September 15, 1992, carnegie newsletter

SEPTEMBER 15, couver. V6A 2T7 (604)665-2289

VanCily Book Prize winner Sheila Baxter, author of Under the Viaduct, with fr~endsand well-wishers on the steps of the Carnegie Centre Her previous book was No Way lo Live: Poor Women Speak Out; her next book will be about poverty and children.

1992.

FIRST WINNER OF VANCITY BOOK P R I Z E TACKLES ISSUES OF WOMEN'S POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS For Vancouver P u b l i c L i b r a r y ' s Judy Cape B C ' s most l u c r a t i v e book p r i z e h a s been t h e i s s u e o f women's p o v e r t y & homelessnes awarded t o a n t i - p o v e r t y a c t i v i s t S h e i l a Baxter f o r h e r 2nd book Under t h e Viaduct i s c r i t i c a l . "This i s a s t o r y t h a t must be - llomeless i n L . a u t i f u l BC (New S t a r Bks.) t o l d . " S h e i l a B a x t e r grew up i n London England "I'm t o t a l l y , t o t a l l y , t o t a l l y i n shock! b e f o r e e m i g r a t i n g t o Canada as a young s a y s Baxter, "1 c a n ' t b e l i e v e t h i s h a s mother. A s a s i n g l e p a r e n t o f f i v e s h e behappened t o me. This s o r t o f r e c o g n i t i o n came a c t i v e i n End L e g i s l a t e d P o v e r t y & j u s t means s o much t o me a s a w r i t e r . " * l a t e r a t t e n d e d Vancouver Community C o l l e g e .

The new $4,000 VanCity p r i z e f o r t h e Her work-in-progress i s a new book about b e s t BC book p e r t a i n i n g t o women's i s s u e s p o v e r t y & c h i l d r e n . Her f i r s t book was i s sponsored by VanCity w i t h a d d i t i o n a l No Way To Live: Poor Women Speak Out. s u p p o r t from t h e BC M i n i s t r y of Women's "Even though I have been abused & homeE q u a l i t y . A s p a r t o f t h e p r i z e , t h e minisl e s s , I have s u r v i v e d , " s a y s Baxter. She t r y w i l l b e d o n a t i n g $1000 on b e h a l f of r e t a i n s c l o s e t i e s w i t h t h e Carnegie CommBaxter t o t h e Soup In Bannock program a t u n i t y C e n t r e , where s h e t u t o r s E n g l i s h .

C r a b t r e e Corner.

Two r u n n e r s UD were a l s o s e l e c t e d : L i z a Under t h e Viaduct uncovers t h e l i v e s o f P o t v i n ' s White i i e s ( f o r my mother), 7 B C ' s homeless p e o p l e , t r a n s f o r m i n g them memoir o f i n c e s t , from Newest P r e s s & J . A . from nameless, f a c e l e s s s t a t i s t i c s i n t o i n d i v i d u a l s w i t h powerful s t o r i e s t o t e l l . Hamilton's f i r s t f i c t i o n c o l l e c t i o n , July B a x t e r ' s book was chosen from 4 1 e n t r i e s Nights and O t h e r S t o r i e s (douglas/McIntyre S h e i l a B a x t e r w i l l r e c e i v e h e r p r i z e and

by Galiano I s l a n d a u t h o r J a n e Rule, Vanp a r t i c i p a t e i n a r e a d i n g a t t h e Vancouver C i t y D i r e c t o r , r e s o u r c e economist Wendy llolm & Vancouver P u b l i c L i b r a r y Deputy D i - P u b l i c L i b r a r y , Main Branch, Burrard & Geo r g i a , on Thursday, October 1 a t 7:lSpm. r e c t o r Judy Capes.

The p u b l i c i s welcome. "llomelessness i s a c r i t i c a l i s s u e which must be a d d r e s s e d & S h e i l a Baxter does an e l o q u e n t job, s a y s J a n e Rule. "Without q u e s t i o n , t h i s f o r c e f u l book speaks t h e c o n s c i e n c e o f Vancouver. I ' "As a p a s s i o n a t e l a y p e r s o n , Baxter removes t h e gauze o f academia from t h i s subj e c t ," s a y s Wendy Holm, t e l l i n g i t from t h e eyes o f t h e v i c t i m , t h e f o r g o t t e n daug h t e r s , mothl e r s , s i s t e r s & grandpar o u r s o c i e t y . I t ' s a subjc3ct t h a t ve r e f l e c t s our* concerns a t VanCity f o s o c i a l w e l l -. b e i n g of o u r cornmunit y . hope t h e p r i.ze w i l l h e l p S h e i l a con h e r work i n t h i s i m p o r t an~t a r e a . "

E N D I N G LEGISLATED POVERTY THE LAST DECADE OF INCOME ASSISTANCE i n B r i t i s h Columbia 1982-1992

'

I

*

T o t a l caseload i n c r e a s e d from 83,856 i n '82 t o 166,699 i n '92; 100% growth.

*

T o t a l number of people r o s e from 152,205 t o 278,172 i n '92; an 83% i n c r e a s e .

*

The number of people being s e r v e d is t h e h i g h e s t i t h a s e v e r been i n B. C.

*

Monthly e x p e n d i t u r e over t h i s t i m e h a s t r i p l e d from $36.5 m i l l i o n p e r month t o $102.6 m i l l i o n p e r month.

*

The programs now s e r v e 9.8% of B C ' s popu l a t i o n under age 65 ( i n '82, ,6.1%)

*

S i n g l e men a r e t h e h i g h e s t growing group w i t h an i n c r e a s e of 193% over '82.

*

Single-parent f a m i l i e s have i n c r e a s e d 78% o v e r t h e decade,

*

Now, an e s t i m a t e d 50% of a l l s i n g l e pare n t s i n B C r e c e i v e income a s s i s t a n c e b e n e f i t s ( i n '82 t h e r e were 40%).

*

The numbers of c h i l d r e n i n f a m i l i e s rel y i n g on income a s s i s t a n c e h a s r i s e n by 73.2%. T h i s i s 11% of t h e c h i l d r e n i n BC i n f a m i l i e s on income a s s i s t a n c e .

*

I n 1982, only 7% of c h i l d r e n were i n f a m i l i e s r e c e i v i n g income a s s i s t a n c e .

*

February of 1985 was t h e second h i g h e s t p o i n t of t h e c a s e l o a d , when i t reached 154,320 c a s e s o r 270,000 people. It h a s grown 8~ s i n c e then.

*

I n f l a t i o n (BC Consumer P r i c e Index) h a s been 48.1% over t h e decade; income a s s i s t a n c e r a t e s have, i n a l l c a s e s , exceeded i n f l a t i o n o v e r t h i s t i m e p e r i o d .

-

1

.

T h i s list was p a r t o f t h e i n f o on hand S e p t . 8 t h when almost 40 r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s from a l l p a r t s o f BC met t o p r e p a r e f o r a meeting with Joan Smallwood, t h e m i n i s t e r of s o c i a l s e r v i c e s . There were two ' h a t s ' most p r e s e n t could wear - a s a f r o n t l i n e advocate worker. .as a board member of End L e g i s l a t e d Poverty.

For about a y e a r Ms. Smallwood has been ( i n h e r own words) " s h i t a l l over" f o r moving t o o slow t o c o r r e c t t h e o b s c e n i t y o f 16 y e a r s o f socreds. ELP (a c o a l i t i o n o f 28 groups throughout BC) has two b a s i c demands: 1. Raise w e l f a r e r a t e s t o t h e p o v e r t y l i n e ; & 2. Raise t h e minimum wage t o $9.05 an hour ( t o i t ' s same l e v e l of purchasing c a p a c i t y a s i t had i n 1975).

From t h e s i d e of t h e g o v ' t t h e y have a d e f i c i t o f almost $3 b i l l i o n ; it could b e l i k e n e d t o t h e h o l e under a rank o u t house f u l l o f t h e s h i t tj c o r r u p t i o n of t h e dismal excuses t h a t r a n g o v ' t i n BC f o r s o long. A s soon as t h e NDP got i n t o o f f i c e , e v e r y group & o r g a n i s a t i o n i n BC b e a t a p a t h t o t h e i r door, demanding IMMEDIATE P r i o r i t y f o r whatever i s s u e t h e y deemed number one..almost r e g a r d l e s s of any o t h e r s . Even t h e c o o l e r heads, s e e i n g t h e e s s e n t i a l i n t e r c o n n e c t e d n e s s of ending poverty/decent jo b s / t r a i n i n g / h e a l t h care/education/affordable housing tj so on s t i l l wanted maximum e f f o r t .

Well, a l o t has happened, b u t n o t n e a r enough t o even make a n o t i c e a b l e dent i n o u r l i v e s . The g o v t ' s "bigger p i c t u r e w i s framed i n d o l l a r s & agreements E n e g o t i a t i o n s etc. Our b i g g e r p i c t u r e h a s a d i f f e r e n t f o c u s , a l b e i t much t o do with money, but d e f i n i t e l y not i n t h e "business i s b u s i n e s s 8 ' sense. The common bond o f t h e FLAWS 6 groups i s t h e ongoing s t r u g g l e f o r j u s t i c e , f o r f a i r n e s s , d i g n i t y , economic i n t e g r i t y i n a f i x e d , i n e q u i t a b l e system.

Ms. Smallwood asked f o r t h i s meeting t o h e a r h e r s e l f t h e i n p u t t h a t most of u s demand some kind of forum with t e e t h t o g i v e it a t . We'd s p e n t t h e previous 2 hours going over a proposed "Income A s s i s t a n c e Adv i s o r y Council". D a ~ g e r soutwieghed, on'

pqper a t l e a s t , o p p o r t u n i t i e s by about 3-1 a s concerns 4 f e a r s came up. Was it - j u s t a way t o l e t o f f steam; - experience (with socreds) makes community-people no more than tokens with no voice o r p o s i t i v e r e s u l t s ; - why would a businessperson be on i t ?

- co-optation, appasement, manipulation - time away from ELP work f o r what g o a l s ?

- d i v i s i o n o f t h e a n t i - p o v e r t y movement; -, b u r e a u c r a t i c c r a p can stymie progress; - time wasted?

On t h e f l i p s i d e , could it b e - a g r e a t t o o l f o r education; - a p l a c e f o r a s t r o n g voice f o r change; - a way t o g e t l e g i s l a t i v e guarantees; - s u p p o r t i v e i n many a r e a s (housing, h e a l i n g , education, w e l f a r e , jobs 6 more) - t h e c u t t i n g edge f o r c u r r e n t power.

There were more p o i n t s on both s i d e s but t h e m i n i s t e r walked i n , s o we got down t o i t . I t was h a r d e r than h e l l n o t t o assume t h i s was -a con j o b . . l 6 y e a r s of blanks.. b u t Joan d i d n o t come a c r o s s a s Matriarch (thank God) o u t t o do h e r b i t f o r t h e l i t t l e people. A f t e r a l l , we had t o d e a l w i t h Clod Richmond f o r y e a r s ; t h e a s s h o l e who was s o r i g h t e o u s he could e a s i l y c u t $50 from a s i n g l e p a r e n t s monthly a s s i s t a n c e a s "incentive". .who could reduce cheques (with copious c h a r t s & g l o s s y p i c t u r e s t o be j u s t i f i e d i n doing i t ) . . w h o could send l e t t e r s t o 49,000 people t e l l i n g them a l l t o seek employment - any job a t any wage i n any c o n d i t i o n s - while denying money f o r c l o t h e s , phones, even bus p a s s e s t o have whatever chance t h e r e might be when 182,000 more people were unemployed..who would s e t up bogus "jobv p l a n s t h a t o n l y put m i l l i o n s of d o l l a r s i n h i s f r i e n d s ' pockets t o expand o r s t a r t 'programs1 t h a , were geared t o t h e " t h i s i s how you make out a d e p o s i t s l i p " l e v e l and were about a s u s e f u l a s t i t s on a b u l l .

From t h e f l o o r : i s s u e s & i n p u t on - t r a n s i t , need f o r p a s s e s , s e n i o r s ' is01 a t i o n , socred b u r e a u c r a t s s t i l l t h e r e ; - s h e l t e r / s u p p o r t d i s t i n c t i o n harmful; - d i s a b i l i t y d e f i n i t i o n s exclusive r a t h e r than i n c l u s i n v e ; - t h e s t r e s s of 5-wk. months; - therapy of choice necessary; - questioning of Family Maintenance Enfor

...

..

-

cement & new p o l i c y ; c l a s s i s m E a t t i t u d e of s o c i a l workers & t h e r e s i s t a n c e of some t o new p o l i c y of r e s p e c t & n e c e s s a r y d i g n i t y of c l i e n t s ; I lump sum payments o f maintenance s t i l l I being rippkd o f f by MSS; t h e magnified s t r u g g l e on a l l t h e s e i s s u e s & more i n r u r a l s e t t i n g s M s . Smallwood l i s t e n e d , responded when , he had something t o say, spoke of h e r , b i g g e r p i c t u r e ' with a 23% i n c r e a s e i n 1 he m i n i s t r y ' s budget t h a t had t o be appoved by c a b i n e t , o f knowing t h e one ince a s e was a p i t t a n c e , of it s t i l l c o s t i n g !

60 m i l l i o n t o do,; she became more human .s it went along.

A f t e r t h e round, t h e beginning of t h e beginning, Ms. Smallwood t a l k e d of h e r i d e a t i o n i n proposing t h i s Advisory Coun- I c i l . What came through again & a g a i n was 1 the fundamental d i f f e r e n c e , a t t h i s s t a g e ' a t l e a s t , between what she i s s e t t i n g up Fj t h e joke t h a t preceeded h e r . I t wasn't an academic d e b a t e . Some of t h e people put t h e screws t o h e r on t h e l a c k o f any change i n p a r t i c u l a r o f f i c e s o r i n c e r t ain a r e a s , l i k e c h i l d apprehension, r u r a l :me from entrenched workers & t h e i r lit- , t l e empires, t h e c o n t i n u a t i o n o f $50/mo.

Eor v o l u n t e e r s on I n c e n t i v e . . l y e a r i n 3 . . a f t e r t h e allowable income c e i l i n g was r a i s e d t o $200/mo., t h e s t i f l i n g apathy amongst t h e soon-to-be-poor..& s o on.

The n e x t day t h e ELP board m e t with t h e l a r g e s t a t t e n d e n c e i n o v e r a year. "Deb r i e f i n g f 1 was f i r s t on t h e agenda as we t a l k e d o f t h e meeting, t h e Advisory Counc i l , ELP1s work f o r t h e n e x t 6 months o r s o & more. It was agreed t o send names of two ( e l e c t e d ) d e l e g a t e s t o Joan Smallwood f o r a t least one s p o t on t h i s c o u n c i l , a s she had asked. Mary, from Nanaimo' s Assoc i a t i o n f o r B e t t e r Communities & S h e r r i l l from 100 Mile House were chosen.

I I Almost f o r g o t when M s . Smallwood i a r r i v e d on t h e 8 t h , she s t a r t e d with an announcement, a s f o l l o w s :

I

-

O-R- -ADVOCACY .$-1 - -MILLION - - - - - - - -FUNDING - - - - - - - -F- - - - - - - - -GROUPS ------

-

"The BC G o v f t h a s s l l o c i t e d $1 m i l l i o n t o h e l p community-based advocacy groups t h a t provide support t o low income indivi d u a l s & f a m i l i e s . S o c i a l S e r v i c e s Minis-

1

a

t e r Joan Smallwood made t h e announcement t o a meeting with advocacy groups.

"This i s a new d i r e c t i o n f o r g o v ' t - one aimed a t working c l o s e l y with community advocacy c e n t r e s t o h e l p f i n d l o c a l solut i o n s t o l o c a l problems,"said Smallwood.

"Gov't has t r a d i t i o n a l l y funded communit y agencies which provide d i r e c t s e r v i c e s t o people. We b e l i e v e i t ' s time t o go t h e next s t e p by providing funding t o t h e advocacy c e n t r e s which h e l p develop & promo t e community s o l u t i o n s . " Advocacy groups include both s p e c i f i c population groups such a s low-income and s e l f - h e l p whose primary focus i s personal mutual a i d & s o c i a l support. Funding f o r s e l f - h e l p groups w i l l be p r i m a r i l y d i r e c t e d t o t h o s e whose t a r g e t population i s people with low incomes.

The program i s intended t o support small, locally-based i n i t i a t i v e s . Funds w i l l not g e n e r a l l y be a v a i l a b l e t o l a r g e p r o v i n c i a l agencies o r o r g a n i z a t i o n s a f f i l i a t e d with n a t i o n a l umbrella agencies u n l e s s t h e mandate of such agencies i s s p e c i f i c a l l y r e l a t e d t o i s s u e s of poverty and income s e c u r i t y .

Funding w i l l be a v a i l a b l e f o r ongoing c o s t s of maintaining an o r g a n i z a t i o n o r f o r "one-time" c o s t s f o r conferences o r p u b l i c informat ion.

"Community o r g a n i z a t i o n s p l a y a major r o l e i n working with g o v ' t t o develop r e l e v a n t & a p p r o p r i a t e s e r v i c e s . I ' l l be making a major announcement s h o r t l y (17th o f Spet. ) about a d d i t i o n a l i n i t i a t i v e s t o support t r a i n i n g & employment opportun i t i e s f o r people who a r e r e c e i v i n g income a s s i s t a n c e , " s a i d Smallwood."

ELP s t a f f w i l l b e spending t h e n e x t 6 months t r a v e l l i n g t o d i f f e r e n t conunu n i t i e s i n BC t o h o l d workshops on t h e C o r p o r a t e Agenda, h e l p i n g l o c a l p e o p l e form a n t i - p o v e r t y g r o u p s E opening an o f f i c e i n b o t h S u r r e y E on Vancouver I s l a n d . I t ' s moving i n t h e r i g h t d i r ection.

By PAULR TAYLOR

..

Of D i s t a n t M i r r o r s I dimly gaze a t d i s t a n t m i r r o r s t h a t Laugh To s e e my eyes s i n k i n t h e i r hazy mire And my h a i r w i t h c a r e f a c e Q u i e t l y t o blue-grey m i s t F i l l i n g my room with People !

Once h e l d d e a r l y now s p e c t r a l shades S i f t i n g through t i n g l i n g a i r I s e e them c l e a r l y i n t h e d a r k Light of n i g h t ' s t w i l i g h t S i t t i n g a t my s i n g l e c h a i r I n unspoken word e v e r heard I n whispering wind with Endless c o r r i d o r Hemmed i n Doors c l o s e d behind T h e i r dead , n a k l s 1 . , Driven i n An o n l y s o u l o f l o n e l y mind.

Mac. D.

(.

..i n s p i r e d

by Shawn)

ONE DAY A ANT

One day an a n t r e a r e d up and addressed me t h u s l y : "Oh, Thou h o l d back t h y mighty f o o t , which even now i s p o i s e d above me.

Hold, I beg t h e e .

I ' v e r u n j u s t ahead o f your approaching shadow, zigzagged a b r e a t h away from your g i a n t s t r i d e . . b u t it seems you seek me o u t .

Why e l s e , f r e e t o wander immense dimensions, would you choose wo i n t e r s e c t my l o n e l y path?

Would you, i n your Mercy, move your descending boot. Move g e n t l y .

J e s t one i n c h t o t h e r i g h t o r l e f t .

For if i t c o n t i n u e s a s i t ' s begun, t h e n t h i s c r y o f mine w i l l s u r e l y b e my last."

Eaglestarr

During t h i s Hot Weather B i r d s d i v e and s p l a s h Aad l i k e c h i l d r e n , dash

Into the large bird bath The a p a r t m e n t ' s c o o l i n g system has w a t e r emission Onto t h e r o o f , t h r e e times Many d i f f e r e n t breeds Wet t h e i r wings, dunk t h e i r heads Cavort i n t h e r o o f ' s a c c i d e n t a l pool.

kW - w &

--

I?. Dd

(.

. .i n s p i r e d

by Melissa) I f Toes Had Eyes

If t o e s had eyes t h e n I could s e e how my ' e e t know where t o go. But t o e s a r e b l i n d .

L i a r s Abound And how i s i t t h a t my tongue speaks words Are t h o s e who a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r proit cannot h e a r ? t e c t i n g f reedom of speech d i m i n i s h i n g Because f o r a l l i t s eloquence, i t ' s concept i n a way t h a t speech may t h e tongue i t s e l f i s deaf.. f l o u r i s h provided t o o much t r u t h does n o t and f l o p s i n soundlessness. f l o u r i s h with i t ?

Eaglestarr Peaches

out to me one day that drug lords ...7 . our section of Mexico are ~ n n c - h . freelance writer, aulhur and former the stuff. They also want to buy wealthier, much stronger. than all\. associate ed~torof The S u n . cocaine, opium. LSD, lea, niarijuana, coffee, alcohol and angel municipal governments or some departments of slate governlnrnt.

S T H E FEW people tlust.

Further, the Mexican people knot\.

I1 What they want, they will get. who c a r e will have it. Most people know whrrc. the. they can't buy legally, they will buy noticed, heroin addicts illegally. If they must buy illegally. eagle sits. have been dying of The Mexicans have jailed sonlo drug overdoses in this then criminal empires will be set up antl shot others hut i t would ~rovince.They bought to serve them and to scare the rest ol absurd to suggest that no new rrimt, what they thouaht was the 61d s6n- US. We yere supposed to have learned kings have taken over f h t i I- ol)tb~.;ldard strength ohhree to six per cent that lcsso~iby our great, foolish lions. Where there is illcqnl p~-olit and got 12 to 15 per cent instead. in prohibiting alcohol. thcrc will tw criminal n l m experiment The report of the overdose deaths Clearly, we didn't U e c a d ~ sago. ~ f h mwl c ~ 01' 11, get the message. of 124 people in 1991 (which got were 1w ~ieurotica11d did11't I I C ~ , , ~ It is unpopular to equate tea, cot: equal space in The SUNwith a story fee, khat antl marijuana, all admit. our minds twisltd. (Irllg law enT0rceabout people illegally feeding pop- ledly mild forms of drugs. to thc nlenl !nay have h;ld sonic. clf'c~cl. corn to pigeons) was important not freebase form of cocaine called When there was a large heroin 01lor,whai ifsaid but for the question crack which apparently leads tc ol~iumseizure. the streel price, it raised. d rise for a wIiiIe until appalling outbursts of violence ir ~ u l usually We have been new supplies arrived. t h r o w i n g good some individuals.

Those clays are long gone.

Canadian tax dolIlowever, there was a time when lars at the heroin d l such drugs, the good, the bad and The Americans made a cocaine trade since Mack- llle ugly, were classified together. haul of almost incredible proporenzie King was a All were legal. tions a couple of years ago, the estikid. Costs in the Until 1913, all drugs were avail- mated street value so large as to tbc criminal justice able for pennies to people on this eminently forgettable. They thought system alone a r e :ontinent. Lachryomose Victorian it represented a three-month supply atrocious. In one ~ i v e who s depended upon some to the tens of millions of American ST.PIERRE current Vancou- aatent medicines became addicts. users. There wasn't even a blip i n ver case, 1,000 court days have been 3ne of the world's most popular soft Ihe street prices, which have been in spent in expensive legal exercises irinks, Coca-Cola, was originally general decline for years. before a single witness has been aced with cocaine and was addic: Not only the marketplace tells the called.

Iruth. So do a few oflicials. .ive.

For all the years and treasure Hear Col. Ralph Milstead, I'ornwr Sad, perhaps, but we all got along spent on heroin prohibition, what mmehow. director ofpublic safety for thr Stalt have we gained? The stuff is now so Then we tried prohibition, and 3f Arizona, testifying to i\ CJ.S. m plentiful that sellers are effectively :very time it proves unworkable we :ressional committee oll narcotics ill cutting prices. It's time we listened ry harder.

1986: to what the niarketplace is telling us.

"It is no1 a matter ol'a lkiv holes i n Alcohol prohibition created gangIt says nothing about the narcotics ,ters like Al Capone. But he and his lhe dike which can be plugged b y supply being choked off by t h e ellows were hubcap stealers com- 3ddilional manpower. Tlic dike is much-publicized 10, 20 and 50-mil-, bared with the criminal empires we :one. lion-dollar seizures. It testifies to the lave created today with narcotics "We will hear people sap. 'Wc'cll, c o n t r a r y . Heroin p r i c e s d r o p ~rohibitionprograms. lhe problem is Mexico. the problem because of oversupply. There is an s Bolivia, the problem is AlghanisAgain, look to the marketplace. oversupply because the Canadian :an, it is Colombia . . .'

F o r t u t ~ emagazine lists Pablo government, like the American "The problem is in the hearts and government and all t h e o t h e r Sscobar a s one of t h e world's ninds of the American people who governments, cannot prevent impor- vealthiest men. He heads a drug iesire this flight from reality, this ,muggling ring. He is a fugitive at scape." tation or sale.

If governments could make pro- he monient but he will no more Men like Col. Klstead will no1 hibition work, it wouldn't niatter +easedirecting drug shipmenls out n a k e themselves heard until that production has increased 2 i per ~fColombia than Al Capone ccaed ?nough ordinary cjt;,:ens begin askcelit in Southeast A.sk.:!l per cent in lirecting alcohol ship~nentswhile !I$ tt~en~selves wlly their wives and Southwest Asia and by who knows mprisoned in Illinoi~. 'rlentls sl~oultlbe shot down i n A hilexican ~~olicrm;rn. hone4 to jali.\vay p;~rkinglots I ) t . ~ i ~ ~ 01l ~ l l how much in tlie state of Sinaloa in Mexico.

I'AIJL S T . PIERFIE

IVCUIJIC 111 1111.) C U I I I I L I Y W t l l l L LU IJUJ'

1)1!

'

v ;it.> bet\$eeo drug ernpires about \r hich thej-neither know nor care. It \{ill also occur to them when they h a ~ cbeell robl)ed ollen enough by addicts w h o desperately need 111o11c~y I'or a fix. Illegal drug prices tilily drop. but not to levels addicts can itSforcl.

Sooner or later. the sooner the I~ciler.,we will make all drugs legal ~ ihale, ~ r cheaply, across the counter ;rl lhc ftiendly neighborhood pharr~~acy, just as they were 100 years ago.

You will no longer pay the towerilig hills totted up i n 111th police. the

I

cuslonis ~indthe general justice system. h u g lords will no longer pervert police, governments or courts, I'or the good reason that il will no lo~igerprofit them todoso.

01'c.ourse no one should dispute that mauy horrors will result from lcygalizctl ~iarcoticssuch as cocaine slid angel (lust,just as many horrors s~illresult ltoln legalized alcohol. l'hc difference will be tliat a cheap drug policy will not support crime empires or expensive criminal lawyers.

Given inore social conscience and common sense than is usual, govern-

ments might even divert some of the money they now spend in futile policing to weaning a few addicts of dangerous drugs from their poison.

As for lhose beyond rescue, so be i t . Go with God, who has more patience with you than the rest of us do.

The rest of us should recognize lhal prohibition of general narcotics has been every bit as much a failure as the prohibition of the specific narcotic alcohol, and it has proved even more damaging to society. Trying to kill a snake tail first is dangerous. 'i

EARLY VANCOUVER DAYS T h e r e was m o s t l y bush i n t h e e a s t end o f Vancouver d u r i n g t h e 3 0 ' s , 4 0 f s , 5 0 ' s .

P l a y a r e a s f o r t h e c h i l d r e n were g u l l i e s and s e w e r s . .where f a c t o r i e s , w a r e h o u s e s , a p a r t m e n t s 6 h o u s e s now s t a n d . The r a i l way t r a c k s 6 army b a r r a c k s , n e x t t o t h e T e c h n i c a l S c h o o l , were d e s e r t e d a f t e r t h e

war.

We would s c r a m b l e down t h e s t e e p s i d e s of t h e g u l l y , b e i n g c a r e f u l n o t t o s t a r t r o c k s l i d e s , & s l i p down i n t o t h e s h a l l o w b u g - i n f e s t e d c r e e k where i t was a d v i s e d n o t t o s w i m . We c o u l d e n t e r t h e sewer p i p e , walk f o r g r e a t d i s t a n c e s underground, 6 c l i m b l a d d e r s t o manhole c o v e r s The d a n g e r we may h a v e i n c u r r e d i f we c o u l d l i f t t h o s e manhole c o v e r s i n c l u d e d g e t t i n ' g r u n o v e r b y c a r s . But we were t o o small t o s h o v e t h e c o v e r s a s i d e .

We a l s o p l a y e d on t o p of a l e n g t h y , unc o v e r e d , two-foot round s e w e r p i p e n e a r Renfrew S t r e e t . We would p u t o u r - arms o u t t o t h e s i d e s &, o n e f o o t d i r e c t l y i n f r o n t of t h e o t h e r , w a l k t h e whole s t r i p on a 6-inch w i d e f l a t a r e a of a b l o c k long s t r e t c h . It had been b u i l t over a deep g u l l y where t a l l t r e e s grew up from a p r i m o r d i a l swamp. . t h e bush s h e l t e r e d a l l s o r t s of swamp c r e a t u r e s . Anyone f a l l i n g i n t o t h e b u s h o r t r e e s would h a v e . been s e r i o u s l y i n j u r e d o r k i l l e d , and b e d e c l a r e d "missing". I mourned t h e l o s s of my p l a y a r e a when t h e p i p e was c o v e r e d .

\

--

By DORA SANDERS

Qjf r.

I

i

pel;

~cvetw'-'

I II 1

1'

-

-

=

-

-

We c o u l d a l s o f o l l o w t h e c r e e k f o r l o n g d i s t a n c e s , h i d d e n b y t h i c k growths of t r e e s & b u s h e s t h a t b o r d e r e d i t . Now, where t h e c r e e k is a l l o w e d t o f l o w o p e n l y t h e r e a r e o n l y a few t r e e s 6 v e r y l i t t l e bush.

-I

We a l s o on t h e t r a i n t r a c k s r u n n i n g b e s i d e t h e Old Granview Highway and would walk f o r m i l e s on them i n t h e deep g u l l i e s , e i t h e r toward t h e t r a i n s t a t i o n * o r toward B u m a b y . Those deep g u l l i e s s t i l l e x i s t ! Steam t r a i n s , t h e norm i n t h o s e d a y s , were p a r t of o u r l i f e ... waking u s n i g h t s w i t h t h e i r mournful sounds.

We l i k e d t o e x p l o r e t h e d s e r t e d army b a r r a c k s & o n e t i m e my younger b r o t h e r c a r r i e d home an ammonia bomb. He exploded it i n our backyard, destroyed our raspb e r r y b u s h e s 6 n e a r l y k i l l e d o u r p e t rabb i t . H i s c l o t h e s s m e l l e d s o bad he had t o s t r i p and my f a t h e r had t o b u m h i s c l o t h e s i n t h e f u r n a c e . T h a t was o u r o n l y bad e x p e r i e n c e a s c h i l d r e n .

i : :0

Wc (I.

WE PROMISE t o be s t r a n g E :

0 t u r n o u r f a c e s backward Rags t o r i c h e s back t o rags again J u s t t o keep u s g o i n g ,

Media Madness

Dream u s up i n p l a s t i c bags, 0 f a i t h l e s s bureaucrats, Under cardbo, r d In t h e l i t t l e rooms you r e n t us Keep u s f o r r e j e c t e d dreams For s e x abuse For a l l o u r w i l d e s t Freedoms t u n e d d y s f u n c t i o n a l Beam u s down a s dumb Canadians Wearing f r e e condoms Using f r e e n e e d l e s Taking f r e e l e s s o n s We l e a r n t o b e t h i s Downtown E a s t s i d e a s s h o l e i n your world Give us. e v e r y u s e l e s s mortgaged mind show Neckties hung. w i t h happy f a c e s J u s t t o keep u s going, Faithless bureaucrats.

Big dreams! Small change!

We dance f o r you We l e a r n t o b e t h e s e dumb Canadians Give u s t h e n o u r d e a d l y cheques Our Welfare Wednesday Wonderbread Keep u s going b u r e a u c r a t s ,

6

S ~ t t af~ di e a t h . .

:; :w6

.

promise t o be s t r a n g e TORA

J i m W a l l i s , e d i t o r o f S o j o u r n e r s Magazi n e , was t a l k i n g about powerful newspape r s , magazines, r a d i o & t e l e v i s i o n , o t h e r wise known a s t h e mass media, i n t h e U.S. What he had t o s a y a p p l i e s t o t h e Canadian media a s w e l l .

He s a i d t h a t t h e power d e a l e r s who r e a l l y a r e i n c o n t r o l o f o u r p o l i t i c a l , economic & media l i f e have u n d e r e s t i m a t e d t h e d e p t h o f a l i e n a t i o n & a n g e r among o r d i n a r y p e o p l e . But l e t me quote Wallis d i r e c t l y . He s a i d t h a t t h e media power e l i t e " j u s t keep i n t e r v i e w i n g and q u o t i n g one another, c a r e f u l l y s e l e c t i n g t h e i r expert a n a l y s t s , and t h e n t e l l i n g t h e r e s t o f u s what informed o p i n i o n i s on a whole v a r i e t y of issues.

T h e media d e c i d e which p e o p l e , groups, and o p i n i o n s t o make r e c o g n i z a b l e t o t h e . . . p u b l i c , and t h e n t h e y conduct t h e i r own p o l l s t o s e e which a r e most recogniza b l e . They c a l l t h a t p u b l i c o p i n i o n , and t h e n have t h e a u d a c i t y t o s a y t h e y ' r e I j u s t following it.

"Enough! screams a r a p i d l y i n c r e a s i n g number o f Americans (Canadians) They f e e l t h e s e l f - s e r v i n g e l i t e s t h a t run t h e c o u n t r y a r e r u i n i n g i t , and have c r e a t e d a p o l i t i c a l system t h a t i s c o m p l e t e l y o u t o f t o u c h w i t h o r d i n a r y p e o p l e . Powerf u l v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s , t h e expense o f p o l i t i c a l campaigns, image makers, p o l i t i c a l h a n d l e r s , n e g a t i v e campaigning and a t t a c k a d s , t e l e v i s i o n sound b i t e s , and p o l l d r i v e n p o l i t i c s a l l combine t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e a p r o c e s s r u n by i n s i d e r s and c h a r a c t e r i z e d by d e c e p t i o n & h y p o c r i s y . " Thank goodness f o r a l t e r n a t i v e media such a s t h e Carnegie N e w s l e t t e r and Co-op Radio t h a t g i v e u s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o def i n e o u r s e l v e s . Thank goodness f o r T o r a , S h e i l a and Paul, and a l l t h e o t h e r p o e t s and w r i t e r s of t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e who c a l l us t o authenticity.

...

By SANDY CAMERON

S o c i e t y ' s Losers

'

Even during economic booms, t h e durat i o n o f unemployment f o r males over 45 i s i n c r e a s i n g . Any 50 year-old male work e r who has been unemployed f o r a y e a r has v e r y l i t t l e chance of e v e r working again.

And s o a s t h e s a l e s of BMWs skyrocket, t h e s t r e e t s a r e i n c r e a s i n g l y f i l l e d with scavengers, panhandlers 6 t h e homeless.

Women, c h i l d r e n , t h e d i s a b l e d , v i s i b l e m i n o r i t i e s - a l l have been v i c t i m s of d i s c r i m i n a t o r y t r e a t m e n t , a l l have s u f f ered n e g l e c t . But t h e s e groups have s t r o n g advocacy r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , E a l l t h e s e groups have b e n e f i t t e d from a f f i r mative a c t i o n programs. Older s i n g l e males have had ho b e n e f i t s o r sympathy from s o c i e t y .

A l l t h e p o l i t i c i a n s have t u r n e d t h e i r backs on t h i s human tragedy, & when any new d o l l a r s a r e a v a i l a b l e f o r s o c i a l spending, o l d e r males can be s u r e of onl y one t h i n g : t h e y w i l l never b e n e f i t .

On t h e c o n t r a r y , whenever governments t i g h t e n t h e i r budgetary b e l t s it i s usua l l y around t h e necks o f t h o s e most v u l nerable 6 l e a s t represented.

Women, c h i l d r e n , v i s i b l e m i n o r i t i e s E t h e d i s a b l e d a r e seen t o have i n t r i n s i c merit d e s e r v i n g s o c f a l h e l p . The o l d e r males a r e seen a s bums d e s e r v i n g nothing.

Yet many of t h e s e bums b u i l t t h e provi n c e ' s r e s o u r c e i n d u s t r i e s . Were t h e y i n d u s t r i o u s u n t i l t h e y were 50 & then became l a z y ? A t 5:30am t h e Canada Employment 6 l a b o u r o f f i c e on W.2nd i n Vancouv e r i s f u l l o f such men seeking heavy l a b o u r jobs a t $5 an hour.

Most o f t h e s e men a r e g u i l t y of nothi n g more than becoming unemployed and having no marketable s k i l l s .

Many o f t h e s e men r e a d & a r e i n t e l l e c t u a l l y c u r i o u s , a s anyone who v i s i t s t h e Carnegie Centre l i b r a r y i n Vancouver's downtown e a s t s i d e can a t t e s t . Longterm unemployed o l d e r males have a wide range of backgrounds with few common denominat o r s except a c u t e poverty.

The wages o f p o v e r t y a r e premature and p r e v e n t a b l e death. But t h e d e a t h of a 55 year-old male i n h i s s l e e p i n g room

goes unnoticed. No one c a r e s . These men have become d i s p o s a b l e humans i n t h e ' (11. eyes of mainstream s o c i e t y .

When r o a d s i d e r e c y c l i n g i s proposed no o n e t > r e a l i s e s t h a t t h e program w i l l dep r i v e o l d e r males of one of t h e few methods a v a i l a b l e t o supplement t h e i r $525 a month w e l f a r e I t b e n e f i t s t ' - t h e chance t o scavenge f o r b o t t l e s & o t h e r s a l v a b l e s .

The o l d e r s i n g l e unemployed have become i n v i s i b l e , so we a v e r t our eyes from t h e panhandler. .we t u r n away.

By DOUGLAS BROOME

Orwell tt19841t?

I t i s (has been) t h e b e l i e f of many t h a t freedom of speech, o r a l written, i s p a r t of t h e foundation of democracy.

Many b e l i e v e t h a t t h e p u b l i c has a r i g h t t o know about anything t h a t a f f e c t s them.

I ; Xu - t h e r e a p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t , f o r many y e a r s , governments & c o r p o r a t i o n s may have l i e d t o t h e p u b l i c ? Are t h e y t h e same powers t h a t d i c t a t e what can o r can not b e made a v a i l a b l e t o t h e p u b l i c according t o t h e i r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of t h e Freedom of Information Act? It i s understandable t h a t some (but not a l l ) information must be withheld t o p r o t e c t & s e r v e t h e t r u e well-being o f t h e c i t i z e n s . I t might be p o s s i b l e t h a t , i f a p u b l i c image campaign was used t o conceal a l a c k of t r u e concern, e r r o r s & hidden agendas, then democracy could become a g u i s e .

P e t e r Baldassi

Medicareless ' 9 2

SOS! ...

Save our S~raug~tnessy I f ( e l e c t e d ) o f f i c i a l s became c o r r u p t t h e n t h e i r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of "well-being of t h e c i t i z e n s could p o s s i b l y become s e r .\ 155 Beds have been closed i o u s l y flawed & s o c i a l programs, o r i g i n 140 Health core givers hove lost thelr jobs a l l y designed t o b e n e f i t t h e c i t i z e n s might b e g r a d u a l l y dismantled ( t a k e n apThere have not been any public hearings a r t ) . There a r e w a i t i n g l i s t s i n t h e hosto allow community input p i t a l s f o r v i t a l o p e r a t i o n s . Once a g a i n , t h e p u b l i c s u f f e r s , b e c a u s e of a l a c k of The future of Shaughnessy Hospltol Is being decided behind closed doors unison & u n d e r s t a n d i n g of budget r e q u i r e ments between b u r e a u c r a t s .

Should c i t i z e n s b e r e g a r d e d a s human Public Forum on b e i n g s o r a s numbers on a b a l a n c e s h e e t ?

Saving Shaughnessy Hospital O f f i c i a l s ( e l e c t e d o r o t h e r w i s e ) may d i s p l a y , p r o j e c t o r f a b r i c a t e any t y p e of rime: 7:00pm image t o calm p u b l i c a n x i e t y b u t t h o s e Thursday, Sept. 17 people who a r e "dying" t o g e t an o p e r a t - 3ate: ion a r e n o t e a s i l y m i s l e d .

Shau hnessy Hospital Auditorium The a u t h o r i t y , g i v e n t o ( e l e c t e d ) o f f i - 'lace: (use eather Street Acute Care entrance) c i a l s i s on l o a n , by t h e c i t i z e n s who should n e v e r 6 abused by i t .

All are welcome!

Peter Baldassi

1.

8

----

p p

p

makers Mike Harcourt, Premier -5 MLA (DERA future!

Emery Barnes, MLA (DERA South) I any of t h g s e t h i n g s u n t i l it g e t s c r i t i c a l Val Andersonm MLA S. E .Marine D r .

E l i z a b e t h C u l l , M i n i s t e r of H e a l t h a s t h i s 9<ly c o s t s i n s u f f e r i n g & undue Joan Smallwood, M i n i s t e r o f S o c i a l S e r v i c e h a r d s h i p ; ;This i s p a r t i c u l a r l y s o f o r t h o s e diagnosed w i t h a s e v e r e i l l n e s s ' s u c h Dear Sir/Madam: a s AIDS,, : d i a b e t e s , h e a r t c o n d i t i o n s e t c .

RE: Dental and H e a l t h Care While i p e c o g n i z e t h e r e i s premium cov= 1 am w r i t i n g t o a d d r e s s v a r i o u s i s s u e s e r a g e foi':,those w i t h a low income b u t t h e , concerning t h e l a c k of medical & d e n t a l . p r e m i u m a I b n e i s a l a r g e expense f o r t h o s e coveragelprovided t o low income p e o p l e . o f u s witd l i t t l e income. T h i s i s s o p a r t I am HIV p o s i t i v e & am r e c e i v i n g h a r d icularly.,when t h e coverage i s o n l y f o r s h i p a s s i s t a n c e from t h e M i n i s t r y of S o c i - medical 6 some d e n t a l , b u t n o t f o r p r e s c a l S e r v i c e s while a w a i t i n g U I b e n e f i t s . r i p t i o n par n o n - p r e s c r i p t i o n d r u g s not C u r r e n t l y , I am n o t r e c e i v i n g any coverage t o mention b a s i c t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . f o r medical ~r d e n t a l . As w e l l I am n o t I t i s m$ opion t h a t a l l low income i n d i g e t t i n g y y a s s i s t a n c e with my p r e s c r i p t - v i d u a l s i t h o s e whose incomes a r e at o r beion o r n o n - p r e s c r i p t i o n d r u g s . T h i s i s low t h e .poverty l i n e ) s h o u l d be g i v e n covb e c a u s e , . u n d e r h a r d s h i p a s s i s t a n c e , I am e r a g e a u t s m a t i c a l l y . . o n UI, p e n s i o n , GAIN not q u a l i ~ i e d . o r workitig poor.

My conkern is t h a t w h i l e I am a w a i t i n g By p r o v i d i n g comprehensive coverage ' f o r U I (G even a f t e r r e c e i v i n g i t ) I w i l l n o t t h o s e w i t h ' a low income, something s u b s t g e t a s s i i t a n c e with medical, d e n t a l , non- a n t i a l i s ;being done. t o r e l i e v e p o v e r t y , p r e s c r i p t i o n o r p r e s c r i p t i o n d r u g s . Being n e g l e c t '6 s u f f e r i n g .

John Reeve HIV p o s i t i v e I have many needs i n t h e s e _.. a r e a s . 1;;as a d v i s e d by MSS t h a t I would (Note : P e t i t i o n s a r e c i r c u l a t i n g r e g a r d i n g g e t t h i s l k i n d o f a s s i s t a n c e i f i t was an t h i s . Find one & s i g n i t ! ) emergency,: I should n o t have t o w a i t f o r

*

...

;

)

I

I

I .

I

Ieaucrats.

Democratic laws governing h e a l t h G jobs & t h e environment would be s t r u c k down a s " b a r r i e r s t o trade".

13.

4. The code on i n t e l l e c t u a l p r o p e r t y r i g h t w i l l prevent Canada & Mexico from l i c ensing g e n e r i c c o p i e s o f brand name d r u g s .

This w i l l add a t l e a s t $500 m i l l i o n a y e a r t o h e a l t h c a r e c o s t s f o r Canadians. The US i s a l s o pushing t o g i v e c o r p o r a t i o n s p a t e n t s on seeds, p l a n t s , animals ii o t h e r living matter.

TEN REASONS WHY WE OPPOSE N.A.F.T.A. (North American Free Trade Agreement) 3,

-

'

I

The proposed NAFTA w i l l permanently s h i f t t h e c a p a c i t y t o make economic & soci a l p o l i c y i n Canada from d e m o c r a t i c a l l y e l e c t e d g o v t l s t o f a c e l e s s c o r p o r a t e bure a u c r a t s . The NAFTA, t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e FTA t h r e a t e n s t h e environment, h e a l t h , sovere i g n t y & jobs o f Canadians. The o n l y t h i n g ' f r e e ' about f r e e t r a d e i s t h e freedom it g i v e s c o r p o r a t i o n s t o g e t around laws t h a t p r o t e c t people & t h e environment.

Here a r e t e n r e a s o n s why t h e Action Canada Network opposes NAFTA:

5. The p r o v i s i o n s d e a l i n g with energy c a l l f o r a c o n t i n e n t a l s h a r i n g of non renewa b l e o i l & gas r e s o u r c e s . Canadians ii Nexi c a n s w i l l s u b s i d i s e American consumers.

I n e f f e c t , US commercial i n t e r e s t s supercede f e d e r a l E p r o v i n c i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n t o conserve, manage & develop Canadian n a t u r al resources.

6. The investment c h a p t e r would f u r t h e r p r o h i b i t Canada & Mexico from r e q u i r i n g foreign investors t o u s e l o c a l content & t r a n s f e r technology. The c h a p t e r g r a n t s c o r p o r a t i o n s freedom from r u b l i c r e g u l a t i o n s & performance requirements. The US wants t h i s c h a p t e r t o o u t l a r t t h e T r e a t y , i n c a s e of t e r m i n a t i o n , by 10 y e a r s !

2. S e v e r a l NAFTA p r o v i s i o n s would have d i s a s t r o u s e f f e c t s on t h e environment.

For example, t h e harmonization o f environmental s t a n d a r d s w i l l f o l l o w a method of " r i s k assessment" where economic b e n e f i t s can o v e r r i d e h e a l t h p r o t e c t i o n f o r such things a s pesticides, additivds & toxins.

7. An a c c e s s i o n c l a u s e i n NAFTA w i l l allow o t h e r Latin American & Caribbean govts t o j o i n t h e f r e e t r a d e a r e a . To q u a l i f y , t h e s e c o u n t r i e s must adopt s t r u c t u r a l adjustment programs t h a t s t r e n g t h e n t h e powe r o f t r a n s n a t i o n a l c o r p o r a t i o n s . People of North & d o u t h America w i l l have no mean i n g f u l democratic say i n s e t t i n g t h e r u l e b u t w i l l be t i e d t o a Hemispheric c o n s t i t u t i o n w r i t t e n by t h e US. 8. The Canada-US Auto Pact i s undermined by t h e FTA 6 t h e NAFTA. The proposed r u l e s of o r i g i n would only apply t o t h e r e g i o n a s a whole, n o t t o any one n a t i o n .

NAFTA would make it impossible t o n e g o t i a t e n a t i o n a l c o n t e n t r u l e s baaranteeing jobs i n each country, p r o p o r t i o n a l t o i t s s h a r e o f product ion.

3. NAFTA c o n s t i t u t e s an a t t a c k on democracy. The laws o f Canada's Parliament, p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e s G Aboriginal g o v t s would a l l be undermined. Rules governing t r a d e would b e s e t by f a c e l e s s t r a d e b u r -

9. NAFTA would i n c r e a s e c o r p o r a t e concentr a t i o n i n a g r i c u l t u r e through t h e elimi n a t i o n o f import r e s t r i c t i o n s . Hundreds of thousands of Mexican campesinos a r e being f o r c e d o f f t h e land by t r a n s n a t i o n a l

1. Canada has l o s t o v e r 500,000 manufactu r i n g jobs s i n c e t h e FTA was introduced & 2/3 o f them a r e gone f o r e v e r . NAFTA o n l y a c c e l e r a t e s t h e downward p r e s s u r e on wages & job l o s s e s due t o c o r p o r a t e r e l o c a t i o n .

Working people i n Canada, Mexico G t h e US d o n ' t want cheap l a b o u t used a s a "competi t i v e advantageff.

a g r i b u s i n e s s . Meanwhile f anlily f a r m e r s i n Canada & t h e US f a c e t h e f u r t h e r e r o s i o n of supply ~ o a ~ i a g e n ~ e&n td o m e s t i c s u p p o r t .

10 .The f i l l a n c i a 1 s e r v i c e s chapt e r ' c o n s t i t u t e s a major i n t rusion i n t o provincial jurisdi c t i o n o v e r l o a n , t r u s t , mortgage & s e c u r i t i e s companies.

The Fl'A a l r e a d y g i v e s lJS b a n k s a n e x e n ~ p t i o nf r o m f o r e i g n owner - s h i p r u l e s . NAFTA would g i v e C a n a d i a n b a n k s a c c e s s t o Mexico b u t n o t t o tli: U.S.

.

' There's a lot more,' he said, ' about starting relief works : two shillings a day for marriedmen, and one shilling for single, thought was the glare of madness in his eyes, ' 11,reads and something about there's been I 5 7 2 quarts of SOUP given the " Ananins " every week, and I generally takes the Daily to poor families wot was not even able to pay a penny, and a C1lloroform " o r the " Nobscurern, s o I ought to know sum- lot more. And 'ere's another thing, an advertisement: mat about it.' " T H E SUFFERING POOR ' J u s t listen to this,' interrupted Easton, wishing to create a diversion and beginning to read from the copy of the 'Ob-SIR-Distress among the Poor is so acute that I earnestly ask you for aid for T h e Salvation Army's great Social Work scurer ' which he still held in his hand : on their behalf. Some 6,000 are being sheltered nightly. Hun" G R E A T D I S T R E S S IN MUGSBOROUGH clrcds are foubd work daily. Soup and bread are distributed in the midnight hours to homeless wanderers in London. A d d H U N D R E D S O U T O F EMPLOYMENT tional workshops for the unemployed have been established.

W O R K O F T H E C H A R I T Y SOCIETY Our Social Work for men, women, and children, for the charncterless and the outcast, is the largest and oldest organised 7 8 9 C A S E S O N T H E BOOI<S effort of its kind in the country, and greatly needs help. , 'lasses last Great a s was the distress among the ~ l o , o o is o required before Christmas day. Gifts may be made year, unfortunately there seems every prospect that before the to any specific section o r home, if desired. Can you please send winter which has just commenced is over the distress will be us something to keep the workgoing ? Please address clleques, even more acute. crossed 'Bank of England' (Law Courts Branch), to me a t ' "Already the Charity Society and kindred associationsare l o l , Q~~~~~victoria street, E.C. ~~l~~~~ sheets and R~~~~~~ relieving more cases than they did at the corresponding time upon application. last year. Applications to the Board of Guardians have also BRAMWELL BOOTH." been much more numerous, and the Soup Kitchen has had to 'Ihe On Tth NOv.. a lortnight Open its 'Oh, that'spart of thegreat'appinessan'prosperity wot Owen number of men, women and children provided with meals is maices out F~~~~~~d~ brings,' said crass, with a jeering three or four times greater than last year."' ' I &en. n ver said Free Trade brought happiness or prosperity,' said Easton stopped ; reading was hard work to him.

The, Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

16

ACTION CANADA NETWORK E x p e c t t o f i n d y o u r v e r y own handy-dandy p i e c e o f T o r y propdgdnda i n w i i h t h e u s u a l a s s o r t ment o f j u n k m a i l i n t h e n e x t few d a y s . They h a v e o n c e a g a i n produced a n a d m i r a b l e p i l e o f c r u d A ( , t ' c r u d ' b e i n g a synonym f o r t h e word u s e d t o d e s c r i b e L l ~ ep r o d u c t of a L u l l ' s bowel ~ l ~ o v e n ~ e nt to) b e g i n t h e m a s t i n c r t d i b l e snow, j o b e v e r a t t e m p t e d I t ' s a b o u t t1.e WONDERFUL F r e e f r a d e A g r e e n ~ e n &~ what WONIJEKFUL t h i n g s i t ' s done i n a l l s o r t s o f WONDLIWUL ways ! l f , l i k e t h e y hope ( p l a n ) , you haven ' t f o l l o w e d much o f t h e f a ~ t u a lr e p o r t s on w h a t ' s b e e n g o i n g on s i n c e 1989, t h i s w i l l c o n f u s e you beyond y o u r w i l d e s t i m d g i r ~i n g s . I f you a r e n o t a s d e n s e a s t h e T o r i e s seem t o L l ~ i l ~t kh e v a s t m a j o r i t y o f peopl e a r e , don't e a t before reading Lliis crap. .you'll barf.

'1'11e n e x t p a r t o f i h i s a r t i c l e i s a pllotocopy of a c o u p l e o f

p a g e s from some book ( I d o n ' t know i t s name) by R o b e i t T r e s s el 1 , f i z s t p u t l i s h e d I n London, E n g l a n d , i n 1914 -

1

thing of the kind. We've had Free Trade r s and to-day most people are living in a

me here and work for starvation wages. tween Free Trade and Protection is that tances one might be a little worse than her of then1 are of hover-population,' reboss wants two men, many people and not r-population,' cried Owen, ' when there's thousands of uncultivated land in England without a house or the cause of povause of poverty in

o be exterminated as ilanthropists like you, her people, might bc

\

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY

STD C l i n i c - Monday t h r o u g h F r i d a y , 9am - 5pm.

FREE MEDICAL CLINIC - Mon, Wed, F r i d a y : 5:30-7:30pm NEEDLE EXCHANGE - 221 Main; e v e r y day 9am-5pm.

Needle Exchange van - on t h e s t r e e t Mon-Sat e v e n i n g s .

N.A. m e e t s e v e r y Monday n i g h t a t 2.23 Main.

Out-to-Lunch

Bunch m e e t s d a i l y a t 101 W .

1992 DONATIONS: Cement Masons-$100 Keith C.-$20 Paula R.-$20 Nancy W.-$100 Colleen E.-$25 Luba P.-$10 S t u a r t M.-$10 Robert - $ l o CEEDS - $50 Rotary Club of Chinatown -$767.15 Four S i s t e r s Co-op -$500 Joyce M.-$10 DERA -$500 Tom S -$5 llazel M. -$25 Legal S e r v i c e s The O l d S a i l o r -$40 Etienne S .-$SO PLURA -$BOO C e c i l @ C.-$20 Forest Lawn -$25 B i l l ~ . - $ 2 0 Jean F.-$15 Yvonne $.-$lo Anonymous - $ I 8 Ken -$5 Smithers S .S .-$45 Roberts A.L. C.-$30

.

Cordova, 10-2:20.

V I C V ~01 I ~ ~ d ! ~ l ~ l ~ o l c o s l r l h u t o r ~m d nu1 01 1Iw Assocl.1 Inn.

A r l l r l e s . e ~ r c s e ~ t III w

C I I Y I n f o s t a f f c a n ' t accept d o ~ t a tl o n e f u r thin n c u s l c t t e r . 90 11 can I I E I ~ . f i n d P n r ~ lTaylur and h e ' l l g l v e you s r e c e i p t .

Thanks e v e r y o n e l

The Downtown E a s t s i d e R e s i d e n t s ' A s s o c i a t i o n can h e l p you w i t h : any w e l f a r e problem i n f o r m a t i o n on l e g a l r i g h t s disputes with landlords unsafe l i v i n g conditions income t a x U I C problems f i n d i n g housing opening a bank a c c o u n t Come i n t o t h e DERA o f f i c e a t 9 E a s t H a s t i n g s S t o r phone u s a t 682-0931.

DERA HAS BEEN SERVING THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE FOR 19 YEARS

.

27 things the media will absolutely not speak about

. ..

DIRECTOR OF SMUI;,MIDDLE-CLA~S

PROGRAMMES THAT PREfENo TO DEAL WlrHSERlOUS SOCIA1 PROBUMS WHILE SUPERFICIALLY GLOSSING

These a r e some of t h e t o p i c s t h a t you won't f i n d d i s c u s s e d , i n any d e p t h o r r e g u l a r i t y , i n t h e Canadian o r US media:

1. The f r e e market means t h a t t h o s e witho u t money t o buy what t h e y need d o n ' t have t h e r i g h t t o l i v e .

2. General Motors, Dupont, ITET, S t a n d a r d O i l & Ford C o r p o r a t i o n s a l l produced m i l i t a r y s u p p l i e s f o r t h e Nazi armed f o r c e s d u r i n g W ~ r l dWar ! ! w h i l e t h e United S t a t e s was a t war w i t h Germany.

3 . Unearned w e a l t h s h o u l d be a b o l i s h e d as a m a t t e r of j u s t p u b l i c p o l i c y . .

4. The g o v ' t needs t o r e g u l a t e t h e i n v e s t -ment o f Canadian/U.S. c a p i t a l abroad t o s o c i e t i e s w i t h p o o r human r i g h t s & env i r o n m e n t a l s t a n d a r d s i n b o t h North Ameri c a 6 t h e d e v e l o p i n g world.

5. The major p l a y e r i n t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l d r u g t r a d e s i n c e t h e Second World War, usin: d r u g enforcement laws t o m a i n t a i n i t s monopoly, h a s been t h e US g o v ' t , t o finance its international i l l e g a l forejgn

interventions.

6. TIE c a p i t a l i s t workplace i s a n t i democrat.i c 7. Over 70% o f e l i g i b l e US G B r i t i s h v o t e r s d i d n o t v o t e f o r Reagan o r Thatche r i n t h e i r famous " l a n d s l i d e s . ~ '

.

8. The arms r a c e 6 i n t e r n a t i o n a l wars a r e

v e r y p r o f i t a b l e f o r most m u l t i n a t i o n a l corporations.

9. The l o n g - t e n p a t t e r n of US 6 Canadian f o r e i g n p o l i c y i n t h e non-white world has been a l l i a n c e s w i t h f a s c i s t - t y p e governments r a t h e r t h a n t h e i r opponents.

10.The " f r e e worldw i s n o t t r u l y f r e e because i t s c i t i z e n s do n o t have t h e e f f e c t i v e r i g h t t o c r i t i c i z e capitalism.

11.The h i s t o r y o f Western c i v i l i z a t i o n i s l ' l r g e l y a h i s t o r y o f genocide a g n i r l ~ t non-white p e o p l e s F, c u l t u r e s .

12. 'file g r e a t e s t d a n g e r t o Canada's f r e e - . dom & s e c u r i t y comes from t h e U.S. 13.l'here i s no c o r r e l a t i o n between a p e r s o n ' s wealth & t h e i r m e r i t .

1 4 . I n many c a s e s , s o c i a l ownership o f majo r i n d u s t r i e s i s sound s o c i a l p o l i c y .

15.A s m a l l m i n o r i t y ' s monopoly ownership o f s o c i e t y ' s means o f p r o d u c t i o n i s an i s s u e t h a t n e e d s t o be c a r e f u l l y examined.

16. P o l l u t i o n / p o v e r t y a r e e s p e c i a l l y advant a g e o u s t o t h e major s h a r e h o l d e r s of private enterprise.

17.0ur major s o c i a l problems a r e caused by t h e p r o f i t imperative overriding a l l other values.

18.The b e l i e f t h a t God s a n c t i o n s o u r s o c i -

, a 1 o r d e r o r o u r s t a t e o f war i s a s u p e r -stition.

19.The S o v i e t Union, i n t h e r e c e n t p a s t , p a i d s i g n i f i c a n t l y more t h a n t h e world p r i c e f o r i m p o r t s from t h e c o u n t r i e s of E a s t e r n Europe, & charged s i g n i f i c a n t l y f o r i t s exports.

20. S o c i a l i s t r e v o l u t i o n h a s been byElarge beneficial f o r t h e l i v i n g standards of most c i t i z e n s i n s o c i e t i e s where i t ' h a s occurred.

2l.Over 90% of Canadian c i t i z e n s a r e n o t c a p i t a l i s t s b u t members of t h e working c l a s s who depend f o r t h e i r l i v i n g on wages and s a l a r i e s .

22.Unions have h i s t o r i c a l l y l e d t h e s t r u g g l e f o r improvements i n h e a l t h c a r e , working c o n d i t i o n s & s o c i a l s e c u r i t y f o r t h e p o p u l a t i o n a s a whole.

23.The b u s i n e s s community h a s e x c e s s i v e p o l i t i c a l & economic power i n s o c i e t y .

24.0ur s c h o o l s do n o t t r a i n t h e young t o t h i n k c r i t i c a l l y , b u t t o obey c o r p o r a t e o r o f f i c i a l a u t h o r i t y without question.

25.The p r e s i d e n t o f t h e US & h i s l e a d i n g a d v i s o r s a r e p r o v a b l e war c r i m i n a l s .

26.Christianity c a l l s f o r the redistributi o n o f wealth ( a s most c r i t i c a l s o c i a l t h i n k e r s do).

27.The mass media i s e s s e n t i a l l y a j o i n t s t o c k company o f p r o f i t & a d v e r t i s i n g f o r major p r i v a t e c o r p o r a t i o n s .

r o l e a s S t r a t h c o n a a c t i v i s t s h e campaigns a g a i n s t them on t e l e v i s i o n & even , a t t e m p t s t o deny them f r e e p u b l i c a c c e s s t o t a x i s .

These p e o p l e o n l y seem t o d e s e r v e conside r a t i o n a s hrnnan b e i n g s when t h e y u s e t h e c e n t r e , b u t a r e t a r g e q e d a s t h e enemy when t h e i r l i f e s t y l e is l i v e d out i n t h e s t r e e t .

P r o s t i t u t e s a r e defended a t Carnegie meet i n g s E t h e n e e d l e exchange s u p p l y s a d d i c t s with f r e e n e e d l e s , b u t i f t h e s e people f a i l t o h i d e t h e i r h a b i t s , t h e y no l o n g e r e n j o y t h e s t a t u s o f neighhourhood r e s i d e n t s .

Suddenly t h e y have become " u n d e s i r a b l e s v ~ h ocan be i d e n t i f i e d on t e l e v i s i o n , d e n i e d t h e u s e of t a x i s & r u n o u t o f town.

TORA rora , Consider - anyone can come i n t o Carnegie IF t h e y a r e n ' t d r u n k . . I F t h e y a r e n ' t g l a s s y eyed/stoned.. IF t h e y a c t i n a c i v i l & prope r manner. T h a t ' s n o t , l e f t up t o each p e r s 3n t o d e c i d e w h a t ' s " c i v i l 4 proper", i t ' s # h a t ' s g e n e r a l l y okay w i t h most p e o p l e most p l a c e s . That a p p l i e s when your yard, p a r k , school grounds, l a n e , garbage c a n s , a r e i n J s e f o r buying & s e l l i n g 4 u s i n g h a r d dope, dhen p r o s t i t u t e s p l y t h e i r t r a d e on s t r e e t c o r n e r s E i n parked c a r s & maybe on your porch couch i f you have one, where k i d s play o r walk i n t h e i r neighbourhoods. Maybe parents, s i n g l e o r couples, f e a r f o r t h e s a f e t y o f t h e i r k i d s from j o h n s / p e d o p h i l e s ,

By JOHN McMURTY ( P r o f e s s o r of p h i l o s o p h y ) used n e e d l e s , f i n d i n g some d e a l e r ' s s t a s h E:?swallowing enough h e r o i n o r coke t o k i l l a h o r s e . Maybe t h i s g e t s on your n e r v e s . . naybe you s e e p a r t o f it being t h e cash i n volved, u s i n g t a x i s . . maybe yout r e w i l l i n g Wearing Two Hats: t o s a y a n y t h i n g t o d e f l a t e t h e overwhelming Last n i g h t on t h e CBC News I saw r e s i d - number of j u n k i e s & coke u s e r s & hookers e n t s of S t r a t h c o n a & one o f t h e i r spokes- t h a t have l i t t l e r e s p e c t f o r a n y o n e ' s s p a c e p e r s o n s who i s a l s o p r e s i d e n t o f t h e Carnc i f i t ' s r e s p e c t v s s c o r i n g . O r how about g i e A s s o c i a t i o n , s a y i n g t h a t T a x i s should having 2 o r 3 j u n k i e s banging on your door b e p r e v e n t e d from p i c k i n g up drug a d d i c t s z t 3 o r 4 i n t h e a.m. wanting s c i s s o r s o r a k n i f e t o c u t open t h e t i g h t l y - w r a p p e d b a l l o r p r o s t i t u t e s along Hastings S t r e e t .

The p e o p l e who do drugs. . p r o s t i t u t e them so t h e y can f i x . . o r u s e your washroom..or s e l v e s i n S t r a t h c o n a & a l o n g ~ a % i n ~a rse bum a smoke. . o r (worse) when t h e y h a v e n ' t o f t e n p a t r o n s of Carnegie, which i s t h e i r copped t h e i r f i x y e t . I t ' s f i n e t o p h i l o s o phise 4 be i d e a l i s t i c G freedom o f t h e i n community c e n t r e .

Nearing h e r A s s o c i a t i o n h a t , o u r p r e s i d - d i v i d u a l & s o on, b u t i f your i d e a t i o n docs e n t c l a i m s t o r e p r e s e n t t h e s e people when ~ o tta k e f a i r n e s s i n t o a c c o u n t , i t i s n ' t t h e y a r e p a t r o n s o f Carnegie, b u t i n h e r nrorth t h e paper i t ' s w r i t t e n on.

PRT

MEECH LAKE . by David Orchard

(Following i s t h e p e r s o n a l viewpoint of t h e w r i t e r , chairman o f C i t i z e n s Concerned about Free Trade.)

When t h e l a t e s t "make o r break t h e n a t ion" c o n s t i t u t i o n a l accord, Meech Lake 2, was announced by Brian Mulroney Aug. 20, he d e c l a r e d t h o s e who opposed t h e package were "enemies of Canada." C o n s t i t u t i o n a l A f f a i r s M i n i s t e r Joe Clark s a i d , "The day of judgement i s a t hand."

Thus was t h e n a t i o n - where n o t a s o u l has y e t seen t h e t e x t of t h e document warned by t h e veFy wen who had s o l d Canada t o t h e US u n d e r l t h e f r e e - t r a d e a g r e e ment (FTA), & who a r e a t t h i s moment upgrading t h a t s a l e under t h e North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Why was t h i s most sweeping c o n s t i t u t i o n a l change s i n c e 1867 n e c e s s a r y ? According t o t t e gov't & i t s cheerleaders i n t h e "opposition," c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments were r e q u i r e d because Quebec was " l e f t out" o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n i n 1982.

In r e a l i t y , i n 1981, 73 o u t of 75 MPfs from Quebec voted f o r t h e r e p a t r i a t e d C o n s t i t u t i o n . In Quebec's l e g i s l a t u r e t h e L i b e r a l P a r t y voted f o r i t . I t was r e j e c t e d by t h e PQ g o v ' t whose s t a t e d r e a s o n f o r being was t o t a k e Quebec o u t of Canada. A Gallup p o l l i n Quebec i n June 1982 found o n l y 16% opposed t o t h e new C o n s t i t u t i o n . Nor were t h e r e demands from Quebec f o r f u r t h e r changes t o t h e C o n s t i t u t ion when Mulroney came t o power i n 1984.

In t h e 1990s, p o l l s have c o n s i s t e n t l y shown t h a t l e s s than 10% of Quebecers s e e the Constitution a s a national p r i o r i t y . p i e r r e Trudeau, whom more Canadians b e l i e ve on c o n s t i t u t i o n a l m a t t e r s t h a n - a n y of t h e c u r r e n t p o l i t i c i a n s , has s a i d Canada has a C o n s t i t u t i o n s e t t o l a s t 1000 Years.

The s o - c a l l e d c o n s t i t u t i o n a l c r i s i s i s an o r c h e s t r a t e d campaign t o d i v e r t p u b l i c a t t e n t i o n from t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of t h e Canadi a n economy & t h e t r a n s f e r o f i t s s o v e r e i gnty t o t h e US.If p o s s i b l e i t ' s a l s o hoped t o p r e s e r v e enough of Mulroney's Quebec base t o e n s u r e h i s r e - e l e c t i o n .

S e i z i n g on complaints about Meech Lake 1

.

being n e g o t i a t e d by men (anything t o avoid c r i t i c i s m o f i t s c o n t e n t ) , some women were thrown i n t o t h e mix f o r Meech Lake 2.

Rosemarie Kuptana o f t h e I n u i t T a p i r i s a t emerged from t h e n e g o t i a t i o n s & t o l d Canad i a n s she was one o f t h e "Mothers of Conf e d e r a t i o n . " She e x p l a i n e d t h a t h e r "nurt u r i n g a b i l i t i e s w a s a woman helped t h e new C o n s t i t u t i o n emerge, because when Clyde Wells, t h e one p o t e n t i a l l y s e r i o u s c r i t i c i n t h e room, f e l t " i s o l a t e d 1 ' & "wi't$drewV', s h e was a b l e t o "draw him back" The s c o r e a t t h e end o f t h e day: The prov i n c e s a r e t o have e x c l u s i v e j u r i s d i c t i o n over f o r e s t r y , r e c r e a t i o n , tourism, mining housing, municipal & urban a f f a i r s , c u B t u r e & job t r a i n i n g . C o n t r o l o v e r immigration & r e g i o n a l development i s t o f o l l o w . Members of t h e Supreme Court a r e t o be chosen by p r o v i n c i a l governments.

This document goes w e l l beyond Meech Lake '1' i n handing new powers t o t h e a l r e a d y b l o a t e d p r o v i n c e s . There i s t o be no more Canadian c u l t u r e ; from now on i t ' s BC c u l t u r e , Saskatchewan c u l t u r e o r Nova S c o t i a c u l t u r e . The new S e n a t e , i n s t e a d o f p r o v i ding p r o t e c t i o n f o r t h e s m a l l e r p r o v i n c e s , w i l l , when i n c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e House of Commons, s i t i n a j o i n t s e s s i o n & be e a s i l y swamped by t h e newly expanded House (36 more members from O n t a r i o & Quebec). And, because t h e people o f Quebec a p p a r e n t l y

.. .

c a n ' t be t r u s t e d t o e l e c t t h e i r own s e n a t o r s , t h e p r e m i e r o f Quebec g e t s t o appoint them.

Each p r o v i n c e a l s o r e c e i v e s t h e r i g h t t o p u l l o u t of n a t i o n a l c o s t - s h a r e d programs, s e t up t h e i r own & r e c e i v e f u n d s f o r , d o i n g so. There w i l l b e no new n a t i o n a l program! i n t h e new Canada.

The a b h o r e n t n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g c l a u s e ( S . 8 3 ) which a l l o w s Ottawa & each p r o v i n c e t o ove r r i d e the basic legal r i g h t s of c i t i z e n s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e C h a r t e r o f R i g h t s & Freedoms - f o r c e d i n t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n by power grubbing w e s t e r n p r e m i e r s i n 1981 has n o t been a b o l i s h e d . I t h a s now a l s o been g i v e n t o t h e new Native e l i t e t o u s e a s they see f i t .

To t o p it o f f each p r o v i n c e h a s r e c e i v e d t h e r i g h t t o v e t o any f u r t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n a l change, t h e r e b y c a s t i n g i n s t o n e t h i s s e l f s e r v i n g document, t h e prime m i n i s t e r ' s new e l e c t i o n p l a t f o r m , where it w i l l hang l i k e a m i l l s t o n e around t h e necks o f f u t u r e generations.

A s w i t h Meech Lake 1, Her M a j e s t y ' s l o y a l o p p o s i t i o n i s marching i n l o c k s t e p with hlulroney. The I , i b e r a l s , i n t h e i r ongoing n ~ s ht o betr;ry t h e l e g a c y o f Triideau, have 7 - 0 1 1ctl ove r t h c i r tliroaLs t o Mulroney i n submission.

Nancy Riche, p r e s i d e n t of t h e NDP, a p a r t y wlli ch regular-2y p r o f e s s e s i t s commit tment t o q a t i o n a l 1)-rograms, r h a p s o d i z e d Aug.24 t h a t C l a r k ' s made h s r want t o "vote Tory."

The "new" p r e m i e r s , Mikc I l n r c o u r t , Roy Romanow & Bob Rae, t h e i n k s c a r c e l y d r y on t h e i r e l e c t i o n promises t e f i g h t ltLlie blulroney agenda," now s i n g with him i n e x a c t l y t h e same key a s B i l l Vanderzalm, Grant Devine 6 David P e t e r s o n b e f o r e them fi w i t h p r e c i s e l y t h e same l a c k of mandate from t h e e l e c t o r a t e t o mangle t h e Const.

Native l e a d e r s , who i n 1990 d e c l a r e d t h e y were opposing Meech Lake t o s a v e t h e c o u n t r y , have now emerged, r e i n c a r n a t e d a s salesmen ( E women) f o r Mulroney's demo l i t i o n o f Canada. They have r e c e i v e d l a r g e new powers f o r themselves, i n c l u d i n g a whole new l e v e l o f g o v ' t w i t h o u t a h i n t o f checks & b a l a n c e s , w i t h o u t any system o f a c c o u n t a b i l i t y t o r a n k - & f i l e N a t i v e s & w i t h t h e power t o o v e r r i d e t h e C h a r t e r o f R i g h t s i f & whenever o r d i n a r y A b o r i g i n a l p e o p l e q u e s t i o n t h i s new, Canadian version of apartheid.

Not bad f o r a few d a y s o f n u r t u r i n g !

In order t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e north-south bonds o f f r e e t r a d e , t h e s e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l changes w i l l weaken t h e e a s t - w e s t t i e s t h a t b i n d Canada.

E i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y Poland gave each n o b l e v e t o power o v e r d e c i s i o n s i n i t s p a r l i a m e n t . The r e s u l t i n g p a r a l y s i s l e d u l t i m a t e l y t o P o l a n d ' s a b s o r p t i o n by P r u s s i a , Russia 4 A u s t r i a .

Canada i s locked i n t o t h e economic embr a c e of t h e most powerful n a t i o n e v e r known. The l a s t t h i n g i t needs i s t h e d e s t r u c t i o n of its existing Constitution.

DROP OUT AND LEARN SOMETHING REAL +

STARTING THIS FALL IN THE CAIUB00

- HORSE LOGGING - LOG l3UXLDING - ANIMAL HUSBrnDRY

EXPERIENCE LIVING ON A RURAL, ORQANIC, COMMUNAL FARM

SELF-SUFFICIENT

PHONE CEEDS FOR INFOI 253-4718 ( V A N C O W E R ) OR 395-4195 (100 MILE HOUSE)

Reading & w r i t i n g , t h e n r e a d i n g more & w r i t i n g some more.. . a f t e r a w h i l e you s t a r t t o b e s e l e c t i v e . Some p e o p l e can p u t words t o g e t h e r i n ways t h a t make you s t o p , even i f j u s t f o r a few s e c o n d s , & . t h i n k . Something c l i c k s i n s i d e & you s a y ' y e a h . ' I t ' s more of a f e e l i n g t h a n a word..you know what I mean.

Anyway, I ' v e sometimes w r i t t e n some s t u f f down i n an o l d book, c o p i e d from a book o r j u s t remembered. What f o l l o w s is a c o l l a g e of t h i s s t u f f . . n o t a l l , b u t some t h a t may make you f e e l I y e a h 1 .

L e t ' s c a l l t h i s "Wisps of Wisdom".

..

" C u r i o s i t y , a d v e n t u r e . . . t h e augmentat i o n o f t h e c o m p l e x i t y & i n t e n s i t y of t h e f i e l d of i n t e l l i g e n t l i f e , c o n t i n u o u s l y e x t e n d i n g t h e e v o l u t i o n a r y tendency i n h e r e n t i n b e i n g . . o n e m a n i f e s t a t i o n (UKL) of which i s e x p l o r a t i o n .'I "The Moving F i n g e r writes, & h a v i n g w r i t Moves on. Nor a l l y o u r P i e t y n o r W i t S h a l l l u r e i t back t o c a n c e l h a l f a l i n e Nor a l l y o u r T e a r s wash o u t a word of i t "

"It makes sense that churches would work with the ACN or similar coalitions.... Both are non-aligned political actors....

Both are demanding greater justice in our society."

"The use of 'coalitions' to mask the crude self-interest of individual corporations has been largely 'successful."

"This i s b e n t

."

.....

a d e a d l y paradox.

Government c a n n o t b e r e l i g i o u s and s e l f a s s e r t i v e a t t h e same t i m e . R e l i g i o u s e x p e r i e n c e n e e d s a s p o n t a n e i t y which law i n e v i t a b l y s u p p r e s s e s . And you c a n n o t govern w i t h o u t laws.

Your l a w s must e v e n t u a l l y r e p l a c e morali t y , r e p l a c e c o n s c i e n c e , r e p l a c e even t h e r e l i g i o n by which you t h i n k t o govem. S a c r e d r i t u a l must s p r i n g from p r a i s e and h o l y y e a r n i n g s which hammer o u t a s i g n i f i c a n t m o r a l i t y . Government, on t h e o t h e r hand i s a . c u l t u r a l organism p a r t i c u l a r l y a t t r a c t i v e t o doubts, questi o n s and c o n t e n t i o n s . I t s , i r l h e r e n t - i d e a t i o n seeks t o replace f a i t h & morality w i t h ceremony & symbolism. T h i s produces a k i n d of r e l i g i o u s c i v i l s e r v a n t . ~ / h e S t a n d s l a p a r t from h i s r u l e r s . H i s gods a r e R o u t i n e & Records. He i s s e r v e d by computers & p r o d i g i o u s fi.1 i n g s y s t e m s .

Expediency is t h e f i r s t word i n h i s c a t echism, a l t h o u g h he gi-ves p r o p e r l i p s e r v i c e t o t h e p r e c e p t s of dogrna/human p o t e n t i a l . Machines can n o t be f a s h i o n e d i n t h e l i k e n e s s of a human mirid b u t Ile b e t r a y s by e v e r y a c t i o n t h a t h e p r e f e r s machines t o p e o p l e , s t a t i s t i c s t o i n d i v i d u a l s , t h e faraway g e n e r a l view t o t h e i n t i m a t e p e r s o n a l t o u c h r e q u i r i n g imagi(Herbert) n a t i o n and i n i t i a t i v e .'I

'!...a k i n d of f o r m l e s s , b i z a r r e d e s p a i r o v e r l a i d w i t h a v e n e e r of g l o s s y hope & good i n t e n t i o n s c o n c e a l i n g a power s t r u ggle-to-the-death coated with a quality of continual confusion..

."

" I f o n l y one p e r s o n f o l l o w s such guidi n g p r i n c i p l e s t h i s is a b e t t e r u n i v e r s e .

I t i s n e v e r a q u e s t i o n of j u s t i c e . J u s t i c e r e q u i r e s r e s o r t t o law and t h a t can b e a , f i c k l e m i s t r e s s , s u b j e c t always t o t h e whims & p r e j u d i c e s of t h o s e who adm i n i s t e r t h e laws. No, i t is a q u e s t i o n of f a i r n e s s , a c o n c e p t which goes much d e e p e r . The p e o p l e upon whom judgement i s p a s s e d must f e e l t h e f a i r n e s s of i t . I '

"We must develop an ideology, a zommon theme, that keeps us together. Given the general feeling that Ne are losing zontrol over our :ives and sommunities... it seems that a logical theme is that 3f democratizing Canadian society."

"What i s law? C o n t r o l ? Law f i l t e r s chao s , and what f i l t e r s t h r o u g h ? S e r e n i t y ?

Law o u r h i g h e s t i d e a l and o u r b a s e s t n a t u r e . Don't l o o k t o o c l o s e l y a t t h e law. Do, and y o u ' l l f i n d t h e r a t i o n a l i z ed i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s , t h e l e g a l c a u s i s t r y , t h e p r e c e d e n t s of c o n v e n i e n c e . Y o u ' l l f i n d t h e s e r e n i t y , which i s j u s t a n o t h e r word f o r d e a t h . " (Herbert)

-

"Most d i s c i p l i n e is h i d d e n d i s c i p l i n e , designed n o t t o l i b e r a t e but t o l i m i t .

Do n o t a s k Why? B e c a u t i o u s w i t h How? Why? l e a d s i n e x o r i b l y t o paradox. How? t r a p s you i n a u n i v e r s e of c a u s e and e f f e c t . Both deny t h e I n f i n i t e . " ther force quar

ter hardf'g

-

- you o r yours

"The S p i r i t i s more t h a n words, more t h a n law. The S p i r i t must always b e t h a t i n n e r outrage a g a i n s t t h e complacently p o w e r f u l , a g a i n s t t h e c h a r l a t a n s and t h e dogmatic f a n a t i c s . I t i s t h a t i n n e r .outr a g e which must have i t s s a y b e c a u s e t h e S p i r i t t e a c h e s u s one t h i n g above a l l o t h e r s : t h a t humans can o n l y e n d u r e i n a f r a t e r n i t y of s o c i a l j u s t i c e . ' '

"More and more social change groups are recognizing the need to go beyond changing governments. They aim to change the whole of society: the way power Is distributed, the social values, and the way people can take part in decisions that affect their "Once upon a t i m e , t h e r e were f o u r peop l e named Everybody, Somebody, Nobody & Anybody. When t h e r e was an i m p o r t a n t j o b t o b e done, Everybody t h o u g h t t h a t Somebody would do i t , Anybody c o u l d ' v e /done i t , b u t Nobody d i d i t .

When Nobody d i d i t , Everybody g o t a n g r y b e c a u s e i t was Everybody's j o b . Everybody t h o u g h t t h a t Somebody would do i t , b u t Nobody r e a l i s e d t h a t Nobody would.

So i t ended up t h a t Everybody blamrd Somebody when Nobody d i d what Anybody c o u l d have done i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e . "

l l ~ u c ht h a t i s c a l l e d r e l i g i o n c a r r i e s an u n c o n s c i o u s a t t i t u d e o f h o s t i l i t y t o wards l i f e . True r e l i g i o n , t r u e s p i r i t u al p r a c t i c e , must t e a c h t h a t l i f e i s f i l l e d w i t h j o y s p l e a s i n g t o t h e e y e of ~ o d ,t h a t knowledge w i t h o u t a c t i o n is empty. A l l p e o p l e must s e e t h a t t e a c h i n g r e l i g i o n by r u l e & r o t e is l a r g e l y a hoax. The p r o p e r t e a c h i n g is r e c o g n i s e d w i t h e a s e . You c a n know i t w i t h o u t f a i l b e c a u s e i t awakens w i t h i n you t h e s e n s a t i o n which t e l l s you t h f s i s s o r n e t l ~ i l ~ g you h a v e a l w a y s known

."

"It's not enough to just say, 'We're anti-racist' as some add-on to your politics."

"Good government n e v e r depe,lds on l a w s , b u t on t h e p e r s o n a l qua1 i t i e , of t h o s e who g o v e r n . The machinery of government is a l w a y s s u b o r d i n a t e t o t h e w i l l of t l t o s e who a d m i n i s t e r t h a t machinery. The most i m p o r t a n t e l e m e n t of government, t h e r e f o r e , i s t h e method o f c h o o s i n g l e a d e r s . I'

"To f a l l b e n e a t h t h e b e l o v e d n x r , t h e n t o h a v e t o j u s t i f y i t s wisdom. Rut. t h a t i s t h e p r i c e p a i d f o r e n t r u s t i n g a Godg i v e n s o u l t o human dogma."

(Sarkar) DOGMA: Bad t h e o r y p r e s e n t e d a s t r c t t h .

Dear P a u l , E n c l o s e d p l e a s e f i n d a copy o f o u r campaign l e a f l e t , M e 1 Lehan's biography & a f l y e r which h a s on t h e b a c k a n a r t i c l e r e p r i n t e d from t h e C o u r i e r . We a r e s e n d ing t h e Courier a r t i c l e because it outl i n e s b r i e f l y M e l t s background & Communit y i n v o l v e m e n t , which may b e of h e l p t o you f o r t h e C a r n e g i e N e w s l e t t e r a r t i c l e .

As you know, t h e B y - E l e c t i o n w i l l b e h e l d o n S a t u r d a y , S e p t e m b e r 1 9 , 1992 and was c a l l e d when C o u n c i l l o r B r u c e Yorke r e s i g n e d due t o i l l n e s s . A t a n o m i n a t i n g m e e t i n g h e l d on J u l y 1 5 , M e 1 Lehan was unanimously s e l e c t e d b y t h e COPE members h i p t o r e p l a c e B r u c e on C i t y C o u n c i l .

The September 19 B y - E l e c t i o n i s v e r y i m p o r t a n t . A l l 5 COPE s e a t s must b e r e t a i n ed s o t h a t we go f o r w a r d i n t o t h e 1993 election with a firm base f o r achieving a p r o g r e s s i v e m a j o r i t y on C i t y C o u n c i l t o a d d r e s s t h e n e e d s a n d c o n c e r n s of t h e p e o p l e o f Vancouver.

Thank you f o r y o u r o f f e r t o p r i n t t h e information i n t h e Carnegie Newsletter.

P l e a s e f e e l f r e e t o c o n t a c t e i t h e r of u s a t t h e COPE campaign o f f i c e ( 3 3 1 E.Broadway; 879-COPE) i f you r e q u i r e f u r t h e r i n formation.

Yours t r u l y , R o b e r t a McCann Richard .Saunders Co-Campaign Managers.

"You a r e n ' t t h i n k i n g o r r e a l - l y e x i s t i n g u n l e s s you a r e w i l l i n g t o r l s k e v e n y o u r own s a n i t y i n t h e judgement o f yollr existence. " (Herbert)

" S t a y i n g a l j v e o n l y h a s m e r i t i f one * n i~t w i t h d i g n i t y , w i t h p u r p o s e , w i t h : p o n s i b i l i t y t o o n e ' s f e l l o w humans.

I f t h e s e are a b s e n t t h e n l i v i n g i s a s l u g - l i k e t h i n g , more a m a t t e r of h a b i t I-itan w o r t h . W i t h w t c o u r a g e , Lhe p a i n w i l l d e s t r o y you." '

" W e b e l i e v e t h a t f r i e n d s can h a v e d i s a g r e e m e n t s , e v e n s e r i o u s o n e s , and still remain friends. W h a t i s important i s that t h e l i n e s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e m a i n t a i n e d . "

" I g n o r a n c e t h r i v e s on h y s t e r i a . T l ~ eund e s e r v i n g m a i n t a i n power by promot i n g h y s t e r i a . R e c o g n i s e t h a t humans a r e n o t created equal, t h a t they possess d i f f e r e n t i n h e r e n t a b i l i t i e s and e x p e r i e n c e d i f f e r e n t events i n t h e i r l i v e s . This p r o d u c e s p e o p l e of d i E f e r e n t a c c o m p l i s h ments and d i f f e r e n t worth."

P a u l ' s Law: You c a n ' t f a l l o f f t h e f l o o r .

"A game where one of t h e p i e c e s c a n ' t b e moved."

- excuses f o r e x t r a o r d i n a r y behaviour They want o u r w i l l l n g p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h e i r dream..

Test t h e l i m i t s !

Humans can b, l a n c e on s t r a n g e s u r f a c e s .

Get i n t u n e . . d o n l t t h i n k - Do it!"

some coalition

theory Soap boxes, megaphones, phone trees, leaqets, picket lines, press releases, postcards, theatre, roadblocks, occupations: the list of tools available to grassroots activists in their political workgoeson and o n

"At a n y g i v e n moment o f h i s t o r y i t i s t h e f u n c t i o n of a s s o c i a t i o n s of d e v o t e d i n d i v i d u a l s t o u n d e r t a k e t a s k s which c l e a r - s i g h t e d p e o p l e p e r c e i v e t o b e nece s s a r y , b u t which nobody e l s e i s w i l l i n g t o perform."

"We need to create a vision or 'paint a picture' of the kind of society we are aiming for---one which will incorporate the particular perspectives and contributions of as many different social movement groups as possible We cannot hope to create a comprehensive and just alternative if key sectors are excluded."

....

"If c e r t a i n preconditions a r e necessary 5or t h e u s e of magic, t h o s e p r e c o n d i t i o n s w i l l i n e v i t a b l y a r r a n g e t h e m s e l v e s . I'

The impact o f o u r l i v e s , y o u r s & m i n e , i s s o l e l y d e p e n d e n t on how a w a r e you & I a r e of t h e p r e s e n c e o f -

"Never f o 1 l . o ~a l e a d e r w i t h o u t a s k i n g y o u r own q u e s t i o n s . T h i s i s why m o r a l c o n d i t i o n i n g of t h e young t a k e s s u c h high p r i o r i t y .It

"What p a r t of NO d o n ' t you u n d e r s t a n d ? "

-

C H ' I ( C h i n e s e , c . 3 0 0 0 B.C.) PRAJNA (Hindu p h i l o s o p h e r , c.1500 BC) TELESMA ( T r i s r n e g i s t u s , c.350 BC) VIS MEDICATRIX NATUREA ( ~ i ~ p o c r a t e s ) FACULTAS FORMATRIX ( G a l e n , c . 170 A. D.) BARAKA ( S u f i s , c .600 AD) MUMIA ( P a r a c e l s u s , 1530 AD) ANIMAL MAGNETISM (Mesmer, 1775) LIFE FORCE ( G a l v a n i , 1790) GESTALTUNG ( G o e t h e , 1800) OD FORCE (Reichenbach , 1845) ETHERIC FORMATIVE FORCE ( S t e i n e r , 1900) ELAN VITAL ( B e r g s o n , 1920) MITOGENETIC RADIATION ( G u r w i t s c h , 1937) ORGONE ( R e i c h , 1940) , BIOPLASMA ( G r i s c h e n k o , 1944) P R A ' N ' A (Anandamurti, 1955) GOOD VIBES (some h i p p i e , 1962) INERGY ( P u h a r i c h , 1973) THE FORCE ( L u c a s , 1977) a s i n "May The F o r c e b e w i t h you." '

"lluman b e i n g s a r e n o t t h r o u g h e v o l v i n g .

And i f we a r e g o i n g t o s u r v i v e a s a s p e -

c i e s , w e ' r e g o i n g t o h a v e t o do t h i n g s t h a t a l l o w us t o keep evolving.

And t h a t ' s i t .

I t ' s a very simple statement."

J-

"At t h e w i l d r i s k of whimsically w i l l i n g a l i t t l e w i s p o f wisdom t o wing f o r t h : B A ' B A ' NAM KEVALAM - Love i s all t h e r e is"

The P i r a t e s Wear S u i t s

,

i,

piracy abounds i n t h e 1990's but t h e p i r a t e s wear $300 s u i t s . One group t h a t i s p i r a t i n g our community 4 waterfront i s t h e federal Port of Vancouver Corporation. ~ h o y ! But corporations d o n ' t c a r e what neighbourhoods think. The P o r t has refused t o provide pvoper 4 s a f e a c c e s s f o r people with d i s a b i l i t i e s , t h e e l d e r l y , & nearby daycares t o Crab c e n t r a l waterfront park. proper access i s a s t a i r / e l e v a t o r p e d e s t r i an overpass system a t Columbia S t r e e t .

Yo,walk t h e plank. The Port i s not going through a democratic process t o develop Burrard I n l e t . A 3-person panel replaces public hearing; i n s t e a d we g e t phony public r e l a t i o n meetings where t h e Port doesn't give a f i g what you say.

Over t h e gangplank matey. Ships ahoy. Yes we w i l 1 , i f t h e Port has i t s wat,see Crab Park become a "tourist-only" park.

K i m Campbell, MP, h a s n ' t answered a l e t t e r faxed t o her, asking t h a t she g e t involved & help t h e Downtown Eastside.

The key point - t h e c r u i s e s h i p p i e r s should go on t h e o t h e r s i d e of Canada Place Shiver me timbers 4 r a i s e t h e mainsail.

Welre being sold o u t , r i p p e d o f f & sold down the r i v e r . Where a r e t h e t r u l y independent environmental impact s t u d i e s on t h e s e Port p r o j e c t s ? Can't s e e them i n our telescope.

A convention c e n t r e , 2 c r u i s e s h i p ( 4 wars h i p ) p i e r s , a luxury h o t e l & o t h e r buildings w i l l make safe family programs impossible.

The sharks a r e c r u i s i n g . We have t o continue t o work t o speak t h e t r u t h 4 campaign f o r preserving neighb

I

z5'$ .

4'

a P r : # ei F3

'h33

+$ \C*5

' A C i v i c b y - e l e c t i o n . . y e a h , s o what?'

Most o f u s i n t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e l i k e it h e r e . I t ' s p r o b a b l y s c i e n t i f i c 4 a l l y e x p l a i n a b l e -"Humans l e a r n t o a d a p t t o whatever t h e r e i s t o adapt t o . " I t ' s a l s o been a h e l l o f a f i g h t t o have t h e v o i c e of p e o p l e h e r e h e a r d . . b y C i t y Counc i l . I t ' s t o Council t h a t t h e p e r s o n winn i n g t h i s e l e c t i o n w i l l go.

I t was C i t y Council t h a t had t o be s t o o d on i t s head t o g e t Carnegie from b e i n g t o r n down f o r a p a r k i n g l o t i n t h e l a t e 7 0 ' s ; who v o t e d t o i n s t a l l by-laws t o make a b s e n t e e l a n d l o r d s t r e a t t e n a n t s l i k e human b e i n g s & c l e a n , f i x windows, i n s t a l l s p r i n k l e r s , e t c . ; Council who had t o approve making 7 a c r e s o f w a t e r f r o n t l a n d i n t o a park..CRAB Park.

Right now t h e r e a r e 3 m e g a p r o j e c t s on 3 s i d e s o f o u r neighbourhood, p r o j e c t s t h a t w i l l change t h e l i v i n g s p a c e o f a l l o f u s . Without s t r o n g p e o p l e on Council a l o t o f s l e a z y s t u f f can be g o t t e n away w i t h by d e v e l o p e r s & t h e b i g money T h i r t e e n p e o p l e p a i d some f e e t o have t h e i r name on t h e b a l l o t . Eleven a r e n ' t going anywhere a s t h e NPA t r i e s t o buy y e t another election..TV/faked support..

Campbell, who a c t s as t h e mayor, & 5 o t h e r s now on Council c a l l t h e i r p a r t y t h e Non P a r t i s a n A s s o c i a t i o n .

How about t h e No P r i n c i p l e s A t a l l p a r t y ? ampbell & t h e NPA e n d o r s e t h e whacky "Exc u t i v e C i t y " i d e a f o r Vancouver. . s o i f o u t r e n o t an e x e c u t i v e you go somewhere l s e ? George P u i l , when Carnegie was w a i t ng t o be born, s a i d " P u t t i n g money i n a r n e g i e i s l i k e pouring it down r a t h o l e s I 1 . t h a t was 12 y e a r s ago, h e ' s s i n c e s a i d We have a moral o b l i g a t i o n t o s u p p o r t i t f 1 h i l e u s i n g h i s own t r a v e l companv t o pend p u b l i c money f o r h i s t r a v e l expense o Europe.. .Funny t h a t even w i t h h i s moral b l i g a t i o n h e h a s n e v e r come t o any p u b l i c e e t i n g s i n Carnegie.

Okay, enough about t h e nons.

Following i s a r e p r i n t of an a r t i c l e i n h e C o u r i e r about Me1 Lehan, COPE'S unanious c h o i c e a s t h e b e s t c a n d i d a t e .

T ' S ABOUT NEIGHBOURHOODS

I

Me1 Lehan e n v i s i o n s Vancouver a s a c i t y of neighbourhoods with c l e a r l i n e s o f communications with C i t y Hall.

The Committee o f P r o g r e s s i v e E l e c t o r s (COPE) b y e l e c t i o n c a n d i d a t e a l s o wants t o open more of t h e b u s i n e s s t a k i n g p l a c e i n C i t y Hall t o p u b l i c s c r u t i n y , with evening c o u n c i l meetings & fewer i s s u e s decided i n day-time committee meetings.

Lehan t a l k s e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y about commu n i t y empowerment with a c t i v e v o i c e s coming from a l l c i t y neighbourhoods.

"The reason I'm running with COPE i s because it s e e k s t o u n i t e n e i g h b o u r h o o d ~ , ~ he s a i d . "I spend my l i f e involved i n community a f f a i r s - t h e y ' r e v e r y important t o me."

COPE'S p l a t f o r m f o r t h e b y e l e c t i o n i s a u n i t e d c i t y comprised of d i s t i n c t neighbourhoods. A c i v i c NDP c a n d i d a t e i n t h e 1990 e l e c t i o n , Lehan s e e s a s e a t on Counc i l a s an e x t e n s i o n o f h i s community a c t i vism, not a s t e p toward p r o v i n c i a l o r federal office.

The 48-year o l d t e a c h e r h a s a long r e s ume'. Among t h e e n t r i e s i s membership of t h e Grandview-Woodlands Area Council and more r e c e n t l y t h e K i t s i l a n o C i t i z e n s Plann i n g Committee (KCPC).

He i s a l s o a p a r t - t i m e house husband, sharing the care of h i s three children with h i s wife. The f l e x i b i l i t y makes time f o r involvement i n community i s s u e s .

Democracy should be a bottom-up process, n o t something imposed from t h e t o p down, according t o Lehan. He advocates a c i t y wide plan, i d e n t i f y i n g what each neighbourhood needs s o r e s i d e n t s can g e t t o g e t h e r t o d i s c u s s how E where t o meet needs.

He a l s o i d e n t i f i e s more community power with more r e n t a l housing - space f o r famil i e s , s e n i o r s E s t u d e n t s who cannot a f f o r d t o buy homes. "COPE seeks t o c r e a t e a c i t y where a l l a r e welcome, n o t j u s t t h o s e who can a f f o r d t o buy houses E condos."

I1Local a r e a planning i s wonderful," he m a i n t a i n s , "but t h e way t h e NPA does it i s flawed. T h e i r way j u s t d o e s n ' t work." " I t ' s a v e r y c l e a r demarcation. COPE works with community, s e e k s t o u n i t e t h e

ommunity. The NPA seeks t o d i v i d e t h e comunity & d o e s n ' t work with i t . " Lehan a l s o s u p p o r t s a COPE p l a n t o i n t oduce a ward system f o r Vancouver e l e c t ons i f t h e p a r t y g a i n s a m a j o r i t y i n '93.

(By Anne McLaughlin)

Me1 ' s community involvement was i n h i g h s p i r i t when t h e demolitions were going on & a broad c o a l i t i o n fought back. H i s orga n i z i n g & commitment helped t o f i n a l l y g e t t h e d e s t r u c t i o n h a l t e d , i n s p i t e of Campbell's backroom d e a l s . Good work. .

Carnegie i s one o f t h e p o l l i n g s t a t i o n s on September 19; i n t h e T h e a t r e .

W H O CAN VOTE IN T H E BY-ELECTION? You can v o t e * I f you a r e a Canadian c i t i z e n and * I f you a r e 19 o r o l d e r on S e p t . 19.

You must a l s o *Have been a r e s i d e n t of Vancouver f o r 3 months 6 a r e s i d e n t o f BC f o r 6 months, own p r o p e r t y i n Vancouver.

or

HOW C A N I F I N D O U T I F I AM O N T H E VOTERS' LIST2 Phone t h e . C i t y C l e r k ' s o f f i c e - 873-7681

W H A T I F I'M N O T REGISTERED? You have t h e r i g h t t o v o t e i n t h e by-ele c t i o n , even i f y o u ' r e n o t on t h e v o t e r s ' l i s t . You can t a k e two p i e c e s of I D with you t o t h e p o l l i n g s t a t i o n (hydro, phone b i l l o r even l e t t e r with name 4 a d d r e s s ) .

Even i f you don' t have any ID, you can s t i l l v o t e i f you s i g n a i t n e s s e d form at t h e p o l l i n g s t a t i o n .

"We need Me1 Lehan on City Coimcil.

He'll work with COPE councillors Bruce Eriksen, Harry Rankin, Pat Wilson and me to ensure a strong voice for local communities.

I urge you to vote for Me1 on Saturday, September 19;

-Libby

Davies

I