Vancouver: Tragedies Abound
It’s been a deadly few days here in the Lower Mainland.
First, a pre-wedding party of 25 to 30 people in the valley was struck by a truck while walking down Lefeuvre Road in Abbotsford at around 11 PM, killing 6 people and injuring a further 17. The driver of the truck, a 71 year old male, was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs according to authorities. The group was walking along the shoulder of the road and was due to attend a Sikh wedding in Mission tomorrow.
In nearby Surrey, 2 people were killed and 11 others injured yesterday when a hot air balloon caught fire and crashed into an RV Park. Three of the injured people remain in serious condition in hospital.
Sympathies go out to all those affected by these tragedies.
In Other Local News
Sam Sullivan’s Yaletown condominium building was struck by poverty activists early Friday morning who dumped garbage in front of it in protest of the city’s ongoing civic strike. Sullivan, Vancouver’s Mayor, said that he wouldn’t be intimidated by the actions of poverty activists, something I find rather funny. It was just garbage, it’s not like they waiting for him to leave so that they could start hurling rocks at him.
Then again, perhaps is was Yaletown residents disguised as poverty activists pissed off at the fact that no one’s cut the grass at their local parks recently.
Personally, I think the action perfectly reasonable, especially given the impact that the strike is having on not only community services on the Lower East Side, but in Vancouver’s elderly community as well – though it should be mentioned that the city has tabled a deal for inside workers that would give them a 17.5% pay raise over a five year term, hopefully allowing community centres, children’s, and senior’s programs to be reopen by the end of the month.
Sullivan also needs to deal with the issue of the Vancouver City Police being understaffed. According to the CBC, the VPD says that it requires 100 new officers next year “just to break even”.
Vancouver’s Number 1, Or Is It?
According to Economist Magazine, Vancouver has, for the fifth year running, been ranked the best city in the world in which to live…
“Vancouver scored a livability index of 1.3 per cent, with zero indicating exceptional quality of living and 100 indicating life there is intolerable or severely restricted.”
You know, I’ll be honest, I find that completely shocking. Living where I do, I see tourists from cruise ships stroll down Water Street on a daily basis. As they wander further east, things dramatically change, transforming from a quaint little cobblestone street populated by tourist shops into one of the most poverty stricken urban areas in all of Canada. It’s sort of humourous, to be honest, seeing the expressions on the faces of those that stray a little off the beaten path and find themselves at, for example, the corner of Hastings and Carrall. You can spot them a mile away – they’re the ones heading back up Water as if the devil himself were after them, their folded maps clutched in their hands, their faces as white as paper, their kids gripped tightly.
They really should have built Canada Place somewhere else.
Of course, the gentrification of this neighbourhood is well underway, and it will most likely resemble Yaletown in the next five years, remembering, of course, that Yaletown used to be nothing more than a rundown warehouse district populated by the homeless not too long ago. In fact, I’m hypocritically sitting in an example of that sort of gentrification as I write this. And while I can’t speak for others who have moved down here into refurbished buildings, I will say that the problems in this part of Vancouver need to be addressed before places such as this, built to facilitate those who can afford Vancouver’s incredulous prices, become the norm. There are plenty of reasons for the city to look at low income housing options in this neighbourhood, something that doesn’t seem to be all that much of a priority (the old Woodwards building is a prime example). There are, of course, certainly no lack of people that would benefit from it, so one wonders why it isn’t more of a priority?
And then, like a blinding light, the image of the 2010 Olympic mascot appears, making it all too apparent why the gentrification of the Lower East Side is of import.
God forbid, given the proximity of GM Place, a neighbourhood such as this is still in the shape that it is when the world comes to visit. God forbid it’s streets are populated by the disenfranchised, the mentally ill, many of them having turned to drugs to deal with their problems. God forbid that the world should get a glimpse of that reality and the reputation of our fair city be tarnished.
Not ten blocks from where I am sitting, Vancouver’s playground of the rich is preparing for another Saturday night. Down here, on the wet pavement, in garbage infested alleys, and in condemned doorways, the poor have no clue as to the time, let alone the day of the week. No matter my living situation, it never ceases to blow my mind when I think on it. And when I do, I will admit to feeling utterly ashamed of myself.
Like many other Vancouverites, I donate to local charities and the food bank. Like some others, I have lived in both of Vancouver’s extremes. One wonders whether the people from Economist Magazine took the time to compare the two, especially given that they’re no more than a 5 minute cab ride apart.
Our Mayor, Mr. Sullivan, credited “the people living in Vancouver — and their strong social and environmental ethic” for the city’s ranking. It would seem Mr. Sullivan needs poverty activists to throw trash in front of his building more often than they have been.
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August 25th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
I am entirely sympathetic to the cause of opposing poverty and homelessness in Vancouver, or anywhere for that matter, but I think that the APC is an embarassment. Their tactics are counterprodictuve, and do nothing to actually bring us closer to addressing these issues. They give anti-poverty activists a bad name.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Matt. You said you don’t watch TV before. Not sure if you have one still, but the stories you cited above were on CNN and the Balloon one was one the BBC. Sad events
August 25th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
I, for the first time ever, took a drive down hastings just this July (I live like 2 hours away, but never been actually in Vancouver with the exception of the PNE and various shows)…I found it to be very daunting that although I had seen many documentaries on the area that the homeless were much much larger in numbers in contrast to what had been represented in the films. I also found the scene to be a lot busier than had been represented on the news. It’s funny you mention the tourist-y part of town and it’s proximity to Hastings. As we past the Carnegie Center (I spelt that wrong right?) you could clearly see a man on the next block down standing on the corner holding onto a light post - glamorously posing for a photo. It’s really sad to think that on a day like that there were no cameras, but the swell of people was so much more than what I have ever seen portrayed. It’s like they don’t want to show everyone just how bad the problem is…kinda like the embarrassing stain on your couch that you hide by simply turning the cushion over when company arrives. If they think that gentrification is going to solve anything then they are seriously kidding themselves…the homeless have to go somewhere, and so if not the DTES then another neighborhood…its never gonna stop as long as they don’t care about actually addressing the problem in a proactive manner. Eg…not just more policing, but more mental health and social workers working out and in the community in contrast to sitting in the office waiting for drop ins. I don’t think they realize that people can only help themselves to a certain extent, and that others are completely too far gone to even recognize that they need help.
I think maybe a more effective message would be to continue leaving trash at Sam Sullivan’s doorstep, and on his car, and at his office…until he actually does something about everything thats going on…as opposed to the wonderful statement he made to global TV regarding the CUPE strike: (keep in mind I am paraphrasing) ‘I have absolutely no control over the talks or anything to do with this. There’s nothing I can do.’ What exactly do we have mayors for then? so they can get paid to sit in a gorgeous condo overlooking the bay coming out only when they are being publicly humiliated in an outcry for action? Of course, no one expects a mayor to be some magic guy who just says, ‘go back to work.’ and it happens, but I don’t believe how easy he is to throw up his hands and say, ‘let them deal with it’. Nothing changes.
August 25th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
I live in Winnipeg and a week or two ago there was a hot air balloon crash here. I don’t think anyone died but it strikes me as odd that in two weeks there are two hot air balloon crashes and I can’t remember anything like this before these past two weeks.
August 25th, 2007 at 10:58 pm
Here in Edmonton the solution to the housing crisis/homelessness problem is ‘Tent City’. About 100 homeless people live there in their tents…there is a mayor and everything! I wonder if you need to bring your own tent….or if the city provides that?? A new fence was built around the new’city’ a few weeks ago….and a big old watertruck stops by regularly…..on the really hot days to hose the people down!!….the local news channels have a story about ‘tent city’ almost every night…….
I thought Alberta was the richest province in the country…….???? Hmm….maybe not hey?
August 26th, 2007 at 12:17 am
“Sullivan, Vancouver’s Mayor, said that he wouldn’t be intimidated by the actions of poverty activists…”
As much as you find it funny that he’s intimidated by them dumping garbage on his front step, I find the above quote funny for the fact that it reads like he’s saying that the anti-poverty activists can’t force him to help the poor. Either way, what a schmuck.
August 26th, 2007 at 2:36 am
Oh you mean they found Sam? Where was he hiding?
August 26th, 2007 at 9:02 am
Sam Sullivan should be ashamed of himself. Bravo to all you’ve written Matt.
It’s absolutely true. I wish your post could be published in the Sun or Province so that Visitors could be more aware of our “little problem”. It’s a huge issue - I don’t care where you live in the Lower Mainland. I tuck myself away on the North Shore but for not one minute do I think that I’m immune to the entire social issue that grips Vancouver.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:27 am
These are just the kinds of things that make me wonder how people can be proud of Vancouver.
I was born but didn’t grow up here. I lived most of my teenage life in northern BC; Vancouver always this alluring place, partly because my relatives were here but also because it was twenty times the size of Prince George. I loved coming here as a kid; Metrotown, GM Place, Granville street, Canucks games, and the drive out to Richmond to see my Grandparents. It had this mystique to it.
When I moved here at 18 for school, my opinion quickly changed. Every day I’d travel through some part of downtown east side, be it on foot or by bus. It’s amazing that in such a rich and industrialized nation, people are allowed to live like in a hell like that. I read that they estimate 2500 homeless people live in the lower mainland; that’s just unacceptable for “the world’s most liveable city”.
I think Vancouver is going to get a huge wake up call when “the world shows up” at the Olympics and sees how we let some of our citizens live.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Matt -
I’ve LIVED in Kingston, Toronto, NY, London, Taipei, and Shanghai. Suffice it to say, I’ve also travelled extensively throughout Europe and Asia (I’ve been to Africa a couple of times but, sadly, never to Australia).
Of all of those locations, Vancouver is far and away the best place to live. Sure, there’s a homeless problem in Vancouver, but ask some of the homeless where they’re from. Shockingly, the majority are not from Vancouver and a large proportion are actually out-of-province migrants!
Vancouver, it seems, is a great place for Homeless people to live too!
August 26th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Oh, and about all of the bitching about Vancouver’s ‘high property prices’. If you take a look at what property values are around the world, Vancouver is still a huge bargain.
London just recently celebrated a US$10,000/sf condominium complex. That means that a puny 1,000 square foot condo will cost you US$10,000,000.
Kinda puts to shame those $400,000 1,000 square foot Yaletown lofts that everyone here seems to bitch about.
August 26th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Matt - If Vancouver is so terrible, why do you live here?
Seriously, anyone who thinks that Vancouver is such a bad place to live simply hasn’t travelled that much.
You can easily make 30% more money in Toronto, yet people still choose to live in Vancouver.
There are plenty of problems with Vancouver and we shouldn’t lose sight of them, but to make ignorant remarks about the city really just goes towards your credibility as an objective voice.
Vancouver is a GREAT city. In fact, it’s the best city in which to live.
August 26th, 2007 at 11:34 am
2007 Cost of Living Survey (including housing)
http://www.mercerhr.com/referencecontent.jhtml?idContent=1095320
No Canadian cities.
2007 Quality of Living Survey (By Mercer, not the Economist)
http://www.mercerhr.com/summary.jhtml;jsessionid=OUS1PKD1UEVESCTGOUFCIIQKMZ0QUJLW?idContent=1128060
Vancouver 3rd
August 26th, 2007 at 11:54 am
[quote comment="24312"]Seriously, anyone who thinks that Vancouver is such a bad place to live simply hasn’t travelled that much.[/quote]
um, care to explain how you can equate LIVING somewhere versus VISITNG? Isn’t that ostensibly the point of traveling, a visitation?
I’ve LIVED in three cities, and personally I’ve got no preference on which is the best of the three. Each has its own redeeming qualities as well as its drawbacks. Deciding that one city is the best place to live is simply a matter of personal preference.
I’ve VISITED cities all over the place, and that in no way gives me the authority to say Vancouver is the best place to live out of all of them. Who gives a shit if you can make 30% more in Toronto? I’ve visited Toronto, that doesn’t mean I know anything about living there or why I should prefer Vancouver over Toronto.
How about you go visit Dallas, where you can take part in a booming local economy, buy a house for $200 grand which would cost you $750 grand in Vancouver and have warmer weather. If you visit and find that out, that seems pretty good to me. Fuck, I think based on that visit and that pithy amount of information I’ll ignorantly declare Dallas is a great city. In fact, the best city in which to live. Obviously I know so much about it based on a visit that I can go around telling everyone that they’re full of shit when it comes to where they think the best place to live is.
I really love living in Vancouver, and I agree that it;s a great city. But that gives me no exclusive right to rip on people who point out it’s flaws or sit on my high horse and declare that the rest of the world should be subservient to us because they’ve never visited places.
And no one really gives a fuck if you’ve lived in every major cosmopolitan city on the planet. All that statement contributes to this argument is an air of complete arrogance.
I bet you work for Sullivan’s office.
August 26th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
“And no one really gives a fuck if you’ve lived in every major cosmopolitan city on the planet. All that statement contributes to this argument is an air of complete arrogance.”
DGephardt is saying that he (sorry don’t know gender) has lived in these major cities so his statement should mean something…I’m guessing if he lived in these cities that he can probably comment on the living conditions. It’s all just opinion. There’s just so much anger in that quote–relax, he’s just giving his opinion.
August 26th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
It continues … yesterday a Langley woman was killed just outside of Hope when the car she was riding in swerved off the road, went up the concrete barrier and then flew into the median. Her husband was the driver, who survived and was taken to Chilliwack General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Sadly, an accident like this is not uncommon around that stretch of Highway #1, particularly in the summer months.
August 26th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
I’m not farmiliar with the term “go pound sand”, but I’m going to start weaving it into conversation whenever possible. And if someone asks what it means, I’ll simply tell them to go pound sand.
I think a lot a of people don’t understand the homeless problem in Vancouver and want to write it off in the simplest terms possible: “get a job you lazy bum” et all. I’m no expert on the subject and I’m not really interested in pretending to be, but at the very least I understand the outrage that not enough is being done to curb the problem. The Olympics is just one big magnifying glass that’s going to display “the best city in the world” and the challenges we face. Hopefully we can seize the moment and do something great.
I hope we can all agree that more needs to be done to help the poorest of the poor in one of North America’s most wealthy cities.
August 26th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Matt:
I appreciated your comments about the Downtown Eastside and how it really is Vancouver’s shame. The problem is not just Vancouver-it is all over the region, including Whalley in Surrey, Burnaby, New West and yes, even the Coquitlam River. The City of Vancouver is doing all it can, especially compared to the other municipalities. When 92% of our tax dollar is going to the Federal Government and Province, the criticism should be focussed at them, not the City. In 1986 homelessness was not a problem in Metro Vancouver. A lot has changed since them, probably the biggest being the total withdrawal of the senior governments from helping with affordable housing and rental housing. I am not sure what our federal income tax dollars and the obscene surplus is spent on, but it surely is not on cities.
August 27th, 2007 at 10:05 am
The civic strike is also affecting Food Banks in Vancouver as many of them operate as satellite distribution centres (e.g. Trout Lake or Mount Pleasant). Families now have to travel to another centre, if they can afford to catch a bus or find a way to cross town for food. They’re trying to cart food out to various other locations but this is obviously an unforeseen expense.
August 27th, 2007 at 2:54 pm
That garbage dump by Suam Sullivan’s building reminded me of that WKRP episode when Johnny Fever told everyone to dump their garbage on the front steps of CIty Hall. I have ALWAYS wanted to do that. Not to make a point or anything, but just because I think it would be really funny.