The Georgia Straight - Canada Day - June 24, 2021

FREE | JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021 Volume 55 | Number 2784

HOUSING ENVY

FOMO drives the market

KENNEDY STEWART

Mayor challenges police chief

CANADA DAY BREAKWATER

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Anticolonial sentiments are running high as the country approaches the anniversary of Confederation; plus, quintessentially Canadian foods

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BEER REVIEWS

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JAZZ FESTIVAL

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CONTENTS

Lawyer suspended following “intimate partner violence”

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By Charlie Smith Cover photo by Anastasiia Yanishevska/Getty Images

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By Mike Usinger

15 Narindar Pal Singh Kang cannot practise law for two months. Photo by Tingey Injury Law.

not pursue four other allegations.

Kang is the second lawyer this month with a prestigious Queen’s counsel designation from the B.C. cabinet to receive a two-month licence suspension.

On June 21, criminal lawyer Paul Doroshenko began his two-month suspension after he admitted to professional misconduct in connection with the misappropriation or improper withdrawal of $44,353.19 in client trust funds. All of the money was repaid and no clients were harmed. g

Celebrate Canada Day in the Garden Fill your outdoor space with colour!

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By Charlie Smith

e Start Here

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ARTS CLASSIFIEDS COMMENTARY FOOD HOUSING CONFESSIONS MOVIES REAL ESTATE SAVAGE LOVE THEATRE

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COVER

Following the discovery of the unmarked and undocumented remains of 215 Indigenous children in Kamloops, some want to call off Canada Day celebrations.

by Charlie Smith

high-profi le lawyer has received a two-month suspension from the Law Society of B.C. This came after Narindar Pal Singh Kang was charged with assault and mischief in connection with a “domestic altercation”, according to a news release from the law society, which licenses and disciplines lawyers.

Kang reported the charges to the law society, which stated that they resulted in a common-law peace bond imposed for six months. “The conduct in question is the Respondent’s actions in forcefully grabbing AB’s arms and legs and striking AB in the back of the head two or three times,” the hearing panel decision states. “This Panel characterizes this conduct as intimate partner violence.”

He “conditionally admitted” to one allegation: that “he committed acts against his spouse on June 15, 2018 that led to the imposition of a common law peace bond on November 16, 2018.”

He agreed that this constituted conduct unbecoming the profession. The panel did

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EDITOR Charlie Smith GENERAL MANAGER (ACTING) Sandra Oswald SECTION EDITORS Mike Usinger (ESports/Liquor/Music) Steve Newton SENIOR EDITOR Martin Dunphy STAFF WRITERS Carlito Pablo (Real Estate) Craig Takeuchi SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT Jeff Li ART DEPARTMENT MANAGER Janet McDonald

e Online TOP 5

Here’s what people are reading this week on Straight.com.

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Vancouver home sellers increase prices by as much as $1.3 million.

B.C. food recalls include sausages, shrimp, tahini, and butter.

COVID-19 in B.C.: New case numbers fall below 100 per day.

Concert announcements at Rickshaw, Commodore, Vogue, Hollywood, more.

Kenny Zhang, Guangwei Ouryand, and Lu Chan: I’m Wong, not Wrong. @GeorgiaStraight

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CANADA DAY

Canada Day festivities fall out of favour with some

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by Charlie Smith

few months after the 150th anniversary of Confederation, Ginger Gosnell-Myers (Skusgluums) delivered a wake-up call to Canadians. In a TEDx Vancouver talk in November 2017, the Nisga’a and Kwakwaka’wakw public-policy analyst spoke about how she first learned about the impact of Canada’s Indian residential school system on her family, including her father. She was 17 years old, flipping through TV channels. She came across her uncle in front of a black screen.

“He talked about how bad it got—that there was a lot of violence and a lot of abuse against the kids—and how much he missed his parents,” Gosnell-Myers said. “When he talked about the abuse he’d experienced and seen, he cried. And years later when he was finally able to go home, he no longer understood the Nisga’a language and couldn’t even talk with his own parents.”

The Straight recently contacted GosnellMyers, now the Indigenous fellow with the SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, to ask what Canada Day means to her in light of what happened to so many of her relatives.

“I can’t celebrate Canada because all they’ve ever done is harm my family and myself and my ancestors—and people don’t even know this,” Gosnell-Myers said.

She cited one example of this history that touched her directly. At a family gathering, an uncle told her that when he and the others came back from residential school, they had to relearn the Nisga’a language. But they also decided not to teach it to the next generation at home for fear that it could be used against them.

“None of my cousins learned how to speak Nisga’a fluently, not like our parents,”

“It’s not something to celebrate,” he said. “I think it’s day to reflect.”

Nisga’a and Kwakwaka’wakw public-policy analyst Ginger Gosnell-Myers (Skusgluums) and antiracist activist Imtiaz Popat are not impressed by “mindless patriotism” on Canada Day.

Gosnell-Myers said. “That was a decision made to help us better succeed. That makes me really angry and made them really angry and sad too.”

She has not celebrated Canada Day in a long time—and on this July 1, she won’t be alone. Municipal governments in Victoria, Penticton, and Port Hardy have cancelled their Canada Day celebrations, citing the recent discovery of the remains of 215 children on the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School.

Meanwhile, Vancouver supporters of Idle No More, a movement of Indigenous activists across the country, will hold a “Cancel Canada Day” event on July 1 on the north side of the Vancouver Art Gallery, using the slogan “No Pride in Genocide”.

“We will not celebrate the ongoing genocide within Canada against Indigenous people,” a Facebook announcement reads.

“Instead we will gather to honour all of the lives lost to the Canadian state, including

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the many lives lost to residential schools.”

Opposition to Canada Day hasn’t only been triggered by the discovery of undocumented graves of Indigenous children.

The murder of four members of the Afzaal family on June 6 in London, Ontario—in what police say was a hate crime—has also shaken the country. The father, Salman, and his wife, Madiha, were out on a walk with their two children and the kids’ grandmother when a motorist deliberately mowed them down with his vehicle.

Imtiaz Popat, a cofounder of the Coalition Against Bigotry–Pacific, told the Straight by phone that it’s not possible for Muslims to celebrate Canada Day in light of this horrific crime. That’s because the grieving period is supposed to last 40 days, which he said won’t end until July 9. “For us Muslims, we are in mourning,” Popat said.

“This is our family that was murdered.”

Popat has frequently referred to Canada Day as “Colonial Day”.

JENNY KWAN, the NDP MP for Vancouver East, said the rising violence against Asian Canadians, as well as the terrorist attack on the Afzaal family, reflects deepseated issues within the country.

“People always say when those incidents occur that, ‘This is not our Canada,’ ” Kwan told the Straight by phone. “Well, I’m sorry, this is our Canada. And this is not the first time the Muslim community has suffered such a violent and unspeakable attack for being who they are.”

The next bombshell raising questions about Canada’s commitment to equality came on June 15 when Nunavut NDP MP Mumilaaq Qaqqaq delivered a scathing farewell speech in Parliament. The Inuk politician talked about everything from being racially profiled by House of Commons security staff to the lack of government action in response to the high rate of suicide among her people.

According to Kwan, Qaqqaq said out loud what many Indigenous peoples and Inuit have always felt. Kwan suggested that every time the government brags about its work, it’s insulting to someone like Qaqqaq, who is watching members of her own community suffer immensely, including taking their own lives, because of Canada’s colonial history.

“I think this Canada Day, we need to reflect on, first and foremost, Canada’s colonization history and the ongoing impact for Indigenous peoples, especially with the finding of the mass graves in Kamloops,” the Vancouver NDP MP added. see next page

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Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett has said in Parliament that the Kamloops burial site was not a “mass grave”. Bennett cited Kúkpi7 (Chief) Roseanne Casimir of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation, which revealed the existence of the remains of 215 Indigenous children.

However, Bennett’s interpretation of “mass grave” has been challenged by Vancouver Granville MP Jody Wilson-Raybould, who has cited a discussion paper on terminology posted on the website of UBC’s Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre. It stated that “the emerging international human rights and legal norm is to classify such sites as ‘mass graves’ ”.

“Canada has no legal framework to address the Tk’emlúps site or any other site that will come to light,” Wilson-Raybould, a former regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said in Parliament this month. “The legal framework has led to the deaths of these children. That legal framework, the Indian Act, remains in place.

“Will the prime minister do what is needed to establish a legal framework for mass and unmarked graves, meeting human-rights norms, including all records are kept and released, sites protected, criminal investigations conducted, and that the families can heal and are appropriately compensated?”

Bennett replied that the government is reaching out to other Indigenous communities with the support of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation to find their lost

The legal framework has led to the deaths of these children.

– MP Jody Wilson-Raybould

NDP MP Jenny Kwan says Canadians need to reflect on Canada’s history of colonization.

children. “We will make sure this is done in a proper and legal way,” the minister said.

THE FACT THAT Canadian politicians are debating the definition of a mass grave is another indication that a great deal remains hidden about the history of Indian residential schools. In this regard, GosnellMyers’s TEDx Vancouver talk nearly four years ago proved to be prophetic.

After taking the audience through the history of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, she contrasted this country’s record in dealing with its past with that of two other countries—Germany and New Zealand. Unlike Canada, she said that each of those nations have embedded truth and reconciliation into their national identity.

Gosnell-Myers pointed out that Germany has entrenched extensive education about the Second World War and the Holocaust into the school system. By 2016, she said in her talk, Germany had provided 73 billion euros in payments in recognition of the country’s wrongs. In New Zealand, she added, the Maori culture and language are part of the national identity—to the point where all residents of the country feel pride in this.

In her recent phone interview with the Straight, Gosnell-Myers said she was motivated to give that talk because she didn’t feel that Canada was serious about advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in the wake of the 2015 TRC report and its 94 calls to action. She felt that by providing a comparison with Germany and New Zealand’s authentic reconciliation efforts, it might inspire people to think of new possibilities for Canada.

“For myself, at the time of creating that TEDx talk, I was really disappointed to see that the activities to support the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s work just

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stopped,” Gosnell-Myers said. “It was such an important opportunity for the paradigm shift that we needed and I felt like most decision makers just made the decision to drop the ball.

“I think Canada can learn from New Zealand that Indigenous knowledge absolutely has a place in how we govern our society and our natural resources—and using Indigenous identity to create a new set of values,” she continued. “You know, values that reflect the land, reflect the people who have been caring for those lands. And that there was space for non-Indigenous people to also feel pride in seeing Indigenous knowledge being incorporated into all aspects of their society.”

Gosnell-Myers said decision makers in Germany and New Zealand invested in new approaches to ensure these types of ideas could be embedded into the national fabric. She said she doesn’t believe that this has occurred yet in Canada—and that future generations deserve an opportunity to learn the truth without having to stumble across it while flipping through channels on the TV set, like she did.

“I’m hoping that next July 1, Canada Day celebrations will look and feel and sound a lot different, because all I’ve seen to date is mindless patriotism,” Gosnell-Myers said. “I see them out with Canada flags painted on their cheeks waving the flags around. I think, ‘God, you don’t know much about this country, do you?’ Because if you did, you wouldn’t be celebrating, not like this.” g

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THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

5

REAL ESTATE

RBC economist discounts possibility of a crash

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by Carlito Pablo

anada appears on track to meet its ambitious immigration target.

The country plans to welcome more than 1.2 million newcomers during a three-year period starting in 2021.

As required by immigration rules, permanent residents will be bringing money for their settlement in their adopted country so as not to be a financial burden for the government.

Some of these funds are expected to go toward future home purchases.

The Straight asked RBC economist Robert Hogue what the resumption of immigration means to the Canadian housing market.

“When we look back over the past 15 months, the drop in immigration hasn’t done anything to weaken home prices or home resale activity,” Hogue said in a phone interview.

“And so to go forward, it might not necessarily have the opposite effect of boosting prices, per se, at least in very short order,” the economist added.

Although Hogue does not expect immigration to add more pressure on housing prices, this movement of people to the country can serve a purpose in the real-estate market.

“The way we see immigration is more kind of a safety net, at least over the next year or couple of years,” the RBC economist said.

“Whereas if there’s some fear out there that now we’re in a bubble and it may burst and we may see a collapse in the housing market,” Hogue continued, “our view is that a factor like immigration resuming will provide some support for the housing market.”

Is the Canadian housing market in some sort of trouble?

RBC’s Robert Hogue says immigration can cushion price declines. Photo by Mirsad Sarajlic/Getty.

“We would not expect the market to collapse or to see a major, a huge price crash, for example, the way we saw in the U.S. after the ’08-‘09 financial crisis, so that [immigration] will be a supportive factor on a go-forward basis,” Hogue said.

Immigration stalled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Canada welcomed 184,000 new permanent residents. The number is just over 50 percent of the 341,000 that was targeted at the beginning of that year.

On April 15 this year, RBC Economics noted that Canadian immigration is showing signs of a rebound. Bank economist Andrew Agopsowicz noted in a report that the “pace of immigration picked up significantly in the first two months of 2021”.

The report said the country admitted 25,000 new permanent residents in January

and 23,000 in February, “nearly matching levels seen in the first two months of 2020”.

In April this year, Canadian immigration lawyer Zool Suleman told the Straight that it’s not smart of some people to believe that immigrants arrive penniless.

“When you have an aggressive immigration program, which Canada does, I think it’s naive to assume that people will come and they will not be accompanied by capital,” Suleman said then in a phone interview.

One may note that the B.C. government’s foreign-buyer tax on real-estate purchases does not cover permanent residents.

Permanent residents are basically new Canadians. They are Canadians-in-waiting. They become eligible for citizenship after three years of residency. While waiting, they pay taxes and enjoy all the rights of a Canadian citizen, except to vote.

In March this year, the Straight reported that foreigners’ share (not including permanent residents) of the fair market value of homes in B.C. dropped to almost zero in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started.

Brendon Ogmundson, chief economist with the B.C. Real Estate Association, said in that report that foreigners accounted for 0.56 percent of the value of homes bought last year.

In addition, Ogmundson said that foreign buyers accounted for 1.4 percent of homes sold in the province in 2020.

Although foreigners were almost absent last year, Canadian real estate, especially in B.C., marked new record highs.

RBC’s Hogue released a June 15, 2021, report titled noting that the benchmark price of Canadian homes increased 24.4 percent year-over-year in May 2021.

Also, prices rose one percent month-overmonth in May. The price increases come even as home resales have dropped. This is largely because of the persisting tight supply of homes for sale. “While there may have been fewer buyers participating in them, bidding wars were still the norm in most markets,” Hogue wrote.

“Strong competition between buyers is keeping intense upward pressure on property values at this stage. We’ll need to see a much more significant market rebalancing before prices can stabilize. We expect this to occur late this year at the earliest.”

Hogue told the Straight by phone that although the demand-supply equation has eased a little bit, it has not done so sufficiently to produce a decline in prices.

“In the near term, our view is that that equation will remain tightened up to produce further price increases,” he said. g

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HOUSING

Fear of missing out, a.k.a. FOMO, propels market

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by Carlito Pablo

ast month, a TD economist released a paper titled “Heat Check: Comparing Canada and US Housing Markets”.

Sri Thanabalasingam noted that both markets are on a tear but that “Canada’s is hotter.” The economist noted that there are a number of common factors driving housing activity in the two countries.

“But there are factors unique to Canada that are fueling the country’s outperformance such as stronger population growth, less scarring from the ‘08 housing crash, and greater fears of missing out,” Thanabalasingam wrote.

Moreover, Canada will continue to outperform the U.S. because the northern country’s market “may be more fertile ground for FOMO (or “fear of missing out”) and increased speculation”.

The Straight asked Thanabalasingam how much this psychological factor is driving the market. As he explained it, FOMO is unlike factors such as interest rates, incomes, and population. It is “unobservable”, and therefore cannot be reduced to a number in an equation. “We do have some estimates of how high sales are above economic fundamentals, but that gap wouldn’t necessarily just be FOMO,” Thanabalasingam said in a phone interview.

But although FOMO cannot be pinned down as a number, it’s a real factor playing a role in the market.

“Just the fact that the confidence in Canadian housing that developed continues to rise, prices will continue to rise, all of these factors would suggest that there’s a fearof-missing-out aspect being played out in Canadian real estate right now.”

Thanabalasingam suggested that FOMO could have become more manifest at the start

to renew—or if they are on a variable rate anyways, these present financial challenges, and that could have been as a result of fear of missing out.” In short, FOMO could “go both ways”. g

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The Best is According to TD chief economist Beata Caranci, residential real estate has produced higher returns and shown less volatility than the Canadian stock market during the past 20 years.

of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, that was when the Bank of Canada successively slashed its interest-setting rates down to its lowest level, 0.25 percent, in March 2020.

“And then, when you think about what happened since the beginning of the pandemic, with the rapid rise in prices, people saw that if they didn’t get in now, they might not be able to get in in the future, because housing would then be unaffordable,” Thanabalasingam, “and so that’s just a brief summary of what we had seen so far.”

FOMO in Canadian real estate is not without basis. An April 2021 paper by TD chief economist Beata Caranci noted that residential real estate has produced higher returns than the stock market during the past 20 years.

“Canadians don’t shy away from housing debt, because more and more people see

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it not just as an ownership opportunity and store of value but as a path towards wealth creation that carries less volatility than investing in the stock market,” Caranci wrote.

So is FOMO a good or bad thing? “It’s difficult to say whether it’s a good or a bad thing or take a definitive stand on the matter,” Thanabalasingam said.

“On the one hand—taking advantage of mortgage rates when they’re lower for people who want to enter the housing market and are able to enter the housing market—it’s a good thing. It allows them to enter the housing market.

“But then,” Thanabalasingam continued, “if fear of missing out is playing a role that is driving one to make decisions that are financially unviable down the road—they’ve locked themselves into a large mortgage and interest rates rise when it comes time

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7

COMMENTARY

Mayor Stewart stands his ground against the VPD

F

by Charlie Smith

or decades, Vancouver’s police chiefs have largely had their way with the city’s mayors.

One former Vancouver mayor peddled the VPD’s line that there wasn’t a serial killer on the loose in the 1990s even as women kept disappearing. He wouldn’t approve a reward because he didn’t want to fund a “prostitute relocation service”.

Another mayor wasn’t interested in advocating for a public inquiry into the death of an Indigenous man, Frank Paul, who was dragged out of the police station on his back—leaving a urine stain across the floor. Police dropped him off in an alley, where he was later found dead.

Another mayor didn’t raise hell when a police chief left a bullet-riddled target-range silhouette on the desk of the city manager with the message: “A bad day at the range is better than the best day at work.”

Police requests to load up on more officers before the 2010 Olympics were rubber-stamped by council. From 2010 to 2020, the VPD’s budget ballooned from about $200 million to $340 million.

Yet the Vancouver police board has fought council’s attempt to freeze the budget in the pandemic year, when 1,800

I’ve got to always keep that 12-year-old child in my head.

– Mayor Kennedy Stewart

Mayor Kennedy Stewart continues to insist that systemic discrimination exists within the VPD.

city staff were laid off and other departmental budgets were sharply cut.

But suddenly we have a mayor who’s prepared to stand up to a police chief when he thinks the chief is misguided. Proof came when Kennedy Stewart declared that there is systemic racism within all institutions, including the Vancouver Police Department. Chief Adam Palmer has disputed that systemic racism exists within the VPD. He has called this “offensive”. And one of his former policing partners, Sgt. Blair Canning, filed a complaint against Stewart to the police board, alleging that the mayor is contributing to a toxic workplace.

It’s surreal in light of the Mounties and chiefs of other departments in North America acknowledging systemic racism within their institutioms.

It’s surreal in light of the recent arrest of Selwyn Romilly, a Black octogenarian retired B.C. Supreme Court justice, who was taking his morning walk on the seawall.

It’s also surreal in light of recent video showing an Indigenous grandfather and his 12-year-old granddaughter handcuffed and searched by VPD officers after the girl tried to open a bank account at a BMO branch.

In January 2020, Mayor Stewart denounced BMO for calling the police. I took him to task in a commentary for not showing the same vigour in criticizing the VPD’s actions. The previous month, the

B.C. Human Rights Tribunal awarded an Indigenous mother $20,000 after she was mistreated by Vancouver police when she wanted to witness the arrest of her son.

To his credit, Stewart said in a recent interview on CBC Radio One’s The Early Edition that he regretted not speaking up more forcefully at that time. And he’s sticking to his position that systemic racism exists within all institutions, including the Vancouver police.

“I’ve got to always keep that 12-year-old child in my head,” Stewart said.

In the same interview with CBC’s Stephen Quinn, he called on the VPD leadership and the police board to explain that the term “systemic racism” does not imply that police officers are deliberately racist.

Systemic racism refers to the system itself not responding adequately to inequities that embedded within institutions as a result our history. For evidence of that, read the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal ruling from 2019, which demonstrated how little training VPD officers receive in Indigenous history.

The public should take note of Stewart’s courage in his dealings with the VPD. That’s an extremely rare event in Vancouver’s recent political history. g

Jenny

In a year of rising violence against Asian and Muslim communities, of ongoing discoveries of bodies of Indigenous children, of the continuation of colonial legacies and violence, we must reflect on what Canada and Canada Day means.

Post- pandemic, we must strive to rebuild for a just society and just economy.

Oh Canada, Justice can't wait.

8

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021

Kwan

Jenny Kwan, MP Vancouver East

2572 E. Hastings St. Jenny.Kwan@parl.gc.ca 604-775-5800

FOOD

A world of diverse dishes for Canada Day eating

A

by Staff

sk Americans to name a food popular north of the border, and some will invariably reply “Canadian bacon”. But the reality is that Canadian cuisine is comprised of many international and domestic influences. In advance of Canada Day, we listed a few of the country’s signature dishes.

COMFORT

Macaroni and cheese Even though so-called comfort foods like macaroni and cheese have relatively recently graduated from kiddie fare in family restaurants (where it always shared menu space with chicken nuggets) to expensive main-course status in hipster eateries, Canadians have always cherished the creamy, warm goodness of the simple yet delicious pasta dish. Proof?

The famous Kraft Dinner came out in both the U.S. and Canada in the late 1930s, but Canucks today scarf back 55 percent more “KD”, per capita, than do Americans.

FRENCH CANADIAN

Poutine What better food symbol of national solidarity exists than a dish undisputedly of Quebec origin (in the 1950s) that gained rapid coast-

Various cultural influences are reflected in the ways that Pacific salmon can be enjoyed, from barbecued (Jacek Chabraszewski/Getty Images) to enveloped in sushi (Ridofranz/Getty Images).

to-coast popularity? Poutine comes in dozens of varieties now, reflecting a multitude of regional and cultural differences (very Canadian), but the original version showcased only three ingredients: French fries, fresh cheese curds, and a thin chicken gravy.

INDIGENOUS

Bannock Although there were many North American precontact versions of the Canadian classic that we now call bannock (or fry bread), Scottish fur traders brought their quick and simple unleavened bread with them to

18th-century Western Canada, where it was often cooked on a flat rock over an open fire. Succeeding Métis generations adopted the staple food—sometimes adding a bit of salt, sugar, or leavening to the basic flour, water, and lard recipe—and it subsequently became almost ubiquitous in First Nations (and settler) communities, often being baked, fried, or deep fried, sometimes with added ingredients like berries or jam.

WEST COAST

Sockeye salmon There are five species of Pacific salmon in

B.C., but the sockeye (the others being chinook, coho, chum, and pink) truly deserves the designation iconic due to its spectacular annual spawning returns to its natal rivers and lakes, its important economic and historical status as a commercial and recreational quarry, and the rich, sweet, and mild flavour of its healthy and famously red flesh.

If anything, it was, and still is, even more important to the West Coast’s Indigenous peoples, coastal and interior, who barbecued, smoked, dried, roasted, boiled, or fermented the seasonal staple.

JAPANESE

B.C. roll What was the game changer for sushi in North America? The inside-out California roll, of course, which emerged sometime in the dark ages otherwise known as the 1970s and ‘80s. Although several Los Angeles chefs lay claim to inventing it, so does renowned Vancouver chef Hidekazu Tojo of Tojo’s fame. However, Tojo is definitely credited with creating the Canadian West Coast variation: the B.C. roll, which contains barbecued salmon, cucumber, and sauce. As this one could use a little more see next page

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widespread love, Canada Day is a good day to start opting for our province’s own claim to maki fame.

CHINESE

Ginger beef and Newfoundland chow mein It’s not just an expression that there’s a Chinese restaurant in every small town imaginable. Globe and Mail reporter Ann Hui embarked upon a cross-Canada trip to interview Chinese restaurant owners throughout the country, travelling from Victoria, B.C., to Thunder Bay, Ontario, to Fogo Island, Newfoundland. Did you know that ginger beef is a Chinese Canadian dish that arose in Calgary? Or that Newfoundland chow mein uses thinly sliced cabbage instead of egg noodles? Chinese food in Vancouver may have garnered acclaim from international food critics, but to truly learn how much Chinese cuisine is part of Canadian culture, check out Hui’s nonfiction book Chop Suey Nation.

INDIAN

Butter chicken Not only is butter chicken on virtually every Punjabi restaurant menu in the country, this succulent dish is also served in Cactus Club, Urban Fare, and a plethora of other non-Indian establishments. Food Network Canada, Canadian Living, and the Dairy Farmers of Canada all offer recipes on their websites for anyone interested in making it at home.

Butter chicken (Ridofranz/Getty Images) has made its way onto mainstream menus, while pancit (Andrei Kravtsov/Getty Images) can be found at many Filipino Canadian celebrations.

FILIPINO

Pancit Go to any celebration by Filipino Canadians and one is surely going to find a noodle dish generally called pancit. It could be pancit bihon, canton, sotanghon, or palabok, or if the host had some more extra time to prepare, a regional variety. This dish is a testament to the deep ties between the Chinese and natives of an Asian archipelago before Spanish colonizers came and named it the Philippines, after their king.

ITALIAN

Pizza and pasta Italians mainly immigrated to Canada in two waves, before the First World War and after the second, and they came mostly from Italy’s rural south, where they had been preparing pasta and pizza for hundreds of years,

and the north, which boasts pesto, polenta, risotto, and chicken cacciatore as traditional staples. Today, many more than the 1.6 million Canadians who claim Italian heritage enjoy pizza while watching hockey or feast on pasta and other dishes in Italian restaurants, often in neighbourhoods in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver, where the majority of the immigrants settled, opened businesses, and raised families.

SNACKS

Chocolate bars and Cheezies The next time you’ve got the munchies, why not opt for Canadian junk food to enjoy what your American pals can’t?

Consider chocolate bars (not candy bars, as the Yanks call them) like Big Turk, Coffee Crisp, Crispy Crunch, Caramilk, Crunchie, and Mr. Big—as well as Smarties. On the

savoury side, ketchup chips are a classic (Doritos Canada even launched limitededition ketchup tortilla chips this year), and there are also Hostess Hickory Sticks, Miss Vickie’s chips, and Hawkins Cheezies—hard and crunchy, as they were meant to be. And besides Timbits, there are also Jos Louis snack cakes from Quebec’s Vachon that have been around since the 1930s, long enough for the red-velvet trend to come full circle. Break out the serviettes and down it all with a glass of homo milk.

In a bag. Before taking off for the washroom (not the restroom).

DESSERTS

Nanaimo bars So how do you complete your Canadian meal? Why, with a beaver tail (not the real thing), a slice of Saskatoon berry pie, or pouding chômeur, bien sûr. But be careful—Canadian desserts can make for contentious international political affairs.

A kerfuffle arose in March when the New York Times got the ratio of the coconut, chocolate, custard layer, and bottom base incorrect in a recipe for the ever-sacred Nanaimo Bars. Nonetheless, there are numerous variations of the West Coast confection now, such as ones with Irish cream, cappuccino, white chocolate, orange chocolate, or pistachio—and there are even Nanaimo Balls now. So don’t sweat it, you hosers. Gobble it all up to get a sugar high and pass out on your chesterfield to catch a few Zeds. g

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LIQUOR

Five light offerings to help you through summer

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by Mike Usinger

s much as we thought things were going to be better this summer, it’s not looking radically different from 2020. Masks remain a notterribly-comfortable fashion statement, road trips guarantee you’ll be getting the stink eye from the locals in Lund, and a day at the beach comes with the very real possibility you’ll make the nightly newscast’s COVIDiot roundup.

So what to do? That’s easy: stay at home and drink—not necessarily to excess, but more to take the edge off this endlessly repetitive period in human history.

To distract you from the sameness of the past 365 days, you might as well try to change things up. Here are reviews of five new, seasonally appropriate offerings.

ARIZONA HARD ICED TEA (LEMON FLAVOURED)

Cliff’s Notes: Down in the States—which remains maddeningly off-limits—iced tea is one of the great traditions of summer.

Just make sure to ask for a sugar packet next time you’re on a wraparound porch in Kentucky. Brewed with black tea, the lemon version of AriZona Hard Iced Tea comes fortified with vodka and infused with concentrated lemon juice. Grade: Like many of the nonspiked canned teas you’ll find at 7-Eleven, AriZona Hard is mildly chemically tasting, but not offputtingly so. As anyone who’s ever had an unsweetened tea in Lexington knows, there are worse things.

GROWERS SPARKLING SPRITZ PEACH ORANGE BLOSSOM CIDER

Cliff’s Notes: For decades, Growers offered B.C. imbibers basic, unfussy options like Extra Dry Apple and Bartlett Pear. These fancier times have led to new rollouts like Peach Orange Blossom—a mix of cider and soda water with a waistline-friendly one gram of sugar. Grade: More like a mildly sweetened seltzer than a traditional cider, Growers Sparkling Spritz Peach Orange

great­—light as summer, but not at the expense of taste. What you get is a mildly hoppy but surprisingly complex beer with a vaguely tropical finish. In other words an indisputable winner—just like Gretzy.

COORS SLICE (LIME FLAVOURED)

Wayne Gretzky’s mildly hoppy No. 99 Session Ale is almost as great as the Great One himself.

Blossom ultimately gets a thumbs up for its subtlety—something that wasn’t exactly considered important back in 1922. How far we’ve come.

NUDE VODKA SODA BLACK CHERRY

Cliff’s Notes: Proudly emblazoned at the top of the can is the word “Unsweetened”, which warns you in advance that Nude Vodka Soda is not a drink favoured by four out five houseflies. Or Seth Brundle. The selling point—for those who actually care what they look like in a bathing suit—is no carbs, no sugar, no artificial-tasting sweeteners, and only 100 calories per can. Grade: The fruit so understated that it only reveals itself as an afterthought. Is sacrificing in-your-face flavour for a sensible drink worth it? That’s for you to decide, especially if you’re standing horror-struck, yet in denial, on the bathroom scale while wondering if it’s time to lay off the Coco Lopez coconut-cream Painkillers.

Today, for reasons that include a stint in Los Angeles with the Kings, the Wayner is loved as royalty, and quite rightly so. Since 2017 he’s also carved out a mammothly respected postgame career as a liquor baron, founding Wayne Gretzky Estates in the Niagara region of Ontario. The move into beer was a natural one, because, really, no one ever drinks wine from a Stanley Cup. Grade: Gretzky wasn’t called the Great One for nothing, so it should surprise no one that No. 99 Session Ale is, well, pretty

23RD Annual

22 2NDAnnual

2020

2019

Cliff’s Notes: Even though it falls under the umbrella of what Pavement might call “Water, Domestic”, there’s nothing wrong with Coors if you get it cold enough. Coors Slice on the other hand…. Grade: Down in Mexico—which, like America, remains maddeningly off-limits—someone figured out long ago that everything tastes better with a bit of lime. At the top of the list are Lay’s Limón potato chips, Tajin seasoning, and Sol Chelada Limón y Sal beer. The best of those three—and this saying something—is the latter. Sol has proven it’s not that hard to make a great lime beer. Coors hasn’t. Slice tastes like someone cut a thin American lager with too much soda water, and then added created-in-a-lab lime essence. It’s not a shandy, it doesn’t taste like a lime beer, and it’s not particularly enjoyable. Man, if only Sol Chelada shipped up here. Or, you know, we could all somehow get across the bloody border. g

WAYNE GRETZKY NO. 99 SESSION ALE

Cliff’s Notes: Funny how time changes a lot of things. To Vancouver Canucks fans of a certain vintage, Wayne Gretzky was the whiny leader of Team Arrogance—an Edmonton Oilers dynasty that used Lotusland’s endlessly hopeless franchise as a favourite punching bag in the early ’80s.

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MOVIES

North Van exhibit lauds legacy of Chief Dan George

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by Carlito Pablo

hen Canada observed its centenary on July 1, 1967, Chief Dan George delivered one of the most powerful speeches ever made by an Indigenous leader.

At Vancouver’s Empire Stadium, George, who led the North Shore’s Tsleil-Waututh Nation from 1951 to 1963, spoke his memorable “Lament for Confederation” address.

“When I fought to protect my land and my home, I was called a savage. When I neither understood nor welcomed his way of life, I was called lazy. When I tried to rule my people, I was stripped of my authority,” George said.

His speech wasn’t only a lamentation of the colonial oppression of Indigenous

Scan to conffess

Oscar-nominated actor Chief Dan George was a truth teller who inspired hope in his people.

peoples. It was also about grit, determination, and hope.

The Georgia Straight Confessions, an outlet for submitting revelations about your private lives—or for the voyeurs among us who want to read what other people have disclosed.

I did my tri-yearly email to my distant father...the other days being Christmas and his birthday. He actually replied this time and wrote Happy Father’s Day to you too. I don’t have kids.

My Pandemic Meltdown An apology to the two guys walking on Denman Street who I needlessly blasted for walking side by side on a narrow sidewalk. I severely over reacted in my frustration that so many people during pandemic seem indifferent to making space on crowded sidewalks. My pet peeve & fear brought out my worst. Sorry!

Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbors Wife I have broken that commandment more than once.

I had a great pandemic Objectively, I understand that covid 19 sucked ass, killed people and businesses, and created trauma, fear, arguments, and political drama.

But since this is the Confessions section, and not the Public Statements of Good People Who Fear Cancellation Even Though There Is No Such Thing, I will admit that I might look back fondly on this period.

I got really close with my family. My cat has never had more cuddles. We learned to make so many new dishes. I saved a ton of money not eating out and I also lost weight and got in shape. I picked up new hobbies and finally caught up on my reading. I feel slightly bad about this and it’s nothing I can tell people in person because they may have had the exact opposite reaction, hence, a confession.

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site is a conservation area managed by the Wild Bird Trust of British Columbia. Trust president Irwin Oostindie said in a media release that George’s legacy shows a path forward for reconciliation in Canada.

“We are all eager for direction on movements for justice and reconciliation, and Chief Dan George provided decades of inspiration, hard truths and guidance to all of us,” Oostindie said.

Canada marked the 25th celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21. g For details about The Chief Dan George Exhibit: Actor and Activist, visit Wildbirdtrust.org/ programs/exhibits/.

Coming-of-age story within B.C. crime thriller Chained

by Craig Takeuchi

CHAINED

Family

Visit

“Like the thunderbird of old, I shall rise again out of the sea; I shall grab the instruments of the white man’s success—his education, his skills—and with these new tools I shall build my race into the proudest segment of your society. Before I follow the great chiefs who have gone before us, Oh Canada, I shall see these things come to pass.”

An ongoing North Vancouver exhibit celebrates the life and work of George, who passed away in 1981. He is remembered for many things, including his achievements as an Oscar-nominated actor. The Chief Dan George Exhibit: Actor and Activist runs until August 29, 2021, at Maplewood Flats.

Located in traditional Tsleil-Waututh territory, the 2649 Dollarton Highway

to post a Confession JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021

Starring Marlon Kazadi, Adrian Holmes, and Aleks Paunovic. Available on video on demand on Tuesday (June 15).

NOT TO BE CONFUSED with Jennifer Lynch’s 2012 Canadian psychological horror of the same name, this Chained, filmed by writer-director Titus Heckel (With Child) in Kelowna, encases a coming-ofage story within a crime thriller.

Vancouver’s Marlon Kazadi (Riverdale) portrays 13-year-old Taylor, who finds solace from his bullying peers and his bullish cop father (Adrian Holmes) by growing plants with his friend and budding love interest Nora (Leia Madu). Heckel effectively captures the delusional confusion between youthful dreams and reality, as Taylor attempts to actualize his fantasy of owning an organic farm with Nora.

Things take a turn when, while escaping from bullies one day, Taylor winds up in an abandoned warehouse, where he stumbles across a dead body—and a man, Jim (Aleks Paunovic), shackled by a chain.

Rather than release Jim, the wary Taylor opts instead to visit him regularly, bringing him food and water, chatting with him, and soon finding out he is a criminal.

The developing cat-and-mouse scenario is rich with potential—but a few fumbles deflate the suspense. Growing tensions get tripped up by abrupt editing, and it takes time before Taylor’s motivation for keeping Jim captive properly coalesces, which leaves the proceedings rudderless for a while.

In addition, Taylor’s interest in gardening, which is a link to his departed mother,

Vancouver’s Marlon Kazadi plays a 13-year-old who discovers a shackled criminal in Chained.

doesn’t quite gel with the criminal elements but resonates more in the exploration of his father’s misguided masculinity. On that point, the intrigue of the family drama, particularly Taylor’s well-articulated dynamic with his bullying father, suggests that the coming-of-age storyline warranted an opportunity to stand alone on its own.

Although there’s some unevenness in the performances and chemistry between characters, the actors remain watchable and Kazadi does his brooding best, carrying much of the film. Holmes (19-2) appears the most effortless and convincing in his role, and Emily Holmes perks things up in a brief but snappy appearance as a shady real estate agent.

Some sharpening of pace and focus could have realized this drama’s aspirations of becoming a taut thriller. For now, this effort offers promise of what is to come from the talent assembled. g

ARTS

Gateway pioneers new ways to reach theatre lovers

by Charlie Smith

Visual artist Carmen Chan was commissioned to paint a giant mural on the theatre’s western wall, facing Gilbert Road.

But rather than having Chan simply proceed, Gateway created a YouTube video encouraging community input in advance.

“We want to know: how do the arts enrich your life?” Chan says in the video. “What does community mean to you? How do you want to feel when you look at this mural?”

In the same video, Tomasic points out that more than 35,000 people pass through Gateway’s doors in a normal year. That includes not only people who view plays, dance recitals, or a Chinese opera performance but also those who attend the Gateway Academy theatre classes for young Gateway Theatre’s artistic and community producer, Jasmine Chen (above), works alongside the company’s director of artistic programs, Barbara Tomasic. Photo by Denise Grant.

I

t has been a tradition in the arts world for one visionary person to serve as an organization’s creative leader. Artistic directors routinely become the most visible public symbols of a cultural organization. As a result, they are often the focal point for fundraising campaigns.

Gateway Theatre in Richmond also embraced that model, most recently with Jovanni Sy. He was a visionary creative thinker who served as its artistic director from 2014 to 2019. But when Sy stepped down at the end of February 2019, Gateway decided to do something different.

It appointed two people to play major creative roles. Theatre director, actor, and educator Barbara Tomasic was named director of artistic programs. And actor, dancer, and director Jasmine Chen—a former artist in residence—became the new artistic and community producer.

“This is a position that has never existed before at Gateway,” Chen told the Straight by phone. “And it was created very much in response to the new direction that Gateway is going in.”

Collective leadership is not unprecedented in the arts world. To cite one example, Shakespeare in the Ruff in Toronto recently announced that it has appointed five “leaders”.

“We’re seeing this more and more across the country—shared leadership models,” Chen said. “We need to have more voices involved in order for our institutions to better reflect our community.”

Chen noted that she and Tomasic applied together to lead Gateway’s artistic programming because they recognized that Richmond is very diverse and multilingual. And that meant great effort needed to be focused on creating new relationships and forging community partnerships.

As the interim producer, Tomasic created a 2019-20 season of plays that were

entirely directed by women. The pandemic provided an opportunity for Tomasic and Chen to ponder the best ways to enhance the bonds between Gateway Theatre and Richmond residents.

They asked themselves if the community really wanted a traditional seasonal model when audiences could not enter the theatre.

“We quickly decided, okay, nobody needs another Zoom reading,” Chen said.

So they went about creating safe spaces where people could feel supported.

As one example, Gateway Theatre developed a Hallows’ Eve paper theatre kit, complete with multilingual instructions, to encourage young people to create their own play. It resulted from families saying they were experiencing “screen fatigue”.

“They were really craving something that was tangible,” Chen said.

In January, Gateway unveiled a video by Johnny Wu, a Canadian artist of Taiwanese ancestry, delving into the relationships between a son and his family. It was presented in Mandarin with English subtitles.

“As a child of the East Asian diaspora,” Wu says in the video, “I saw the same toxic relationship I have with my parents emerge in how I, and those who share the same cultural identity as me, negotiated being in Canada.”

Wu’s provocative video was part of a national initiative known as the Transformations Project. To engage the community, its release was followed by a Facebook discussion hosted by Chen, who also speaks Mandarin.

For Lunar New Year, artist Annie Katsura Rollins led Chinese shadow puppetry workshops online. Then in May, comedian, self-described mad activist, and playwright J D Derbyshire hosted on online mental-health meet-up.

This summer, there’s another project that includes community engagement.

people between the ages of 6 and 18.

Tomasic also says in the video that the stage is really a blank canvas. “What brings it to life is our community.”

Chen’s parents speak four languages, and she places a high priority on promoting greater understanding between English and Mandarin speakers in Richmond.

That was reflected in a piece she created when she was the artist in residence. Titled The Gateway Language Exchange Game Show, it brought people together in a fun way to bridge cultural gaps.

“Language doesn’t have to be a barrier,” Chen said. “With a little bit of effort, we can come to understand each other and have empathy for each other.” g

Some Assembly Theatre Company presents

Wednesday June 30, 4pm, 2021 Thursday July 8, 7pm, 2021 Sunday July 11, 3pm, 2021 written and directed by Valerie Methot with RHYTAG youth writers/actors/musicians Raylen Adriano, Hiraeth Campbell, Fox Hunt, Mitch Broome, Ciara Wilkinson, Skylar Walker & Fiona Jenkins product ion team Susan Bertoia, Allen Morrison, Matt Clarke, Flick Harrison, Chantele Fry, Jeremy Baxter, Nik McLaren, Anna Talbot, Tina Biello, Lauren Preissl, Latisha Wadhams, Sophie Labrie, Brogan Ho, Jessica Han, Duane Murrin, Patrick Graham, Arianna Brewer, Joe Baker, Ron MacGillivray, Stephen Fisk, $OLVRQ -HQNLQV +LELNL .RMLPD *UDKDP 1HLO *ULƅ WK $VK 6KRWWRQ someassembly.ca more info: info@ someassembly.ca | 604-684-8807 Support the youth and reserve your seats now!

This show is FREE and needs to be seen!

Be inspired by the compassion and strong caring community in BREAKWATER. Show Length: 55 min. Community Dialogue: 20 min.

JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

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ARTS

Breakwater explores dark side of youth mental health

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by Breanne Doyle

ccording to Youth Mental Health Canada, an estimated 1.2 million children and youth across the country are affected by mental illness in a normal year. And over the past 16 months, this number has only gotten worse.

The pandemic has had an enormous effect on the mental health of many Canadians— and kids aren’t excluded from that.

In Breakwater, the new multimedia production from Some Assembly Theatre Company, youths’ mental health is at the forefront.

Using a worldwide flood as a symbol for the COVID-19 pandemic, audiences follow six young characters as they isolate themselves in their homes and explore what ef-

fect that has on their mental well-being.

Performed and written by Vancouver youths—in cooperation with Some Assembly artistic director Valerie Methot—the play tackles issues such as depression, identity, negative self-talk, and, ultimately, community and healing.

In a phone interview, Methot tells the Straight that she was inspired to make a play on children’s mental health before the pandemic began after having conversations with young people in Vancouver.

Throughout these discussions, she learned that youths’ concerns about mental wellbeing were not being heard.

“Unfortunately, we live in a time when youth are experiencing mental health

One of the goals of Breakwater is to normalize conversations about mental health struggles, especially those of young people, who can often be misunderstood. Photo by Gaetan Nerincx.

struggles, and sometimes it’s seen as ‘oh, they just want attention’ or ‘they’re just making it up,’ ” Methot explains. “It’s really important to me to raise awareness about mental health struggles that young people are facing because it is real. And we really need to normalize that conversation.”

Methot says that over the past year and half, that conversation has become even more necessary. “Being in isolation has really increased the mental health struggles of the youth,” she explains. “I really wanted to put the spotlight on more of the detail and the core of the issue that young people are experiencing. And that’s what Breakwater sheds light on.”

Through poetry, music, and dance, the play incorporates the ways youths express themselves while dealing with emotional challenges. Though the subject matter is a heavy one, Methot says the experience of conceptualizing, writing, and performing the piece has been incredibly healing for the artists. Being able to express themselves honestly and in a safe space encouraged the performers to build confidence in themselves—even while feeling a bit vulnerable while sharing stories of mental illness.

“For one performer, they had never written a song before or anything like that,” Methot says. “And they wanted to try it out. So they wrote a poem, and Sophie Lebrie [the mentor musician for Breakwater] worked with them and helped them shape it into a song, which they perform in the play. And it’s absolutely stunning.”

It’s critical for youths of Vancouver to be able to see themselves reflected in a piece like Breakwater, Methot says.

“It’s important because they are going to be able to relate to the stories. In going through the thoughts and feelings the characters share, they are going to be validated,” 14

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

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she says. “That’s a really powerful thing, especially for someone who’s really struggling and maybe feels like they’re alone in the world. When they see someone who is their peer, someone their age, going through the same thing, it’s extremely validating.”

For one performer, they had never written a song before or anything like that.

– Valerie Methot

She adds: “Breakwater features a cast of diverse youth—so that’s going to appeal to a diverse, young audience. Which is important. We have BIPOC performers, and Indigenous, people of colour, and LGBTQIA2S+ performers. Because there’s such a range of cultural backgrounds and struggles, the audience is going to find something to relate to.”

Methot says the play, at its core, is about self-care, compassion for others, and finding one’s place in loving communities.

“Our young people really need that more than ever, because they’ve been so isolated for such a long time,” she says. “It’s really important for all of us. But focusing on the youth here—it’s really important that they feel connected to others and that they feel connected to themselves.

“If we can surround ourselves with strong, caring communities,” she adds.

“Then that certainly helps our healing and mental health journey.” g Breakwater is a free event that can be viewed starting June 30 on Someassembly.ca.

JAZZ FEST

Mix diva DJ Kookum triumphs against all odds

W

by Charlie Smith

hen Vancouver’s DJ Kookum sways to the beats she creates at this year’s TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival, she’ll know that she’s in a select company.

Not only is she female in a very male-dominated field at the turntable but she’s also Indigenous—a Dene/Cree member of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation who was raised on- and off-reserve in Cold Lake, Alberta.

“Kookum actually means grandma in the Cree language,” Kookum, a.k.a. Cheyanna Kootenhayoo, told the Straight by phone. “People who don’t know that think it just means ‘cooking’ beats, like, ‘Cook ’em up.’ It works for me either way.”

She quickly added that she’s not a grandma—she’s far too young for that. But the name came when she was 13 years old after clowning around with a friend, talking like elders on the phone.

“I really tried to get people to stop calling me that and no one would,” Kookum recalled. “It stuck, and eventually I started responding to it.”

She said that sometimes people have been surprised when she’s showed up at gigs, because they assumed that DJ Kookum would be male. But that’s increasingly less likely as her fame grows, thanks in part to her role as the DJ for the skyrocketing Snotty Nose Rez Kids, who appeared on the cover of last week’s Georgia Straight.

“Touring with the Snotty Nose Rez Kids had very exciting moments, for sure,” Kookum said. “Because we went to Australia and Mexico and the Netherlands and England—and we played in all those places.

“I remember when we were in Mexico and I was deejaying my own set on this rooftop. I thought, ‘This is so cool. I can’t believe this is happening.’ ” She’s described as a “diverse-mix-diva” in her bio, which reflects her eclectic musical tastes. She brings everything from Cardi B to Drake to calypso to other Latin American beats to John Fogerty’s “Bad Moon Rising” into her sets.

“I like to incorporate different eras and different styles or genres,” Kookum said.

“So sometimes you’ll hear a little bit of rock or oldies.”

She feels that her stage presence has improved after working as DJ for the Snotty Nose Rez Kids during the past couple of years. In the beginning, Kookum would never approach the microphone, but that’s no longer the case.

In addition to her mastery of the soundboard and computer, Kookum is also an accomplished film editor—a skill she developed in the Indigenous independent digital filmmaking program at Capilano University. She followed that up by enrolling in the electronic-music program at the Art Institute of Vancouver.

DJ Kookum (right, with dancer Sierra Baker) found solace and inspiration in music when she was growing up on and off a reserve near the northeastern Alberta community of Cold Lake.

“When I edit a video, you can really see my music background in it because I’m cutting video to the beats,” she said.

KOOKUM’S SUCCESS is all the more astonishing when one considers what she faced in her teenage years in the Cold Lake area.

She often went back and forth from the town to her reserve. That’s because her grandma married a non-Indigenous person, so she lost her status. She was forced to live in the town of Cold Lake as a result of the discriminatory Indian Act. “In Cold Lake growing up, there was so much racism happening,” Kookum stated. “It was really hard. I remember being called a ‘squaw’ just walking down the street. I don’t experience that now.”

When Kookum was on the reserve, among her own people, she didn’t feel like she had any role models, so she immersed herself in music. “I wanted to be a rapper,” Kookum revealed. “But I was too shy. I couldn’t do it.”

The effects of residential schools—and the intergenerational trauma that they inflicted—were all around her, including in her own mother, who struggled to raise the family. But because her mom had a computer, Kookum was able to burn CDs for her friends. And her mother’s love of Buffy Sainte-Marie’s music also rubbed off on her.

In her teenage years, Kookum was also influenced by rising international electronic-music stars like Tiësto, David Guetta, and Benny Benassi. Edmonton’s no-nonsense Erin Eden might have been the first female DJ that she ever saw.

An even bigger influence was Edmonton actor Crystle Lightning, who’s also an Indigenous DJ and now one of Kookum’s

good friends. In addition, Kookum said she was impressed by Edmonton DJ and grass dancer Matthew Creeasian, who’s of Cree and Vietnamese ancestry.

“Every time I met another Indigenous

DJ, I was inspired,” she said.

Eventually, Kookum decided she had to escape all the trouble around her on the reserve, including crime and drugs.

“It just got to the point [where] I was, like, ‘This isn’t my lifestyle,’ and that wasn’t me. I’m not that person,” she said. “So I was kind of like, ‘I need to get out of here before it gets worse.’

“I was witnessing my family and friends just ruining their lives, so I left. I just stopped all that and basically changed my life around and finished school.”

But even after moving to Vancouver and seeing her career take off, Kookum experienced yet another tragedy. Her younger brother Taran Kootenhayoo, a talented Vancouver actor and playwright, died suddenly last New Year’s Eve. “He was a very amazing person and definitely had a huge influence on me,” Kookum said. “He was so kind and gentle and patient.…He inspired me to be like that. I miss him a lot.” g DJ Kookum will perform with the Snotty Nose Rez Kids at 8 p.m. Friday (June 25) and at 1:30 p.m. next Sunday (July 4) with Sierra Baker as part of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

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JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

15

JAZZ FEST

Jazz group aims to irreversibly decolonize minds

I

by Charlie Smith

n 2015, the free-jazz collective of saxophonist Keir Neuringer, poet Camae Ayewa, and bassist Luke Stewart came together for a Musicians Against Police Brutality concert in New York following the fatal police shooting of Akai Gurley.

So it seemed appropriate that Stewart spoke to the Straight before Irreversible Entanglement’s recent gig at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, home to another high-profile victim of a police killing, George Floyd. Stewart emphasized that the overall system of racial oppression is tied to a way of being and a way of thinking that African Americans have been subjected to for centuries.

“People are asking a lot of questions because there’s a lower level of understanding, in general, about what’s going on,” Stewart said. “This system has developed to the point where confusion is the means of subjugation.”

According to Stewart, the crux of Irreversible Entanglements’ “liberation-oriented free jazz” centres around decolonizing listeners’ minds.

“The sound and the words, I think, suggest that, for sure,” he said. “And it’s purposeful on our part.”

Irreversible Entanglements is making a mark in the music world with its potent combination of poetry and explosive and unpredictable liberation-oriented free jazz. Photo by Bob Sweeney.

The track “No Más” from the album Who Sent You? provides an ideal example.

Opening with soaring horns and driven by Stewart’s pulsating upright bass, it’s punctuated by the phrase “no más/no more”.

“It will sound different every time,” Stewart said.

Ayewa, a.k.a. Moor Mother, writes all

the lyrics but, according to Stewart, there’s no one person fronting Irreversible Entanglements. That’s because her vocals are viewed as another instrument.

Irreversible Entanglements takes its inspiration from the New York Art Quartet, a free-jazz ensemble that formed in New York City in 1964. Stewart felt the band

was at its best with poet Amiri Baraka, whom he described as a “powerful” voice but who also didn’t front the band.

“It’s important for us to be connected to that tradition and legacy,” Stewart said.

After a year of social reckoning and with the effects of the pandemic starting to wane in North America, Stewart said he’s “anxiously excited to see what kind of changes are going to be made, if any, in the overall jazz industry”.

“It’s almost like I see jazz as an iceberg in the ocean,” he noted. “Whereas the tip of the iceberg is the JazzTimes-DownBeat portion that is most visible to the community…the rest of the iceberg makes up the community of musicians, aficionados, audience members, impresarios, etcetera that are working in this underground ecosystem, really.

“Because jazz occupies the same underground status as anything else in terms of its mainstream accessibility,” Stewart continued. “It’s at the same level of punk rock or underground hip-hop or underground electronic music.” g Irreversible Entanglements will be streamed at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday (June 29) as part of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival.

Guitar great Pigat bounces back from four broken ribs

S

by Steve Newton

even weeks ago Vancouver guitar great Paul Pigat borrowed a ladder to clean the gutters on his Sunshine Coast cottage.

As he was finishing up the job the ladder broke and he fell, breaking four ribs.

“I don’t bounce like I used to,” notes the 51-year-old string bender from his East Van home.

Fortunately, Pigat is now pretty much healed—although he stresses that he doesn’t want anyone punching him in the ribs anytime soon. You can see him in action via a jazz festival concert that will be streamed for free on June 25.

The show is basically a double bill, with Pigat’s trio joining the New York noir-jazz act Big Lazy, featuring guitarist Stephen Ulrich.

Big Lazy will be streaming live from Barbès bar in Brooklyn, while Pigat’s appearance was recorded at the West Vancouver Public Library. There was no finger-to-lips shushing from mousy librarians, though.

“You can play surprisingly loud in a library if there’s nobody there,” Pigat quips, “but we kept it to a dull roar.”

Pigat is perhaps best known for his wild guitar playing with the rowdy rockabilly act

16

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021

Cousin Harley. But for the jazz-fest gig, he’s toning it down with a set composed entirely of Cousin Harley instrumentals.

“Stephen’s band is instrumental,” he explains, “and I didn’t want to play anything too hillbilly or too cowpunky. So I thought I’d just do the instrumental side of the band, which I love doing. I busted out one of the guitars that I built to use in the show, and that was its maiden voyage.”

Pigat explains that the jazzfest gig will kick off with 20 minutes of his band, followed by 40 minutes of Big Lazy, then another 20 of Pigat before ending with an encore of him and Ulrich performing instrumental duets.

“He picked one of mine and I picked one of his,” Pigat says. “I’m doing a Big Lazy tune called ‘Black Sheep’, and he’s doing one called ‘Lazy Stephen’, which is a tune that I wrote with him in mind. So it’s kind of fitting that out of all the tunes of mine, he chose the one that I wrote for him. I guess I kinda nailed his vibe there.” g The Paul Pigat Trio performs a free streamed show with Big Lazy on June 25 as part of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival..

JAZZ FEST

Crema soars alongside Vancouver’s top players

by Steve Newton

parts of the world, the food’s great, and the setup is wonderful—because it is about the music. If you haven’t been there, I definitely recommend it.”

Coon has played many a set at Frankie’s in the past. Crema hooked up with him several years ago at the suggestion of a bass player she was working with.

“When we met, we had a great musical chemistry,” she says, “so over the years, we’ve recorded and played a lot of gigs.

And when Bill wanted to explore more of a singer-songwriter–type thing, we came together on this project.”

Crema is grateful that world-class guitarists like Smith and Coon are keen to meld their talents with hers. There seems

W

to be no shortage of ace musicians for singers like her to connect with in Vancouver.

“It’s pretty incredible,” she says. “I’m doing a Leonard Cohen tribute with a bunch of different musical people and dance artists, and the woman that’s producing it was saying there’s a real desire to create opportunities for people here because there are just so many amazing musicians and artists.” g Laura Crema performs with the Bill Coon Quartet at Frankie’s Jazz on Friday (July 2) as part of the TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival. She also performs a jazz-fest brunch set with pianist Sharon Minemoto at the Water Street Café on Sunday (June 27).

Laura Crema has made a name for herself in Vancouver jazz and roots circles through her five solo albums, including the celebrated Blue Shadows on the Trail, coproduced by Scott Smith.

hen Laura Crema was five years old, growing up in North Burnaby, she started taking tap-dancing lessons. As well as being a good workout for her nimble limbs, the music she’d dance to introduced her to some of the world’s great jazz and pop singers. But it wasn’t until she saw Judy Garland performing “Over the Rainbow” in The Wizard of Oz that the youngster realized the true force and beauty of the human voice.

“I just remember being really moved by it,” Crema recalls from her home in East Van, “by the power of song and the power of the voice.”

Also inspired by the Frank Sinatra records her parents would play, her grandfather’s love of country artist Hank Snow, and the emotive voice of Billie Holiday, Crema set out to follow her dream of becoming a professional singer. Her first recorded project was A Personal Soundtrack, by the late-’90s prog-fusion quartet the Dreaming, which saw her in the company of guitarist Nathan Lorch, bassist Jesse Lyon, and current Woodshed Supply Co. drummer Matt Heximer.

Then Crema started making a name for herself as a solo artist, releasing five albums, the most recent being the celebrated Blue Shadows on the Trail. Coproduced by Vancouver guitar great Scott Smith of local blues-rock combo Terminal Station, who also handles various stringed instruments throughout, it’s an album of mostly covers in a variety of styles. No Depression magazine raved that Crema “reimagines country and jazz classics with spellbinding vocals...her voice shifts from mysterious to magical.”

Crema’s skill at reimagining the work of others is exemplified on Blue Shadows on

I’m always collecting songs and looking into different genres.

– Laura Crema

the Trail by her intoxicating version of the traditional folk ballad “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair”.

“I’m always collecting songs and looking into different genres,” she says. “What’s great about jazz is that you can actually take different songs and give them your own interpretation. I had a couple of songs by, like, Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers that I would sing, and I just loved them. And then I decided to do a whole album of them, so I got in touch with Scott and we collaborated on arrangements. It was a really fun project.”

Crema’s next album will be an alloriginal collaboration with guitarist Bill Coon, a project that received a timely grant from Creative BC just before the pandemic hit. Some of those songs will likely get previewed when Crema joins the Bill Coon Quartet for a jazz-fest gig on July 2. The sold-out show takes place at Frankie’s Jazz Club, one of Crema’s favourite venues.

“After the Cellar [jazz club] shut down [local saxophonist and entrepreneur] Cory Weeds came onboard booking people and taking over the creative aspect of it. Great people have come through from different JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

17

SAVAGE LOVE

Don’t let neighbour know you’ve seen his porn vids Nar-Anon North Van

12-step program for families and friends of addicts, meets Tuesdays from 7:30 to 9 pm 176 2nd Street East in North Van.

by Dan Savage

b I’M A 40-YEAR-OLD gay male. I live in a big city, in a dense neighbourhood. While I’ve been working from home during COVID, I’ve been sitting at my kitchen table facing a big window.

Across the alley is an apartment with a deck.

At one point, I noticed a cute, young, muscular guy outside. I ran into this guy a few weeks later at a neighbourhood liquor store. While I was looking at porn one night, I was stunned to find his nudes and a link to his OnlyFans. I instantly subscribed, went through everything, including his gay sex vids, and, yeah, I came. I tipped him and put in a few comments about what kind of content he should put up next. He took my suggestions and I tipped him again.

About a week ago, he knocked on my door and asked if I had jumper cables. That night, I found a six pack of beer by my door and a note from him thanking me for my help. I got back on his page and came so hard as I drank his beer. I don’t want to have sex with this guy— he’s not really my type, and he’s too young. I do get off on knowing that I can pull up his dick pics whenever I want and that he will do anything for a few bucks. But I question if I’m crossing a line. He obviously doesn’t know his neighbour is jerking off to him and probably wants to keep his porn life separate from his private life. Should I feel gross about this?

Nar-Anon North Van nar-anonbcregion.org should tell him Info: you’re a subscriber.

But until 12-step program for families and friends addicts, meets Tuesdays 7:30 to 9 pm that point, errofon the side of from keeping your 176 2nd Street East in North Van. mouth shut andInfo: yournar-anonbcregion.org wallet open. You’re not endorsing or reinforcing shame about making porn by being discreet; instead, you’re making a reasonable assumption about a boundary someone in his position is very likely to have and respecting that assumed boundary.

And finally, RW, I’m not sure I believe you when you say this guy isn’t your type, considering the number of loads you’ve blown while watching his porn. And while he may be too young for you—and you can absolutely set a floor—whether men in their 40s are too old for him is his call to make.

b MY GIRLFRIEND GAVE me an impromptu blowjob on our way to a party. When we arrived, she kissed our host—a mutual (and 9258604 Canada Corporation ALEXA MILLWORK LTD friend—on Electra Appliance vaccinated) the Fix lips.

This friend is HIRING a Cabinetmakers Foreman Eurohouse Construction Inc. dba Metropolitan Movers Repair LTDI practise Job location: Unit 16,gave 30 Capilano Way, my girlfriend a strange look. is looking for Drywall Installers and Finishers, is9258604 looking for a Moving Van Drivers Supervisor. is currently seeking Appliance Service Canada Corporation ALEXA MILLWORK LTD Electra Fix Appliance New Westminster BC, V3L 5M3. Perm, Greater Vancouver, BC. Permanent, Perm, F/T (40 h/w), Wage - $ 26.00 per/h Technicians, Vancouver, good personal hygiene but Greater we’reLTD prettyBC.sure is HIRING Cabinetmakers Foreman Eurohouse Inc. F/T job (40 ah/w).

Salary: $38.00 /hour Full time. WageConstruction - $27.50/hour, extended dba Metropolitan Movers Requirements: High school, good English, F/T, PermRepair (40 h/w), Wage: $22.50 /h Job location: Unit 16, 30 Capilano Way, is lookingmedical for Drywall Installers and Finishers, Requirements: Good English, 2-3 years could of benefits. Main duties: our5M3. host smell myseeking dickwork ontasks;my is looking for a of Moving Van Drivers Supervisor. is currently Appliance Service 1-2 years experience.

Main duties: Main duties: Review Refergirlto New Westminster BC, V3LMain Perm, Greater mark, Vancouver, BC.drywall Permanent, experience, high school. duties: Measure, and cut sheets; Perm, F/T (40 h/w), Wage - $ 26.00assign per/h Technicians, Greater Vancouver, BC. Supervise activities of employees, manuals and disassemble appliance; F/T job (40 Salary: $38.00 /hour FullPosition time. Wage - $27.50/hour, extended friend.

Should sheproduct have refrained from kissSupervise andh/w). co-ordinate daily activities and secure drywall sheets; Requirements: High school, good English, F/T, Perm (40 h/w), Wage: $22.50 /h workers to duties; Co-ordinate activities of Diagnose faults and conduct appliance Requirements: Good English, 2-3 years of medical benefits. duties: Dan Savage advises a reader who subscribes porn service that he probably of cabinetmakers; Prepare schedules Measure, cut and install Main metal corner beads;to a neighbour’s 1-2 and years of experience.

Main herself duties: Review work Refer to ingwork the host? Excused torepair wash her face drivers movers; Prepare Main work duties: schedules, assessment;Adjust, ortasks; replace parts experience, high school.

Main duties: Measure, and cut rough drywallspots sheets; and assign workers to duties; Resolve trim,mark, and smooth and Supervise ofroutes; employees, assign product manuals and disassemble appliance; shouldn’t mention itPatch, if they bump into each errands.

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Goodor 1102 - 1068 Hornbymaintain St. Vancouver BC V6Z2Y7 Business address and job location: problems, program or 2-3 years of work experience, Please apply by e-mail: 2474 MarineCompletion Dr, West Vancouver, BCschool V7V 1L1 Company’s business address: English. of secondary Please by e-mail: #224, 17 Fawcettgood Road, Coquitlam BC V3K 6V2 Company’s business address andhot job location: English But even ifapply your neighbour3154 feels no during consensualPlease sex in the presence of a sigtake we aren’t dating. alexamillwork@gmail.com apply by e-mail: admin@eurohouse.ca Bowen Dr, Coquitlam, BCwhen V3B 5S7 we kiss people Company’s business address: Please applyand by e-mail: 1102vancouvermetropolitan@gmail.com - 1068 Hornby St. Vancouver BC V6Z2Y7 Business address job location: Please apply Hell, by e-mail:it’s a risk some of 2474 Marine Dr, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1L1 electrafixappliance@gmail.com shame about the work he does—and here’s nificant power imbalance requires thoughtful us take when we kiss You know something about your neighbour Please apply by e-mail: #224, 17 Fawcett Road, Coquitlam BC V3K 6V2 alexamillwork@gmail.com Please apply by e-mail: admin@eurohouse.ca vancouvermetropolitan@gmail.com Please apply by e-mail: he doesn’t, because there’s nothing the people we are dating.

But as a courtesy to that your neighbour doesn’t know you know self-scrutiny, solid communication skills, and hoping electrafixappliance@gmail.com shameful about it—your hot neighbour may others, someone who’s just given a blowjob about him, RW, and knowledge is power and a willingness to negotiate and renegotiate.)

What you’re doing is consensual and no not care to be reminded that his neighbours should go for the cheek instead. having power over someone can be sexy. Power Unless they’re kissing the person they imbalances are such a turn-on that people one is being exploited. Your hot neighbour could be jerking off to him. (Or have it confor gay and firmed that at least one is.) If you were to get to just blew, of course, in which case wide open will manufacture them in their absence. Employment For is putting his content out there Careers EMPLOYMENT and bi women know him better—surely you’ll say hello the mouth with tongue. g some people, having less power (or giving up bi men to enjoy—and straight Careers Employment EMPLOYMENT too—and being recognized by someone next time you see him at the liquor store—and the power they have) is a turn-on; for others, having more power (or being granted more at the liquor store or on the street was al- you became acquaintances and he brought Email: mail@savagelove.net. Follow Dan on Twitter @ power) is a turn-on. So long as everything is ways a risk. Jacking off to your neighbour’s up what he does for a living, RW, then you FakeDanSavage.

RED SEAL RED SEAL CARPENTER CARPENTER SITKAWEST (Vancouver, BC) SITKAWEST

JOB REQUIREMENTS: JOB REQUIREMENTS: - a team attitude - a team attitude - a punctual work record - a punctual work record - ability to get to and from sites - ability to get to and from sites reliably each each day day via via a a reliable reliable reliably vehicle vehicle experience and and education education aligned aligned -- experience with with the the position position you you are are aiming aiming to to fifillll -- Hand Hand tools tools appropriate appropriate for for your your position position - Valid drivers license- At least 2 years experience in framing, rough carpentry and concrete forming

(Vancouver, BC)

RED SEAL CARPENTER REDAPPRENTICE SEAL CARPENTER OR OR APPRENTICE The work we do includes: The work we do includes: - commercial new build - commercial new build -- commercial commercial renovations renovations -- heritage heritage restorations restorations -- concrete forming concrete forming -- rough rough framing framing -- fifinishing nishing

JOB JOB TYPE: TYPE: FULL-TIME FULL-TIME Salary: From $35.00 to $40.00/hour (depending on experience)

GEORGIA STRAIGHT JUNE 25JUNE – JULY242 – / 2020 2 18 THETHE GEORGIA STR AIGHT JULY 1 / 2021

Employment EMPLOYMENT Employment EMPLOYMENT Careers Careers

Eurohouse Construction Inc.

Construction Inc. isEurohouse looking for Drywall Installers and Finishers, is looking for Drywall Installers and Finishers, Greater Vancouver, BC. Permanent, Vancouver, BC. Permanent, FullGreater time. Wage - $27.50/hour, extended Full time.

Wage - $27.50/hour, extended medical benefits.

Main duties: medical benefits.

Main duties: Measure, mark, and cut drywall sheets; Measure, mark, and cut drywall sheets; Position and secure drywall sheets; Position and secure drywall sheets; Measure, cut and install metal corner beads; Measure, cut and install metal corner beads; Patch, trim, trim, and and smooth smooth rough rough spots spots and and Patch, edges; Apply tape and sealing compound; edges; Apply tape and sealing compound; Sand Sand all all joints joints and and holes, holes, completely completely prepare prepare surfaces surfaces for for priming priming and and painting. painting. In In order order to to succeed succeed in in this this role, role, you you will will need: need: 2-3 years of experience in the trade.

2-3 years of experience in the trade. Good Good English.

English. Completion Completion of of secondary secondary school school Company’s Company’s business business address: address: 2474 Marine Dr, West Vancouver, BC V7V 1L1 Please apply by e-mail: admin@eurohouse.ca

9258604 9258604 Canada Corporation Corporation dbaCanada Metropolitan Movers dba Metropolitan Movers is looking for a Moving Van Drivers Supervisor. is looking for (40 a Moving Van Drivers Supervisor.

Perm, F/T h/w), Wage - $ 26.00 per/h Perm, F/T (40 h/w), Wage - $ 26.00 per/h Requirements: High school, good English, Requirements: High school, good English, 1-2 years of experience. Main duties: 1-2 years of experience. Main duties: Supervise activities of employees, assign Supervise activities of employees, assign workers to duties; Co-ordinate activities of workers to duties; Co-ordinate activities of drivers and movers; Prepare work schedules, drivers and movers; Prepare work schedules, control and monitor routes; Recommend control and monitor routes; Recommend on on hiring hiring new new employees employees and and train train staff; staff; Ensure Ensure health health and and safety safety regulations regulations are are followed; followed; Schedule Schedule repairs repairs and and maintenance maintenance works; works; Order Order supplies; supplies; Resolve Resolve work work related related problems, problems, maintain maintain reports. reports.

Company’s Company’s business business address address and and job job location: location: 1102 1102 -- 1068 1068 Hornby Hornby St. St. Vancouver Vancouver BC BC V6Z2Y7 V6Z2Y7 Please apply by e-mail: vancouvermetropolitan@gmail.com

ALEXA ALEXA LTD MILLWORK MILLWORK LTD is HIRING a Cabinetmakers Foreman

is HIRING a Cabinetmakers Foreman Job location: Unit 16, 30 Capilano Way, Job Unit 16, Way, Newlocation: Westminster BC, 30 V3LCapilano 5M3. Perm, New Westminster BC, V3L 5M3.

Perm, F/T job (40 h/w). Salary: $38.00 /hour F/T job (40 h/w). Salary: $38.00 /hour Requirements: Good English, 2-3 years of Requirements: Good English, 2-3 years of experience, high school. Main duties: experience, high school. Main duties: Supervise and co-ordinate daily activities Supervise and co-ordinate daily activities of cabinetmakers; Prepare work schedules of cabinetmakers; Prepare work schedules and assign workers to duties; Resolve and assign workers to duties; Resolve work-related problems; Inspect products; work-related problems; Inspect products; Recommend Recommend hiring hiring and and promotions, promotions, train train new employees; new employees; Ensure Ensure standards standards for for safe safe working conditions are observed; Requisition working conditions are observed; Requisition supplies, supplies, materials, materials, tools, tools, and and equipment. equipment.

Company’s Company’s business business address: address: 3154 3154 Bowen Bowen Dr, Dr, Coquitlam, Coquitlam, BC BC V3B V3B 5S7 5S7 Please apply by e-mail: alexamillwork@gmail.com

Electra Fix Electra Fix LTD Appliance Repair is Appliance currently seekingRepair Appliance LTD Service

isTechnicians, currently seeking Appliance Service Greater Vancouver, BC. Technicians, Vancouver, F/T, Perm (40Greater h/w), Wage: $22.50BC. /h F/T, Perm (40 h/w), Wage: $22.50 /h to Main duties: Review work tasks; Refer Main duties: Review work tasks; Refer to product manuals and disassemble appliance; product manuals and disassemble appliance; Diagnose faults and conduct appliance Diagnose faults and conduct appliance assessment;Adjust, repair or replace parts assessment;Adjust, repair or replace parts and components;Perform routine maintenance and components;Perform routine maintenance work;Reassemble appliance, ensure that work;Reassemble appliance, ensure that itit is working properly; Report to the Manager is working properly; Report to the Manager and and prepare prepare documentation. documentation. Requirements: Requirements: High High school, school, completion completion of of apprenticeship apprenticeship program or 2-3 years of work program or 2-3 years of work experience, experience, good good English English Business Business address address and and job job location: location: #224, #224, 17 17 Fawcett Fawcett Road, Road, Coquitlam Coquitlam BC BC V3K V3K 6V2 6V2 Please apply by e-mail: electrafixappliance@gmail.com

is HIRING a Food Service Supervisor.

Shifts, Weekends, Perm, F/T (40 hrs/week) Wage: 21.00 /hr Requirements: Good English, completion of a college program OR several years of experience. Main duties: Manage the activities of workers; Monitor work schedules; Hire and train employees, assign workers to duties; Ensure that quality control standards, sanitation and safety procedures are met; Order supplies; Resolve customer complaints; Manage and coordinate shelf stocking; Prepare and submit reports.

Company’s business address and job location: 4320 Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5V 4G3 Please apply by e-mail: european.breads.amra@gmail.com

Construction company Turon-Business LTD

is looking for Carpenters. Lower Mainland area, BC. Perm, F/T, Wage: $ 28.00 /h Main duties: Read and interpret blueprints, prepare layouts; Measure, cut, assemble, and join lumber and wood materials; Build wooden construction structures; Inspect, repair damaged framework; Install different trim items; Operate and maintain carpentry tools; Follow safety rules and regulations; Supervise helpers.

Requirements: Experience 2-3 years, Good English; Education: High school.

Company’s business address: 35-5648 Promontory Rd, Chilliwack BC V2R 0E5 Please apply by e-mail: hrturonbusiness@gmail.com

8 DIAMONDS SIDING INC.

is HIRING a Construction Manager in Greater Vancouver, BC. Perm, F/T (40 h/w) Salary: $100,000 annual Min. 3-4 years of exp. in steel framing construction. College diploma; bachelor’s degree is an asset. Main duties: Plan, organize and manage construction projects; Plan, prepare and oversee schedules and milestones; Control and oversee budget; Select and approve subcontractors; Oversee project's progress reports; Negotiate project revisions; Track project costs; Establish and implement policies for quality control; Oversee compliance with legal requirements.

Company’s business address and job location: 101-5595 Roy St, Burnaby BC V5B 3A5 Please apply by e-mail: 8diamondsgroup@gmail.com

Orbis Facade Inc. is looking for Glaziers

Greater Vancouver, BC. Perm, F/T, Salary: $26.00 /hour. Requirements: experience 3-4 years, good English, high school. Main duties: Read and interpret construction blueprints; Lay-out frame and window wall position; Fabricate, fit and install frames; Measure, mark and cut glass; Position pre-cut glass panels and secure glass; Install pre-build glass panels in frames; Replace damaged glass or faulty sealant; Assemble, erect and dismantle scaffolding, rigging and hoisting equipment; Follow established safety rules.

Company’s business address: 7060 Waltham Ave, Burnaby BC V5J4V5 Please apply by e-mail: hr@orbisgroup.ca

Mind EMPLOYMENT Body & Soul Healing Arts

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Support Groups A MDABC peer-led support group is a safe place to share your story, your struggles and accomplishments, and to listen to others as they share similar concerns. Please Note: Support groups are not intended to provide counselling/therapy.

Please visit www.mdabc.net for a list & location of support groups or call 604-873-0103 for info.

AL-ANON FAMILY GROUPS Does someone else's drinking bother you?

Al-Anon can help.

We are a support group for those who have been affected by another's drinking problem.

For more information please call: 604-688-1716 Heart of Richmond - AIDS Society operates a confidential support group for persons with HIV/AIDS, or persons affected (family, friends or care givers) by the disease.

For info - 604-277-5137 www.heartofrichmond.com

RECOVERY International FEAR? DEPRESSION? PANIC ATTACKS? Feelings that keep you from really living your life?

A way out is where we come in.

Weekly meetings. Call for info: 9am - 5pm Kathy 778-554-1026 www.recoverycanada.org Support, Education & Action Group for Women that have experienced male violence.

Call Vancouver Rape Relief 604-872-8212 Parkinson Society BC offers over 50 volunteer-led support groups throughout BC. These provide people with Parkinson's, their carepartners & families an opportunity to meet in a friendly, supportive setting with others who are experiencing similar difficulties. Some groups may offer exercise support.

For information on locating a support group near you, please contact PSBC at 604 662 3240 or toll free 1 800 668 3330.

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251–/JULY THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT 19 3 JUNE 24 JUNE – JULY 20212 / 2020 THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

20

THE GEORGIA STR AIGHT

JUNE 24 – JULY 1 / 2021