september 1, 1989, carnegie newsletter

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N E W S L E T T E Fa CCC

-- 401 Main S t . , Vancouver, B.C. (604)665-2289

CLAUDE RICHMOND 1 I t ' s a r e a l pa in when r e a l - i t y smacks you up t h e s i d e of t h e head. A dose of common

IS A SICK MAN. 1 sense can cream an i n t e l l e c t - u a l n i n e t imes out of t e n , a s Claude Richmond, your f r i e n d - - and mine, is l e a r n i n g t h e hard way. I n t h e l a s t two weeks he has done some i n c r e d i b l l y f a s t t a l k i n g t o t r y and hold t h e i l l u s i o n t h a t h i s l a t e s t move of sending h i s ' s w i m o r s ink ' l e t t e r t o 49,000 people rece iv ing a s s i s t a n c e money was a good t h i n g .

Every r e c i p i e n t between t h e ages of 19 and 64 not c l a s s i - f i e d a s handicapped o r unem- plnyahl P go t nne. It was not considered whether any among t h e s e people might have t h e educat ion, l i t e r a c y s k i l l s , c lo th ing , s a f e t y equipment, money f o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n o r typ ing o r photocopying resumes o r even food. That i s a l l t oo t ime-consuming , too ine f f i c i - e n t f o r t h e l e a n , mean, bureau - c r a t i c machine t h a t t h i s man i s bu i ld ing . Thoroughly Mod- e r n Claude is l y i n g through h i s t e e t h on a number of t h e s t a t i s t i c s produced: He s a i d on TV t h a t hundreds of people

2

have found jobs because of t h e l e t t e r th rea ten ing them wi th having no money f o r food o r ren t i f they d i d n ' t ; when he s t a t e d t h a t B .C. had a booming economy with jobs a l l over t h e p l ace ... a statement made on t h e same day a s t he unemployment r a t e appeared a t a f u l l percentage poin t h ighe r than t h e previous month - 9.2% ; when h i s Ministry claims t o have found s o many cases of f raud (not picking up a

Even whi le h i s (and most sacred's) i l l u s i o n of s u p e r i o r morals & e t h i c s l i e s i n r u i n s , t h e cons~ious /subcon- scious/unconscious th read - " I ' m okav 'cause I 'VE GOT MINE/SCREW YOU" - isa s t i l l guiding every move. Well, I ' m s o r r y Clod, bu t t h i s t ime y o u ' l l be lucky t o ge t away wi th 3rd-degree burns. Enough is enough.

By PAULR TAYLOR - -

cheque perhaps) t h a t t h e count won't - - be made pub l i c f o r a t l e a s t a week

J O B SEARCH LIST (*-New a d d i t i o n s ! )

BUSINESS NAME & ADDRESS ....................... END LEGISLATED POVERTY D.E.R.A. D.E.R.A. HOUSING BLUE MOON MANAGEMENT SOCIETY D.E.R.A. HOUSING CO-OPERATIVE CRABTREE CORNER FIRST UNITED CHURCH FIRST CHURCH HOUSING SOCIETY DUGOUT DROP-IN .---,..*.. ------- -- ---- --- - -- IUEL~TH~~~-JU_K_I-~I-ILJ HI+ 1. l'fi. <> Y K O ~ " ~ VANCOUVER I N D I A N CENTRE SOCIETY B.C. COALITION OF THE DISABLED CARNEGIE CENTRE D . E . WOMEN' S CENTRE LEARNING FRONT RAY-CAM COMMUNITY CENTRE NATIVE COURT WORKERS * VANCOUVER & DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL * ALEX CENTRE (320 Alexander)

CONTACT PERSON -------------- JEAN SWANSON AL ANDERSON

BETTY MACPHEE GEORGINA MARSHALL J I M ELLIOT J I M ELLIOT IRk'k' CflM?dVDC

" M Z Z UV.YLY*\Y

BERT ISAAC R. LOXTON SECURITY & KITCHEN K I M NIGHTINGALE MARDI JOYCE CAROL BROWN

FRANK EVELYN - Main Off ice) MARGARET - Health Dept. LAURA - Recreat ion * D.E.YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY(221 Main)JOHN TURVEY

PHONE i/ ------- 321-1202 682-0931

689-2808 681-8365 681-8365 681-8365 683-2253 251-4844 872-1278 665-2220 681-8480 662-7642 251-2141 687-0281 879-2421 684-1318 684- 18 16 681-9019 685-6561

The man on t h e phone s t r u g g l e d t o e x p l a i n how P a r t o n ' s a r t i c l e made him f e e l . "It 's n o t r a c i s t , ' ' he s a i d . "It 's n o t s e x i s t . " He paused, t r y i n g t o t h i n k of a word t o e x p l a i n what i t was.

I sugges ted t h a t p a r t o n ' s a r t i c l e was c l a s s i s t . It d i s c r i m i n a t e d ag- a i n s t people on t h e b a s i s of t h e i r s o u r c e o f income - w e l f a r e - withou t l o o k i n g a t i n d i v i d u a l s i t u a t i o n s . He agreed .

My mind r e t u r n e d t o t h e food l i n e - a f t e r t h e job-seeker hung up, Sev- e r a l peop le t h e r e had thanked m e f o r t h e l e a f l e t which they c a r e f u l l y f o l d e d and pu t i n t h e i r pocket . But it ley ;,a-ve to -w-al= ..-" 1 'I."',

U L L L 4 - L LC*.-,

got home and g o t t h e i r g l a s s e s s o they cou ld read i t . I r e c a l l e d a speech g iven by Richard D a r v i l l e o f t h e P r o g r e s s i v e L i t e r a c y Group l a s t May. D a r v i l l e s a i d t h a t 40% o f Downtown E a s t s i d e r e s i d e n t s were i l l i t e r a t e . I wondered what percen- t a g e of t h e 49,000 were i l l i t e r a t e - 20%, 30%, 40%?

I looked a t t h e job s e a r c h form. There was space f o r t h e employer ' s name and a d d r e s s , t h e name of a con- t a c t person and o t h e r in fo rmat ion . Easy f o r some, maybe--but not i f you a r e i l l i t e r a t e . You nave t o look f o r work by word of mouth.;

I thought of P a r t o n ' s a r t i c l e aga in . Par ton s a i d t h a t the poor i n Canada a r e " sh ie lded from the r i g o u r of a c t u a l l y e a r n i n g t h e i r keep. In f a c t , most poor people l i v e i n fami- l i e s where t h e head of t h e household works. I n f a c t , most. "employable" people on w e l f a r e g e t o f f w e l f a r e of t h e i r own accord i n 4 t o 8 months. I t 's no t fun being i n a group of people s o r o u t i n e l y and u n j u s t l y desp i sed .

Pa r ton suggested t h a t people on w e l f a r e p r e f e r " l a z i n e s s and l o a f i n g " t o working a t 7-Eleven. The people I t a l k e d t o would l o v e t o g e t a decen t job. Pa r ton took t h e Mini- s t r y ' s word t h a t n e t t i n g bus a n d c l o t h e s money was a p l e c e of cake when most who t r y a r e turned down. She i n s i n u a t e d t h a t most of t h e s e people d o n ' t look f o r work when they do.

What would people say i f Pa r ton o r anyone e l s e made b lanke t a l l e g a t i o n s l i k e t h e s e about any o t h e r c a t e g o r y of people ; about a c e r t a i n r a c e o r s e x o r r e l i g i o u s group? We'd y e l l I I d i s c r i m i n a t i o n " o r "racism" o r II sexism". But d i s c r i m i n a t i o n

a g a i n s t a whole ca tegory of people on w e l f a r e o r "employable" people on w e l f a r e i s s o rampant t h a t i t ' s hard t o even t h i n k of t h e word t h a t a p p l i e s .

His words were g a r b l e d . I t h i n k he s a l d , " I ' d have t o throw my furn- i t u r e o u t t h e window." But h i s n e x t s e n t e n c e was c l e a r : "Then I ' d go t o S tan ley Park and end i t a l l . "

He was 60 y e a r s o l d , a l o g g e r f o r 40. Now h e ' s one of t h e 49,000 so- c a l l e d "employable" p e o p l e i n B . C . t o l d t o f i l l o u t l e n g t h y j o b s e a r c h forms o r l o s e t h e i r meagre $468 a month w e l f a r e . "Ldgging companies don ' t h i r e peop le my 'age," he ex- p la ined . "They won't admi t i t ' s because of a g e , bu t t h e y won't do i t ."

I was handing o u t a l e a f l e t from End L e g i s l a t e d P o v e r t y t o t h e people i n t h e food bank l i n e up. He w a s e x p l a i n i n g what he 'd do i f Claude Richmond c a r r i e d o u t t h e t h r e a t t o c u t him o f f i f he d i d n ' t f i l l i n the two-page form.

I t r i e d t o p o i n t o u t t h a t h e d i d have some r i g h t s . H e c o u l d a p p e a l . He could a s k f o r t r a n s p o r t a t i o n and c l o t h e s money. But i t w a s ha rd f o r him t o l i s t e n t o a v o i c e from out- s ide . He was l i s t e n t n g t o t h e h u r t from h i s own i n s i d e . "Tha t ' s t h e thanks I g e t f o r working 40 yea rs . "

A man s t a n d i n g n e a r b y i n t h e l i n e up heard my remark a b o u t t h e t r a n s - p o r t a t i o n money. "It 's no use , " he s a i d . "I t r i e d and t h e y wouldn ' t give i t t o me."

I r e c a l l e d t h e a t t a c h m e n t t o t h e Minis t ry news r e l e a s e . " R e c i p i e n t s who a r e . . . l o o k i n g f o r work may re - ce ive a s s i s t a n c e w i t h t r a n s p o r t a t i o n c o s t s . " "May" is e v i d e n t l y t h e op- e r a t i v e word. I t . d o e s n l t maan "wi l l" .

I po in ted o u t a list o f advocacy groups on t h e l e a f l e t . "TheseL people w i l l h e l p you a p p e a l , " I s a i d . " h d t h e r e ' s a good chance you can win i f one of t h e s e groups i s behind you."

A few p a i r s o f s h o u l d e r s i n t h e . l i n e up behind shrugged. h hey wouldn' t g i v e me mine e i c h e r , " added one vo ice .

When I r e t u r n e d from t h e food l i n e up t o t h e o f f i c e a man c a l l e d . He was on w e l f a r e and he wanted a job. He had a l s o been r e a d i n g Nicole P a r t o n ' s a r t i c l e l a u d i n g t h e Socreds f o r t h e i r t h r e a t t o 49,000 people. He was d i s g u s t e d w i t h t h e a r t i c l e . *'Why d i d n ' t you l i k e i t ," I asked.

ell, f o r one t h i n g , " he exp la in - ed , "7-Eleven wouldn ' t even look a t a l o t of t h e peop le who come t o look f o r work." I r e c a l l e d t h e food l i n e . Three o f t h e men had v i s i b l y r o t t e n t e e t h . Welfare d o e s n ' t pay f o r d e n t a l work f o r "employables" except emergencies i f y o u ' r e p e r s i s - t e n t . Another man limped. H i s shoes were too small and h i s f e e t had b l i s t e r e d . The M i n i s t r y wouldn' t g i v e him money f o r shoes . He d i d n ' t have enough f o r even food a s it was. T h a t ' s why he w a s a t t h e food bank.

I guessed t h a t 7-Eleven probably wouldn' t " look a t them1': I wondered how many turndowns a person could t a k e and s t i l l m a i n t a i n enough s e l f - esteem f o r s a n i t y .

mat s h o u l d b e done? Stop blaming , t h e v i c t i m . End d i s c r i m i n a t i o n a g a i n s t peop le on w e l f a r e . We're . t a l k i n g a b o u t human be ings here . Create d e c e n t j o b s . P a r t o n is wrong about unemployment. Our unemploy- I

ment r a t e j u s t went UP t o 9.2%. I T h a t ' s 145,000 peop le o u t s e a r c h i n g f o r j o b s now. I f government f o r c e s more peop le t o l o o k f o r work, i t should t a k e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r en- s u r i n g t h a t t h e r e is a job f o r them

to find. Without this responsibility,pushing more people out to compete for nonexistent jobs simply pulls wages down to other low income people, making them poorer. And constant rejection destroys , self-exteem and makes it less likely that individuals will be able to compete successfully for scarce jobs. Welfare rates need to go up so

people have enough money to buy suitable clothes, to have phones and busfare so they can look for a job without taking food out of their mouths. I thought about the logger in the

food line. I should have tried to get his name and address. Someone should check on him. What will he do if his cheque doesn't come?

By JEAN SWANSON

Stained Blue Vishnu Sky Flue Brahamn Orange father of stthpgs:,sing Shivite Black percussion transforms anew hey' re jammin' they're jamin' on the song of creation -. I ! Q Q ~ ~ c ~ r d s ~f wfnged ~ c r d s Flute songs warm and high like Byrds Drums Dancing Down Death's Doors They're jamin' ~hey're jamin' on the song of creation Tell the childrkn; Tell the people of all nations ~hey're jamin' They're still jamin' on the song of Creation

Brahma father of strings sings the Song of Creation Vishnu Sky Flue brings preservation Shiva percussion swings transformation They're jamin' Thanks and praise They're jamin' on the dawn of creation.

City 111fo e ta f f can't accept donet lunn fur this Newe l e t t e r , sn If you call I ~ e l p , f lnd Paul !l'aylor end h e ' l l g lve you a recelpt .

I l ~ ~ r n l t s o v o ~ y l ~ o t l y . DONATIONS: Yanum Spath-$100 Nancy W.-$300 Willis S.-$110 George B.-$15 Rich P.-$41 Robert S.-$20 Jancis A.-$20 Louis P.-$20 Tom -$4.02 . - .. n - * .nn wlnrg S:-$iG - - - ~ , - n - I . - ? I ~ I J

Ted B.-$5 Sheila B.-$2 Doug -$20 Bea F.-$25 Lillian H.-$20 James M.-$50 1.MacLeod-$100 Kelly -$3 J. East -$1 Nancy 5.-$50 Sue H.-$20 Steve R.-$5 Neil M.-$2 B & B -$8 Terry the Terrible - $100 Anonymous - $43.23 --

- -- - - -- -

Carnegie Newslet ter :

Dear Fr iends of Carnegie,

On Saturday n i g h t our son came t o look f o r u s a t t h e Centre , when t h e Secu r i t y s t a f f asked him i f he had been dr ink ing .

He s a i d "Yes" but he wanted t o s ee i f h i s Mom w a s he re s o he could g e t a r i d e home ... he wouldn't cause a problem.

The s e c u r i t y s a i d O.K. But Chuck s a i d "no, i t ' s okay, dod1t 'do .any- t h ing you' re n o t supposed t o do . "

Chuck s a i d , "Mom, I would s u r e f e e l secure a t t h e Centre knowing w e have such good s e c u r i t y s o now I won't worry about you no more. When you say you are going t o Car- neg ie I know you w i l l be A.O.K. and t h e s e c u r i t y s t a f f should be comm- ended on t h e i r good work."

6:30 Wed.

Edi to r :

Finance Min i s t e r Michael Wilson keeps a sk ing h i s c r i t i c s f o r an a l - t e r n a t i v e t o h i s 9% s a l e s tax . I ' ll g ive him one. I t 's c a l l e d a F a i r Income Tax System (FITS). And, a s Michael Wilson knows, i f t h e shoe FITS, he should wear i t . And i f he i s n ' t w i l l i n g t o w e a r i t he should res ign . I pe r sona l ly t h i n k Employ- ment Min i s t e r Barbara McDougall would b r i n g a l o t more i n t e g r i t y and t a l e n t t o t h e pos t of Finance Mini- ster anyway.

Darren Lowe

M r . Lowe:

While your acronym c e r t a i n l y f i t s what people would l i k e , your choice of McDougall i s ques t ionable , a s she is r e spons ib l e f o r t h e c u r r e n t rak- i n g of t h e unemployed over t h e c o a l s / of t h e r i c h ' s f i r e s .

Ed i to r

Downtown Eas t s ide Women's Centre ................................ I HEALTH PROJECT : SEPTEMBER PROGRAM '

1: TO A SAFER PLACE S_~EL--- - a video. 2:00 pm

Sep. 12: SELF ESTEEM WORKSHOP ------- - Lynn Fearn, who l e d a very i n t n r n c t 7 nO ~.lnriZqil~)p TI C J O I I U I I U L I ~ C ~ ~ ~ G ~ .LL.'-L-- ----C> .. - ---- --

i n June, w i l l be back t o l ead t h i s workshop i n s e l f esteem. 2:00 pm Sep. 11: RAPE CRISIS CENTRE ------- - a t a l k by people i n t h i s o rgan iza t ion about t h e s e r v i c e s . 2pm Sep. 14: MENOPAUSE SUPPORT GROUP ------- - Women meet t o sha re exper- i ences and g ive support t o each o t h e r ,

4:00 pm

HEY! I F YOU CAN HELP THE K I D S AT OPP- ENHEIMER PARK MAKE SOME MONEY WITH RECYCLING, CALL B O N N I E STEPHENS AT CARNEGIE. B o t t l e s , cans , newspaper. . .

CHORUS Varlder Zalm f o r a l l , I was t o l d

E t o s e l l my soul f o r american gold, t o accept f r e e t r ade ; and have no f e a r , * Now I ' m s t a r v i n g drunken c u t o f f wel fare , Victim of t he en t repreneur .

VERSE I so ld my horn i n New Orlhans ( I wish I were on Welfare now) So t o be reborn i n a ch inese dream I ' m a broke s i c k junkie s o f o r l o r n Victim of Claude Richmond's schemes.

VERSE The C I A gave me STP ( I wish I l i v e d i n t h e nu t ha t ch now) I n a s t r a i g h t j a c k e t they i n j e c t e d me Now 1 ' m a homeless r e j e c t on t h e s t r e CasuaEty\o$ r e a h i t y

VERSE I ' m a s i n g l e parent with two k i d s ( I wish I were on Welfare now) They so ld my ch i ld ren on t h e s k i d s I f I were r i c h I ' d cover t h e b i d s

DERA can help you with:

* any welfare problems \

* UIC problems * getting iegal assistance * unsafe living conditions , i n hotels or apartments

* disputes with landlords * income tax

DERA is located at 9 East Hastings or phone 682-0931.

I DERA H A S B E E N S E R V I N G T H E DOWNTOWN E A S T S I D E F O R 1 5 Y E A R S I

Sorrow

Whv a r e w e he re

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE

I asked myself We a r e bu t pee r s

of t h i s l i f e i t seems Can t h e r e be any happiness

f o r someone l i k e me O r is t h e r e t h e h i s s

of sadness through my world L i f e is s u r e l one ly

whi le s t a y i n g t o yourse l f I ' m n o t t h e only person

who f e e l s l i k e t h i s Someone who i s prec ious

has been taken away They say I ' m a f a s c i s t .

no one understands m e Why i s t h i s l i f e

s o c r u e l and r u t h l e s s To t a k e my wi fe

an innocent person And l eave m e h u r t

f o r t h e next four yea r s Why feed m e d i r t

POETRY l e t m e h e a l i n peace

Is t h e r e no j u s t i c e t o j a i l t h e innocent

& f r e e t h e g u i l t y Who must pay f o r t h i s

A t Carnegie Centre Mankind a l lows t h i s - :o go on.

Celebra te t h i s t ime of day W i t h music, song and shout o r 'Hay' Clap your hands & stamp your f e e t A t Carnegie Centre , new f r i e n d s y o u ' l l m e e t here's music, dance & p o t t e r y c l a s s e s here's something he re t o p l ea se t h e masses

dn BY Chuck Chard

here's ca rds & chess , f o r k id s of a l l ages Volunteer now and be courageous here's Engl i sh , Upgrading, i f you ' re i n need And o t h e r c l a s s e s , do yourse l f a good deed There's b a s k e t b a l l , socce r , come j o i n t h e team So wake up now, ' cause i t ' s no dream Come l e a r n about us , a s w e l e a r n about you P a r t i c i p a t i o n i n a l l t h a t you do Carnegie Centre is t h e p l ace t o be For e-vzr:rone l i k e you and me.

T e l l The The

s i r YOU

YOU

What Is The Worst

what is t h e wors t s p i t o r t h e way you walk o r t h e way you

c u r s e k i c k

O r is i t t h a t worn walking s t i c k Is i t t h e way you f i g h t a l l t h e t i m e O r i s i t t h e way you keep sp inn ing t h a t dime Is i t t h e way you ' re s o loud & s o rude O r i s i t t h e way you chomp on your food Your g lance is j u s t a s co ld a s i c e Is i t so hard f o r you t o be n i c e You p lay a l l t h e s e games you ' re no t f o o l i n g anyone To your f r i e n d s you ' re t oo over done You y e l l and you scream you c a n ' t f i g u r e ou t why That t h i s l i f e ha s passed you by You've played t h e f o o l i t ' s t oo l a t e t o change No wonder people cons ider you s t r a n g e You're c r i t i c a l of eve ry th ing Now s t o p t h i s madness, you ' re no King Consider t h e mountains, cons ide r t h e t r e e s Consider t h e r i v e r , cons ide r t h e bees Mother Nature has done he r b e s t To make you f e e l welcome, t o g ive you a r e s t To s m e l l t h e f l ower s , look a t t h e sky Stop l i v i n g your l i f e a s i f i t were a l i e .

Lonely

I f e e l so l one ly a l l of t h e t i m e TI." - 1 ...,.-- I.--l-- I- L ----- ' L

Lz. UlwuJo U L V R C I L I ~ V S I I L dIfii= I t h i n k of what might have been Of a l l t h e p l ace s I might have seen And a l l t h e cha l l enges I might have faced But i n r e a l i t y my l i f e ' s a waste I ' v e l i v e d my whole l i f e i n woes & f e a r s Which has caused me t o l i v e i n a shadow of t e a r s But now I am o l d & s t i l l not very wise And 1 ' m s t i l l l i v i n g my l i f e i n l i es Is t h e r e s t i l l hope f o r a no-one l i k e me Tha t ' s why T wonder what l i f e would be For me t o Go t h i n g s wild & funny And someday make a l o t of money Would I be happy o r i s l i f e a joke J u s t l e t me keep dreaming don ' t g ive me a poke.

Chuck Chard

* ;k Sewing S h i r t s

O n l y t h o s e w h i t e c l o u d s a r e f r e e t o s o a r b e y o n d t h e f a c t o r y w i n d o w ; i n s i d e , g r e y d u s t s c a l e s t h e c u t t e r h a c k i n g o u t s h i r t s , f l i n g i n g d i s m e m b e r e d p a r t s , i n a n i m a t e a s d e a d d r e a m s , i n t o o p e n b o x e s . H e r e , l i f e i s t a p e d , r u l e d " A t t h e d o u b l e ! " : d o u b l e s e a m s y o k i n g b o d y t o a r m ; t h e d o u b l e l o a d o f o u t s i d e j o b a n d h o u s e w o r k , t h e d o u b l e t a l k o f a r a d i o p l a y i n g " W o r k e r s ' P l a y t i m e " w h i l e women s w e a t f o r a minimum w a g e . T h e i r h a n d s c l i n g t o a S i n g e r s t r a i n i n g l i k e a s m a l l , f r a n t i c b e a s t t o w a r d s f i v e o ' c l o c k a n d f r e e d o m (?f 2 S n r f ; l i f e b ~ i r r r > n r d c i o w u

f r o m e i g h t t o f i v e , f o r f i f t y w e e k s a y e a r t h e s t o p - a n d - s t a r t e m b r a c e o f t h e s e w h o s e l i m p a r m s h o l d o n l y t h e b o n e a n d f l e s h o f a f i v e - d a y w e e k p l u s c o m p u l s o r y o v e r t i m e . T h e i r e t e r n a l home i s t h i s d e a d e n d

' w h e r e S t . Mary i s a s u p e r v i s o r w i t h h e n n a e d h a i r , s t e e l e y e g l a s s e s a n d a t o n g u e w h i p p i n g t h e m f o r w a r d a n d God i s a s c i s s o r s - w i e l d i n g b o s s

s l a s h i n g seams a n d w a g e s . N e i t h e r t h e s i n g e r n o r t h e s o n g t h e s e women a r e o n l y t h e n e c e s s a r y i n s e r t b e t w e e n t h e d o l e a n d t h e r e n t d u e F r i d a y n e x t , a n d t h e y o u n g g i r l s m a r r y a r m t o b o d y , t r y t o p i n l i f e down b y t h e t a i l , a n d d r e a m o f c o l l a r i n g a h u s b a n d , r a t t l i n g o u t s h o r t a n d l o n g s t i t c h e s : h o p e f u l SOS t o t h a t f u t u r e P r i n c e f a c e l e s s now a s t h e s e h e a d l e s s o n e s who w i l l t a k e t h e m a w a y f r o m a l l t h i s , i n t o a f a i r y w o r l d o f w i f e d o m w i l e r e i i i e w i i i b e a s e a m i e s s w o n d e r a n d t h e i n s i d e w i l l b e a s D e r f e c t a s t h e o u t s i d e And t h e o l d e r women, w i s e r , t u r n a w a y , k n o w i n g t h a t i n a w o m a n ' s w o r l d , a l l h o p e h a n g s o n l y b y a t h r e a d a n d t h e y f o l d t h e s h i r t s a n d e n t o m b t h e m t i g h t i n p l a s t i c , s e e i n g i n t h e s e p a l e l o o k - a l i k e s a n i m a g e o f t h e m s e l v e s b o x e d i n , s t r a i g h t - j a c k e t e d , b r a n d e d i n c u t - r a t e , t h r o w - a w a y p a c k a g e s .

**When I was s i x t e e n I worked f u l l t i m e i n a s h i r t f a c t o r y , sewing t h e s l e e v e s t o t h e s h i r t body. Recen t ly , I s a w a documentary on t h e garment i n d u s t r y and w a s depressed t o s e e how l i t t l e had changed.

J a n c i s M. Andrews

t

THE FOREST FORTHE TREES

Dollar signs floating in the cr$al ball

AN ADVOCATE'S G U I D E

(Following is part of an incisive critique and analysis of a report made to the Ontario Liberal government. The Social Assistance Review Committee entitled its findings "TRANSITIONS". The author of this in-depth critique below entitled her work "TRANSITIONS: WELFARE FOR BUSINESS", to give fair warning to all that the government's findings are not sliced bread.)

TRANSITIONS: WELFARE FOR BUSINESS By Diana Ralph, MSWy Ph.D. ................................. ... Transitions attempts tyaddress concerns (Welfare inadequate, punitive, inaccessible, confusing, inconsistent) and to create a coherent plan to make welfare a dignified, humane "transition" to independence. The problem is that Transitions balances this vision with a very heavy dose of political pragmatism ... 'radical' reports shelved for lack of the political will to implement them...Transitions had to make compromises (always favouring the interests of business) ... the main beneficiaries of Transitions would be private businesses and landlords. At each crucial point in the report, where the interests of recipients or workers conflict with those of business, Transitions chooses business. Even if the report were adopted exactly as proposed, it would cause serious negative consequences for employable recipients (especially), but also for children, the disabled, human service workers and wage-earning taxpayers. It will influence Canadaian welfare. ... Copies of the report have been sent to social assistance ministries in every pro~rince j w i ~ i ? govr, :I c i _ ~ i ~ g a ~ F n n s seekine t h e i r s ~ l g p n r i Ic~r iile Ieder-

a1 changes needed to implement Transitions (re-structuring CAP and VRDP and eliminating Family Allowance, CPP and Worker's Compensation, for example). So this is an issue for labour, women's, native and immigrants groups, and welfare rights activists\fforts.

11. THE "GOOD NEWS": WHAT TRANSITIONS ACHIEVED

...p rocess (of) extensively consulting with recipients, human service workers and community groups. ... debunking of some of the myths about welfare recipients ... demonstrated that most recipients are children or disabled people, that most get off assistance quickly, that employable recipients prefer to work...links welfare programs to the broader issues of unequal distribution of wealth, unemployment, inadequate pension policy, lack of training and regressive tax policies. Transitions fails to address - in fact promotes - the myths about employable people. Most of the broad social problems identified are ignored in the report's recommendations.

'he report establishes 10 basic principles on which to build social welfare policy. Most are important alternatives to the monetarist inhumanity of welfare policies in all the provinces. They include:

* Eligibility based solely on need; * Adequacy of benefits; * Recipient rights to due process, access to info & protection of privacy; * State responsibility to provide personal development services; * Encouragement of self-determination; * Respect for cultural and religious diversity.

The first 3 are extant but not enforced; the rest are welcome innovations... the next 3 reflect the conservative (business) ideology:

* Respect for family life (enshrining women's domestic labour, power in- equalities and individualistic child care);

* Accountability of the system to taxpayers, cost effectiveness/no abuse; * Shared responsibility for planning and providing services between state and "community", (The danger here is that "community" services are cheaper, of inconsistent quality and often incorporate stigmatizing treatment of oppressed people).

These lead to privatization, volunteerism and restrictions of client rights.

... Transitions recommends concrete improvements (Pricetag: $800 million): * Raise benefits significantly (but still keeping them below poverty); -

* Simplifying the system from 36 to 3 categories of beneficiaries; * Increasing the supply of affordable housing; *Supporting native design & delivery of native social assistance programs; * Reducing disincentives to work & increasing coverage to working poor; * Eliminating OHIP (medicare) premiums; * Broadening definition of "disability"; help disabled get mainsgeam jobs; * Giving single parents right to care for their children at home, and if they choose to work, to cover their child care expenses; Ctlrring c:aselua& aild hprovizg fcr frczf, I l n e wxkers;

* Improving clients' rights to fair treatment. Although these are very important improvements, they are overshadowed by the five major innovations which form the heart of Transitions: 1. Income supplementation for the working poor; 2. A means-tested Children's Benefit of up to $3,300 per child, which would

replace Family Allowance, the Child Tax Credit, child sales tax credit and welfare for children;

3. A no-fault Disability Insurance program for permanently and totally in- jured workers, which would replace Workers Compensation and Can. Pension;

4. A Disability Benefit for non-work-related disabilities which would replace social assistance for disabled people;

5. Opportunity Planning services for all welfare recipients which would be compulsory for employables and available for other adult recipients.

These are the most expensive ... would require,federal funding ... would alter social programming across ~anada. ...p roblematic, expanding aspects of welfare which benefit business at the expense of poor, human service workers.

11. WHAT IS WELFARE FOR?

..,social assistance touches all of us indirectly. It provides some security from the risks both of personal misfortune and of living in a capitalist economy. It's an important regulator of the bargaining power of the labout force. As welfare rates and rights increase, workers can dare to take more risks with losing jobs (e.g. quitting unsafe jobs, taking extended maternity leave, unionizing); women can feel freer to leave abusive marriages, and oppressed people can hold out for less exploitative jobs. Conversely, when welfare rights and benefits are cut back, these options vanish. Welfare serves as the unofficial minimum wage; the wage even the most exploitative employers must meet to attract workers. When welfare rates increase, wages also tend to rise. In all these ways, welfare is an important state tool to regulate wages and labour rights. ... From a business perspective, "good" welfare would force people to work, control social unrest and promote profits. It would force "employable" people to work by: * Giving them less than the lowest waged joblless than subsistence;

* Requiring them to look for & take any job regardless of pay, safety or long-term benefit to the person;

* Conveying the stigmatizing message that anyone who "fails to work" is lazy and dishonest.

In other words, far from being a safety net, welfare in this sense would exist mainly to keep employable people (barely) alive between jobs, at the expense

, of taxpayers (i.e. other workers), charities and relatives. It would be a subsidy to business, assuring a supply of desperate labour willing to work Gnder any conditions, to undercut wage demands of other employees. Secondly, a business orientated welfare system would minimally cover the

costs of caring for those who can't profitably be employed; the disabled, children and sometimes single parents (whose free domestic labour is often more profitable than the costs of providing paid alternatives and childcare). This would make the government look benevolent and, at the same time, free up able-bodied relatives of these dependent people to work at jobs which pay enough to support only the worker&'lt frees business from paying family wage.

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Thirdly, it would maximize business profits in three ways: 1. By keeping the cost of welfare as low as possible to allow the state to spend more on grants to business and to.reduce corporate taxes. Welfare costs can be reduced by: (1) cutting benefits and services (i.e. transferring costs to relatives, charities, and m6st heavily to the poor themselves) ; (2) raising caseloads of welfare workers and automating away both jobs and discretion; (3) contracting out welfare services to cheaper "community" services and to volunteers. 2. By direct and indirect subsidies to business. Business profits can be subsidized by: (1) topping-up exploitatively low wages at taxpayers' expense; (2) tzansferring costs of supporting dependents from employers to taxpayers; (3) giving grants to cover wages of recipients placed on work "experience" programs with private employers (in effect, workers - as taxpayers - pay the wages of other workers - recipients - and at the same time undercut their own bargaining power); (4) covering the costs of upgrading and training the cream of employable recipients (many of whom would find jobs on their own - where employers would bear the costs of training); and (5) subsidizing high rents associated with land speculation. 3. Most importantly, by reinforcing business privileges and curbing those of labour. These would include: (1) not raising minimum wages; (2) not enforcing affirmative action or pay equity legislation; (3)%ot forcing employers to pay part-time employees pro-rated benefits and pensions; (4) not allowing striking workers to receive welfare; and especially, (5) not creating public jobs or crown corporations, but instead allocating grants and tax deferrals to pri- vately controlled "economic development". In other words, a business vision of welfare would give priority to profit- enhancing, labour-controlling interests of private businesses, landlords and banks. That does not mean that hte poor would get nothing. Within chis model, rates can rise (and fall), new training "opportunities" can be created, and (individual) rights to fair treatment within "the rules" can be affirmed. The y V I l L L

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ist to serve the poor. Their fundamental purpose is labour-force regulation and profit enhancement. In sharp contrast, a working class-oriented welfare system would support

Labour rights, provide universal and high-quality services and benefits, and eliminate profiteering on the backs of workers and dependent people. For them an ideal welfare system would fulfill the following functions: 1. I would adequately and equally cover the costs of all people in need, re-

gardless of whether they were disabled or physically fit. It would be viewed as a right1 a form of social insurance which protects us from the risks of living in a capitalist economy;

2. I would increase investment in welfare several-fold to cover the costs of high benefits, quality services, manageable caseloads, and good pay and training for human service workers. Services would be provided through the public service, not by contracting out, to maintain accountability and high uniform standards, and to minimize profiteering;

5 0

3. Labour rights would be protected, by guaranteeing eligibility for welfare regardless of one's job search or attendance in a training program. Rather than targeting services and training only to welfare recipients, it would provide free or affordable high-quality programs toward portable cdtifi-

~

cation to anyone who wants it. As a result of both, the stigma associated with welfare would decline;

4. It would place a high priority on investing in permanent, well-paid job creation. Rather than subsidizing (bribing) businesses to give job "experience" to recipients, employers would be required to provide well-paid,

5. It would support welfare improvements with-broadersocial rights. For example, it would raise minimum wages tc.a high proportion of the average

' I

I

industrial wage, enforce affirmative action hiring and pay equity, and I 1

improve labour rights, especially for part-time and casual workers. The government would provide enough high-quality, affordable child-care, public housing, and other public services such as transportation, recreation, and nursing homes. Most importantly, it would link welfare to a strategy for reaching full employment;

6. It would finance all of this mainly by taxing corporations and by creating crown corporations which would keep the wealth that we produce as revenue for public services.

IV. WHICH VERSION OF WELFARE DOES TRANSITIONS FAVOUR?

... Transitions lands firmly on the business side...liberalizes the most punative aspects of welfare...more efficient/cost effective ... major structural changes (to existing systems) accept business interests and reject working-class recommendations/model. Transitions implements the following: lower benefits and wage exemptions for employables over disabled - isolates "employable" recipients, requires them to accept "opportunity planning" or risk losing benefits .

- shifts children & disabled off assistance (Children's Benefits & Disability Benefit) leaving employable recipients and sole-support parents alone with stigma n f ifar are rerr i p i e t ~ i s

- striking workers prohibited from receiving welfare - does nothing to recognize structural barriers limiting able-bodied people from getting jobs that support them (racism, ageism, lack of jobs in rural areas, sexism, technological change and resulting unemployment, discrimination against people with marginal disabilities or prison records, and phy- sical problems not qualifying as disabilities but still limit one's choices)

- rates proposed will still fall short of poverty line - does not recommend raise in minimum wage - does not recommend any change in taxation policies - does not recommend anything to protect rights of casual & part-time workers - recommends increasing public housing only on publically owned land - favours using tax dollars to subsidize high rents (making subsidized recipients compete with low-income earners for same places)

6a recommends wage top-ups . (dangerous. . . as Jean ~wanson/~nd Legislated Poverty says: A wage supplement for low wage workers is dangerous in several

ways. It costs a lot of taxpayers' money that could be spent on health, education, better welfare, etc. It pulls wages down for people at the lowest (supplemented) and also the second lowest levels (unsupplemented). By making it financially viable for more people to work, it throws more people into the job market to compete for work and pull wages down. People who work at the unsupplemented level would have to compete with people working at the supplemented level; wages would be pulled down again. Employers, seeing that governments are willing to pay their wage costs, would have no incentive to offer adequate pay. ... The total cost of their wage supplements would be $1.3 billion. This is a pure gift to corporations too selfish to pay workers a living wage.

short-term 'employment experiences' are subsidy to business..free labout which destabilizes unsubsidized permanent employees forces employables to endure coercive & exploitative nature of subsidy gives grants for hiring disabled, rather than enforcing affirmative action Children's Benefits provides tax-paid subsidy for inadequate wages, allows business to pay a single person's wage to a family head while taxes pay rest Disability Benefit would abolish right to sue for damages and injuries,'and benefits would be based on previous income rather than actual disability; women and minorities would get far less than men as wages are unequal

V. IMPACT OF TRANSITIONS

... high-cost recommendations maintain and expand business interests..benefits come at direct expense of welfare recipients and entire working class. Native section doesn't address racial discrimination or land rights. ... encourages middle-age women to return to work while offering nothing in creating jobs that are permanent ... only jobs open are poorly paidlpart-time ... Without a major commitment to job creation, day care, pay equity, university level training, urging these women to work condemns them to being working poor. ... encourage(s) female recipients to compete with other women for low-paying jobs and scarce child care spaces, driving down wages and raising care costs. ... The net impacts of Transitions would include:

* Stigmatizing and coercing employable recipients; * Perpetuating the poverty of women; * Raising rents and depressing wages for working people; * Contracting out or automating away many 'human service workers' jobs; * Condemning all recipients (and children & disab1ed)working poor - poverty * Eliminating social insurance programs and rights; * likely raising taxes and transferring even more of the tax burden to poor Unless the cause of these impacts is well understood, they are likely to

fuel public backlash against the poor and against labour and women's rights, because it will look as though they have caused the higher taxes and rents, and the cuts in wages. Subsidized recipients, especially employables and single r

i parents, will be pitted against working people who get no subsidies. And the 6

high cost of the "welfare" programs (which, in fact, go directly into the I

hands of landlords and businesses) will be attacked as coddling the lazy 11 and contributing to the deficit. That reaction easily could be promoted and 'j used to justify draconian cut-backs and even more punitive treatment of poor. '1 VI. STRATEGIC RESPONSES TO TRANSITIONS

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nounce it and oppose its implementation; and (3) to formulate an independent vision, and selectively support only those aspects of Transitions that fit it. 11 ... Many groups support it in the hope of getting some of the recommendations in place. ..this will at best achieve a compromised version of Transitions' al-

, ready compromised vision. ... The government can appear to accomodate to mass 1 pressure and "give" us all the negative consequences outlined. I I believe we should treat Transitions as a business interpretation of-tje -

broad and much more popular demands for a program to end poverty .... We can support those parts of Transitions that will improve people's lives - using its legitimacy as a strategic tool. But we also can demand a more positive, 1 independent agenda for re-affirmed welfare rights, full-employment and equalization of wealth.

DIANE RALPH, MSW, Ph.D. I:

A WELFARE SURVIVAL SHEET

Welfare law for employables has not changed. Government policy has changed. Welfare now wants to see monthly proof that employables are looking for work.

o I have to look for work? YES, unless you have a health problem and can be reclassified as unemployable. Under welfare law, ss long as you are employable, you have 2 obligations about looking for work: i ifi - m k n vnoarrnahicl ~ f f n r ; ~ &I, it. a. w --.I LHUVYIU- . . -.---- -- 2. to prove you are actively seeking it and trying to get off welfare

80, you do have to look for work and be able to prove it.

What do I have to do to look for work? 1. Do whatever is reasonable and fair for you.

Example: If you do not get money for a bus pass, it should be OK to look for work only in your neighbourhood. If you do not get extra money for stamps or photocopying you should not have to mail out lots of applications or resumes.

2. Take some action to look for work. Do what you can. Do something to show you are trying m d write down everything you do.

Example: If you can use a phone: make some calls and write down who you call. I

If you need help looking, make an appointment to see your worker.

Note: the job search form from welfare is only to help keep track. If you lose it, keep your own .list.

Write down everything you do: every phone call,

every contact.

Can I get any extra money to help me look? YES, you should be able to ask for whatever you need.

Example: Bus pass, money for stamps, clothing or retraining if necessary.

If you are refused, ask to appeal, and get help.

What if my welfare is cut? Tb? ---.. A- I - - * - A?-- -.--I- ----. --2ll -..A -## - - - .a - kfi-rn6k

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YOU will have little chance on appeal. 2. Look for work. Keep a record. You may still get cut off. Appeal your worker's decision. You should win if you have evidence that you looked for work.

Your best protection?

Look for work now and write down how you do it or

Apply to be unemployable immediately

MACK THE MOUSE

Mack the Mouse was born i n t h e Carnegie Theatre during a caba re t Saturday n igh t i n 1988. He grew q u i t e accustomed t o t h e music and merriment every Saturday evening, but suddenly at t h e end of t h e year the music stopped on Saturdays, ex- cep t on s p e c i a l occas ions when George and L i l threw a dance. But t h i s was no t o f t e n enough f o r Mack; he was so pee o 'd t h a t he moved ou t of the Carnegie and found a ho l e i n the wal l of a l o c a l t ave rn j u s t down the s t r e e t , where he could have music every n igh t . This turned i n t o d i s -

a s t e r though, because Mack took t o dr ink ing whiskey and bee r , and i n a couple of months he was a drunken bum and became q u i t e rowdy a t t imes i f t he band d i d n ' t p lay t h e songs he l i ked . He was f i n a l l y bar red f o r l i f e from t h e tavern a f t e r a v i c ious f i g h t w i t h Bouncer, t h e tavern house c a t .

For t h r e e days he wandered i n t h e cold win te r r a i n u n t i l he co l lapsed , l u c k i l y j u s t o u t s i d e t h e Dugout Club on Powell S t r e e t , where an AA meet- ing was about t o t ake p lace .

Mack crawled i n t h e door and, a s is t h e custom dur ing such meetings, he was welcomed wi th open arms and given a warm bed t o recover i n .

When e a r l y summer a r r i v e d , Mack was h i s o l d sober s e l f , and one Wed- nesday n igh t he took a walk up Car- r a l l S t r e e t . Suddenly, he stopped dead i n h i s t r a c k s and l i s t e n e d in- t e n t l y . He heard a vo ice s ing ing; a voice he 'd heard before and l i k e d . He quick ly followed t h e sound which l e d him t o t h e door of h t e C l a s s i c a l J o i n t , where t h e Wednesday n igh t

Open Stage was i n progress . "WOW,"

he squealed, h a l f of t h e Carnegie

By GARRY GUST

musicians a r e here!" So Mack scur- r i e d i n and found a good spo t t o s i t j u s t under t h e piano pedals .

Well, every Wednesday n igh t found Mack groovin ' a t t h e C l a s s i c a l J o i n t a f t e r a hard week working a t t h e Four S i s t e r s . H e even m e t h i s f i r s t g i r l f r i e n d , Susy, a t t h e J o i n t and soon they were going s teady wi th p l ans t o g e t married. But Mack was l a i d o f f from t h e S i s t e r s when they decided t o h i r e c a t s , s o t h e wedding had t o wa i t . A s long a s Mack had Susy and h i s Wednesday music n i g h t s he was conten t w i th l i f e . But once aga in a b lack cloud f e l l upon Mack and t h e o t h e r pa t rons of t h e J o i n t when one awful n i g h t t h e Duke of E a r l informed them t h a t t he Wednesday n igh t w a s being permanently cance l led because t h e new owner was making l i t t l e p r o f i t from t h e DEside, i n t h a t Wednesday was t h e on ly n igh t t h a t d i d n ' t have a cover charge.

Everyone f e l t t e r r i b l e bu t no one more than Mack, who became s o h u r t & angry t h a t he decided t o go ou t and g e t drunk. But, a s he stomped a c r o s s t h e parking l o t , h i s nose caught t h e -

whiff of a magnif icent aroma. He 1 n n L n A 12p sz>z the " i n n "hn~rn "n ------- "'6" U Y V "b ...LA

open door - "THE PIE PIPER". Mack walked i n t o check t h e p l ace

ou t , and was amazed t o see a s t a g e f i l l e d w i th musical instruments . A s f a s t a s he could, Mack r an t o Ottawa S teve ' s p l a c e and t o l d him the good news. Ottawa Steve was q u i t e impressed and t h e next day he was t h e r e t r y i n g t o t a l k t h e p r o p r i e t r e s s i n t o having t h e open s t a g e i n h e r es tab l i shment . Well, i f you know Steve, i t d i d n ' t t ake long u n t i l an agreement was made t o hold Open Stage on Wednesdays i n The P i e P ipes .

(Continued elsewhere)

REDNECK BLUES

When you ' re s o drunk n' storied you don' t know your name When your g i r l f r i e n d l eaves you i n t h e r a i n No o t h e r kind of music 's q u i t e t h e same Aint i t good t h a t country music never changed.

When you ' re looking low and l o s t on t h e lonesome road And your gospe l s o u l - b r i t e p u r p l e - s k y entoned Joy ' s Beauty becomes denounced and es t ranged Aint i t good country mus ic -never changed

Now t h e good 01' boys a l l u se t h e b l u e s I no t e To r e f u s e t o l o s e t h e song Hank Williams wrote They're s t i l l t h e b e s t numbers f o r square change I ' m s o g lad country music doesn ' t change.

P SY CHOMATH

(NORMAL e q u a l s n) t i m e s STABLE equa l s CONSTANT p l u s BALANCED d iv ided by GOOD/EVIL equa l s KARMA p l u s SELF-CONTROLLED equa l s NOT LOSING "IT" p l u s PRODUCTIVE equa l s SOBER/BUSY p l u s CREATIVE e q u a l s ALTERED STATE OF PRODUCTION p l * ~ COUI?F_GE! TOLEFAKE equa l s DESIRED GROWTH. Garry Gust

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L i f e a cons t an t re-knew-a1 w e g o t t a l e a r n i t a l l over aga in and i t has been done be fo re and i t w i l l be done aga in and why t h i s high tu rnover r a t e and why we t r y t o do something our way I guess I j u s t don ' t know, s o t h a t i s t h a t nad le t ' s f i n d another way.

Taum D.

Mack and Susy go t mar r lea soon a f - t e r and had a couple of k id s . Mack

got a job a t S t ra thcona Gardens and he was once aga in conten t wi th l i f e ; but once i n a whi le he would dream of t h e f i n e o l d days of h i s youth a t t he Carnegie Thea t re when every Saturday n igh t was a s p e c i a l t ime f o r him and h i s musical f r i e n d s .

PRESIDLXI VICE-PRESIUELT FINAVCE M Y &PHEP5ON ML'REW ORCILWD Ew. 2127, A b e r b r t C e n t r e 6 3 Y l e n b u r g Road, Li402 L h i v e r s l t y Avenua U l n n l p a g . HAG. E&wnton, U t a . R2V lM7 TM; 2J3 T e l : ( 2 0 4 ) 339-4717 ( r ) i c l : ( 4 0 3 ) 439-5520

LXZWTIVE VICE-PRESIUELT VICE-PRESrUENT ' RIC1UR;I T. WStLLE HIGH PERFORPUYCE SPORT

h S t . M a r g a r e t ' s Bay Rd., DR. DONALD ROYER I L I l f u . N.S. 2165 l ~ m a r t l n r S t r e e t 811 1 J I S h c r b r o o k e , Quebec ;el: ( 9 0 2 ) 429-3420 (b) T e l : ( 8 1 9 ) 565-0921

August 17, 1989

Mr. Sonny Isaas P.O. Box 199 Alert Bay, B.C. VON 1 ~ 0

Re: MARGARET PREVOST

Dear Mr. Isaac,

VICE-PPESIDEST L W E T I ! ; C PF.G MIXCAN IlAYES C / O M a n i t o b a U/C S p o r t * . 1495 S t . b t t h e w ' s Ave.. U l n n l p e e , H a n l t o b a 0 1 ; 3LJ T a l : ( 2 0 4 ) 831-1757

VICE-PRESIDES? DOYESTIC SPORT BARB FY)YiTBL'RP.O 8 9 - 4 3 V a l l c y w u o d s Dr . . N o r t h York. Ont . T s l : ( 4 1 6 ) $45-7637

NATIONAL OFFICE 1600 J a w s N e l s m l t h Dr . , C l o u c e ~ t e r . . O n t a r l o K1B 5x4 B. DEAV HEL'.UAY E x e c u t i v e D l r e c r o r T e l : ( 6 1 3 ) 748-5665 (6)

C A N A D I A N WHEELCHAIR SPORTS ASSOCIATION

ASSOCIATION CANADIENNE DES SPORTS EN FAUTEUIL ROULANT

Please accept this as confirmation that the above named is in our National Basketball Team Program for Women.

She will be working toward making the squad that represents Canada at an international Tournament in Minnesota in February 1990 and/or St. E ' 'rance in July 1990. The nucleus of these teams will in all likelyhood make up the majority of the participants that represent Canada at the 1992 Paralympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Any assistance that she receives will undoubtedly give her a greater chance of making one or all of these teams. Thank you in advance for your concern and consideration.

I

Sincerely, REG McCLELLAN (Basketball Director)

cc. Basketball kkqresentat i~res fnr R - C - Vice Chairperson of High Performance Margaret Prevost

Sonny Isaac has been involved with wheelchair sports for a long time. As Margaret Prevost, the subject of the above letter, says, "He did a lot of work PO get us to France in 1984. We were in the final game against the U.S.A. and Sonny was our main man. Without him we'd have had to watch it on TV like everybody else.'' If anyone can make a donation toward ~anada's star wheelchair basketball

player going to these events, find Marg Prevost. She'll be glad to talk to ya!

BABY

Stand on the corner Ancient~eyes, infant face Call of the siren, echoes of Jezebel You're wreathed in white ecstasy Please come home, I love you Mom.

Della

the music turned out so wrong momentarily shattered! like a beat tom out of the heat you' re burning. like a river run dry like ole man time lost his tears for all our sorrows. And then it turned out so right - momentaiily brilliant. A canvas brought out of the dungeon th?own. into light--- colours and shapes--- & c h i l d Zrmgl i t I z t ~ :kc zcrld yelling for joy when it works, it works, when it doesn't, it doesn't and beyond that... there is a place in between that isn't quite right or wrong, good or bad, hot or cold.. No absolutes or perfections - momentarily shattered! is it necessary something has to be absolute? - - - is it necessary something has to be total perfection? but perhaps a child's joy to live is perfection ...p erhaps absolute... perhaps ... Dave McConnell

Gretsky shoots Jesus saves written on the wall By some mad aerosol artist Brings a smile Even in my anger I find humour Between the long empty Night streets Over the Granville Bridge Slipping through the early morning hours Wondering at the beauty Of the night skyline Pausing to imagine The destination of other Transitory voyageurs Thru the city of the night The locus of my ethereal travels is you And I have surrounded your dwelling With thought and footsteps

9 Whilst the earth resolves

-.----J

another day, Turning with me around you. -

Tom Lewis

SUMMER SLEEPLESS NIGH(T)

Everything flips to normal -- - c I ~ c . c . ~ A n q r t G n r I W ~ I ~ P J" O L L C Y U + U uu- --- -..----- Awake, Goddamned siren, awake! Listening to the Reds and Whites howl cowering in my hovel nerve ends synapsis pulsing Nay Boors complaining of the wax disks I'm spinning no cigarettes left to null my oral fixation and a reading to do so much preparation left and still it is the first time everytime and sweating and nervousness and coffee and smiling guitar chords a new breakthrough there may be some hope left.

HELP STOP CUTS TO

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE B E N E F I T S

t The Mulroney government Is trying to slash your r l g h t to collect Unemployment lnsurance beneflts when you most need It

* There Is stlll tlme to stop the drastlc changes to the

Unemployment lnsurance A c t .

* HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN DO ...

* Drop in to the Parliamentary Committee hearings which will investigate the

I

proposed cuts:

- September 1 1 8. 12 , - Hotel Meridien (Burrard at Smithe)

- 9:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M.

* Attend the Rally Against U.I. Cuts - !!onday. September 11 a t 12:15 P.M. - Vancouver Art Gallery Steps

(Robson Street side)

WE CAN STOP MULRONEY I F WE ACT NOW!

Sponsored by: The B.C. Federath of Labax The Vanxwver and District Labcu Cuncll The New Westminster and Dlstrlct Labaa Cancll The Vanaxlvsr Coalltkm Agahst Free Trade

WENDY'S HAMBURGERS:

HAVE A' GOOD SHIT

drag james bond out of h i s gold p la ted he l i cop te r

send him t o scout camp with the mckenzie brothers

give ronald reagan a job s e l l i n g j o i n t s on a s t r e e t c o r n e r i n harlem

turn nancy i n t o a hooker with a hundred m i l i t a n t l e sb ians on her case

send general ha ig t o c lean out l a t r i n e s on abandoned m i l i t a r y bases i n the p h i l l i p i n e s

pa in t margaret tha tche r ' s t o e n a i l s with plutonium

perform p l a s t i c surgery on mulroney's bul le tproof jaw apply pagan therapy t o born again ch slow down t i m e s top every th ing dec la re a n a t i o n a l day of mourning f o r the c ruc i f ix ion of your own soul s i t down on the t o i l e t . think about i t have a good s h i t

TORA

.r is t i an

Soaking up t h e standard scene They s e e m t o f ind some s a t i s f a c t i o n Making s u r e the c a t s a r e fed Keeping the k i tchen c lean

I l lumination comes t o them On some other channel Lining up t o laugh & t a l k Outside a popular dream.

Making s u r e the bugs a r e dead Keeping the f i n g e r n a i l s c lean

I wonder i f they ever Hear the s t e p s of Sudden death-like change Approaching on the s t a i r

I wonder how The f i n a l wave w i l l break When t i m e t r anspor t s them.

TORA

S

Turning The o ld e a r t h ' s Weathered head I am alone on t h i s beach with you. Night comes on me i n a dream.

Who is depart ing From t h i s world among us?

Who is touching my hea r t With i n v i s i b l e f inger s? I weave you i n a conscious form.

One who is Far of f i n s t i l l n e s s Guarding the Animal medicine Under h i s sk in . S p i r i t dancers shake him hal f awake.

One who must r a i s e The individual Standing dream alone

Leading the s p i r i t horse out i n t o the l i g h t .

TOW

IT WAS THE POETRY WMAT DONE ME I N

See these grey ' a i r s ? Know what 1 b in doin ' To earn a few bucks? Pu t t i ng up pos t e r s ! I ask you - A t my time of l i f e !

I coulda been a b l eed in s tockbroker O r a corpora te wha t s i t by now. It was t h e poetry what done me i n . Shoulda never b in exposed t o i t A t a tender age. Sent me o f f , i t d i d , on a wi ld goose chase Af te r Truth and Beauty - Quite forgot about money.

SO, ' e r e I a m S t i ck ing up ruddy p o s t e r s

Your Honor. Instead of f o l l e r i n g me muse. D i s e n t i t l e d from U I C Because I l i s t e d me t r a d e R On the form - POET. "I am seeking work a s a poet." Your Pride. . I D i s e n t i t l e d , TO a p i t t a n c e of recompense By prosy people Who Like P l a t o Want no Poets - LEL i;Le--r - r 3 - - - 1 n - . . - . ~ l 2,.

~ u c a ~ r u z p u v i r ~ IZ W K X * < + 1 ~~~~~~~ 7- U b J m- u:, ,G

David Bouvier

Progress? Easy a s shoot ing a wolf from a h e l i c o p t e r . Where's t h e r e muck t h e r e ' s b ra s s , l ad . True enough,

muck meant manure and b r a s s w a s t h e yellow gold exchanged f o r f e r t i l e land.

But now t h e muck is t o x i c and t h e money n o t even paper but a f r a g i l e "memory" i n some mic roc i r cu i t .

Impoverishment, l i k e a n n i h i l a t i o n , now equa l ly i n s t a n t l y p o s s i b l e a t the push of t h e wrong but ton. I

Progress? Why t h a t means going forward, of course. But. . . I

what i f we a r e s tanding on t h e edge of t h e abyss? I

David Bouvier