people think the only thing that doesn't change is death. If you stop changing, you're dead, they say... but if change exists, must not its opposite, permanence, exist? In a Yin-Yang universe it would seem so. But what is a permanent, unchangeable state other than death?...isn't such a possibility usually associated with the idea of rest, satisfaction, completion?...& isn't that the old-fashioned, eternally persistent idea of "heaven"?

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:a word like "heaven'. political

you - consider you some kind of wimp or retard or deluded fool. Heaven would seem to be non-existent in a political world modelled on the idea of hell, where suffering for a cause that never ceases prevai Is. But searching for somc positive aspect to the possibility of permanence sends the mind into an area of timelessness where the history of philosophy & mystical speculation looms large ... these are questions human beings have asked in all ages & times, so why not now?

Rest, satisfaction & completion are considered transient states of mind, a sort of interval between battles &, in fact, our life here convinces us that this is the nature of reality.

At this point politics takes over & runs the show. Yet most people would agree that "now'. is an eternal moment outside time.

That is to say if the time is always "now", why should clock hands which measure the motion of sun, moon & stars present us with numbers that suggest our present state of being always in "now" is just a transient passage through a non-existent point? The point o f now- is not transient but our minds have been set ticking & forced to believe that consciousness itself is only another object to be pushed around by time.

It's possible to argue successfully that time does not exist; it's equally possible to argue that time is all that exists. Time produces history produces politics is the equation that explains our situation in the 20th century. Yet if time does not exist & now has only a shadowy & distorted connection to the past through something as inaccurate & unpredictable as memory, aren't we kidding ourselves to believe in this historical picture of the world that politics is always pointing to one way or another?

The 6 o'clock news, as fascinating, boring &: stupid as it may be, is in fact the exact opposite of self-knowledge; which only appears in timelessness because that's where it lives. The eternal now is a storehouse of self knowledge, they say, but what is this self knowledge based on?... dreams?... ideas?... images in the mind, memory & beyond memory?... imagination? What is a "sense of self' & why do those who have experienced a wide range of subjective states have a depth of being, or "heaviness" of presence in situations where many only manifest a kind of lightweight transience that never gets to the point but only dances cleverly in & around things?

Maybe there's something much more important than politics, but it's so invisible & paradoxical that we always overlook it.

TORA

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WHAT IS HYPOCRISY (More Lines from the Learning Centre)

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-'The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated buy images."

Guv Debord

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Hypocrisy seems to be a word that conjures up fear. Some try to act as though hypocrisy, although morally incorrect, is essentially blind in its delivery. Many of these jaded martyrs see manifest destiny as an unfortunate accident or an essential new computer program. I, like many, see these people as patronizing at the best of times and liars at the worst.

The disenfranchised, abused, and alienated victims of this ethically abusive and patronizing attitude know that it is corrupt, self serving and completely opportunistic.

A small but politically powerful class in our society views itself as engaging in several colossal Sunday brunches., They claim that the poor or the badly treated are conscious victims of their own misfortunes. "After all," they exclaim with righteous indignation, "these people can find themselves jobs as waiters and waitresses anytime they want."

1 am angry at the hypocrisy in our society! 1 am anpy at the people who claim to care but only seem to care about their own personal but comfortable (thank you very much) dilemmas and then have the nerve to pretend they care about others - it makes me sick!

As an institutionally educated white working class male, I have reluctantly learned to embrace the concept of contradictions in my society. Class consciousness, the women's movement, native rights, school integration, and a host of other basic human rights that

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people have had to die for; these have been valuable reference points in my life. These rights are not the table top fluff that hypo- 13. crites can use while fantasizing about Sunday brunches with their television sets smiling simultaneously on five hundred different channels.

It seems to me that many people are clueless, stupid, arrogant, self righteous and blissful in their own iporance. To work and share with each other is unacceptable because their own fears of hypocrisy are larger than their understanding of others' basic needs.

Fear is ...................................

Something that can be overcome when the affirmative culture is seen as ?????????????

Self is much more than ???????????????????

Official historical documentations have led to ........................................

Education is ............................

Is the visible world more than property ownership in motion?

By LEIGH DONOHUE

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Job Search Rubbing his brushcut, my social worker said You gotta try to fit in more, son, or you'll never get a job, a mortgage, heart disease, ulcers never really be a part of this great society we have here.

So being a good loogan, I shaved my beard tucked my hair under a Cat hat and went to my first job interview in 20 years dressed nattily in polyester slacks, white shirt.

Rubbing his brushcut, the interviewer asked There seems to be a gap in your employment says here you haven't worked in twenty years What have you been doing all this time?

Me, I'm smart, so I didn't tell him the truth Said "Serving time for killing a radical feminist" Smiling, he says "Well, you musta learned lots in prison" "Oh, ya, lots" I says. "I can push a lawnmower like a pro."

"Any other interests?" he says. "You know - clubs, associations?"

Here I shine, tell him "The Reform Party, the Gun Club The Christian Coalition, Right to Life, the KKK." Skeptical, he says "But you're not really all that white."

"The hell you say, them's fightin' words" pulled out a .38 and shot the bastard dead, Left next day the supervisor at the plant phones me uls ''we've received your application, ;ou711 do nicely, you're hired."

Mo Dixon

angel of light gilbert jordan a 56 year-old Vancouver barber seduced bribed bullied and assaulted 10 women into drinking alcohol until they were dead jordan was convicted on one charge of manslaughter for which he served 6 years in prison "the serpent appeared to eve as an angel of light" - apocryphal old testament .'satan himself is transformed into an angel of light" - st. pad "if you want to make a dangerous man your friend let him do you a favor" - former warden of alcatraz

ivy oswald mary johnson barbara paul mary johns patricia thomas patricia andrews velma gibbons veronica harry Vanessa buckner edna shade I recognise you in myself I too have handed my life over to anyone willing to give me what I believed I needed most alcohol drugs sex money a place to stay a smile a feeling of being wanted a moment of feeling worthwhile

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and it is despite myself I am still alive "have a drink down the hatch baby 20 bucks if you drink it right down" - words police heard before they burst into jordan's hotel room how many lonely thirsty uptight nights would I have gone along with anything to have someone speak those words to me and mean them? the words of an angel a woman who was revived after a night with jordan though pronounced dead on arrival at st. paul's hospital described jordan as "a real decent looking person very mild-mannered a real gentleman he looked like a school teacher white shirt and tie I trusted him" an angel of light

'what I want is what matters if it feels good it is good' - the lie giving life to an angel of light

religion of self blinlds us so that we cannot perceive either good or evil if someone had conne to me trying to save my li fe talking about sobrir:ty I would've regardec him as my enemy and though we have no faith in a loving god present in our lives in all situations and though we do not countenance evil operating in our lives it doesn't mean we've abolished the oldest human instinct for power stronger than our own for a god of some kind for help from somewhere else if we don't struggle to find a god who will save our lives we'll be vulnerable to one who will destroy us

- an angel of light appearing to grant us our 'right' to feel good about ourselves no matter what we do we cannot really tell which lover or benefactor is an assassin from hell or love approaching us

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ivy oswald miry johnson harhara paul mary johns patricia thomas patricia andrews velma gibbons veronica harry Vanessa buckner edna shade

I recognise you and as long as my eyes can see and as long as my ears can hear and as long as my soul can touch you live

warning me

the truth loudly

clearly

that you died for me lovingly Bud Osborn

P.I. in the Sky For the last 3 years an issue causing great concern is the topic of surveillance. Perhaps this is a symptom of chronic LSD consumption. Well, everyone knows that the government institution, CSIS, keeps a file on everyone and that the police have a dossier on each individual which lists even the grades you got in kindergarten.

My involvement with the Carnegie Newsletter has strengthened my suspicions regarding scrutiny. For the contributors and readers it is a controversial yet kindly 'people's champion' community journal that provides an outlet for future major authors and writer manques alike. Yet the political machinists currently emploved may see the Newsletter as a harbinger of incipient troublemakers or embryo seditionists, therefore as a theoretical weapon.

And I am afraid that I (and maybe you) are already bracketed for their Onvellian type of private observation.

Listen: About twenty years ago, a movie called The Conversation piqued the public's interest in surveillance from government institutions as well as from private free enterprises sources, hired on a strictly cash basis - No Cheques!No Receipt!

And look: the machines depicted in that cinematic masterpiece included tiny tnicrophones, a long-range radar dish style microphone amplifier capable of picking up any isolated conversation in a crowded place like a downtown swell of afternoon shoppers, and cameras with a telephoto lens. Of course that was two decades ago and I shudder to imagine what kind of machines are available or, worse yet, unavailable (to the public) today.

For example, high-tech security cameras now

feature a motion sensor that, ~n tlicisence of any movement will take a picture only once every 30 seconds until a person enters the range. This serves to save time on the videocassette.

Another feature is that it can recognize a face during any day at a crowded airport thanks to a graphics matrix that can be preentered into a computer from a photograph, that is then stored into the camera's memory.

They have microphones so sensitive they can pick up the lightest sniffle!

One of the recurring themes in John Grisham's novels, besides lawyers, is the parameters the characters experience weaving out of the broadloom, the intricate tapestry of surveillance. They are constantly paranoid that the room they are in is miked.

My worries about being watched and listened to unawares is rapidly diminishing in light of my admission I live what would appear outwardly a bland life.

My domestic vicissitudes, what with my nose picking, the occasional bout of masturbation, the obligatory toke, and more frequently, my self-indulgent monologues would bore any stakeout technician to tears.

Big Brother may be watching you but are you sure he isn't yawning at the same time?

Perhaps he may be laughing his head off!

By DEAN KO P.S.: Happy New Year 1995! !!

TO HARASS LATINOS REGARDLESS OF TliElR ClYlZENSHlP STATUS ?

THAT HELPS Y O d SEE

SPANISH MADE

"F~PERS, ?OR FAVOR?"

-"DID YOU VOTE AGAIWSr

SEEOR PUFFINGTON?" 'WAS THATA J A L A P E ~

PIZZA

TOPPII\JG ? "

J' 1 DON'T CARE WHAT C\Ty YOU'RE r k MAYOR ~ or ! "

W A D I ~ ~BOOTS G FOR\1\1,ALL@WII\IG-

DOWWJ"T'WN IMSTSlDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY

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STD CLINIC 219 Main; Monday - Friday, loam 6pm.

NEEDLE EXCHANGE - 221 Main; 9am 8pm every day.

Needle Exchange Van on the street every night, 6pm-2am (except Mondays, 6pm-midnight)

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1994 DONATIONS Paula R.-$20 C h a r l e y B.-$32 B i l l S.-$2 .q Bruce 5.-$20 S t u a r t M.-$50 Sandy C.-$20 K e t t l e FS-$16 Nancy H.-$20 C e c i l e C.-$10 H a z e l M.-$10 Law L i b r a r y -$20' B i l l B.-$16 L i l l i a n H.-$50 J o y T.-$10 E t i e n n e S .-$40 Diane M.-$16 Me1 L.-$14 Peggy G,-$1.50 Adult LCC -$12 Libby D.-$20 Carnegie LC -$30 CEEDS -$50 ~ a t ~ i.-$5 - s Sue H.-$35 Sonya S.-$200 Anonymous -$a7 Help i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e ( f u n d i n g )

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FREE -donations accepted.

THE NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATIONOF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association.

Legal Services Society -5930 Ministry of Social Services - $2,000

NEED HELP ?

/SubmisslonX Deadline NEXT ISSUE I? January ,

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The Downtown Eastslde Residenl:s' Association can help you wilh: any wellare problem ' informalion on legal rights ' disputes with landlords unsafe living conditions Income tax UIC problem finding housing opening a bank accounl

Come Into the DERA office at 9 East Haslings St. or phone us at 682-0931.

DERA HAS BEEN SERVING THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE FOR 20 YEARS.

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In more development news, I hope everyone saw Elizabeth Aird's column in the Sun this past weekend. She writes that a developer has an option ti1 the end of the year to buy the Woodwards building. They want to build a private sports club with squash courts, swimming pool and all that. Hmmm. There seems to be a pattern starting here.

BLUES NEWS Meanwhile, in the recent B. C. Housing allocation, the Downtown Eastside only got ?? units of social housing. Thirty-nine units went to the Chinese Benevolent Society which is part of the 477 unit VLC (remember them) project at the corner of Pender and Carrall. This is city owned land and over 400 units will be market units that will be out of reach of most people I know. Seems like the priorities are a little wonky here. Where are Jim Green and our MLA, Premier Mike Harcourt when we need them.

We've also heard that Bosa Brothers, the builder of the truly monstrous Citygate, by the Main St. skytrain station, is negotiating with the owners of the lvanhoe and the Cobalt hotels. Nat Bosa is the fellow who said a few years ago that the people DERA represents shouldn't have nice places in his development because we don't work. Most of the people I know in the Downtown Eastside work pretty hard whether they have a paying job or not.

In the words of one guy at Tuesday's city council meeting, we' ve never seen a more brilliant end run around the city by a developer. The developer in question, Brad Holm, has a reputation for being one mean dude who either gets his way or gets very testy. His architect is a fellow name Gerry Kennedy whose wife just happens to be NPA city councillor Lynn Kennedv. But don't worry, councillor Kennedy steps out whenever Geny's projects come up to city council.

These are the guys who are developing the big Cordova and Carrall condo building.

Back in May, city council made them a deal. They could have an extra 4 stories in height on their building as long as they ensured public access to the old CPR right of way that crosses their property. Due to safety concerns, however, the city and the developer are now claiming it will be necessary to fence this area off. The lucky condo owners will now get their own private space the rest of us won't be allowed to use and the lucky developers still get their 4 extra floors!

End Legislated Poverty

By JEFF SOMMERS TICKETS -Tw

"IJNDAY 1

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+

c

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4

5.

$12 for working people

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lice accused of turn eye to eastside gunfight KIM PEMBERTON Vancouver Sun

An early-morning gun battle at Main and Hastings earlier this week appears to be acceptable by the city and police, says the president of the Carnegie Centre Association.

"I'm sure if 12gunshots were shot at Alma and Broadway there would be screaming headlines and a lot more action taken," Muggs Sigurgeirson said Thursday.

"Generally, there's a feeling by the city and the police that if it happens at Main and Hasti n g ~it's acceptable. But there is a large

and stable community down here.

"There are tens of thousands of people who live down here- just because they tend to be on the low end of income does not mean they don't deserve to walk the streets i n peace and safety."

About 20 men were involved in the brawl.

Three people were shot and one was also cut by a machete. All have been released from hospital.

No one has been arrested, and neither the gun nor the machete has been recovered.

Vancouver police Const. Anne Drennan said the wounded men have refused to cooperate with police.

"For many different reasons there are a number of incidents in that area," she said.

"We don't know the cause lof Sunday's gunfight], but it could be as simple as someone insulting someone's girlfriend."

Drennan said there's a strong police presence in the area of the Carnegie Centre a cultural, soc~aland recreation facility.The main Vancouver police station is just around the corner at 312 Main.

Rut Sigurgeirson said that while more officers are patrolling Chinatown, Gristown and Strathcona, the same cannot be said of Main and Hastings.

"I feel street crime is up and the police cannot eliminate it. They can only manage the siren in an attempt to gain control.

"They hit the siren to let everyone know it and part of their plan to manage it is to herd that element to certain areas of the they were there and the shots stopped. There city - our neighborhood." was a mad flash, where everybody, includDrennan said police are regarding the gun ing the three victims, ran from the 300-block battle as an isolated event and there is no to the 600-block [of East Hastingsl." need to increase area patrols.

Even the injured men tried to escape.

At the time of the gun fight, police were she said, adding that because of the time. approaching the intersection in a cruiser, 3:40 a.m., there was virtually no foot orvehi. cle traffic in the area. She also noted it she noted.

"They saw one fellow hitting another with was raining heavily and it was difficult to a machete. Then the gun shots started. It was try to find the suspects.

Sigurgeirson said police presence in the over within seconds," she said. Instead of getting out of the cruiser or drawing their area is inconsistent and has in fact tapered own weapons, she said the officers put on off since the summer.

CROSSWORD # 9

ANSWERS TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

ACROSS

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Computer terminal (7) Hermit (71 Successful applicant 191 Stop up 14) Label (41 Hindu type 151 Renewal (111

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Bloodsucker (11I Feed the Kittyhe (4) Catch sight of 141 Take a second job (91 Greed (71 Ahead 17)

Teenage criminal 171 Didn't see eye to eye (91 Ceremony 141 MOSS(41 Foreigner (51 Took for granted (71 Fairies ( 1 1I Deadly (51

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Violent reaction (51 Able 191 Curved 171 Insert (7) Manicure board (51 Killer whale I41 Insincere (41

Aboriginal Fishing Rights - Part 1

History is the Kqv Some people say that Aboriginal fishing rights discriminate against non-Indians on the basis of race. This is not true.

Aboriginal rights, including fishing rights, do not discriminate against anyone on the basis of race. These rights are based on the long history of First Nations in North America. They are rights inherited from the past, and they preserve and protect the distinct characteristics and values of First Nations people.

This is not an issue of race. It is an issue of constitutional rights - rights that are now inscribed in the Canadian Constitution.

History is the key to understanding Aboriginal rights. 'The Native Council of Canada said, "Aboriginal rights do not come from European documents... they are inherited from our ancestors." The Assembly of First Nations stated, "...our right flows from our original occupation f this land from time immemorial."

In 1990, Ron Sparrow Jr. of the Musqueam First Nation was acquitted of illegal fishing charges in the Supreme Court of Canada. In this important case the Court recognised that fishing is an Aboriginal right protected in the Canadian Constitution. This right does not derive from Parliament but from the occupation of the land from time immemorial.

The Sparrow decision found that Aboriginal fishing must take priority over all other fishing interests in fisheries planning, including commercial and sports fishing, and it effectively rendered unlawful a century of arbitrary regulations under the Fisheries Act. In British Columbia, the Aboriginal fishery

takes about 3% of the allowable catch of salmon, the sports fishery takes about 3%, and the commercial fishery takes about 94%.

Protecting fish stocks for present and future generations is at the heart of First Nations fishing policy and we will talk about that in the next article.

The Moment #22/'94 edited by Sandy Cameron

Help Your Self / Help Us

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Neighbourhood Helpers would like to invite individuals and Association representatives to participate in organising a campaign.

The goal of the campaign is to get GAIN benefits extended to include extra money for the 5-week months that come up several times a year. Cheques received for these months would have more money to cover the most basic expenses, like food, for the extra days.

Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, January 1 1, at the Downtown Eastside Seniors7Centre - 509 E. Hasting, at 3:OOpm. For more information, please call Joanne Shaw at E.L.P.: 879-1209 or Ellen at 2546207 or speak to Don Baker.

1'11 I.: REAL RORBIE

The day I met him across the breakfast table sucking his index finger in the usual way taking stock of me, he got my attention with a quick flick of porridge to the eye 'Then the tantrums, running all over the house pulling things off the shelves, dumping chairs to be so beautiful, blond curls, doe-like eyes an 8 year-old autistic terror, wiping shit on the walls, he stylized comment In time, no one handled him but me when the anger got too much I'd hold him ti1 he broke and cried and sniffled into my chest he became mine and me his and we fought off the rest When i'd run away his first response after they dragged me back was a punch in the face how dare you leave me? big brown eyes finally on my lap sucking his finger content again So the time went i'd run he'd stay two years it was me and Mr. Shannon on my birthday he crawled over to my bed his present was wet but I didn't mind just traded beds, brothers do that, you know Before I left, he surprised us all one day the years of silence finally came to an end to think I taught him his first word running around the house yelling fuck, fuck, fuck.

R. Loewen

HERE I AM

I Here I am looking at my dirty clothes.

Here I am getting ready to volunteer.

Here I am Do you see me now?

I take the number three to main and hastings 1 take the number three to work.

I roll my cigarettes at Carnegie I smoke my cigarettes at work.

I drink my coffee on the second floor I drink my coffee at work.

I find a rhythm that pleases me 1 find a rhythm that works.

1 trudge up the stairs to the learning centre I trudge up the stairs to work.

Leigh Donolzue

PSYCHOTIC PILGRIMAGE Who is "Psyche"? ...we have "psychic", "psychological", "psychotic", "psychiatry", and a whole lot of other words in our strange English language that use this term "psyche".

In ancient Greek, where the word comes from, psyche was translated as "soul." More recently, in common usage, it has come to mean something more mental ...psychological ..let's say, the whole mental experience of a person - because there isn't any part of our mental functioning that would be called unpsychological by some state-sanctioned academic who is generallv considered an "expert." ...but other people have other ideas about what goes on in their heads...& this too is "psvche." So a word that used to mean soul now means mentality..what a perfect symbol for this 20th century thinking that's taken over the world. At other times in history, people thought different1y.

The ancient E~gptians,from whom the Greeks took lessons, identified the soul with the heart. They observed that the source of inspiration within an individual that created mental activity was always emotional, consisting of a need or desire or tendency. The mind gravitated to the heart's desires (for good or bad), & the Egyptians thought that the heart contained all the core tendencys that made a human being what & who it is.

Identity is what it's all about; a sort of cosmic 1.D. check at the bordercrossing of every new situation. But the Egyptians had other symbols of "psyche," the soul or complete mental-emotional identity of an individual. Although the soul's centre or homebase was the heart, it was thought of as a bird that could fly in & out of its nest, even to the furthest limits of the universe. Of course the

1

further the soul travelled & the longcr ~t stayed out of the body, the more l~lielvit was that death or final separation would occur.

Egyptian magic, or religion, was centred on the practice of allowing the soul as many flights out & back into the body as possible in one lifetime. This sort of thinking made them very familiar with what they called "the horizon", which was the line between this world & an invisible world of spirits they called "Neter-Xert", a term loosel!! translated as "nether" or "other" world. The Ebyptians conceived as this place being an invisible reality that existed behind or on the tlip-side of where we are now, which they called "The World of the Living."

The "nether" world was the world of invisible spirits, & each human psyche, or soul, as the Ebyptians conceived it, was born out of this netherworld & died back into it when it was time to go. But they said the soul, because it had the power of tlight, could entcr that world & return from it & still inhabit the same body.

Today "New Age" psychologists refer to this as "out-of-the-body experience."

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.I he "psjcllc" ol'a person is a very preclous and private thing. it's the closest thing to the centre of who that person is. In fact we can even say it who that person is.

Peo~leare born with different l ife-paths, different tendencies. Some try to explain this by genetics, some by reincarnation, some by collective unconscious, some by astrology & other forms of "karmic" divination. "Fate" in the form oS personal destiny was once universally accepted by our ancestors as ordained by nature.

The Egyptians believed in & worshipped many gods & goddesses. The hieroglyphic word translated into English as "god" or -.goddess" is the word "neter." "Neter" is the root of our English word "nature" & it means a cosmic law or principle..like a law of physics, mathematics, or like harmonic principles in music, or the laws that govern the spectrum of colours in a rainbow.

The Great Neter ("Neter Neteru" in Ebyptian terms) was the central controlling principle of all the "neters," & the ancient Ebyptian believed helshe could live thc kind of life that would allow the soul, or "psyche", to evolve into "The Great Neter", or, as they often called it, "God One." -

1

friend of the inner grimace'? an accidental world convulsing in its music touches carelessly like a breathless, aged emissary the sidelong non-chalance by which we've become thin utterances of poise drowsing along our fingers that once trembled & can't forget night swirling like a potion in downward spirals of shadow & rain along industrial streets where blackness flowed naked at our feet and whatever we construed necessary, that tarnished coinage slipping through all the holey pockets of this world we passcd them, you & I from opposite ends of this duration sometimes I remember your hands as in a mirror

TORA Dan Feeney

HEIGHT

Reflections on the Man in the Moon

When 1 was young I felt so small And frightened, for the world was tall.

And even grasses seemed to me A forest of immensity, Until 1 learned that I could grow A glance would leave them far below.

Spanning a tree's height with my eye, Suddenly I soared as high; And fixing on a star I grew, I pushed my head against the blue!

Still, like a singing lark 1 find Rapture to leave the grass behind.

Consider the Man in the Moon. Eternally depressed that He has been separated from a greater joy, watching the deterioration of the ultimate schema while suspended in Space and Time and Law. And since communication between Man and his Gods has never been expedient, all He can do is mourn. Mourn for his geological loss, but also for what He sees as a perpetual elimination. A dethroned enigma which causes lunacy in some Men, Women and Animals because to look closely at Him is to decide upon essentialities. But what are the essentialities? Look at His face.

Why do streams of tears run down the left side of his face and for so long that it has grooved a portion of his cheek? Why are his eyes so large and weary? And His mouth.

Why is it shaped in an ever-constant 'O'?

What have we missed by Him talking to us this way? Have we missed what history has taught us? Are we repeating it, cataclysmically? And yet, one hundred and ninety-eight thousand miles out in space, He will be forever trapped in absolute zero.

The rich yearn, they desire the evolution of the technique of suspended animation, to sustain themselves inevitably. There is an absurdity that is obvious here. It must be addressed. If sustainability was once an absurdity, in the creation of wealth, why is it that sustainability still remains an absurdity?

And sometimes standing in a crowd My lips are cool against a cloud.

1

Gram

Richard Th.

The loser often is someone who tried almost as hard as the winner.

Joe Paul

II

Love will find a way.

Indifference will find an excuse. .

Joe Paul

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Learning to Accept the unacceptable as inevitable

For those of you who didn't have time to read all those grotesquely misnamed "Jobs and Growth" background papers churned out by the Chretien government last October, here's a handy six-word summary: "The deficit made me do it."

I can do even better than that. Here's the gist of all the Paul Martin and Lloyd Axworthy rationalisations in four words: "There is no alternative." , What you have to understand is that the sole objective of the Liberals'; economic policy "reforms" is to whittle down Canada's social programs and public services so they'll be "harmonised" with their inferior counterparts in the United States. Politically, they couldn't do that without a plausible excuse.

The excuse is the ballooning federal deficit. It provides a convenient bogeyman with which to frighten Canadians. "The county is doomed," Martin warns, "if we don't bring down the public debt."

And,. By a strange coincidence, the only way to do that is to cut spending on our

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"extravagant" and now "unaffordable" social programs.

The fact that these programs are far less generous than those of most other industrialised countries is ignored. Told that Canada ranks 13th in its level of social spending, 16th in unemployment insurance benefits, and 1 3th in maternity leave, the Liberals just shrug. Reminded that we rank high only in child poverty (3rd)' unemployment (2nd), teen suicides(3rd) and the gap between men's and women's wages (3rd), the Liberals shed crocodile tears.

"We don't want to make things worse for the weakest and neediest of Canadians," they say.

"But there is no alternative."

In fact, there are lots of alternatives, but they would all hit the rich'and powerful, and if there's one thing the Liberals (like their Tory predecessors) shy away from, it's antagonising the rich and powerful.

Take interest rates, for example. Their a form of welfare for affluent money-lenders, which is why they've stayed so high when inflation has dropped so low. A two percentage-point reduction in interest rates - which would still leave them at usurious levels - would save the Liberals $3 billion a year. But that would make the international loan sharks mad,. So interest rates are untouchable.

Or what about unemployment? Even a 1 percent drop would pump another $6 billion into government coffers. But the big corporations and the Bank of Canada want unemployment to stay up. The bigger the jobless pool, the fiercer the competition for scarce jobs and the greater the downward pressure on wages. Besides, the Bank of Canada claims that a lower unemployment rate would trigger another round of inflation. So that option, too, is dismissed.

Then there's the tax system. Martin talks

vaguely about tax reform, but don't hold your breath waiting for the tax loopholes favouring the rich to be closed, or for the imposition of wealth o r inheritance taxes. Those real reforms could generate another $25 billion or more in tax revenue, but the 22,000 wealthy individuals and 60,000 profitable corporations that paid no tax last year have nothing t o worry about.

Nor d o the bond and stock traders. Their transactions add up t o trillions of dollars a year, but - unlike those who buy and sell other commodities - they've been completely exempted from the goods & services tax. Even if they were obliged to pay a mere 1 percent instead o f 7 percent like the rest of us, their annual contribution t o the Liberals' war on the deficit would amount t o a whopping $30 billion.

But all these deficit reducing alternatives have conveniently been ruled out. They're impractical, unworkable, hopelessly idealistic you see. Unlike cuts in social spending, they'd inhriate the corporations and the financial markets and thus d o more ham than god.

Well, ifyou believe that - as I suspect most

CONTEST

Canadians now d o - you won't be happy with the latest and most draconian cuts in welfare, in UI, in health care and education. But you'll be resigned t o them. " ~ h e i i b e r a l sdon't want t o pick on the most helpless in our society," you'll think, "but there is no alternative."

That's what they want you to think.

They don't need o r expect your approval.

Your acceptance will d o just fine.

By ED FINN Ed Finn is a research associate with the Canadian Centrefor Policy Alternatives CANADIAN FORUM DECEMBER 1994

Rules and Regulations:

'Bank', 'credit union', and 'trust' cannot appear in the title.

Only one suggested name per entry form.

Employees of the Ministry of Employment and Investment, all members of the Selection Committee and their immediate families are not eligible to enter the contest.

Entries will be judged on name only.

Winning names shall become the property of the BC Community Financial Services Corporation.

Entries will not be returned.

Winners will be selected by a five person committee, two representatives from the community, a representative from the Board of Directors, a representative from the Advisory Council and Employment and Investment Minister Glen Clark.

Entries must be received no later than 4:30 p.m., December 3 1, 1994.

All decisions are final.

I

n the spring of 1995, a community financial institution will open its doors in downtown Vancouver.

This financial institution was developed by residents of downtown Vancouver through a series of over twenty-five community meetings.

All members of the public are invited to suggest a name for this institution.* The winner will receive a prize of $100 to be deposited in the first account and a commemorative plaque. Other prizes will be awarded to runners-up.

*

Forward your entry to: Name the Bank Contest 390 Main Street Vancouver, B.C. V6A 2T1

Due to banking regulations, the words 'bank', 'credit union' and 'trust' cannot appear in the title.

Contest Closes December 3 1, 1994

1 I think this institution should be called: I 1

My Name is:

Phone:

Address:

Apt.:

I Citv:

Postal Code:

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"Banking with Community Spmt

1,

@

A parlnership between the community and the provincial government, Ministry of Employment and investment

I I I I

\/ Y& only need t i look at our neighbours-to the south to see

what kind of society you get when less fortunate citizens are told to fend for themselves, no matter what Qicwnstances they face.

But social programs aren't just for "someoneelsen. Health care, eduction, old age pensions, unemployment insurance and low d m e assistance protect all of us from financial and personal misfotuue. A recent study showed that 98.4% of Canadians used at least one social program last year.

But now our social safely net is nnder attpck. "Freen trade agreements are p~e85uringus to lower our social standards to those of countries we trade with. Large corporations are demanding that we fight the deficit by imposing deep cuts to our social programs, despite the fact that Statistics Canada has reported that only 2% of the debt has came drom social spending. More that 4496 of the debt repmients the cnmulpthe resalt of tax breakti to upper Lneome enmem and wrporatione.

form#' d&gned to drastically cut back the.se programs -Wcs; Mioieter Paul Martin has said the government is p h a i q .to,@ke. "major, major cuts, which are going to affect every qmmt d ow society." That means serious cuts to health can,e&catb, unemplogment insurance, pensions, ands social assistance. The F e r n ,mthas already planned - but tried to conceal $7W&a worth of mcuts. '

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But there are dternathrcr. We can Bght the deficit and llmmgthen our social p g r a m s by cutting tax loopkolea for corpora,@and upper income earners, lowering inter@ ratas to sthrmlate &Wic economic growth, and making long-term job oreation our '$Wpriority. .,... .:,

It's a matar of choices. What Lind of Canada do you and oneswanttolivein? OnethatWcanafitsma6twl. . to provide members, or one that oasts them .aside in:.order om with greater tax bmks andprofits?

'.

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Disttriution of Wealth in Canada, I984

A Citizen's Agenda For Canada r$ nativea~~dedopd*bgbgafewinthe b o d m m s d t h e w ~ but , Eomlngfrornoureommun i b . . . fromthelnangwhoSlirnsaredircefly~ bvthesocialclimate.

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"Fightingthe Corpor&Assault on Canada" "Comehell or high water massive cuts in sociaf service spending are going through. "

speech holds three priDdp1ea as srrcd, which Laxer, -cwhat

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2. Democrscy means equivalent to one vote.

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miUions of Latin Americana who the, US and exploitative Latin American leadcrs wiU attempt in the next decade to •’om of a hJapan u p psrman~nt is the great u~derclass. m i w e story. ~ h c under their repressive yoke. Thc people, ht sapsness a ~ i r o ~between e corporations claimed, won't stay within it He encouraged Cansdians to resist and the state has proven to be a powerful engine for development And the d e d too; to build a popular movement, put *Japaaeseeconomic crisifwis not one at all ideas back on the table, develop an &main Weatem tams. It has a $1,254 billion tive democratic process.

We must reject the idea that these he cumnt account surplus and a "devastattrade agreements am here to stay. In fact, Theymustbeabpndonedifwcwisbto t situation. Thc state will be made and w i =remain ~ so on tha backs

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wcanda. O t h e r ~ i n e thinking the Economy: 7nvlcnling E " d Zeap of Faith 'Free' *ah the Fulure of Cam&*. HI? -90 column* the TorcnrtoStm.

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level of government imposed on w by FlA and NAFM has the power to make decisions on our energy, our environment and our social service struchue, over and above what our people may wish now or in the future. And although then is talk of%

up over the &t 30 ye& ...We can't live as comfortably and worry he in the future.

"In the new world coluiag Up, we have to run faster. We have no choices". lhesc arpumta are the CUnrrnfl~ nccommically wmct" way to talk about public issues. "Economically anrectn

cans an dropping out ofthe middle The co~porateagenda that

situation in the US is pressing it on and more nations, including Canada. make no mistake. about it this is not a short term strategy to be "righted" later when national debts am dowe. It is a per-

Pre and post '~gx Poverty Rates 1-

pewitage of~opulafion

23.2

I

ink the free trade igrwm&t be-that " If we don't do it, the Japaae88~will." In the t, said Laxer, this argument would not E e impnased Americana. They w d have felt they could compete on their own stcam.

Finally, he puts his hope in the tens of,

"Whenhard work doesn 'tpay : "BOOM

AND BUST:

a over two hundred billiondollam a yeat. '