September 15, 2019 Carnegie Newsletter

r

SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 FREE-Do

not pay for this paper.

~ carnnews@vcn.bc,ca 401 Main Street Vancouver Canada V6A 2T7 Email: carnnews@shaw.ca

(604) 665~2289

Website/Catalogue: carnegienewsletter.org

The 12th Annual Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show: The World As We Create Its}~] From September 13 to October 26,2019, Oppenheimer Park and Gallery Gachet are pleased to present The World As We Create It. Exploring the theme of humans and the natural world, the exhibition showcases artwork from the Oppenheimer Park community, including paintings, drawings, print, sculpture, mosaic and mixed media works.

Oppenheimer Park has a rich and colourful history as a place of recreation, celebration, activism, resistance, culture, healing, community and belonging. It is also one of few green spaces in the Downtown Eastside and one of the oldest surviving parks in the city. This year's exhibition reflects on our interactions with history, nature, place and space and how these narratives inform our worlds as we create them today. More than thirty artists' diverse and nuanced- interpretations will be featured in the show.

Several artworks will be available for sale. Proceeds from all sales will directly benefit the artists.

PROGRAMMING M~et The Artists Tour: Thursday, October 3, 6pm-8pm ~.~.!'.Acasual evening of art and conversation at Gallery Gachet, 9 W Hastings.

MORE INFORMATION For more information on exhibitions and all public programs at Gallery Gachet contact the Programming Manager at 604-687-2468, programming@gachet.

Q[g or visit www.gachet.org For more information on the 12th Annual Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show, please contact Oppenheimer Park at 604-253-8830 or oppenheimer. park@vancouv~r.ca

homeless or living without adequate and safe housing. The Park hosts many programs, festivals and special events, celebrating the leadership of a resolute community who uphold a vision of the Park as a place for art, education, recreation, health, community and healing.

Oppenheimer Park is situated on the unceded tradi- . tional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil- Waututh peoples.

Oppenheimer Park would like to give a special thanks to our funders, sponsors and partners. gallery gachet I 9 West Hastings, Vancouver 6046872468 I gachet.org I tue - sat 12.00 - 6.00 communications@gachet.org

City Beautiful The picture was already painted, framed, hung, well done!

The people, they were drawn by its captivating beauty, overwhelmed, you should of seen them, gunning to run, stumbling over themselves, grasping at their throats, filled with the horror of what they'd done.

Dillan N eal Kaufmann

ABOUT THE OPPENHEIMER PARK COMMUNITY ART SHOW The Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show began in 2008 in anticipation of the changes, challenges and loss in a pre-Olympic city. It presented an opportunity to recognize the existing neighbourhood and its residents who play important roles in creating community by drawing on their history despite challenges and struggles. Oppenheimer Park is often referred to as the "backyard" of the Downtown Eastside and is also one of the few inclusive spaces left for people who are

Jenny Kwan MP Vancouver Immigration,

East NDP Refugee

and Citizenship Critic 2572 E Hastings St Vancouver,

BC V5K IZ3

T: 604-775-5800 F: 604-775-5811

3

The solution to homelessness ....

tens of millions of the polluting items out. Any serious call for changing their methods or type of inThe solution to homelessness is affordable homes. dustrial practices is anathema to their perceived right This seems self-evident, with the key word being to make as much money as possible and to hell with 'affordable.' I'd heard of what seemed to be wildly anyone who gets in the way. exaggerated numbers from the States, where it is "2-3 Any analysis of current housing practices and develmillion homeless people" like an off-hand remark. I opment has to include the forces at work to keep prices googled California homeless count and got 130,000, high. These include all the push back by industry heads and the authors of the report claimed that number was on the political front to stop any and all government "one-quarter of the national total." Los Angeles has programs that actually provide affordable housing.

55,000 homeless people, split at 113sheltered and 2/3 The nearest neighbour to Vancouver in size and cliunsheltered. mate is Seattle. Right now, there are over 12,000 peoThe parallels with Vancouver are eerie. Statements ple living on the streets, in tents and some shelters. that homeless numbers increase as housing prices and Vancouver is not far behind. We have to learn and rents rise; that Republicans under Trump propose discern between 'standard practice' in letting the cordrastically shrinking or eliminating federal programs porate developers continue in their elitist ways and that keep the lowest-income people affordably housed provide actual solutions by building affordable houswhile Conservatives here under Harper stonewalled ing. I'll end this with a quote from the head of the Naevery housing proposal that impinged on the corpotional Low-Income Housing coalition: "The solution rate markets sole goal of maximizing profit. There is a to homelessness is affordable homes, not further crimidisgusting parallel between the American Department nalization, punishing poor people for their poverty, of Housing and Urban Development seeking to triple sweeping people experiencing homelessness into in"therents ofthe lowest-income subsidized residents creasingly unsafe areas, or warehousing people in unand raising rents for all others and the City Manager tenable and unsustainable conditions." of Vancouver refusing to renew land leases for co-ops unless they almost double rents - like punishing peoBy PAULR TAYLOR ple who have found a healthy alternative to the landlord/tenant paradigm. If the latter scenario plays out there will have to be mass evictions of people from subsidised and below-market housing.

In all the media releases and 'position papers' churned out by corporate and political public relations hacks, the flowery and general language is the same as that spewed by climate change deniers. The housing industry is glaring in the lack of building affordable homes. In Vancouver there are an estimated 13,000 condos sitting empty or not occupied by owners. This is how the system is set up. The fact of over 2200 homeless people and thousands more just one missed paycheque away from homelessness is emphatically not a concern for corporate developers wanting to build nothing but luxury condos.

A parallel with the deniers of climate change is when there is much media over focus on plastic straws or energy-inefficient lightbulbs. The message is that it is the consumer's fault for putting these items in the environment. It's then up to the consumer to not use a straw, to recycle or somehow not pollute.

The impetus behind this is that the public is being blamed while the manufacturers continue to pump

Haiku on Hastings: (Limited Series)

Unloading Negativity Today I'm gonna try and Unload a Backpack of Anger

The sky is falling I might be hit by a chunk Clarity comes quick

... that poison of anger that I still feel toward someone who hurt me yesterday! and I know that forgiveness does not say that what they did was okay it just says I can be free of that poison today.

Verbal abuse hurts I am wounded by your words Please choose carefully Death will come one day I suspect you won't have time Pack your shit tonight

If they sincerely apologize and face up to the wrong possibly there's a chance that we can renew a friendship lost but I don't want another deceptive cost so I'll wait awhile to see if trust can be renewed . . . for freeing my anger through forgiveness does not mean I wish to hang out with them again it just means I've let go • of the anger for life is too short to court negativity.

Vancouver is harsh Financial woes and stress rule This is not living It's a bumpy ride With all of life's twists and turns I may not make it Raise your glass for me Celebrate my love for life I am here no more Phaedra de la Nunez

ingag.

As for you my dear friends I place no blame The seats were there to be filled It was you who came

It's not easy to go through the times Of confusion and fear To finally arrive on a shore Of clarity and good cheer

No matter how long it takes I won't count the days There will never be a reason For you to avoid my gaze

I have nothing but affection You may not think so I know the position you are in It goes how it has to go

There will be yelling and struggles And even maybe some tears But your final question will be why Did this take all these years?

I think I will be remaining with you Right through to the end When the tree is in the valley It has no need to bend Jack Lazariuk

5

OECA

THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE CENTRE FOR THE ARTS

Downtown El1$tside Centre for the Arts www.dtescentrefortnearts.com 7 East Hastings St. Vancouver BC V6A 1M9

YOU'RE INVITED! to

•

The Grandmothers Speak Exhibit The Downtown Eastside Centre for the Arts is pleased to invite you to the opening reception of the "Grandmothers'Speak" exhibit which takes place on...

Wednesday September 18 2019 t

Join us for drumming, dancing as we share our new exhibit with the community.

Interurban Gallery East Hastings at carrell Doors at 6:30 Program 7:00

The Resource Fair is Free and Ev~ryone is Welcome!

WOMEN"S SELF-DEFENCE CLASSESare FREE! Tuesdays & Thursdays:

10am-12noon

at The Purple Door, 141 E Hastings

WOMEN'S BOXING CLASSESare FREE! (Gloves & Wraps provided)

••

Wednesdays:

10am-11am

at The Purple Door, 141 E Hastings

WOMEN'S FITNESS Mondays 1pm-4pm at Carnegie Community

Centre

7

(??JltcDPa Room 930, Confederation Ottawa, ON K1A OA6 Telrf€l: 613-992-6030 Fax/fete.::.: 613-995-7412

crtJ11..51l1110/ /CP 2572 East 'Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V5K 123 TeI;TeJ.: 604-775-5800 Fax[felec: 604-775-5811

Building HOUSE Of U)MMOSS CHAM8J\£· oss COMMVSU

CANADA

denrlp c;}(wan Member of Parliament for Vancouver East Deputee de Vancouver East August 27, 2019 The Honourable Jean- Yves Dudos Minister of Families, Children and Social Development House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A OAG

Open letter:

An Urgent Response to Housing and Homelessness

Crisis and Overdose

Crisis Is Needed

Minister Dudos: The situation for the over 2200 people who do not have a home in Vancouver is severe. Many people have no access to daytime shelter, and hundreds of people have no overnight shelter option and are forced to sleep on the street. The situation becomes even more ala;-ming when you consider that many ofthese individuals face serious health conditions, a mental illness or must manage a chronic disease; and are trying to survive with no income, or on a fixed income that does not meet basic daily needs like food and medicine. Some people who are trying to maintain family unity find that as a couple it can be even more difficult to access shelter that does not force them to separate. Those with children are not exempted from the impact of homelessness. I have met with people whose children are in the care because they are cannot secure safe, secure affordable housing. Even seniors can find themselves without a home. This is the kind of reality that hundreds of people in Vancouver East face every single day.

For some of the people, the dire situations of homelessness and insecure housing have led them to seek relative safety by residing in an encampment in Oppenheimer Park. For months, community members and volunteers have worked hard to provide some level of support to those at the encampment. With their best effort, people residing in the Park can access basic sanitation services, some food security, peer support, and a VCH-sanctioned, peer-run Overdose Prevention Site.

The people at the encampment now face an order of eviction from Oppenheimer Park. At the time of the Order, encampment residents and spokespeople estimated that there were approximately 300 people residing in the encampment.

With respect to the situation in Oppenheimer Park, it is so severe that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Housing, Leilani Farha, has taken notice, and is concerned that governments are not meeting their obligations under international human rights law in violating the right to housing.

While BC Housing has attempted to set aside units through a "unit freeze" on other buildings in order to house the people at Oppenheimer Park, what that means is that other people who are homeless and in need of housing are displaced. The community feels very strongly that making people in dire need feel that they are being pitted against each other is no solution.

There is an urgent, urgent need for additional affordable housing units. In 1993, the federal government's cancellation of the National Affordable Housing Program resulted in the loss of more than 500,000 units of affordable housing that would have otherwise been built by the non-profit and cooperative sectors. Having those units at that time, and building from that point moving forward would have put Canada in a dramatically different position today than we currently are. Equally important is the fact that there is a desperate need for government subsidies to ensure individuals and families are not paying over 30% of their total income for rent. In order to ensure that people are successful in their housing, support also needs to be made available to those individuals. Until all these are in place, further displacing people living on the streets from where they have found relative safety and support only increases their vulnerability and does nothing to address the homelessness problem in Vancouver.

Minister, I hope you will agree that each and every one of these individuals requires a safe place to call home. Yet, as I have raised with you and with those in your Cabinet, time and time again, much of the monies that are supposed to aid those without a home will not flow immediately. In fact, over 90% of the money first promised in 2017 for housing will not begin to flow unti I after this next federal election, and much of that not until after 2024. That is too long to wait. And worse, as noted by the Parliamentary Budget Officer, targeted assistance for those in the deep core of need and spending on Indigenous housing is actually reduced from that of the Harper Conservative years. I find this incredible and incompatible with the evidence of clear need in communities across the country, and mostly certainly in Vancouver East.

•

I further add that there is another serious crisis at hand which compounds the dire impact of lack of housing, and adds additional pressures in Vancouver East: the crisis of opioid overdose deaths and the scourge of fentanyl poisoning.

With regard to halting the opioid overdose crisis, I have called on the government to declare a National Health emergency ever since I have been elected as a Member of Parliament. As well, it is long past time to take on "Big Pharma" because the opioid overdose crisis is not limited to the DTES- as you know, it is affecting communities big and small all across the country. I believe that my constituents, and indeed all Cifnadians, deserve answers and accountability. Too many people have lost their lives. In the U.S., federal authorities have already secured criminal pleas and over $600 million in fines, damages, and other costs from Purdue Pharma for misbranding OxyContin with the intent to defraud and mislead; and, just yesterday, an Oklahoma judge ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for its role in that state's opioid crisis. That is why I stood in the House on November 29,2018, to call on your government to launch an investigation into the role drug companies may have played in fuelling the opioid crisis and seek meaningful compensation for the costs of addiction. This would be an important step to pressure the manufacturers to take responsibility for the lives that they have damaged.

During my time as MLA for Vancouver - Mount Pleasant in the late 1990s, the three levels of government came together to address the challenges faced by the people in the Downtown Eastside community. With each level of government in agreement to do what they could within their jurisdiction, the Vancouver Agreement was negotiated, which resulted in a number of then ground-

breaking measures, most notably the adoption of the "Four Pillars" approach which led to the development of the first supervised injection facility in North America.

We thought that things were bad then but today, we are in a situation that is even worse with illicit fentanyl causing at least four overdose deaths a day in British Columbia. As early as April 2016, the BC Public Health Officer declared a public health emergency due to the climbing number of overdose deaths. In comparison, in 2009, 428 people died of the H1N1 virus, and the government of the day declared a national health emergency. Today, with the opioid crisis, over 1,400 people are dying a year in this country, yet your government has not declared it a national health emergency.

We also still have an influx of deadly poisons being sold on the streets. People in my community are asking, when will the government respond to the call to prevent illicit, internationally traded deadly drugs from invading our communities in the most deadly way?

I am also mindful that the people who have borne the heaviest toll of all in this are Indigenous people.

As Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, has pointed out, "a disproportionately high number of the vulnerable [Oppenheimer] Park residents facing the loss of a safe and stable living situation are Indigenous. Any move to forcefully evict them is callous and insensitive to the mental health, addictions, and poverty that they are battling as a result of an ongoing colonial legacy of systemic discrimination and oppression." I share his concern, and the concern that continued inaction on the part of the federal government to act swiftly in accordance with the urgency of the need for housing violates "the basic rights of Indigenous peoples articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, as well as blatantly ignorers] the call for safe housing that is appropriate to the cultural and economic needs of Indigenous peoples set out in the National Inquiry's Calls for Justice."

m

Not only this, but Indigenous people have been grossly over-represented overdose events and deaths; according to the BC First Nations Health Authority, First Nations people are 5X more likely than non-First Nations to experience an overdose event, and 10% of all overdose deaths in BC involved First Nations peoples.

With these dire and life-threatening emergencies at hand, I believe that it's time to bring all three levels of government together for a renewed Vancouver Agreement. A comprehensive and coordinated strategy between all levels of government is needed more than ever. Just as we did then by incorporating leading initiatives from other jurisdictions, we need now to learn from the successes of the Portuguese model. The strategy must also recognize the need to address the issue of poverty and the social determinants of health.

As evidenced by the experiences of people at the encampment, there is a great need for low-barrier temporary shelter space; on-demand detox/treatment facilities, and access to other health and support services; second-stage and transition housing, and accessible permanent housing.

In the interim, our community urgently requires the federal government's support to secure housing now for those in need, while more permanent units are under construction.

I am calling on the Federal government to provide emergency funding to Vancouver so that additional modular housing units could be built to house those currently living in the encampment.

Canada must also ensure that all of these actions align with the rights outlined the Rights of Indigenous recommendations Indigenous

of the National

women

If our community

Peoples, and it is absolutely Inquiry's

crucial that government

in the UN Declaration

Calls To Justice to ensure a supported

and girls, and indeed for all Indigenous

on

act decisively on all and just future

for

people.

and indeed our society are not to fall ever further

behind, then the urgent housing

resources would arrive today.

The tools to act are in your hands.

I would close in saying that, in speaking with those who have sought shelter together

in the

encampment

include securing

adequate

at Oppenheimer

income, appropriate

services, and family

Park, many face multiple health care, adequate

reunification.

meeting these challenges begin, for individuals

Without

challenges.

nutritious

food, culturally

a safe, secure, affordable

can seem distant

and for the community

These challenges

appropriate

indeed. With a place to call home, the journey as a whole.

support

of healing can

Let us begin today and with the very basics: a

home for every one.

Sincerely,

Jenny Kwan MP for Vancouver

East

NDP Critic for Immigration,

Refugees and Citizenship

NO? Critic for Multiculturalism

cc:

Honourable

Francois-Philippe

Champagne,

Minister

and

and stable home, the hope of ever

of Infrastructure

and Communities

MP Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary secretarv to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Honourable Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Hon. Melanie Mark, MLA, Vancouver-Mount Pleasant Hon. Shane Simpson, MLA, Vancouver-Hastings Mayor Kennedy Stewart

jermy.Kwaneeparl.gc.ca JennyKwan.NDP.ca

/

CARNEGIE

COMMUNITY

ACTION

PROJECT

I :JJOm!JijH±~1TIJJ~~~~

NEWSLETTER

HEALING, WELLNESS, AND THE NEED FOR ETHICAL SERVICE PROVIDERS •

SEPTEM BER 2019

NUDGE BACK! CITY HALL VANCOUVER,

OCCUPATION OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2019

Less than three days later, BC Housing and Parks Board commissioners responded to requests to meet with residents. It was a victory of hearts and minds. Parks Board Commissioner Camil Dumont put up a motion to not seek an injunction. The motion passed, and we are thankful for the Parks Board's quick work and show of support.

People were shocked when the Parks Board posted a two-day notice to people living at the park, that asked them to vacate by August 21st. While some housing was provided, many people were still in the park after the deadline. At the end of the week, crews arrived to fence the park off after the end of the two-day notice. After meeting resistance, the crews then decided to put up pylons and residents started "!taking apart those pylons and putting them into the middle of the park.

On August 21st, organizers and residents held a Block Party and occupation of the park. The event gathered 140 people to take the intersection of Main and Hastings and gather at the park. The people shouted up at BC Housing, "we want to meet with your boss, let them knowl" 01

In response, Mayor Kennedy Stewart quickly asserted in a press release that he wanted to take jurisdiction of the park so he could give the remaining homeless a "nudge".

Last week, supporters set up a tent city outside City Hall in order to make the statement that we are not going away until we have permanent shelterrate housing in the DTES as well as the supports we need to enjoy a city which claims to be one of the most livable.

The media has been in a tug-of-war to represent the "facts" of Oppenheimer Park. Grassroots volunteers always routinely count higher numbers of people left homeless in the park.

Outreach workers were out of touch and ineffective at housing people who needed it the most. The "housing freeze" imposed by BC Housing meant that housing providers failed to house

or prioritize the most vulnerable in our community.

fully volunteer run OPS site, let us know at info@carnegieaction.org. Stay tuned.

If you wish to donate or volunteer either for Oppenheimer and/or at the 24-hour

Oppenheimer Park update by Elli Tay/or, CCAP Communications Assistant

RECAP: IJNUDGE BACK" All-DAY OCCUPATION AT CITY HAll Activists and Oppenheimer Park residents "nudged back" with an occupation of city hall grounds on Monday and Tuesday September 9th and 10th, in anticipation of a possible takeover bid by Mayor Kennedy Stewart.

The mayor claimed that Oppenheimer Park residents "need a nudge". Despite a statement by the Vancouver Park Board to the contrary, he's trying to get them to accept a takeover of Oppenheimer Park, and he's willing to go to the premier to get it.

Activists and residents "nudged back" against the hostile takeover bid and bullying tactics of City Hall with a tent city on unceded territory at City Hall.

Statement

from organizers:

We are here to remind the mayor, that the way to engage with people is through conversation and consultation, not through media statements, which is a passive aggressive and bullying tactic.

The Parks Board cannot cede authority of unceded land. Oppenheimer has 60%+ urban, non-status, Inuit, Metis and Indigenous residents.

Here is your "nudge back" to not press the province to take colonial control over OPP The Peoples' Park, like Unist'ot'en, Gustafson Lake, Oka, Standing Rock, Wounded Knee, Anita Place, Super-Intent City, Discontent City, la-Year Tent City, Sugar Mountain, and Namegans Nation an Indigenousled tent city, all taken down by brutal police/military force.

02

o VJ

Dear Mayor Stewart, Minister Selina Robinson, and Minister Jean-Yves Duclos: I am writing to you because our community in suffering for a homelessness crisis. There have been up to three hundred people every night encamped at Oppenheimer Park, in search of community, peer support, and relative safety together since August 2018. Urgent action is needed from all three levels of government.

In the 1990s, a formal partnership between all levels of government was established. This made-in-Vancouver approach required them to work collaboratively together to address the range of challenges faced by the community.

The Vancouver Agreement created economic opportunity, supported affordable housing, brought in measures to improve neighbourhood safety and security, and established health care solutions to meet the needs of the people where they are at. The Vancouver Agreement was, foundational to the establishment of Insite, NQrth America's first legally sanctioned safe-injection site, which has saved countless lives.

The Vancouver Agreement came to an end after a change in government, both federally and provincially. As such, many of the initiatives agreed upon were canceled. Since then, more than a decade of band-aid approaches have failed to adequately grapple with the arrival of a new and even more deadly overdose death epidemic and the homelessness crisis has grown exponentially.

Our cornrnunitv

is in desperate

need of", fi r]]

basis to overdose and to HIV and AIDS. Today, overdose deaths and poisoning from drugs tainted with fentanyl have taken the lives of thousands of people in BC, and many, many hundreds in the DTES. Every single person in this community has been touched by the loss of the lives of our friends, family, neighbours, and loved ones. The Province of BC has responded by declaring it a public health emergency since 2016. Yet the federal government has not stepped up to the table with the level of support needed to end this crisis. All options should be on the table to save lives. A comprehensive and coordinated strategy between all levels of government is needed more than ever. Just as governments and the community have done in past by incorporating leading initiatives from other jurisdictions, we need now to learn from the successes of the Portuguese model. We need expanded access to safe consumption and overdose prevention sites, safe supply, detox on demand, culturally appropriate supports and healing, and decriminalization.

I hope you will agree to be a true partner with our community in tackling the challenges we face. I anxiously await your response.

Sincerely, Name:

spectrum of housing, from low-barrier temporary' shelter space; on-demand detox/treatment facilities; supported housing; second-stage and transition housing, and accessible permanent housing. We urgently need the federal government to help secure housing now for those in need, while more permanent units are under construction.

The City of Vancouver and the Province through BC Housing secured approximately 100 rooms through a "room freeze" initiative for those in the encampment, however, I feel that this is not a real solution to the problem as we know others in need are displaced from those much needed units. Therefore, it is essential that new funding is provided to develop new housing.

I am therefore urgently calling on the Federal government to provide emergency funding to the Province of BC (BC Housing), and the City of Vancouver so that additional modular housing units could be built as an interim measure to house those currently living in the encampment.

For the long term, I call on all three levels of government to collaborate on a renewed Vancouver Agreement so that long term, sustainable solutions for our community could be realized. It must be recognized that in addition to the housing crisis, our community is also underseiged by the opioid crisis.

~

In the 1990s, people living in Vancouver and, especially, in the Downtown Eastside (DTES), faced a crisis as people lost their lives on a daily

Address:

Postal code:

Email address:

Phone number:

Cc:

City Council MyMLA MyMP

lIlT'S LIKE THE FIRST TIME I HAVE FAMI LY": PARK BOARD DECISION OPENS THE DOOR FOR OPPENHEIMER PARK RESIDENTS Now that a Park Board injunction is off the table, residents of Oppenheimer Park are calling for more housing and better supports.

"The VPD, Fire Department, City, BC Housing and Park Board will have to actually come to the table and talk about supports and allowances to keep people safe and warm. Come down here and listen to people say what makes them safe, make a list of what residents have said they would like and work with residents to make it happen:' says tent city organizer Chrissy Brett.

"They need to reach out to all the nations. We're over-represented [in the homeless population]. I can count

05

maybe 40 Nisga'a nation here - that's my nation:' organizer Erica Grant says.

Parks Board commissioners Stuart Mackinnon and Camil Dumont said their decision opens the door to further conversations with BC Housing and the City. "Getting to know you was an opportunity to shine a light, and that came from working with you people here. One of asks that we made is that the City engage with people here stop making decisions 'about' and start making decisions 'for':' says Camil Dumont.

"Since I'm here, it's like the first time I have family. We walk around and look after each other. There's a level of care here that you don't see on the streets.

Here there's barely any mess, barely any Oppenheimer Park is on the unceded garbage. The family level I've witnessed traditional territory of the Tsleilhere is greater than I've seen for half . Waututh, Musqueam and Squamish my life," says Brett, Oppenheimer Park First Nations, and has long been considered a safe haven, and hub, for resident. social justice.

HISTORICAL VANCOUVER CHAPTER 1: THE BALMORAL was immaculate, which is now beyond comprehension.

By the time it closed, the conditions were so bad inside the Balmoral that it was finally shut down by the city.

Organizers like Wendy Pederson and Jack Gates fought to help make sure those left without homes would be housed somewhere else.

The Hotel Balmoral is notorious now for the Sahotas mismanagement and horrifying conditions. The conditions of some SRO buildings would scare the living bee-jee-bee's out of anyone, from bedbugs everywhere, to no locks on the d~or, to conditions like a prison, to mold which causes severe and lifethreatening physical and mental health problems.

However, the Hotel Balmoral did not begin in the same manner. In fact, it was a place for society's wealthy. It was created for rich people who came to Vancouver. It catered to them and it's interior at the time it first opened

Many peopte were housed after the closure, but the conditions haunt many, including this writer. The Sahotas were fined $175,000 for so many fines and infractions that it was ridiculous.

Obviously, $175,000 is not even a pinch on the wrist, never mind a slap.

The Sahotas claimed 10.4 million in profit last year. It's horrifying. They own a mansion in Shaunessy worth $7,000,000. They made their money from exploiting the poor and vulnerable and are still largely hated and protested when seen at the Carnegie Community Centre accessing resources meant for the most vulnerable.

By Elli Tay/or, CCAP Communications Assistant 06

CARNEGIE

COMMUNITY

ACTION

PROJECT

111:15 AM EVERY

FRIDAY

The Carnegie Community Action Project is a project ofthe board of the Carnegie Community Centre Association. CCAP works mostly on housing, income, and land use issues in the Downtown Eastside (DTES),so that the area can remain a low income friendly community.

CCAP works with English-speaking and Chinese-speaking DTES residents in speaking out on their own behalffor the changes they would like to see in their neighbourhood. Join us on Fridays ll:l5 am in classroom 2 on the third floor of the Carnegie Centre for our weekly volunteer rneetinqsl Downtown Eastside residents who want to work on getting better housing and incomes and stopgentrification are welcome to attend.

Lunch is provided.

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J!~1~1&Am~&~~~tE~Alli rm5imm~~jH!I!~~~Iffl/J\m~*~ffeftir'B9~§, ¥:l$51\l,~,~~.lz:ftir'flt±~~#B97.HJfo ftir'WJm ~~~ ~rm5imB9A±*-~~~~J!t/J\m~o ~~~I1ttaftir'o 'J\m~~~ffl~:~IUi!i!iHT, ~~1~~ ffl~Jj~1l ~o chinatownconcerngroup@gmail.com 1chinatownconcerngroup.wordpress. com tJDjjUH±~~/l,\- 401 t-illi ~t-illiil~iL!I=11, 5N!~¥ ,~~~, V6A 2T7 tJD~* CONTACT

US:

Office: 2nd floor of the Carnegie, 401 Main Street, Vancouver Phone: 604-665-2105 Ernail: info@carnegieaction.org Website: www.carnegieaction.org

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Assembly of First Nations Cannabis Summit: Cannabis and Reconciliation

By FARM Cannabis Early September, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) organized the first-ever National Cannabis Summit on the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations (Vancouver). Delegates from across nations alongside cannabis professionals engaged over key issues including jurisdiction over sales and regulations, health impacts, social and economic development opportunities, and harm reduction potential.

When Canada's federal government was designing cannabis regulations, they ensured Indigenous groups were consulted in the process and they acknowledged the potential for cannabis to contribute to reconciliation efforts. However, as regulations came out, this sentiment fell flat. When deciding who would receive parts of the tax pie, provinces, municipalities and the federal government were given all the pieces. Nothing was allocated directly to Indigenous groups and no regulations provided autonomy with cannabis production or distribution to the territories governed by First Nations.

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Much of the discussion at the AFN revolved around this. Two divisive paths forward were revealed between attendees- both with valid reasoning. Some believe it's best to participate in regulations as they've been formed, such as by applying for growing or retail licenses as a means to offer investment or employment opportunities to Indigenous people. Others push for a sovereign approach- turning away from federal and provincial regulations in order to run their businesses as their unique communities decide, regardless of the risk of enforcement by the cannabis police.

An interesting development arose during this conference. Acknowledging strength in being united, numerous First Nations leaders and cannabis policy experts have joined to design a separate cannabis regulatory regime.

This is expected to be proposed to the federal government in the spring of2020. This proposal will outline the licensing, testing and taxing rules for First Nation territories, entirely separate from the exclusive and clumsy regulations the federal government has enacted.

Given that the current framework excludes or limits indigenous involvement, this new framework could really change things up in this industry. Ideally Ottawa will work with this group productively to honour the fact that cannabis provides a unique opportunity towards reconciliation.

We hope to see Indigenous-run producers and processors, growing on their land how they deem appropriate.

We hope to see retail businesses that offer employment opportunities with culturally-relevant operations. The potential to accumulate tax for cannabis education, economic stimulation, and even research on therapeutic or harm reduction potentials for cannabis is notable.

Here's to seeing the Indigenous voice carve out rightful space in this new industry! To share a sentiment from the AFN, if the government doesn't plan to hand out this power, it's time to take it.

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We're Stepping Up-Join

Us For a Day to Halt This Climate Crisis

by Naomi Klein, Nnimmo Bassey, Bill McKibben

On 20 September, at the request of the young people who have been staging school strikes around the world, we're walking out of our workplaces and homes to spend the day demanding action on the climate crisis, the greatest existential threat that all of us face. It's a one-day climate strike, if you will- and it will not be the last. This is going to be the beginning of a week of action all over the world. And we hope to make it a turning point in history.

We hope others will join us: that people will leave their offices, their farms, their factories; that candidates will step off the campaign trail and football stars will leave the pitch; that movie actors will scrub off their make up and teachers lay down their chalk; that cooks will close their restaurants and bring meals to protests; that pensioners too will break their daily routines and join together in sending the one message our leaders must hear: day by day, a business as usual approach is destroying the chance for a healthy, safe future on our planet.

We are well aware that, by itself, this strike and a week of international climate action won't change the course of events. The good news is that we have the technologies we need - the price of a solar panel has plunged 90% in the past decade. And we know the policies to make them work: all across the planet some version of a Green New Deal has been proposed, laws that would speedily replace fossil fuels with the power of sun and wind, along the way providing good jobs and stabilising strong local economies. We salute the people - many of them young - working hard to pass those measures against the entrenched opposition of the fossil fuel industry. The September day of global action is designed to support those people. We hope all kinds of environmental, public health, social justice and development groups will join in, but our greatest hope is simply to show that those working on this crisis have the backing of millions of human beings who harbour a growing dread about our environmental plight but who have so far stayed mostly on the sidelines. It may take a few attempts to get those kind of numbers in the streets, but we don't have too long: our window for effective climate ..; action is closing fast.

We know not everyone can join us. On a grossly unequal planet, some people literally can't do without a . single day's pay, or they work for bosses who would fire them if they 'dared try. And some jobs simply can't stop: emergency room doctors should keep at their tasks. But many of us can put off for 24 hours our usual day to day routine, confident it will be there when we return. We hope some people will spend the day in protest: against new pipelines, or the banks that fund them; against the oil companies and the politicians that spread their lies. We hope others will spend the day putting insulation in the walls of their neighbours' homes or building cycle paths. We hope everyone will take at least a few minutes in a city park or a farm field or on the roof of their apartment to simply soak in the beauty of the world it's our privilege to protect.

Obviously this is a lot to ask. A day in the life of the world is a big deal, and all of us are used to our routines. But we're ot comfortable letting schoolchildren carry all the weight here - they need our backing.

And disrupting our normal lives seems key - it's normal life that is doing us in, the fact that we rise each morning and do pretty much the same things we did the day before, even amid an unfolding crisis.

We are the people who happen to be alive at the moment when our choices will determine the future for tens of thousands of years: how high the seas will rise, how far the deserts will spread, how fast the forests will bum. Part of our work must be to protect theat future.

Margaret Atwood, Getievieve Azam, Tom Ballard, Fadel Barro, Nnimmo Bassey, May Boeve, Patrick Bond, Mike Brune, Nicola Bullard, Sharan Burrow, Valerie Cabanes, Rachel Carmona, Or Craig Challen, Noam Chomsky, Maxime Combes, Thomas Coutrot, CyrilOion, Tasneem Essop, Christiana Figueres, Prof Tim Flannery, Nancy Fraser, KC Golden, Tom BK Goldtooth, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Or John Hewson, John Holloway, Prof Les/ey Hughes, Tomes Insua, Satvir Kaur, Barbara Kingsolver, Winona LaOuke, Jenni Laiti, Bruno Latour, Annie Leonard, Michael Mann, Gina McCarthy, Heather McGhee, Luca Mercalli, Moema Miranda, Jennifer Morgan, Tadzio MOller, Kumi Naidoo, Mohamed Nasheed, Carlo Petrini, Or Anne Poelina, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Sarsgaard, Or Vandana Shiva, Rebecca Solnit, Gus Speth, Prof Will Steffen, Tom Steyer, Chris Taylor, Terry Tempest-Williams, Aurelie Ttouve, Farhana Yamin, Lennox Yearwood are signatories to this article

from "the Library The Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show opened a couple nights ago at Gallery Gachet. The theme this year is The World as We Create It, and it's showing until October 26th. It's too late to get something in the show this year, but maybe now's the time to brush up your art skills to have something ready for next year's show. We can help you with that - come in some time and check out our selection of art books Artist TooLbox: CoLoris a great, concise introduction to using colour in painting. Everything from how to combine colours, to understanding pigments. Useful for the beginning artist is a selection of demonstrations at the end of the book that anyone can follow along with.

If painting or sketching isn't your strong suit, you can always try your hand at photography (also useful for Hope in Shadows'). The Digital Photography Book ought to get you started in that regard. Much like the colour book, this one also includes 'Recipes' at the back of the book on how to get certain types of popular shots.

Maybe you've got the skills and equipment, but just need some inspiration. 50 Paintings You ShouLd Know oughta help in that department. It's got its limitations - it focuses exclusively on Western art up to the middle of the 20th Century - but it is a quick, concise way to gaze upon some fantastic art.

Or perhaps you want to try a video? The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo takes a deep dive into the life of the talented, enigmatic Mexican painter. Through extensive research, unearthing thousands of photos, rare movies, and other ephemera, filmmaker Amy Stechler does justice to the complexity of Kahlo's life and work.

Happy Reading and Viewing, Randy

Light in the Darkness: Stories about Community, Change and Hope Storytelling Drop-in Workshops (Fall, 2019) In preparation for the 2019 Heart of the City Festival a series of storytelling workshops are planned for the Carnegie Centre with the support of the Carnegie Learning Centre. Bring your stories and story ideas about communities, change and hope. You do not need to attend all the sessions, but you must attend at least one if you would like to participate in the festival storytelling event (date and time to be announced) Workshops will take place in Classroom #2 (Carnegie Centre 3rd Floor): Monday, September 16 (3:00 - 5:00) Tuesday, October 01 (1:00 - 3:00) Tuesday, October 08 (3 :00 - 5:00) Tuesday, October 29 (1 :00 - 3:00) Monday, November 04 (3:00 - 5:00)

Workshops will be facilitated by Jim Sands, an East Vancouver based storyteller, actor, songwriter, musician and occasional clown. For more information contact Lucy or Betsy at the Carnegie Learning Centre.

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

THIS NEWSLETIER 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.

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2019

In memory of Bud Osbom $5 Drew Craig H.-$500 Barry M.-$250 Laurie R.-$100 In memory of those who passed in 2018 -$10 Elaine V.-$100 Glenn B.-$250 Barbara L -$50 Laila B.-$100 Michele C-$100 Michael C-$100.Douglas Z.-$10 Penny G.-$10 Tom H.$80 Farmer Family Foundation Anonymous -$1000 Jacqueline G.-$1000

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Theatre -$750 The Farm -$100

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