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401 Main St, Vancouvtr

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JULY 15, 2007 - .

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carnnews@vcn. bc.ca www.carnnews.org

So much to do, that can be done, that has to be •. but you can't fall off the floor. PRT

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BC Progress Board: BC poverty 2nd highest

From the Vancouver Board ofTrade's website: "The BC Progress Board is a group of senior business and academic leaders mandated by the Premier 'to benchmark B.C.'s progress relative to other jurisdictions and provide government with strategic advice on ways to improve the perform­ance of the provincial economy and to improve social dimensions of provincial performance.'"

According to the Progress Board's 2007 report, . there are two academic leaders and 16 presidents,

owners, CEOs, and other business representatives . comprising the group. (pp.48-49)

In the report (p. 40), BC ranks 9th out of 10 provinces in "social condition." But this indicator is misleading, because it is a composite of five indicators: low income cut-offs, low birth rate, personal and property crime rate, income assist­ance, and long-term unemployment

The more accurate indicator to look at is strictly the low income cut-off (p.41 ). In 2005, BC ranked 9th out of 10 provinces with 17.3 per cent of families and unattached individuals having incomes below the after-tax low income cut-off level (Statistics Canada's LICO). Since the BC Liberals took power, it's been a back-and-forth fight between Quebec and BC for last two positions. This indicator was 2.1 percentage points (13.8%) above the Canadian average of 15.2 per cent. For the years 1996-2005, BC ranked 1oth out of 10 provinces in progress made .

BC's real average hourly earnings have been stagnant over the past 10 years. But Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per hour worked in the business sector has improved during the same time (p.57).

At the same time, BC ranked 2"d best of the provinces in terms of proportion of people receiving income assistance. In the 1996-2005 progress rank, it came first. Not surprisingly, these numbers dipped when the BC Liberals took power in 200 I .

Also unsurprisingly, the recommendations made to government to improve conditions for low­in~ome recipients are government (taxpayer) onented: lower the tax rate for low-income

· people; put ip place income supports for low­income workers. What was missing was any recommendation that put the onus on business to improve conditions, such as raise the minimum wage up to· at least poverty line levels ($10.+/hr. indexed to inflation). Certainly missing was to improve income assistance levels to liveable standards.

The Province was the only newspaper to relay the report's results. ("B.C.'s health, environment strong, but poverty high: Study," July 11 , The. Province) Both The Globe and Mail and The Vancouver Sun neglected to report on the study.

But all three newspapers overlooked a signifi­cant and pertinent press release from BC's Ministry ofFinanc~. As of this year's fiscal end, the BC government is running a surplus of $4.1 billion. In terms of relieving destitution, the government can't plead poverty (but it certainly can cause it).

Yes, times are good for BC's booming economy, but times aren't so good if you happen to be [economically] poor.

By Rolf Auer

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C.A.L.M. Community Advocates for Little Mountain

To City Council: We are in agreement with the Citywide Housing Coalition and numerous concerned citizens who assert that efforts to prevent displacements caus­ed by or exacerbated by these Olympic Games, as well as funds to end homelessness and create a positive legacy for Vancouver, are insufficient to achieve these goals or to fulfil promises made to

• • our ctttzens. In addition, we wish to point out a glaring omissi­

on: nowhere in these reports or recommendations do we read about the hundreds of affordable housing units that are being needlessly vacated, or of their occupants-seniors, disabled persons and working families with children-who are being needlessly displaced from Vancouver's Little Mountain Hous­ing in the run-up to these Olympic games. If these losses were included-as they should be-the recom­mendations would be even less acceptable. As a result of these displacements there are presently about 50 empty units, some of which contain three bedrooms, in the 224-unit complex. This is the equivalent of more than 1 0 buildings, occupying more than two entire city blocks. There is no acceptable reason why BC Housing should pressure tenants to move from their homes, their social supports, their neighbourhood, and in some cases . this city, as redevelopment of the 15-acre site will not likely begin for another three years, and there are already ample vacancies to redevelop in phases, which is the normal practice in Canada and in other democracies. . And yet, BC Housing has made it increasingly clear ·

that they intend to remove nearly 600 residents from their homes and eliminate this entire community in

hopes that this will bring a higher price for land thatS many years ago was given to the people of Canada expressly for the purpose of providing affordable housing. While redevelopment could result in up to 8 times the current density, the Province will not commit to any increase in the number of affordable units. They say they will use the proceeds to build affordable housing outside Vancouver where land is cheaper. But exploiting our public assets as a "cash cow" will only worsen the trend of stratifying Vancouver for the well-to-do--and the homeless.

With each passing week another senior or another family reluctantly leaves Little Mountain to occupy a unit for which someone else has long been waiting. There is no question that this is needlessly contributing to homelessness through a cascade effect; and is thus linked to these Games, which have greatly inflated the cost of land and cOD:s1n.mti~ these reports and recommendations is there no mention of the housing losses at Little Mountain? And why have you, the elected Council of the City ofVancouver, done nothing to advocate on behalf of your constituents, the Little Mountain tenants and their neighbours? Where is your voice when it comes to taking the Province to task for their callous actions and wasteful, exploitative approach to this redevelopment? That the harm done is not motivated by malice

does not excuse it in any way. It is time for Council to toss away the "shell" that conceals Little Mountain Housing, and as you consider the loss of 224 affordable homes remember that this number represents real households in real communities that support real human beings, many of whom are working hard to reconstruct their lives after having endured much suffering, in Canada or abroad.

Policies and practices of three levels of government have contributed to this housing and human crisis. We may not yet possess the tools or the will to shrink the real-estate bubble that is gobbling up our working families' incomes and inducing unsustaina­ble debt, but our governments and Vanoc have ample resources to burst this bubble and live up to the modest promises they made to our citizens and the world when we asked for these Games.

That is why we join our voices with those of the Citywide Housing Coalition and other concerned citizens in asking you to reject recommendations A and B (that investing in 3,000+ social housing units is a 20+ year proposal) which, though wellintention­ed, are nonetheless unacceptably inadequate and incomplete. Goals of Community Advocates for Little Mountain Housing Goal One -Stop the relocation process The current process is unacceptable to the tenants and the larger community. With little information or community consultation, BC Housing is pressing tenants individually to make decisions to relocate as soon as possible. Tenants must be allowed to remain in their units until:

• clear policies and full support for eventual relocation and return are assured

• a fair schedule and time 1 ine for relocation is in place

• plans for the redevelopment are in place • phased construction options are explored to

minimize disruption and dislocation • geotechnicall and/soi 1 stability assessments

are completed Goal Two - Start the community consultation BC Housing must provide full information to the

community regarding all aspects of the redevelopment. BC Housing, the Ministry of Housing and the Vancouver City Council must commit to a full, fair and open community consultation process that includes the community as an equal partner in all decisions affecting the fi<mliilllgm1erijuide the redevelopment with the community's vision The Riley Park/South Cambie Community Visions

document was approved by Vancouver City Council in November, 2005 after extensive community involvement. This document should guide the consultation process and the specifics of the redevelopment plans. We expect the support of City

= Achieve a mixed community and increase social housing A mix of market and social housing that includes suitable units for families, seniors, disabled and

. singles in both categories is required to build a viable and desirable community. Any redevelop­ment should also bring an increase in social housing in all categories. HOW TO CONTACT CALM: Phone: 604-773-0072 Website: http://www.my-calm.info/ E-Mail:

Have You Heard? Have you heard mans' prophecies of Doom? Watch out! Watch out it's coming soon Is this real or crazy fantasy? I wonder if I will ever be part of prophesy The whole world will come crashing down If I could tell you when would you play th clown? And don't you frown! On this forever living tragedy A vision so well-preserved for you and me

· Of scheming dreams and frightened screams Have you heard, have you heard, have you heard?

Well I've checked out some history Not much has changed from what I can see It's an open door to a nightmare where Someone's still suffering someone else's share And if we choose to live as One Why do we need to build a bigger gun Than the other one? I can't tell you what to believe I only know my heart cannot conceive How push and shove can conjure love ... Have you heard, have you heard, have you heard?

Where are we now? Who's running scared? Has the lion come to claim his share? Who is challenged by the lore of Mars? Whose blood's been spilled, fighting in wars? Billions of dreams, all gone in flames, Over n' over 'n over again, it's a vicious game Foretold before Christ drew his last breath So tell me, when there is nothing left, Who'll prophesize, who' 11 tell us lies Have you heard, have you heard, have you heard?

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give us your homes just one last time and we promise we will finally be satisfied.

we have a spot picked out for you and your family -it's nice! better than this rathole you love so much. you have ten hours to get out.

give us your homes the pain will fade in time and we will let you live in peace.* *(as long as you behave.)

that means no more acting up; no being desperate no being sick and absolutely no being angry. we don't like the way it makes us feel.

give us your homes just one last time.

Gena Thompson

Photo by Jackie Humber •

I am Sandra Stephenson, a Canadian poet of Irish descent. I invite you to check out a poetry site dedicated to observations and comments about peace and the problem of war. www.poetsagainstwar.ca is one year old. We post about 2 poems per week. All writers, experienced and inexperienced may submit poems to this site by clicking the "submit poem" button on the home page. Please check for spelling. . It usually takes about three weeks for a poem to

appear (longer in summer). Thank you. Nia:wen.

.S

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Business wants a free market except when it comes to wages David Green, Special to the Sun

Published: Monday, July 09, 2007

In November, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Dianne Finley announced a scheme to speed up the processing of temporary workers for Alberta and British Columbia. The minister appears to have been concerned with reports of large numbers of job vacancies going unfilled. In response, she pursued several initia-

. tives, with the key one being to establish province specific lists of "occupations under pressure" for Alberta and B.C. Employers who need to hire workers in occupations on their province's list, "may now be eligible to follow shorter, simpler and less costly advertising requirements to recruit the workers needed."

In essence, the time to check on whether there are Canadians who would take the job[ s] has been cut, reducing the overall processing time for a temporary worker application by two to four weeks. The underlying idea behind this policy is that

there is a potentially substantial problem for the functioning of the economy arising because of "labour scarcity," particularly in the two western­most provinces, and that the appropriate response is to bring in temporary workers to lessen the scarcity. But does this policy make good economic sense?

Both economies are booming and demand for goods and services is high. With only a certain amount of labour available in each province, there is strong pressure on wages to rise. At this point, Economics 1 0 1 tells us, the price mechanism kicks in. As wages rise, and with

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them the prices of goods and services, consumers will choose what they most want to consume, and the scarce labour resources will end up employed

-most in producing what is most demanded. In the lingo of economists, this is called achieving "allocative efficiency."

Perhaps the most important of the price signals being sent in these booming labour markets is the signal to young people on whether to get training and of what type. The special lists of occupations for B.C. and

Alberta are filled with trades occupations such as carpenters. Trades and business organizations lament the insufficient numbers of young people seeking trades training.

But, why would anyone expect them to select those occupations if the policy message we send is, "These are jobs with erratic demand. In bad times, you're on your own. In good times, we'll bring in temporary foreign competition to make sure your wages don't get too high."

Similarly, it is not clear why one would want to block wage adjustments that induce workers in parts of the country where demand is low to go where demand is high. A third type of adjustment induced by wage and price responses to increased demand for labour is

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in how firms produce goods and services. When labour is relatively expensive, firms find . .

ways to use capital instead. In a low-wage economy, such an invention would not pay --the work would be done by an army of low-paid ~sm important lesson when business inter­ests cry that the economy will face disaster if labour shortages are not fixed. Those cries sugg­est that the economy is like a simple machine that will grind to a halt if one cog is missing. In fact, the economy is more like an organic entity that adjusts to different conditions. An economy with relatively expensive labour will not stall; it will simply produce in different ways. That is the beauty and power of a market system.

Some businesses will argue that they cannot find · workers "at any wage." But they really mean, "at any wage near what they are used to paying" or

. Homelessness and the Olympics

, Where do we stand in the middle Is there a middle?

Can we have compassion and profit?

One clock to count gain, winners Another to show the cost.

Where is the middle? An action/reaction

Show us the way- the way to freedom for all.

Here we are today, 3 years away, What is the way: To Delay.

Make way for many so the few can suffer

Anne Kennedy

"at any wage that wouldn't require me to raise my 7 prices dramatically." A good example of this can . be found in a recent article in a national news­paper on responses to "labour shortages."

While the Wickinninish Inn, on Vancouver Island, argued it had to bring in temporary work­ers because of shortages, the Empress Hotel in Victoria stated that it did not face a hiring prob­lem because it simply paid higher wages. Again, it is the wage signals that come from this

competition for labour that cause consumers to adjust their demand according to their resources, that cause new workers to go where the jobs are, and that cause firms to make the right decisions about how to produce.

An irony of the current situation is that business groups often seem to argue that they want govern­ment out of their way to let them do what they do best in a free market economy. Yet what is being proposed is old-fashioned government meddling in markets. A final consideration is that the real average

weekly wage of a high school educated male starting a new job in 2005 was 25 per cent lower after adjusting for inflation than the wage for a similarly educated man in 1980.

Essentially, through several years of tight labour markets, workers with high school education have benefitted very little in terms of their wages. The minister seems intent on keeping their wages low.

David Green teaches economics at UBC . .. . .

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BANANA ON BLACK

The aura of light over the tip of the mountain Revealed the sharp top during the blackest night. As the moon rose the banana shape Rested on the tip, a sight to behold. But the world turns too fast, I lost that wondrous view, But will retain it in my mind forever.

Dora Sanders

Vancouver Moving Theatre & Carnegie Community Centre present

PREPARING AN ORIGINAL COMEDY with

Master Clown Gina Bastone

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MONDAY, 23 JULY 2007, 7 pm -Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main Street

FREE-ALL WELCOME

This lecture demonstration will include formula outlines for putting together an original script as · well as some mask and character demonstrations.

Gina Bastone is an award-winning perfonner who has toured internationally with her company BASTA! and Cirque du Soleil.

Gina Bastone is the only performer who has made me laugh so hard I thought I might actually loose my mind. Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight

Crab Park Canada Day Festival Crab Park rocked with three live music bands

and lots of free food- for about 400 people! News of "Site C" beside the park, for a White­

cap stadium megaproject was delivered by myself and Caryn Duncan of the Central Waterfront Coalition. Kelly White introduced the native

Public Workshop ON COMIC ACTING

with Master Clown· G. ·. :t..na B t

SATURDAy 28 JUL. y as one ' . 2007 2 4

Carnegie Theatre 40 I M .. ' - pm ADMJs,crro~'"' am Street

01~ 1v IS FREE

When p~esenting a comic ch . fu~y things, we say things ;;act~r, we don't say This workshop inCludes w nny . .

presenting the unexpected ~rk on ch~acter logic, characterization . cl . . ·. .. . ~ ocus sharmg, mask

Th · · ' own and melod · Is Is a worksh . ·. . . rama. · . . · op for both advanced

n~er actor$. ancl st~d~nt$. ,_ ·. and

VTES R ]~ ... ~· AUDITIONS

Actors, comic actors, comedians and musicians with Director and Master Clown Gina Bastone and Musical Director Ya-Wen V. Wang (tbc).

MONDAY, 30 JULY 2007, 7 - 9 pm Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main Street

This new ensemble production for 10 actor/ musi­cian/comedians will begin rehearsals in Septem­ber for a preview at the Heart of the City Festival 2007. Full production will take place March to · April 2008. Honourariums provided. For more info phone Savannah or Terry at 604-254-6911.

Drum group and Ian Robertson (chairperson of the Vancouver Park Board) carried greetings. "Site C" for a soccer/music/' other' stadium co~plex would have big negative impacts on our neighbourhood. We need a safe neighbourhood park, not a future "dead zone."

Don Larson

AUGUST 10

IN HONOUR OF HARRIET NAHAt.EE

(THITSPA7S)

G.tl,'"l. ~wA K'W'I\ K~' \vAl<W ~00~

DEC. 7, 1935- fEB. 24, 2007

MEMORIAL RALLY . FRI AUG 1 QTH ?PM · . * - . - . . .

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Claire Culhane Memorial Bench, Trout Lake, East Vancouver, SE corner of the lake, near the · snack bar. Rain or shine. SPEAKERS will include ex-prisoners and prisoners' rights activists.

Conservatives Threaten Public Safety with "Tough on Crime" Agenda- with NDP Support!

This spring, the ruling federal Conservatives have attempted to ram a bunch of "Tough on Crime" bills through parliament. By doing so, they have once again proved their short-sighted approach to governance and have actually threatened the public's safety instead of improv­ing it. And, shockingly, the NDP have supported the Conservatives' efforts at regressive reforms. There are several "Tough on Crime" Bills that

the Conservatives have been trying to get passed into law. Bill C-9 (which was passed into law on May 31 51 and will come into effect on Nov 31 51

)

reduces the use of conditional sentencing (com­munity supervision) and conditional release options (such as house arrest). Bill C-10 impos­es increased mandatory minimum prison sent­ences for firearms offences. This legislation would impose five-year minimums on first-time weapons offenders and seven years on repeat offenders. It is currently before the Senate. Bill C-27 broadens the scope of who is designated as a "Dangerous Offender," which automatically comes with an indeterminate (i.e. potentially never-ending) prison sentence. It also puts the onus on the person accused to somehow prove they are not dangerous in order to be released from prison, instead of the current obligation on the Crown to prove that someone is dangerous enough to warrant this designation. This bill passed second House of Commons reading on May 4, 2007 and has been referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. Bill C-35 would also put the onus on people trying to get bail for firearm-related offences to prove they aren't a risk to the public. Other proposed legislation would eliminate the right of federal prisoners to be released ~fte~ serving two-thirds of their sentence, .whtch ts geared towards gradually re-integrating prison­ers back into their communities. A handful of other regressive private member bills have also been introduced.

. The Conservatives say that they want to change

the law in order to increase public safety. But their proposed changes actually threaten the safety of all of us, and of marginalized people like aboriginal people in particular. For starters, Bill C-:9 (which has already become law) will result m more people being sent to prisons in-stead of serving out their sentences in the com­munity. Sending people to prison where their human rights and freedoms will be severely trampled on does not help them become better community members when released. Plus this new law will mean that the government ~ill have to spend a lot more money on prisons and the court system to accommodate ail the new trials and prison sentences. Low estimates sug­gest that thi~ might result in new spending of between $220 million and $240 million, and that 's just the cost of new Federal prison spaces. The real costs will likely be much higher. All of this money will have to be diverted from com­munities and important crime-prevention pillars like social services, education, and health care. Which will only result in - you guessed it­higher crime rates and decreased safety and quality of life for all of us. Bill C-lO's increased mandatory minimum

prison sentences will also mean more money routed away from the community. This law would also eliminate a Judge's discretion or ability to consider the context of a crime. In my work with criminalized women and girls, I have seen lots of examples of people who participate in robberies or home invasions out of sheer desperation because they live in dire circumstan­ces and face huge injustices every day. Sending people in circumstances like that to prison for a minimum of 5 years will do nothing to fix the conditions that resulted in their situation in the first place. And there's absolutely no evidence that having mandatory minimum sentences in place does anything to deter crime, either. · Bills C-27 and C-35 are also going to mean .

increased spending on the court system for more :· and lengthier trials. Again, more money diverted .

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from the community. But the even more sinister thing about these two bills is the justice system's long history of equating how oppressed a person is with how "dangerous" they are. For example, if you come from a family that struggled with poverty and violence, or say from a community that struggles with these problems due to years and years of colonialist injustices (like a First Nations reserve, say), and have probably faced

·discrimination in employment and housing because of your race, class or disability, and then if you maybe not surprisingly started using drugs or alcohol to cope with all this injustice, and as a result of evaporating social supports have found yourself involved in a violent altercation or two, well according to these proposed laws none of that social context or history matters at all. You're just a "dangerous individual," and you're going to have a hard time proving you're not. So predictably, all of these proposed changes to the law will come down hardest on our most marginalized com­munity members, who of course are already disproportionately locked up in our prisons anyway. In places like Australia and the United States, where they already have a number of mandatory minimum prison sentence laws, research has found that marginalized folks ­women, racialized people, and people with dis­abilities of all sorts - are the ones targeted by these laws. This doesn' t bode well for Canada, a country that has already been criticized by the United Nations Human Rights Committee and our own Canadian Human Rights Commission for our sexist, racist, and discriminatory prison system.

Many of us have been shocked and appalled at the NDP's support of Bill C-9 and C-10, which has allowed both bills to move forward to the Senate. While the NDP has lobbied for changes to these bills which have made them slightly less regressive, their overall support of the Conserva­tives' "Tough on Crime" agenda is surprising and alarming, coming as it does from a party that purports to take account of social injustices and support communities. One can only specu­late about why the NDP has chosen this route, but for those of us who have supported this party it's time we held them accountable. Parliament is currently on summer break, so efforts to pass the remaining bills are on hold until the fall. This means that there is time for action.

-What Can YOU Do? Get informed - check out more info on the pro­posed changes at www.justicelawscoalition.ca; and www.prisonjustice.ca (see "Call to Action" under Upcoming Events and Announcements) Call or write to your Member of Parliament and let them know that you do not support these bills, and you do not want them to support them

· either (you can find out who your Member of ~arliament is by visiting www.prisonjustice.ca. If you live in the downtown eastside, your Member of Parliament is Libby Davies (NDP), Ph: 604 775 5800, E-mail: daviel@parl.gc.ca) Contact Senators and let them know that you don't support Bill CIO, ask them to consider the recommendations made by CCJA, CBA, JHSC and CAEFS/NW AC, ask them to reject this bill (you can find a link to senators' contact info, and sample letters, at www.prisonjustice.ca) Add your name & the name of your organization to the Members of Parliament survey at www.prisonjustice.ca or sign the petition at www.justicelawscoaltion.ca Supply us with a statement from your organization that can be incorporated into a press release. For info contact jointeffort@prisonjustice.ca, Ph: 604-682-3269 x3019

Also, join us at this summer's Prison Justice Day events and rally: *Listen to Stark Raven on Co-op radio 102.7fm MON AUG 6th 7 -8pm- PJ Day Special MON AUG 13th 7-8pm- Highlights of and from the Vancouver Prison Justice Day Rally *Film night on THURSDAY AUG 9th, 7pm Stark Raven presents a film night at Rhizome

Your Beauty

Your beauty shines as we walk the path together you lead· you walk alongside you follow my every move My gaze is only on you in your presence I am under your spell you touch my very soul you have me in the palm of your hands you cause me to fear you but I only want to dance with you many a time I am chilled by you for centuries humanity has experienced you many a love and war was at your hand I love, hate and fear you but you light up my world "behold your beauty and awesome wonderll

In friendship, Stephen Lytton

Cafe, Broadway & Kingsway, East Vancouver *Attend the Prison Justice Day Memorial Rally on FRIDAY AUG lOth, 7pm Rain or shine Gather at the Claire Culhane Memorial Bench in Trout Lake Park. The bench is located on the SE comer of the lake. Speakers will include ex­prisoners and prisoners' rights activists, some of whom will speak about the Conservative's proposed changes to the law.

BC Housing posted a notice in our lobby ...•.. 11Since Sunset Towers is no longer "seniors housing11 but rather a BC housing adult b ' ld' " m mg .....

·=' The new Canadian Mental Health Association '\

r~-· program will be run by a new worker; because of this the 10 year program with a Westend seniors network is discontinued. Sam Rainboth, communication manager at BC Housing denied last year that this was happening in a communication to a WestEnder reporter. Seniors housing was built by the feds; what right

does the BC govt have to do this to seniors???? Instead of building more homes for the hard to house with all the money they have .. ·homes with resources and services and security ect... Everyone needs a home why take ours ... ?

There has been no community consultation. Libby Davies and Jenny K wan have looked into this, as has Jack Layton. At least now it's out in the open. No more lies.

Sheila Baxter

Treaty Process Extinguishes Indian Nationality

The government of Canada is violating a human right that is upheld by Article 15 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: it is, in a treaty process circumscribed by the Comprehensive Land Claims Policy, arbitrarily depriving native people of their Indian nationality. Before European contact, separate tribal nations

did exist in the area now occupied by Canada From that time, tribal nations have been unified by common oppression into a single national en­tity: a native internal colony. Indian, therefore, is not only an identity but also a nationality. In the Canadian government's treaty process, In­

dian tribes are required to (1) renounce their na­tionality as defined by the Indian Act, (2) cede all rights as aboriginal people including that to land and (3) incorporate into the Canadian settler-state as municipalities with "first nation" governance. Apologists of government's treaty process argue

that the agreements of the treaty process are valid because they are arrived at bilaterally and volun­~ly. Not so. (I) In Canada's treaty process, In­dian leaders and negotiators are, in effect, paid by the Canadian government. This arrangement be­tween two opposed national entities is not bilat­eral but conspiratorial and fraudulent. (2) Treaty disbursements are in fact the normal expectations of underprivileged people in a rich and just coun­try. These disbursements represent necessities of life that are being purposely withheld as a means of coercing Indian tribes into the treaty process. The Canadian government's policy of extinguish-ing Indian nationality proceeds from the necessity to provide (in government terms) "certainty" for "investors." In other words, government at the behest of the banks and corporations is, in its treaty process, effecting a political final solution against Indian people.

Indian nationalism (not the tribalism inherent in the first nation concept) is necessary because Canada will always view Indians as third world people and deal with them offensively. It is only w~th a people's Canada, i.e., one not subject to the banks and corporations, that Indians will be able to negotiate terms for their self-determination. Until then, Indian people must create an inde­pendent resistance movement to oppose govern­ment's anti-Indian policies.

Ray Bobb. Vancouver. 2007

Reasons My reason for trying Is not giving up Loving myself Get off my pissy Self-pity If I don't succeed I sure try my best Even·if it is average Our life is too short So, all praise oneself, One day at a time Most of all love everything It may be hard Always push ahead

• Enjoy life in all endeavours

All my relations, Bonnie Stevens

William's Road ("They// steal the very teeth out · of your mouth as you walk through the streets" -Arabim) Secure in the knowledge that time has no rewards

one must only open his eyes to see further down the road. I wish I were there in simpler times with doors unlocked, roads unblocked; people took pride in their time and it showed. No epidemic of courage was needed as I slowly began to weed out the ones who would be my friends. I think quite often tat some of the choices I made were right, though most were not. Isn' t it funny how I glimpse familiar faces in boxes on newspapers exclaiming "Not Caught!" The future is the most prolific serial killer, or so I read somewhere. It can promise you the world and more. What you do really does affect us all; but we' ve heard this before, beneath the front­page of your morning paper it starts to chillingly make sense. The sadness of our laws are part of the cause but cause without concern equals concern without a cause. Nothing shakes off laughter faster than a futuristic blast. When the knowledge of defeat won't stop

running down our face, go out and have a healthy walk and try to remember the fun you were used to; by now I fear the next generation or the one after that may be the last so Please take that monumental walk!

Robert McGillivray

Hi Sheila, Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you. And yes of course I do want to be kept informed on what is happening at Sunset

Towers. I did finally speak to Diane Thorne the NDP Provincial housing critic. Her concern is that this policy change will affect all seniors buildings under BC housing management, but she too has been unable to get more from the provincial government than vague statements of "policy." I have asked Libby's office to assist in identifying who we need to speak to in the federal govern­ment about this, but it seems that no one at the federal level wants to take any responsibility since the transfer.

As a result of my conversation with Diane I've now read the transfer agreement and the BC Housing policy but neither is very helpful specifically on this question of re-designating buildings.

Letter to BC Housing CEO: Shayne Ramsay, Chief Executive Officer

Dear Mr. Ramsay, I am writing to inquire about the change of status

of Sunset Towers from "seniors housing" to an "adult building." Last year when inquiries were made a BC Housing spokesperson assured a reporter from the Westender that no such change had been or was being made. Now I have in my possession a copy of a notice posted in the building ~hich clearly states this change of status has taken place. It also notes the end of the Westend Seniors Network STAR contract which has been staffed by gerontologists and the replacement of that contract with one with the Canadian Mental Health Association. My concerns are three. One is the lack of

consultation with or consideration shown to the residents of Sunset Towers. This is, after all, a change in their home environment. The residents need to have a say in decisions affecting their homes. My second concern is the robbing "Peter to pay

Paul" approach adopted by BC Housing. Yes, we all acknowledge there is a housing crisis in Vanc­ouver, one which is especially acute for the so­called "hard to house." The solution to that crisis is acquiring or building m~re units of supportive housing, not the re-designation of existing units. Affordable housing for seniors in the West End is also at a crisis point. Many who have lived in the neighbourhood for years and would like to stay here are being forced out because of the lack of affordable housing for seniors. This is where their social networks are. This is where their support services are. Again simply put, Sunset Towers and the West End are their home.

My third concern is whether BC Housing has broken the 2006 agreement with the federal government about maintaining the supply of seniors housing when Sunset Towers was transferred to BC Housing. I am continuing to make further enquiries on this question at the federal level. However it would seem that this change of status of Sunset Towers certainly violates the spirit of commitments undertaken at that time if not the letter of any agreement signed as part of transfer. We need to maintain Sunset Towers as affordable

seniors housing. This will be good for seniors and it will help maintain a diverse community here in the West End. Now that it is clear that a policy change has been made, it would seem appropriate to ask that that decision be reconsidered. The residents of the building must be the first consulted as part of the process re­establishing Sunset Towers as a seniors building.

I look forward to hearing what action you are taking to meet the concerns of the residents of Sunset Towers and the broader West End community.

Yours sincerely, Randall Garrison, NDP Federal Candidate

Vancouver Centre #107- 1279 Nicola Street Vancouver, B.C. V6G 2E8

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE RALLY AGAINST INFRINGEMENT OF OUR HUMAN RIGHTS

Indigenous Action Movement and community members held a symbolic_gathering of people at Canada Place on Friday, June 6 in solidarity with those who have been harmed at the hands of the police or rcmp.

We want society to know that we, as the indigo­enous people of this land, understand our human rights and WE WILL take a stand, as is also our right when there is an injustice against one us. RCMP and the Police need to be taught that they cannot simply get away with abusing our people the indigenous people of this land. They should' not be allowed to investigate themselves as this often leads to a slap on the wrist.

Each rally against injustice towards the Indigen­ous People of this land, original owners of this territory, will be held at prominent locations vital to "b.c." tourism up to and including the 20 I 0 Olympics and immigration offices.

We must always take a stand against on-going racist treatment at the hands of the government, RCMP and the police.

Most media find it easier to not investigate further but support the government run media Liason/Public Relations/Media Spindoctors slant in favour of the abusers- using such descriptives to curry public outcry as: "hostile crowd" "native incident" "fearful officers"

Kat Norris Coast Salish member

Indigenous Action Movement

My Grandfather

I like my grandfather. He is never in a hurry. He takes time to be himself. He gives me time to be myself. His clock is the tide.

My grandfather is quiet. He listens when there is nothing to hear. He looks when there is nothing to see.

We sit together in silence, sharing each other's company.

My grandfather does not fight me with words. He does not ask many questions. He does not demand many answers. He speaks softly, but I never forget what he says.

When my grandfather talks to me, all of him is there. There is not some part of him which is somewhere else.

My grandfather respects my life. He lets me make my own mistakes. He waits for me as a mountain waits for the deer to graze upon its meadows in the early morning.

My grandfather is patient. He is not afraid. That which he has done has been well done, and therefore done forever.

With wisdom as an aged tree, he waits in quiet dignity in silence and serenity for an old friend.

Sandy Cameron

Ne ws from the Library

Summer Reading Club .... carnegie's Summer Reading Club runs from July -' to August 12. Each week there are prizes to be won, games to play and books to read. And if you ~orne ~losest to guessing the number of jellybeans 111 the Jar above the front desk, you' ll win the jar, jellybeans and all! Remember to fill out an entry form each week for your chance to win prizes. What prizes, I hear you ask? Well, books, obvi­ously, but also Vancouver Canadians baseball tickets, 7-eleven coupons and

New Books Poets & performance word artists everywhere

should check out the Hip-Hop Rhyming Dictionary (781 .57). The book includes more than 40,000 rhymes including slang and hip-hop terms. It helps you rhyme corny with horny, adolescence with obsolescence and (my favourite) Rastafarian with librarian.

Anna Politkovskaya was one of Russia's leading radical journalists, known internationally as a fearless reporter on the Chechen wars. She was found shot dead on Saturday, 7 October 2006 in the elevator of her apartment block in central Moscow. Politkovskaya's friends and supporters believe that the murder was a contract killing. In 2004, she wrote Putin 's Russia (947.08), an appraisal ofthe policies ofRussia's head of state, who she describes as " a power-hungry product of his own history [as head of the KGB] and so unable to prevent himself from stifling civi l liberties at every turn."

In Healing Your Fami(v History (158.24 ), Rebecca Linder Hintze looks at how families'

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belief systems hold back their individual members. Linder Hintze claims that this book helps people to understand how family paradigms hold people bac~ and how they can heal these blocks and move forward.

Continuing the splendid glut of political garden-

ing books we've j ust bought is Steve Solomon's Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times (635). The book shows how growing foo~ locally, using less intensive methods, is environmentally more sustainable in terms of water consumption, gardening without chemicals and soil ferti lity. The prize for this week's tackiest book goes to

Karl Shaw's 5 People Who Died During Sex and 100 (}_ther Terribly Tasteless Lists (031 ). Strange facts mclude: Honore de Balzac died in 1850 from caffeine poisoning after regularly drinking ab~ut fifty. cups of black coffee per day; Jonathan Swtft wrote a treatise on excrement in 1733 titles Human Ordure under the pen name Dr. Shit.

Beth, your librarian.

Editor Last issue's article by B.S. on Freedom of Speech leaves a lot to be desired. Mr. S. seems to be glossing over a lot of material and wants all the bad things to go away. The Carnegie Newsletter has always been a vehicle to harangue certain people, as long as they are the "right" kind of people to put down. Politician promise-breakers and capitalists are never free from severe attack from writers in the Carnegie Newsletter. Not mentioning any names, as B. suggests, this article seems to be more of a follow-up on B.'s own attack on W.B.S. whom he loudly called "The Tattle Tale Queen of the Carnegie." Oops. I guess it's not libel if it's verbal. Although I 'm all for respect, it seems that the reason issues such as the blog even come up, is that people feel they are not being listened to when they bring up the fact that they have been hurt at Carnegie Center. I think staff should definitely look into these problems. In this case the problems have not gone away, but gone underground and have morphed into this organ that now is causing real problems for them. If situations are not resolved then people begin to complain to each other and resentment may grow which is exactly what seems to have happened. ' Some feel uncomfortable coming to the centre, not because of anything they have done, but because certain people can get away without abiding by the rules of decency posted near the patio. Rudolf

'. '

Dear Folk, Did you ever wonder what a fat person feels like, their emotions, feelings, their place in society? well i tell you, i have been over weight since childhood, and everytime i decide to do some­thing about being over weight something drastic happens in my life to put it on the back burner, like a couple of months ago, i joined the Sun Run, : did the Sun Run, then i promised myself that i would walk every day. all of a sudden one day i couldn't get out of bed, i had weaknesses, dizziness, and vomiting, i went to the doctor, took all sorts of tests, she tells me i have a great big cist on my pancreas and that it was filled with blood, more tests will need to be done. And another thing she says, your iron is extremely low, at a dangerous low she says. she sends me to the drug store to get a prescription filled for iron and tells me to come right back, so

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she could inject me with iron, and then come back: every other day for another injection. too weak to

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walk from my bed to the bathroom, how am i going to walk four kilometers every day to lose weight???? i have no real choice right now, but to live with it, sometimes, i wonder, what it would be like to be skinny, to feel love, real love, and no i am not talking about sex.

i am talking about how fat people are always rejected, overlooked, and invisible to the world. When we get on a transit bus, we are afraid to sit down beside someone for fear we might not fit and be ridiculed. i remember when i was seven or eight years old, the teacher, Ms Tulley brought in a weight scale, and said class today we are all going to get weighed, i was terrified, because i knew i was the biggest kid in class, she made me and the smallest kid in class get on the weight scale at the very end, every kid then weighed in at seventy pounds, give or take two pounds, i weighed in at a whooping one hundred pounds, the teacher told every one to laugh and call me tubbo, then there was tony, the smallest kid in class, he weighed forty pounds.

I and Tony were ridiculed all during the school year, when the kids would see me, they made snorting sounds, jesters as if a really fat person was walking down the hall, they spat on me, called me names, and did the same to Tony. I think at that time, Tony felt my pain, because he put his little arms around me, and told me that it was O.K. because he was my friend. and he hung around with me every day after that. to tell you the truth, this is not what my plan was to write to you about, i didn't even remember this happened to me until i started writing, but i do remember talking to my mentor about it some years earlier. I wonder where miss Tully is today, how her life turned out, what has she accomplished in life, I must say that i forgive her for the things she has done to children in the school, because i was not the only one, she degraded many, some for being poor, some for having red hair, some i remember for having pretty eyes, and some for glasses. That brings me back to being fat: is it genetic? i think so. My momma was fat, my daddy was fat. Sometimes i feel like another person trapped inside, vulnerable and overwhelmed by the fat person, and therefore the skinny person inside is over powered to the point where she can't be ft'Somldimes feel like every extra pound i carry, is unforgiveness and layers of blankets, if only i

· could find the 140 unforgiven things hidden inside of me, then maybe, one blanket at a time i will be able to take of these 140 pounds, which represent 140 extra pounds that i carry everyday.

Well, interrupted by a knock on my door, a neighbour asking me to come over for ice cream and cake, just another moment to not deal with the blankets i am carrying, but to add yet maybe another. Could, for one moment, someone subconsciously look beyond the fat me, and see a real live human being, a woman, a lovely woman, and see me for just a time, a moment, a second of their lives, maybe the world would see every fat person as human beings, not just people, for remember, there is a difference in seeing people as human being, than seeing them as just people. , / · }

Sincerely, ,· Sylvia Sharon Isaac

The Cull of the Wild © 2006 By Terri Williams

Twas the night after New Year's out at Piggy•s Palace The guys were all loaded with drugs, lust and malice

The girls were brought out one by one, So all the boys could have some fun

The Good Old Boys were having a ball, With short ones and big ones, skinny and tall

After they used them, they really abused them The boys had a good time, because it amused them

Then the girls came out two by two As the missing list grew and grew

The guys were so busy, thinking of ways, To bring all the girls to the end of their days

They filmed their deaths and made lots of money, Off the demise of Shirley and Honey

The scene was quite scary, there was nowhere to hide Not for us girls from the Downtown Eastside

So many times did I tell my story But few listened because it's so gory

The ones who did listen were all called crazy And please, let's not call the cops lazy

No, the Good Old Boys were having a ball Raping and maiming, death to them all

Now a ghost, these streets I roam, Here in the place that once was my home

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Are they gonna keep going till everyone's gone? What•s the matter, don•t we belong?

Dear Ms. LaFerriere; Thank you for your e-mail and for our brief

conversation yesterday morning. The issue of homelessness is a concern to many

community citizens such as yourself and organizations like The Salvation Army. I do not have a specific answer to your question, however, I believe that the issue and its answers are complex and there is not a simply strategy for "curing" homelessness. The Salvation Army is always interested in

listening to new ideas and sharing information about matters of social justice and how best to deal with the challenges that plague our communities. As mentioned, I do not believe The · Salvation Army is your best way forward regard­ing the Storyeum proposal. I would recommend that you further explore this with your local MLA and City Councillors and perhaps the Gastown Business Association. Those would be good starting points. Thank you for your interest.

Sincerely, Captain John P. Murray, APR Divisional Secretary for PR & Development The Salvation Army - Canada and Bermuda Territory - BC Division

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Mr. Murray, thanks for responding to my email. I have already contacted the BIAs in the area as well as the MLA; no response. It is very frustrating. It is as if an individual has no say in the community.

One thing for sure is that I will be lobbying for Jenny Kwan not to be reelected and for the BIAs to be dissolved and the Salvation Army be exposed for its (your) view that most of the street homeless want to live on the street. If the Salvation Army followed a business model

it might have gone out on the street to ask those on the street why they do not want to go to a

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shelter~ Maybe it has something to do with your religious dogma, crowding of shelter space, questionable food, and the fact that those who want your charity have to stand outside from 7:00 p.m. to 11 :OOp.m. in the vain hope that a mat on a floor would be available for them. Can I ask you how much money do you get paid

for being the public relations person for the Salvation Army in Vancouver. Also how much does the government pay the Salvation Army to provide shelters? There must be a reason why the good people in your organization are not speaking against the Salvation Army's demonizing of the poor in that the street homeless are not deserving of even a mat on a floor.

Audrey LaFerriere (A further report from Audrey is that Storyeum has been designated as a shelter by the City and a request-for-proposal (RFP) will go out soon asking for an organisation or non-profit to submit a plan fo~ running said facility!)

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untitled

in this cold grey urban combat zone

its every battered man for his own

don't look up, you'll just fall down

and you can't bear to see what's all around

empty storefronts' broken windows

another gunfights shattered window

the down, the out, the bitterly poor

the heroin-shooting, cynical whore

and on the comer, a politician's face

more empty vows to "fix this place"

but can't they see that money and paint

won't make clean this spreading taint?

it isn't these walls, these souls, that hold the infection

it's 'clean' society's corrupt misdirection

that power is money and money is power

and anything less; insufficient and sour

so we work and we sweat. our pointless endeavour •

and inevitably fail and fall down to sever

the pain of the void with crackpipe or needle

crushed and defeated, tom up and feeble

tum on the tube and catch another 'saviou~

with promises of good housing and labour

til the votes are cast, the election has passed

and this cause, again, becomes priority last. ' Rebecca McDonald

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2007 DONATIONS: Libby D.-$100 Rolf A.-$50 Barry for Dave McC.-$125 Christopher R. -$50 Margaret D.-$40 Penny G.$50 Janice P.-$35 Wes K.-$50 Gram -$400 John S.$60 leslie S.$20 Michael C.-$80 Sheila B.-$20 Wilhelmina M.-$25 CEEDS -$50 Saman -$20 Phyllis l.-$200 Paddy -$125 Bob S.-$100 Barry M.-$1 25 Mell.-$20 The Edge -$200 Greta P.-$20 The Rockingguys -$25 Jaya B.-$100

Submi!slon deadline for next Issue;

Friday, July 27

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Contact Jenny

Carn~gie Comm-unit c~nlr~

JVal Ching Kwan

ML.A

Working for You 1070- 16_.1 Comm(:n:lal Dr V~L JY J

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Editor: PauiR Taylor; layout by Lisa David

ms of the Downtown Eastsicle A multi qtt- form experience

Carnegie Community Centre Theatre 401 Main St, Vancouver, BC

July 25, 2007, 7:30 pm

Heidi Morgan with Band Richard Tylman with John Cote on guitar

Bud Osborn Mystery Music Band

Ariadne Sawyer & Alejandro Mujica-Oiea Diane Wood

Co-op Radio - 102 . 7FM- recording Community Access TV, CD release.