David Eby - Blog

In July of 2007, the Mayor vowed to act on "vagrancy", promising that he would get a handle on people "setting up sleeping bags" in public places.

Sometimes it's good to look back and see what's gone on. Here we are, five months down the road from Sullivan's vague promise to get tough on "vagrants", and the City of Vancouver is full speed ahead in tightening the noose on low-income people in the lead up to the 2010 games. All potential policy changes that would be anticipated in a mass gentrification effort are either underway or have already passed.

Specific gentrification initiatives, without any consideration of the impact on the poorest of the poor in Vancouver, include:

• The City has banned "dumpsters" from lanes in the downtown core, eliminating the main means of support for binners who make their livings scavenging cans and other materials from our garbage;
• The City is considering funding almost $1m in private security guards for the downtown core;
• The City has a staff report before it that suggests converting the few remaining privately owned low-income rental buildings to condos and tourist use;
• The City refuses to enforce its own bylaws to keep remaining low-cost rental housing open, instead letting buildings fall apart and close;
• The Province has funded an $80m art school in the middle of the DTES;
• The City, Province and Federal governments are coordinating on a special court, just for poor people in the downtown core, that will open Spring of 2008 and includes no additional social services;
• Private developers are buying and building projects in the Hastings corridor that include 0% social or low-cost housing;
• The City has cut promised middle-income housing entirely, and cut low-income housing by anywhere from 1/3 to 3/4 at the Athlete's village development;
• The Vancouver Agreement, whose purpose was the improvement of living standards for poor people in the inner-city of Vancouver, is wrapping up and now only has one staff member;
• The Vancouver Board of Trade is collecting airmiles to send "chronic offenders" (read: drug addicts) back "where they came from;"
• The City and Federal government are closing and renovating parks used by low-income people, including Crab Park (closing), Pigeon Park (renovating) and Oppenheimer Park (closing for 6 to 12 months); and, of course,
• The Federal government is on the verge of closing InSite, the safe injection site, with the most recent exemption for the site expiring in June of 2008.

Lest we forget, all of the above are coming from governments who made the following promises as part of the bid process:

a) Protect rental housing stock;
b) Provide as many alternative forms of temporary accommodation for Winter Games visitors
and workers;
c) Ensure people are not made homeless as a result of the Winter Games;
d) Ensure residents are not involuntarily displaced, evicted or face unreasonable increases in
rent due to the Winter Games;
e) Provide an affordable housing legacy and start planning now; and,
f) Ensure all inner-city residents' continued access to public spaces before, during and after the Games and provide adequate notice of any restrictions of the use of public space/facilities and prominently display alternate routes and facilities.