MAY 22, 2018 VOLUME 10, ISSUE 16 KPU’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
Suspending Disbelief
Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling keeps Kayfabe alive in New West
NEWS
KSA Revokes KPIRG’s Funding Following Fraud Allegations
CULTURE page 4
DigitaLENS Fosters Sisterhood Through Storytelling
OPINION page 10
Should The Runner Be Publishing in Other Languages?
page 12
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
STAFF 04
NEWS | KSA Revokes KPIRG’s Funding Following Fraud Allegations
With this funding now revoked, KPIRG Director-at-Large Simon Massey says that it is “very unlikely” that they will be able to pay for a full-fledged court case against founder and former employee.
Editor in Chief
Aly Laube editor@runnermag.ca
Managing Editor
Connor Doyle managing@runnermag.ca
Staff Writer
Braden Klassen staff@runnermag.ca
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FEATURES | Keeping Kayfabe in the Local World of Wrestling
“Cinco de Mayhem” was the name of Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling’s May 5th event, which saw the typically tranquil Pensioners Hall in New West transformed into a wrestling arena.
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CULTURE | DigitaLENS Fosters Sisterhood Through Storytelling
During the DigitaLENS Film Festival on May 14, 11 films were screened for the public. They illustrated stories of love, acceptance, family, abuse, racism, religion, and death.
Community Reporter
Ashley Hyshka community@runnermag.ca
Production Manager
Melanie Tan production@runnermag.ca
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OPINIONS | KPU Would Benefit From a Translated Student Newspaper
The fact that KPU has become such a popular option for students, particularly from India and China, means that the student body would benefit from having a student newspaper that published multiple versions.
Photo Editor VACANT
Hashtag KPU Post on Twitter or Instagram about or around KPU and you could be featured!
Art Director
Nicola Kwit art@runnermag.ca
Web Manager
Alex Rodriguez web@runnermag.ca
Operations Manager Scott Boux office@runnermag.ca 778-565-3801
CONTRIBUTORS Epifania Alarcón Marcus Barichello Katie Czenczek Kristine Hui Daniella Javier Tristan Johnston Oliver Lum Nat Mussell Jesse Pottinger @RESLUS Lincoln Saugstad Isabelle Wirz
COVER BY Kristine Hui
Arbutus 3710/3720 12666 72 Ave. Surrey, B.C, V3W 2M8 778-565-3801 www.runnermag.ca Vol. 10, Issue no. 16 May 22 // 2018 ISSN# 1916 8241
Notice of PIPS Annual General Meeting Place: Birch 250, KPU Surrey Day: May 30, 2018 Time: 2:30 pm
Summer Semester 2018 Student Publication Fee Opt-Outs available in person May 7 - 31. Student ID & Proof of registration and payment required. PIPS Office: Arbutus 3710, Surrey Campus.
Hours: 10 am - 5 pm Monday to Friday. Phone: 778-565-3801 Email: office@runnermag.ca
All submissions to The Runner are subject to editing for style, quality, length, and legality. The Runner will not publish material which the editors deem to be harmful or discriminatory. The views expressed within the publication are not necessarily those of The Runner staff or of the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society. The Runner is student-owned and operated by Kwantlen Polytechnic University students, published under the Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society. The Runner recognises that our work, both in and out of the office, takes place on unceded Coast and Strait Salish territories, specifically the shared traditional territories of the Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Sto:lo and Tsawwassen First Nations. Our name is inspired by the hun’qumi’num meaning of Kwantlen, which is tireless hunters or tireless runners. Just as KPU is adaptable and changing, so is The Runner.
EDITORIAL
FROM THE EDITOR
Prison education is key to creating a safer and more equitable Canada
(@RESLUS)
Aly Laube | Editor in Chief “Taking college classes helped me forget that I wasn’t free.” This is what a former incarcerated person, Marcus Lilley, told a writer for The Marshall Project, a non-profit news website dedicated to covering criminal justice. The publication recently released “Finding College by Way of Prison”, a first-person account of taking college courses as a prisoner based on Lilley’s experiences. Giving prisoners access to education is not a recent development in criminal justice— Swedish prisons mandated vocational education way back in the 1800s—but over the years the bar has been steadily ascending for the quality of the classes offered to them. A Kwantlen Polytechnic University instructor named Alana Abramson has dedicated her career to making life more fair for prisoners and often introduces her students to those on parole and ex-convicts willing to share their stories.
Abramson is also a proponent of the InsideOut program, a prison exchange at KPU which brings 13 of the university’s on-campus criminology students and 13 students living in prison together to learn from one another and earn credits towards a degree. Reading what Lilley had to say to The Marshall Project about the joy, pride, and hope that taking classes brought him is moving, regardless of our ideological views as readers. He talks about how happy his son—who he hadn’t seen for over a decade—was to hear that he was in college. He talks about the rush of excitement he feels when he gets to learn about something new that he’s passionate about. He talks about his own writing, and how being more intellectually engaged while behind bars changes the existence of prisoners otherwise limited to a wildly unstimulating and impersonal environment. It’s more than just an act of human kindness to make university-level courses avail-
able to prisoners, though. It also dramatically expedites the rehabilitation process for those preparing to adjust to living in the outside world again. A 2004 study conducted for Probation Journal found that young, incarcerated fathers were able to develop their knowledge and understanding of parenthood through taking parenting classes while serving time. Six years later, The Journal of Corrective Education published a study that “offers strong support for the argument that it is far more profitable for states to fund education classes for inmates, for two reasons: first, doing so reduces recidivism dramatically, and second because educating felons eliminates the costs associated with long term warehousing.” The Prison Studies Project also published a piece about this that reached similar conclusions. “Studies conducted over the last two decades almost unanimously indicate that higher education in prison programs reduces recidivism and translates into reductions in crime, savings to taxpayers, and long-term contributions to the safety and well-being of the communities to which formerly incarcerated people return,” it reads. The report then goes on to cite several studies that support this claim. The evidence is clear, and so is the humanitarian aspect of treating prisoners as multifaceted people with the potential to grow instead of faceless bodies in a cell. In Canada, the general public rarely talks about our justice system, but Statistics Canada found that there were an average of 120,568 adult offenders in jail on a given day in 2015/16. Imagine how many of those Canadians could benefit from leaving prison with part of a university degree.
Over 1,000 Affordable Homes to Be Built in Vancouver
NEWS BRIEF
Oliver Lum
Looking for a home that doesn’t break the bank? You might be in luck. According to a press release from the Community Land Trust published earlier this month,“more than 1,000 affordable homes” are going to be built in Vancouver over the next three years. The Community Land Trust is a non-profit organization that purchases land for the sake of building affordable housing. Once the land is purchased by them, it becomes permanently unavailable on the market to help ensure that it will always be used to provide affordable housing to communities in need. This project will be aimed at singles and families who fall with the $30,000 to $80,000 annual income brackets. The homes being built will consist of both two and three-bedroom homes ranging from townhomes to apartments. In conjunction with the Community Land Trust, The Atira Women’s Resource Society will provide 90 new units in support of women who are seeking shelter that is both affordable and secure. McLaren Housing Society of BC and The Fraserview Housing Co-op will also contribute a significant amount of
homes to this project. The president of the McLaren Housing Society, Michael Hoche, says that “McLaren Housing Society is honored to work with the Community Land Trust, its partners, and the City of Vancouver to create 169 units of affordable housing in downtown Vancouver.” Patreena May, a recent graduate from KPU, feels that affordable housing is imperative for her generation as well as generations to come. “Affordable housing would mean that people in my generation or the next generations would be able to actually afford a house to rent or even live in,” she says. “Maintenance fees wouldn't be crazy and taxes wouldn't be crazy and—like the name says—it would be affordable for the people that it is there for.” She continues, “You keep hearing, ‘Oh the market is going to crash,’ or ‘Just hold on a little longer," you know, and you never know how long you can wait until you just give up. So to hear that something is being put in place now—something like a light at the end of the tunnel—that's great to hear for myself and other people starting to look for homes.” The Community Land Trust anticipates that it will begin this project mid-2019. All units will be ready to be occupied by 2021.
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WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS MONTH
MAY 24
KWANTLEN STREET MARKET
The Kwantlen Street Market is back! This year it runs every Tuesday from the end of May to the beginning of October at an off-campus space. It’s got everything you want, from tasty food to body care products. 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm, Minoru Plaza, free.
MAY 31 BIKE TO WORK
Do you enjoy riding to school? Stop by the KSA’s Bike to Work station on 128 St. just south of 72nd Ave. near the parking lot. They’ll have snacks waiting for you, as well as a tune-up for your bike and the chance to win some great prizes! 7:00 am - 9:00 am, KPU Surrey, free.
MAY 31
OPEN MIC & KARAOKE
Come by the Grassroots Cafe the last Thursday of every month for open mic and karaoke nights hosted by the Kwantlen Student Association. Enjoy nachos, beer on tap, and lots of free laughs. 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm, Grassroots Cafe, free.
JUNE 5
SHORELINE CLEAN UP
Interested in making the world just a little bit cleaner? Join Sustainable KSA to help clean up the Serpentine Greenway beside the Surrey campus. Meet at the Grassroots patio first. 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm, Serpentine Greenway, free.
JUNE 5
DISABILITY WORKSHOP
KPIRG is hosting disability justice activist and artist Q for a workshop that will explore erased histories of disability activism and culture. Snacks and ASL interpretation are available. 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm, KPU Surrey Birch 250, free.
JUNE 6
BALL HOCKEY TOURNAMENT
This summer KPU Sports & Rec are hosting a ball hockey tournament for students. All equipment is supplied, so just bring your game face and be ready to play semi-competitively. 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm, KPU Cloverdale, free.
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NEWS
Kwantlen Student Association Votes to Revoke KPIRG’s Funding
The court case between KPIRG and its founder put on hold as the group adjusts to lack of revenue Aly Laube | Editor in Chief As a result of the allegations of fraud that the Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group made against its founder and former employee, the Kwantlen Student Association has voted to revoke and hold the funding they collect from students on KPIRG’s behalf. The KSA believes that the alleged fraud— totalling approximately $112,000—which KPIRG has accused its former administrative coordinator, Richard Hossein, of committing constitutes a breach of the autonomy agreement between the two societies. This breach led KSA Council to vote to defund KPIRG in a meeting on April 6. According to an email from KPIRG sent on May 16, the KSA is currently holding $1,456.38 of the research group’s unremitted fees. The Court Case on Hold Since KPIRG was founded in late 2013, it has been Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s student-operated social and environmental justice resource centre. As a part of the autonomy agreement between KPIRG and the KSA, which came into force on Jan. 1 2015, the KSA has collected and remitted student fees to fund the research group. With this funding now revoked, KPIRG Director-at-Large Simon Massey says that it is “very unlikely” that they will be able to pay for a full-fledged court case against Hossein. “[Pursuing litigation against Hossein] will be much more difficult, and if we do make that decision we will have to substantially divert funds away from maintaining the society’s purpose, doing the work KPIRG was set out to do,” says Massey. “We’re going to have to re-examine our budget, but this has had a pretty significant effect on our ability to pursue that.” KPIRG’s mandate is to provide social justice-centric education, research, and events for KPU students. For years, Hossein was responsible for the group’s day-to-day operations including bookkeeping and taking
The Kwantlen Student Association Executive Committee poses in the KSA office. Members of KSA Council voted to stop remitting student fees to KPIRG during a council meeting on Apr 6. (Joseph Keller) records. Sometime after he resigned in August 2017, members of KPIRG began to suspect that he had made several fraudulent statements regarding payments to third parties during his time as the administrative coordinator. Soon after, KPIRG filed the incident to the RCMP and issued a notice of civil claim against Hossein. They did not, however, serve papers directly to Hossein to begin litigation as they anticipated that the KSA would consider ending their autonomy agreement. Massey says that he and his colleagues “definitely hoped that the KSA would see the value in continuing to fund KPIRG,” but also that they “always knew it was a possibility” that their funding would be revoked. “We had known for a long time that our goal would be to continue doing the work we do and continue doing our events,” he says. “We’re hopeful that, in the future, the KSA will reconsider this decision. Right now, unfortunately, it is what it is and we’re going to keep fulfilling our commitment to the students and to the university and to our members.” While KPIRG does not expect to receive any income for the foreseeable future, the research group is not yet bankrupt. It retains
the funds gathered from all of its members who paid fees last semester, putting its reserves at $210,759.24 as of April 30, 2018. However, the organization has already paid a $5,000 retainer to its lawyer and “are yet to exceed that amount in billings for legal services,” according to Massey. KPIRG’s audited financial statements from the years prior to the discovery of the non-operational loss provide a basic understanding of the group’s revenues and expenses. In 2015, it collected $250,185 and spent 205,629, and in 2016, it made $261,780 and spent $246,503. If these trends of earning and spending continue, the funds left in KPIRG’s reserves are likely to last for about one year. Had the group’s funding not been revoked, KPIRG would have received payment for the summer semester between late April and early May. In the absence of those funds, its board will be looking into applying for grants. Sometime this summer, they will also need to call an SGM to change the definition of ‘membership’ “specifically to reflect the situation” they’re now in, according to Massey. Still, he says that KPIRG will be “pushing ahead with events and programming.”
In the meantime, the RCMP will continue investigating Hossein’s alleged fraud independently of KPIRG. The KSA’s Decision According to KSA President Caitlin McCutchen, the alleged fraud committed by Hossein violated articles 7 and 8 of the autonomy agreement between the KSA and KPIRG. The KSA voted to defund KPIRG as a direct result of these violations. “In Article 7, it says that KPIRG shall use all funding provided by the KSA towards funding the purposes of KPIRG. They acknowledge that some of that went to Richard,” explains McCutchen. “Article 8 says that those actions must be commercially responsible and comply with KPIRG’s constitution. When they paid that to Richard and he claimed he was going to pay an outside group, they paid him instead.” “There are [also] a couple of other [violations],” she adds. “Their annual audit must disclose irregularities and they did have a loss. Also, they must adhere to the Societies Act and their board of directors was not upholding fiduciary duty.” The decision to defund KPIRG was made in-camera at an April 6 meeting of Council. Moving in-camera meant that no KPU students aside from the members of Council were there for the decision, and no minutes from the discussion were taken. “I think that Council is acting in the best way we can to deal with this situation right now,” says McCutchen. “We consulted with our legal counsel on this and I just think it’s important to make it clear that this isn’t terminating KPIRG. We’re just [revoking KPIRG’s] fees until things get sorted out with them.” McCutchen says that the fees normally collected on behalf of KPIRG could potentially go towards funding another public interest research group, if the KPU student body wants to create one. “The fees are still there, so we didn’t need to consult with students for that. They’ll just be held,” she says. “[The KSA] can’t use it. There’s a specific fee for PIRGs so it’s not like they’re being diverted.” The Runner will continue to follow this story as it progresses.
KPIRG Directors Jagdeep Mangat and Simon Massey speak during the KPIRG 2018 AGM. (Tristan Johnston)
NEWS
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Surrey Launches New LRT Vehicle Showcase
Throughout May and June, the City of Surrey is inviting the public to check out its new prototype LRT vehicle Braden Klassen | Staff Writer The City of Surrey is now displaying a prototype of the light rail transit vehicle that will be used as part of its proposed rapid transit plan. In the first phase of the project, the LRT rail routes—which will connect to the Surrey Central and King George SkyTrain stations—will travel South to Newton Exchange and East to Guildford Exchange. The second phase of the project will consist of constructing a ground-level LRT line along Fraser Highway that stretches from King George Station to Langley Centre. Caitlin McCutchen, President of the Kwantlen Student Association, attended the opening LRT vehicle showcase on May 2 and spoke in support of the project. "The accessibility of the LRT project and increased transit infrastructure will provide [for] Surrey residents [and] will help to keep young adults learning and working in Surrey while attracting new students from throughout the lower mainland, which will ultimately make the City of Surrey a better place to live,” McCutchen said in a press release circulated by the city. Translink plans to have light rail in Surrey constructed and operational by 2024. The company claims that it will provide a number of benefits to the public such as reducing traffic congestion, increasing transit capacity, creating new jobs, and helping reduce emissions. However, not everyone is happy with the direction the city has taken in constructing the new rapid transit project. “From our point of view, this system that they are proposing is not really worthwhile,” says Daryl Dela Cruz, a KPU geography student and the founding director of the Sky-
Train for Surrey organization. SkyTrain for Surrey was created in 2012 with the goal of convincing the public and City Hall that adding on to the existing SkyTrain line is a better option than building the new LRT. “The current plan doesn’t maximize transit access opportunities and a reduction of travel time, which are critical for students,” says Dela Cruz. “Students run tight schedules and we may be working alongside [going to] school, so when it comes to facilitating student lifestyles, we have to address the shortfall that it takes a while to get around on transit, and that option
doesn’t work for a lot of students.” SkyTrain for Surrey has proposed that— instead of building three LRT lines from Surrey central to Guildford, Langley and Newton—there should just be one SkyTrain route that connects to Langley Centre. “The Langley campus would actually be only minutes away from a Langley Centre SkyTrain station, which would link the campus with the entire region,” says Dela Cruz. He adds that SFU, UBC, Douglas College, and Langara College all have campuses located near transit hubs, or at stops along the
SkyTrain routes. “Kwantlen students have been facing a shortfall with regards to transit access when you consider both big and small institutions across Metro Vancouver,” he says. “They have much better transit access even when they have multiple campuses around the region.” The new LRT vehicle will be available for the public to view from May 2 to July 1 in several locations such as the Newton Superstore, Surrey Civic Plaza, Guildford Town Centre, and the Canada Day Celebration in Cloverdale.
Members of Surrey City Council stand with KSA President Caitlin McCutchen in front of the LRT vehicle showcase. (Submitted)
B.C.’s New Lieutenant Governor is a KPU Community Member Janet Austin received an honorary doctorate from the university in 2013 Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter British Columbia’s newest lieutenant governor, Janet Austin, was sworn in on April 24 during a ceremony in Victoria, B.C. As the province’s 30th lieutenant governor, Austin has long been a community activist and social advocate. Kwantlen Polytechnic University recognized her work with the community in 2013 by awarding her an honorary doctorate degree. “It has always been an honour to speak at Kwantlen at past convocations and so it was very special to be recognized with an honorary Doctor[ate] of Laws from KPU,” Austin said in an emailed statement to The Runner. Jocelyn Lymburner, a faculty member with KPU’s department of psychology, nominated Austin for the honorary doctorate back in 2013. Lymburner says she “couldn’t think of a more deserving person” to receive the distinction. “Janet is a force to be reckoned [with],” says Lymburner. “She is just an absolutely remarkable woman.” She adds that Austin is particularly passionate about causes such as mentoring women and decreasing child poverty. Lymburner and Austin’s friendship goes back approximately 20 years. The two of them worked together at Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland, where Austin served as the organization’s executive director. She also worked
with B.C. Housing and, most notably, spent 15 years as the CEO of YWCA Vancouver, where Lymburner was also a member of the board. Austin says that her role at YWCA Vancouver taught her to have a great deal of empathy for people who have not had the privileges that she has. This experience hardened her resolve to not only recognize outstanding citizens in the community, but also to continue improving the lives of all British Columbians to the best of her ability. While Austin was CEO of YWCA Vancouver, the organization partnered with KPU in training student volunteers who then went on to mentor high school students in a variety of youth-based programs. Lymburner recalls the convocation ceremony where Austin received the honorary doctorate fondly. She says that, for students attending convocation, witnessing a community advocate accept an honorary doctorate can give graduating students a role model as they move toward the next chapter of their lives. “It’s really inspiring for the graduates to see community leaders and to see what people are doing with their own education and the possibilities that open up for them,” she says. Both Austin and Lymburner agree that Austin’s two decades spent on community activism and championing for social causes have prepared her for occupying the role of the lieutenant governor.
“I believe we are the sum total of our experiences,” says Austin. “Working at the YWCA Metro Vancouver impressed upon me the diversity of our province. I met many citizens with a range of gifts and talents that contribute to our society in wonderful ways.” She was appointed Lieutenant Governor by the Governor General of Canada. Lymburner
says that she is optimistic regarding Austin’s new role and believes that it will lead the province in a positive direction due to Austin’s passion for activism. “I look forward to continuing to engage with the KPU community in the future in my role as Lieutenant Governor,” says Austin.
Janet Austin poses after receiving an honorary degree from KPU. (kpu.ca)
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NEWS
KPU Deemed One of Canada’s Greenest Employers Lincoln Saugstad | Contributor Less than a week before this year’s Earth Day, Mediacorp Inc. published a list of the “greenest employers in Canada.” Along with the City of Vancouver and the University of Toronto, Kwantlen Polytechnic University once again earned a top place on the list. According to its website, Mediacorp is the “nation's largest publisher of quality employment periodicals, reaching over 15 million Canadians each year.” The organization was created in 1992 and provides recognition for Canada’s top 100 employers as well as 19 other regional and special interest designations. This is the second year that KPU has won the “Greenest Employers” award. The president of the university, Alan Davis, says that “it’s incumbent upon us to turn that around and see how we can celebrate our work.” “A lot goes into trying to be green and we can take some satisfaction and celebrate the fact that we actually do put a lot of time and effort into this,” he says. “We’re interested in ensuring that people think of KPU as a respectable, socially responsible institution. We try not just to teach it but also to practice what we preach.” KPU has many sustainability-related initiatives such as waste and recycling management, distribution of drinking water, reduction of energy usage, and environmentally-focused programs. The university has also been the recipient of similar awards in the past. In 2014 and 2012 it received the BC Hydro Power Smart Excellence Award and in 2010 and 2009 it was designated a BC Hydro Power Smart Leader. Still, Davis acknowledges that there is much more to be done. “We need someone to take our ideas and put them into action,” he says. “It’s all being done off of the side of people’s desks and I think we’ve kind of plateaued.” He hopes to hire a sustainability manager soon to work with the university’s Environmental Sustainability Committee and implement new ideas for how to be more environmentally conscious. According to Davis, this—and other potential initiatives such as adding plugins for electric cars in campus parking lots—will be part of the university’s next strategic plan. “The awards are nice and they give us these opportunities to have conversations,” he says. “It’s a good way to celebrate a lot of work that both the employees and the students do [but we also need to] make sure that we not only win awards, but that we actually are more sustainable as an institution.”
CASA Worries Making Changes to Fair Dealing Could Cost Students The Canadian Alliance of Student Associations has called on the government to protect a section of copyright law that helps students access educational materials for free Braden Klassen | Staff Writer Student advocates are concerned that a current review of the Copyright Act could negatively affect Canadian students’ access to affordable educational materials. The Copyright Act of Canada is the overarching legal framework that Canada’s copyright law is based on. It ensures that content creators are compensated for their work and gives them opportunities to control aspects of how their content is distributed in Canada. Because of the considerable volume of copyrighted materials published in Canada and abroad, the act contains a section that provides exemptions for certain uses of copyrighted content. These exemptions are known as fair dealing, and they allow people to use copyright-licensed material without needing to directly pay or seek the permission of the copyright owner. In 2012, the Copyright Act was revised, and the section concerning fair dealing was amended to include educational use as an acceptable reason for copyright exemption, as long as the use was deemed fair. This meant that students, teachers, professors, and researchers were able to access copyrighted materials at a reduced cost. However, in order to keep up with technological developments in how we access and exchange information, the Copyright Act is subject to a mandatory review that must take place every five years. This review process, which is expected to conclude in 2019, opens up the legislation to possible changes, including the sections that concern fair dealing. Michael McDonald, Executive Director of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, says he is concerned that groups who are unhappy with educational use being included in fair dealing could use this as an opportunity to alter or even remove that section of the act. “The Copyright Act actually has a significant impact on the materials that students can use in a classroom setting or for their own private research,” says McDonald. “Content producers and publishers have been advocating pretty actively for a restricted version of educational fair dealing, or for the removal of that exemption entirely.” “CASA thinks that this would be a significant step backward, and we think that it would undermine Canadian education,” he adds. McDonald says that CASA is worried that
Since 2012, students have been able to freely use limited amounts of copyrighted material for educational purposes. Advocates worry that the current review of the Copyright Act could change or remove this exemption. (Braden Klassen) removing or restricting the educational provision in fair dealing would have a “chilling effect” in Canadian education and research. The organization has expressed concern that increasing the costs or effort required to obtain copyrighted materials for educational use might persuade teachers, professors, or students to forgo using these materials entirely. In March 2018, CASA published a report that outlined their position on the issue and demonstrated how fair dealing had been benefiting Canadian education since its introduction into the act in 2012. “We’re optimistic that the [review] committee has grasped that the post-secondary sector is not trying to not pay creators,” says McDonald. “It’s just trying to use that material fairly in a way that the court has already established.” CASA’s report also mentions the increasing popularity of open educational resources (OERs) in Canada, particularly in B.C. OERs are educational materials developed under an open license that allows the content to be used freely by the public. This removes the published content from the confines of traditional copyright, meaning that it will remain accessible with or without the fair dealing exemption. According to the BCCampus Open Textbook Project, Kwantlen Polytechnic University is the leading adopter of OERs in the province. KPU psychology professor Rajiv Jhangiani is the University Teaching Fellow in Open Studies as well as a Senior Open Education
KPU University Librarian Todd Mundle. (Braden Klassen)
Research & Advocacy Fellow with BCCampus. Over the past few years, Jhangiani has been heavily involved in research and development of OERs in B.C. “Very few people write commercial textbooks to become wealthy because, typically, you spend countless hours more than you would be compensated for that kind of very slow trickle of royalties,” says Jhangiani. “I do know that we have authors at KPU who certainly feel that fair dealing is misused or that, perhaps, authors more broadly are under-compensated right now.” Todd Mundle, KPU’s university librarian, says that many in the realm of Canadian publishing believe that “the addition of the 2012 educational fair dealing portion of the Copyright Act is now starting to drive the Canadian publishing industry into the dirt and that it’s not going to survive.” Others maintain that the industry is still profitable enough to fare well. Mundle says that there is no question that fair dealing has benefited students, and that their savings have cost content producers some revenue. Still, he thinks that it’s unlikely that fair dealing will be altered in a way that reduces students’ access to copyrighted materials. “My sense is that they haven’t opened it up because of problems associated with it. They’ve opened it up because it’s mandated that, every five years, they have to look at it, which is good,” he says. “Hopefully, it’ll help to dispel some of the myths around how having the education provision within fair dealing is affecting Canadian publishing.” Jhangiani also feels that the review is necessary in order to modernize Canada’s copyright framework. “The development and proliferation of digital technologies has presented challenges, and this is one of the reasons why copyright certainly should be looked at again,” he says. “Looking at the affordances of digital platforms is important, especially if the marginal cost of reproduction of digital resources approaches zero. How can we maximize access while at the same time adequately compensating authors? The answer to that question is what I’m interested in.”
NEWS
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The Threat of Climate Change Looms Over Canadian Farmers Hotter summers and wetter winters could wreak havoc on Canada’s environment Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter A statement issued by the Senate of Canada last month foreshadows a damning future for Canadian farmers facing climate change. Members of the Senate’s agriculture committee, who wrote the release, heard from farmers, academics, and other industry experts who stated that farmers and foresters across Canada will have to adapt to a slew of problems brought on by a changing climate. Kent Mullinix, Director of the Institute for Sustainable Food Systems at KPU, says that this future will have potentially disastrous consequences unless tangible action is taken. He warns that, because of climate change, Canadians can expect to experience much wetter winters and spring seasons as well as warmer and drier summers. These shifts in climate often lead to droughts and heavy flooding, which delay the growing season. “Climate change is real. It is happening now,” he says. “If we continue to burn fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, we can expect this to worsen and worsen.” The current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 400 parts per million (ppm), but Mullinix warns that we are on the trajectory towards 450 ppm by the end of the 21st century. He says that, if it reaches the 450 ppm threshold, “Canada is expected to become a dust bowl.” According to Mullinix, Canadian farmers will have to adapt to the changing climate by utilizing farming methods which are not rooted in the burning of fossil fuels, but rather in regenerative and clean energy. The statement from the Senate of Canada adds that farmers will also have to engineer a way to supply water
(Nicola Kwit) to livestock and irrigate fields, and that they’ll have to combat invasive species and insects. Mullinix adds that the Canadian government and other global governments are talking about the problem but are unwilling to pursue viable solutions due to the fact that they would potentially affect the economy. “Adaptation is no substitute for mitigation,” says Mullinix. “And we have to curtail additional, excessive greenhouse gases being emitted now. I mean, we’re past the eleventh hour. We are nearly at midnight.” One of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions is the food industry. Five units of energy are needed to provide one unit of food energy that humans consume. Mullinix says that the current food and agricultural system yields a “negative return on
energy investment” because fossil fuels must be burned to create the product. He adds that society must change its ways in order to combat this issue. One of the ways this can be done is by purchasing food from local producers who are trying to be more environmentally sustainable, like vendors at farmers markets. In considering some of the other long-term effects of climate change, Mullinix cites the collapse of agricultural systems in areas of California and Mexico as well as the skyrocketing prices of food—trends which he says will continue to become more severe as climate change worsens. Certain foods may no longer be able to grow in the environments they’ve been grown in for ages. Farmers in B.C., for example, are having difficulty with
growing and harvesting potatoes. Another problem is the havoc that natural disasters could wreak on local farmlands. Severe storm surges and floods could inundate farmland with water, and in the summer, the same land could succumb to drought. Five per cent of land in B.C. is fertile farmland, but only half of it is properly utilized because much of the Lower Mainland’s farmland is used for commercial development. Because it is a non-renewable resource, Mullinix believes that farmland must be protected. “Our big imperative is sustainability,” says Mullinix. “We have to figure out how to live here on Earth without destroying our mother, which is mother Earth.”
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Keeping Kayfabe in the Local World of Wrestling Performers in Elite Candian Championship Wrestling captivate old and new fans alike Kristine Hui | Contributor
ECCW's "Cinco de Mayhem" wrestling ring in Sapperton Pensioners Hall in New Westminster. (Kristine Hui) While many Canadians were celebrating Cinco de Mayo, those in New Westminster’s Sapperton Pensioners Hall spent May 5 crowded around a makeshift wrestling ring. “Cinco de Mayhem” was the name of Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling’s latest event, which saw the typically tranquil Pensioners Hall transformed into a wrestling arena. Founded in 1996, ECCW is currently Canada’s largest wrestling promotion. The evening began when two opponents— Judas Icarus and Artemis Spencer—made their grand entrances from behind a curtained-off corner of the room. Each wrestler brought his own unique energy to the ring, complete with tailored theme music and elaborate costumes. The dark-haired Icarus was dressed as a dastardly hillbilly, clad in overalls, unable to utter a single coherent sentence. Instead, he hooted and hollered through his match against the fair-haired Spencer, whose smile and charm won over the crowd. Although the two slapped and grappled each other around the ring, their fight didn’t stay between the ropes for very long. Several times throughout the match, audience members had to flee from their seats as the men flung themselves into the crowd. Both Spencer and Icarus took turns attempting to pin each other for the count of three, and just when it seemed that good-guy Spencer would be defeated, he tapped into an inner strength and overpowered his foe. If this story seems a bit contrived, that’s because it is. In the world of professional wrestling,
“kayfabe” is an industry term used to refer to the portrayal of staged events as being real. Since wrestling matches are scripted—as are the rivalries and narratives that surround those matches—wrestlers must maintain kayfabe in order to sustain the authenticity of their personas. Kayfabe helps audience members suspend their disbelief and accept the fictional world created by the performers. The fact that the match was not a real sports competition, but instead a sports-themed play, allowed them to cheer Spencer and boo Icarus despite the fact that both men were risking their bodies for the audience's enjoyment. “It is a performance, obviously, like a live action movie […] mixed with athleticism,” says Cass, a lifelong wrestling fan who regularly attends ECCW shows. “It’s not like any other kind of entertainment. You never know what you are going to see and it’s always different every time you see it.” Wrestling’s larger than life characters like Spencer and Icarus are a major drawing point for their fans, as is the atmosphere at live wrestling shows. While yelling at strangers on the street might get you in trouble, audience members are encouraged to yell at wrestlers and their managers during a match in either support or disdain. Shortly after Spencer had vanquished Icarus, a man in a purple leotard adorned with pictures of pizza, hamburgers, and a chicken drumstick made his way to the ring. This man, “Fergie”, offered comedic relief while his opponent, Steve West (also known as “Simply
the Best”) played the “no laughing matter” tough-guy wrestler. Fergie’s sassy antics soon led to him dancing amorously with both the referee and his opponent. Unlike the first, far more physical bout, this match quickly devolved into a dance-off between the two combatants, which only ended when West blew snot into Fergie’s face. This moment of surprise allowed West to pin Fergie to the mat for the three count. Although West won the match, the fans’ hearts remained with Fergie. Through the rest of the night, the audience watched men get thrown onto picnic-sized tables, be hit with metal chairs, and even expose their buttocks—all in the name of entertainment. Each performer, whether benevolent or villainous, played his role with gusto while the fans cheered, jeered, and shouted snarky comments throughout the matches. “It’s kind of a diverse crowd,” says Becca Castle, one of the owners of ECCW. “A lot of the older fans grew up watching the golden age of wrestling, and when they find out that there’s local wrestling, they get really excited because it takes them back to their childhood. Then we have younger fans who find out about us through social media and come and check out our show and get hooked.” The audience seemed to instinctively distinguish the heroes or “faces” from the villains or “heels.” Heels typically bully, cheat, and exhibit other unlikable traits to make the audience turn against them. They serve as foils to the faces, who follow the rules, are typically polite to the referees, and show
great perseverance, and are therefore cheered by the audience. All of the wrestlers who work for ECCW are independent contractors; a standard in the wrestling business. Every year, ECCW puts on a couple of free shows where non-contracted wrestlers work for free so that management can scout and evaluate new talent. Although wrestling is a performance, Castle notes that there is still “a lot of athleticism involved, and you have to be in good physical condition to do these moves and do them safely.” She also explains how wrestling in Canada differs from the United States. “The Pacific Northwest is not as well known, even though we have a lot of good wrestlers who have come out of here such as The Bollywood Boyz [who currently perform in the WWE as The Singh Brothers] and Becky Lynch, who started in an ECCW ring,” she says. Castle became involved in ECCW when she started dating her now-husband, who worked with the ECCW security team. When the couple was presented with the opportunity to buy into the company when one of the old owners left, they took it. “If you know about wrestling in Canada then you are one of the few because no one really thinks about Canada [as] having a good wrestling scene,” she says. “But once you know about it, you actually find about how many promotions there are and the great product that they put out consistently.”
Judas Icarus (blue) versus Artemis Spencer (red) in the ďŹ rst match of "Cinco de Mayhem". (Kristine Hui)
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CULTURE
KSA President to Take a Feminist Approach in Her First Term Caitlin McCutchen is planning to rebrand the women’s center, women’s collective, and KSA consent campaign Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter As Caitlin McCutchen settles into her first term as Kwantlen Student Association president, she brings with her plenty of ideas for how to improve life at KPU, particularly for female-identifying students. McCutchen recently travelled to Victoria to meet with local MLAs, including Advanced Education Minister Melanie Mark. They discussed KPU’s Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy, which is currently approaching its one-year review. The annual report on the policy will be presented at the next KPU Board of Governors near the end of May. The meetings were also to determine if the government would be willing to have more in-depth talks later in the year surrounding better supporting universities. “[The MLAs] were all really supportive and want to help KPU in any way that KPU needs help,” says McCutchen. A few MLAs suggested that the implementation of the Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy was hindered by a lack of support mechanisms within the university. In addition, McCutchen says that a member of staff was supposed to have been hired to help implement the policy at KPU, but no such role has yet been filled. Some of McCutchen’s suggestions were to provide more government funding for sexual violence and misconduct-related initiatives, as well as guidelines for how to report and handle cases of sexual violence and miscon-
duct on campus. Because KPU does not have student residences or campus bars, its place in this conversation is unique. This is compounded by the fact that the university is still in its infancy, and therefore lacks the same resources and institutional history that can be found at universities like UBC or SFU. McCutchen praises the hard work exhibited by the KPU community in implementing the policies, but acknowledges that work still needs to be done by the administration and the KSA. “No parent wants to send their child to school knowing that there’s not proper safety measures in place,” she says. In addition to being the president of the KSA, McCutchen is also the student association’s women’s representative. During her term, she wants not only to help KPU better implement its Sexual Violence and Misconduct Policy, but also to spearhead on-campus events and campaigns. Last year, she served as both the KSA women’s representative and the chair of the Alliance of BC Students at the same time. Juggling these roles was difficult, she says, and McCutchen now worries that she wasn’t able to do all that she wanted to as last year’s women’s rep. With her position as ABCS chair expiring this month, she’s looking forward to focusing on internal issues at KPU. Other than her work on the policy, her main initiatives for the term involve rebranding the women’s collective and getting the women’s
KSA President, VP External, and Women's Rep. Caitlin McCutchen. (Ashley Hyshka) centre up and running. She also wants to provide training to students for how to respond to witnessing sexual assault or misconduct on campus and how to handle disclosures of such instances. A consent campaign and gender-related outreach and programming are also being considered by McCutchen. “I don’t really feel that there’s a large fem-
inist voice on this campus—or any voice, really, for gender issues. That’s something we need to work on,” she says. “I think people are passionate about this and are aware of it, and perhaps they don’t know that that community can be created on campus.”
Climate Change Activists are Fundraising to Carve Trump’s Face into a Glacier The Melting Ice Association is seeking funds to make “Project Trumpmore” a reality Kristine Hui | Contributor One evening not long ago, three Finnish friends got together for a couple beers. The melting ice on the beer glasses prompted the friends to discuss the melting ice caps and the gravity of climate change. One thought led to another and eventually an idea emerged—to carve the face of political indifference to the melting polar caps, Donald Trump, into an ice glacier. In order to pursue their goal, which they quickly titled “Project Trumpmore”, the friends founded a non-governmental organization called the Melting Ice Association. The group’s chairman, Nicholas Prieto, explains that the broader aim of the group’s project is to encourage citizens around the world to put pressure on their leaders to develop policies which will stop or reverse the effects of climate change. “The sculpture, in a sense, is not the thing that we want to do for the long term. It’s the short term,” he says. “I think that the ice sculpture would be a monument for an environmental evolution […] because people need something to rally up on. Hopefully this [will] remind people about climate change.” The group is currently seeking €400,000 to realize their project. Prieto’s initial calculations estimate that only €150,000 will be required to carve the sculpture. The rest of the money will be used to fund a documentary discussing the complex issues encompassed by climate change. “If we want to preserve our planet for the
future generations we need to do something,” says Prieto. “[We have to change] the mindset of the people and the mindset of our leaders because I don’t believe it would be up to [us] as individuals to stop this. [We] don’t have the tools. It is about the leaders of each nation [and what] they can do to help the environment.” Prieto says that, in considering what would make the most appropriate symbol to carve into the ice, President Trump was the only real choice. The President’s withdrawal from the 2016 Paris Climate Accord, his repeated assertions that climate change may not be real, and his desire to be memorialized on Mount Rushmore were all taken into consideration during the project’s initial planning stages. So, what does the U.S. President have to say about Project Trumpmore? Prior to the launch of their campaign website, Prieto sent Trump a tweet asking him if he would like to partner up with them. “Because [President Trump] may have the money for it, and if his views are true and climate change is not real and is just a Chinese hoax, then the monument would be there for years to come in his honor, so there might be a silver lining in his mind to this project,” says Prieto. So far there has been no response from the Trump administration. Since the launch of their campaign website, Prieto has been overwhelmed by the response his team has received from the international community. While the project has drawn a fair number of critics, Prieto says that the
response has generally been positive. He has had emails from all over the world offering support and proposing potential locations for Project Trumpmore. Currently, the primary obstacle is raising the requisite €400,000. The group’s fundraising efforts have been hindered by their inability to establish a crowdfunding campaign as a result of Finland’s strict crowdsourcing regulations. The group is considering joining up with other non-governmental organizations who have the licenses needed to start a crowdfunding campaign, or partnering with philanthropists who would be willing to sponsor their endeavour.
Prieto is confident that, once they have the money, finding a location for Project Trumpmore will be easy. After the fundraising has finished, he estimates that their team could be ready to carve the sculpture in as little as two or three weeks, and that the actual construction of Project Trumpmore will last about 10 days. In the meantime, the Melting Ice Association’s message to President Trump and other world leaders remains the same: “Please consider the environment and environmental issues because there is no Planet B.”
A promotional image from the Project Trumpmore website. (projecttrumpmore.com)
CULTURE
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DigitaLENS Fosters Sisterhood Through Storytelling The Voices of Muslim Women DigitaLENS Film Festival was held at KPU on May 14 Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter At the third annual DigitaLENS Film Festival, Muslim women came together to put their creativity on public display. Over seven weeks, Aisha Amijee, Alia Youseff, and Katie Warfield—all digital storytelling instructors at KPU—planned the event to merge technical videography skills with social justice and introspection. The course that the three instructors teach is held during both the fall and spring semesters. In the fall, KPU works with high school students from Princess Margaret Secondary School, among other Surrey-based schools. Students in the class then create films which examine social issues and self-identity. “We basically teach them to take tools— how to take a new lens—to look at themselves and representations of themselves in media,” says Amijee. The course was first held in response to negative media coverage of youth in Surrey, who were stereotyped as being troublemakers and gang members. Amijee says that the project stemmed out of a “desire to change” those negative stereotypes and give youth the opportunity to showcase themselves in a positive light. For the spring semester, the class consisted of Muslim girls and women aged 16 to 55 from across the Lower Mainland. Amijee, a Muslim woman and feminist, says that teaching the course made her realize that Muslim students affected by Islamophobia needed an opportunity to share
Following the Voices of Muslim Women DigitaLENS Film Festival, students in KPU's Digital Storytelling Course were awarded with recognition of achievement certificates by instructors Katie Warfield and Aisha Amijee. (Ashley Hyshka) their voices. Last year, she helped tailor the curriculum to accommodate Muslim women and girls specifically. “I think it’s important to create solutions for the communities you belong to,” she says. “Their voices matter and they also have the responsibility to take a seat at the table and to share their views.” Amijee also praised KPU’s Dean of Arts, Diane Purvey, as well as Katie Warfield for being supportive and “allies to women of colour.” The course is taught in three parts. Amijee teaches in the first part about social justice and expression of identity. Warfield then teaches about selfie research and how we make meaning of and view ourselves through imagery. The final part is taught by Youssef,
who passes on her technical filmmaking skills to the students. “I’m also just excited that Kwantlen is a place that makes space for this type of program,” says Warfield. “Many other universities wouldn’t, and I think what makes Kwantlen really special is humility and offering support for these community-academic partnerships.” During the VMW DigitaLENS Film Festival on May 14, there were 11 films screened for the public. They illustrated stories of love, acceptance, family, abuse, racism, religion, and death. The event also included a Q&A panel of students: Allison Youssef, Fadima Berry, Azmina Kassam, Nikhat Qureshi, and Shahin Khan. During the panel, students discussed some of
the accomplishments and challenges that they were faced with while creating their films. Amijee hopes that attendees at the event learned more about the experiences and identities of Muslim people in their community. “Part of community building is listening, and so it’s important for us to take the time to listen to the stories of others who we share our lives and our community spaces with,” she says. Warfield called the filmmakers passionate, caring, and inspiring women and says they taught her more than she taught them. “You know when you smile so much your cheeks get sore?” says Warfield. “That was the catalyst for the feelings I’m feeling.”
KPU Student Wins Award in Mandarin Speech Contest Alex Tam won third place in the "Chinese Bridge" Mandarin Speech Contest on March 17 Jesse Pottinger | Contributor With over a billion native speakers, Mandarin is the most commonly spoken language worldwide. It is also the fastest growing and second most common language in Greater Vancouver, with 2016 census data recording over 385,000 Chinese speakers here. Each year, the Confucius Institute at BCIT hosts the annual “Chinese Bridge” Mandarin Speech Contest and Mandarin Singing Contest to promote enthusiasm and education about the Chinese language, specifically amongst university students in the province. The 2018 speech contest, which took place on March 17, marks the third year in a row that a Kwantlen Polytechnic University student has won an award in the competition. This year, the winner was Alex Tam, a third-year arts student who took home third prize out of 36 contestants in the elementary level, non-heritage speaker group. “I think this was my first time ever doing a public speaking contest, let alone in another language, so it was definitely nerve-wracking for me,” says Tam. “To be the first one to speak out of the entire competition, it was even more scary because I didn’t have any standard to follow. I just dove in and gave it my all.” Tam took an interest in Mandarin because of its increasing global importance, but also as a way to honour his ancestors and forge a deeper connection with his own heritage. This year’s theme was “Me and China” and for Tam, that meant exploring his Cantonese
roots and reflecting on a trip he took to Hong Kong last year. Specifically, he considered his experience with cycling 35 kilometres through the city with an old friend of his grandfather’s. “He’s a senior, and I was amazed at his athletic ability and his age,” says Tam. “I felt it was so precious that I had to honour what he’s done for me, so I did it in the speech.” So far, Tam has taken two Mandarin classes at KPU with professor Yanfeng Qu, or Qu Lăoshī to his students. Qu has taught at KPU since 1996 and founded both the Mandarin program and the linguistics program. He was the first-ever recipient of the annual Dean of Arts Teaching Award has been on the panel of judges for the speech contest since its inception. “If I do it again, it would definitely be because I love learning the language and because of the teacher, Qu Lăoshī,” says Tam. “He’s an amazing teacher and KPU is so lucky to have him. His enthusiasm that he brings to class encourages an environment for learning for all his students.” Qu modestly says that the success of KPU students in the contest can be attributed to the students themselves. “I give them credit,” he says. “They are working very hard and they are fully engaged.” In addition to allowing speakers to connect with the local community, Qu points out that Mandarin is “the language of business” and “one of the six official languages of the UN,” making it a significant asset for expanding job prospects.
For those who are intrigued by the language but intimidated by its complexity, Qu says that musically-gifted students generally learn the tones well, and those with an artistic background typically do well with the characters. Learning Mandarin is certainly a challenge, but “it’s not insurmountable,” says Qu. And for all the difficulty, having even a basic grasp of the language can be incredibly rewarding.
“Learning another language is so invaluable, especially in today’s world. We are becoming more international, so it opens up so many more opportunities when people are able to communicate in another language,” says Tam. “Communication is key. It doesn’t really matter what you can do, if you can’t communicate with someone, you can’t really do anything.”
Alex Tam (right) won third place in the "Chinese Bridge" competition. (kpu.ca)
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OPINIONS
University Students Need to Educate Themselves on Drug Safety and Policy When it comes to drugs, ignorance is not bliss Ashley Hyshka | Community Reporter Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy is an organization which believes that “young people have a right to evidence-based cannabis education.” It currently lists 18 satellite chapters across seven provinces in Canada, according to its website One of its chapters is at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, though there has been no activity on its Facebook page since November 2017. Why? Because the person who ran the page was Richard Hossein, the man who allegedly defrauded the Kwantlen Public Interest Research Group of over $111,000 and is believed to now be in Vietnam. Hopefully some other member of KPU’s student body will soon be willing to take the reigns of Kwantlen Students for Sensible Drug Policy. If not, the only people who suffer will be the students. A few days ago, I came across a used syringe lying a few feet away from my condo’s entrance and, worse, just metres away from an elementary school playground. At first I just stared at it, unsure of what to do or who to call for its proper disposal. This is our problem. Drug use and addiction
are going to touch the lives of many of KPU’s 19,000+ students. Even if it doesn’t personally affect you, because of the stranglehold that addiction has on the lives of thousands of British Columbians, it is everyone’s problem. CBC reports that “nearly 90 per cent of people who died [of an opioid overdose] were alone inside a home when they suffered an overdose,” and “four out of five were men.” The people who are dying aren’t just downtrodden, unattached users on the Downtown Eastside. They’re fathers, brothers, daughters, friends, and neighbors. The City of Vancouver and the Vancouver Police Department have adopted a “Four Pillars” drug strategy which focuses on harm reduction, prevention, treatment, and enforcement as opposed to prosecuting drug users for minor offenses. While there are addictions experts, researchers, and first responders who succeed in easing the pain that the opioid crisis inflicts on its sufferers, far more needs to be done. I’m no expert on narcotics or addiction, but there is one thing I do know: the definition of “insanity” is doing the exact same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. This is exactly what Metro Vancouver’s
approach to the opioid epidemic has been over the past few years. Now, steering the focus more towards education and awareness can benefit both the general public and university students specifically. This is true not only on a municipal level, but also in our own community at KPU. People are always going to use drugs. Because of this, the public must be educated on the topic to make safe decisions. For example, make sure you’re not alone when using
opioids, don’t mix different drugs together, never get in the car with someone who isn’t sober, don’t share intravenous equipment, and seek help if you’re feeling unwell after or while using drugs. There is much more to be known besides this as well. University students are intelligent and eager to learn. When it comes to a topic as prominent and complex as drug use and its effects, students want to be educated. We just need to be given the opportunity to do so.
(Nat Mussell)
KPU Would Benefit From a Translated Student Newspaper The University of Toronto's The Varsity publishes in multiple languages; maybe it’s time for The Runner to follow suit Braden Klassen | Staff Writer Canada is quickly becoming one of the most desirable locations for international students looking to obtain a post-secondary education. Due to the increasing number of non-native English speakers here, branching out into other languages seems like a natural strategy for publications that want to extend their readership within the student population. It especially helps further the mandate of any respectable news publication: to inform the public as thoroughly and democratically as possible. There’s an exclusivity inherent to media that only caters to Anglophones, and this bias contradicts the principles of responsible journalism. At least one student news publication in Canada is trying to break away from their English bias, as Jacob Lorinc, Editor in Chief of the University of Toronto’s The Varsity, explains. “A student group at U of T called The Listeners—which aims to help guide international Chinese students through university—suggested that we translate some of our articles into simplified Chinese. Inspired by The New York Times, we then decided to dedicate an entire section of our website to Chinese articles as well,” writes Lorinc in an email. Since September of last year, The Varsity has published two versions of their newspaper: one in English and one in simplified Chinese. “Many [international students] really enjoy it, and many appreciate the way that this project engages Chinese readers and student journalists,” Lorinc writes. “If you have the resources, it's not difficult to do. We were lucky to have an abundance of Chinese students on campus who were interested in translating for us.” Making an earnest effort to reach out to
students whose first language is not English can draw students together and foster a tighter-knit community on campus. KPU in particular has a large population of international students, and that number is quickly rising. In fact, this February, KPU had to stop taking enrolment applications from international students for the rest of the year due to the sheer number of applicants it received. This year, the university received over 2,500 applications from international students, compared to just over 1,200 from the same time last year. The fact that KPU has become such a popular option for students, particularly from India and China, heavily supports the notion that the student body here would benefit from having a student newspaper that published multiple versions, probably in Mandarin and/or Punjabi. According to Statistics Canada, the 2016 census data recorded that 106,100 Surrey residents spoke Punjabi as their mother tongue, and that 77,615 spoke Punjabi most often at home. 32,780 Surrey residents speak some form of Chinese as their mother tongue. In Richmond, 70,375 residents reported that they primarily spoke Chinese at home, which is over a third of Richmond’s total population. The Surrey and Richmond campuses are the largest post-secondary institutions in both of those municipalities, and of KPU’s four campuses, Surrey and Richmond have the highest student populations. Taking all of this into consideration, there is a strong case to be made that the KPU community would benefit from having access to translated versions of their student publication.
(Epifania Alarcón)
OPINIONS
Laws Surrounding Revenge Porn Fail to Consider Gender and Sexuality It’s not just a privacy violation; it’s an attempt to to control, coerce, and dominate victims Katie Czenczek | Contributor “Revenge porn” has come back into Canada’s conversation—only this time, UBC student Moira Aikenhead hopes that changing the way it is tried will help put the blame back on the perpetrators. Revenge porn is sexually explicit material released online without the consent of—and usually, to harm the reputation of—one of the involved parties. The victim does not always know the person leaking their sensitive information, though it tends to be intimate content that former partners publish in order to get back at their exes. It became illegal in 2015 under the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act, with the maximum punishment for offenders being up to five years in prison. This legislation—also known as Bill C-13—was enacted following the suicides of Amanda Todd and Rehtaeh Parsons, both of whom were targeted by revenge porn leading up to their deaths. Aikenhead investigated the first six revenge porn court cases tried following the enactment of Bill C-13 in the Canadian Journal of Women and the Law. She found that “the legislation frames the crime as one based on lack of consent and breach of privacy." She believes that the focus on privacy violation, rather than gender-based violence, allows for victims to be criticized and treated unfairly for agreeing to take intimate photos or videos of themselves at all. Similar to sexual assault cases, the actions of the victim— rather than those of the accused—are questioned in this situation.
The problem with the Protecting Canadians from Online Crime Act is that its main focus is on cyber-bullying, and many cases on revenge porn are too complicated to be put into that category. For example, B.C.’s very own Richard Reiss, whose pseudonym is Patrick Fox, was not charged under the act despite creating a website for the sole purpose of destroying his ex-wife’s reputation. Instead, he was found guilty of criminal harassment and the illegal possession of a firearm, making his offense the first of its kind in Canada to be charged due to online activity. Reiss’ actions to hurt his former partner are similar to behaviours seen in many domestic abuse cases. He emailed her daily, publicly shamed her, and vowed to continue harassing her for the rest of her life. Not only did the online harassment cause her to lose her job, but if it wasn’t for Reiss being deported from the U.S. back to Canada, it could have gotten worse. According to a study posted by the Center for Innovative Public Health Research in the United States, 17 per cent of American LGB internet users have had other individuals leak or threaten to leak their intimate photos and videos. Now, compare this with to the two per cent of heterosexual internet users that the study found were impacted by revenge porn. What’s more, approximately one in 10 women under the age of 30 have been threatened with the possibility of having their intimate photos made public. This differs dramatically from a mere privacy violation—it is a problem that is very much influenced by gender and sexual orientation, and that needs
to be reflected in the law. Revenge porn won’t stop damaging lives until non-heterosexual sex is not seen as taboo and female sexuality is not seen as immoral. There is a reason why most of the cases do not involve straight men as victims, and it’s because their sexuality isn’t normally weaponized as a tool for dismantling their lives. Aikenhead’s suggestion to change the charge from a privacy violation to gender-based violence is valid, but it fails to acknowledge the way that LGB folk are also targeted.
(@RESLUS)
The Canadian Court System is Suffering from Delays
A recent case of a man being assaulted in custody is proof of the damage delays cause Daniella Javier | Contributor According to an article in The Vancouver Sun, three Mounties accused of pepper spraying a man named Trevor Ryan Vandervalk in custody in June 2013 have yet to be charged. Provincial court judge Ronald Lamperson has stayed the assault charges because lengthy court delays have violated the policemen’s charter rights. Two of the officers, RCMP Cpl. Michelle Lebrun and Cpl. Mick White, began trials while the other individual’s is set to start in the fall. The trouble with this case is that there’s an 18-month time limit for waiting for provincial court trials to take place. If the trial were to continue, it would extend past the permitted time frame and would infringe the mounties’ rights to a fair trial, according to section 11(b) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This case has come to an indefinite halt, and it isn’t the only one in the Canadian criminal justice system that has ended this way. Court delays have been a major issue in Canada for years, with the Senate publishing a report on court delays and their implications in 2016. “This is one of the long standing serious problems within the Canadian legal system,”
says Mike Larsen, the chair of KPU’s Criminology department. “B.C. has experienced it quite acutely.” The court system should be able to improve how quickly cases are taken to trial without infringing on anyone’s rights. One of the ways it can do this is by keeping up with technological advances. Lawyers and the defence still have to wait for physical copies of evidence, which take time to produce, before moving forward. “The court system in Canada is slow in catching up with the digital age,” says Larsen. “To this day, a lot of information is done through paper records and that has caused some inefficiencies in terms of procedure.” Everyone has a right to a fair trial, but it doesn’t look like offenders and victims are treated fairly throughout that process. Offenders tend to benefit from court delays, and it’s upsetting to know that officers of the law have a chance of getting away with such actions as pepper spraying a man in custody. According to a Criminal Justice Branch news release, the alleged victim of the pepper spraying incident sustained injuries, which the Crown did not press charges for due to the lack of substantial likelihood of conviction. A major obstacle in this case was that the defence lawyers didn’t file their disclosure
applications soon enough. In a provincial court document, Judge Ronald Lamperson stated that the defence did not serve its first disclosure application until April 8, 2016, while the trial was set to begin on May 24, 2016. It was the defence’s responsibility to apply for first party disclosure and they failed to do so. If both the Crown and defence are not using their time wisely throughout a case, nothing will get done on time. Filing documents far in advance of the beginning of trials will help the court system improve, and committing to doing so should be expected from those involved. The Canadian court system needs to handle its cases with more transparency and efficiency. Larsen says that there have long been complaints made by people who aren’t given enough information about cases and how they will proceed. Canadians would likely be more willing to accept some of the flaws within the system if it did a better job of informing the public. If the courts can become more efficient in these areas, delays could easily become less of an issue, and victims like Trevor Ryan Vandervalk would not have to suffer the consequences of trials going unheard.
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Nation-Wide Carbon Pricing Will Be Implemented by the End of 2018 Isabelle Wirz | Contributor The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change was developed in 2016 to formulate a plan to curb carbon emissions in Canada with input from Indigenous groups. The framework was agreed to by most of the provinces and territories and the Government of Canada approved it in December of 2016. The main component of the framework is pricing carbon pollution, and by doing so, it will provide the incentive for industries to spend on creating innovative, low-carbon solutions for consumers. It also requires provinces and territories to have carbon pricing or taxing systems in place so that the related taxes can be implemented nationwide by the end of 2018. British Columbia already has a carbon tax, and Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec have their own systems in place to curb emissions. The federal plan has two components: taxes on fossil fuel use with annual levy increases and emission limits for different industries. As part of these limits, companies emitting GHG above the set cap are heavily taxed, and those who are below it can sell carbon credits to less efficient competitors. While taxing carbon pollution will end up costing people, it does provide clear financial incentive for citizens and companies to look for more environmental and low-carbon alternatives and solutions. All money collected per province will go directly back into that region's economy, helping maintain and increase economic cash flow. The framework states that, by 2022, carbon emissions must be taxed at $50 per tonne. These taxes are meant to inspire alternative and eco-friendly solutions and ideally, as innovations are developed, the volume of emissions will decrease along with the cost per individual. In an interview with CTV News at the beginning of April, B.C. Premier John Horgan said he believes the new carbon taxes seen at the pumps will help the economy in the long-term, increase ventures in clean technologies, and reserve funds for green programs. Due to the B.C. carbon tax, citizens will see a one or two-cent raise in gas prices. Ontario and Quebec currently use a capand-trade system to manage their carbon emissions. Other provinces are at different stages of implementing their own carbon pricing systems. Save for Saskatchewan, most Canadian leaders are on board with helping to combat climate change by paying for pollution.
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OPINIONS
Working “For Experience” Isn’t Always a Bad Thing
Oliver Lum
Students should be paid for the work they do, but certain fields require them to spend an extended time working for free in order to gain experience or help grow their professional reputation. Many people feel this isn’t fair. Why should a person provide free labour just because they’re still earning their education? When trying to gain experience in a field, I believe students have a unique opportunity to take advantage of internships and practicums that may not pay them, but still offer them a taste of the career path that they are about to embark upon. For example, my partner completed a practicum with a B.C. government ministry to help gain the skills she needed to progress in her degree and to solidify where she wanted to work. She didn’t receive any payment for this, but was perfectly okay with that. Now she has a job with that same ministry and has had nothing but positive performance reviews from team leaders because of the time she put in. This is just one example of how an unpaid position can benefit students. However, to make sure that they’re not being taken advantage of, they need to take the time to look over all opportunities that are available to them. Too many students will take the first opportunity to “gain experience,” and that’s just settling. Students are worth more that that—we’re sponges for information. We’re willing to work hard to learn and contribute, and we’re more capable than some employers are willing to believe. If a photographer were to walk up to a person, with little to no experience or portfolio, and then say that they are going to charge them money, what do you think the reaction would be? Still, working for free in specific industries is a fantastic way to build one’s brand. Internships, practicums, and all other areas of pro-bono work are the proving grounds, a way for students to prove that they can contribute to the workplace and that this is the right area of work for them. “For experience” or “for exposure” are not phrases that anyone wants to hear, but if we take the time to understand our opportunities, acknowledge the value of working in specific areas, and know that it won’t last forever, working for free is not such a bad thing. Never settle for a second-rate opportunity and I promise that working for free is worth it.
The Big One is Coming, so Be Prepared Handling emergency situations is easier and safer when you have a plan in place Marcus Barichello When disaster strikes it’s best to have a plan. Preparation is key to keeping you and your loved ones safe, and handling an emergency is easier and less stressful when you know your role and have practiced what you need to do. The first step is to know the types of emergencies that could occur in your area. According to PreparedBC, the most likely emergencies in British Columbia are natural disasters such as wild fires, floods, and earthquakes. These emergencies can all cause major disruptions to roads, communication, and essential services, so it’s best to prepare for the absolute worst. Emergency responders will report in right away, but there’s no telling how widespread the damage will be or how long it will take for responders to reach you. Each household should have an emergency kit with survival essentials in it. The Canadian government recommends that emergency kits should include first aid kits, a battery-powered radio, a flashlight, a whistle, extra cash, garbage bags, seasonal clothing for cold and warm weather, toiletries, a map with a designated family meeting spot, blankets, cell phone chargers, extra batteries, a can opener, matches, rain gear, plastic sheets, sleeping
bags, a multi-purpose tool, and some sort of game or activity that can be used to distract yourself, like a book or a deck of cards. It’s also important to pack personal items that may be essential to yourself or your family such as extra medication, baby food and diapers, an extra pair of glasses or contacts, and food for family pets. Having a copy of important documentation such as passports, birth certificates, and insurance papers can also be incredibly helpful. The two most essential elements for survival are food and water. You can live without a flashlight, but not without proper hydration. British Columbia’s government website recommends that a family store “four liters of water per person per day” but that number should increase if you live in a warm climate region. Families should also pack enough non-perishable food for a couple days per person, and food should be checked annually for expiration dates and updated when necessary. Once you’ve gathered the essential items needed to survive, it is important to create a plan to stay safe and meet up with loved ones. The Government of Canada’s Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness highly recommends that each family has a detailed plan for when an emergency occurs
as it “will save time and make real situations less stressful.” This plan should include a family meeting place on your property and a secondary meeting place at a safe and secure location, instructions on who should pick up children from school, a call list to get into contact with family in the affected area, instructions on where to find your emergency kit, and instructions for how to turn off utilities such as gas valves and electrical panels that could cause additional problems. Multiple households can also come together and form a neighborhood plan, as those close to you will be the ones you will rely on in an emergency. Hopefully an emergency doesn’t happen anytime soon, but making a kit and having a plan to follow doesn’t take that much time and it can make a world of difference. While it may seem like a lot of work for something that may not happen, it will be incredibly important if it does. Being prepared for possible emergencies will give you the tools to mitigate the risk to yourself, your family, and your neighborhood. You might even sleep better knowing you are ready for anything.
A Lot of Cultural Appropriation Outrage is Needless
The lines separating celebration, stealing, and mockery need to be better defined Tristan Johnston | Contributor Some years ago, I saw a Facebook post in which someone argued that learning to speak a different language is a form of appropriation. This is a dumb argument, as the very nature of learning another language is contrary to harbouring discriminatory ideals. It takes time and effort, and if you want to get conversational and natural, you’ll be getting to know native speakers and becoming friends with them. I have a hard time separating sincere arguments from satire because the concept of cultural appropriation, despite being used often by liberals, is confusingly conservative. The only real way to clamp down on cultural appropriation is to keep cultures separate, as South Africa did. While it’s not fair to straw man entire swaths of social justice activists, it’s far too easy to find the loud and unreasonable people with extreme and often poorly-thought out beliefs. Granted, the better-read of these activists will make a distinction for cases when the exchange is shared and consensual. Your best friend inviting you to her Sikh wedding and encouraging you wear a sari would be within this realm. A more recent example would be another Facebook thread I saw in which someone asked whether it was appropriating Black American culture to say “y’all” to a group of people. While the people having the conversation were simply trying to figure out the best way to be respectful of other people and cultures, their conversation was getting absurd. At no point did a Black person come into the thread. Interactions like this amount to a bunch of white people trying to virtue signal. Yes, you shouldn’t dress as a member of another culture for Halloween, as costumes tends to reduce things to looking silly, sexy,
Some have argued that Caucasian people wearing kimonos is a form of cultural appropriation. (Wikimedia Commons) or scary. None of these brushes should be used to paint a culture. Regardless, there are occasions where wearing others’ cultural garb is encouraged. Nothing illustrates the bizarre extents that this argument can go to better than a controversy that took place a few years ago in Boston. The local Museum of Fine Arts was attempting to engage patrons in a “Kimono Wednesday” event, where they could try on the traditional Japanese garment. However, when social justice activists crashed the event crying “cultural appropriation,” the hosts of the event, senior Japanese-American women, weren’t having it. According to an article in the Boston Globe, the counter protesters showed up to the museum brandishing signs in support of the exhibit, such as one that read “I am not offended by people wearing kimono in front of French paintings.” In our hyper-globalized world, cultures will commingle whether we like it or not, and it’s not like this is a new concept. It’s just acceler-
ating. Three hundred years ago, your average westerner didn’t know any slang terms in Asian languages, but the Japanese did start deep frying their food once the Portuguese came over. There certainly are moments where cross-cultural faux pas takes place. Wearing a Plains Native American headdress is certainly one of them, and can be likened to wearing a decorated army dress uniform if you’ve never served. White people should be allowed to rhyme stylishly with music, but they shouldn’t be inauthentic by pretending that they identify with growing up in Black communities through their lyrics or image. Ultimately, I wonder what the unifying goal is, generally, in calling out others for generally benign slights. I want to reduce conflict, and obviously I hold Canada’s acceptance of immigration and diversity in high regard. It would be nice if calling out “cultural appropriation” didn’t look like virtue signalling, or trying to score points, but it often does.
COLUMN
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Artist Spotlight: Necking
The four-piece stumbled into Vancouver’s limelight Aly Laube | Editor in Chief A band that started as a joke between friends has blossomed into a festival-playing local favourite by the name of Necking. One thing that’s absolutely essential to know about them: the band is witty. And while each of the individual members are funny—and use the word freely to describe one another—the material covered in their music keeps them closer to the realm of offthe-cuff satire than pure comedy. Far from a joke band, which points and laughs at itself, Necking instead turns its gaze to the audience and the society that it’s a part of. Before the group came together in earnest, its four members simply enjoyed each other’s company. Singer Hannah Karren, bassist Sonya Rez, guitarist Nada Hayek, and drummer Melissa Kuipers were pals back in high school, and while they each tinkered with music on their own time, they had never played music professionally together until they started Necking. That didn’t stop them from saying that they had, though. “We went to a lot of parties and told people that we were a band and they were like, ‘That’s really cool!’ and we were like, ‘Yeah, we play a lot of shows,’” laughs Kuipers. Still, some took them and their not-yet-existent band seriously, and before long the group had cranked out a set of demos, wrote enough songs for a 20 minute setlist, and were accepted into the beloved Music Waste festival. This mad dash to become part of the music scene was “quite a hustle” according to the
band, but it’s their instant chemistry that kept them moving forward. “Honestly, I feel like we’re just four people who are into the same thing and wanted to do this and just thought it was fun. We had no expectations. We didn’t know if we would play shows,” says Rez. “And then people ended up sort of liking it.” Each member’s distinct personality shines through in their sound and stage presence, with Hayek writing guitar and Kuipers and Karren writing vocals. Hayek is described by her bandmates as a gentle but driven artist, Rez as empathetic and political, Kuipers as rambunctious and strong, and Karren as colourful and charismatic. Appreciating a good sense of humor is one of the common threads between them. “I think people also recognize that, in certain songs, the topics that we bring up are super serious—but all of our individual personalities are to take a more satirical approach because it’s better received that way,” says Hayek. “We talk about pretty heavy things, like sexual assault. We talk about consumerism, consumer culture. We also talk about things that are really relatable, like shitty relationship situations that we might be in, or what’s in our song ‘Stop Singing’.” In “Stop Singing”, Karren calls out, “Stop singing about your ex / Stop singing about the ocean.” It’s an eye roll at the stereotypical, woe-is-me indie song and a testament to making something outside of the box, which Necking certainly does well in Vancouver. They’re a high-energy dance-punk band that makes you want to have a laugh and jump
From top left to bottom right: Melissa Kuipers, Hannah Karren, Nada Hayek, and Sonya Rez of Necking in their Vancouver jam space. (Aly Laube) around at the same time, and as far as the city’s scene goes, this style is a refreshing pick-me-up. “To me, Necking is a really funny band because, if I was making music by myself right now, it wouldn’t sound anything like this, but I think that this music also feels so much like myself,” says Karren. “For some reason, I don’t think any of us relate to this music on an individual personal level, so it’s funny that, if you mix us all together, this is
the result.” Necking seems to do so effortlessly. Their onstage presence is high-energy but warm and playful, and their demos are nothing short of a blast to listen to for anyone who’s a fan of more feel-good punk. They will be playing at Alley Fest on May 25 and Sled Island from June 20-24 in Calgary. They will also be releasing their song “Rover” with Kingfisher Bluez on a seven-inch in June.
Afterthought: Wealthy Homeowners Can Cry Me a River Recent backlash to an increase in property taxes shows how self-centred some wealthy Vancouverites can be Braden Klassen | Staff Writer Since the beginning of May, wealthy homeowners in Vancouver have been up in arms about the newly proposed increase to the school tax on multimillion-dollar properties. The tax—which already applies to every property in B.C. with a few special exemptions—would increase by 0.2 per cent on homes valued over $3 million and 0.4 per cent on homes valued over $4 million. This prompted Vancouver real estate company Sutton Group West Coast Realty to run an ad in The Vancouver Courier that urged people to show up and disrupt a town hall meeting meant to be hosted by Point Grey MLA David Eby on May 1. They did, and Eby cancelled the event due to security concerns when a group of around 200 complaining protesters rallied at Trimble park in Point Grey. The newspaper ad calls the tax increase “an attack on Canadians who have planned and worked hard for their homes,” adding that “the joy of homeownership can become the fear of being trapped as house prices fall while facing more taxes as governments increase their take.” How dare the evil “governments” slightly increase school tax revenue? How dare they find ways to fund badly needed seismic upgrades to schools across the province? How dare they invest in the safety of children? The injustice of it all. It’s difficult to think
of a less objectionable reason for taxation. Never mind that Vancouver property taxes are already much lower than in some other parts of the country—a fact which Eby himself posted on his website in response to the controversy. In regards to those who would face serious financial problems due to the tax increase, the government is allowing for special tax deferment for people over the age of 55, people whose spouses have died, and people who have disabilities. There’s even a dedicated plan called the Families with Children Tax Deferment Program for parents, step-parents, or anyone financially supporting a child. The fact that there are clear options for deferral based on need makes Sutton Group West Realty’s claim that the tax increase is not “based on income or ability to pay” sound very misleading. The controversy has even given rise to a new, hilarious term: “paper millionaires.” The term refers to people whose wealth comes from the increased value of their property, not from their actual personal income, making them millionaires only “on paper,” so to speak. You heard that right: apparently, there is now a group of people who consider themselves part of an underclass of oppressed millionaires in Vancouver—people who are only wealthy by technicality, struggling to stay afloat in a cruel world where they have to pay for schools. The tragedy of it all.
Saying, “Sure, I own millions of dollars worth of property—but that doesn’t make me a real millionaire,” is the most entitled and convoluted interpretation of wealth inequality I think I’ve ever heard. How can these people believe that owning a multimillion-dollar property in a city that most Canadians can’t afford to live in doesn’t make them wealthy? Or are these paper millionaires missing out on the irony that, like an increasing number
of Vancouverites, they might also be forced to consider moving as a result of the burgeoning B.C. housing market? Pretending that you can’t afford a fraction of a percent of your property’s value in taxes is ludicrous when you own a home worth $4 million—a value that, by now, has less to do with how hard working you are and more to do with market circumstances aggravated by years of unrestricted speculation and investment.
The school tax increase would raise Vancouver residential property taxes for homes valued over 3 million dollars by 0.2%, and for homes over 4 million dollars by 0.4%. (flickr/pnwra)
PROCRASTINATION HOROSCOPES
Sagittarius Nov. 23 - Dec 21 Only the Sphinx of black quartz can judge you now.
Capricorn Dec. 22 - Jan 20 No actual chicken tenders measure up to the chicken tenders for which you yearn.
Aquarius Jan 21 - Feb 19 Your approach to romance is less “Casanova” and more “opera house phantom.”
Pisces Feb 20 - Mar 20 You like to tell people you earned your PhD in D&D, but really all you’ve got is a Master’s in Dungeoning.
Aries Mar 21 - Apr 19 Take your spot in the lap of the gods.
Taurus Apr 20 - May 20 What’s that blue thing doing here?
Gemini May 21 - Jun 20 Cast off the shackles of your oppressor. Show the world your naked strength. Tell your friends you’re, like, really into anime.
Cancer Jun 21 - Jul 23 Spend your days roaming the land pouring salt on God’s creatures, listening for which ones will curse you as they die.
Leo Jul 24 - Aug 23 Those crackers will kill you, traveller. You should find a cracker merchant with weaker crackers.
Virgo Aug 24 - Sept 23 There are no toys in Toys R Us Hell.
Libra Sept 24 - Oct 23 You would be shocked if I told you exactly how many people are actively trying to assassinate you right now.
Scorpio Oct 24 - Nov 22 As long foretold by the prophets of old… it is Wednesday, my dudes.
SUDOKU
Look for the answers in the next issue of The Runner.
Last issue’s answers.