February 1, 2015, carnegie newsletter

FEBRUARY 1, 2015

FREE. Do not pay for this paper.

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Index carnegienewsletter.org Website carnnews@shaw.ca email carnnews@vcn.bc.ca

401 Main Street, Vancouver V6A 2T7 604·665·2289

February 4. 5. 6. 2015 12am to Spm - At Oppenheimer 'Park 'fV''' ....I'..t'.'AA.t'Vv''''v'A..A.'''v''V'\...vv,A"A,A.'''<

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ROUND 1 The fabulous fundraiser for the Carnegie Newsletter has happened. The concert was "thoroughly enjoyable & wonderfully entertaining" - to combine 2 remarks made by persons there. First was Twin Bandit, "my all-time favourite duo" -Hannah & Jaimie- hailing from tHe dtes & just returned from Nashville. Next was a singer & piano player courtesy of City Opera Vancouver accompanied by lohanna Hauser, clarinet with many performances of classics at Camegie. Lisa met a woman who had been in attendance while in transit on Monday; she had s enjoyed the piece sung by the soprano that she'd gone to a shop that sold old LP records & bought a symphonic rendition. Ending the first half of the show was the Solidarity Notes Labour Choir, under the excellent guidance of Earle Peach, also a musician, singer & having his own band The Illiterattv. Solidarity Notes has contributed at rallies, conferences, events & protests in the Lower Mainland.

People were encouraged to make bids in the Silent Auction during the upcoming intermission. Donated items ranged from a potpourri of thrift- store-destined stuff to hand-made scarves to books to pottery&art of local artists. The featured treasure was a framed print

by Richard Tetrault called 6~brau. The last bit before pushing back of chairs started was th evangelical fervour of Terry Hunter in his "we need your support" pitch. True to his style, Terry had talked to several long-time residents & workers, paid & unpaid, about their impressions over the years of the paper. You can read it here: - Hurray for the Carnegie Newsletter.

The second half began with Harmony of Nations Drum Group, led by hereditary chiefLes Nelson.

The Creaking Planks, following, are hard t describe Their hype says ''taking well-known songs & making them unrecognisable; a riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in bacon..."

The final act was Geoff Berner. People were amazed and many were laughing almost hysterically; he got thunderous applause.

Thanks at the close to the organisers, volunteers, the featured acts, the Elders, and all who gave their time & talent to pulling off the evening's event.

Even though the main point of a fundraiser is to do just that, the experience of the one two years ago was that low-income friends & neighbours didn't feel okay

about coming. This event addressed that with entry $0 to $20. Whatever you could afford was fme. The good effort realised just over $3,000. It's a start & the Gaming Commission last year permitted $4000 of the Association's revenue to be used for the redefmed "Writing Program." If that's repeated this year, there is an additional $4000 needed for the Newsletter and $3000 for the next edition of our resource guide Help in the Downtown Eastside. This last is something any philanthropist should happily give funds for. Maybe it is just not knowing about it & the decent job it does ...

The gap between #46 & #47 was 14 months but an update is needed at least every 8 months. Anyone who knows of an individual with $3Kjust burning a hole in their pocket waiting to be spent on a worthwhile endeavour(!) give them a heads-up, okay?!

By PAULR TAYLOR, Editor.

TIME FOR A CHANGE After working for more than a dozen years at the Carnegie Library and 18 of the last 20 in the Vancouver Public Library, it is time for something different.

To all the kind, witty and respectful people I served and chatted with, but did not get to tell of my plans, thank you and goodbye. I am off to pursue other opportunities. Peace lohan

The Luxury of Community Whan my son & I are dining We are not just pining We come to, not a whinery Not even wearing our finery We come to the Carnegie Where we find luxury & A sense of community Good food and conversation And talk about the nation Keeps us on our toes Even Egor writes some prose.

We appreciate & thank all the volunteers who have tried to save this area. from its hell and make Carnegie a heaven for us all.

Thanx to staff for your assistance & faithful service; let's all save our Carnegie for years to come.

Sincerely, loyce Morgan

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From the Library

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For a short month, February is packed with events and issue awareness. We have the Homeless Connect event (Feb. 3), followed by Homeground at Oppenheimer (Feb. 4 - 6), and then the Women's Memorial March on Feb. 14th. We celebrate Lunar New Year on Feb. 19th (Gung Hay Fat Choy! !), acknowledge that February is "Black History Month," and one of my favourite weeks is "Freedom to Read Week" (Feb. 22 - 28). Phew!! For this colum , I'm highlighting women authors whose books have been challenged in Canada ...

A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence was challenged in 1978 for fear that it would diminish the authority of teachers in students' eyes, as it depicts an unhappy schoolteacher who had affairs out of wedlock!

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson is a children's story about two lonely kids who imagine a magical forest world. It was challenged by a parent in 2006 for using the words, "lordy," "pervert," and "see through blouse." Shocking!

GoAsk Alice by Anonymous was removed from highschools in Richmond and Langley in 1978, as it is a coming of age story about a teenage girl with reference to drugs and sex. Even after protests by parents, librarians and trustees the book stayed banned. This was the same scenario for Lives of Girls and Women

by Alice Munro in 1976 with the added no-no of "explicit language."

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a PulitzerPrize winning classic that was often challenged, with the most recent being in 1991 by an Afro-Canadian group who disliked the portrayal of racial minorities.

A similar situation occurred for Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker, as it is intended to be anti-racist but simultaneously has negative representations and word choices.

The best solution, according to the "Freedom to Read" website, is to empower and encourage students and readers to assess books critically, consider the context of the book, and the impact of divisive issues on the community represented. If any of these interest you, I can track them down in our catalogue.

Your librarian, Natalie

[Molecules of Emotion is an excellent book the remarkable work of a research scientist, starting with the incredible discovery of 1tie opiate receptor in the human cell and brain. Simultaneous with years of cutting edge science is the patronage & systemic obstacles placed both upon & in the way of this genius.

She happened to be a woman. By Candice Pert PhD. Ed]

True Friendship ...

SCOTTISH STYLE!! (None of that Sissy stufJ) Are ye tired of those weak 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality? Well, here are a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship ...

You will see no cute wee smiley faces on this card.

Just the stone cold truth of a great friendship.

1... When ye are sad -- I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against the bastard who made ye sad.

2 ... When ye are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking ye.

3 ... When ye "smile -- I will know ye are thinking of something that I'd probably want to be involved in.

4 ... When ye are scared -- I will shake the crap out of ye every chance I get, until you're NOT. 5 ... When ye are worried -- I will tell ye stories about how much worse it could be until YE STOP YER WHINING! 6 ... When yer confused -- I will try to use only wee words.

7 ... When ye are sick -- Stay tae hell away from me until ye are well again. I dinna want what ye've got.

8 ... When ye fall, I will laugh me head off at you, you clumsy arse, .... but I'll help ye up 9 ... This is my oath .... I pledge it to the end.

'Why?' you may ask; Because ... you are my friend.

Friendship is like peein' in your pants, everyone can see it, but only you can feel the true warmth.

Send this to ten 0' yer closest friends, then get depressed because ye can only think of four.

Submitted by me brudder Bill, who passed on that our Da's Ma was a wee lass from th Land 0' th Gaels.

"Hurray for the Carnegie Newsletter The Downtown Eastside's most widely read paper about the Downtown Eastside.

Nothing else like it in the City!

The longest survivor. What other is there?

Deeply committed to the cause of the community Fearless, entertaining, moving, Adventuresome with the facts Passionate, committed. A must read.

Consistency. Issue afte Issue.

Month after month.

Year after year.

Decade after decade.

Thanks to the commitment of the volunteer staff Working with the Downtown Eastside, for the Downtown Eastside, about the Downtown Eastside.

Educates about the DTES community, Advocates for issues and concerns of our community Speaks our values to the larger city and beyond.

A gold mine of writing Giving voice to the low income community of the DTES Informing.

Illuminating.

Opening our eyes to gentrification and displacement Opening our hearts to the conditions of the SRO's and the need for affordable housing Nothing like it at any other community centre in the city.

Participant driven. An anarchistic publication.

Produced with hours of volunteer work.

Represents what real democracy is.

Its Real.

Not City funded. Not City propaganda.

Suits have come up the stairwell to the Carnegie office.

Paul didn't give a S-H-I-T Our Community is not a rich community.

But the newsletter brings out our richness.

It brings out the beauty of our community

It sheds light on the lives of the community The stories of the daily Eves of the community.

We come alive through the Carnegie Newsletter.

Our tears. Our laughter. Our beauty. Our pain.

This chronicler of our community Gives us a reason to exist.

For decades through all kinds of change.

Its still there. The voice. Our voice.

Our phoenix. Community run. Community owned.

We don't have access to the Globe and Mail, The Province, The Sun. Like no other the Carnegie Newsletter shares the voices coming out of the wilderness.

Shares the voices that the mainstream won't publish.

An essential paper that people look forward to.

No other newsletter tracks the lives of our diverse community Though not everyone agrees with it, it plays a major role The news and views from the Heart of our community.

A major source for people to have a say - through poetry, words, art.

Rough and Refined. Raw and sublime.

Black & white scissor cut from loving old-school hands.

Beloved for its wonderful haphazard design.

The layout is unique - it is a Pauling.

Month after month, issue after issue The newsletter of Bud Osbom, Robyn Livingstone, Stephen Lytton, Muriel Williams, The newsletter of Jim Dewer, Robert McGillivray, Ellis, Kelly Stewart and Sandy Cameron, The newsletter of Rita Wong, DJ Bruce, AI, Wilhelmina Mary and John Allan Douglas, The newsletter of Stephen Belkin, Dave Jaffe, Diane Neufeld, John Goodall & Skippy the tye-dyed mascot, The newsletter of Marlene Wuttanee, Clarence, Henry George, Garry Gust and Fuckhead Jones Here we hear a different mindset.

Incredible our editor Paul

Giving voice to those not recognized and easily dismissed.

Honest and accessible.

The writing may be brilliant. It may be imperfect.

As we are brilliant. As we are imperfect.

And there is fun in there.

The pencil comics. Simple. But funny.

The Carnegie newsletter uncloaks.

A place to be emotionally naked.

To reveal ourselves. A place t be trusted.

Sweetness. Fearless. Surviving through laughter.

Read enough and see how people improve.

Read enough and learn about other people.

It is where the heart is. It comes from the heart.

A lot of people come from bitter roots Carnegie newsletter helps us find our beauty.

It's like a WOW, it's so good.

People may move away from our community But they stay connected through the newsletter.

People subscribe: from Central America to Smithers BC Keeps us connected. Keeps us in touch.

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In touch with each other.

With what's going on.

With what's going down.

A piece of the neighbourhood.

Very important writing in it Terrible to think of it not being here.

Genuinely for the people.

A Downtown Eastside broadsheet A cornucopia of ideas. Open and accessible Run with no Board of Political Correctness.

Represents multiple points of view.

Don't buy this. It's free.

We We We We We

owe the Carnegie Newsletter. give thanks for your generosity. are grateful. We salute you. say thank you Carnegie Newsletter. say Hurray for the Carnegie Newsletter!

Terry Hunter

based on the thoughts of Charles Barber, Michael Clague, Leith Harris, Terry Hunter, Stephen Lytton, Kelty McKerracher, Savannah Walling and Muriel Williams.

FURTHER STREET Like stunt corpses winning awards for Best Death in a Real City They sure seren't kidding when they said the following years won't be pretty then again there's nothing to lose but fear itself, here in a world so frantic & cold children not being beaten or abused in worse ways. What about all of us who like this world becoming quite old Further Street is for growing up not down the one thing everyone has in common is a lack of something called wealth, that' one for all' 'all for one' seems to exist onion Further Street, like shopping cart valets & government-funded 3-month holidays Now down in the States blacks & whites just aren't mixing that well, like living in a state of constant fear&pain then the very next day all of it happens all over again down on Further Street the futility ... like the bruises from simply trying to live your life begin to swell, so will this ever stop - bring us unlimited happiness or complete restrictions on any kind of personal success our freedoms of speech living & even assisted dignity of dying is what Further Street is all about, now the frail & the weak shall be given unlimited airtime for they have so many very important sub jects on which to speak & speak they shall 'til emperor Gregor's ears begin to register a whisper as a colossal rock-arena-like shout, like telling the truth just because so many lies rely on-its loss why not through 'in a catered holocaust so many find confidence in ignorance' with a capitalist chaser. ..

This street means life bad worse or even fair but like a pain that never dulls it always finds a soul to spare One day this universe will become undone thanks to the human machine eraser, tremendous opportunities await those who are trying to control the world simply because they are rich as for you & me we will be bulldozed into the world's most beautiful ditch does heaven take picture ID? Like a silent era sound system or sound advice for the deaf when they begin tearing down Further Street we will be joining Third World countries for very real mass deaths now if Mr Cancer ever took a sick day off how neat that aspect of life could overwhelm the world and you & me.

Now that would be something to feel &/or hear &/or see, and please keep tabs on your sanity.

By ROBERT McGILLIVRA Y

"..greedy for the property of others, extravacant with his own" -sallust Today I am ashamed to l1ea human being! Charlie Hebdo victims shall live on inside us all who thrive on laughter & free speech. -R McG

Come and sing with the

CARNEGIE CHOIR! Saturdays 6:30 - 9:30 PM Sundays 2:30 - 5:30 PM Jan. 17,to May 17, 2014 Classroom 2 (3rd Floor)

EVERYONE WELCOME! NEIGHBOURHOOD SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM 2015 The 2015 NSG program launch & online application opens February 23rdâ&#x20AC;˘ Deadline for submissions is March 31'\ 2015. http://neighbourhoodsmallgrants.caigrantineighbourhoo d-small-grants

(Hard copies of applications available at Ray-Cam, Strathcona, Carnegie & Britannia Community Centres) RESIDENT ADVISQRY COMMITTEE If you're interested in being on this committee, email LinseaO¡Shea-linsea.nsgp@grnail.com.

Orientation will take place at Strathcona Community I Centre on Saturday March 7th, time to be determined, and you will need to attend 4-6 meetings (depending on the number of apps) between April 1 & June 30.

Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) JJQ JmÂŁfÂą ~

1TiJJ*tlu

NEWSLETTER http://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com

Jl*R February, 2015

Protect Chinatownl Moratorium Now!

"Welcome to Vancouver Chinatown", the colourful mural on E. Pender Street says.

But when the mural is covered by the 8-storey condo being built, will it be "Bye Bye Chinatown" instead?

A wave of development is flooding into Chinatown, threatening the future of the historic neighbourhood, which is recognized as the largest Chinatown in Canada and the second largest in North America next to San Francisco. As

789 new housing units come into the neighbourhood, Chinatown is losing its distinct character and its cultural assets. Its low-income housing is also at risk as land values and property taxes continue to rise as a result of the development fever.

Without clear binding policies to protect Chinatown, the neighbourhood will just become another Gastown and its history, heritage, and importance to the local community will be lost forever:

PROTECT CHINATOWN'S CHARACTER, HERITAGE AND CULTURAL ASSETS! Immediately place a moratorium on all market development projects!

We are asking everyone to support this campaign in demanding Vancouver City Council to immediately place a moratorium on all new market development projects until there is comprehensive community consultation and clear policies to protect the future of Vancouver's Chinatown.

As the first community formed by Chinese Canadians in Vancouver amidst a racist environment and many racist policies, including the Head Tax, Chinatown is of invaluable importance; its history must not be forgotten and Chinatown must be protected as a historic area. It must be carefully preserved and taken care of, not just seen as cheap land on which to make big profits or investments.

Chinatown continues to hold incalculable importance to the community that live, work, play, shop, and socialize in the 2

neighbourhood, many of which are on lowincomes. However, the sense of belonging and community is being eroded by the current changes in the neighbourhood. The low-income serving retail and low-income housing in Chinatown are all at risk if this development fever continues, threatening to displace Chinatown residents, many of whom are semors.

Chinatown must be protected. We need a moratorium on new ~ market developments ~ until policies are put in â&#x20AC;˘.r!~5:::d place to accomplish that.

CCAP will be tabling ~~~~~~~

in the coming weeks in the Chinatown area to collect signatures. A schedule of tabling times and locations can be found on our websi te (http://ccapvancou ver. word press. corn!). There are also petitions on the CCAP bulletin board on the 2nd floor of the Carnegie Centre. If you have internet access, there is also an online petition: bit. ly/unite4chinatown.

Join us in fighting for Chinatown's future.

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CITY TO 'CONSIDER HOW TO MAKE SRO HOTEL ROOMS MORE AFFORDABLE â&#x20AC;˘

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By Jean Swanson "It's an emergency situation and Council needs to treat it as an emergency. I don't know what you don't get about that."

That's what Harold Lavender told Vancouver City Council on Dec. 17th when they were considering a motion about SRO hotel rooms.

Originally, the motion, proposed by Green Councillor Adriane Carr, would have helped protect the 74 rooms at the Clifton Hotel on Granville St. from being gentrified and rented out at $900 a month after renovations. But Carr changed the motion to simply require city staff to report back at the end of March about "opportunities to maintain affordability and protect tenant rights in SRA properties through amending the SRA By-law or by other means."

The Camegie Community Action Project (CCAP) wanted Council to tell the Clifton

owner that if he renovated his building, he would be charged a conversion fee of $15,000 per unit. CCAP has legal advice that the SRA bylaw would allow this interpretation but the city refuses to us it. If the city could charge the $15,000 it would give them some negotiating clout to try to preserve some or all of the rooms for low income people.

A dirty toilet in the Clifton

The Clifton has been in terrible condition for several years. It is filthy, has numerous fire and safety issues as well as pests and broken walls, etc. Tenants called one room at the Clifton "the bird sanctuary" because it was filled with pigeons who flew in and out of the broken window and pooped all 3

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over the room. The building is in such. terrible condition that one of the tenants actually won $2300 from the landlord for having to put up with the situation for 23 months.

"conversions." CCAP also wants the city â&#x20AC;˘ to: Amend the bylaw to include rent controls in hotels;

By December 17th only 25 tenants remained, most of them accepting a buy out from the landlord t" move by the end of January or February. As this newsletter goes to press, about 15 tenants remain, still looking for a place to move to.

Use business licences to ensure rent control after renos; Study the impact of international student housing on rents and amend the bylaw so that student use is considered a conversion; and â&#x20AC;˘

Create a provision so that when a landlord fails to'maintain his building to the extent that it needs major repairs, that he has to have rent control;

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Consider tax holidays in exchange for rent control; Ensure that tenants in all SROs are covered by the Residential Tenancy Act.

City staff says CCAP will be invited to a meeting soon to discuss what can be done to the SRA bylaw to help keep rents low in SRO hotels. The average rent is now $450 according to the city, and going up, according to CCAP research.

CCAP wants the city to interpret its SRA bylaw so that renovations that improve conditions for tenants are considered 4

.. What's happening to Clifton . tenants now?

As this goes to press about 15 tenants still remain at the Clifton. It's unclear if they have to be out by the end of January or February. Most of them have managed to get $3000 from the landlord as part of a deal negotiated by their advocate from First United Church, as a condition of leaving the building.

What could be done to save the Clifton as low-income ~ousing?

Saving the Clifton as low-income housing is possible. It would just take some cooperation on the part of government, banks and property owners, as well as a true commitment to ending homelessness.

The City could give the Clifton's owner tax breaks and "holidays", as it has done in the past for businesses and developments that it wants. Vancity and the province could give the owner low-interest loans for renovations. The province and the federal government could kick in an operating subsidy. Does this all cost money? Yes. But right now the province and the federal government are paying for the real cost of homelessness.

In cases like the Clifton, where owners refuse to comply with City orders to do maintenance work, the City could impose non-profit or professional management on the building, making sure that tenants' rights where protected under the Residential Tenancy Agreement (RTA).

Finally, we really need rent contro!' Owners should not be able to increase rents as much as they want when tenants leave. This makes the City more expensive for all tenants, but like usual, low-income people feel the brunt of the hit.

Poetry by Bud OSborn hOM " If a/Se 5h;t " and gentrification has become a central characteristic of what neil smith perceives as "a revengeful and reactionary viciousness against various populations accused of 'stealing' the city from the white upper classes" and this viciousness and violence brought to the downtown east side

by friendly predators such as builders planners architects landlords bankers and politicians is like violence brought to our community by other predators by johns and oblivion seekers by sensationalizing journalists by arrogant evangelizing Christians predators like developers and real estate agents

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"THEIR SPIRITS LIVE WITHIN US"

25th ANNUAL WOMEN'S MEMORIAL MARCH

The February 14th Women's Memorial March is an opportunity to come to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters in the Downtown Eastside and to ourselves to justice. This event is organized and led by women because especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional, and violence on a daily basis. All welcome.

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together dedicate women, spiritual

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By Tamara Hennan,

with notes from Jean Swanson

Back in 2014, Minister of Housing Rich Coleman set the record straight when he said: "We don't build social housing any more." In some ways, this was no surprise.

In the 1980s, the province built 767 units of social housing per year in Vancouver alone. Now, suffice it to say, the province is falling short. At least 116,000 people in BC need affordable social housing. The BC Housing wait list is over 14,000 people.

If the knee-jerk response to housing shortages in the 1980s was for the province to use tax-payers' money to build more housing, today's response is to invest in the private sector. BC Housing is giving out more rent supplements and selling its buildings and land to non-profit "partners."

In other words, BC Housing is privatizing public housing.

The problem with rent supplements ...

The government says that rent supplements are cheaper than building housing. Minister Coleman told the press in 2014 that rent supplements for 10,000 families in B.C. would costs about $50 million per year.

That works out to $5000 per year per family. But building a social housing unit in the DTES costs about $200,000. These

HOW BC HOUSING IS MOVING MONEY FROM PUBLIC HANDS TO PRIVATE HANDS units last for around 60 years, and rents cover most of the maintenance. This brings the cost to $3300 per person per year. So the argument that rent supplements are less expensive doesn't hold. Sure, they cost less in the short term, which translates into less of an immediate expense for the government of the day. But in the longterm, they are no bargain.

FOR SALE

The other problem with rent supplements is that tax payers' money goes directly into the pockets of landlords, instead of publicly-owned buildings. Why are we throwing money into someone's pocket, instead of a piggy bank that we own?

Don't forget that rent control is extremely weak in BC. Landlords can evict tenants and raise the rents as much as they want, jacking up prices in entire neighbourhoods.

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But BC Housing seems less concerned with making sure people have housing these days than balancing the books and subscribing to private-market ideas of how housing should be built and run.

The problem with selling buildings and properties ...

BC Housing announced in 2014 that it was selling 350 parcels of land and 9 buildings to non-profits over the next 3 years.

This deal is worth an estimated $500 million.

selling land that is located on unceded Coast Salish Territories and there are no processes for consent in place. Second, when the rental agreements expire in 35 years, non-profits can flip the land and we lose a public asset. In the meantime, nonprofits can fill in green spaces in housing complexes with new housing, which can be condos. Finally, the operating agreements might keep rents stable for existing tenants, but there's no guarantee that rents for new tenants won't creep up.

Importantly, there is nothing in BC Housing's plan that specifies how the $500 million will be used, whether new housing will be at welfare-shelter rate, or how many units will be built each year.

Stamps Place is one of the BC Shayne Ramsay clarified what We met with BC Housing buildings for sale we understood when we read BC Housing CEO Housing documents between the Shayne Ramsay. He made a strong argument. He said 35 year lines: BC Housing is not prioritizing rental agreements preventing rent increases building social housing anymore, but is working with partners on "mixed model" for existing tenants are part of the contract housing, "affordable" home ownership, with non-profits. He promised nobody and other projects that will do little to would get evicted and that BC Housing ensure that the poorest people are housed. would cover any shortfalls between rental income and maintenance expenses. The sales will bring in $500 million, which Ramsay said will be reinvested' in social housing. And he insisted that non-profits had asked for the sale.

Vancity

That all sounds good, but the plan is filled with pitfalls. First, BC Housing is 8

Support for this project does not necessarily implY..Vancity's endorsement of the findings or contents of this newslefter

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Canada: Decoding Harper's Terror Game. Beneath the Masks and Diversions Stephen Harper is the most deeply reviled Prime Minister in Canada's history .

He is the most despotic and toxic first minister in the life of our country. His administration defunds every social program and life protective system it can. It strips the country of its public information infrastructures at every level- including now the gagging of non-profit NGO's by eliminating their charitable status if they question any policy of his regime. Just as his friend George Bush Jr., Harper holds government by big-money backing, continual lies, attack ads, and life-blind policies to enrich the already rich. Canada's neo-con political class may have its head on backwards, but Harper is very cunning in skirting, subverting and perverting the law to abuse power at every level. He is the poster boy of the global corporate agenda of wrecking society and its common life support systems.

Harper also owes his political life to the RCMP. After a after non-confidence vote triggered the 2006 election, RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli instructed his staff to include former Liberal finance minister Ralph Goodale's name in a news release announcing a crirnlnal investigation. This reversed the stench of the Harper regime's continuous scandals and corruption onto the Liberals by a false RCMP smear. As a former top insider of the Tory party advised me, "the RCMP won the election for Harper". The re-elected Harper regime then surrounded the RCMP with blocks to silence all facts - the signature operation - so the truly deepest scandal of the era proceeded with impunity to the present day.

How "Acts of Terrorism" Fit the Known M.O. Harper certainly needs an accepted domestic enemy to save him from the rising revulsion of the thinking public against his rule. His regime's record of destroying the life substance of Canada piece by piece cannot be,denied. One already knew what was coming when Harper immediately called the crazed run-over of soldiers in Quebec on October 20 "a terrorist act" about which he was "deeply worried". In fact, it was the act of a criminally insane loner run amok in a small Quebec town without any evident objective as required under the law's definition of terrorism. But with the foreknowledge of his addled Islam by the RCMP and CSIS, he seems to have been an ideal patsy for Harper's home "terrorism" claim. He had already been arrested and his passport cancelled in June. We can imagine how an effective undercover agent might have whipped him into a Jihad frenzy knowing he would soon be full of holes and unable to report what happened.

One can more clearly see such a scenario in the case of the clinically insane, drug-addicted petty criminal living in a homeless shelter in Ottawa who had warned a judge in front of the police back in 2011 :"'If you can't keep me in, I'm going to do something". Who could have been a better tool for the events to come? On October 22,after the first "As a "radicalized terrorist" attack, a double-barrelled shotgun impossible to hide that no-one saw before ended up in the hands of Micheal Zebaf-Bibeau. The rest is history. He went on a killing spree with no known blood testing afterwards for the drugs he was evidently driven by in the video record of his frenzied and super-charged behaviour, just as there was no known test of the body of crazed drive-over killer, Martin Couture-Rouleau. How extraordinary. How unspoken in the lavish profusion of other details and official false connection to ISIS. "Terrorist" stops the mind, and "jihadist" locks it in. Harper's first invocation of the mind-stopper was, as always, strategic.

Although blood tests for a substance-abuse driving offense are automatic, none was reported although the videos show every sign of chemical possession. Bibeau too went crazy and was dead with countless bullets through him before any questions could be asked. All such strange coincidences are part of the now familiar covert-state MO. , Joining the Dots Since Harper publicly claimed an "act of terrorism" two days before the sensational Ottawa murder and crashing of Parliament and as soon as the Quebec killing occurred, questions arise. The normally zipper-lip Harper did so long before any forensic facts were in, and before the idea even occurred to anyone else. Why? Revealingly the federal security state had been running war games exercises depicting just such attacks weeks before the crazed murders (Canadian Authorities Ran War Game Drills Depicting ISIS Attack Scenarios Brandon Martinez, Global Research, October 24, 2014). Lone-wolf nut cases, killings out of nowhere, unknown motivators and arming, and the state leader most profiting from mutation of the demented murders into "terrorist acts" before anyone else - - who joins the dots? It is taboo to think through such situations, and this too is known beforehand. Sure enough within the day, the RCMP and CSIS get the new extraordinary powers they sought, and for the first time in office the robotic Harper is behaving with a warmth not even extended to his young son with whom he shakes hands in farewell. He is hugging opposition leaders in Parliament to show a new human side to complete the image makeover in motion.

Harper is happy because he thinks his next election is saved. But the first forensic question in acts of murderous crimes is

again never asked. The hypnotic trance of "terrorism" in sedate Ottawa holds the narrative unchallenged. Cui ~ono? Who benefits from these unbelievable closed-case murders in two days which have the media headlining "terrorism" and "antiterrorist legislation" everywhere Canadians look, and Harper now as the strong hand in charge. The top banner headline of the weekend Globe screamed "How far should we go?" â&#x20AC;˘ Home-Grown Terror for Harper's Re-Election , The first function of the terrorist claim is the standard one - diversion from the ailing economy and the majority's growing revulsion of the leader and his party. Harper has made enemies of every thinking Canadian in the country by his stripping of the country's public life and knowledge bases, and reversing the country's global reputation as an agent of peace, social conscience and reverence for nature. Diversion to a constructed Enemy is the oldest strategy in the book of despised heads of state, and Harper is in unprecedented need for distraction to another target to uplift him at the same time. Bush Jr. ran on this formula for eight years.

If the stratagem is not seen through, the econd big boost to Harper will be to justify the despotic rule and quasi-police state he has built with ever more prisons amidst declining crime, ever more ant-terrorist rhetoric and legislation, ever more cuts to life support systems and protections (the very ones which would have prevented these murderous rampages), and ever more war-mongering and war-criminal behaviours abroad. The evil regime of despotic control and life oppression he has instituted surpasses any ill rule in the nation's history. As the US prototype of the life-blind right wing has taught him, the greatest justification of one's rule is knee-jerk hatred of a safe Enemy. But in Canada, that does not work over time. So the domestic "acts of terrorism" in Quebec and Ottawa itself provide the needed Enemy within Canada to justify anything with ever new pomp, mandatory agreement of others, and ruling power at centre stage.

Diagnosing the Drive to Total Control The rest follows. The "New Terrorist Laws" in execution were already the feature news headline on Oct 25, allowing for any new surveillance and control of citizens. Keep in mind our already-installed totalitarian airport regime that deprives people of water and hygiene products, dehumanizes all, and undresses millions with no questions allowed any step of the way. It is a synecdoche of the larger total rule advancing with the Harper gang in charge further than ever before. "Nothing can be the same again" cheer the corporate media in choral support.

More favours to the Harper regime from the RCMP and CSIS may be in store - for example, false allegations and naming of even the most honest opponents like Ralph Goodale who spent "the worst year of my life" recovering from the RCMP smear that kept Harper in power. It is a bit like the War Measures Act - new capacity to lock down any city at any time with armed-. force control pervading the streets and police-army powers in the glory of mass-controlling armed command and kill license: It has already happened in Ottawa with a lone crazy, and the lock-down was infinitely more heavy-handed than in 1970 Montreal which I observed first hand. Keep in mind the trumped-up cause for it - one likely-drugged and managed murderous homeless mental case dead before any questions could be asked.

Observe too how the language changes to fit the agenda of total control. The keys are "terrorists" for lone individuals driven crazy with no more social supports for them, and "radicalization" with no modifier as the ultimate problem of thought behind the terror. What deprived group or appositional rethinking cannot be so labelled? These psych-ops are already in full motion now.

They have been minted into ruling group-mind by the mocked-up "terrorists attacks" at home, and Harper rule can only go further by such trances of normalized stupefaction now reinforced with Canadian blood.

Behind all the public psych-ops is the operation of reverse projection long perfected by the US war-machine. Blame the opposifion for what you are doing as the reason for attacking them. At the Canada level, the reverse projections define the Harper regime. He is punitively and vindictively despotic, rigidly and vengefully doctrinaire, intolerant of deviation, shames and slanders at will, and overrides every democratic constraint to his insatiable drive to total control. Narrow-and life-blind absolutism, indifference to others' suffering, and certitude of virtue while destroying people and common life support systems complete the unseen rule of terror at work. A coterie of mediocre and corrupt subordinates surround and serve him to allow no shard of light in on the ruling mission of society destruction.

By Prof. John McMurtry Global Research, 28/10/14 Prof. John McMurtry is the author of The Cancer Stage of Capitalism/ From Crisis to Cure

NEWS FROM OPPENHEIMER PARK Sushi making workshops were a success!

Thank you very much for attending sushi making workshops on Saturday, January 24. If you missed it, don't forget to check out Yasushi's sushi making and fruit carving demonstrations at HomeGround on February 4 & 5!

Featured Weekly Programs: • • •

Thursdays Oppen-Arts Studio: workshops 10: 30am - 1pm/ open studio 2pm - 4pm Thursdays Karaoke: 2pm - 4pm Saturdays Kid' and family program: 10:30am - 12:30pm

HomeGround 2015 Oppenheimer Park Programs/Activities

(Subject to change)

Wednesday, February 4 • 12pm - 2pm: Sushi Making Demo with Yasushi • 12pm - 3pm: Spirit Drawings with Lorelei & Cassie Thursday, February 5 • 12pm - 3pm: Button Making with Gladys • 12pm - 2pm: Fruit Carving Demo with Yasushi • 12:30pm - 2:30pm: Face Painting with Randy • 12pm - 3pm: Spirit Drawings with Lorelei & Cassie Friday, • • • •

February 6 12pm - 12:45pm: Oppenheimer's Got Talent with Michael (on stage) 12pm - 2pm: Hot Drinks with Tyson 12pm - 3pm: Button Making with Gladys 12pm - 3pm: TeaIHerbs Planting with All

Join us on Facebook - Oppenheimer

Park DTES Communities'

Any help that you could give.

There is a group in Bumaby called the Bumaby Association for Community Inclusion. They have a couple of staff who have turned into dictators. They have been there for twenty and thirty years. They are very two-faced -they say one thing and mean something else. For example: One of them said that I am the only person who was

Back Yard

unhappy with City Council, but I knew he was lying.

The All Candidates Meeting proves just that.

The other one, who was there with the other staff member, misinterpreted my issues. She messed up both of my letters intentionally and it took a year or two for me to get the situation cleared up with someone else.

My outdoor story was handled very secretively instead of publicly -not everything got in.

Everything has to be their way or the highway. I'm very concerned about this situation & I'd appreciate any help that you could give.

Sincerely, Louanne Bradshaw

Dear Bonnie (Stevens),

Global Warming People, people come on! This is a rude awakening.

We as humans are not realising we are responsible for this and everyone needs to come to their senses.

Our waters are warming up, our trees are dying, the ,air we breathe is so polluted ... Recycling should be a major thing .. riding bikes would help .. so much carbon dioxide goes in our air. It's given Mother Earth less oxygen to survive, what with all our human errors. Children need to be taught by example how to save our planet and especially our environment.

Locking up your bins won't help; more & more garbage is going to land' mines' We need a rule,a law, that makes all companies that pollute our air & water pay stiff fines. Raise the price of gas so that people would learn to cope using bicycles or just another way to get back 'n forth.

It is getting so scary to live in this world; there will be more & more disasters all over the world.

Due to our stupidity we are killing Mother Earth.

All four corners of the globe need to come together and work together, criticizing the building of bombs and stop the killing that solves nothing.

Come on people', wake up and smell the pollution.

All my relations.

Bonnie E Stevens

(May 1, 2007)

I heard the sad news of y09ur passing this morning.

Colleen was the first person here at Carnegie to be notified. I had heard that you were in hospital, but no one seemed to have much infovrmation about your condition.

We have both volunteered here at Carnegie for many years, but in separate departments. We also spent some time in the same shelter & even the same room of that shelter. I remember that you did not hesitate to voice your opinion when you perceived some injustice. Although I admired y09ur honesty & bravery I myself did not have that kind of courage. The shelter staff usually hold the power of life & death in their hands.

Dear Bonnie, your family, friends & fellow volunteers will miss your natural spirit of independence & your lively sense of humour. May you have a happy journey in yo9ur next cosmic exploration.

The world is poorer without you and all people with courage in their convictions like yourself. May the Great Spirit smile on you.

All my relations, 1 Here Again Wilhemina My dear friends, I hope your journey has been a safe one I hope you have found your inner child Praying to the Great Spirit each day Will give you guidance.

It will help your inner child grow, Grow up to be a stronger warrior.

Take everything in perspective Never feel that you are alone There are a lot of sisters & brothers Going through all the pain & suffering.

Give thanks to all creatures Anyone may be your guardian angel It may be your source of power.

Cleanse yourself by the waters Give thanks to Mother Earth For all her healing medicine.

So my dear friend Go on your healing journey.

All my relations, Bonnie E Stevens (Julv 15. 200ln

â&#x20AC;˘

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;~ We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and ~: this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory.

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