March 1, 2013, carnegie newsletter

carE nte gie ~MARCH1,20 NEWSLETTER 401 Mc1:n SticE: Vancauter Canada V6A 2T I

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carnnews@shaw.c. carnnews@vcn. be. www.carnnews.or'

ALL HAIL GENTLE GENTRIFICATION! An academic researcher finishing up a doctoral thesis stopped to speak with an old black woman sitting on her steps on the south side of Chicago back in the 80's and asked her what the biggest problem her ne ighbourhood faced. She rep lied it's the prison we' re forced to live in and can't get out of. He said you mean the prison of crime, poverty and hopelessness? She said it's worse than that. It's a prison made up of other people's ideas of who we are.

That opening address from a housing conference I we nt to years ago stuck with me and it came back to me on February 20 at the launch of CCAP's latest SRO hotel report at a news conference outside Woodward's at the corner of Hastings and Abbott.

Ivan Drury and Herb Varley, presenting the report were peppered with questions by reporters who were clearly more interested in debating the validity of what they were presenting than considering the reality of the report itself. (A quick glance to their le ft at the now empty Argyll Hotel would have highlighted perfectly without a word spoken what the emerging reality is), and it's only one example.

Questions such as "don't you think a form of'gentle gentrification" is possible here? and another: "Isn't any change here at a ll for t_he better" ? I don't believe any seasoned reporter would ask that question to any neighbourhood group advocating for ac tion to an emerging crisis anywhere e lse in the city but the Downtown Eastside. The evening before, about l 00 residents from the West End attended a hearing at C ity Hall to protest a new rental project even they co uldn't afford. Would he have asked them that question? Would he have asked that question to the concerned residents of Mt. Pleasant who came out in big numbers to oppose a monster condo tower at Broadway and Kingsway? I have to assume he, like so many others, e ither doesn't care about the fut ure of low-income people here or s imply cannot fathom that there actually is a strong cohesive neighbourhood in the Downtown Eastside but rather a large collection of bewildered people who stumble out onto the streets every day and mill about aimlessly and then drift away. (A TV news report about the action aro und the P idgin restaurant mentioned that it was located across from Pigeon Park--a gathering

pl;1ce for the addicted and mentally ill).

The absurd notion that some sort of "gentle gentrification" could be accommodated in the Downtown Eastside is like s uggesting someone could get along well enough with a touch of cancer. Gentrification is a wasting d isease that grabs hold of communities and kills them from the inside out. This much is evident in the report but exists only as document of numbers and addresses unless you recognize the human faces unseen, no w in many cases living in shelters which the city boasts about and can't seem to get enough of.

City Hall bureaucrats and Councillors often promote notions of diversity and balance in the Downtown Eastside. As there are few com munities more diverse in make-up than this one, it seems the real focus is then on money. (Apparently we need more people with b lack pea jackets and yoga mats to round out the edg iness of the area). And these polar opposite communities are supposed to live in perfect harmony? More puzzling to me is the term "balance" In this context, it's nothing more than sloganeering.

First of a ll, I haven't heard anyone outline just what a point of balance would look like once achieved; how would one recogni ze when that magic day hadarrived. More worrisome, all the gentrification is now being driven bY. market forces. Will there be a point where some council jumps up and says " o.k. that's it we're where we need to be; the rest of yo u need to build elsewhe re? T he market w ill surely, undeterred , continue on developing until the new balance suddenly becomes an imbalance the other way--it's close to that now. Then what?

A call for a moratorium on new condo development is not simply a petulant cry from a few "Deadend Kids" who want the world to go away; it's an acknowled gement that the current situation is like a runaway train: The only realistic scenario to getting a handle on the situation is to first stop the damn train. Otherwise, it's fair to assume the title of the CCAP report "Get Rid of the Welfare People" is an accommodation everyone at every level of government and society at large is content to embrace. If not that, then we need to get down to serious cases and do some serious work that everybody knows is not easy but would prefer not to think about. . Let's get this gentrification wreck off the tracks and start moving in the right direction.

By Ian MacRae.

[*This was sent to City Council and the daily papers after Co~mc. Kerry Jang had his ignominious opinions printed in the slanted coverage about the demonstration/protests outside the Pidgin business. Ed:] Attitudes about gentrification seem to be getting really polarized. In the DTES low income people can feel their community assets slipping away. T hese are the assets Wendy and I wrote about in our CCAP vision and mapping project: things like a feeling of be longing, of comfort, of not being judged, of being ;.I a place where you can exist and socialize without money, of valuing caring, empathy, providing sanctuary for people who aren't welcome in other places, empathiz ing with those who are suffering-this feeling that its all slipping away has sparked some people in the comm. to picket the Pigdin restaurant as a symbol of gentrification.

Last week yo u had a report on hous ing and some of

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you were congratulating yourselves that things are ] going so well. This is infuriati ng to us in the DTES. We have 850 homeless people just in the DTES. We have about 5000 people in crummy sros with no bathroom or kitchen and bugs. At the current rate of building new soc ial housing it will take 54 years to solve this crisis. T his year only 24 new self contained units opened up. This is a housing crisis not a housing victory.

Yesterday we re leased our ccap hote l report. We fou nd that between 20 I I and 20 12 we lost at least 426 affordab le SRO rooms- they went up in price to $425 or hig her. That brings to over 2000 the numbe r of privately owned-and-run SRO rooms that are over $425. This means low income people have had to leave them or that they are basically starving because welfare is only $610.

The DTES HP says the pace of change in the DTES shou ld be I unit of social housing to I unit of market housing. But in Chinatown alone, if you let all these condos go through, the pace of change will be 51 market units to I welfare rate unit. 5 1: I. We predict that rents in the 388 units in Chinatown will go up like they have around WW. We predict the stores that serve low income people wi ll get priced out by hig he r taxes and rents. More $50 haricuts instead of $8 ones. More disp lacement of low income people.

More homeless ness. Low income community assets, caring, empathy, being non judgmental: go ne.

This is the community that won Insite, the o nly safe injection s ite in N America. T he community that fought for 7 years to get a comm. centre like other neighbourhoods have, the community that had to occupy a police board meeting to get the same reward offered for murdered women as for garage robbers, a community that camped out for months to get a waterfront park. This is where yo u want to put wall to wall condos and call it diversity. T his is where you want to ignore 850 homeless people and say "this is such a fantastic report you can't help but wax e loquent about it."

Yo u could stop the polarization and the tearing apart of the community with leadership: you co uld say, yes we do have a crisis because its true and also because when you say everything is fine you undermine your ability to work for fed and prov housing money. You could buy land for social hous ing so

you'd have something to negotiate with like you had with the 14 s ites. And you could say no to a 17 story gentrifying condo tower until you fulfill your promise o f no displacement. Ifyou think you need a justification, use the housing plan: it's not I to I replacment and we need to hold off gentrification until there's money for welfare rate social housing.

Otherwise, like a previous council that presided over the displacement of Hogan's Alley, you will be the council that presided over the displacement of the neighbourhood that is the soul of Vancouver the base for human rights struggles, the place where' one man told us "It's the first place I ever found with people who are comfortable with who I am."

Do the housing math for councilor Jang.

2005 City policy in dtcs housing plan is to replace 5000 sros in the dtes with self contained social housing in the dtes.

Bad news: 5000 people are liv ing in sros which have no kitchen or bathroom. 850 are homeless in shelters or outside Only 24 new self contained housing units opened in 2012 Between 2011 and 20 12 we lost at least 426 units to rent increases at $425 or more.

After 2015, there is no govt funding for welfare rate hous ing.

We are losing sros to high rents with only 5 % being in bldgs that rent at $375 or lower and over 2000 renting at $425 or more.

We can expect that new condos will push up sro rents even further and result in more sros lost to low income people.

Since 2005 we've had 646 self contained replacement units about 81 per year about 400 units of welfare rate housing in the works for the next 2-4 years, About 1500 of the 5000 sros have been saved from gentrification by the province but still have no kitchens or bathrooms and are very tiny. They were full when the province bought them Summary: The average# of new units per year in the dtes has been 81. It will take 54 years to replace the sros and most of the residents will be dead. This doesn't count the people displaced from sros by high rents. This is not a good news story. This is a tragedy that needs action.

Written by Jean Swanson

JIM PEPPER TRIBUTE FRIDAY MARCH 8TH 7PM

Carnegie Theatre- 401 Main Street

Dave Say- Saxophones Kevin Elaschuk- trumpet Paul Blaney- bass Ben Brown - Drums Deanna Gestrin & Russell Wallace -, Percussion Vocals Tony Wilson - Guitar

The band was formed to celebrate the music of Jim Pepper a Native American saxophonist of Creek and Kaw heritage. Jim was a fairly under-rated musician who played with many jazz greats, as well as his own bands for three decades. He is most well-known for taking traditional native chants and transforminothem with jazz harmonies . o

From -the Library [There's been a fair bit of drilling in the Library this morning and I heard the electrician exclaim ''I've found a way through!" He just meant the floor and walls for wiring, but it sounded to me like a catchy title for a book about someone making an effort to improve their lives. Well, it's not the title of any of the new books we received this month, but a couple of them actually do sound like stories of people who "found a way through." Hope you enjoy this tiny coincidence, and maybe you' ll enjoy some of the featured reading material, too!] from Stephanie, Carnegie Librarian and John, our Monday librarian.

Disinherited generations: Our struggle to reclaim treaty rights for First Nations women and their deseem/ants.

Kathleen Steinhauer and Nell ie Carlson tell the story of their struggle to reform Canada's Indian Act, in an oral history recorded and edited by Linda Goyette.

On June 28, 1985 the Parliament of Canada passed Bill C-31, restoring treaty rights for thousands of First Nations women who had been disinherited. The Indian Rights for Indian Women movement achieved only partial success, but Steinhauer & Carlson were still around to claim an inheritance for their families. !learned Kung-fufrom a bear cub Matt Jackson is a Vancouver travel writer who collects good stories. In fact if you have a good travel or outdoor tale to tell, he includes an address where you can send it to him. This worldwide collection features "true tales to make you laugh, chortle, snicker and feel inspired." Twenty-five travellers offer their best and funniest (mis)adventures.

Brother XII: the Devil of deCourcy Island.

Brother Twelve directed the Aquarian Foundation, a "spiritualist" community with extens ive properties near Nanaimo in the 1920's. He may have been the Englishman Julian Skottowe, or perhaps the Canadian Edward Wilson, or someone else. What is certain is that he was a magnetic, corrupt and ruthless cult leader, who left behind a trail of abuse, scandal and ruin. Macisaac used original and previous research to create a compelling and lurid tale.

Bobby 's Book f B~bby Po.wers grew up poor in South Brooklyn. J Emtly Davtdson writes his life story, as he talks ~bout a childhood of drink and thievery. Bobby's JOurney through crime and add iction takes a slow turn for the better in his forties. Davidson chronicles his painful recovery, as he conquers illiteracy and addiction.

Nasty Brutish and Short: the lives of oang members in Canada. ~ Mark Totten conducted over 500 interviews with Canadian gang members over 17 years. His research shows the origins of gang culture in poverty, racism and abuse. Totten devotes a final chapter to "strategies for preventing gangs". His in-depth study of the members shows that the answers lie in wide focus well funded programs that give "at-risk" kids alte;native pathways.

The 2013 Neighbourhood Small Grants The Vancouver Foundation 2013 Neighbourhood Small Grants and the Greenest City Grants applications are now online: neighbourhoodsmallgrants.ca The deadline for both applications is March 31, 2103! Printed copies of these application are available at Carnegie, Strathcona and RayCam Commu' nity Centres.

Leadership Skills: Proposal Writing A 4-week course at the Carnegie Learning Centre Mondays 10:30 -12:30; February 18- March 11 Do you have an idea for a project that can help your neighbourhood?

Do you want to learn how to write a grant proposal?

The Neighbourhood Small Grants (NSG) program gives out grants of up to $500 for a project. In this course, you will learn about NSG and then research and write your own small grant proposal. #"HATS YU/1/i' /J/i'EAAI FUJi' THE NEitjHBUII/i'HOO/J1 LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN! Sign-up at the Learning Centre, 3rd Floor, Carnegie Community Centre 40 1 Main St, Vancouver

Bring a partner - you need 2 people to submit a proposal!!

Ms. Libby Davies (Vancouver East, NDP): I want to begin my remarks by reflecting on a very important event that is going to take place in the downtown east side at Main and Hastings today. Today will be the 22nd Annual Women's Memorial March that is taking place in that community.

I attended the first march in 1991 when I was still a city councillor and it was really the first time that the community came together in an o utpouring and recognition of the terrible violence that was taking place in the community where aboriginal women were miss ing and many were murdered or presumed murdered. Many were sex workers.

I re member the march along Powell Street and we began next to a d umpster where earlier the body parts of a murdered woman had been found . I wi ll not use her name because her family has asked that her name not be used. I remember as we walked down Powell Street, Dundas Street, down to Main and Hastings to the Carnegie Centre. T here was a smudge ceremo ny and her fami ly was there. It was the first time in the downtown east side that there was a public coming together and recognition of what was taking place in that community.

That was in 199 1. Many women had been disappearing prior to that. It was at that point that the community started calling for a public inquiry in B.C. into the missing and murdered women because we all knew and believed that there was a serial killer that was like ly responsible. Here we are two decades later and of course much has happened. There have been criminal trials, the largest mass murder trial in Canada, the P icton trial. We have had the Oppal Commission. We have had the United Nations begin its own inquiry into the status and the missing and murdered aboriginal women. I want to remember the women in the downtown east side and to thank the organizers for what they are doing today,Marlene George, who is the chair of the committee and many other women who have been involved in this issue.

Even though they were g rieving for the loss of famil y members, refused to be silenced and refused to be placated.

What I have learned from this issue is that it is probably the g reatest tragedy that we have seen in the downtown east side and the community is still fee ling the g rief of what has taken !Jlace. But I have

a1so 1earneu LnaL u1e nuge systemic 1s::.ues utaL an~

involved are something that we s imply cannot ignore. I believe that we all have a responsibility. Primarily governments have a responsibility, but whether it is municipal, provincial or federal, we all have a responsibility to come to terms with what has taken place. In comi ng to terms, we have to face the g rievous injustices facing aboriginal people, especially women, and we have to respond in a way that acknowledges and understands the historic racism, inequality, poverty and discrimination that has resulted from a long history of colonialism in Canada.

Unless we can begin from that place of understanding, I worry and fear that we wil l not have learned what it is that we need to learn in order to move forward. That is o ne very important principle to me, the understanding of the root causes.

T he second thing is to understand that society has failed these women at every single level, whether it is judicial, political, cultural, no matter what way we loo k at it, society has failed these women.

These women were marginalized. I am speaking primarily about the downtown east side, but as we know there are 600 women who are also missing and ~ay be murdered across the country. These women became so marginalized, they became li ke no n-people, !nd so their disappearances were never taken seriously.

Now we have the reports and the analys is of what went wrong, and still there is some finger-pointing: the RCMP, the Vancouver Po lice and o ther police fo rces in other parts of the country. The second most im portant thing is to understand how everything failed.

We expect our governments, we expect our society, the programs we have, the values we have as Canadians, to take care of people when they are hurting.

Yet in this instance, especially in the downtown east side because most of the women were sex workers, they were just dis missed. It was not taken seriously when they disappeared and when their fam ily members made complaints. We have a lot to learn.

I attended the Oppal Commission when it released its report on December 17, not very long ago. Although there were many criticisms about the Oppal Commission process, the inquiry and the fact that many community organi zatio ns did not have the legal standing and resources they needed to parti cipate

in the inquiry, nevertheless, that report is there. It compels all of us to ensure that these recommendations are followed up.

When l spoke to Justice Oppal before the commission actually began its fo rmal work. l said to him and what l still believe today is that the most important aspect of his work was a way to ensure that whatever recommendations he came up with would not be forgotten, that they would not just s it somewhere. We have seen that with many reports, unfortunately. We could go back to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in 1996. It was a three volume document. Most of those recommendations have never been fo llowed up.

I say today that if we have the unanimous will of the House, and it looks like we do and that is good, to set up a special committee, then we have to make a commitment to the communi ty, to those families, that we will actually make it meaningful and that it will not be a specia l committee that does the routine • stuff, that it will actually be a process that will look at the other reports and recommendations.

We heard the parliamentary secretary say earlier that • she believes the Oppal Commission recommendations should be looked at as they pertain to the federal governm ent. T hat is certain ly very important, but we have to make a commitment that we are willing to look at real o utcomes in terms of thej udicial system, in terms of poverty, income inequality, racism, discrimination, the standing of women in our society and particularly the standing of aboriginal women. That is something we have the power to do, both individually and collectively and through our political parties.

I am glad this motion is being debated today. It is a step. As we have heard from the member for Churchill, we too believe there should be a national public inquiry, and we will not give up on that. I am sure people in the community will not let us forget that.

We have an immediate task, it appears, to set up this special committee. In the memory of the women in the downtown east side and to all of the activists, the fami ly members and people who were there today at Main and Hastings, gathering at noon, and there will probably be more than 5,000 people, I want to say for myself and for my colleagues that we give that commitment. We wi ll not let go of this issue. We w ill press for justice.

· 7We WI'II WOrk. ' tn a genu ·me meanmgfu[ way and We will make sure that the community voices are heard, because they know the truth. They know what needs to be done. In a way, we have to give our leadership, but we also have to understand their leadership and work in co-operation to make sure those changes do come about.

---Liberal motion -sponsored by Carolyn Bennett (MP. St. Paul's). Liberal Aboriginal Affairs critic: THAT the House recogn ize that a disproportionate number oflndigenous women and girls have suffered violence, gone missing, or been murdered over the past three decades; THAT the government has a responsibility to provide justice for the victims, healing for the families, and to work with partners to put an end to the violence; and that a special committee be appointed, with the mandate to conduct hearings on the critical matter of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada, and to propose solutions to address the root causes of violence against Indigenous women across the country; THAT the committee consist of twelve members which shall include seven members from the government party, fou r members from the Official Opposition and on~ member from the Liberal Party, provided that the Chair is from the government party; THAT in add ition to the Chair, there be one ViceChair from each of the opposition parties; that the committee have all of the powers of a Standing Committee as provided in the Stand ing Orders, as well as the power to travel, accompanied by the necessary staff, inside and outside of Canada, subject to the usual authorization from the House; THAT the members to serve on the said committee be appointed by the Whip of each party depositing with the Clerk of the House a list of his or her party's members of the committee no later than March 28, 2013; THAT the quorum of the special committee be seven members for any proceedings, provided that at least a member of the opposition and of the government party be present; that membership substitutions be permitted to be made from time to time, if required, in the manner provided for in Standing Order I 14(2); and that the Committee report its recommendations to the House no later than February 14, 2014.

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And So We Went Down

I OOOs of miles to build our railroad to the Pacific

Down to the Press Conference at Woodward's T hat famous squat from the last century Hastings and Abbott Occupation of the old department store Three kitchens to feed the homeless Dozens of tents around that block Never enough.

Some came from their small windowless room Looking for a better place Away from the bad plumbing Away from the insects that infest those filthy old hotels Built for the C hinese bachelors who travelled

Now we have the Big 'W' as a landmark of unbridled capitalism Horatio Hornblower and company Disguised as government Empty promises in th is promised land Canada - home of serious beavers and ungainly moose.

.,. Auld Lang Synge: 2 / 1 3

The trickster gods look down Smile and nudge each other A tempest in their teapot The fat cosmic cat is on the mat Jesters, jokers, clowns and musicians laugh and cry, Apply more make-up, burn incense, pray.

Change again or is it Still.

The lobster has grown too big Too tight inside its shell.

The Stones are still singing those same old songs Gettin' no satisfaction Coitus Interruptus all over again.

Changing of the Guard Buckingham Palace or the Hill back home The golden heads of daffodils swing & sway in the Eng Iish breeze Two thousand miles from Nova Scotia

When will we ever learn that Life's a bitch Then you die No wonder religion is making a big comeback ...

Wilhelmina

A New Land a familiar country Guards of Heathrow over-zealous Letter bombs, fire strikes, Iranian student action nineteen-seventy-six elevator creaked slowly upstairs The Welsh manager at the Hoop and Toy On the road to Nice So helpful to this Canadian girl French expertise in tidal power The Teeth of the Lion no strings attached Unknown to we Nova Scotians Coming Owners to the highest tides and Later in an Afterhours in Brixton Coming again Power hung ry.

I smelled ganj a Dandylion yellow Instructing the Jamaicans London so familiar Sunshine medicine Ever deferential to this whitey.

The Thames, Greenwich, St Paul's Leaf and root F leet Street, Speakers' Corner As I think back Tea I wonder at my moxie At the C romwell Hotel the ancient Pigeon berries orange red A girl from Boxey a lmost vermillion, hidden Fortune Bay Cream and ecrue Her only claim to fame her Fading, pastel, white famous grandfather Matte Abraham, or Abram as his Glossy sometimes in the wet woods Master's Ticket erroneously said Wilhelmina Miles Wilhelmina

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The Quest What is the sadness that makes me see the beauty and sorrow of life about me?

Tears are more ready than laughter, it seems for humour these days degrades human beings A sensitive child alone in the world observing then shunning harsh mouths ...

I sought out a palmist who made me vow to hold sacred her words, her ways and how five pounds of coffee l must procure to co-mingle with bay leaves and animal fur Nine days the cand les were to burn bright to oust the spells of those who might have stolen a shoe or a lock of hair wishing to fill my life with despair Nine days passed. With a fearful nod my palmist said , 'To the work ofG_d" "Too late, my child. It is your fate: to see beyond love; to witness hate."

The Stone Cold Truth: final Remarks and Concluding Poem

9

Well it turns out all I know about spirit is that it doesn't need to move to travel. ..

Normally, I am not manic. It is only when l'm manic that 1 am connected in strangely beautiful ways to a larger reality ... It is really just a glimpse of what is really, really going on. [mostly just want to draw ... so, in conclusion, the quest for success from injustice may not be the highest aim of my far-away 'friends' ...

The last thing [ want to say is that very few people, myself included, are experiencing time properly ... for what that's worth.

Stephen Belkin

Intimations of Release The falling is all but over: only the landing is left. It isn' t as bad as it once seemed, this abyss where I am now to dream from.

A home is wherever your ass hits the ground once you stop trying to fly.

I just need a little home help. a TV, and a place to store these wings.

Stephen Belkin

"You are blessed my child, to know men's hearts, To reach their souls, to help them depart." from those plots that cheat, dishonour and bend the ways of the meek and from those who loend

Rambeau is dead.

confusion, malice, torment and greed .

Go my child. We are in need."'

One of our local dealers is dead. Ostensibly of an overdose of heroin. At 9 a.m. in the shelter everyone was surprised or shocked.

A relatively young woman, attractive in a blonde way; a mother of young children, only trying to make a living in the mean streets of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Fearless, some say; she would defend her turf against females and males alike.

Her reputation was known throughout the underbelly of Canada's infamous drug market.

Doubtless some will say she put herself in the way of danger. Ernest Hemingway would have said, 路路Every man's death diminishes me." The Authorities will probably just count her death as inevitable. And one less problem to deal with.

"Rambeau" will be missed by her family and friends, and more.

Rest in Peace, Rambeau

Armed with a cause I slipped away with courage, calm and my fears at bay.

Oh for those words to purge my soul and linger there giving warmth to console.

Anita Stevens

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Top Three Thln~s Speaking strictly for myself I recognise the signposts : in t~e city of~ell, you end up i talkmg of3 thmgs over & over 1 like a loop: start where you left off first you talk about yourself your li kes d islikes lint details in the bellybutton of inactivity (your life) both mental and physical presents second you talk about other people You get calloused, hard their endless flaws and down here The first 75 people will receive free tickets t how they forget to treat you regall) you become de-sensitised not recognise your highness to the point you become final dress rehearsal of the opera. as you nod off into your eggs thoughtless third it's pills - blue ones just now. a gift given in love ones you wanna do, ones green was just sloughed off and oblong .. all day long as if it didn't matter bravo! but it does to you, you know you have arrived at your nadir My life has no permanence you've reached your nexus everything I ever owned AI was lost or stolen forgotten or left behind so I never paid due concem on a gift that meant something more than I could understand

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After everything is always snatched away, you leam that material is just that love is not manifest in material stuff, more junk

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Wednesday, March 6, 2013 @ 7pm Carnegie Centre Theatre Presented by Vancouver Opera's UBC Learning Exchange in collaboration with the Carnegie Centre.

I owe you one so sorry if my thick skin couldn't feel the love you put into that object I know talk's cheap but brother I felt the love the gift you gave don' t let the pure sentiment be wrecked by a callous fool who sho uld 've known better AI Loewen

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}~\\' Stop the Woodward's Eviction Just months after the l Oth anniversary of Woodsquat, the City issued an eviction order for the o nly community-access space in the Woodward 's complex. The City alleges W2 Community Media Arts Society has fai led to pay an $85,000/year strata fee.

W2 has argued the City has betrayed the community's expectations for Woodward's, especially for Urban Indigenous people. W2 also feels the City and Westbank property owners have failed to deliver strata fee benefits and broken the C ity's own policy on wheelchair access and health and safety standards.

This vital hub for inner-city artists and community activists, including many Indigenous groups and individuals, was hard-fought for by the g rassroots- in fact an amenity and social housing was the only reason the Woodward 's development was allowed to proceed. T he "Woodward's effect" has been predominantly one of gentrification and so the eviction of the token inclus ive space is in fact deeply insulting for the low-income community. While cynics will suggest they saw it coming, and shame on W2 for trying to reappropri ate the middle-class building, this attitude doesn't do justice to the fact our neighborhood can't afford to lose any spaces. Even gentrified spaces must be fought for and protected for the longterm needs of our neighborhood.

While other community centres like Carnegie are paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to operate, W2 received zero start-up and zero operating funding, but was g rowing with 80% self funding and hard work. W2's neighbours, Nester's and London Drugs meanwhile are being helped with a generous I 0-year start-up tax holiday, while W2 had doors locked and an eviction for not surviving the hostile develop-

ment. The double insult is that W2 hired Urban Aboriginal women to work in the I 0,000 sf centre and 'walked the talk' with its bottom-up community economic development program.

The City is supposed to be a partner with W2 in delivering an inclusive community s pace and is being asked to work with W2 to restructure in a way that protects the progressive and working c lass culture of the project. The community needs to be at the centre of this discussion, and yet there has been no explanation or engagement with the 5400 W2 members, and most user groups.

W2 is enco uraging the City to ensure the W2 community continues to develop a comm un ity media arts centre at Woodward's, and is appreciative that the City has offered the gesture of delaying the eviction from Feb 28 to March 3 l. After consultation with individuals and groups who have used and depended on the W2 amenity, the W2 community and its supporters are joining together with the following demands.

1. Stop the evictio n of W2: Continue negotiation of fair lease terms with democratic representation from the W2 community.

2 . Waive the amen ity fee: W2 is the only commun i ty-acce~s space in the $400 million Woodward's development. The amenity should not be evicted in its first year for not paying the developer's $85 ,000 amenity fee.

3. Open the building now as the community works o n a renewed mode l with the City and supporters: Provide much-needed public access tp the space.

Woodward's promised a lot to the lo~-income innercity community and W2 is the only survivor of this ten year's struggle.

For background check out www.w2Belongs2Me.com, and here is a community video http://youtu.be/S I Orpu6Vjn4 and an informative article in Megaphone http://bit.ly/WKqGnU and from rabble.ca http ://bit.ly/V hCK vW Until a new agreement to operate the community amenity is in place, W2 has been active with #ldleNoMore prog ramming, a daily Media Mornings radio show, 6-8am on lOO.SFM, webstream www.w2media.ca. W2's weekly W2TV show on Shaw 4 repeats four times, Saturdays 2pm and 11 pm, Sundays 1Opm, Tuesday at 2am.

This March at The Rhizome Cafe Illiterattv

Friday, March 1, 7:00pm Led by local activist musician Earle Peach, Illiteratty plays quirky, funny and edgy acoustic orig ina l music, on mandolin, guitar, violin, standup bass and keyboards with multiple vocals. Their multistylistic music will tickle, charm and wound you. Opening for Illiteratty will be the sensational young singer $0-20 sliding scale A vy Raverson.

Y4Y: Youth (or Youth Reading and Fundraiser

Saturday, March 2, 7:00pm The Undergrads from the Creative Writing program at UBC will be reading their own fiction, nonfiction, and poetry se lections as a fundraiser for Covenant House. Come out for an evening of literary fun from young writers!

Admission is a (used) article ofclothing or a donation at the door, which will go to Covenant House.

In our Meeting Room: Spanish (or Social Justice

personnel at a third Canadian mine, killed her husband, Adolfo Ich. We will hear from Emilie Smith recently returned from Guatemala. where she visit~d all three women. a nd the mining sites. Then~ will be music. slides. crafts and chocolate for sale. and sharing of thoughts. plans and ideas. S10-20 suggested. but no Ollt! turned away for lack oflunds The Inspiration o(E. Pauline

Saturday; March 9, 7:00pm E. Pauline Johnson was the most celebrated fema le poet in Canadian history. Janet Rogers will present over I 0 ~ears of r~search through performance poetry, audio recordmgs, video and still images.

Pauline's poetry drew inspiration from her love of the North American landscape, love of her Native ~erita?e, and love of word-smithing. Her poetry and l~fe WI!I be celebrated on this evening, and inspiratiOn w ill be sparked. Free, donations welcome In our Meeting Room: Sankaset

Tuesday, March 12, 5:00-7:00pm Join Kristina Lemieux and other leaders from Vancouver's arts and culture community for one in a series of dialogues on arts organizations, audience engagement, and citizenship. Free Book Launch: Boom, Bust and Crisis

Wednesday, March 6, 6:00pm

Thursday, March 14, 7:00pm

Esperanza Education hosts this space to practice your Spanis h wh ile discussing social justice issues and solidarity with Spanish-speakers.

By donation, $5 suggested minimum Disse(lting Voices -A GSWS Book Launch

Join David P:airey and John Peters for a reading and the book launch of "Boom, Bust and Crisis: Labour, Corporate Power and Politics in Canada" . Free A Fum/raiser (or the Unis'tot'en

Thursday, March 7, 7:00pm Join the SFU Department of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies to celebrate the recent publication of Claire Robson's Writing for Change: Research as Public Pedagogy and Arts-based Activism ( Peter Lang, 20 I 2); and Lara Campbell 's co-ed ited collection Debating Dissent: Canada in the 1960's (Oxford University Press, 20 I 2). Free

Evening in Solidarity with the Women of Guatemala Resisting Canadian Mining Friday, March 8, 7:00pm O n International Women's Day, join us for this fundraiser for three community leaders in Guatemala.

Yolanda Oqueli and Diodora Hernandez, leaders in communities resisting Canadian mines, were both shot and badly wounded by 'unknown assailants', and Angelica C hoc, was left a w idow when securi ty

Friday, March 15, 7:00pm Please join us on this night of music to celebrate a culture of defiance and resistance ! We will be celebrat!ng a di~crsity of mus ical talent, including Miss Chnsty (Salish spoken word poet), ok Vancouver ok (acousmatic tape music/experimental pop pop), and Lunch Lady (riot grrl feminist witches). There will also be short presentations and updates on the Unis' t?t'en Resistance Camp battling pipelines on traditional Wet'su:vet'en Territories and other ongoing strugg l~s ~gamst local resource extraction. Sliding scale, $2-$20, no one fumed away for lack offunds _Thanks! See you soon!

Rhizome

Where we are: 317 East Broadway Vancouver, BC, Coast Salish Territory For more information: 604-872-3166 www.rhizomecafe.ca

What Can You Do

A RENEWED STATE OF BEING

There is a whole world of ideas in the ether as long as you get centred and put your mind together which is easier said than done and I am no exception The force is quite almighty and it needs the right reception

Wanna chat for a bit.. l got no one to talk to. Oh, so sorry, I realise you're busy "vith others ... like two ta tango, three's a crowd, four's company 'n all that stuff. I know it, I get it, no bother, no fuss. I'll jus' be off ' n get outta your hair for awhile. I'll wait it out I'll stick around momentarily though just in case a window of opportunity opens up to be with you ever so brieOy. Whatever. Maybe to talk to myself for awhile, maybe scan some 3-day-old tabloid pages ...

On second or third thought maybe I'll buzz off right now and go catch a daytime discount movie theatre.

Perfect! 路cause nobody's supposed to talk there although some folks are always breaking the rules with cellphones going off, !pods, ipads & laptops lighting up buzzin' ring in' flashing!!! Life just ain't fair.

Oh how I long for the good old days, way before high-tech and the jet-set. Now people have a real hard time communicating verbally. Today it' s mostly tcxting on cellphones, or computers 'n such gadgets.

So frustrating .. whatever happened to th social skills of just talking and listening? So many lost & lonely, detached people. What a pity. Shut in, shut up, staring with eyes glazed over at four walls- yuck! How dull & boring is that: bouncing off the walls at all hours of the day & night (likely pretty common).

Cabin fever personified with a constant state of depression coming down real hard. Where do you think that's going to eventually lead you? A bittersweet ending caused by a lack of communication. lm my humble opinion life's not normal at all when spent avoiding conflicts, arguments, discussion and debate. Try to get out more, practicising patience ... understanding common denominators instead of running around participating in useless activities that you really don't want to be involved in. Don't you think that'd be much better than being locked up & barricaded in your spartan quarters talking to yourself pounding sound, sp itting out & spi lling out pent up emotion & anger from either deep hurt, neglect, abuse or whatever it may be???

Alone you are with no one to talk to, hug, love, be with, rely on and to count on. If you've forgotten how this was your life once, and know how it feels now, why not take a chance and try that blissful state of being on again ... and again!

'\.

Chorus: So relax and get keen and meditate with your resolution And in the end you may see your most fantastic evolution.

High octane fuel to enliven your spirit Can you understand the premise before you go to it Patience you must have in almost unending supply If it's a quality answer you desire Chorus:

Imagine four or five days without any destruction For you to comp letely focus and make that cosmic attraction You cannot be too edgy or quick to be thoughtless Or you will never make gains from the magical process And no doubt you can learn from others around you Whose current undertakings can completely astound you.

With all history to teach 1: you learn so much from its story About how people figured out \how to achieve their great glory.

Chorus:

Please remember your reactions only seem to be fast But incompleteness and tension for your solutions won't last.

And please remember no one said this was something without sweat or that choosing your task was anything of a sure bet.

Darren Morgan

ROBYN LIVINGSTONE.

The Truth and Reconciliation Committee In 2008, Prime Minister Harper apologized to the native people of Canada for one hundred years of Ind ian res idential schooling. Mr. Harper said that the Ind ian res idential schoo l system was the wrongfu l imp lementation of a policy of"forced assimi lation". The purpose, here, is for a fo rmer resident of one of these schools to expose Canada's apo logy as a lie. T he government of Canada is, now, trying to complete the po licy of forced assimilatio n in the ongo ing, co mprehensive treaty process. Furthermore, sin ce Canada is still pursuing a po licy of fo rced ass imilatio n, it seeks no t to reco nc ile with Indians but to extingui sh the m as a people.

T he above will be covered , but first the term forced assimilation mu st be und erstood . Po li tically, forced ass imilation is the impos ition of one aspect of self-d etermination to the exclusio n of the other. T he two poss ible outcomes of native interna l colo nies (in Canada, the US, Australia and New Zealand) pose complex nationa l questions. Resolution of these questions can be no less complex. Allied to the native natio nal questions are the larger, nationa l questions posed by the existe nce o f Afi"ican-Americans a nd Mexican-Americans in the US. Due to histories of slavery and a nnexatio n, these peoples also have the right of self-de termination. T he not necessarily co nflicting objectives of Canada's native interna l colony were exemplifie d in the 1960's and 1970's by the seemingly opposed leadership o f people such as Ma lcolm X and Martin Luther King. S imilarly, o rganizations suc h as the Black Panther Party and the National Association for the A d vancement of Colo red People could be perceived as hav ing co nfli cting objectives, and yet the ir practices often p aralle led each other. Even immigrants from the third world figure into this equati on of unknown outcomes. The oppressed nations of the third world have contributed, fundamentally, to develo pment in the imperialist natio ns. T hey, therefore, have (as yet, undeterm ined) nationa l rights in the oppressor nati ons.

T reaty-making resumed at th e initiative of the federal government of Canad a. The fede ra l government saw th at treaty-level ag reement was required to bring abo ut forced ass imilati o n. Treaties are, by defin iti on, made between nations or peo ples. The "new relatio nship" declared by Canada in vo lves wholesale change in the relati o nship between Ca nad ian [nd ians, as de fined by the [ndian Act, and th e Canadian people.

T hat Canadian Indians are a people is, of course, known to the government o f Canada. Canadian Indians, as an internal colo ny, were created by the government of Canada and admi n istrated through the Department of India n Affa irs. This started in 1867 when the settlers took contro l of the rema ining British colonies in North Ame rica. Under the terms o f the British-North A merica Act, they becam e tire Do minion of Canada. That Canadian Indians, along with a ll the ind igeno us o f Canada, are a people is a pivota l po int of theory for understanding colonialism in Canada. T hat Canadia n Indians a re a people is a lso pivo ta l in determ ining whether mode rn-day treaties are bonafide o r bog us . T he pos ition here is that the remnants of tribal nations, beauti ful as they are, no longer constitute nat iona l entities. T his is attested to not o nly by law b ut a lso by the events of history before Confederation.

British impe rialism, and also French imperialism, reduced the po pulatio ns o f the tribal nations beyond the po int whereby they could be sustained as indepe nde nt entities, economi call y or po litically. Some of the tr ibal natio ns, such as the Beothuk ofNewfo undland , were completely w iped o ut. A ll this was done by war, disease, starvation and murder. T reaties in the period of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 reflected a rea lity different from that of today. The peo ples of the then-ex isting tribal nations vastly outnum bered the Europeans. Britain found it necessary to ally with so me triba l natio ns in o rder to defeat other triba l n ations : the French ( 1760), the Americans (181 2) and to facilitate settlement.

In contempo rary narrati ve, the existence o f modern nations that were once colonies and, before that, numero us separate ly existing triba l nations, is a lso pivotal. T riba l natio ns a ll over the world were defeated precisely because they were tribal natio ns contending w ith competing e mp ires o f European capitalism . Today, modern natio ns in the third world, still oppressed, have d emonstrated the capac ity to expe l or defeat imperialism. Th is spe lls the beg inning o f the end for oppressive socia l systems. In the visio n of the native interna l colony, the Inu it and Metis people figure large ly . The Inuit and Metis are impacted somewhat di fferently by the Indian Act than Indians. All, however, have categorically the same hi sto rical experience, even in relatio n to residentia l sc hools a nd treaties, a nd a co mm on re latio nship to Cana da. All, there fo re, fo rm d istinct parts of the native interna l colo ny. So, fro m vulne rab le entities, the concept of the native interna l co lony sees the existence of an except iona l nationa l e ntity that, still sma ll in relation to Canada, requ ires unity not on ly of its triba l components but also with Canadian a nd world peoples.

r

The point at which the federal government signaled a change in the implementation of its po licy of forced assimilation, and began re-directing its priorities and fund ing, was 1969. ln 1969, the federal government proposed the White Paper Policy on Indians (WPP). The WPP proposed to un i later~lly abolish the_ Indian Act and nullify any distinctions between Canadian Indians and the Canadian people. lndmn pr~te~t agamst the WPP grew. TN 197 1, the WPP was retracted . In 197 1, also, the Core Fund ing Program was 1111t1ated by the Trudeau oovernment. The Core Funding Program was the source offunding by which means social reform s could be carried out in_ native commu~iti es.

These reforms include d the building of a captive native leadership from the band , to the tnbal, to the provmc1al, to the national levels. In 1973, the Comprehen sive Land C laims Settlement Po licy (CLC) was created by the federal government to circumscribe the treaty process. Under CLC po licy, tw? non-negotiab l~ requirem_ents of all treaties are the removal of native communities fro m jurisdiction of the Ind1an Act and the mcorporatton of these communities into Canadian munic ipa l or territorial jurisdictions. Not be ing able to achieve forced assimilation through WPP leg islation, the federal government is seeking to achieve the same objectives, bilaterally, in the comprehensive treaty process. The coerc io n inherent in the treaty process is to be found in multi-billio n dollar resources, in the money and land, earmarked for treaty payment. In reality, these resources are the long awaited entitl e ments of und erprivileged native co mmunities that are being w ithheld in order to force natives into the treaty process. Treaty coerc io n is compounded by the fact that, in negot iatio ns involving 1:\'1'0 oppos ing interests, the Canad ian imperia list settler-state in effect pays the representatives of the native internal colony. The native leadership that is funded by the federal government has legitimacy in that integration, of some sort, is o ne aspect of native self-determin atio n. In so far, however, as sovereignty is concerned, this leadership can make no determinati o n.

For the purpose of treaty-making, the federal government has extended false, national recognition to native communities or groups of nati ve communities, i.e. first nations. The resulting treaty process began with the James Bay C ree ( 1975). This treaty allowed fo r the development o f a mega-project to produce hydro-electric power for Boston in vestors. From there, the native co mmunities of northern Quebec reached agreement, followed by the native communities ofthe entire north , e.g., Nunavut. The treaty process, now, has on board many native co mmunities of the so uth, some of whom have already signed. I'"' BC, this in cludes the Nishga'a (2000), the Maa-nulth of Vancouver Island and the T sawwassen. The T sawwassen agreement is a llow ing for Robert's Bank with mainly Jimmy Pattison's investment to become the largest coal export term inal in the world. T he natives of almost one-half of Canada's land area have signed comprehensive treaties. T his prov ides much "certa inty" for in vestors. In comprehensive treaties, lega l recognition of native, pre-contact, heritage is extinguished along with their post-Co nfederation identity.

If treaties are made between nations, what, then, are these agreements bei ng made between Canada and native communit ies? They are, effectively, agreeme nts forced upo n parts of the nati ve internal colony in order to secure their members' complia nce in the renunc iatio n of Canadian Indian nationality and the an nexation of their land by Canada. Indi an nationalists can see that the incorporation of native communities into a Canad ian, municipa l or territorial, jurisdiction is wro ng. Some Indian nationalists, however, find themselves on s id e with the federal government in wanting to abolish the Indian Act. Strategically, it is true, the Indian Act s ho uld be done away with. Tact ical ly, however, the Indi an Act s hould be defended because, at this time, the federal government is trying to depri ve Indians o f their identity in order to put Indians in an eve n weaker position than that existing in the colonia l relationship. The defense of the Indian Act is a necessary tactical retreat fro m the mass ive federa l government initiative that the comprehensive treaty process represents. What is important is that the identity and unity of the people be salvaged under the present political attack.

Native people are often spoken of as being socially dysfunctio nal. Statistics are used to bolster this negative image. In fact, the native refusal to accept the outlook of an imperialistic settler-society is the response of a people who, in spite of everything, still mainta in the ir huma nity. Many horrible racist events occur against native people in Canada, especia lly against native women. Perpetrators of the bottom of society are afforded impunity from the top, where hate ful policy is created.

By RAY BOBB (Seabird Island Indian Band)

ADante Improvisation workshop with Helen Walkley How does our Jove of spontaneous motion translate into vital expression in dance?

This 6 session workshop is intended for anyone who loves to move and is curious about the nature of improvisational da nce, the possibility to create and relate movement in the moment.

A warm-up process will connect and mobilize our whole bodies.

Improvisational structures will follow to develop dynamic range and spatial relationships.

Thursdays: March 7, 14, 21, 28, April4 & 112:30-4:30 pm in the Carnegie Gym Maximum number of participants: 12 Please register at the 3rd Floor Program Office by March 4th.

Helen Walkley is a contemporary dance artist, certified Laban Movement Analyst and registered Somatic Movement Educator who has taught, created and performed for the past 33 years in United States, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada. She is currently based in Vancouver.

International Women's Day Rally 2013 Vancouver Art Gallery - Robson St. Saturday March 9, 12:00pm From the Vancouver IWD organizing committee: On International Women's Day we raise our fists in solidarity with women struggling for emancipation.

We stand united in defense of women's rights. for genuine liberation for all women. We rally as a demonstration of our collective resistance against colonization. imperialist plunder, and the violence, oppression and exploitation of patriarchy and capitalism. Women around the world are at the forefront of struggles for emancipation that ultimately seek to oust capitalism and repl ace it with collaboration, cooperation, and a society that values health, the fulfillment of human potential, and the survival of our planet. These brave women inspire us to protect the Earth and our future generations. Join us as we raise our voices for liberation and justice for all women!

For more information or to endorse this rally: iw-

dorganizingcom mittee@gmail.com

Oppenheimer ParK Lost + Found Lost your i .d.? •or maybe your key?

Come check at the Park, we've held it for thee.

Learning to Love Learning is: clouds passing over black sun extracting knife thru own heart and licking off your very own blood seeing self & others in fullest moonlight courage to change in small ways daily making amends to those you care for welcoming the future like a close friend being on cordial terms with life & death Learning is, most of all, being able and willing to love. john alan douglas

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

-Margaret Meade

THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION· OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association.

WANTED Artwork for the Carnegie Newsletter

Next Issue: SUBMISSION DEADLINE

• • •

Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry Cover art- Max. Size 17cm(6T)wide x 15cm(6")h Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the Downtown Eastside, but all work considered.

• Black & White printing only.

• Size restrictions apply (i.e. If your piece is too larg• it will be reduced and/or cropped to fit.)

• All artists will receive credit for their work.

• Originals will be returned to the artists after being copied for publication.

• Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer Tickets Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor. www.carnnews.o~

nttp: //chodarr.owtaxonomy/tennl3

TUESDAY, MARCH 12TH

Jenny WaiChing Kwan 'MLA Working for You 1070 - l6tfl Comme.-cial D.-, VSL 3Y3 Pho_oe: 604-775-0790

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AIDS POVERTY HOMELESSNESS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN TOT ALIT ARlAN CAPITALISM IGNORANCE and SUSTAINED FEAR

North Vancouver Community Band Concert Wednesday, March 13th 7:00- 8:00PM

Carnegie Theatre

NOTit:E OF VOTE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION BOARD MEETING MARCH 7, 2013, 5:30pm MEMBERSHIP VOTE REGARDING A CHANGE TO THE CONSTITUTION BY-LAWS Article V- Directors and Officers Section 18 - Election of Directors

Currently reads: 2

To be eligible for election as a director, a person must: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Live or work (paid or unpaid) in the area; Be an active member of the Centre; Be a member of the Society for a minimum of 60 days immediately prior to the electton; and Be over 16 years of age.

Recommended change: 2

To be eligible for election as a director, a person must: 1 Live or work (paid or unpaid) in the area ; 2 Be an active member of the Centre; 3 Be a member of the Society for a minimum of 60 days immediately prior to the election; 4 Be over 16 years of age; and 5 Have contributed 30 hours of volunteer work to the Carnegie Community Centre or the Carnegie Community Centre Association in the previous year.