October 1, 2018 Carnegie Newsletter

OCTOBER 1, 2018

(:>oRru'eei t: NEWS LETT ER,

camnews@vcn.bc.ca

401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7 (604) 665-2289 Email: carnnews@shaw.ca

Website/Catalogue:

carnegienewsletter.org

Artist, Actor, Storyteller, Bannock Lady, Friend

Honouring Sue Blue

HONOURING

SUE BLUE

Susan Vina Tom (nee David)

March 27, 1950 - August 9, 2018 "My loops are my life. Instead of reading or writing, I put it into my loops. Not in words but in my loops. People ask me what do these mean? I say they are my stories." Sue Blue Invisible Heroes, 2015 Pleasejoinuson

Saturday, October 6th, 1:00 - 3:30 Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main St. City Election 2018 Voting available at the Carnegie Centre & Oppenheimer

Carnegie Centre Wednesday October 5:00pm - 7:30pm Friday October 11:00am - 2:00pm Saturday October 8:00am - 8:00pm

io",

.Oppenheimer Wednesday October

io".

Park!

Park 2:00pm - 4:00pm

iz". zo".

What am I voting for?

I Mayor 10 City councillors 7 Park Bo-ardcommissioners 9 School Board trustees Who can vote? You must:

Be 18 years or older as of October 20, 2018 Be a Canadian citizen Have lived in BC for 6 months immediately before you vote Have lived in Vancouver for 30 days immediately before you vote Not be disqualified by law from voting How to vote?

Please bring at least 1 piece of ID if you have it.

Accepted forms ofID: BC Driver's Licence, BC Services Card, BC ID, BC Care Card, SIN Card, Credit/Debit Card, Passport, Utility Bill, VPL Card, Cheque Day Monthly Slip (HR0081 form) and Native Status Card.

You do not need ID and/or a fixed address to vote! Talk to staff about your options.

3 HERE WE COME!

th

15 Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival Wednesday October 24 to Sunday November 4,2018

Dancer, 2017 Heart of the CIty Festival Opening

Ceremony.

Photo; Tom Quirk

Get ready for the 15th annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the CiA' Festival and twelve days of music, dance, theatre, spoken word, cultural celebrations, film, workshops, gallery exhibits, conversations, public art, mixed media, art talks, history walks and more!

To acknowledge, honour and support our home community's longstanding commitment social justice, the theme of the 2018 Festival is "Seeds of Justice, Seeds of Hope".

to

Highlights include: Songs of Justice, Songs of Hope, an evening of sing-along activist songs with Earle Peach, Solidarity Notes and accordionist-extraordinaire Geoff Berner; lee Maracle and Columpa ~obb read from their u pcom ing book Hope Matters; a double bill of John Black and Jim Sands in The Real Story of the Talking Freds, and Thomas Jones in Woody Sed, exploring the turbulent times of singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie; jazz with the Camegie Jazz Band in A Tribute to AI Neil, led by Brad Muirhead and some of Vancouver's finest creative musicians; and the hit production, produced by Vancouver Moving Theatre, East End Blues & All That Jazz, a soul-stirring evening of gospel and blues, jazz and memories about the black community of Vancouver's East End, featuring Candus Churchill, Tom Pickett, Khari Wendell McClelland, with Dalannah Gail Bowen and Thelma Gibson who just celebrated her so= birthday!

Watch for more details in the next Carnegie newsletter!

For information

contact 604-628-5672

The DTES Heart of the City Festival is produced

& Association

of United Ukrainian

by Vancouver

or www.heartofthecityfestivaLcom Moving Theatre

Canadians working

with the Camegie Community

with a host of community

partners.

Centre

r-om the

Library

You asked ...

Carnegie library patrons have asked some really great questions lately, ones that show some of the breadth of what the library offers.

"Where is your copy of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms? How do people here get to read it?"

Excellent question. Currently, the closest copy is at the n~ca7mat ct Strathcona branch (at Hastings and Heatley). This question has prompted us to look at the law material held at the Carnegie library. Meanwhile, VPL provides legal information through VPL's website (under Digital Library). Clicklaw is one of our librarians' favourites: it gives legal information, education & help for people in BC on stuff incl uding money family, daily life (accidents, employment, tenancy, etc). In addition, through the Digital Library, we have databases of BC Laws, federal and provincial statutes, regulations and case law, city bylaws, and more.

"Do you have any books that are like Danielle Steele, but written by a guy? And one with an ending where everything turns out all right?"

Another terrific question. What would a modem romance look like, written from a male point of view?

When I checked lists, author Nicholas Sparks comes up over and over. He's written A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, and many, many more. His books include love (of course), and love triangles; also death, war, divorce, missing children, memory loss, secrets.

"Aren't these two books the same?" We had two different translations of Homer's Iliad, the epic saga of the siege of Troy. And when I say "epic saga", I mean a novel-length poem originally written in ancient Greek, so translation really matters. One translation was by Samuel Butler, who died in 1902, and the other was by Robert Fagles, whose edition came out in

1990. How do you like your ancient Greek - interpreted by someone from the Victorian era, or someone who's seen the internet?

"Could you please put a notice in the Newsletter about this?" One of our regular Carnegie library users suggested that I let Newsletter readers know that the library'S previous procedure of accepting the exact replacement copy in lieu of a lost or damaged item is no longer our process. This is for several reasons: 1) it's hard to find the exact same edition of a book that is older (it might be in paperback, not hardcover anymore, or out of print); 2) if you've worked hard to bring us a book and it's not the exact same, it's frustrating for you and library staff because we can't accept it, 3) staff time in processing these copiessometimes they're the only one in the system and have to be catalogued from scratch. That said, we are still happy to consider individual situations. If you have concerns, please talk to the staff and we'll try to make something work.

Besides books and services, we also provide programming: On Tues, Oct 2, Vancity will lead a workshop at Carnegie called Introduction to Basic Budgeting. Participants will learn what a budget is, how and why to create one, and other financial tips to help you reach your financial goals, Drop in at 7 pm.

If you like to discuss complicated issues, come to the monthly Philosophy Cafe. On October 9, the topic is "Should we work to integrate the shadow side of ourselves and our society?" 6:30-8 pm, drop-in at the Learning Centre.

Happy reading, Ariel

Jenny Kwan MP Vancouver Immigration,

East NDP Refugee

and Citizenship Critic 2572 E Hastings 5t Vancouver,

BC V5K IZ3

T: 604-775-5800 F: 604-775-5811 Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca

Tenant power stopped the 4.5% rent increase, and this is just the beginning VANCOUVER COAST SALISH TERRITORIES -Today COPE candidates reacted to the provincial government's announcement that the maximum allowable annual rent increase will be reduced from 4.5% to 2.5% for 2019 by saying that tenant power works and that this is just the beginning.

COPE candidates have been campaigning for a Rent Freeze for a year, with over 10,000 Vancouverites signing the Rent Freeze petition. On September 7th, 2018, the Residential Tenancy Branch announced that the maximum rent increase for 2018 would increase from 4% to 4.5%. Tenants and COPE have been speaking out loudly against the 4.5% for the past 2 Y:t weeks.

"It's good that the province is reducing the annual allowable increase. It shows that tenant power works," said Derrick O'Keefe, a COPE candidate for city council in the upcoming civic election. "This change is a result of pressure from COPE's campaign for a Rent Freeze and the work of others, like the Vancouver Tenants Union and BCGEU, pushing for tenants' rights and protections. " "This is a good first step, but it's just the beginning," said COPE city council candidate Anne Roberts.

"COPE will keep fighting for a 0% rent increase for four years in Vancouver. If the province won't act, COPE will direct city staff to make a four year Rent Freeze a requirement oflandlords' business licenses.

After four years we can reassess and see it it's still needed, but for now protecting tenants should be our first priority."

Candidate Jean Swanson added that today's provincial announcement didn't address rent increases between tenancies. "It's still a huge problem that the province is allowing landlords to raise rents as much as they like when tenants leave or are evicted. By refusing to plug this loophole the province is not only contributing to higher rents, but also ensuring that evictions can be profitable. It means that long term tenants have no tenant security because landlords can raise rents if they get rid of tenants. Ifnecessary, COPE will use the city's business licensing powers to plug that loophole as well."

5

A Poet's Rhyme and Reason For many years I felt inferior, As I had no diploma, no degree.

I judged my school-mates superior When they went on to university.

While their heads were buried in books, Mine seemed lost in billowy clouds.

I favoured secluded nooks, While they favoured studious crowds.

Though at first my mind drew a blank, Inspiration soon flowed from above.

From the Poet's Fountain I drank; I had found my new labour of love.

Now I feel like an owl in the night When to bed I refuse to retire, Lest ideas slip away, out of sight, And out goes Creativity's Fire.

I have gained a self-respect And a true appreciation Of my ability to select From experience and observation That which is narratable, Of interest, and poignant, too.

I write when I am capable, Hoping my werds are of value to you. Š Jacqueline Angharad Giles

Hi Paul,

I

I wrote my first story which you published in the newsletter in 1989.

When you told me on the front steps of the Centre that you were going to run my story, it lifted my spirits out of a suicidal funk I'd fallen into while living at the Silver Star Hotel on Powell near Main. (I was on some bad psych meds.)

Now, so many years later, I got a recent copy from Kelly, one of your distributors.

[This is a "Press Release" from the Coalition of ProGlad to read that the newsletter is still going strong gressive Electors. It covers stuff that the Camegie Com- and providing a voice for people in the DTES. munity Action Project has been working on for years.

Keep up the great work!

The Camegie Newsletter doesn't (isn't allowed to) back any particular party or candidate, but why rewrite?

Ron Carten

Labour Cares about Fairness, & That's Why I Support Pro Rep Our system lets a minority of voters give total power to one party. Time for reform.

By Irene Lanzinger I TheTyee.ca Irene is President of the BC Federation of Labour.

Proportional representation means no more governing for a powerful minority.

I think we can all agree that government matters.

And which political party controls the government affects the lives of working people dramatically.

Just look back at the 16 years of the BC Liberal government - stripping of collective agreements, erosion of employment standards and labour code protections, stagnant wages and the rise of precarious work, underfunded schools and oversized classrooms, hallway medicine and privatized seniors care, weakened health and safety rules ... the list could go on and on.

The actions and choices of the BC Liberal government hurt working people.

But what also hurts is the fact that the BC Liberals could govern unchecked for 16 years, despite tens of thousands of British Columbians never voting for them. That is because our current voting system first-past-the-post - allows a minority of voters to give 100 per cent of the power to one political party.

It just isn't fair. So, while government matters, how we elect our government also matters.

This fall we have a chance to change how we vote.

And it's an opportunity we can't waste.

British Columbians are being asked if they want to move to a proportional representation (Pro Rep) model of electing our representatives.

Pro Rep is pretty simple at its core. The basic idea is that every vote counts - so if a political party gets 40

per cent of the vote, they get 40 per cent of the seats.

Essentially, you get what you vote for!

Most democracies around the world use a Pro Rep model of electing representatives. Because the outcome reflects the actual will of the voters, political parties must be more accountable and cooperative on the issues that matter to people. No more governing for a powerful minority.

The referendum ballot you receive in late October will ask you if you want to replace the status quo model of electing representatives with proportional representation. Then it offers three Pro Rep models for consideration: Dual Member, Mixed Member, RuralUrban.

I encourage you to learn about and explore the three models - they are each slightly different in how they account for local representation and regional breakdown.

[BC's Options for Proportional Representation are explained, both in print & on video, at thetyee.ca ] What I want to stress - the outcome is what matters.

No matter what Pro Rep system you prefer, the end result is a proportional breakdown based on how people cast their ballot.

All three made-in-B.C. Pro Rep models will strengthen our democracy, make political parties more accountable, and put people back in the driver's seat when it comes to electing our government.

Working people, like you and me, have a lot at stake when it comes to electing our government. Our current voting system works against us, no matter how hard we organize. When votes don't count, people are discouraged. It's no wonder voter turnout is so low - people don't believe that their vote counts. And under the first -past-the-post model, that is often true.

By moving to a Pro Rep system, we are strengthening our voices - as engaged individuals and as a collective movement. The issues we care about can no longer be pushed aside. Our rights cannot be undermined and eroded without consequence.

You should receive your ballot package in the mail by late October. Ask questions, get the information you need, and mail in your ballot by Nov. 30. This is our chance to make a significant change to how we do politics in this province. A change for the better.

[This was lifted from The Tyee, an online source for news and clear reasoning. I won't repeat or present my interpretation of stuff gleaned from the print or video

stuff available through The Tyee's website. Go yourself and sincerely decide. One that a lot of us lived through was the media campaign to denigrate the NDP back in 2001. Gordon Campbell's masters/ manipulators poured millions into warping the images & track record of the government, and even after all the spin and media subterfuge got 51 % of the vote - and 97% of the seats. This statistic alone shows how unfair the current system is: 49% of voters did not want what Campbell (before him Vanderzalm & after him Clark) represented but had no way to stop him or her. It took 16 years for the criminality of Campbell/ Clark's bosses to arouse enough anger & plain awareness to get that particular disease out of office. Totalitarian capitalism keeps producing billionaires while everyone else struggles just to survive. Ed.]

I

I

PERSEVERANCE If you have 'Never made a Mistake' then you have never Succeeded at Anything!

FOR We're here to Learn.

Anonymous

Wondering what's happening at Oppenheimer

Park in October?

Here is just a sample of the various programs happening throughout the week: Sundays: Craftastic from 11am-l pm Mondays: Foosball with AI from 10am-lpm Tuesdays: Lovely Lunch at 1pm (except Oct 23rd, Pancakes at llam) Wednesdays: Bingo at llam and Karaoke from 2-4pm Thursdays: OppenArts Studio - Beading with Afuwa from 10-11 :30am, Art Show: Meet the Artist Night Oct 251h 6-8pm at Gallery Gachet Fridays: Tech Cafe 10:30am-12:30pm Saturdays: Children's Program llam-lpm and Martial Arts from 1:30-3:30 We also have coffee and tea available at 10:30am daily. Drop by the fieldhouse and pick up a full program schedule!

Development Application for 58 w.

Hastings Street DP-2018-00630 Development Permit Board Meeting Vancouver Chinatown Foundation has applied to the City of Vancouver for permission to develop this site with a 10-storey, mixed-use building. The proposal includes the following: • 230 Social Housing Units; • Integrated Health Services on levels 1 to 3; • Retail at ground level; • Total floor area of 207,425 square feet; and • 69 underground parking spaces accessed from lane.

This application has been scheduled for the Development Permit Board on Tuesday, November 13,2018, at 3:00 p.m. in the Town Hall Meeting Room (1st Floor, City Hall, 453 West 12th Avenue.)

:f;:f ~

You or your representative may attend the meeting and, upon request, will be accorded the opportunity to address the Board.

For more information regarding the Development Application, please refer to: 58 W Hastings DP Application website , the attached Notification postcard or contact Jonathan Borsa, Project Facilitator, jonathan.borsa@vancouver.ca / 604.871.6021

•

[Food for thought: The City of Vancouver defines "Social Housing" as pretty well anything that is below the market rent for the area. It specifically does not mean "afford-able" to those on income assistance or living on government pensions]

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--------

Staff and Board of Carnegie Community Centre Learn & Share Indigenous Culture Sharon & Karla, pictured on the left in the first photo, arranged an outing for all staff & those Board members who could come. It was a Nature Tour in Stanley Park guided by Candice and two of her compatriots. It was low -key (no wailing or gnashing of teeth) as the guides talked about the depth & breadth of the way of life of Indigenous peoples before & after contact with Europeans. It is soberin~ to realise the intricate 'technologies' developed over hundreds & thousands of years in terms of environmental, societal and spiritual protocols involved in inter-tribal relations. Reconciliation stems from recognising what the non-native people discounted or plain ignored after first contact. As ChiefDan George remarked: "We had so much to share, but the white man just wanted us to leave or die.'

Elder-in-residence Les Nelson and the Board volunteers were each presented with a blanket & headscarf of Indigenous design. It was an unexpected surprise to end a good morning!

[Board members present: Lisa David, GilJes Cyrenne, Phoenix Winter, Thelma Jack, Priscillia Tait and Paul Taylor.]

--

Don't Abuse People, And People Won't Abuse Drugs The drug problems of wealthy people have caused personal tragedies, that's true, but the point is that their drug problems are manageable for the most part. (Reckoning -Drugs. The Cities and The American Future, by ElIiott Currie, p.3) The wellto-do have money for drugs and nice homes in which to use them. They also have money for private treatment, should they decide to move in that direction.

All of us get caught up in the enormous manufactured abuse of legal drugs - manufactured abuse because advertisinq promises us a cure for whatever ails us. Doctors, pharmacists and drug corporations all benefit from this quest for the quick fix. Uppers, downers, you name it! The need for mood altering drugs is responsible for most of the prescriptions written by Canadian doctors and dispensed by Canadian pharmacists. (High Society - Legal And Illegal Drugs In Canada by Neil Boyd) The catastrophic drug scene that developed in North American low income communities, and especially inner cities, in the 1980's and 1990's is a much different experience than the recreational drug use of the well-to-do. Deepening poverty, unemployment, the growth of part-time work at low wages, the loss of low income housing, the erosion of social programs, disintegrating families, growing child abuse, fragmenting communities, growing alienation, the huge loss of income and work for youth, the loss of the human rights in the deceased Canada Assistance Plan which opened the door to third world poverty in Canada, growing stress, growing-humiliation in the face of a hostile welfare system, and an overwhelming sense of despair have combined to shatter the selfconfidence and hope of many low income Canadians. This is people abuse on a large scale.

There appears to be no way out of this nightmare, and drugs are a powerful painkiller.

Elliott Currie points out in his book that "the link between drug abuse and (social) deprivation is one of the strongest in forty years of careful research." (Currie, p.77) The spread of drug use in low income communities is associated with human misery, and therefore the framework for controlling drug abuse has to be social justice.

"Never before in our recent history have so many been excluded from the realistic prospect of living the good life as society defines it," Currie writes (p.14S), and he reminds us that, 'The poor, and nearpoor, make up the largest part of the drug addict population." (Curric, p.2IS) "We will not police, treat, or imprison our way out of the drug crisis," Currie says (Currie, p.6).

We need an intelligent police force. We need adequate treatment and prevention programs. Above all, we need a healthy, equitable community that enables its citizens to live fulfilling lives - and one thing that means is decent, stable work at decent wages. The Scandinavian countries have a stronger commitment to the well-being of their citizens than we do in Canada, and one result is that they have far fewer citizens abusing drugs than we do.

By SANDY CAMERON

DTES

SMALL

ARTS

GRANTS PROGRAM Applications open Oct. 15-Nov. 23 2018

•

$500 $1000 available for individual artists

Find out more online at vancouverfoundationsmallarts.ca

WE the willing (volunteers) led by the unknowing (staff), are doing the impossible for the ungrateful (patrons).

We have done so much for so long with so little that we are now capable of doing anything with nothing.

CRU N CH"'" otta,s 1>0 You HAVE TRtov8t.t: Wlr/1 LONG- 1£R.I1...

EM~ ~ If~lG-.?

IIR.E. O~;:, gu., $011£80]) y' S ____

--W£,LL"

SoMETIMES.

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

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 %")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 carnnews@vcn.bc.ca

Catalogue em ail

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

Next issue:

SUBMISSION DEADLINE

WEDNESDAY, WEAPONS

OCTOBER

10

OF MASS DESTRUCTION

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AIDS

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POVERTY

•

HOMELESSNESS

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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

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ABORIGINAL GENOCIDE

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TOTALITARIAN CAPITALISM IGNORANCE and SUSTAINED FEAR

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carnnews@shaw.ca

DONATIONS 2018 In memory of Bud Osborn -$125 Kelly F. For Bob Sarti, playrignt for the DTES community, &all those whose lives have been hit by racism & prejudice -$100(Jay) Craig H.-$500 Winnie T.-$200 Teresa V-$50 Barbara M.-$100 Robert -$40 Elsie McG-$50 Robert McG.-$145 Laurie R.-$175 Leslie S-$200 Michael C.-$100 Michele C.-$100 Ashley -$20 Vancouver Moving Theatre -$500 Douglas 2-$5 Christopher R.-$180 Laila B.-$100 Aiden S-$10 Rose B.-$20 Elaine V.-$100 Phoenix W -$20 Sheila B.-$50 Marvin F.-$20 Karen T -$50 Ron C.-$50 Mathew A & Reuben J -$50 Sharon J -$25 Anonymous -$165 Fundraiser-$1267

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