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Strike camps prepped as parents worry YMCA, neighbourhood houses make plans to help families By Cheryl Rossi
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he YMCA of Greater Vancouver had 937 children on its “just in case” waiting list for Strike Camps as of last week. The YMCA announced Aug. 14 it would provide approximately 1,200 spots at 34 locations across the Lower Mainland and Sunshine Coast if a settlement between the government and teachers isn’t reached before the scheduled start of school Sept. 2. Fourteen of the 34 locations are in Vancouver. “Parents are certainly stressed right now with things being uncertain,” said Kelly Walker, manager of marketing and communications for the YMCA. The camps would be for children aged five to 12. Five-year-olds must be entering kindergarten this year. The camps would run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each week day and include physical activity and
outdoor play. Camps would cost $15 a day for YMCA members and $30 a day for non-members at YMCA centres, with different prices at the Y’s other licensed childcare locations. The YMCA will provide financial assistance to families unable to cover costs. Walker said vacant childcare spots exist at YMCA centres. A spokesperson for the park board said in an email that parents should contact their closest community centre to check whether it is planning day camps for kids in September. “If they felt they had the staff and resources, they would try to organize day camps for the kids this fall,” wrote Daria Wojnarski. Vision Vancouver commissioner Constance Barnes expects commissioners to speak to park board staff about building on programs. “And are we in a position financially to take on the burden of the fact that the teachers are going to continue on strike and the kids are not in school,” she said. Cedar Cottage Neighbourhood House has approximately 290 school-aged children registered for before- or after-school care.
It didn’t operate childcare at its six elementary schools during the teachers’ rotating strikes, but it offered care for 105 children a day at three school sites when a full-scale strike started, with support from the teachers’ union and principals. The neighbourhood house’s director of childcare, Karen Cooper, has contacted the teachers’ union and principals. For now, she’s assuming Cedar Cottage has the support of the union, union representatives at schools and principals to operate at schools in September. Cedar Cottage doesn’t have vacancies for additional children. At the very least, Collingwood Neighbourhood House hopes to care for schoolaged children registered if the strike stretches into September. Sharon Gregson, director of child and family development services for Collingwood Neighbourhood House, said it would keep a waiting list for families that aren’t registered. Collingwood Neighbourhood House didn’t provide care in elementary schools during job action in June. The neighbourhood house refunded parents’ fees for 12 days.
People before
Profit
Striking teachers walk the picket line last week at University Hill secondary school. Jennifer Gauthier photo “We’ve had a loss of revenue,” Gregson said. “Our budget is very tight every year so we count on being full and being full year-round.” First and foremost, she says, parents want the government to settle with teachers. “The $40 a day [from the provincial government] is not helpful for parents who can’t find the kind of quality, the basic health and safety that they want, that they count on in licensed childcare,” she said. “So we’re just really willing to look at anything we can do to operate at this point.” Gregson hopes to inform registered families about the neighbourhood houses’s plans by the end of next week. Being on the YMCA waiting list doesn’t guarantee a spot, but the organization vows to offer care to all those it can accommo-
date. Walker said representatives would call parents to complete the registration process once details of the strike are known. “As far as timing, we will be nimble to the situation as it evolves,” she said. To add your child to the YMCA’s waitlist, phone 604-939-9622. What is Gregson’s advice to parents? “Call your MLA and let them know how much you want a settlement,” said Gregson, a former COPE and Vision Vancouver school board trustee. Gregson, also spokesperson for the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC, said parents hope the government’s offer of $40 a day for childcare during a continued strike means it’s moving closer to a commitment to $10 a day childcare plan. –Story courtesy of the Vancouver Courier
TEDx announces first three speakers TEDxVancouver has revealed its first three speakers today, representing the fields of spirituality, fashion and philanthropy, and sport: • Victor Chan: Forty years of friendship with the Dalai Lama have taught Chan a lot about the pursuit of happiness (they have co-authored two books). He is the founder of the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education and has travelled the world with the Tibetan spiritual leader. • Treana Peake: As the founder and creative designer of the luxury fashion line Obakki and its philanthropic counterpart, the Obakki Foundation, Peake has fused her lifelong passions together to create engaging and innovative philanthropy. • Jay DeMerit: From the quiet streets of a small midwestern town in the US to the raucous stadiums of the English Premier League and 2010 World Cup, DeMerit’s rise to football prominence is a story of triumph. With the recent announcement of his retirement, the former captain of the Vancouver Whitecaps FC is set to embark on an unfamiliar journey. Returning for its fifth edition, TEDxVancouver will take place at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Oct. 18. Organizers will continue to reveal the full speaker lineup over the coming weeks, and tickets are scheduled to go on sale in early September. –Kelsey Klassen
MEDICARE COVERS EVERYBODY. AND EVERYBODY BENEFITS. But Medicare opponents are heading to court to try and dismantle Canada’s public health care system.
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VIFF focuses on BC-made films
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Vancouver’s Sonja Bennett stars alongside James Caan in Preggoland (which she penned herself), one of 13 BC-made films featured at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival. Pristine Coast (Scott Reynard); Sitting on the Edge of Marlene (Ana Valine); Songs She Wrote About People She Knows (Kris Elgstrand); and Two 4 One (Maureen Bradley). Also on the schedule: A 25th anniversary screening of Anne Wheeler’s Bye Bye Blues. In addition, VIFF will hand out two cash awards to BC filmmakers: A $10,000 Best BC Film award, and a $7500 BC Emerging Filmmaker award. VIFF runs Sept. 25 to Oct. 10 at an array of local venues, and WE Vancouver will have plenty of film fest coverage in upcoming issues. Watch this space for filmmaker interviews, red carpet photos, and reviews.
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he race for the 2015 Leo Awards begins this September at the 2014 Vancouver International Film Festival, where 13 BC-made feature films will screen as part of a special Spotlight on BC showcase. VIFF launched the series last year in an effort to bolster the local industry after it had been wracked by a perfect storm of difficult challenges (remember #SaveBCfilm?), to overwhelming success: The showcase earned the highest audience ratings in VIFF history. The 13 features confirmed for the 2014 Spotlight on BC run the gamut from comedy to thrillers, drama to documentaries. There are new docs from celebrated filmmakers Vic Sarin (The Boy from Geita) and Julia Kwan (Everything Will Be), and daring features from emerging directors Soran Mardookhi (Turbulence) and Jason Bourque (Black Fly). Vancouver actress Sonja Bennett makes her screenwriting debut with Preggoland, in which she stars alongside James Caan and Danny Trejo, and We Are the City drummer Andrew Huculiak introduces himself as a director in Violent, an atmospheric flick shot in Norway and inspired by his band’s latest album. Rounding out this baker’s dozen of BC films: Bloody Knuckles (Matt O’Mahoney); Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story (Grant Baldwin); Martin’s Pink Pickle (Rene Brar); The
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horoscopes
Free Will Astrology
Latin text: “If heaven I cannot bend, then hell I will stir.”
By Rob Brezsny • Week of August 28 ARIES (MARCH 21-APRIL 19): In the coming weeks it will be important for you to bestow blessings and disseminate gifts and dole out helpful feedback. Maybe you already do a pretty good job at all that, but I urge you to go even further. Through acts of will and surges of compassion, you can and should raise your levels of generosity. Why? Your allies and loved ones need more from you than usual. They have pressing issues that you have special power to address. Moreover, boosting your largesse will heal a little glitch in your mental health. It’s just what the soul doctor ordered. TAURUS (APRIL 20-MAY 20): The Icelandic word hoppípolla means “jumping into puddles.” I’d love to make that one of your themes in the coming weeks. It would be in sweet accordance with the astrological omens. You are
overdue for an extended reign of freelance play... For a time of high amusement mixed with deep fun and a wandering imagination. See if you can arrange to not only leap into the mud, but also roll down a hill and kiss the sky and sing hymns to the sun. For extra credit, consider adding the Bantu term mbukimvuki to your repertoire. It refers to the act of stripping off your clothes and dancing with crazy joy. GEMINI (MAY 21-JUNE 20): During the course of its life, an oyster may change genders numerous times. Back and forth it goes, from male to female and vice versa, always ready to switch. I’m nominating this ambisexual creature to be your power animal in the coming weeks. There has rarely been a better time than now to experiment with the pleasures of gender fluidity. I invite you to tap into the increased
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resilience and sexy wisdom that could come by expanding your sense of identity in this way. CANCER (JUNE 21-JULY 22): I’m getting the sense that in the coming days you will be more casual and nonchalant than usual. More jaunty and unflappable. You may not be outright irresponsible, but neither will you be hyper-focused on being ultra-responsible. I suspect you may even opt not to be buttoned and zippered all the way to the top. It’s also possible you will be willing to let a sly secret or two slip out, and allow one of your interesting eccentricities to shine. I think this is mostly fine. My only advice is to tilt in the direction of being carefree rather than careless. LEO (JULY 23-AUG. 22): In his novel Les Miserables, French author Victor Hugo chose to write a convoluted sentence that was 823 words long. American novelist William Faulkner outdid him, though. In his book Absalom, Absalom!, he crafted a single rambling, labyrinthine sentence crammed with 1,287 words. These people should not be your role models in the coming weeks, Leo. To keep rolling in the direction of your best possible destiny, you should be concise and precise. Straightforward simplicity will work better
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for you than meandering complexity. There’s no need to rush, though. Take your time. Trust the rhythm that keeps you poised and purposeful. VIRGO (AUG. 23-SEPT. 22): As you know, real confidence has no bluster or bombast. It’s not rooted in a desire to seem better than everyone else and it’s not driven by a fear of appearing weak. Real confidence settles in when you have a clear vision of exactly what you need to do. Real confidence blooms as you wield the skills and power you have built through your hard work and discipline. And as I think you already sense, Virgo, the time has come for you to claim a generous new share of real confidence. You are ready to be a bolder and crisper version of yourself. LIBRA (SEPT. 23-OCT. 22): As I understand your situation, Libra, you have played by the rules; you have been sincere and well-meaning; you have pressed for a solution that was fair and just. But that hasn’t been enough. So now, as long as you stay committed to creating a righteous outcome, you are authorized to invoke this declaration, originally uttered by the ancient Roman poet Virgil: “If I am unable to make the gods above relent, I shall move hell.” Here’s an alternate translation of the original
SCORPIO (OCT. 23-NOV. 21): “Start every day off with a smile and get it over with,” said the misanthropic comedian W.C. Fields. I know it’s weird to hear those words coming from a professional optimist like me, but just this once I recommend that you follow Fields’ advice. In the near future, you should be as serious and sober and unamusable as you have ever been. You’ve got demanding work to attend to; knotty riddles to solve; complex situations to untangle. So frown strong, Scorpio. Keep an extra sour expression plastered on your face. Smiling would only distract you from the dogged effort you must summon. Unless, of course, you know for a fact that you actually get smarter and more creative when you laugh a lot. In which case, ignore everything I said. Instead, be a juggernaut of cheerful problem-solving. SAGITTARIUS (NOV. 22DEC. 21): Mahalia Jackson (1911-1972) was a renowned African-American gospel singer who lent her talents to the civil rights movement. Martin Luther King Jr. often called on her to be an opening act for his speeches. She was there on the podium with him on August 28, 1963 in Washington, D.C. when he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. In fact, it was her influence that prompted him to depart from his prepared notes and improvise the stirring climax. “Tell them about the dream, Martin,”
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she politely heckled. And he did just that. Who’s your equivalent of Mahalia Jackson, Sagittarius? Whose spur would you welcome? Who might interrupt you at just the right time? Seek out influences that will push you to reach higher. CAPRICORN (DEC. 22-JAN. 19): When Europeans first explored the New World, ships captained by Italians led the way. But none of them sailed Italian ships or represented Italian cities. Cristoforo Colombo (today known as Christopher Columbus) was funded by the government of Spain, Giovanni de Verrazzano by France, and Giovanni Caboto (now known as John Cabot) by England. I see a lesson here for you, Capricorn. To flourish in the coming months, you don’t necessarily need to be supported or sponsored by what you imagine are your natural allies. You may get further by seeking the help of sources that are not the obvious choices. AQUARIUS (JAN. 20-FEB. 18): Walter Kaufman had a major role in clarifying the meaning and importance of Friedrich Nietzsche. His English translations of the German philosopher’s books are benchmarks, as are his analyses of the man’s ideas. And yet Kaufman was not a cheerleader. He regarded Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra as brilliant and triumphant, but also verbose and melodramatic: a “profusion of sapphires in the mud.” I love that phrase, Aquarius, and maybe you will, too, as you navigate your way through the coming weeks. Don’t just automatically avoid the mud, because that’s probably where you will find the sapphires. PISCES (FEB. 19-MARCH 20): I’m not tolerant of greed. Acquisitiveness bothers me. Insatiableness disgusts me. I am all in favor of people having passionate yearnings, but am repelled when their passionate yearnings spill over into egomaniacal avarice. As you can imagine, then, I don’t counsel anyone to be piggishly self-indulgent. Never ever. Having said that, though, I advise you to be zealous in asking for what you want in the coming weeks. It will be surprisingly healing for both you and your loved ones if you become aggressive in identifying what you need and then going after it. I’m confident, in fact, that it’s the wisest thing for you to do.
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