I - I I E E - (lollnllolls ncccplf?d

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N E w S L E T T E ~ JUNE 15 , 1991. - - - - - 401 Hain st.,, Vancouver, B . C . (604)=5-22 - -

As you are aware, the Ministry of Social Services and Housing is committed to assisting its clients to achieve the maximum degree of independence possible. The Ministry offers employment-related programs to help clients achieve their goal of replacing inc0n.d assistance with earnings.

" --"7

The politics of Scam artists

"We have been here before. . . " and heeeeeeeeerrre we are again - with a minister of social services sending letters to thousands of people on wel- fare, quoting mega-numbers, plugging the current version of an "idea" that Clod Richmond failed with. In late July 1989 Richmond, then the

minister of SS & H , sent his letter to over 49,000 "employable" welfare reci- pients threatening all with being cut off if. ..

At that time, at least 7 community groups in the Downtown Eastside did what he'd purposely neglected to do - informing people of their rights to appeal arbitrary decisions (59 year- old men who hadn't worked in 20 years being cut off for not getting chosen over 20 year-olds applying for the same minimum wage job. ..single parents

with any number of kids being told to find work as soon as their youngest baby was 6 months old and putting the children in non-existent or grossly expensive childcare. ..) and blowing his media image full of holes with correct numbers - instead of his phony ones - of unemployed (which had risen a full percentage point on the same day he mailed the letters) and the ACTUAL WORK AVAILABLE. Richmond appeared on TV about a week after the shit hit the fan, backpedalling on every piece of rhetorical garbage he had tried to slip past the media. He had given the media all the exaggera- ted claims of "what is available" for welfare recipients (on paper) and expected everyone to just sheepishly accept it! Crap like clothing & transportation

& money for a phone ... when anyone ask- ing for help in getting such essential items in a job-search being told NO.. no money/no timelno - period.

more than meets

the eye. Anyway, all of these groups in the

immediate area got together to co-ord- inate our efforts and we kept track of what it cost. Each group was spending money only a "have to" basis and, after several weeks, it was more than $5000. We billed MSSH. Richmond, just before he cut and ran to another ministry, took his last chance to practice being stupid as minister of SS&H - he wrote saying we had "no authorization" to do what he had specifically told MSSH employees to do.. i. e. help their 1 clients with needs. Okay. Now whatshisname, Jacobson, is

spewing the same kind of rhetorical garbage, trying to make the socreds

sound like they 're concerned with "im- proving the lot of the common peopldl'.. ~ichmond's fiasco - JOB-PLUS - is now LIFE (Local Iniatives For Employables) but, right in the letter, he warns us not to call MSSH for more information! So we called right away.

Tellin you how they d o it is ours.

Pulling the wool over your eyes is thew busmess.

LIFE means that the same tired plan of showing people how to present the 'right' image, the 'right' attitude (the 'right' smile?) to get the supreme satisfaction of being chosen for a minimum wage job over maybe 500 other applicants; of competing with the 10% of the workforce who are unemployed but not on welfare; of somehow getting a job now when everything anywhere has already been snapped up by the few students fortunate not to be 'hanging around' all summer for lack of work. Maybe whatshisname figures summer is

the best time to give all "employables" the intensive concern of his saintly social workers. I mean, if you're cut off Normy can just point to the nearest park or alley..if you're not robbed or arrested or killed for kicks you won't freeze ti1 at least November ..... These people refuse to accept resp-

onsibihlity for the growing numbers of young people on the GAIN rolls.

The people !

i L

. -.

~et's talk a little reality here: 1. Education funding has been steadily , cut, making higher learning only for the well-to-do; students have to drop out for lack of funds ... 2. Real job training programs leading

to decent work is now almost total- ly privatized; community colleges are eliminating all kinds of training programs due to govt. cutbacks... 3. Privatized training means direct

costs to the individual and anyone with the right political connections can call a scam a school and get big subsidies/grants/cold cash for taking people on welfare for 6 months. 4. The real scenario behind JOB-PLUS,

LIFE, etc. is to make someone take courses in writing resumes, doing job interviews...and then having to take any job at any wage, regardless of how bad or unsafe. You are then off the welfare rolls, an employer will get up to 100% of your wage as a subsidy from the govt. for hiring you, and when the subsidy period is over you're fired and the next person on welfare does the same job. You have no skill-in-demand..you look for non- existent unskilled work..and are back on welfare before 9 months are up.

The socreds r e f u s e t o s ee young people a s anything but cheap labour ; subs id i z ing wages only d r i v e s o the r wages down as ex-welfare r e c i p i e n t s have t o t ake any job a t any wage.

This i s "complete independence! When you have t o e ~ p l a i n a joke,

i t ' s not funny any more. "Free" Trade c o s t s hundrdds of

thousands of jobs a s corpora t ions j u s t move t h e i r opera t ions t o cheaper p laces ; t h e people l o s i n g those jobs have t o reduce t h e i r incomes and t ake lower paying jobs ( t he major i ty of which they ' r e ove rqua l i f i ed f o r ) ; t h e people l o s i n g those jobs go down a step..and s o on . . . a t t he bottom of t h e economic ladder i s wel fa re . Wel- f a r e r e c i p i e n t s i nc rease a s t h e r e a r e - simply - NO JOBS. Check a news- paper and s e e how many of t h e 'Help Wanteds" a r e f o r unsk i l l ed people over 25 o r t h a t w i l l obviously consi- de r only people who a r e e i t h e r work- i ng o r who have been s t e a d i l y employed f o r years i n t h a t p a r t i c u l a r f i e l d .

The GST is d r iv ing thousands of people over t h e border d a i l y t o buy cheaper s t u f f i n t h e S t a t e s . Local business l o se s , l a y s o f f l o c a l workers and Hey Presto! more welfare . Tor ies want t o c u t t r a n s f e r payments t o t h e provinces . . the provinces a r e supposed t o pay f o r what 's i n p l ace (welfare) by themselves and - l o & behold - The Honourable Normy whatshisname preachs about "complete independence!" ... t a l k about mental d i s ea se . (!)

By PAULR TAYLOR

Sof tness t h a t t akes t h e cynic

by s u r p r i s e - i l l -met

wi th rugged temper, and turned back

i n r i d i c u l e :

And t h e cynic po in t s h i s c o l l a r from t h e warm af te rnoon,

c e r t a i n , any moment ,

r a i n is coming.

- Ourselves

We c r e a t e ourse lves . Forget , i f you w i l l

a moment, k ind ly , about God - not deny H i m ; but

f o r a moment s tand up .,-,

c.. Rudimentary man: i n i t i a l n

experiments wi th tendons

with synapse, l e ads us t o t h e k i n e t i c

syn thes i s of reach and grasp;

and a t t h e he ight of our potent d e x t e r i t y ,

we fashion de l i cacy , beauty, an a r c h i t e c t u r e

of i n t r i c a t e personal mot i f s -

unique - t h e soft-molding of your own

ch i ld 's head

t ime upon t ime, we

c r e a t e ourse lves .

AB i r t h i s t l e

3 3 W . C O R D O V A STREET

On Monday, May 13, DERA's food- s t o r e ALICE opened i t ' s doors. ALICE (A Low Income Cooperative En- deavour) is p a r t of DERA's SHIPSHAPE S e n i o r s ' Program. They in tend t o keep t h e c o s t of b a s i c f o o d s t u f f s a s low a s p o s s i b l e .

They have a good supply of canned

hamburgers f o r t h e (R.EA.L.) Beachers 5.

"Hida Quoi, Whale watchin ' , ' I

r e v e r s e t h e o r d e r Cuidad I l l u v i a r e n o v a t i o n s and t h e Spanish c l a s s moni tor , t h e L i g h t i n g problems .... No, no t i c k e t s f o r ( t h e ) Cabaret Performers

Did you b r e a t h e t h e a i r c l o s e t o t h e c o a s t a s they wheel them o u t t a t h e i n f i r m a r y c l o s e t o t h e Lemons, g r a p e f r u i t s , P ineapp les orange diemonds a s lawn ornaments

and pickaged goods, t o i l e t and clean- ing s u p p l i e s . A s w e l l , t h e r e is a l i m i t e d s e l e c t i o n ( f o r now) of good, n u t r i t i o n a l bulk foods such a s grano- l a , o a t s , cream of wheat, d r i e d f r u i t such a s a p p l e s , r a i s i n s , e t c . , a s we l l a s n u t s and mixed n u t s .

* 1 l i t re app le j u i c e - .79 ;'; Bee Cee honey 250 g r . - 1.22 " 1 l i t r e spray window c lean - 1.63 ;: 1 l i t r e V I P dishwash l i q . - 1.69 ;? Chunky beef soup 540 m l . - 2.08

;'; Honey Nut granola 100 g r . - .29 5 Thompson r a i s i n s 100 g r . - .24 ;f Quick r o l l e d o a t s 100 g r . - .19 * Cream of wheat 100 g r . - .12 7: Nut Plixture 100 g r . - .49

Go over and have a look. You're s u r e t o f i n d good p r i c e s and sugges- t i o n s a r e always welcome.

Now t h e Summer l u m i n a r i e s Gemini chevron t h e grand alignment arrow p o i n t s d i r e c t i o n D i r e c t o r s , E l e c t i o n New Board, new f l o o r , new-world, economy a word s c u l p t u r e from t h e MemoryMuseim of Mind, and a n Eagle f l y s - p a s t , h a r r a s s e d by t h e Sea Gul l s . Honour t h e Ear th .

Taum

To The Di re

A s it now s t a n d s , one can smoke c ig - a r e t t e s i n t h e S e n i o r ' s lounge, bu t one cannot smoke a p ipe .

Because t h e c u r r e n t S e n i o r ' s lounge is a f a i r l y s m a l l room I can grudg- i n g l y a p p r e c i a t e t h i s r u l e .

Notwiths tanding, we, t h e unders igned p ipe smokers, p e t i t i o n t h e powers I t h a t b e a t Carnegie t o s e t a s i d e a smal l s e c t i o n of t h e new S e n i o r ' s lounge f o r p i p e and c i g a r smokers.

Skid Row John Woodrow O'Loosj aw DEside J o e Garry Gust

1 LETTER Editor,

Most rape is not reported because society's attitude is often one of disbelief. I was raped about 15 years ago - shame and self-blaming stopped me reporting it. I still feel anger and rage when I remember rt, I wonder as I write this..will a reader say "I don't believe her; she never reported it" ,or say "She probably asked for it ," As Ty shows ; movies become more

violent toward women, we are sending out the message that women are to be treated with violence & hate,.and that it's quite OK. It's not OK for anyone's mother,

daughter, sister, cousin, aunt..to be battered or beaten or raped., We women who were raped will not

allow our experiences to be inval5d- adted.

Sheila Baxter

Dear Editor,

With reference to your reader's let- ter about "staff problems" at First United Church, the attached letter ex- plains my sudden departure. This letter was sent to members of the Over- sight Board - the management board for 1st Church. I hope this will help your readers

understand some of the issues.First Un- ited is facing as a social agency in the Downtown Eastside.

Yours Sincerely, Chris Downing

Dear Members .... With reference to recent events at First

United Church, after reflecting on my ex- periences I decided to sit down and write '

to you. On Friday and Saturday on retreat I

spoke to staff and board members about my feelings. I was also asked to answer spet- ific questions (some relating to the Miss- ion Statement) which I felt uncomfortable with, but nevertheless I answered them. The issue for me in these discussions re- lated to racism, and lack of sensitivity to the multicultural nature of the conunun- ity in which the Church is located. I also supported a member of staff who deemed it necessary to walk out of the room, after stating some of her similar concerns and feelings. On Wednesday 20th a petition was taken

to the Oversight Board meeting and handed in. This petition was from members of the community requesting that I remain on staff. I did not have anything to do with that petition, and all I have said in ans- wer to questions about my leaving is to indicate what I have been told, that I did not qualify for continuing in the job. Thursday morning Jim Elliot requested to

meet with me in his office. Jim then ref- erred to Friday & Saturday's retreat, sta- ting that I should not have spoken to board and staff members the way I did. Me

I

' then mentioned about me walking ou t wi th o t h e r members of s t a f f . He suggested t h a t I was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e p e t i t i o n and t h a t I was a d i s r u p t i v e member of s t a f f . This was when I was informed t h a t Thursday should be my l a s t day and t h a t I would be paid u n t i l end of c o n t r a c t ( 3 1 / 3 / 9 1 ) .

I th ink t h i s r e a c t i o n by t h e Superintend- e n t is i n d i c a t i v e of many of t h e problems a t 1st United. Having asked s t a f f t o s h a r e t h e i r f e e l i n g s and thoughts , one is then reprimanded f o r do ing s o when t h o s e f e e l - i n g s a r e c r i t i c a l . When t h e r e is genuine exp re s s ion of op in ion by t h e community, i t is de r ided and d e f l e c t e d . When i s s u e s a r e r a i s e d about p r i o r i t i e s o r d e c i s i o n s which a f f e c t i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e m u l t i c u l t u r a l composi t ion and r o l e of F i r s t United, they a r e viewed a s t h r e a t s . The few employees who a r e themselves people of co lou r a r e given t h e least r e c o g n i t i o n f o r t h e i r own s k i l l s and unique expe r i ences .

My exper ience a t F i r s t United was bo th en joyable and p a i n f u l ; i t r e i n f o r c e d and d i s p e l l e d many t h i n g s , a s an i n d i v i d u a l and a b l ack woman. I have come t o r e a l i s e t h a t freedom of speech e x i s t s a s l ong as you don ' t s ay t o o much, t h a t rac i sm and c l a s s i sm a r e a l i v e and w e l l i n t h e Down- town E a s t s i d e , t h a t some a t F i r s t United d o n ' t want t o r ecogn i se t h i s and t h a t some seek t o f i n d t h e i r own response t o i t . . t o make F i r s t United a p l a c e t h a t r e a l l y works t h e community,

I would sugges t t h a t i f F i r s t United does no t r e a l l y t a c k l e t h e s e i s s u e s , it cannot f u l f i l l i t s miss ion s t a t emen t . It cannot work f o r empowerment of t h e people i n t h e a r e a , i t cannot be a f o r c e f o r soc- i a l change and j u s t i c e , and cannot s e r v e

1 . t h e community i n any e q u i t a b l e way. In- s t e a d , F i r s t United w i l l b e seen a s a whi te , middle c l a s s "mission" i n t h e midst of a m u l t i c u l t u r a l , depr ived community. It w i l l p a r t i c u l a r l y f a i l t o have r e l evance and any r e l a t i o n s h i p of e q u i t y f o r t h e n a t i v e members of t h e community, whose needs a r e s o g r e a t , and whose energy and de te rmina t ion t o meet t h o s e needs is s o s t r o n g .

I n a d d i t i o n t o making my own comments, I would a l s o l i k e t o draw your a t t e n t i o n t o t h e a t t a c h e d l e t t e r from Bryan T e i x e i r a which was s e n t t o t h e Superintendent i n June 1990. T h i s l e t t e r was d i s t r i b u t e d t o s t a f f approximately October '90 f o r d i s - cuss ion a t a team meeting. I f e e l , a s M r . T e i x e i r a d i d , t h a t a l l of t h e s e i tems need t o be addressed , p a r t i c u l a r l y t hose r e l a - t i n g t o t h e composition and awareness of Board and s t a f f r e f l e c t i n g t h e n a t u r e of t h e popula t ion of t h e Downtown Eas t s ide . The i s s u e of s t a f f r e l a t i o n s is a l s o one I would urge you t o a d d r e s s , a l ong w i th t h e i s s u e of r e l a t i o n s w i th t h e community. One cannot r e a l l y r e s o l v e t h e s e i s s u e s by rep- rimanding s t a f f , d i s c a r d i n g t h e i r viewsi o r t r e a t i n g them and t h e community's op in ions wi th d i s r e s p e c t .

I would n o t wish t o r e t u r n t o work a t F i r s t United. I a p p r e c i a t e t h a t s o many i n t h e community have f e l t t h a t I w a s a use- f u l worker. I am very s ad t h a t t h e expres- s i o n of t h o s e views h a s r e s u l t e d i n such a nega t i ve r e a c t i o n by some a t t h e Church. I r e a l l y hope t h a t you a r e a b l e as a Board t o add re s s what i t means t o b e a church of predominant ly wh i t e , middle c l a s s people i n a depr ived a r e a i n which n a t i v e and o t h e r people of co lou r a r e t h e predominant r e s i d e n t s . Any i n s t i t u t i o n i n t h e s e c i r - cumstances which doesn ' t consc ious ly add- r e s s i t s own r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s f o r r a c i a l e q u i t y w i l l s u r e l y be r a c i s t i t s e l f .

I thank you f o r t a k i n g t i m e t o read my l e t t e r .

Yours s i n c e r e l y ,

CONGMTULATIONS TO NEW CCCA BOARD

Some new f a c e s , some o l d f a c e s , some f a c e s t h a t went away f o r awhi le and now have come back. . . T h a t ' s t h e make- up of t h e newly e l e c t e d Carnegie Board.

Congra tu la t ions t o a l l t h o s e who were vo ted i n t o o f f i c e a t t h e June 2nd A.G.M. Some members c a r r y s p e c i a l ex- p e r t i s e - Ed Buhr who knows t h e k i t - chen i n s i d e l o u t ; Floyd Wong who's known a s M r . Computer and who h e l p s w i t h t r a n s l a t i o n w i t h t h e Chinese com- munity; I r e n e Schmidt and Bharb G. who s t r u g g l e d on t h e Board d u r i n g t h e ''bad o l d days" and who a r e now ready t o t a k e up t h e mant le a g a i n .

The r e - e l e c t i o n of Muggs, J e f f Som- mers (who rece ived a rave review from t h e a u d i t o r f o r h i s work a s Associa- t i o n T r e a s u r e r ) , Pau l T a y l o r , Barb Morrison, Br ian Hether ing ton , Danny Kor ica , Margaret P revos t , B i l l Deacon, Garry Gust, Lar ry Loyie and Wayne Kelland e n s u r e s t h a t t h e r e ' s cont inu- i t y w i t h t h e p a s t and c h a l l e n g i n g f o r t h e f u t u r e .

The s t a f f look forward t o working and l e a r n i n g w i t h t h e 1991 Board and we wish you a s a f e journey as you p i l o t t h e Assoc ia t ion through i n t e r - e s t i n g t imes .

S i n c e r e l y , Diane MacKenz i e

Lines from t h e Learning Centre :

- LEX BAAS

Come t o t h e Learning Centre on t h e 3rd f l o o r a t Carnegie and meet t h e head guy, Lex Baas.

Have you heard h i s name? Have you met him? Have you heard about t h e Learning Centre?

Lex was born i n Java t o Dutch p a r e n t s who moved back t o Holland and l a t e r emigrated t o Canada when Lex w a s 8. He a t t e n d e d school i n Edmonton and l a t e r l i v e d & worked i n South America (Chi le & B o l i v i a ) under t h e a u s p i c e s of dev- elopment a g e n c i e s , d r i v i n g a t r u c k , g a t h e r i n g in format ion and t e a c h i n g Engl i sh . During t h i s t ime he t r a v e l l e d by b i c y c l e from Lima, Peru t o t h e sou- t h e m t i p of South America, c r o s s i n g t h e Andes mountains s e v e r a l t imes . Next, Lex worked n e a r Bangalore , In-

d i a a t a home f o r t h e d e s t i t u t e and dying . Eventua l ly h e ended up a t Simon Fra-

s e r U n i v e r s i t y s t u d y i n g L i t e r a c y and Adult Educat ion.

L a t e r on h e met A l i c i a , t h e Educat ion Programmer a t Carnegie . She suggested t h a t h e apply f o r t h e head job a t Car- n e g i e Learning Centre . Lucky f o r us he was h i r e d , b r i n g i n g w i t h him g r e a t i d e a s and s k i l l s f o r h e l p i n g people up- grade t h e i r educa t ion - from t h e ve ry beg inn ing t o High School complet ion.

A t t h e Learning Centre you work a t your own r a t e and a t t imes convenient f o r you - w i t h an i n d i v i d u a l t u t o r o r i n a smal l group. You w i l l dec ide what vyou want t o l e a r n and how you w i l l l e a r n .

The Centre is open Monday t o F r i d a y , 9am t o 7:30pm. It i s FREE.

Joan Doree Volunteer Tu tor

9 To t e a c h , y e t no t t o seem teach ing To preach , y e t no t t o seem preaching And t o f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e A l l t h e l i f e That surrounds u s Is t h e way of love

Dreamweaver

Grandmother L . . . . - _ - - - - -2

Grandma l e f t schoo l i n Grade Four, worked as a washerwoman i n a s t o n e washhouse, back bent over t u b s of o t h e r p e o p l e ' s d i r t , hooking up b o i l i n g s h e e t s and s h i r t s , w r e s t l i n g them through a wringer , whi le steam and h e r sweat s a l t e d t h e w a l l s ; then she 'd escape o u t s i d e , peg up t h e l i n e n and le t i t whi ten i n t h e sun.

When s h e was twenty and b a r e l y a b l e t o s i g n h e r name, a man s a i d

Dear S i r , "I would l i k e t o r e a l i z e

I a m a product of a b s t r a c t thought: and t h e r e f o r e f r e e . "

Being 1) l a d i e s

o u r thoughts a r e our own a b s o l u t e l y and we t a k e excep t ion t o off -balance emotionalism

he wanted t o t a k e h e r away You, we t h i n k , p r o j e c t

from a l l t h a t your a c c e s s r o u t e s .

and s h e marr ied and had e i g h t k i d s , meaning The dilemma of t h i s ex-

she was s t i l l a washerwoman. When she read a newspaper, s h e would bend panded r e f l e c t i o n is t h a t we

a r e a l l c a u s i t i v e agen t s of over pages b o i l i n g w i t h o t h e r peop le ' s d i r t ,

no th ing . he r f o r e f i n g e r l a b o u r i n g under each word a s i f t o hook i t up, h e r l i p s wringing o u t Yours, t

s y l l a b l e s of r a p e s , wars and r e c e s s i o n s , p inn ing up t h e words u n t i l s h e go t them r i g h t , h e r s m i l e r a d i a n t , as i f s h e s t i l l b e l i e v s u n l i g h t and f r e s h a i r would n o t f a i l t o sweeten any th ing t h a t had been fou led .

Dusty

Was.T. Basket 4%' Garba Dump Tras.H. Can

The Lap of L i f e

Everyone s t a n d i n a c i r c l e Hands j o i n e d Drop hand, and t u r n r i g h t Everyone s i t down Everyone h a s a l a p t o sit on

No t i c k l i n g

1500 peop le i n New York C e n t r a l Park

( ~ d i t o r ' s n o t e : I n t h e l a s t i s s u e t h e t e x t of a paper presented t o t h e Vancouver 6 D i s t r i c t Labour Council was p r i n t e d . I n t h e s e c t i o n "on Income"

I ' d promoted t h e i d e a of "aguaranteed annual adequate income", t h ink ing t h e word ' adequate ' was t h e o p e r a t i v e one. Fo r tuna t e ly , t h e e r r o r i n t h i s approach has been fol lowed f o r a few y e a r s and t h e fo l lowing a r t i c l e d i s p e l s some of t h e smoke.)

THE GUARANTEED ANNUAL INCOME (GAI) How Big Business is Using i t t o T r i ck

Low Income People

S ince t h e e a r l y 1960's low income peo- p l e have worked f o r a Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI). We thought i t would provide enough money f o r a decent l i f e above t h e poverty l i n e . We thought i t would be g iv- en wi th d i g n i t y and no h a s s l e . We a l s o thought t h a t , i f we were a b l e t o work ou t s i d e t h e home, decent jobs a t decent pay would be a v a i l a b l e .

Recently q u i t e * a few b i g bus ines s groups have jumped on t h e G A I bandwagon - groups no t reknown f o r suppor t i ng low income people. They inc lude t h e F ra se r I n s t i t u t e r e p r e s e n t i n g over 400 l a r g e co rpo ra t ions ; t h e Canadian ~ I a n u f a c t u r e r s ' Assoc i a t i on (CPIA), a lobby group f o r Canada's l a r g e s t manufac turers ; t h e McDonald Commission, a $20 m i l l i o n Royal Commission on t h e econ- omy s e t up by t h e L i b e r a l Govt.; t h e Fin- a n c i a l Pos t , a weekly newspaper which re- p r e s e n t s b i g bus ines s t h ink ing i n Canada; and t h e Business Council on Na t iona l Iss- ues. (A11 involved i n g e t t i n g Mulroney & "f ree" t r a d e & t h e GST and U I c u t s . . . .).

But b i g bus ines s doesn ' t want t h e same kind of G A I t h a t low income people want. They d o n ' t want a G A I t h a t w i l l end pov- e r t y . They want a GAI t h a t w i l l : - guarantee pover ty f o r people who c a n ' t

work, and he lp p u l l down wages f o r people who do work;

- h e l p bu i ld a pool of cheap labour s o t h a t people on G A I compete w i th each o t h e r f o r low-paying jobs ;

- reduce employers1 wage b i l l s , l e av ing more f o r c o r p o r a t e p r o f i t s .

There aye f o u r p a r t s t o t h e b i g bus i - ne s s v e r s i o n of G A I : 1. Abolish what we have: The F i n a n c i a l

Post c a l l s our e x i s t i n g system a "morass of c o n f l i c t i n g and confus ing s o c i a l programs" and n o t e s

(d isapprovingly) t h e $60 b i l l i o n annual c o s t . The MacDonald Connnissi.on lists t h e programs on t h e b i g bus ines s chopping block; fami ly al lowance, c h i l d t a x c r e d i t Guaranteed Income Supplement f o r s e n i o r s ( t h i s is t h e program r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a l - most g e t t i n g s e n o i r s ou t of pove r ty ) , s o c i a l housing, married and c h i l d t a x ex- emptions, t h e f e d e r a l s h a r e of we l f a r e payments t o provinces (qbout h a l f of t h e money paid by provinces on t h i s s e r v i c e ) and unemployment i n su rance ,

Big bus ines s t h i n k s t h e s e programs c o s t t oo much and c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e d e f i c i t . I n f a c t , canadq1s s o c i a l spending is a l - ready way below t h e average of i n d u ~ t r i a l c o u n t r i e s , A s we l l , many economists s a y t h a t t h e d e f i c i t is n o t t oo h igh , and, i f i t was, could be conta ined by reducing handouts t o p r i v a t e c o r p o r a t i o n s , 2 . Low incomes f o r people who d o n ' t o r

c a n ' t work: The MacDonald Commission sugges t s $2750 pe r year i n

one op t ion and $3825 i n ano the r . This 'd be topped up a t t h e whim of p r o v i n c i a l governments, presumably. For comparison, t h e pover ty l i n e ( a t t h a t t ime) was about $11,000 per person pe r yea r .

The CMA provides another clue to the lev- el of income that big business thinks peo- ple outside the paid labour force should have: they say the GAI should ensure that "recipients will be better off working and earning income .'I Why doesn't business want GAI rates above the poverty line? According to one report, some business leaders fear that people re- ceiving adequate welfare or GAI will not work at "unsafe low paying jobs unless pay and working conditions are improved. 'Such improvements at the bottom of the employ- ment ladder would push up the whole wage & working conditions scale.''

3. End legislation to maintain & increase wages: The Fraser Institute is famous

for calling for an end to the , minimum wage. The CMA told the MacDonald

Commission the same; the govt. should loo- sen up on laws such as the min. wage laws. Business doesn't like minimum wages be- cause, like welfare payments, they push up the bottom of the wage scale ladder, put- ting more money into workers hands rather than bbsiness profits. Business is equally negative toward equal pay for equal value. Keep equal pay laws as they are, said MacDonald, knowing full well that they are virtually useless. Fair wage laws are equally abhorent to big bus- iness. The federal govt. abolished them. 4. Keep what-you earn: The Financial Post,

MacD. Commission &

the BCNI argue that taking away earned in- come from people who receive GAI or even welfare creates a "poverty trap" and des- troys "incentives to work." This sounds exactly like what low income people have been saying for a long time too. We have wanted to be able to keep much more of what we earn without having it deducted from our monthly welfare payment. But we want wages to be adequate, above the pov- erty line at least, in the first place. Big business wants the GAI as a taxpayer

11. top-up of inadequate wages. With a GAI not reduced as work earnings increase, busi- ness knows it can keep wages lower and have more money left over for profits. With the extra profits they can buy up their competitors, move to countries with cheaper labour, or do whatever they like.

What* would the effect1 of a GAI with these four ingredients be? Imagine that big business gets its way. Their GAI is in place and you're a single mom with two kids. You'll be getting a GAI that is way below the poverty line. Your provincial govt. will hesitate to add much to it because it won't be getting federal money for this purpose. You'll have no chance of getting into a co-op or non- profit housing. Those programs will be gone. Likewise you won't get a child tax credit or family allowance. Funding for childcare will be drastically cut back too, as the federal govt. will no longer pay half the costs. But because the GAI is so low, you're desperate to feed your kids, And, with the new CAI, you can keep what you earn. You scrounge around for a friend or relative to take care of the kids. McDonald's jas an opening for $4/hr and you take it. Unemployment is high and all the better paying jobs are full. You can't afford not to take the McDonald's job even though you know you're worth more. So you struggle along, working at slave wages, still below the po'verty line felling guilty that you have to depend on another woman to care for your kids, ex- hausted at the end of the day. You ask yourself: Is this new GAI really better than the old welfare? For you the answer is "no ." But for McD and other low wage employers, the new GAI will be better than the old welfare. With no legislation boosting minimum wages, without equal pay laws, and with hundreds of thousands more people forced to com- pete for low wage work by the low GAI rates, employers will have no trouble keeping wages low. The money that they paid for wages in the past can now go in- to acquiring more assets and more c~ntrol over the economy and over job creation & elimination. Much of the extra profit for

m u l t i n a t i o n a l companies could even f low ou t of t h e count ry . While bus ines s would con t inue t o r e c e i v e

b i l l i o n s i n tax exemptions, loopholes o r a lower tax r a t e , resentment would bu i ld among middle income working people. The i r own wages would f a l l due t o p r e s s u r e from a l a r g e group of people ( l i k e ou r s i n g l e mon) fo rced t o work because of low G A I r a t e s . Yet t axes paid by middle income people would s u b s i d i z e employers (with t h e GAI) t o h i r e t h e s e people a t low pay. "It's t h e o l d game of div*de & conquer. I n e f f e c t t h e r e g u l a r wage e a r n e r is ask- ed t o g i v e up some of h i s / h e r fncome s o t h a t some employers needn ' t pay a l i v i n g - wage." (Cy Gonick). This p l an could eas- i l y s p l i t t h e poor from middle income e a r n e r s who might pe rce ive t h a t low in- come people, no t an u n j u s t economic sys- tem, a r e t h e main cquse of t h e i r own f a l l e n g income.

I n s h o r t , t h i s bus ines s v e r s i o n of t h e GAI is a scheme t j a t l e t s bus ines s appear t h a t i t c a r e s f o r t h e poor, but a t t h e same t ime h e l p s c r e a t e a system t h a t w i l l , over t h e long te rm, reduce a l l wages, make people poo re r , and i n c r e a s e c o n t r o l over o u r economy by l a r g e co rpo ra t ions . The danger f o r low income people is t h i s

It appears t h a t t h e T o r i e s could put fo r - ward a G A I p l a n , meaning t h e bus ines s G A I of guaranteed pover ty and low wages. But low income people and o t h e r s w i th a soc i - a l consc ience may confuse t h i s G A I w i th t h e G A I we've always hoped could end povert

Probably t h e r e ' s no s i n g l e wo phrase t h a t w i l l d e s c r i b e what ;ill r e a l l y end poverty. I f t h e r e was, bus ines s would h i r e p o l l s t e r s and p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s e x p e r t s t o t a k e over t h a t word o r phrase and put t h e i r meaning t o i t , l i k e t hey ' r e t a k i n g over Guaranteed Annual Income. We need t o b e s u r e t h a t whatever phrase

is used , t h e r e s u l t s w i l l end pover ty and i n c r e a s e democrat ic c o n t r o l of o u r economy and n o t t h e oppos i t e . Anti-poverty groups a r e beginning t o r e a l i s e t h a t o u r a n t i - poverty agenda should i nc lude a package of measures. We need:

- f u l l employment a t decent wages; - l e g i s l a t i o n t o improve wages. Th i s

means minimum wage above t h e poverty / l i n e ; equal pay f o r work of equa l va lue ; f a i r wage laws; and laws which make it e a s i e r f o r low wage workers t o form o r j o i n uni- ons and ba rga in c o l l e c t i v e l y f o r b e t t e r wages & working cond i t i ons ;

- improved p u b l i c insurance programs (UI & WCB & CPP.. .);

- maintenance and improvement of univer- s a l programs such a s educa t ion , medicare, family al lowance and c h i l d c a r e ;

- a t a x system based on a b i l i t y t o pay which r e d i s t r i b u t e s income from t h e r i c h t o t h e poor;

- income above t h e pover ty l i n e given wi th d i g n i t u t o people no t covered by t h e above programs ; and, w i th t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s , we need an in- c r ea sed ea rn ings exemption f o r people re- c e i v i n g w e l f a r e o r G A I . Those of us working t o end pover ty have a

b i g educa t ion job ahead of us . W e must en- s u r e t h a t v o t e r s s e e t h e b i g bus ines s G A I f o r what i t i s ; a way t o r e v e r s e t h e dec- ades-old tendency f o r decent w e l f a r e r a t e s t o push up low wages; a way t o dece ive low income people i n t o suppor t i ng a scheme t h a t w i l l i n c r e a s e r a t h e r t han reduce pov- e r t y ; a way t o h e l p concen t r a t e even more weal th and d e c i s i o n making power i n t h e hands of b i g bus ines s .

THAT'S HOW MANY CANADIANS ARE SOFTBALL 1 PLAYERS

e r Conference. These teams p l a y Monday- Fr iday a t Oppenheimer Park and on Sa tu r - day & Sunday a t S t r a t h c o n s ' a southwest diamond. Blue Demons, S p a r t a n s , Deyas, Jalde 0 'Grady 'st lbngels, Edge c ~ m p e t e lwith B l a s t e r s , S t e e l e r s , Ra ide r s & Black Sox.

Every team must pay a s m a l l amount f o r a Meri t Performance Package a s w e l l a s pay i n s u r a n c e and t h e l eague e n t r y f e e . I f t h e team prov ides scheduled umpires, sends r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s t o t h e umpires ' c l i n i c s , and d o e s n ' t d e f a u l t any games t h e n t h e Meri t Performance ( p l u s i n t e r - e s t ) i s r e t u r n e d .

D.E.S.L. Time I

Back on May 10, t h e Downtown E a s t s i d e Slowpi tch League go t o f f t o a slow s t a r t mainly due t o t h e topsy t u r v y weather t h a t h a s p lagued Vancouver. L a t e l y many of t h e schedu led games h a v e n ' t been de- cided u n t i l t h e f i n a l o u t .

The r e g u l a r season ends on August 21s t with t h e p l a y o f f s and s e v e r a l tourna- ments fo l lowing . San ~ r a n s i s c o ' s L i t t l e L i t e church team w i l l b e h e r e f o r t h e i r e igh th c o n s e c u t i v e s e a s o n , f o r t h e tournament June 20-23. T h i s c o l o u r f u l c l a s s y crew s t a r t p l a y i n g e x h i b i t i o n games a s soon a s t h e y a r r i v e i n town. The L i t t l e L i t e Tournament w i l l b e on June ' s long weekend and winds up w i t h a very e n j o y a b l e evening a t t h e Vancouver Corners tone Church.

Seven teams - Braves , Mar i t imers , Eag les , Orcas , Wolver ines , Renegades & T-Birds make up t h e S t r a t h c o n a Confer- ence. A l l t h e i r games a r e p layed Mon.- Fr iday a t t h e NorthEast diamond i n S t r a t h c o n a Park .

There a r e n i n e c l u b s i n t h e O n p ~ n h e i m -

R e s u l t s of t h e opening DESL Tournament:

S t r a t h c o n a Winner - T B i r d s ------- runner-up - Mari t imers * Spor t smanl ike award - Renegades fi M.V.P. female - Gerry (Mari t imers) * M.V.P. male - Rob (T Bi rds )

Oppenheimer Winner - S p a r t a n s runner-up - Blue Demons

fi Spor t smanl ike award - Edge * M.V.P. female - S t e l l a ( S p a r t a n s ) -'- ' 1 " P n , q l r , - 1 1 1 1 r > < . / ' : n . 1 ~ t n ~ , ~ ; )

H e r e ' s a l i t t l e upda te on t h e pro- g r e s s of t h e Carnegie p l o t . I n t h e e a r l y s p r i n g l a r g e and very heavy amounts of o l d s idewalk and b o u l d e r s were removed. Compost, p e a t , bonemeal and l ime were re-dug i n t o t h e s o i l o v e r s u c c e s s i v e weeks. Robert Anderson and my son Ross were ve ry h e l p f u l i n t h a t p e r i o d .

C a t r i o n a and h e r f r i e n d John came out one a f t e r n o o n and he lped t o wheel- barrow up l o a d s and l o a d s and l o a d s of l e a f mulch t o cover t h e p a t h s . C a t r i - ona a l s o donated some rhubarb and h e r b p l a n t s . The wea the r was even h o t back then ( i n A p r i l ) and John r e t u r n e d t o t h e p l o t s e v e r a l t imes t o w a t e r t e n d e r s e e d l i n g s d u r i n g t h o s e "hot" c r u c i a l weeks.

Bea Chee,'who is 78 y e a r s o l d , he lp - ed p l a n t t h e major p o r t i o n of t h e gar- den. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , s h e t r i p p e d and

. d i s l o c a t e d h e r w r i s t and h a s no t been a b l e t o a t t e n d s i n c e . Juan h a s con- t i n u e d t o work s t e a d i l y , p l a n t i n g , weeding, and f e r t i l i z i n g t h e p l o t . Juan is t h e o n l y o t h e r pe r son b e s i d e s myself who h a s come f a i t h f u l l y t o t h e garden e v e r y weekend. J u a n ' s ded ica - t i o n and c o n t r i b u t i o n have been in - v a l u a b l e t o t h e garden.

Now t h e garden is showing ev idence of a l l o u r l a b o u r s . The tomatoes , cukes , p o t a t o e s , l e t t u c e , b e a n s , h e r b s , squash , b e e t s and f l o w e r s a r e l o o k i n g s t u r d y and v e r y p l e a s e d t o b e

w i t h u s . T h i s i s a p e a c e f u l and g r a t i f y i n g

way t o spend a Sa tu rday morning. I would encourage anyone w i t h an i n t e r - e s t t o v i s i t u s a t S t r a t h c o n a . I drop by Carnegie around 10:30am Sa tu rdays and then go o v e r t o t h e ga rdens , s o i f y o u ' r e n o t s u r e how t o g e t t h e r e you can come a long w i t h me. T e l l K i m at t h e f r o n t desk and I ' l l b e s u r e t o f i n d you b e f o r e I l e a v e .

Sunday, J u l y 28, is Open House from lpm - 5pm. The S t r a t h c o n a Community Gardens a r e l o c a t e d i n t h e 700-block of P r i o r S t . , n e a r t h e f i r e h o u s e . I hope t o s e e many C a m e g i t e s t h e r e . I f you have any q u e s t i o n s you can reach me i n t h e Program o f f i c e on t h e 3 rd f l o o r o r phone me a t 665-3004.

Kathy Thompson

C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s t o a l l t h e e l e c t e d Board Members o f C a r n e g i e ' s Associa- t i o n . I ' d l i k e t o pay s p e c i a l t r i b u t e t o t h e f o u r newest members: Bharb G , . Floyd Wong, I r e n e Schmidt and Ed Buhr.

I t ' s always n i c e t o s e e new peop le bu t o u r newest members r e p r e s e n t sev- e r a l v i t a l Carnegie programs. Bharb is n o t o n l y a S e n i o r s Execu t ive b u t h a s p layed a n a c t i v e and i n t e r e s t e d r o l e i n C a r n e g i e ' s Music Program. Floyd Wong v o l u n t e e r s i n t h e Learning Cen t re & t h e computer room. I r e n e does advocacy work f o r v i c t i m s of our g r e a t MSSH system and Ed Buhr volun- t e e r s i n t h e k i t c h e n and is t h e s t o c k pe r son .

T h i s k i n d o f v e r s a t i l e r e p r e s e n t a - ,

t i o n w i l l o n l y do good t h i n g s f o r many of C a m e g i e ' s programs, v o l u n t e e r s & p a t r o n s .

C o n g r a t u l a t i o n s t o a l l !

S t e v e Rose

MAY

May t h e g e n t l e r a i n t h a t f a l l s wash away our s i n s

May t h e pure w h i t e snow cover o u r ug ly m i s t a k e s

May t h e g e n t l y f lowing s t r e a m nour i sh our undying t h i r s t

May t h e l i t t l e s o n g b i r d s g ive u s our needed joy

May t h e f e r t i l e v a l l e y s feed our e n d l e s s hunger

May we l e a r n t o c o n t r o l o u r h a t r so t h a t we do n o t k i l l o u r s e l v e s

May we l e a r n t o c o n t r o l o u r greed because we d o n ' t need more

May we l e a r n t o c o n t r o l our j e a l o u s y because we a r e a l l even

May we l e a r n t o c o n t r o l o u r l u s t t h a t i s n o t t h e way of l o v e

' May we l e a r n t o h e l p our b r o t h e r To s h a r e a burden makes i t l i g h t

May we l e a r n t o walk i n l i g h t and sp read o u r beau ty outwards

May we l e a r n t h e a r t o f p a t i e n c e A l l good t h i n g s t a k e t h e i r t ime

May we l e a r n t h e a r t of t r u e l o v e t h a t i s o u r g r e a t e s t joy

May we l e a r n t h e a r t of l i v i n g so t h a t we i n c r e a s e l i f e

May we l e a r n t o l i v e r i g h t now Each p a s s i n g moment i s gone

May we l e a r n t o l i v e t o g e t h e r A community of man

May we l e a r n t h e s e t h i n g s i n t ime Hindsight i s t o o l a t e

May each of u s l e a r n t o do t h e s e t h i n g s o r may God have mercy on u s a l l .

Dreamweave r

Bruce Jackson , a f t e r abou t 5 y e a r s o f d e d i c a t e d c h a o s , i s l e a v i n g a t t h e end of June . F o r t u n a t e l y t h e Carneg ie A s s o c i a t i o n i s n ' t mandated t o p r o v i d e

CliANGES ! CHANGES ! CHANGES ! - t h e r a p y f o r C i t y employees s o , r a t h e r t h a n j u s t s t a k i n g o u t a c h a i r on t h e

" l low t h e h e l l d o e s t h i s t h i n g work?" 2nd f loor f o r the next years and l:or t h e f i r s t few d a y s , anyway, t h i s trying t o recover, he says going ( lues t ion was be ing asked a l o t i n t h e t o t h e I n t e r i o r somewhere. k i t c h e n . With t h e number of new mach- Dan Tetrault will move into i n e s h e r e i t was expec ted and i s b e i n g position, Jerry will become acting asked w i t h a k ind o f e x c i t e m e n t . head of s e c u r i t y f o r t h e summer and

The Vancouver Foundat ion gave u s Rober t Begin w i l l assume J e r r y ' s d u t y $100,000 s p e c i f i c a l l y f o r ' r e n o v a t i n g ' in the k i tchen as assistant programmer, t h e k i t c h e n . Bruce Jackson , C a t r i o n a The r e n o v a t i o n s a t t h e l a n e l e v e l Moore and J e r r y S e n t i n o , whom t h e C i t y are now in process - the new Seniors o f Vancouver f e e l s a r e i n c h a r g e of L ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ , poo l ~ o o m - and washrooms on were asked t o make up a ' w i s h l i s t ' the floor are soon to open. h e l p d e s i g n a dream k i t c h e n . Wel l , i t Changes i n t h e v e n t i l a t i o n , l i g h t i n g is b e a u t i f u l and t h e b a s i c q u e s t i o n and electrical systems are going on b e i n g answered i n s h o r t o r d e r . Now, a l l ove r t h e p l a c e ; a n i n t e r e s t i n g b i t a l o n g w i t h t h e b e s t food i n t h e but we'll advertise for the hour when Carneg ie h a s a model f a c i l i t y f o r t h e e n t i r e f l o o r i n t h e p r e s e n t Seni - making a l m o s t a n y t h i n g . . (you ors L~~~~~ gets somehow "dropped" 10 c a n ' t r o a s t a whole cow bu t u s vege- f e e t i n t o t h e basement. Depending on t a r i a n s j u s t s n i c k e r ! ) . budge t , t h i s w i l l happen w i t h any-

t h i n g from n i t r o t o g e t t i n g eve ryone

An o l d I n d i

Far beneath Slumbers a

i n t h e main 1 on i t a t t h e

I t h e h o t s l i m e , c r e a t u r e o f e v i l ,

.ounge t o go same t ime !

By PAULR

i n and j

TAYLOR

For c o u n t l e s s eons h e h a s been a s l e e p The A n c i e n t s s a y h e was p u t t h e r e by Waska soo A n i g h t f l y i n g b i r d more powerfu l t h a n t h e e v i l b e a s t

Now and t h e n t h e b e a s t moves and s t i r s from f a r below. Steam and smoke b i l l o w from mounta ins when h e does . Sometimes i n h i s ange r he b e l c h e s f i r e and b r i m s t o n e . Then a g a i n h e is dormant. Now and t h e n h e swi shes h i s t a i l i n a n g e r . To make t h e s e a w a t e r ang ry and t u r b u l e n t . But t h e b e a s t won' t r ise any more. He o n l y makes n o i s e and a few r i p p l e s . A f r a i d o f t h e Grea t Waska soo - Who wa tches o v e r h i s be loved peop le .

A 1 M i l i t a n t

DOWNTOWN STD CLINIC - Monday th rough F r i d a y , 9am - 5pm. EASTSIDE FREE MEDICAL CLINIC - Mon.,Wed.,Fri. 5:30-7:30. YOUTH NEEDLE EXCHANGE - 221 Main, eve ry day, 9am-5pm ACTIVITIES Needle exchange van - on t h e s t r e e t Man.-Sat. evenings SOCIETY N.A. meets eve ry Monday n i g h t a t 223 Main S t r e e t .

N a r c o t i c s Anonymous (NA) meets a t Dugout, 57 Powel l , 7:30 F r i

1991 DONATIONS: Charley B.-$30 Oly(Sven) -$20 Cement Masons -$I75 Mendel R.-$15 Marilyn S.-$36 Heather M.-$15 Darren L.-$50 Herman L.-$10 Fores t Lawn -$20 C e c i l l e C.-$10 E t i e n n e S.-$20 - . . - - . . . -. . . . . . . . - - .

T l l l S NEWSIXTTER I S A PURLICATION OF THE

Sandv C.-$20 Nancy W.-$75 N e x t issue 1 CARNE(;IWCO?IIIUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION.

Terr; T.-$200 A r t VL -$5 Brenda - $5 Vishva A.-$15

SubnliSSion A r t l c l " r r p r r s v r ~ t t h r v l r w s o f I n d l v l r l t ~ n l contributors and n o t of t h r A s w r l n t I o n .

DEADLINE Janet B .-$20 E l l e n -$5

27 June . . L i l l i a n H.-$20 Sue H.-$50 Free - Donat ions a c c e p t e d .

Thursday Colleen E.-$25 Donald M.-$5 c i t y i n f o s t a f f c a n ' t a c c e p t

Dave - $10 B i l l T.-$20 P e a r l D.-$36 Annet te R.-$10

* Nancy J.-$10 Rhinos -$3.03 Laughing Bear -$200

d o n a t i o n s f o r t h i s N e w s l e t t e r . s o i f you can h e l p , f i n d Pau l T a y l o r and h e ' l l g i v e you a r e c e i p t .

Thanks everybody .

NEED HELP ? The Downtown EaMde Residents' Association can help you with:

any welfare problems * inrormation on legal rights * disputes with landlords * unsafe living conditions + income tax * UIC problems * finding housing * opening a bank account

Come into the DERA Office at 9 East HaE3tings St. or phone us at 602-0931.

DERA HAS BEEN SERVING THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE FOR 18 YEARS

-- -

I n f o r m a l : You a r e i n h o s ~ i t a l b e c a u s e --- --

you r e q u e s t e d a d m i s s i o n . - you c a n a c c e p t o r r e f u s e s p e c i f i c

t I - e a t m c ~ n t s . Y o r ~ i n r t s t a g r e e f i r s t . - Y O U l ~ l u s t C U I I ~ C ' I I ~ w i t h o u t t h r e a t s

o r u l t inr,ltullls bc! in) ; p u t t o y o u . - To b c ~ t l i s c . l ~ a r g c ~ t l , r equc . s t t h i s i n

w r i t i n g t o t h e h e a d n u r s e . - You w i l l be t l i sc .harget1 w i t h i n 7 2

h o u r s , u n l e s s y o u r s t a t u s is c h a n g e d t o i n v o l u n t a r y .

I n v o l u n t a r y : POLICI s a y you a c t i n a . - - - -

way l i k e l y t o e n d a n g e r y o u r s e l f o r a n o t h e r ' s s g f e t y .

A JUDCII b e l i e v e s you a re a n l en ta l 1 y d i s o r d e r e d p e r s o n , . a n d / o r d a n g e r o u s t o b e a t l a r g e . . a n d / o r t h a t u s u a l p r o c e d u r e c a l l s e s d a n g e r o u s w a i t .

A IIOCTOR d e t e r m i n e s y o u are n ~ e n t a l l y d i s o r d e r e d . . r e q u i r e t r e a t m e n t ( c a r e , s u p e r v i s i o n , c o n t r o l ) . . f o r y o u r own p r o t e c t i o n o r f o r t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f o t h e r s .

2 2 d o c t o r s h a v e t o f i l l o u t f o r m s .

You c a n a p p e a l y o u r a d m i s s i o n o n t h e 1 s t d a y . -

T h i s a d m i s s i o n a s a n i n v o l u n t a r y p a t i e n t c a n b e good f o r 30 d a y s .

2 U n l e s s a d o c t o r r e p o r t s t h a t you s h o u l d ( h a v e t o ) s t a y i n h o s p i t a l , you mus t b e l c> t g o a f t e r 30 d a y s .

I f a d o c t o r r e p o r t s t h a t you h a v e t o s t a y , i t r a n b e f o r 90 d a y s .

I F YOU AIU.: IN .I PROVZNCIAI. PIENTAL tiEA1,TII FACILITY, CONTACT THE MENTAL PATIICNTS ' ADVOC.',I'!:. IT I S FW,E !

R ELP

DOWNTOWN M A Y "4".

FREE OR LOW COST GOODS 1 .

SHELTER & HOUSING 3.

HEALTH SERVICES 4 .

COUNSELLING, SUPPORT, INFO 6.

LEGAL SERVICES 8.

ADVOCACY RESOURCE LIST 8.

SOCIAL, DROP-IN , KECWA'I'ION 10 .

YOUTH SERVICES 11, 1 2 .

OTHER SERVICES 13.

CAKNEGIE NEWSLETTER 665-2289

[..1{1:1: - rlonat i m ' i n r . cc? i~ te l t .

1 j

SALT OF THE ANGRY EARTH:

When r e - c y c l i n g emerged a s an answer t o env i ronmenta l p o l l u t i o n , many in- d u s t r i a l g i a n t s & commercial p o l l u t e r s adopted & promoted i t a s t h e i r c o n t r i - but ion t o a "Caring-Sharing" s o c i e t y .

Safeway, i t s s h e l v e s p i l e d h i g h w i t h p l a s t i c s , f o i l s , po lyura than i sms & biphenol w h a t c h a m a c a l l i t s , d r e s s e d up a few hundred k i d s ( y o u r s & mine f o l k s ) in p o l i t i c a l l y c o r r e c t T - s h i r t s , had them wave l i t t l e Canadian f l a g s , & d i d a Save-the-World-with-Safeway promo campaign on TV ... & of c o u r s e it was a l l focused on some k i d who had d i e d from leukemia b e f o r e h e had a chance t o " r e a l i z e h i s dream". . .now good o l d f a t Dave t h e Produce Manager is doing it f o r him & t a k i n g a l l t h e c r e d i t .

A f t e r t h a t w e had good o l d Roy Boni- s teel , t h e whi t e -ha i red Na t ive R igh t s media s t a r showing u s t h a t s a v i n g Mo- t h e r E a r t h was a s e a s y a s t u r n i n g o f f unused desk lamps & i n v e s t i n g o u r money ( i f w e s t i l l had any) i n C a n a d ~

T r u s t , where ~o~ a s s u r e d u s it would "Go Green. "

Then of c o u r s e who could e v e r f o r g e t Mac-Blo's f a b u l o u s r e c y c l e d f o r e s t s (known i n t h e t r a d e a s manageable f i - b r e farms) . We even had s e v e r a l in- t e r n a t i o n a l o i l & chemical conglomer- a t e s i n s i s t i n g t h e y were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a l l t h e good t h i n g s i n l i f e & sug- g e s t i n g we owe them an e t e r n a l deb t o f g r a t i t u d e f o r t h e i r t r a i l - b l a z i n g re- s e a r c h i n e c o l o g i c a l d i s a s t e r (bugs t h a t e a t o i l , e t c . ) . They say t h e y ' r e spending m i l l i o n s on i t . . . & a l l f o r u s ! 111 Yes - b l u e boxes & green inves tmen t s a r e on t h e march. Execut ive Vice- P r e s i d e n t s a r e i n t o rainbow suspenders & p l a s t i c cone compost heaps do t t h e l andscape . Enviro-cops can be 10 year-old undercover a g e n t s f o r Safe- way's world-dream-team, o r ~ a c - ~ 1 0 ' s a?lg-a-Tree-a-Day Club.

B u t , you know, b e f o r e t h e s e c o p o r a t e c i t i z e n s & t h e i r consumers' anonymous

fan c lubs got going - r e c y c l i n g was a w e l l e s t a b l i s h e d f a c t of l i f e meticu- l o u s l y c a r r i e d ou t by t h e poor a s a necessa ry & even c r e a t i v e p a r t of t h e i r day-to-day l i v i n g .

Who r e c y c l e s c l o t h i n g c a s t o f f by peop le? Who f i x e s up t h e o l d B&W TVs & rewi res dead s t e r e o s ? Where do a l l t h o s e empty cans & b o t t l e s go? I n t o beaten-up o l d shopping c a r t s , a long w i t h s c r a p copper , b r a s s , c o l o u r f u l junk m a i l , o l d books, a s s o r t e d chipped & broken a n t i q u e s & o t h e r u s e f u l i tems - a l l garbage t o t h e r i c h - picked & made u s e f u l by t h o s e unsung o r i g i n a l r e c y c l e r s & ragged scavengers , t h e poor.

When i t comes r i g h t down t o i t - who e a t s up a l l t h e s l i g h t l y misshapen re- j e c t s , o f f c o l o u r oranges & s o on from Safeway's F r u i t & Vegetable Sec t ions? Who uses t h e bones, t h e f a t , t h e bacon ends & o t h e r n e g l e c t e d sp in -o2fs from b u t c h e r shops ... who e a t s t h e whole b u f f a l o and k i l l s on ly what he needs? That poor o l d d e r e l i c t bagmanlbaglady - t h a t good o l d f lophouse ph i losopher & crack-bra ined b l e e d i n g h e a r t . . . t h e p i l l a r of s o c i e t y ' s sandwich l i n e . . . m i s t e r & missus pover ty - s t r i cken you- know-who .

t h e s a c r e d cow t h a t saved t h e p l a n e t , w i l l anybody p i n a medal on t h e poor? W i l l Exxon honour . the Downtown East - s i d e r c l a s s i c low-income r e c y c l e r , en- v i ronmenta l ly c o r r e c t junk d e a l e r & c r e a t i v e sc rounger w i t h a banquet a t t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l lounge? ... No way! The d r e s s code a l o n e would p r o h i b i t it . . .but t h e r e t h e y a r e & were & w i l l be aga in - t h e o l d bagman-baglady, t i r e d and r e t i r e d mother o r f a t h e r of s i x c h i l d r e n (two OD'd on amphetamines, one got h i t by a c a r & t h e o t h e r t h r e e wander around i n a d e s e r t of odd-jobs & never c a l l home). But t h e o l d l a d y ' s ou t t h e r e f u s s i n g around t h e b i n s i n A

t h e a l l e y behind t h e c a t e r e r ' s ... t h e o l d man ' s busy s o r t i n g yogur t con ta in - e r s from t h e $100-a-plate Enviro-con- s

f e rence luncheon, where Safeway, Mac- Blo & Esso s i t down t o impress each o t h e r w i t h p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s c r u s a d e s t o save t h e e a r t h f o r Century 2 1 .

The b a g l a d y ' s got a l l t h e i r c a s t o f f creampuf f s , s o i l e d t a b l e napk ins , l o o s e s i l v e r w a r e , cans , b o t t l e s , & even t h e unsmoked b u t t s of t h e i r s u p e r long c i g a r e t t e s & imported c i g a r s . She spends t ime i n h e r o l d h o t e l room re- working e v e r y t h i n g i n t o a u s a b l e form, cashes i t i n o r d i s t r i b u t e s i t among h e r f r i e n d s . She c r o t c h e t e d p i l l o w c a s e s o u t of u n r a v e l l e d s w e a t e r s , made up t h e p a t t e r n s h e r s e l f - n o t h i n g l i k e i t anywhere. She remakes junk m a i l in- t o c o l l a g e s & d e c o r a t e s h e r room.

S o c i a l workers v i s i t h e r from t ime t o t i m e , laugh & shake t h e i r heads & c a l l h e r c r a z y behing h e r back. They'd never t h i n k of recommending h e r f o r a Governor G e n e r a l ' s Award, o r even sl i- d ing a few e x t r a bucks h e r way f o r h e r d e d i c a t i o n f o r a l l t h e s m a l l t h i n g s t h a t add up t o one b i g env i ronmenta l ly

f r i e n d l y l e s s o n i n l i f e s t y l e s f o r t h e f u t u r e .

When you s e e poor people p i c k i n g c i g a r e t t e b u t t s & d i s g u s t & p i t y t a k e hold of your mind, remember: t h i s t o o is r e c y c l i n g - i t ' s a l l i n your p o i n t of view. You might condemn them f o r p a s s i n g on cancer & lung d i s e a s e , bu t some people g e t r i g h t i n t o i t making d i f f e r e n t b lends of b u t t tobacco mixed wi th l e a v e s from weeds on vacant l o t s - no k i d d i n g - use a t u b e - r o l l i n g machine & make good-as-new f i lt e r t i p c i g a r e t t e s from s t u f f o t h e r people s t e p on & g r i n d under t h e i r h e e l s .

The s w i f t i n v i s i b l e shadow person empt ies a l l t h o s e h i g h - r i s e e l e v a t o r a s h t r a y s i n t o used tobacco cans . He spends Sunday mornings worshipping t h e goddess carcinoma. He b u m s incense t o K a l i - t h e foulmouthed c r a z y o l d e a r t h mother of 20th cen tu ry c i t y s , highways & shopping m a l l s ... o u r l ady of d e a t h , d i s a b i l i t y , d i s e a s e & pover ty who n e v e r goes t o church.

B e a u t i f u l l o s e r s . . l i v e s of anonymous, q u i e t , c r e a t i v e o r d e s t r u c t i v e desper- a t i o n a r e l o o s e a l l o v e r t h e p l a n e t . . . the meek s h a l l i n h e r i t t h e e a r t h , b u i l d drif twood f i r e s on p o l l u t e d beaches , drink cheap wine, s i n g o l d j a i l songs nobody remembers & r e c y c l e e v e r y t h i n g .

TORA

B i r d C a l l

I am k e p t c u r t a i l e d i n t h e c u r t a i n e d

cage of o t h e r p e o p l e ' s s p e c i f i c a t i o n s f o r me - and my h a r s h "caw"

L i f e Lines

I know you w i l l come back

t o me someday ;

I know t h i s

w i t h a c e r t a i n t y t h a t is t h e ba rk I am a f f i x e d t o

down t h i s w i l d and rag ing

and o b l i t e r a t i n g v a l l e y r i v e r .

I know I w i l l s e e you aga in !

I know t h i s

w i t h t h e c l a r i t y of a v i s i o n

of a f u t u r e i n c l u d i n g you c r y s t a l l i z e d i n t h e warm glow

of home.

The f i e r c e m i n s t r e l on t h i s Broadway t o Boundary bus

f a i l s t o d i s s u a d e me, n o r h i s f i l t h y l y r i c s t o pry a t my b e l i f e

i n t h e s u b s i s t e n c e of pure l o v e , and t h e n o b i l i t y of p a t i e n c e -

And each of u s long ing f o r home,

which i r t h i s t l e r u p t u r e s s i l e n c e

is become t h e ve ry song of l i f e t o me: o r t h e anthem of my s i n g u l a r

e scape . A B i r t h i s t l e

Last month I made a promise to BC citizens. I said that in the current legislative session New Democrats would lay out specific actions that a Harcourt govt. is ready to take on issues important to BC's future. That promise is being kept. I want to touch on just four bills -

we've introduced in recent weeks to- ward bringing about a more open, acc- ountable and participatory democracy in B.C.: * Freedom of Information Act: opens government by giving us access to

all dosuments and records, including how your tax dollars are spent. In other words, it's your information-- not the government's. Access may only be denied where confidentiality is essential or individual privacy is threatened. * Ministerial Post-Employment Con- flict Act: prevents former mfnis-

ters and other public officials who leave government from using "inside information" for personal gain. * Act to Expand the Powers of the Ombudsman: allows BC'S Ombudsman to

--

investigate complaints about munici- palities, regional districts, school boards, universities and hospitals, * Election Day Fairness Act: this guarantees all eligible citizens the democratic right to register and vote on election day. If the socred govt. has its way, as many as 200,000 B.C. citizens will be denied their right to vote in the next election. These bills and additional open gov-

ernment measures have been put forward by New Democrats to deal you in and move beyond a govt. just for political insiders. It's expected the socred govt. will reject these positive init-

Why? Mainly because this government has a lot to hide. It's clear they do not want laws that allow the public & press access to the inner workings of a govt. in turmoil. It's expected that even the access to information legis- lation promised in their throne speech will merely be an "exposure" bill - that is, only an idea for discussion, not a law to be passed. We can do better in BC, by opening

up your government and making it more accountable to you. A new era of re- building public trust in government g

starts with an election.

By MIKE HARCOURT

iatives, as they did all 46 substan- tive bills we put forward last year.

Small Wonder c

While send ing l e t t e r s t o i n s p i r e "employable" w e l f a r e r e c i p i e n t s t o g e t one of t h e n i f t y minimum-wage j o b s , MSSH h a s s e n t a n o t h e r , c o n f i d e n t i a l l e t t e r t o s o c i a l worker s . T h i s one l is ts most , bu t "not a l l " of t h e i t ems t h a t t h e y w i l l no l o n g e r pay f o r - f o r r e c i p i e n t s who a r e s i c k , d i s a b l e d . . k i d s :

Aids t o Da i ly L i v i n g Communication Aids - r e a c h e r s - t e l e p h o n e s - r e c r e a t i o n a l equipment - emergency response sys tems - s p e c i a l e a t i n g u t e n s i l s - t e l e p h o n e ampl i fy ing sys tems - food p r e p a r a t i o n equipment - B l i s s Boards - a u t o m a t i c hand c o n t r o l s - sound a m p l i f i c a t i o n eq . - d r e s s i n g a i d s - phone f l i p p e r s , d i a l i n g s t i c k s - grooming a i d s - pen g r i p s , w r i t i n g a i d s - housekeeping a i d s - communication boards - swimming a i d s - computer s o f t w a r e

I f you a r e d i s a b l e d ( p a r a l y z e d , wheelchair-bound, e t c . ) many of t h e s e i tems mean t h e d i f f e r e n c e between l i v i n g and v e g e t a t i n g . Other l i s t e d i t e m s - s p e c i a l baby formulae , c l o t h i n g , foo twear , d i a l y s i s equipment, household i t e m s ( & r e n o v a t i o n s i f your d i s a b i l i t y r e q u i r e s them), oxygen, h e a l t h f o o d / s p e c i a l d i e t s , v i s i o n d e v i c e s ( i f y o u ' r e going b l i n d - t o o bad) v i t a m i n s , m i n e r a l s , e t c . I n s t e a d of h e l p i n g w i t h many of t h e s e e s s e n t i a l s , your worker now h a s t o " r e f e r " you t o t h e M i n i s t r y of H e a l t h . Good l u c k i s a p a t h e t i c s t a t e m e n t . ---------

F R E E LEGAL A D V I C E

The Law S t u d e n t s ' Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) i s i n Carnegie on Wednesdays & Thursdays from 10-4 on t h e 3 rd f l o o r .

Maria Lands gave b i r t h t o a b e a u t i f u l boy weighing 91b9oz!

The Hey-Way1-Noqul Healing Centre an Outpatient Addictions program for Families

HEY-WAY'-NOW' HEALING CENTRE 8206 - 33 East Broadway Avenue

Vancouver, B.C. V5T 1V4

AC'I'ION CANADA NETWORK

"FREE" TRADE PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS the Canada-United States "Free" Trade Agreement has limited the ability of Canadian federal and provincial governments to implement economic, environmental, cultural, and social programs and policies that meet Canadian goals, and therefore threatens the very existence of Canada as a sovereign nation; and WHEREAS the Canada-United States "Free" Trade Agreement has resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs across Canada and increased pressure on workers at the bargaining table to accept lower wages and working standards; and WHEREAS existing free trade zones in Mexico have created abominable working and living conditions for Mexican workers and serious environmental damage: & WHEREAS current "free" trade agreements undermine democracy by transferring power and decision-making authority from elected governments to corporations;

WE, THE PEOPLE OF CANADA, DEMAND that the federal government cancel the Free Trade Agreement with the United States immediately; and WE DEMAND that the Tory government withdraw from negotiations with the U.S. and Mexico to extend the "Free" Trade Agreement to Mexico; and WE ALSO DEMAND that the federal government pursue a progressive, alternative model for continental development which would meet the following objectives:

A improving the living standards of workers inay countries involved; establishing strong environmental protection standards;

* ensuring that technological and scientific advances are shared to benefit all countries' citizens; .

ensuring the protection of human rights, including the right to organize as workers; and * ensuring that democratically elected governments are able to develop and implement policies and programs which meet the needs of their citizens.