October 15, 2008, carnegie newsletter

PRE I!

I

OCTOBER 15, 2008

camnews@vcn. bc.ca www.carnnews.org

I

604-665-2289

HOPE IN SHADOWS 2009

•

'<

Community focus in the Downtown Eastside

Valerie Fielding captured the bond of friendship in her winning photograph, which was awarded first place in this year's annual Downtown Eastside Photography Contest run by Pivot Legal Society.

Robert Bonner and the young boy in the photo became friends at Carnegie Community Action Project meetings. This year's theme; "What I value in my community," focused contestants on images of friends and family, gardening and public space, and public art and culture, and reveals a rich and vibrant community in the Downtown Eastside.

"The photos and stories that describe them are how the contestants want to portray themselves," says Hope in Shadows Director Paul Ryan. "The community theme is

accentuated by many hopeful images taken by residents. " While there are many images that are light­hearted, there is also a more serious side to the images. "More than any contest before, the issue of housing shortage comes through as a recurring theme."

In June, 200 cameras were distributed to low-income residents of the Downtown Eastside. The more than 4000 resulting images were shortlisted down to 40 by a volunteer panel of professional photographers and artists. Those top 40 were then voted. on by more than 700 community members over a week in July on the street outside Carnegie Centre.

The images captured by the participants are raw and real, yet unfailing in their hope and spirit.

The Hope in Shadows exhibition hangs at the Pendulum Gallery (885 West Georgia Street) until October 18, 2008. A selection of winning photographs will be featured in the 2009 Hope in Shadows, Portraits of the Downtown Eastside calendar, which will be sold on the streets of Vancouver by licensed sellers.

The Oppenheimer Park Totem Pole

It seems to me that when someone dies it is the responsibility of those of us who are left to offer caring for that life for t hat death in the intensity of the love that reaches out from the unendurable lonel iness of our separation.

I

So did First Nations people, with their friends and allies, raise a totem pole in Oppenheimer Park on June 6, 1998, to remember the community of those who have died in the Downtown Eastside, and so did they rededicate themselves to t he struggle for hope and for justice from one generation to another.

Sandy Cameron

I

, 1 ,

•

All Ideas are Suggestions ...

A Suggestion Box has been suggested. The Board of Directors is just one forum in Carnegie: most discuss­ion and activity happens at the different com~ittees,

and going to the right one to present your idea is the best way to get ears and minds listening.

Committees include:

Seniors: Oct. 21 , Tuesday, 2pm, Theatre Library/Education: Oct 22, Wed, 3pm, Classroom II Community Relations: Oct 30, Thur, 4pm, Assoc. 01 Program: November 4, Tuesday 4pm, Assoc. Office Finance: Nov 5, Wed, 4pm, Assoc. Office BOARD: Nov 6, Thursday, 5:30pm, Theatre Publications: Nov 7, Friday, 1 pm, Assoc. Office

A dated schedule is on the door of the Association Office on the 2"d floor and a call to the Front Desk is a sure way of getting the date and time if you ' re unsure. If you can't get to the proper committee, put your

idea on paper and hand it in to the Info Desk staff. A Board member will collect a11 suggestions on a regular basis and get them to the appropriate committee.

This method of learning of ideas will be tried for 3-4 months and then evaluated for how effective it is. You can always pick up a Carnegie Centre Program Guide for monthly schedules of all programs and meetings.

on behalf of the Board •

BlowbaD, 1943. Wood engraving, 7 x 7~ ln.

ora Candidates Meeting

FREE PUBLIC EVENT: October 22, 7pm

St. Andrew's-Wesley Church, Burrard & Nelson •

Affordable Housing

Homelessness

Mental Health

Hear the candidates' views on these issues

Peter Ladner

Gregor Robertson

For more information: 604-862-6826 [email protected]

www .endhomelessnessn .ca

Ntvtr Think 8tfrxt You Act, from Fltx dt PIIS(JJO, 1921. Woodcut~ x 3\oS in

[Parts of the following piece appeared 2 years ago but now, the downward spiral of the financial system and the immorality underlying it is much more blatant and brutal. Sentiments expressed remain vital and strong]

When instructing or helping people who display no morals, you may have to hit

them with a hammer. If that doesn' t work, hit them with a sledgehammer

Every so often someone comments on there being a theme in an issue of the Carnegie Newsletter. Such a pattern is not sought out or arranged before­hand; the submissions - what is most on individual contributors ' minds - are taken at face value and arranged in the pages so as not to overload readers on one issue. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not .. There is a perpetual display of amorality in our

society - from the streets of the Downtown East­side to City Hall to the two jokes passing for gov­ernment and governors in Victoria and Ottawa. It can be equated with the sky- licking greed of hu­mans but also reflects class bias and the eternal blaming of others by the bureaucratic aristocracies who parasitically perpetuate th is amorality.

In plain language, the continual cuts to programs and services, the obvious giveaways to the already wealthy, the class bias blatant in many rightwing Christian and re ligious ministrations, putting the boots to poor people and Aboriginal nations, mak­ing those suffering most from the effects of all the maneuvers to get money and power into criminals ­for panhandling, living on the street, existing on welfare but only being able to survive through il­legal activities, ignoring the medical, fiscal and moral imperatives that demand attention from sane, conscience-driven people (no 2-tiered health care, livable welfare rates, a minimum wage high enough to help people keep their heads above water, decent & affordable housing, free education, whole foods and a healthy environment, a limit on the accumu­lation of personal wealth, fairness, .. . ). To which the Gordon Campbells and Stephen

Harpers and George Dubya Bushs (meaning their corporate puppet-masters and the invisible, shadow governments behind them) just say "Bullshit," or even "Screw you Jack 'cause everything belongs to us and we do as we please- by Divine Right!"

\Vhen power comes to the insane, self-righteous pretens ions multiply, arrogance begets amorality and the resulting injustice spreads, affecting more

I

11 When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace. 11

-­

Jimi Hendrix

\

.

&:(;oro.

I

•

•

and more of us. About 2 years ago Stephen Harper took over $l3

billion in surplus funds, stolen from Unemployment insurance and transfer payments to provinces meant for health care and social programs (welfare, hous­ing, etc.) and gave it to the transnationals that own our banks and debt. He goes on to slam women's services & agencies across the land to return them to much more vulnerable, dangerous circumstances and simultaneously cuts the few options that the non-elite have to challenge this in court. The media and money are giving him a good perch in this dog ' n pony show while millions of people have to take the consequences in the teeth.

Today is at the earliest the day after the Federal Election. Harper and fellow hacks have likely been assured of another stint in government by those in control but, to the wealth & power interests behind things (it's referred to as the military-industrial complex in the States), it's mostly irrelevant who sits in the prime minister's seat. Thankfully we have Libby Davies to void the

easy-to-believe statement that "All politicians are crooks and liars shilling for their bosses." Then again, Libby (and Ellen and maybe even Jenny) see themselves as community activists, not politicians. Whew

I

r-· i .

The young take offense when immediate prob­lems are not addressed by elected officials. Some­times it's hard for those who already know 'every­thing' to learn anything, and not just repeat what hasn't or doesn't work.

•

This oJobal financial crisis seems too pat - certainly 1::>

millions of people are losing but the few at the top of the economic food-chain are being given, literal­ly given, hundreds of billions of dollars after creat­ino a situation where tarfu [Things Are Royally F;cked Up] rules. When Reagon was the president in the US the Savings & Loan mess cost taxpayers almost $50 billion, then the gov't deregulated the financial services industry - letting voluntary self­contra I be it.

When Go7don Campbell and cohorts took over. in Victoria, after almost l 0 years of media having obligatory anti-NDP coverage every d~y, they cut, slashed and burned so much of our soctal structure that people were feeling helpless in the face of such a brutal onslaught. Every dollar, every dime that could be squeezed out of programs and services whose worth was demonstrated year after year has been going into the pockets of the already wealthy via gimmicks like wholesale giveaways of natural

I

resources (Hydro, BC Rail, etc.) and, of course, the Olympics. The reabty of homclessness and all the consequent effects of his war on poor people are ignored or just shrugged off as collateral damage ­much like the US economy's creation of tens of thousands of bag ladies for no intentioned purpose or reason. (In Calcutta such women go around all day with a huge sombrero piled with straw on their heads and ro ll a ll the animal dung shit out on the streets and in alleys into small cakes to start frres with when dry. At the end of the day they can sell the entire load for 5 rupees - maybe 50 cents.)

Right down to a civic level, the pain-in-the-ass NPA wh ich has a majority on City Council has let itself be wagged into cancell ing funding for Help in the Downtown Eastside, the free resource guide for the use of all low-income people here and a work­ing necessity for many government agencies. Sam Sullivan has reacted to the increased home­

lessness and poverty of thousands of people, direct­ly caused by Campbell and cronies, by saying it 's all their (sic) fault and the only way to fight it is to put all petty Jaw-breakers in jail (the "'broken win­dows" th ing already proven to be a crap deal). In the Downtown Eastside the selling of land &

buildings for the almost exclusive purpose of putting up extremely expensive condos and attend­ing high-priced lifestyle amenities goes on like a juggernaut whi le any call for social housing and inclusion of the current low-income communities is decried as bleeding-heart stupidity. Bullshit words like "Progress" and "development" and co-opted terms like "co-operation" and "consultation" are used with impunity. The nerve of some people! One of the hidden rules of government is that it

must provide many opportunities for people to fail, and to feel guilty about the apparent failure. In all of the above machinations, the impl ied message is that "You can't stop us so don ' t even try." and aThou shalt not question." But we do. We question everything that doesn't feel right. This is our moral sense that the so-called elite just can't stop.

"To be truly radical one must make hope possible rather than despair convincing."

By PAULR TAYLOR

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never ce~ decreases by being shared. -~

._,

- Buddha

Circle of Friends

Bonding, caring and sharing It is a healing journey Open your mind and heart Share your most inner fee lings

)

To help you in your healing process.

It may be slow in the beginning But think what tomorrow brings Opens up all different doors Like walking in the forest Refresh you plus get closer to the Great Spirit

Raindrops falling through the trees

,

Giving all Mother Earth 's gift of water Cleanse your spirit by walking in the forest You will fee l comfort and be surrounded by the beauty of Mother Earth.

It is peacefu I and quiet lt will enlighten your healing journey With a lot of help from our Creator Hope you follow your heart Go safely on your quest.

All my relations, Bonnie E Stevens

--· - .... .J <u••••

1 am entering my 63rd year on the planet and it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful this season is. I am writing to update you about what has been going on and what is to come for the next while.

NEW NEWS We have just released the second single from my cd "Mamma's Got Tlze Blues." "My Blues Keep Bringin' Me Home" was released to radio stations on Sept 23, 2008.

If you wish, you can purchase the cd through the website or email me and l will send it to you the old-fashioned way.

On Monday November 3, Twill be presenting a concert at the Fireball Theatre as part of the In The Heart Of The City Festival. Jam excited as IN CONCERT: DALANNAH GAIL BOWEN

"ALL 0 F ME" will give me the opportunity to present the music that i am currently working on. New tunes, abori­ginal hand drum & voice, blues, gospel, protest songs and some jazz will be presented.

I will be supported by a stellar line-up of musi­cians and singers including Harris Van Berkel, Mi­chael Creber, Rene Worst, Chris Nordquist, Dave Say, Jim Salmon and Cecile LaRochelle, Linda Kidder, Lilloet Fox & Kendra Sprinkling. Tickets are available at the Firehall Box Office at

604-689-0926 and the show begins at 8:00 p.m. We invite you to come and join us.

In peace, dalannah www.dal annahgailbowen.com

Let the beauty we love be what we do. There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

Rumi

HODGINS-Nadine Evel~ {~~a~)

HODGINS - Nadine Evelyn (Gram) Passed over peacefully, surrounded by family and fr iends, on October 3,2008, in Vancouver, B.C. Born May

~....., .............. "". .... ..... ·--... -Cafe * Arts Venue * Community Space

317 East Broadway

Day of the Dead Celebration: Pray for the Dead and Fight for the Living! Saturday, November 1, 7:00

Join us to celebrate the lives and legacies of those who have gone before us. Together we' 11 create a traditional Mexican Day of the Dead altar to com­memorate and celebrate our dead, so bring photos of your loved ones and others who have inspired you, as well as offerings of flowers, candles, fruits, bread, etc. We will create papel picado (paper cut­tings) collectively. There will be Guatemalan hot chocolate, Zapatista handcrafts and coffee for sale, and more. Organized by Latina women, together with the compaiieras at Rhizome!

Free (Donations welcome for materials) For more information: 604-872-3166 www.rhizomecafe.ca [email protected]

12th, 1924, on Mother's Day, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Predeceased by Elmer (Bud) Wagner the father ofNadine's daughters, parents Palmer E. and Gladys E. (Dagan) Antisell, -husband Dr. Donald R. Hodgins, brother Monsell E. Antisell, son-inlaw George A. Brown and very special friend Fred M. Kratzer. Surv ived by daughters Margo Brown, Charmaine (Rolland) Goudreau, loving grandch il­dren John (Lisa) Brown, Margot (Blair) Barnert, Stephan Goudreau, Jason Goudreau, numerous great-grandchildren, special friends Rosie Beaulieu and Patricia Kowalik. Nad ine had a great love of theatre, and was inspiring in her contributions to the Arts Club Theatre, Carnegie Centre Associa­tion, Downtown Eastside Community, Fireball Arts Centre, Gathering Place and Women's Centre. In 2005, Gram was thrilled to be recipient of the Phi­lanthropy Award, for the Leisure Care Lighthouse Awards Program. A heartfelt 'Thank-you' to the caring nurses, staff and Michael Boltiansky, of Banfield Pavillion, 4th floor, who looked after Na-. dine and her fam ily. A remembrance ofNadine's life wi ll be held by the fami ly. If desired, a dona­tion to the Anatomical Sciences Research Endow­ment Fund of the University ofJ3ritish Co lumbia or the charity of your choice, in Nadine's name, wou ld be deeply appreciated.

\Jews From The Library

~ewly Added Books ln The Alchemy of Loss; A Young Widow's Tramformation (155.93), Abigail Carter who was raised in Toronto lost her husband, also an ex pat Can ad ian from Quebec in the attack on the twin towers on 9/11. She writes compellingly about the process of grief. Left trying to comfort a two-year­old-son and a six-year-old-daughter while strug­gling to mourn, Abby goes through a life changing transformation. An honest testament of love and loss. Abby shares the process through which her "lead turns to gold". Blackstrap Hawco; Said To Be A bout A New­foumlland Family, an epic Newfoundland novel by Kenneth J. Harvey also deals with loss - over a century of it. Harvey follows the Hawco family from their arrival in Canada through the seal hunt, resettlement from their community, the sinking of Ocean Ranger and manages to include just about every significant event in Newfoundland history in the last hundred years. At over eight hundred pages, this book is packed with adventure. Starclimber by popular Canadian Young Adult author Kenneth Oppel is also brimming with action. When Canada wants to go into space, the Minister of Air invites Matt Cruse and Kate De Vries to be the world's first "astralnauts" on board the space ship Starclimber. Although this is the third in the bestselling "Airborn" series, enough background information is given so that this thri lling science fantasy with a dash of romance can be read on its own. Space travel anyone? And young readers (ages 8-12) or all those young at heart can travel to a lovely island off the coast of Australia. Christobel Mattingley introduces us to spunky Chelonia Green - Champion of Turtles. Chellie decides to rescue the beautiful turtles being ki lled by rubbish such as plastic bags left on the beaches ofher island home.

Writer's Festival Invitations! FREE entry into Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival 1Oth annual Poetry and Short Story Contest An invitation to wa-ite! Enttyfees ($10 per poem/story) have been waived for Carnegie writers. BUT FORMS HAVE TO BE SENT VIA THE LIBRARY. BRING YOUR WORK TO THE LIBRARY BY OCT 21 /22. EN­TRY FORMS A V ATLABLE FROM THE LIBRA-

I

The contest is accepting previously unpublished work. Poetry (any style) 500 word limit. Short stories - 1,500 word limit. Entries will be judged blind . Fi ll out the entry form in the library). Contest results wi ll be announced and posted on the Festival website by Jan 16, 2009. I st prize $350.00 2nd prize $ 250.00 plus the glory of being published in subTerrain literary journal and on the festival website.

An Invitation to C rime Yes, you read that right. The festival has given the library ten complimenta­ry ticket to Cement Shoes on Fri. Oct 24. l-2:30pm. Granville Island stage. Cemellf Shoes features some great contemporary crime writers including Mark Billingham, John Connolly, Lisa Lutz, and Linda L. Richards. "Crime fiction is an equal opportunity genre. It's all inclusive from hard boiled mysteries featuring gun toting molls, to comedic capers , to gritty real istic tales that have hard -edged social issues." Join this gang of sleuthing writers for an afternoon of mys­tery and adventure.

Sign up sheet in the library. We' ll be tt·avelling by bus/ bus tickets will be provided.

Bruce Macdonald book launch, Heart of' the City Festival Weds, Nov. 5th, Learning Center, 1-3pm.

lmagine the meaning of existence as coming back at someone else until everyone has been everyone else once. Yikes! So for those in such a rush to ex­perience everything- give it time, maybe you' ll get your wish.

-Ken

I

THE WRITER"S JAMBOUREE - Making Yourself known as a writer. It' s a first- The Writer's Jamboree for DTES writ­

ers on the afternoons and evenings ofNovember 13th and 14th. Interested in meeting with well­known authors Bud Cran, Caroline Adderson, Ra­chel Rose and Betsy Warland to look at two pages of your writing for a half hour session? Sign up for our "Blue Penci l" cafe. Curious to hear award­winning authors Karen Tulchlnsky and Ryan Kniahton read from the ir books and talk about how

e they made themselves known as writers? Want to improve your editing ski lls? Come to our editor's Round Table Discussion. Ready to publish your work in a magazine? Get the inside scoop from a Publisher's Roundtable. Come and share ideas with other downtown eastside writers. Be part of the gala DTES and Writer's Studio Jamboree Reading on the night ofNov. 14th. It's a11 FREE! WHERE: Carnegie Center HOSTS: The Writer's Studio at SFU, Harbour Cen­ter, Friends of the Vancouver public Library and the Carnegie Center. For more details pick up a leaflet at the Carnegie Center library

By Mary on behalf of Beth, your Librarian

' -

Background on DTES Olympic gentrification: l How quickly this city has forgotten what happened in 1986 when Expo raged through Vancouver. The effects felt then on the DTES mirror what is happening today.

"The announcement of Vancouver as host city for the 1986 World's Fair created a market for land speculation in neighborhoods that bordered the site. Landlords evicted between 500 & 850 people in order to use their units to accommodate tourists for the fair. Most evictees were unemployed, poor, elderly and either handicapped or in a poor state of health ... In addition, betWeen 1,000 & 2,000 low income lodging house units were lost to demolition or conversion to non-residential uses, while 1,150 residential hotel units were lost in the few years following the Expo, as the Pacific Place, a giant mixed-use development, was constructed on the Expo site."

- (Fair Play for Housing Rights, p. 25) Not only did Expo 86 transform a large section of the downtown area at the expense of low-income housing, it also created an improved climate for corporate investment and to greatly expand BC's tourist industry.

Twenty years later in a 2007 report by the Centre on Housing Rights & Evictions (COHRE) on the impact of Olympic Games, stated what folks al­ready struggling in the DTES knew all too well, the "Hosting of the Olympic Games requires host cities to develop important infrastructure . This require­ment, along with gentrification processes ... usually result in drastic changes in a city's urban plan, and lead to people losing their homes, facing increased poverty, the loss of community, and even violence

-(Fair Play for Housing Rights, p. 15) To date following the Olympic bid approx imate ly

1000 units of low-income housing have been lost in the DTES. They have been taken through building c losures, major rent increases and the heavy handed gentrification that Vancouver has imposed upon those most marginalized in society. Market housing is currently being built at a rate of 3 units to every 1 unit of social housing in the DTES

Following the transformation of the Woodward~ complex into a playground For the rich, the present attempt by Concord Pacific to further gentrify our neighbourhood with the proposed "Greenwich" condo development is a clear act of increased vi­olence against the residents of the last hold out of low income housing in this c ity.

UV YY 1'~ I U VV 1'1 · NEEDLE EXCHANGE VAN·-3 Routes: • • . ' . . ..

9!!- 5t4~pm- llt4Spm EAS'fSIDE . • . 604-685-6561

.

Overnhrbt - t2:30a~ - ~r30am YOUTH

604-251-3310 Downtown Eosf§ld~...: 5r30p~ - l :30a• ACTIVITIES

SOCIETY CFRO 102.·7FM CO-OP ·RADIO • • •

fUEl! . •

Tuesday, October 28 .. .•· ,, I . . .

Free Showers for homeless persons nt 327 Cnrrnll Wed 1·8:30am; Sat 1·10am; Frl WOMEN ONLY 6·8PM

1'tlfS NEWSLETTE~ IS A PUBLICATION OII'I'IIK CAICNEGIK COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCii\'fiON

Arllcle• ret.rtaent the vlewa otlndlvlcJunt fontrlbuton And n~l of.lhe AuodAIIon.

-------~-------------1 Editor: PauiR Taylor; covers art by Priscillia Tait; layout help 1

I -Lisa David. Collation & Distribution crew: Harold, Liu Lin, I 1 Bill, Mary Ann, Videha, Miriam, Hal, Kelly, Jackie, Nick, Robyn r I Rolf, Matthew, Lisa, Tina, Pablo, Red. I -----------------------

'. TIM STEVENSON CITY COUNCILLOR ~·

SERVING THE COMMUNITY WITH PRIDE

CITYHAU. 453 Wur 12111 Ave. V5Y 1 V4 Phone: 604.87l·7247

<

: '

~ , ~ "!1 '. .

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MLA Working for You

1070-1641 Commercial Or, V5L3Y3 Phone: 604-77 5-0790

Councillor David Cadman Vancouver City Hall

COPEing: On our side. Phone: 604-873-7244

[email protected]

•

·, • .

WANTED ' Artwork

1for the Cnrnigle Ne111.tlelleJ-

,

• Smalllllualratlone to aocompanv artlalaa and poetry . .

• •

Cover art-Maximum sfze: 17cm(8·314") wide x 16'cm(6") high. Su.bJect matter rerevant to laaueil pertaining to the Downtown Eastside Ia preferred, but all work will be eonaldered

• •

. Black & while printing onlv Sfze reatrfcllons must be conaldared (I.e., If your place Ia too larae, II will be reduced andlor cropped to flO

• •

•

AU al11ata will receive credit for their work Originals will be returned to the artfst after baing coplad for publication Remuneration: Carnegie volunteer tickets

Please make submissions Co: · · ... · .. ·-.. ··Paul Taylor, Editor~:;: .. · ... '·

2008 DONATIONS: Barry for Dave McC.-$260 Anne·P.·$40 Margaret D.·$40 Paddy ·$70 Michael C.·$50 Judy E.·$10 Alayne K.·$50 Libby 0.·$70 Callum C.·$100 The Ede~e ·$2QO Jenny K.·$22 Ptnny G.-$40 · Wilhelmina M.-$40 Jaya B.·$100 Mell.·$50 Pam B·$50 Rolf A.·$50 Ohmn B.·$200 · G~~~.!i P:·i5P Anonymous -$50 Sue K.-$3( Sandy C.-$25 CEEDS -$60

An update on recent activities and upcoming events from the Downtown Eastside Community Arts Network.

COMMUNITY ARTS NETWORK

INSIDE • CAN Clusters • MUNCH Discussions • Fearless City Mobile Workshops & Events • Writing from bloggers on fearlesscity.ca

DTES Community Arts Network (CAN) is a network of individuals, com­munity and professional arts organizations working through the arts to contribute to the economic, social, and cultural renewal of the Downtown Eastside. In the face of gentrification, CAN aims to strengthen the neigh­bourhood as a healthy, artistically vibrant, and culturally rich community where people from predominately low incomes and from diverse life styles, abilities and financial means feel at home.

CAN is committed to providing opportunities for Downtown Eastside residents to experience the arts as aspiring and practicing artists, and audience members, as a means of personal and collective expression, and advocacy on issues affecting their community. For more information, go to: www.fearlesscity.ca or email [email protected]

I I

DTES CAN CLUSTERS Fearless Media: This cluster produces the website www.fearlesscity.ca, and manages Fearless City Mobile, which brings cutting edge mobile technology to DTES artists and residents. Fearless TV: Fearless TV has produced dozens of hour-long broadcasts aired on Shaw Television, reaching 600,000 homes throughout Metro Van­couver. It provides DTES residents with opportunities to create a television program that reflects their community. Network, Education, and Training {NET): Using the MUNCH! brand, the NET cluster is responsible for regular public education events that foster an understanding of cultural development and planning principles in the con­text of the DTES neighbourhood. Upcoming MUNCH! events are listed on the facing page. Space Cluster: Researches and advocates for the development of artist production and presentation spaces in the DTES. W2 Community Media Arts: Supports the establishment of a community media arts centre scheduled to open in September 2009 in the Wood­ward's development. Public Realm: Explores ways to animate and encourage the public use of sidewalks, plazas, and parks in the DTES. It is responsible for the Fearless Festival that takes place in Pigeon Park. Writing Circle: The Writing Circle brings together emerging and experi­enced Downtown Eastside writers in an encouraging and supportive envi­ronment. Alternating Thursdays, 7:00 pm, Gallery Gachet, 88 E. Cordova.

Clusters that are in the process of being formed include: Artist Housing: Building from a successful community forum on artist hous­ing, more than 25 local artists have come together to share experiences, lobby for changes, and propose artist housing developments that support low-income artists. Visual Arts Cluster {VAC): A collaboration of the commercial, non-profit, and artist-run visual arts organizations of the Downtown Eastside to pro­mote the role and value of the visual arts in the community.

MUNCH DISCUSSIONS MUNCH 11 Phantom Galleries: Prospects for Vancouver 5-7pm, Thursday, October 30th, 2008. Alibi Room, 157 Alexander Street. Using empty storefronts as temporary art galleries have become a tool for revitalizing inner-city areas in North America. Can these "phantom galleries" be more than just window dressing? What would that look like in the DTES? Kira Gerwing, City of Vancouver, wi ll briefly provide information on the Great Beginnings Fund. Lani Russwurm will discuss phantom gallery programs in other cities. Irwin Oostindie wil l share his experiences developing programs for DTES artists.

MUNCH 12 Creative Community Development: The DTES Community Arts Network 5-7 pm, Thursday, November 6th, 2008. Gallery Gachet, 88 E Cordova. Are you interested in learning media arts ski lls? Developing your writing talents? Looking for a platform to bring your ideas to life? Or how about a vehicle for creating positive change in the neighbourhood through t he arts? Come learn about opportunit ies to participate in the DTES Community Arts Network Cl-usters, see what we're working on, and share your own ideas.

MUNCH 13 The Local Creative Economy: Municipal candidates discussion about economic and cultural development in the Downtown Eastside 5-7 pm, Thursday, November 13th, 2008. Interurban, 1 E Hastings. City Council candidates in the upcoming civic election will discuss their party's platforms in relation to economic and cu lt ural development in the Downtown Eastside. Speeches by t he candidates will be followed by an open discussion.

MUNCH is a regular series of critica l discussions on cultural planning and arts issues affecting the creative people living and working in t he Downtown Eastside. Food and refreshments provided. Free.

S FEARLESS CITY MOBILE

Fearless City Mobile is an open community project for Downtown Eastside Residents and Artists who are interested in creative expression while learning

new technology. Fearless City Mobile hosts weekly meetings: Wednesdays from 1-3pm in the Lore Krill Co-op meeting room at 65 W. Cordova. Lunch is provided. Workshops are offered at Wednesday meetings on operating video phones and uploading your video on the web to www.fearlesscity.ca

The following are upcoming Wednesday workshops: Oct 15: Creative brainstorming, writing, and planning your video projects. Oct 22: Camera techniques for shooting mobile video for live streaming. Oct 29: Camera techniques wj N.F.B. fi lmmaker-in-residence Mo Simpson. Nov 5: Mobile technologies, with Ro land Tanglao from Raincity Studios. Nov 12: Web Community: International websites, blogs & projects that

engage mobile phones in inner-city campaigns.

EVENTS AND PROJECTS Opportunities to participate in Fearless City Mobile events and projects are discussed at Wednesday meetings. Upcoming events include: W Stories Project Ongoing Mobile Souls at Parade of Lost Souls October 25 The Heart of the City Festival October 29-November 8

WWW. FEARLESSCITY.CA Fearless City is a website where you can find news, opinions, events, and writing by local residents. Anyone can join, and start sharing their thoughts. Some recent posts on fearlesscity:

"Time and Mobile Technology seems to be elastic especially in a DTES Bar! " by April

"Donate and UGM gets DOUBLE!" by raincoaster "Suffering, Survival , and My Own Search for Meaning" by Purple Sky

I I

I

NURSE

Beauty is in the Eye

Quiet time seems to uplift your spirits Special thoughts come to your mind Memories come too, pleasant ones, Think positive thoughts and be thankful to Mother Earth for all her gifts.

Thanks to the Great Spirit for being there At all times, no matter what your needs Be thankful for the peace & quiet and nature walks through the forest See what beauty has been provided.

In your eyes we see a different beauty We may see a rock that has an image A tree that has a symbol A cloud with a face A person who looks like your friend.

A star with a twinkle or a symbol Most of all it's your eye That beauty of Mother Earth doesn't stop Come, dear friend s, enjoy.

All my relations, Bonnie E Stevens

Nurses have become an integral part of my life in the last year or so and so have an unusual amount of Doctors and other hospital staff- you know techs, janitors, bed makers, etc. I've met a lot of great nurses since that time and there has been a very short list of those I don ' t seem to be able to get along with. You may have read my previous ac­count of how one of them, Sabina, saved my life last April when i was so disoriented that I tore the access point out of my jugular vein. I still don't remember anything about that occasion. I used to take time off from going to dialysis whenever I felt too bored with going there. It wasn ' t that I did it on purpose it was just that going to the hospital every other day is simply overkill. Then one t1me I couldn't get up from off the floor to go and catch my bus, Handydart, to go to the hospital and I never even thought to call an ambulance so I became overcome with the poison that builds up in my

I

body and was soon out of touch with reality. But that' s a story I already told and I don't plan on missing any more sessions. I'm not gonna mention any names because the list is long and to tell the truth I have a hard time remembering them as I sometimes don't get the same nurse for 2 or 3 months. Whoever is working on me is usually only with me for a few minutes to hook me up and then check on me every so often during the time I'm there. I only see a doctor for about a minute when they ask me if there is anything I have to complain about. Usually I don't. And the other staff I see on a pretty regular basis. A coupla names I remember are Janie, Fa and of course Lolita. I don't know why I can't remember all of them, I guess I'm just getting too old and have a mild form of that forget­ting disease. This one is about the nurses who have become a very important part of my life. There are, of course, the nurses in Dialysis and a recent stay in the hospital introduced me to another bunch and there are also street nurses who come over to change my dressing every other day. I have met so many nurses and they are all exceptionally unique. Each one is good at what they do and pleasant going about their duties and better than that is the fact that they are especially good at looking after people. They' re all good lookin but one is especial­ly beautiful (not the one I mention below). One of the most beautiful women I have ever seen and I've seen my share of good look in woman. I was lucky because I was on one ward and they moved me to another so I got to meet more than the usual amount of good people. Doctors, nurses, support staff, eve­ryone seemed to be doing a good job and with plea­santness that no-one should have considering there line of work. There must be a lot of sorrow with this job, stuff you're a part of and stuff you witness. I think it must be very hard on a person to witness this on a daily basis so my heart goes out to these love-filled persons. I'm just gonna list some names I remember: on the tenth floor there was Joy, Mar­v in, Katie, BJ, and a name i never heard before, Methelyn (very good lookin, maybe even beauti­ful). Of course there are others but I can't be ex­pected to remember each and every name of people I met only once and maybe will never see again. On the 8th floor I met Jessica, Robin, Viney, Corianne (I think), Avore (I think) and last but not least Cheryl. There are many more nurses on these floors but I'm j ust mentioning the ones I met and who had an effect on my stay in the hospital.. All these nurses are able to work with anyone and keen a

I

-

-some patients are or how rude and bothersome they can get. They get the job done with an outstanding­ly great attitude. Then we have the newest bunch of nurses- Street Nurses. So far I have met Deanne, Shauna, JC and one more who my addled brain can't remember. There job is to go out into a very rough neighborhood and treat people who can't go out for treatment. This is probably the most dan­gerous and roughest of all nursing jobs. I mean you have patients and you have to go into the poorest neighborhood in Canada to help them. This job must have a high turnover rate or at least a lot of new nurses who take front line duty to earn their merit points. Everyone I have met so far is bright and cheery when they come to my place. They must bring a lot of sunshine to a lot of rainy lives. My sister is a nurse and has been for a decade or so. 1 hope she's as pleasant and as good at her job as most of these nurses are. October 3rd - Oppenheimer Park Update- I spent most of the day in the park helping Ali and Barb get ready for the little parade they were having at around 5pm. Somehow Rudy convinced me to be in the parade. I had casually mentioned that I had been the little drummer boy when i was in grade 3 about fifty years ago. This seemed to qualify me to play a musical instrument in the parade. I just banged the drum as I walked. I had the greatest time and met a coupla good people. Some of them even promised to send me photos they took during the parade but it's been a week and I haven't seen anything yet. Maybe this will be a reminder and I 'll get those pies soon. I phoned the Dialysis Unit and they al­lowed me after some wangling to come in on Sat­urday morn rather then my usual Friday night ap­pointment. It was really nice to miss an appoint­ment and just march around beating a drum for a little festival of Art (Gallery Cachet Now til about Oct. 29th). Every one should take part in a parade at least once in their life just to see how much fun it can be. I hope the fall is going good for everyone and the winter is not to long or cold. Just another 2 months or so and the days will be getting longer again but enjoy the fall. Each season has its good points. Talk to you soon. -hal

.. ._..., ~ _.. ~-- ---- - • Downtown Eastside

Eastside Walk-In Dental Clinic 455 East Hastings, 604-254-9900

Mondays 9- 4pm; Fridays 9- 12 noon Help with emergency Pain relief.

Call Vancouver Community College 604-443-8499 for Cleanings ._ __

HUM 101 DOCUMENTARIES in OCTOBER in the Carnegie Theatre Saturdays at 6:00PM

Oct 18th - Future of food Oct 25th - The Money Masters explains the role of the Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of Canada both private companies charging interest on every

dollar they create from nothing and put into circula­tion in the USA and Canada. Watch this and you

will understand how this present depression is created by these privately owned corporations and

how by elim inating their power to create our money

we could el iminate depressions and even income tax.

Nov. 1st - Wall Street Drug Money. Mike Rup­pert EXPLAINS HOW THOSE IN Position of

Power in the USA work between the CIA the white house and the Wall Street Banks & launder dr~g

money. Poetry Night will be Nov. 8th.

HUM 101 PRESENTS A SPECIAL HEART OF THE CITY Celebration

DOCUMENTARY DAY AT THE CARNEGIE SATURDAY, November 1, 2008

Ipm to 5:30pm • Food For the Ancestors -60 minutes.

• Giants Leap - 60 minutes. • Girlz Lens-Wide World -18 minutes.

• We're All in this Together - I hr. 30m in.

6:00pm to 8:00pm • Summer Afternoon - 28 minutes.

• Mary Lee Chan: Taking on City Hall ­• Tailor Made - 60 minutes.

8pm - 10:30 pm • Carts of Darkness- 1 hour.

• Bevel Up: Drugs, Users & Outreach Nursing

1 I I I I

Volunteer Program 9- Ball League a league where the players will Jearn about true sportsmanship and good will to­wards their opponents. There is no referee during the games. Although the games will be self­governed there will be a guide to teach new people the game of 9-ball and to ensure the game is being played with integrity. It is never too late to join this League as nobody

can play more than 10 matches. This League will run throughout the winter and into next spring: every Wednesday from l pm - 6pm in the Carnegie Pool Room. If some players cannot play at these times, see Bill Piggott for alternative times. The first round of play has the following results:

Rocky B -20; Norman -19; lor S -19; Soloma11-17; Peter G -1 7. VOLUNTEER DINNER

Wednesday, October 15u' Theatre, 4:30pm SHARP Your contribution and hard work is appreciated by the many people who benefit by your services. Let the us serve you! Skill testing questions {or mystery

• pnzes. Please pick up your dinner ticket from the Volun­teer Program Office on the 3rd Floor

Community Court Tour hosted by Col·leen

The DTES Community Court is Canada's first one­stop sentencing and services facility. The commu­nity court model is based on a concept called 'restorative justice' - similar to the communal prob­lem-solving aboriginal people have used for eons. "What we've done in the past hasn't worked so we need to look at those chronic offenders who keep coming into the court rooms and do something about it," said B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal. "Many individuals in the downtown eastside are hurt and they need healing," Chief Leah George­Wilson from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation told CTV.

I

"The way for things to be made right for them is to have those services available." The idea of community court is to take a problem­

solving approach to crime. By dealing with the un­derlying health and social problems that contribute to crime, the hope is chronic offenders can be reha­bilitated effectively. The way community court hopes to achieve this goal is to focus on integrated case management. Social housing and addictions counsellors will be in the court beside lawyers and sheriffs, with the public welcome to participate in what is hoped will be the speedy rehabilitation of repeat offenders. Another thing that sets community court apart is consistency. Only two judges will oversee the cases compared to the dozens in regular provincial court. The hope is the two judges will get to know who the repeat offenders are, and sentence accordingly.

But not everyone is convinced the project will be a success. I would like to give you the opportunity to check out our new Community Court system for yourselves through taking you through a tour of the facility, question and answer period to follow plus the opportunity to sit in Court in Session to watch the process in action. Of course, as always, lunch in the Park, roadway, sidewalk, tree top, depending on our mood in the moment. Pumpkin Carving Pa•·ty;join us for a contest or simply just for fun. Eye ball pickles and finger food provided for those who need a little nourish­ment to stimulate your creative juices .....

Tuesday, October 28tl1 1:30pm Everyone Welcome! 3rd floor Gallery with Colleen

..... produced by Bob Sarti so you can imagine how weirdly wonderfu I it is going to be Sign up with Colleen now .... tickets going fast. LOL

I

How/-0-Ween DANCE -ALIVEAND UNLEASHED- OCTOBER3l 81

Fright Night! Don't come alone!!! It will be a SCREAM!

Halloween IS a to e pretty- pretty creepy. Halloween will be here before you know it - you have two weeks left to get ready to be your gor­geous ghoulish crawly self. creepy CraWlY, creepy crawty, creepy creepy, crawlY crawlY, creepy craw-

lY .. Look he's crawling up my wall, Black and hairy, , . very small Now he's up above my he~d, Han~mg by a little thread Boris the spider Bons the sp1der Now he's dropped on to the floor, Heading for the bedroom door Maybe he's as scared as me, Where's he gone now, I can't see Boris the spider .. " Boris!" 'COUNT CODY' ! The monthly volunteer committee meetings have been changed from 2pm to meeting at lpm.

um

In memory of Raven Pantherbone-Hunt

Here amidst the labyrinth no deer need feel shy the panther I ies in repose Raven guides the journey toward sun, moon and stars

No bones line the ground no teeth smile from the soil no razors lacerate creation Snakes in med itation curl up the mountain's sp1

CAw ... CAw ... CAw." U.O i.AUWJCEIIF

Poison cannot pour skyward the hunter cannot climb legs wiJI not support his quest Breath pushes him down the valley he buries his weapons at sea.

Spirits interlace as they ascend retreat from tired bodies dance trails through the spiral share in a joyful communion at the heart of the compass rose

By Mary Duffy

art II • •

~ean ark 700 Jifoc£ eejer "elt.

SAT. OCT. 18TH, NOON TO 3PM RAIN OR SHINE

PRESENTED BY THE FORES I ERS, DERA,

I

& STRATHCONA COMMUNITY CENTRE FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE. COME EARLY, ONE PUMPKIN

PER FAMILY!

I

HOUSING JUSTICE: A panel on homelessness and systemic poverty

Friday Oct 24th Dinner served at 5 pm; Panel from 6-8 pm DTES Women Centre: 302 Columbia

All (including men) welcome!

SPEAKERS INCLUDE: * Nicholas Blomley: Nicholas is a professor in the Department of Geography at SFU specializing in the politics of property and public space in the DTES. His books include Unsettling the City: Ur­ban Land and the Politics of Property and How Law Matters To Political Geography. *Carol Martin: Carol (Nisga'a Nation) is a mem­ber of the DTES Elders Council , is a victim servic­es worker in the DTES, and founder of the Sweet­grass All Nations Healing Centre. She is a strong voice for those who- like her- are survivors of abuse, addictions, and a legacy of colonization. *Jean Swanson: Jean has been an anti poverty advocate for over 30 years and is currently working with the Carnegie Community Action Project. She has worked with End Legislated Poverty and has authored the book Poor. Bashing: The Politics of Exclusion. She has been a single low-income parent with two children.

Join us at the DTES Women Centre for a panel with some exceptional speakers. We hope to con­tribute to the movement to eliminate homelessness with a framework of housing justice that analyzes the roots causes of poverty and forms of structural violence that impact poor communities, as well as the global political and economic systems that create and perpetuate poverty and lack of dignified housing. This event is part of the two-month long series on

Housing and Gentrification which includes the "We Declare: Spaces of Housing" artist exhibition fea­turing the DEWC Power of Women Group and talks hosted by Vancouver Flying University.

For info contact DEWC Power of Women Project projcct(a)dewc.ca or call 604 68l 8480 x 234.

I

Why Resist 201 0? A Conference on the Vancouver Olympic Games. Saturday October 25th Olympics Resistance Benefit Show Rhizome Cafe, 3 17 E. Broadway Doors 8 pm $5-20 (no one turned away for lack of funds) Sunday October 26th 10:30 am-5:30pm @ SFU Harbour Centre 515 West Hastings, corner Granville, Waterfront Skytrain Station Free. Donations accepted.

10:30 am: Doors and Registration 1.1 am to l pm: Panel: -Myths and Realities of the Olympics Industry -The Olympics Legacy in Vancouver -Impacts on Indigenous Peoples and Lands -Corporatism in the Olympics -Olympics, Tar Sands, and the Security and Pros-perity Partnership l pm to 1 :30 pm: Lunch break l :30 pm to 5:30 pm: Workshops: Educate yourself and get involved! - Olympics-style Displacement from Indigenous, Rural, to Urban communities - Olympics Security Apparatus and Criminalization of Res is tan ce -Check back fi·equently for program updates. They will be posted to http://resist20 I O.blogspot.com

*Bag Lunch will be provided on Sunday. * Please be in touch as early to register for free childcare. * Bus tickets will be available on both days. *Both venues are wheelchair accessible.

Organized by the Olympics Resistance Network. o l vm Q icres is tan ce@Iiseup. net.

===> About the Olympics Resistance Network <== The 2010 Winter Olympics wiJl take place on un­

ceded indigenous land from February 12-28 20 l 0. Far from being s imply about 'sport', the history of the Olympics is one rooted in displacement, corpo­rate greed, fascism, repression, and violence. Only the political and corporate elite - from real estate developers to security corporations - have anything to gain from the Olympics industry. The effects of the upcoming Winter Games have already mani­fested themselves:.. with the expansion of sport tour­ism and resource extraction on indigenous lands;

I

increasing homelessness and gentrification of poor neighborhoods; increasing privatization of pub I ic services; union busting through imposed contracts and exploitative conditions especially for migrant labour; the fortification of the national security ap­paratus; ballooning public spending and public debt; and unprecedented destruction of the envi­ronment. The Olympics Resistance Network is primarily

based in Vancouver, Coast SaJish Territories and exists as a space to coordinate anti-20 10 Olympics efforts. In doing so, we act in solidarity with other con1munities across 'BC' - particularly indigenous communities who have been defending their land against the onslaught of the Olympics since the bid itself. Our organizing is largely being done under the slogan of "No Olympics on Stolen Native Land", while creating an opportunity for all anti­~api.talist, i~digenous, anti-poverty, labour, migrant JUStice, env1ronmentaJ justice, anti-war, and anti colonial activists to come together to confront this two-week circus and the oppression it represents.

RCMP secretly funded anti-Insite research

Vancouver - Pivot Legal Society is calling upon Sheila Fraser, the Auditor General of Canada, to examine whether or not RCMP funding of academ­ic critiques of lnsite went beyond the legislated mandate of the RCMP and constituted a misuse of public funds. In 2006 officers of the RCMP's "E" Division~ based in Vancouver, commissioned four authors to write opinion pieces on the scientific research sur­rounding Vancouver's safe injection site in the hopes of questioning lnsite's effectiveness. One of these pieces, entitled "A Critique of Canada's TN­SITE Injection Site and its Parent Philosophy: Im­plications and Recommendations for Policy Plan­ning", was authored by Colin Mangham, director of research for the Drug Prevention Network of Cana­da, and subsequently relied upon by Health Minis­ter Tony Clement as proof that the research sur­rounding lnsite was inconclusive. "The RCMP Act gave the RCMP a mandate to act as peace officers for the citizens of Canada. Using public funds entrusted to them to fund a cynical critique of health-based research clearly does not fall within this mandate" states Dou2:las Kiner a ...., t:>>

lawyer with Pivot Legal Society. Internal E-m ails show true motivation of RCMP

A series of e-mails, obtained through Freedom of Information requests, show the true motives of the RCMP in funding the anti-Insite critiques and how they wished to keep their involvement a secret.

In one of these e-mails former Constable Chuck Doucette of the "E" division reports to his superiors that "Dr. Mangham's report has now been pub­lished ... As per our request, the report has no refer­ence to the RCMP". Other emails refer to the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV I AIDS as the "Centre for Excrements", and call on members of the RCMP to phone in to a local radio show, stating "You know that the Pro Insite side will have people lined up to support it. Let's try to get more calls in than they do". · E-mails also show that Conservative MPs met with the RCMP officials who commissioned the reports, and talked about shifting Canada's drug strategy away from harm reduction. One RCMP email states "As we know, with a minority govemment, it isn't going to change overnight; but, at least we know this is what they will be pushing for when they can."

Consider This

Consider this with various grains and grades of salt like dropped shakers tossed over the shoulder for luck or more of the same (whatever that may be) or to rebuild, remake, take ownership responsibilities - limitless with your powers, your core of vital energy that knows no bounds. You can and will get there if you wish to put in the time don't mean to rhyme, yes you are the original unique, toss off the bleak the negative that leads nowhere -there you're all you can be. Be right not wrong no matter what, take tough ad­vice and try the straight and narrow; roll with the punches that pound like o ld news and receive com­fort, warmth, the changes will gradually come as you forge yourself I are forged; take my word for it My experience was real: it was the key to opening to endless possibilities ... but I ain't perfect! Don't get me wrong- the hardest thing to learn is how to go from weak to strong, a painful journey to take with love and joy pressing down, working to slow the descent into deep despair. This Too Will End. Light at the end of the tunnel is more a vortex of illuminating brightness, a g lorious world of prom­ise, of praise, of powerful possibilities. Just look at me - I got no degrees from any clois­

tered universities. It's all hard knocks old school so read on, do ... Brothers and sisters I'll tell you more but can't go too deep 'cause I sti ll got raw wounds from before,

Open Letter from Canadian Econo­mists on the Current Economic Crisis and the Appropriate Government Re­sponse The deepening global financial crisis, the decline in world commodity prices, and the growing possibili­ty of g lobal recession are exposing worrisome weaknesses in Canada's economy. Complacent expressions of faith in our "fundamentals," and other varieties of economic denial, will not protect Canadians from the coming storm.

.... .

my heart and soul been through the wars (you sense battle scars) but no cup of tea this transformation the hurt is real at the remains of the day. I now have the empowering energy to keep my pain/our pain at simmer back-burnered to let the beginning begin oh so profound - and it can be you too if you so wish & want to make the grade to the land of leaps and bounds unti l bursting with the brightness of your soul, careers of everlasting life get on a magnificent roll. Please carefully consider this if you fo llow my lead; have you ever heard of angels who cleaned up their act and were sent to positive places just t show their faces .. well wherever that may be you' II get to gather your strength over time in time to pass it on. Then you'll make my day with the jewel of stardust you are the car ing kind beaming where goodness reigns so sure it gets you unraveled from the ties of mind that bind. Consider this when times are hanging heavy, like bursting dikes overflowing dark clouds gather and all want the c lock and you to turn and run back to darkness Just STOP - 'cause that a in't you no more You been there, done that, the mud that stuck when differences between right and wrong were hazy it's just crazy to repeat. You gradually learned got wise and arrived in the here and now, fostered peace and found love shouting out with a wide-eyed Babylon WOW! "I'm for real, unconcealed, completely, tot-ally, honestly revealed!" ROBYN LIVINGSTONE

Canada's Economic Fundamentals are Anything but Str·ong

Macroeconomic performance has weakened dra­matically since the current government came to power at the beginning of2006. Economic growth has largely stalled. Productivity has declined. The recent expansion was largely propelled by high commodity prices and a housing bubble - both of which are now ending

Labour markets have weakened, and employment

is poised to decline further as the slowdown takes hold. Some sectors have already been badly hit. Over 300 thousand jobs in manufacturing have been lost. Yet less than 40% of unemployed work­ers qualify for Employment Insurance benefits. Excluding petroleum and minerals, our interna­

tional trade performance has deteriorated. Incomes for corporations, governments, and some house­holds have been inflated for a time by record global commodity prices. But over-reliance on resource extraction is not a sustainable basis for our future economic progress. Meanwhile, in large part as a consequence of this growing resource reliance, Canada has fai led miserably to do its part in the urgent global effort to limit greenhouse gas em is-.

SIOn S.

Although Canad ian financial institutions did not engage as aggressively in risky practices as their U.S. counterparts, the Bank of Canada has already had to step in to provide many billions of dollars in short-term liquidity. Credit conditions in Canada are becoming more uncertain, restricted, and costly, and this will inev itably constrain spending and out­put in the months ahead.

Canadian househo lds are more indebted than ever, with $1 .25 of debt for every dollar of disposable income. Amid gloomy headlines falling stock and housing prices, and precarious household finances, Canadians are cutting back on consumer spending.

Many Canadians did not benefit much during the good times: poverty rates in Canada did not mea­ningfully decline and real wages have hardly in­creased at all , even while corporate profits surged to all-time highs. But the prospect of recession now threatens all of us with hardship- whether we shared in the good times or not.

Crisis Demands an Active Government Re­sponse The general approach of Canad ian economic poli­cy in recent years has been to reduce the scope of government (through tax cuts, deregulation, and privatization), ratify the growing resource orienta­tion of Canada's economy, and squander the chance to use revenue from the resource boom to enhance long-run productivity, prosperity, and stability. Some politicians wish to further reduce the size and influence of the public sector. The dramatic events of recent weeks have de­stroyed the idea that markets are best left to their own, unregu lated devices. The enormous costs of this complacency have been clearly demonstrated.

I

Government and its institutions must now show leadership and play a more active role in stabilizing financial markets, stimulating real investment, and maintaining employment and incomes. . The spreading downturn in b~th the fin~n_c•al and the real sides of the economy IS undermmmg spending and employment levels in many regions and sectors of Canada's economy. Income support measures, employment insurance in particu~ar, should be strengthened. In addition, public mfra­structure projects, including those aimed at reduc­ing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions and ex­panding affordable housing, should b_e ramped_ up to maintain employment and productiOn (as pnvate­sector activity declines).

The federal budget is narrowly balanced , and may slip into deficit (especia lly if real GDP begins to decline). The current government has pl~dg~d to prevent such a deficit at all costs, and thts will mean significant cuts to public spending as the budoet balance deteriorates. But that course of ac­tion °would worsen the economic downturn and job losses. It is far better to maintain public programs to support employment and incomes, even at the cost of a cyclical deficit. The Bank of Canada must continue to support the

financial industry with liquidity, and should reduce interest rates to stimulate borrowing. But the gov­ernment must also explore other avenues (including the use of public institutions, like the Canada Mort­gage and Housing Corporation, the Business De­velopment Bank of Canada, Export Develo~ment Canada and other conduits) to expand lend mg to househ~lds and businesses. At the same time, the financial industry must be re-regulated to prevent the unproductive speculative excesses that caused the current crisis. The global economy is heading into ch~l.len~ing,

dangerous period -perhaps the worst cn s1s smce the 1930s. Canada cannot expect to be immune from those olobal developments. Economic history teaches us that government intervention is essential in times of crisis: both to stabilize markets and to shorten downturns with counter-cyclical measures.

Signed by: 85 economists Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives 410-75 Albert Street, Ottawa, ON KIP 5E7 te l: 61 3-563-1341 fax: 61 3-233-1458 emai I: info@po I icyalternati ves. ca http://www. poI icy alternatives. ca

I

The 5th Annual Downtown Eastside

Heart of the City Festival Wednesday, October 29- Sunday November 9 , 2008 More tha n 80 eve nts at over 25 locations throughout the DTES

With twelve exciting days of music, theatre, film, poetry, forums, workshops and art shows, the 5th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival celebrates the creative and committed artists, residents and activists who thrive in our community.

• Help kick off the festival Wednesday Oct 29, 2:30pm at the Festival Launch where Sam George will welcome us, and guests will entertain; including music from Bruce The Musical by Bob Sarti; members of the Carnegie Jazz Band~ and the premiere of the Downtown Eastside Samba Band with Joseph ' Pepe' Danza. Carnegie Theatre, everyone welcome! Free

The opening evening of the festival finds John Cote, Mike Richter and Heidi Morgan and the Love Army of Swirl presenting an evening of music in Downtown Eastside Originals. Carnegie Theatre, 7pm- 8:30pm. Followed by Michelle A. Richard and her band with jazz, blues and dance tunes. Carnegie Theatre, 9pm - 1 Opm. Free

• Join in the exciting evening events on Thursday Oct 30. Readings by the DTES Women's Writing Group at Solder & Sons and Hope In Shadows at Spartacus Books. Both readings begin at 7pm and are free. At 7:30pm, the first Blackwater Session is at the Black Water Cafe, and Cornering the Market, an outdoor multimedia surprise begins at 8pm, Main and Hastings.

Before the month of October disappears for another year, frighten the night away at the Carnegie Hallow'een Dance, Friday Oct 31, 7pm, Carnegie Theatre. Free. See you there!

• On Saturday Nov 1, go to St. James ' Church for the Day of the Dead Dinner, Parade and Fiesta. At 5pm there is a meal hosted by Watari and at 6pm the Carnival Band will lead us on a parade to honour the lives lost on these streets. We' ll return to St. James' for a musical fiesta and a Latin Dance party with DJ Mix. Everyone welcome, admission free

A full day of events on Sunday Nov 2 starts at 11 am with a Gentrification Walking Tour, led by Wendy Pedersen and Jean Swanson ofCCAP. Meet on the steps of Carnegie ($10/local residents pay as you can, proceeds to CCAP). • At 3pm, listen to the exquisite mastery of the Vancouver Chinese Music Ensemble in the enchanting setting of the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Performance by donation. • End your Sunday with Asian Voices, a special evening of drums, dance, music, stories and film. Carnegie Theatre, 7:30pm. Free

For event detai ls, pick up the Festival Program Guide at the Carnegie Front Desk. For information call 604-628-5672 or www.heartofthecityfestival.com

Presented by Vancouver Moving Theatre with the Carnegie Community Centre & the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, working with over 25 community partners.

-·

• ~'s

' ~•

Yes, Bruce Eriksen is back, and the civic gadfly and icon is singing and dancing his way into this election campaign. And not only Bruce, but his old comrades-in-arms, Libby Davies, Jean Swanson and Harry Rankin, too.

They're all characters in Bruce - The Musical, the swinging drama that promises what other candidates don't dare to- an evening of laughs, tears and political enlightenment, choreographed with singing cockroaches.

Bruce - The Musical relives a wild and crazy time in Vancouver political history when legends were being made and myths debunked.

Bruce- The Musical is written by Bob Sarti , with music by Bill Sample and Earle Peach and directed by Jay Hamburger for Theatre In the Raw. They lived through it. They know what they're talking about.

Bruce- The Musical runs from Nov 6 to 16th at the

Russian Ball, 600 Campbell, Vancouver.

Tickets will be available from mid-October on, at the Theatre In the Raw box office, 604-708-5448; at Urban Empire Emporium, 1108 Commercial (cash only); on-line at www.theatreintheraw.ca/tickets.html; and at the door (if and when available).

For more information check out theatreintheraw.ca, or visit the Friends of Bruce Eriksen facebook page.

Bruee • The Musieal www.theatreintheraw.ca