March 15, 2018 carnegeie newsletter

MARCH 15, 2018

401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7

(604) 665-2289

"The Right to Remain Project" We all know what's going on. We see the changes all around us in the DTES. The old community is being displaced, as new high-priced buildings like Woodwards spring up. Suspicious "Renovictions" and outright illegal evictions are more and more common. m More of us are ending up homeless. I live in a small hotel in Strathcona, paying $420 and my landlord is trying to pressure us out so they can jack up the rents. But we're learning about tenant rights in my hotel and fighting back. I'm a board member with the SRO Collaborative and involved in the "Right to Remain" project with university academics who have long family and activist histories in the community and their students. I've lived here for 25 years, first as a single parent and then later in various SROs including the Astoria Hotel. I'm leading the research and we're making it practical, so it can help us organize. I want to learn about my right and want to join with others who want that for themselves too.

The "Right to Remain" is based on the idea that we all have an inherent "right" to things like no rats, elevators that work, peaceful safe homes and a community around us. It is wrong to push us out.

The project will "utilize history" to influence this process of displacement in the DTES. And this history is long one here, beginning with the expulsion of the original native population. Another example is the internment of the Japanese Canadian community during WW2 and the African Canadian community who were pushed out by construction of the viaducts. And lots of people were trapped here, unable to live in other parts of Vancouver, too. It's a complicated but interesting history. Relating an understanding of this past to the present will give the SRO Collaborative, and other partner's, more practical tools to combat the injustices that we face today. The project is expected to continue for three years. The DTES community will be informed of it's progress on an ongoing basis. I hope you will come to the launch, meet everyone & get involved (especially if you are an SRO tenant!). Maybe I'll be knocking on your door and will see you soon.

Thomas De Grey

On the 11th it's free. On other days, check the Front Desk for free tickets or say you're from Carnegie .

This is supported through the work of the SRO Collaborative, the Powell Street Festival Society, the Carnegie Cornrnunity Action Project, the Hurnan Rights Cornrnittee of the Japanese-Canadian Citizens Association, the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre, and Gallery Gachet

3

Professor Kobayashi has been a leader in human rights activism and scholarship over the last four decades with extensive publications on racism, gender, issues concerning LGBTQ and two-spirited communities, disability, immigration, housing rights and Japanese Canadians.

Her most recent SSHRC grant with Jeff Masuda,"The Right to Remain", is in partnership with community advocacy organizations in the Downtown East Side of Vancouver where rapidly increasing property prices and gentrification threaten the precarious residents i. hundreds of single occupancy residences (SROs).

All Welcome, doors open and free to all Introduction by Professor Nicholas Blomley, Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University When:

March 22, 2018

Where:

Harbour

Centre,

515 West Hastings

Simon Fraser University,

Unceded

Street,

Coast Salish

Territory Room: HC 1600 Time: 7:00PM-9:00PM

Co-sponsors: Simon Fraser University's School of Communication, Department of Geo9raphy, the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technolo9Y's Centre for Cultural Policy on Culture and Community and Kwantlen Polytechnic's Social Justice Centre

FREE Tax Preparation Clinics H&R Block is going to be at Camegie on these dates to assist in doing taxes.

Sunday, March 18

2:00PM - 8:00PM

Tuesday, March 20

9:00AM - 4:00PM

Thursday, March 22

4:30PM - 8:00PM

Saturday, March 24

9:00AM - 4:00PM

Sunday, March 25

2:00PM - 8:00PM

Hope

in Shadows Photo Archive Community Discussion

We want to hear from you!

Friday, March 23rd, 2018 lOam, Carnegie Community

Please bring your following documents: • SIN Number • government photo ID (or stamped copy from Ministry of Social Development • 2017 Notice of Assessment • Any T forms First-come, first-served.

[Go to Tax Preparation Clinics-Vancouver online

I Think of Ancestors Gilles Cyrenne I read and think of my ancestors painting with ochre hematite and charcoal magical bison on cave walls shape of stone shaping colour magical bison on cave walls Lucy

Centre

Theatre Room I'you have ever: • Taken photos for the Hope in Shadows Calendar Contest • Been in a photo someone else took for the Hope in Shadows Calendar Contest Share your thoughts on how these photos should be preserved and accessed by others for years to come. Food and drink will be provided, Please RSVP via Phone: 6042559701

Turkana Boy Homo ergaster my ancestors

Email:

info@megaphonemagazine.com

upright walkers workman handy-woman tool makers cutting and chopping with stone ~cestor to my ancestors Homo Sapiens painting with ochre hematite and charcoal on cave walls magical bison

Office:

Visit us at 429 Alexander St. M-F 9:00am - 4:30pm

Out of Africa hunting for magical bison Hunting and cutting and chopping with stone Painting with ochre hematite and charcoal magical bison on cave walls Homo Sapiens out of Africa walking the world still painting with ochre hematite and charcoal magical animals and colours on city walls I read and see and think of my ancestors Shape of life shaping colours

clement weather as if these migrants were coming directly from Africa. When you are running from a lynch mob, extreme weather becomes secondary.

In "North of the color line", Sarah lane Mathew writes that in Alberta, fear mongers fanned racial hatred arguing: "We view with alarm the continuous and rapid influx of Negro settlers ... this immigration will have the immediate effect of discouraging White settlement in the vicinity of the Negro farms and will depreciate the value of all holdings within such areas."

In British Columbia, Blacks who settled in Victoria, Salt Spring Island and Vancouver were so discouraged by subtle Canadian racism and hypocrisy that they eventually chose to return to the US where they had a community and felt they could manage the system a lot better.

Maynard's work is a significant contribution to Canadian history. It examines four decades and is a living testimony of slavery across multiple institutions, shedding light on the state's role in perpetuating contemporary Black poverty and unemployment, racial profiling, Policing Black Lives and Resistance law enforcement violence, incarceration, immigration

By Lama Mugabo detention, deportation, exploitative migrant labor practices, disproportionate child removal and low graduaCoast Salish Territories - On Thursday, March 1st, tion rates.

Community-based organizations in the Vancouver's By and large, the omission of people of African descent Downtown Eastside hosted Robyn Maynard's book in Canadian history books breeds ignorance and conlaunch: "Policing Black Lives: State Violence in tributes to the relentless discrimination against Black Canada from Slavery till the present". The Fletcher bodies through police racial profiling, prejudice in Challenge room at SFU Habour Center campus was housing, employment or simply occupying public spacpacked to capacity, with child minding and ASL es. In order to redress this injustice, schools across translation services for those in need.

Canada should include books like "Policing Black Living in Vancouver as a Black man raises a Lives" into their social studies curriculum. The lack of lot of questions about why there are so few knowledge and appreciation of people of African deBlack people in British Columbia, compared to other scent in Canada dilutes the wealth of Canadian multiCanadian provinces. I began reading the history of culturalism. It takes away Black people's ability to add Black people in Canada and quickly learned that the our skills and talents into Canada's heritage. fact that Black people make up less than 1% of the Racialization of Crime population was not an accident. It is the result of a deliberate Canadian government policy to keep Cana- The racialization of crime follows a pattern that associda White, by erecting barriers to maintain undesirable ated Black people with crime since the days of runaway slaves back in the 17th century, writes Maynard migrants outside its borders. "when self-liberated slaves were considered thieves In 1921, Sir Wilfrid Laurier's government approved Order-in-Council P.e. 1911-1324, which read: "For a and criminals". In the minds of public discourse, this period of one year from and after the date hereof the equation of slaves to crime made a lot of sense, prelanding in Canada shall be and the same is prohibited cisely because Blacks who had been subjugated to slave labor for years deprived White slave owners free of any immigrants belonging to the Negro race, labor and income. "After slavery's abolition, the assowhich race is determined unsuitable to the climate ciations between functions in maintaining the racial and requirements of Canada". The federal governorder, and ongoing surveillance, policing of Blackness ment was claiming to protect Black people from inwere quintessential in the ninetieth and earlier centurie-

sin Canada." (Maynard, p, 85) Vancouver's Hogan's Alley was a criminalized and stigmatized space - Black people who fled violent white supremacist structures in the US arrived in Vancouver to be contained in and around Hogan's Alley through the criminalization of their community - particularly through the racialized criminalization of Black women as hypersexual, ad therefore sex workers and Black men as hyper masculine, therefore dangerous. It's important to underscore that despite the criminalized containment, which is referred to nostalgically as the "nightlife" of Hogan's Alley, the Black community was also a space of survival and collective resistance.

Vancouver police have continued to use violence and racialized criminalization to exclude and manage Black people's presence in the city. In courts, the police are often exonerated. Last February, a Black man was arrested on Granville St for jaywalking. Jaywalking? Give me a break! We know that from Friday to Sunday, Granville St becomes the city's entertainment district; private vehicles are rerouted and people bar hop in search for a good time. Jaywalking is a common practice.

This incident involved, 22-year old Jamiel MooreWilliams, a former UBC football player who helped UBC win the Vanier Cup. He was crossing the street to avoid someone who was throwing rocks when the police arrested him. Fortunately, one of his friends recorded the arrest using his phone camera. The video shows more officers arriving to the scene. Seven officers in total quickly surrounded him and pulled him to the ground. While he was being held to the ground, some officers appear to punch and kick him. Another shot a taser at him.

Moore- Williams was hospitalized at St. Paul's Hospital, then spent the rest of the weekend in police custody. He was given a jaywalking ticket and charged with two counts of obstruction of justice.

When we talk about Black Lives Matter some people question whether White lives matters less. To them I ask: "When the police pull you over, have you ever feared to lose your life?

United Nations Experts on People of African Descent Report on Canada On August 17,2017, the UN Human Rights Council released a scathing report by the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent urging Canada to fix racial injustices against Black People.

In particular, the UN report slammed the Canada and Nova Scotian governments for not doing enough to secure land titles for African-Nova Scotians: "History informs anti-black racism and racial stereotypes that are so deeply entrenched in institutions, policies and practices, that its institutional and systemic forms are either functionally normalized or rendered invisible, especially to the dominant group," the UN officials wrote.

Shortly after the report was made public, the government of Nova Scotia announced it will spend $2.7 million over two years to help residents in five black communities obtain clear legal title to their land. (A. Vaughan/ Canadian Press).

"African-Nova Scotians have suffered more than anyone else in Nova Scotia - great indignities and injustices with respect to land," African Nova Scotian Affairs Minister Tony Ince said at the funding announcement.

The report must have also caught the attention of Vancouver City Council while the Black community was advocating for the return of Hogan's Alley, the only black neighborhood the city has ever had. Council understood that redressing the urban displacement that destroyed Hogan's Alley would be a wise thing to do and perhaps serve as an example for other municipalities to emulate.

Vancouver's Black community hopes that the revitalization of Hogan's Alley will create renewed hope. The community plans to build a eultural center, which will feature cultural activities all year round, provide retail space to generate economic opportunities and affor~able housin~ that will bring the scattered Black community together, m an effort to build a community from cradle to grave. AIt could be a place that will add value to Vancouver's cultural diversity and offer a model of cultural inclusion that the city has been deprived of since the obscure days of the viaducts construction.

Jenny Kwan, MP Vancouver East NDP Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Critic 2572 E Hastings St Vancouver, BC V5K IZ3 T: 604-775-5800 F: 604-775-5811 Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca

7

Iuno Awards of 2018; in coilaboratioÂť with Cornegie Community Centre & Vancouver Moving Theatre/DTES Heart a/the City Festival

presents

LUNCH TIME CONCERTS, featuring JUNO NOMINEE PERFORMERS and local DTES-invo ved musicians as Opening Acts

Friday, Saturday & Sunday March 23 - 25, Ipm ~ Carnegie Theatre

j

Confirmed to date: WHfTEHORSE (2017 June Award Saturday, March 24, 1pm

More information

Wimlers)

,,,,illbe posted on Carnegie bulletin boards as it becomes confirmed.

And finally, the nighttime glare from thousands upon thousands of streetlights, businesses and homes, the city crusted with so much light it blocks out the stars. All of it and more and it never, ever stops. So, take a breath, take a moment, think about how tranquil this place must have been before the Arrival, before the Whites appropriated everything and insisted it was theirs.

Before Everything Changed

By Debra McNaught Sometimes, when scowling over the ceaseless 'Big City noise pollution' that assaults us relentlessly, I think about how different this place must have been for the First Nations before the Whites appropriated ... well, everything. Our survival instincts might kick in and filter out a lot of the barrage, but the n ise is relentless, pervasive, an urban orchestra gone rogue: endless traffic congestion, angry car horns, exhaust fumes, car alarms, battalions oftransit buses. The sirens. The never-ending sirens. Permanent construction noise. Walk signs that loudly order you to cross the street. Delivery trucks and their crashing freight doors, dumpsters slammed back to earth with a hollow boom like a giant tin drum, and the finale of beep beep beep-ing while trucks back their fat asses out into traffic. The yelling in the streets; our own special brand of street theatre as only the Downtown Eastside can offer it up. Mobile devices constantly clamoring for attention, the slam-dance of commerce and profit at street level.

To imagine something of how it used to be think trees, really big trees, a crush of green that stretched to the horizon. Picture undisturbed old growth forest kissing the sky: Western Red Cedars average 60m (200ft), Douglas firs can hit lOOm(330ft), and Western Hemlock 30-S0m (lOO-160ft). A moderate maritime climate, relatively benign winters, and enough rain to keep everything lushly green, green as far as forever, and the land itself different from what we now know; then the British arrived to stay, and everything changed, even the very land itself. Until the causeway was built, Stanley Park was an island; Lost Lagoon got its name because it used to disappear at low tide, severing it from the West End, the tidal wash running from Coal Harbour through the lagoon to continue as it does today through Ceperley Meadow to Second Beach. The West End was a bit swampy in places, and the peninsula that forms downtown Vancouver was actually an island for there was a narrow channel just east of where Main Street is now that connected False Creek and Burrard Inlet. False Creek used to extend further eastwards, eventually dissolving in swampy marsh. Not content with genocide, the British-led colonists rearranged the geography. Just before the First World War the False Creek marsh and the channel through to Burrard Inlet was filled in; all the

INTRODUCTION

2017 was the worst year for homeless Downtown Eastside (DTES) residents since the Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) began doing these annual reports in 2008.

With an estimated 1,200 homeless people living in the DTES, with over 500 DTES residents evicted from their homes through no fault of their own, with only 21 new units of housing at welfare rate, with average rents in privately owned and run hotels ramping up to $687 a month, and with the fentanyl overdose tragedies killing people weekly, the community is in deep crisis.

Governments need to act immediately to save lives lost to homelessness and drug overdoses.

LOWLIGHTS CCAP's annual Hotel Survey and Housing report measures whether low income people can afford to remain living in their neighbourhood. With about 9,000 low income people in the community surviving on welfare and disability and about 4,000 on seniors' pensions, most folks have only about $375-438 a month for rent.

•

Average rents in the 10 fastest gentrifying hotels are now $1,267 a month, an increase of $166 over last year

•

Only 21 units of new welfare rate housing opened in the DTES in 2017

•

The rate of change of new unaffordable housing (condos, market housing and social housing with rents above welfare shelter and pension rates) in the DTES in 2017 was 40:21 or about 2 unaffordable units to 1 affordable unit

This year CCAP found: Downtown Eastside residents lost 500 affordable units in 2017.

These are units that were actually physically closed with tenants evicted through no fault of their own. It does not include units lost to high rents.

•

Average rents in privately owned and run hotels went up to an astounding $687 per month, compared to $548 last year, a $139 increase. This is the highest yearly increase since CCAP began doing these reports 10 years ago.

The rate of change going forward into the foreseeable future with proposed and approved new DTES • develop,ments is 1694:580 or about 3:1. The new units could take up to 7 years to be built.

•

The rate of change going into the future in Chinatown of proposed and approved developments is an inexcusable 282 condos, market rentals and unaffordable social housing, to an actual loss of 3 affordable units

•

The rate of change in Chinatown for 2017 is 149:0, with 149 unaffordable units opening and no affordable ones opening

About 1 in 18 people who live in the DTES is homeless Residents surviving on social assistance of $710 a month and paying the average SRO rent of $687 have only $23 left for food and everything else for a month, less than a dollar a day

PHYSICALLY LOST UNITS IN 2017 2017 was a really bad year for low income people being evicted from low cost units through no fault of their own.

The DTES community lost 168 units at the Balmoral Hotel because the City refused to enforce its maintenance bylaws. 157 units were lost because the City decided to demolish Roddan Lodge and rebuild it at some time in the future.

78 units were lost because Community Builders sold the Jubilee Rooms empty to a company that Steven Lippman, the

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Building Name

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Balmoral

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1235 Main St.

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124 Dunlevy 51.

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203 Abbot St.

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worst gentrifier in the DTES, is involved in. That's 408 units lost to low income people in the DTES.In addition, the City closed the Quality Inn, which housed 157 low income people, many from the DTES, because its lease was up. 565 low income units lost in one year! BC Housing did lease 60 vacant rooms in the Winters Hotel for Balmoral residents so those rooms were added to the low income stock.

Number of Units

Reason City closed building due to unsafe conditions Building sold to Steve Lippman - being renovated City-owned building demolished and rebuilt About 60 vacant rooms opened for Balmoral residents .~-- ~-- . (outside of the DTES but housed many DTES residents)

I

RENTS Most hotels have rooms that rent at different rents within the building.

CCAP does not have access to the owners' books. Instead CCAP surveyors use the "mystery shopper" method.

Investigators posing as prospective tenants ask managers and desk clerks questions about rents and vacancies in each hotel. We complement the information we get from managers with information available from tenants and Craigslist. CCAP checked only the hotels that are privately owned and run.

For the Hotel Report, CCAP has conservatively grouped hotels by the lowest rent in the rent range. This means that it is likely that hundreds of people actually pay higher rents than it appears by looking at most of our data.

For example, in some cases CCAP has classified a hotel as having rents that begin at $425 even though we know some rooms in the building rent for $550 or more. This also means that there might be longer term tenants who pay a lower rent than reflected by our data.

AVERAGE LOWEST RENT AND WELFARE REMAINING AFTER RENT IS PAID ($)

•

700

<f-

600 500 400

Average lowest rent in 2017

$548

$398

$423

$445

$452

$469

$495

$517

Average lowest rent ($) â&#x20AC;˘

300

Welfare remaining after rent is paid ($)

200 $125 100

$95 $23

0

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

RENTS The average rent of all privately owned and run hotels in 2017 is $687. This is an enormous increase of $139 over last year's average of $548.

CHINATOWN

The increase means that people who live on welfare of $710 a month, have less left after paying rent than they did last year - even though welfare increased by $100 in 2017.

RATE OFCHANGE

CHINATOWN RATE OF CHANGE IN

2017 This year no new social housing units at welfare/pension rate opened in Chinatown.

Forty condo and market rental units opened.

So the rate of change for 2017 for Chinatown is 40:0.

CHINATOWN RATE OF CHANGE GOING INTO THE FUTURE The rate of change for developments proposed or under construction in

Chinatown looking intothefuture is bleak for low income people. A mere 19 social housing units, which are a replacement for 22 that will be demolished in the Bonnis development, are all that are proposed. In other words it looks like Chinatown will actually directly lose 3 units of low income social housing, going into the future. So the rate of change for Chinatown looking into the future is 282 condo units to minus 3 affordable units.

Chinatown Concern Group members are worried and angry at how the quality of

CHINATOWN RATEOFCHANGE life for them as working-class residents in Chinatown continues to worsen as a resu It of their neig hbourhood gentrifying.

They are angry at developers for building unaffordable housing while people are sleeping on the streets as well as at the government for allowing this to happen.

They are concerned about the loss of retail that serve low income Chinese people like themselves, especially greengrocers and other stores that sell products they depend on.

According to a report by the Hua Foundation, 50% of Chinatown's fresh

Site

Developer

Condos

food stores (including greengrocers, fishmongers, barbecue meat shops, and butchers) were lost between 2009 and 2016. This trend of such stores, including dry food stores, being under threat from how the neighbourhood is changing and being redeveloped raises huge concerns for the food security of the Chinese working-class community in Chinatown, especially for seniors that face health and mobility challenges. These are issues that Chinatown Concern Group continues to organize on as they work toward the People's Vision for Chinatown.

SH units at or above welfare rate

Market Rental

Comments

($~75)

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Vacant lot

Total

19 below welfare rate"

--

SH : Social Housing *These 19 units are to replace existing development for a net loss of 3 units

units

being

This site contains the old building

destroyed

by the

new

CARNEGIE COMMUNITY

ACTION PROJECT 111 :15 AM EVERY FRIDAY

The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) is a project of the board ofthe CamegieCommunity Centre Association. CCAP works mostly on housing, income, and land use issues in the Downtowr Eastside (DTES) of Vancouver so that the area can remain a low income friendly community. CCAP works with english speaking and Chinese speaking DTES residents in speaking out on their own behalf for the changes they would like to see in their neighbourhood.

Join us on Fridays 11:15 am for our weekly volunteer meetings I Downtown want to work on getting better housing and incomes and stop gentrification Lunch is provided!

Eastside residents who are welcome to attend.

CARNEGIE AFRICAN DESCENT GROUP III AM EVERY2ND TUESDAY The Carnegie African Descent Group (CADG) is pleased to invite you to a bi-weekly lunch gathering at the Downtown Eastside Neighborhood House. Come, cook, talk and enjoy African dishes with us. The lunch will take place every Tuesdays, from 11:00 am till 1:30 pm. The group has the same mandate as CCAP, but with particular focus on issues that Black and African Descent community members experience. DTES community members who identify as Black and or as of African Descent are welcome to the lunch. For more information, contact: Imugab075@gmail.com

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CONTACT US: Office: 2nd floor of the Carnegie,

itOl t\!iain Street, Vancouver Phone: 601.1"665·2105 Email: info@carnegieaction,org VVe bsi te: VVW\IV. ca rneg iea ct io n.org

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 ofthis report.

area around Pacific Central station, Main Street Skytrain, and Science World is reclaimed land.

False Creek got its name in 1859 when a mapping quest commissioned by the Royal Navy discovered it was no creek at all. But there were plenty of real creeks, natural freshwater drainage ranging from mere trickles to swifter torrents, some of which later supplied small industries in early Mount Pleasant; Brewery Creek used to really exist, rushing down a ravine to False Creek about where Main Street is now. China Creek wasn't just a welfare office. The land was well-watered, and the air must have been sweet with cedar and fir, the sky clear of carbon monoxide and industrial stinks and smells.

The first Europeans came to trade fur, mostly sea otter pelts, and weren't interested in sticking around. Contrary to White expectations the Indigenous - having traded amongst themselves and the inland peoples via established trade routes of their own - were no strangers to the game of barter. But after all the dealing was done the Whites sailed away and it was if they had never been, until they came back for the gold and then the trees. And stayed.

In contrast, the original inhabitants respected and understood their natural environment, happy to exist within it. British Columbia is largely mountainous which meant barriers to easy interaction; valley settlements were somewhat isolated, and their cultures evolved in slightly different ways, and as a result there are more distinct First Nations in BC than any other part of Canada. To pour over a pre-reserve map of settlement in the lower mainland is to be amazed at the sheer number of villages. In our own community we are keenly aware we occupy uncedetl Coast Salish Territory, the traditional home of the Squamish, the Tsleil-Waututh and the Musqueam nations. The largest villages were at the mouths of the Fraser (Musqu-eam) and Capilano (Tsleil- Waututh) Rivers, and in Stanley Park (Squamish), but many communities were established along Burrard Inlet, False Creek, Kitsilano, English Bay and Howe Sound. The oral histories contain the evidence of their residency here for thousands of generations over an estimated 10,000 years, and for good reason. Elk, deer, cougar, bear and beaver were plentiful. The streams and creeks held salm-on and trout, rivers provided access to salmon runs, to sturgeon and oolichan. The ocean

offered flounder and herring, perch and smelt, and a smorgasbord of clams, crab, mussels, and oysters. The overhead vault of old growth forest prevented much ground level vegetation but in the more open areas and natural meadows there were huckleberries, salmonberries, blackberries, and crab apples in season; land bordering the mouth of the Fraser was abundant in cranberries and blueberries, and many local plants and flowers were harvested for both food and medicinal purposes.

Grouse, partridge and duck, along with seasonal migrating birds, provided a variety of fowl. The bountiful resources found here supported not only the permanent villages but the many summer camps along the shorelines where supplies were gathered and preserved, and there was much feasting and potlatching before heading home to winter it out.

The loss of the stars is only a minor atrocity compared to the others inflicted on the First Peoples, and to this place. It must have been so beautiful here before the Whites changed everything, even the nighttime sky.

Sources: Descriptions of local bounty from "The Mount Pleasant Historic Context Statement," prepared by the City of Vancouver and Donald Luxton Associates.

DEATH OF A MOMENT Like the downfall of the world's longest staircase or having to wait fof the next Leap Year so as to say goodbye to your favourtie roof for all those nights you sat there contemplating the end while saving one's face what never was home was your castle simple as that, so much evil would it sound better with a laughing track with stupidity rising in value every day of course you might turn to smack I guess habits like that keep the bad things away like calories & fat, Like getting pulled over by Officer Down cuz of warrants on your birthday how remotely swell the Indigenous get a gunshot to the head otherwise all is well maybe not, but a moment is part of something not to waste, no one ever asked me to like it I will take that farther & help to destroy every other car so people a lot more people begin to bike it so at least some self-haters can show their face, when an indigenous human being (there is no other kind) is found floating in a ditch a downfall of another kind begins to happen it doesn't need malice or thoughtlessness no one will win automatic failure to mankind guns will end our walk on Earth.

Like having to build another trillion Smithrites just to fill'em up with our sins early on in life it was interesting but I've kept an eye on the hole we continue to

dig let alone find ourselves in what is a human life truly worth? Guesses&lies keep us busy just like excuses to skip school or not learn things like how to read or write but violence&ignorance make jobs so we continue this charade about respecting one another then domestic atrocities happen or a death at a bar just a moment or anti-clarity that moment was a human life.

Someone somewhere surely cares enough to put your tech/gadget down for a solitary moment Graveyards *R Us don't need repeat customers so fucking fuIl enough of this non common sense like the remnants of a fuIl-Iength mirror each shard a different level of hell trying to pull me&U thru -I will pass- how many accept being alive is hard enough, like a moment to pick up as many 20 $ biIls that's all there is in a sickening racist&capitalistic daycare so many use a moment to remove themselves from what they make out of this world their answer is a suicide plan so many young ones murdering others or themselves, too many moments not enough love it is truly hard to keep your head above options denied unless you've committed a perfect murder most were just born with wealth ...

Like the Sledgehammer Fairy waking you up so you can forever sleep with pristine pastures for bludgeoned sheep to go bleep this portion of reality brought to you at no cost. Bodybags&graves are on the rise no way other than minimum wage slaves depression & isolation destroy one's soul there are no ready remedies the web of this moment has you caught how many wrong turns must one make before they acknowledge being lost?!

Like the boy who sign-Ianguaged WOLF he got nowhere now I'm thinking when this planet dies wiIl those (all of us) who are held responsible be punished or get a high'!5 like the farmer who accidently shot a 22 year-old (Indian I hate that word) to death before that moment he was alive we are truly a pitiful race, I could complain until I'm much more than blue in the face the death of anything is at least to me a monumental disgrace then I wake up it wasn't a nightmare just another series of moments. One decade this could be in the hands of some kind of inteIligent even found possibly without that DNA ofviolence that'd almost be worth sticking around this worldwide door-to-door sadness but let them beware I shant be here inany case

By ROBERT McG1LLIVRA Y "A quality of justice, a quantity of light, a particle of mercy makes the colour right." -Neil Peart

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ILLUSORY TRUTH EFFECT

Definition: The illusory truth effect is our tendency to believe that something familiar is true, because we've heard it over and over. It's also known in politics as the Big Lie technique.

Science 101 Science 101 is a free 3 month, non-credit, barrier free, introductory course offered to individuals who have had difficulty accessing post-secondary education.

Learn from UBC professors and graduate students about fascinating and fun topics in science!

Location and times Lectures: Tuesdays & Thursdays from 6:00 to 8:30pm on UBC campus. *Optional weekly tutorials and a variety of fieldtrips.

Course dates

April 30th to August 2nd, 2018

Information sessions March 24that 4 pm at Carnegie Community Centre in Classroom II (401 Main St) March 2ih at 6 pm at Carnegie Community Centre in Classroom II (401 Main St)

Contact us at: 604-345-0348 or sciencelOl@science.ubc.ca www.science.ubc.ca/10l

l}~{:. â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘.... ,.lW--.. FACULTY OF SCIENCE

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

BC Poverty Reduction Coalition on the BC Budget Congratulations! The govemmentjust announced the BC Budget on Tuesday and we were there to see what their plans are. Thanks to you, there are significant measures to tackle the breadth of poverty through investments in housing and child care.

These 2 key pillars of a poverty reduction plan will make a big difference to working families throughout BC. However, they are leaving many British Columbians far behind. There are no increases to welfare and disability rates in the budget, leaving more than 190,000 British Columbians struggling to survive on these deeply inadequate rates.

This comes on the heels of a minimum wage announcement that the government won't increase the

minimum wage to $15 an hour until 2021. It's simply unacceptable to leave people in poverty yet we continue to do so.

BC Budget in a Nutshell: How does it measure up?

Housing *Total invested is $1.6 billion over 3 years, $6.5 billion over 10 years for 114,000 homes, including: *$445 million over 3 years (of a 10-year commitment) for 19,000 affordable rental units for the "missing middle," those with moderate incomes *Only $306 million over 3 years towards construction of 2,500 new units of supportive housing for the home -less and 1,500 units for women and children fleeing domestic violence *1,750 units for indigenous people over 3 years *5,000 units of student housing provided through borrowing program but affordability issues on campus not explicitly addressed *$1 billion over 10 years in retrofits and renovations of existing social housing *Expanding seniors benefits (SAFER program) and increasing Rental Assistance Program for working parents will benefit 3,200 new seniors and families *Changes to laws on renovations or demolitions but no rent control on the unit *Significant tax measures to redistribute housing wealth: *new speculation tax for Metro Vancouver, Greater Victoria, Fraser Valley, Nanaimo and Kelowna; *foreign buyers tax increased from 15% to 20% and also extended to those regions; *increasing property purchase tax and school tax rate for homes worth over $3 million

Child care $1 billion over 3 years to start building universal child care for BC *Fee reductions of up to $350/month with a focus on infant/toddler and 3-5 year-olds, which are expected to benefit up to 50,000 families *New affordable child care benefit of up to $1,250 for families with pre-tax incomes of $45,000 or less; this is expected to benefit 86,000 families within 2 years *Increasing spaces to train Early Childhood Educators and expanded grants/bursaries but no imme-

diate improvement of wages *22,000 new space throughout the provinc~ . *Expansion of the Head Start program for indigenous families both on and off reserve *Start up grants to encourage child care provi~ers to become licensed in order to improve care quality *Prototype centres to build the model o! reduced f~es, supported ECE workers and early learning centres m a representative range of BC co~unities ."

Message from the $IOaDay Child Care Campaign: For years, you and thousands of other $10aDay supporters called on government to take steps to fix BC's child care chaos. Yesterday - the BC government did just that! Today- we humbly thank all of our supporters & allies who made this momentous day possible. " The BC Aboriginal Child Care Society: Indigenous-led child care finally has the potential to be a reality

Health $548 million for seniors care over three years, including funds for residential care *$105 million in funding toward eliminating or reducing deductibles for prescription dr~~s for poor and working-class individuals and families, *Completely eliminating MSP premiums ~y J~~uary 2020, saving families $1,800 per year and individuals $900 per year; and introducing a new employer tax as a fair way to replace part of the premium re~e~ue . *New Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions invested with $322 million over the next three years to support shifting from emergency response to a longerterms proactive and preventative strategy *$150 million over three years to expand coverage of primary care providers to improve access to team-based care for those not currently able to access care *$16 million over two years for the First Nations Health Authority to support mental health & wellness *$3.1 billion for health construction projects, upgrades to facilities, medical and diagnostic equipment, and information management technology systems *Increasing the Ministry of Health's operating budget by more than $1.5 billion over the next three years

Education $212 million increase in operating funding for public schools but more funding needed for specialist teachers and education assistants to properly support children with special needs *For post-secondary education, projected lift in operating grants of3.4% per year, but a projected 6.1 % increase per year in revenues from tu!tion fees: (w~th domestic tuition still capped at 2%, this means contm-

ued reliance on international students) *$450 million housing fund for institutions to apply to for potentially 5,000 new units within residences but institutions must cover 25% of the cost. Students want a commitment that such housing will be affordable Nothing to address student loan interest ratesthe ministry is continuing to look at the issue at a cost of $17 million per year *Money for tech students, Adult Basic Educati~m & English Language Learners, and former youth m care had already been announced, but $30 million in . new dollars for additional supports for former youth in care *Dedicated funding for indigenous skills training Nothing new on capital expenditures: al~t~e existing promises (including a new trades building on every campus) are rolling out

Equity

...

Commitment to build 1,500 units of housing dedicated to women and children fleeing domestic violence *Increased supports for youth aging out of care and increased age of coverage to 26 years .. *Measures for indigenous people and commumties, including 1,750 housing units, and funding for Aboriginal Friendship Centres, child care, Indigenous Skill Training Program, and to support the preservation and revitalization of Indigenous languages in BC. *Only $5 million per year for legal aid, which does not go far in filling the $40 million cut from the previous government . . *$52 transportation supplement for PWD rectpients referenced in budget but already announced last fall Very modest annual increases for Community Living BC continue to lag behind projected caseload growth of 5-6 percent annually . *$4 million over 2 years to test BaSIC Income through conversation with an expert committee *Appointment of new Parliamentary Secretary on Gender Equity on February 15 *No new enhancements to the low income climate action tax credit: the September 2017 budget increased the armual amount for an adult by $19.50 to $135 and for a child by $5.50 to $40

Low Wage Work Only $3 million for employment

standards,

com-

bined with the slow timeline on the minimum wage increase to $lS/hour, means little security for low wage workers The minimum wage announcement came on February 8 when the government followed the recommendations of the Fair Wages Commission to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour but not until 2021.

BCPRC press release: $15/hr by 2021 keeps workers in poverty for too long, advocates urge strong action in BC's poverty reduction plan to fill the gap *The next stage is ensuring that all workers are covered by the minimum wage without exceptions. Tell the Minister of Labour Harry Bains: it's time that BC had one fair wage for all workers - no exceptions!

The BC Poverty Reduction Coalition acknowledges and honours the fact that our communities lie on unceded Indigenous lands.

Go to the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition's website for links to members' sites & specific reports on each ofthe categories above.

Hello Carnegie Patrons, Thank you for your patience and understanding as we complete comfort and safety improvements of the Carnegie Centre Kitchen & Cafeteria. Please continue to read the Carnegie Newsletter for ongoing updates.

CONSTRUCTION: WHAT TO EXPECT THIS MONTH The Kitchen Renovation: Work started in the new year and is moving along smoothly and right on schedule! Over the past two months, the temporary cafeteria in the gym was built and the demolition phase of the project was completed. In the next few weeks, the rebuilding and renovation of the kitchen cooking area and cafeteria/concession will be underway. At this point in tfme, it is anticipated that new & improved Carnegie Kitchen and Cafeteria will re-open in midMay. Keep your fingers crossed!

We are still cooking and serving hot & cold delicious food every day of the week at our regular hours & look forward to seeing & serving you during the renovation Background: Carnegie Cafeteria In 2015/2016, the City identified Carnegie Centre's kitchen and cafeteria as a priority capital project and committed funding to do the extensive renovation in 2018. As the renovation is huge, it requires both areas to be closed completely for the duration of the project. The project completion is projected to take 3 - 4 months. The renovation will maintain the integrity of

the heritage building features and include upgrades to the plumbing, electrical, air circulation, equipment and include a rebuild of the entire concession area.

Goals: Carnegie Cafeteria: Our kitchen has a strong emphasis on reforming the delivery offood services in the DTES. We pride ourselves on serving food that is high in nutritional impact, quality, abundance and variety. All kitchen activities are done in collaboration with and participation of community volunteers. With a newly configured kitchen and concession, we hope to increase volunteer opportunities for community members in the kitchen.

STAY TUNED for News About Our GRAND REO- ..

PENING in the coming months!

Sharon Belli, Director Re: Mulroney stakes out her turf in the centre, Mar. 2 Mulroney claims to bring a "different kind of experience" to the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership race. As she is a former Fraser Institute Board of Directors member, what exactly does her experience entail?

Say what you will about Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Ontario Liberals, one thing is clear from their actions: they are unquestionably on the side of the people. Consider: Wynne's Liberals enacted a raise in the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2019 undeniably helping Ontario's working poor (when businesses, which had ample opportunity to similarly do the right thing for years, didn't). Consider: Wynne's Liberals have made significant progress towards ushering in universal Medicare coverage of medical prescriptions. Consider: the Wynne Government is testing the idea of "basic income" in several cities to see how the idea might work in Ontario.

Aside from exerting undue influence on Canadian news media with the effect of pushing its public discourse even farther to the right than it already is, the Fraser Institute also is known for its rabidly anti-union, anti-minimum wage, anti-middle class viewpoints, which I rather doubt Mulroney did anything to mitigate.

Add to these her anti-environment stance and what we have in contrast to Premier Wynne's "Woman For All Seasons" is an ivory tower dweller schooled in the excesses of the far right emerging now to "save" Ontario from Wynne's progressive policies.

No thank you, Caroline Mulroney!

Rolf Auer, Ottawa

"Decriminalize" Following a public demonstration on Feb 20 the City of Vancouver issued a press release last week. In the Courier the following appeared: Among the city's recommended responses to the opioid crisis was this sentence: "Convene a multi-sectoral task force to implement immediate decriminalization of personal possession of illicit drugs."

Other bullet points from the city news release to combat the opioid crisis: *Rapidly roll out funding for evidence-based treatment programs *Support the scale up of innovative programs that provide access to safe opioids for those most at risk for overdose *Support the de-stigmatization programs that are eoled by people with lived experience of substance use *Continue to roll out innovative overdose prevention services in areas where users remain isolated.

The lowest number of deaths in Vancouver last year - 18 - were recorded in October. But the deaths spiked again in November and December, with 29

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people dying in each month. Thirty-three deaths were recorded in January, compared to 51 in January 2017.

The 51 deaths were the highest monthly total last year, with the average being 31 per month.

The final 2017 numbers saw 365 overdose-related deaths recorded in Vancouver. No one has died ofan overdose at an overdose prevention site this year.

The unabated deaths have continued to exert pressure on the city's first responders, with average call volumes hitting 100 per week so far this year.

"We are witnessing a horrific and preventable loss of life as a poisoned drug supply continues to kill our neighbours, friends, and family," Mayor Gregor Robertson said in the news release. "Volunteers and first responders are working around the clock to keep people alive, but lives are on the line and more action is urgently needed. We will keep pushing for bold solutions, and that includes breaking down the stigma that leads people to use drugs alone at home, addressing access to a clean supply through drug testing equipment, and dramatically improving a range of treatment options like opioid substitution therapy."

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We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory.

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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 Association.

WANTED Artwork for the Carnegie Newsletter -Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry.

-Cover art - Max size: 17cm(6 Y..')wide x 15cm(6')high.

-Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the Downtown Eastside, but all work considered.

-Black & White printing only.

-Size restrictions apply (i.e. if your piece is too large, it will be reduced and/or cropped to fit).

-All artists will receive credit for their work.

-Originals will be returned to the artist after being copied for publication.

-Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer Tickets Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor.

The editor can edit for clarity, format & brevity, but not at the expense of the writer's message.

401 Main Street, Vancouver V6A 2T7 604-665-2289 Website carnegienewsletter.org Catalogue carnnews@vcn.bc.ca em ail carnnews@shaw.ca 604-665-2289 phone

LSLAP (Law Students Legal Advice Program) DROP-IN Call 604-665-2220 for time

Next issue:

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

TUESDAY, MARCH 27 WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION

• • • •

AIDS POVERTY HOMELESSNESS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

• •

ABORIGI~AL GENOCIDE TOTALH ARIAN CAPITALISM IGNORANCE and SUSTAINED FEAR

*

DONATIONS 2018 In memory of ~d Osborn -$40 Kelly F. Craig H.-$500 Winnie T.-$200 Barbara M.-$100 Robert -$20 Robert McG.-$55 Laurie R-$175 Michael C.-$100

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