Category Archives: vancouver

Our New/Old Drug Policy: Welcome to the 1980s

The Tories are beginning to lay down the ground work for a new (or should we say old) drug strategy.

The ‘new’ strategy? A TV campaign informing kids that drugs are bad, an increased presence at the border and a slight increase in funding for drug rehabilitation. If it sounds like the 1980s all over again, it is.

Ironically, it is being billed under the new tagline: “Enforcement is harm reduction.”

This is bad news for all of us. The tentative progress of the last decade is about to be lost in one fall swoop, including of course, Vancouver’s Insite injection site.

Let’s be clear, enforcement is not harm reduction.

There is no evidence to suggest that an increased police presence will have any impact on the drug problem in Vancouver, or anywhere else in the country for that matter. Indeed, American’s 36 year old war on drugs demonstrates otherwise. My question to Tony Clement is: what are doing that Nixon (who coined the term “war on drugs“), Carter, Reagan, Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr., and previous Canadian governments, didn’t try? With only a fraction of the resources America dedicated to similar campaigns, explain to us why this policy will be success?

In short, Clement’s strategy is analogous to yelling at a non-english speaker when they don’t understand you. It’s a strategy – and for some people it feels good – but it accomplishes nothing. This is because the problem isn’t that they can’t hear you – it’s that they don’t understand you. Similarly, it’s not that many drug users don’t know drugs are bad – or haven’t seen warning messages – it is that they have come to a place where they are truly dependent. Screaming at them, arresting them, and legally marginalizing them isn’t going bring them into the fold and increase the likelihood they’ll seek treatment – if anything it will accomplish the opposite. I would love to see Clement in the downtown eastside, yelling at users to seek treatment. It would be about as alienating and as effective as it sounds. Contrast that to the injection site’s strategy of developing a relationship with users over time, and keeping the door open for when they are ready. Is it ideal? No, nothing about the world of drugs is ideal. But at least it works.

The simple fact is, Clement wants to overturn a program that enjoys the support and cooperation of the Vancouver Police Department, local community leaders, local business leaders, and Vancouver Costal Health. Still more problematically, Clement wants to replace a program supported by evidence and science with one based on ideology and fear.

The benefits of the injection site and harm reduction strategies are clear. They include:

Saving lives by:
- Reducing overdose fatalities
- Reducing injection-related infections such as HIV and Hepatitis C
- Increasing access to addiction treatment programs
Improving public order by:
- Reducing public injections
- Reducing drug-use related public disorder
- Reducing drug related waste (such as needles) in public spaces
Reducing healthcare and policing costs associated with drug-use by:
- Reducing emergency room visits
- Reducing use of ambulatory and emergency response services
- Reducing police resources dedicated to drug-use related public disorder

If the Conservatives aren’t interested good public policy, policy that saves lives, improves public order and reduces healthcare costs… so be it. But I am certain they are interested in electoral outcomes. Given the injection site’s support in Vancouver (the last polls show it receives a 70% support rate) it will be difficult to secure a seat in the city if the Insite injection site is perceived to be on the chopping block. With Emerson stepping down, the Conservatives won’t have a single MP from one of the country’s three largest cities. If evidence and science can’t persuade them, maybe, just maybe, electoral math can.

For myself, the Insite injection site is what re-invigorated my interest in municipal politics. I hope it survives the December 31st exemption renewal deadline. Otherwise, I’d hate to be the politician who saw Insite go down on their watch – I know I’ll be volunteering for who evers campaign is opposing theirs.

Carole Taylor and Vision Vancouver

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There are some rumors floating through the blogosphere that BC Finance Minister Carole Taylor is interested in running for Mayor.

It is an interesting development since it is unclear with whom Taylor would run. Most observers would probably argue her natural home would be with the NPA. If Mayor Sullivan succeeds in securing incumbency protection for NPA candidates then nothing short of an open party revolt will bring him down. And then, even if it does, his rumored war chest could mean he could run as an independent.

What then is Taylor to do? One possibility that shouldn’t be ignored is taking a run at the Mayoralty nomination with Vision Vancouver. Clearly many in the party that would find supporting a former Liberal MLA an anathema. But then this would be a test of Vision. It would need to ask itself, is it merely the NDP’s arm in Vancouver politics, or is it a broader based progressive party that seeks to attract progressives on both the right and left of the spectrum? If, it is the former, than it will continue to split the vote with COPE and will likely never recapture the success it achieved under the moderate (and at times right leaning) Larry Campbell.

Indeed, in a worse case scenario where Carole Taylor runs unopposed as the NPA candidate, she would probably clean house. Not only would Vision lose the opportunity to win back the Mayor’s seat, it would almost certainly not pick up any new councilor seats and could conceivably lose some.

But a Vision slate with Taylor at the fore could be powerful. The only question is, could the party foster a coherent agenda between its right and left wing progressives wings? I genuinely don’t know – but it is a possibility worth at least exploring.

For those within Vision who won’t even entertain Taylor because of her alleged conservative pedigree miss a more intriguing narrative. Take a closer look at the BC Liberals track record after Taylor joined. After her arrival the BC Liberals moved left on:

first nations issues (from the insulting “referendum” to Campbell becoming the First Nations emissary to Stephen Harper)
the environment (BC is now the only jurisdiction seriously tackling climate change in Canada)
the unions (from almost out right war with health care workers to labour peace through a series of negotiations lead by Taylor)
homelessness (from cutting programs to buying up SRO’s across the downtown eastside)

This is not an argument in favour of Carole Taylor, only an assertion that Vision would be wise to sit down with her, engage her, and determine if there is sufficient common ground for a closer relationship. What is clear is that this election will be a defining one for Vision. It will need to prove that it is more than just Larry’s creation and can survive on its own. A strong Mayoral candidate – like a Carole Taylor or a Gregor Robertson – will be essential.

Hollyhock hangover…

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So many good things to share. But at the moment, I’m hung over and tired from 5 days of conferencing at Web of Change.

In the meantime, I’d like to share my first musical recommendation on this blog. As my sister’s fiancé know, I’m no music buff – and the idea of sitting (or standing) and watching a band never climbs high on my “to do” list. However, this weekend, I couldn’t have felt more differently. The conference organizers brought in Delhi2Dublin – an electro-acoustic blending of traditional North Indian and Ireland sounds with cutting edge dance rhythms and DJ aesthetics.

A Celtic-Indian-Electronic fusion rock band?

It sounds like multiculturalism gone mad. Heck, it is multiculturalism gone mad… in a distinctly west coast way.

If you are in Vancouver and you are looking for a great band to power your party… consider hiring these guys. Their energy was out of control.

I have no idea how they will sound on CD, but live, they blew my mind (along with pretty much everybody else in our small concert hall).

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to hollyhock I go…

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Very excited over here as I’m about to head off to the Web of Change – an annual gathering connecting senior leaders working at the convergence of online strategy, technology, and social change.

I’ll be giving a talk on online collaboration, and community management in open source projects – I’m looking forward to test out the ideas with an experienced audience. I’m continuing to try to refining my thinking in this space, especially in preparation for the talk I’ll be giving at the Free Software and Open Source Symposium at Seneca College a month from now.

Of course one of the best parts of Web of Change is its location: the secluded Hollyhock conference centre on Cortes Island, near Campbell River, British Columbia. (see map)

I’ll admit it is not easy to get to, but once there… rumour has it that it’s pretty magical. Combine that with some evening yoga sessions, the healthy food on offer and the abundant fresh air, and this could be the most personally renewing conference I’ll ever attend.

In addition, my internet addiction will not be tested as apparently there is an internet room where one can get online. Phew!

As for my blackberry… it will probably be good for me not to have it working for a few days.

the strike that never was…?

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Job actions just aren’t what they used to be.

Here we are in the middle of summer and the pools and library’s are all closed, plus the garbage isn’t being picked up. Interestingly I haven’t read about throngs of Vancouverites complaining (are they? has anybody heard?). Indeed, many businesses and condo associations seem to have private garbage pick up which may explain why.

So far it Vancouverites appear to be blaming neither the union nor city hall. Rather, most Vancouverites simply don’t seem to care. Perhaps what the strike reveals more than anything is that, aside from Police, Fire Department and Public Transport (none of whom are involved in this strike) municipal government services don’t seem to touch the day to day lives of most Vancouverites. That’s a sobering thought for the state of “public services” It certainly isn’t a winning outcome for either City Hall or the union.

That said, the union had better be careful. Mayor Sullivan appears to finally be under lock and key, so the union can no longer rely on his public blunders to boost their case. Indeed, the news stories seem increasingly focused on their blunders: First they expressed outrage at volunteers who pick up the trash after public events. Then they blocked cars from entering a private members club, because that club was offering to dispose of their garbage for $5 a bag. As picket boy documents quite well, what could have been a positive story quickly turned ugly.

If the emerging narrative becomes the union against the city’s citizens, it’s the union that will come out looking bad.

Either way, the optics aren’t good when 240 lb men are pushing around private citizens… regardless of how wealthy they may be.

Why Cambie St. Should have been packed up.

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* first up – apologies for no post yesterday. It was a holiday in BC. Sometime later this week I’ll describe in greater detail my ridiculously BC-like day of island hoping, sea kayaking and BBQing. And to complete the leftcoast feel, a Smart Car was involved too.<!–

Second up… The Canada Line, the new subway being constructed between Richmond, the airport and Vancouver. The damage the construction has caused to businesses along the Cambie street corridor has been getting an increasing amount of buzz in the press. The whole situation is a fabulous lesson in urban planning and civic policy-making – one that sadly the press has not articulate.

For those out east who are not familiar with the Canada Line or its construction, it looks something like this:

Photo by Stephen Rees, (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Sadly, these photos fail to do the situation justice. To put it bluntly, when there is a two story deep hole outside, traffic is at a stand still, the street is unpassable, and there is the endless sound of construction, people tend to stay away. This, needless to say, has made life difficult for the numerous businesses that populate the Cambie St. corridor.

As one can imagine, several businesses (most notably the restaurant Tomato) have moved, several others are complaining. The local MLA – Gregor Robertson – has even introducing a private member’s bill to provide affected businesses with direct financial support.

But is the construction responsible for the death of the Cambie st. businesses? Perhaps. But it is an inevitable death. And this is why the current public policy has so dramatically failed these businesses.

I’ve noted with interest that while businesses complain loudly about the construction and its impact, it is hard to find landowners who complain. One would think that the loss of tenants – and subsequent rental income – this would have generated a fuss. But it hasn’t.

Why? Because the landlords know that once the line is complete most of the Cambie corridor (currently composed of relatively low density commercial buildings) is going to be completely redeveloped. Higher density commercial and, more importantly, condos, are going to be common place along Cambie. Consequently, there is a good chance that if the construction hadn’t kicked these businesses out, their landlords would have in the ensuing rush to redevelop.

Thus the whole notion that Cambie businesses could be kept open was a mirage – a failure to look at the longer term implications of the Subway. Rather than waste time on a failed “Business is Open along the Canada Line” campaign (This is not a communication problem, advertising is not going to bring people to Cambie, only an end to the construction will) local businesses should have been offered money to move location and cover some of their transition costs. While this would have been painful for everyone involved, it would have been less painful then seeing their business dry up and having to move on their own dime.

I’m in favour of the Canada Line. I think it is great for the city. But that doesn’t mean that the Cambie St. businesses should have been left out to dry. The help they received wasn’t the help they needed. sadly, this is probably because giving them the help they needed wasn’t what they wanted to hear, or what politicians wanted to tell them…

* Aug 8th: The Vancouver Sun published this editorial piece on the same day as this post that provides a parallel but different perspective.

If a tree falls in the forest…

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If a debate happens in city council, and nobody is around to report on it, does it have an impact?

Last Thursday I noticed that the Toronto edition of the National Post had front page coverage of Toronto’s city council meeting.

Front Page – with a giant picture to boot!

I’m trying to remember the last time a council issue was the lead cover story in the Vancouver Sun… How about the last time there was a photo of a council meeting?

Sadly – from what I can tell – neither The Sun, nor The Province, nor anyone else, have a single reporter exclusively dedicated to Vancouver city hall and municipal politics (if I’m wrong about this please send me a note – who is it?). This is akin to the Globe or National Post failing to assign someone to cover Parliament Hill. Vaughn Palmer does an excellent job covering the BC legislature for The Sun – so why not have someone do the same for municipal politics?

The lack of coverage fosters a city whose political and policy ideas are often unheard and poorly debated, whose municipal scandals go unquestioned and unpublicized and whose council members and mayor go unscrutinized.

Maybe The Sun may feel it simply isn’t profitable to have such a column. I understand (although doubt it). But this function is so important, some solution must be found. Maybe the Vancouver Foundation or some other agency could endow a reporter to cover the City Hall beat.

Or maybe… the Sun should consider outsourcing the role.

Sounds crazy? Admittedly it’s hardly ideal. But a news website in Pasadena, California, recently hired an Indian journalist to cover local politics. The journalist can watch local council meetings over the internet (the same could be done in Vancouver), many documents are available through the city’s website (as they are in Vancouver), and as the editor of the news web site noted “Whether you’re at a desk in Pasadena or a desk in Mumbai, you’re still just a phone call or e-mail away from the interview.” It’s not my favoured solution, but it is better than nothing.

Vancouverites often claim they’re not jealous of Toronto, but maybe we should be. With the Globe, the National Post and the Toronto Star writing regularly about the city’s politics I know I’m feeling envious.

Addition 11:20am PST – David Beers, editor of The Tyee, has emailed me to say: “Was surprised to see you single us out as one who is stingy on coverage of Vancouver city hall. In fact we do have one reporter who has been dogging the issue of homeless housing, covering city council sessions and often the byline on a cover story. Check out Monte Paulsen’s work.”

It is true, the Tyee has more in depth coverage of city hall than anybody else in town… all to glad to be called out on the oversight and hope readers will check out Paulsen’s work. Also, to be fair, the Georgia Straigt does a review of city councilors and talks about municipal politics, but it doesn’t have consistent reporting on the subject.

Job Opportunity with Canada's World

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Another Job Opportunity for those interested in Canadian Foreign Policy and International Issues.

Job Opportunity – Ethnocultural Outreach Coordinator

Term: 12 months, 28 hours per week
Rate: $27 per hour
Location: Vancouver
Ideal Start date: September 4, 2007
Application deadline: August 13, 2007

Canada’s World, a project of the SFU Centre for Dialogue, seeks a full-time Ethnocultural Outreach Coordinator to join our national team. Canada’s World is a national citizens’ dialogue aimed at creating a new vision for Canadian international policy. Our secretariat offices are based in Vancouver and we work in collaboration with a series of academic and non-profit organizations across the country.

The Ethnocultural Outreach Coordinator plays a pivotal role in this collaborative initiative. S/he will report to the Director of Canada’s World and work closely with staff, interns, volunteers and advisory committee members in engaging ethnocultural and diaspora communities in a series of dialogues about Canada’s place in the world.

The ideal candidate will be an excellent communicator, well organized, and detail oriented with a passion for, and knowledge of, international policy issues. S/he will be bilingual (French and English), enjoy working in a dynamic work environment and have strong networks within ethnocultural and diaspora communities. S/he will be experienced at facilitating community meetings, compiling tailored resource materials, organizing events and speaking to the media. S/he will possess a post-secondary degree in Arts, Social Sciences or a related field, and enjoy working with people.

Canada’s World is an equal opportunity employer. All interested applicants should submit their cover letter, resume and a 200 word response to the following question: What are the greatest challenges and opportunities facing Canada internationally in the next twenty years?

Applications should be mailed to:
Shauna Sylvestershaunas(at)canadasworld.ca,
Canada’s World Fellow,
SFU Centre for Dialogue,
3303 – 515 West Hastings Street,
Vancouver, B.C. V6B 5K3

Sam Suillivan: Public Policy or Personal Gain?

Mike Harcourt – Canada’s Al Gore on Urban Sustainability?

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Yesterday evening, at Vanessa T’s prompting, I headed down to the SFU downtown campus to catch Mike Harcourt (former Mayor of Vancouver and Premier of BC) and Ken Cameron (former regional planner) present on City Making in Paradise their upcoming book about the history of city planning in Vancouver.

Two things struck me about the presentation.

The first was how the successes of municipal planning in Vancouver have largely been made possible by a history of local governments thinking, organizing and acting in coordination at the regional level. As Harcourt pointed out, growth and development meant the political and organic borders of the city ceased to be aligned after the Second World War. The regions cooperative approach to this dilemma – which began in the 1970s and that continues today – makes for an interesting case study. In addition to being broadly successful, it appears to have preempted an effort at amalgamation that was so contentious in Quebec and Ontario.

I’ve known for a while that Harcourt is laser focused on urban sustainability and will work with anyone, regardless of political affiliation, who will help advance this goal. That said, I was nonetheless struck by the degree to which he’s transcended partisan politics. While outlining the 9 decisions that “saved Vancouver” Harcourt was happy to praise individuals who’d once been bitter rivals. Given the recent (unusual) trend of provincial parties racing for the centre maybe this is just a sign of the times. Or maybe Harcourt pragmatic, results focused tonic that BC politics so desperately needs. Maybe it’s both. Anyway, for a guy who was dragged through the provincial political ringer, it’s nice see him so motivated and positive.

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