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SURVIVING AND TIIRIVING - SINGLE MOMS AND I'OVEIU'Y

C a r o l , come i n t o t a l k abou t a mee t ing w i t h t h e S t u d e n t S e r v i c e s Committee of t!ie Burnaby School Board. They want t o

k a b o u t t h e need f o r l u n c h programs i n t h e low income s c h o o l s i n Burnaby, bu t t h e y a l s o want some h e l p i n f i g u r i n g o u t how t o g e t t h i s commit tee t h i n k i n g abou t making a l l t h e s c h o o l s i n t h e m u n i c i p a l i - t y more a c c e s s i b l e t o low income c h i l d r e n and t h e i r p a r e n t s . We go th rough ELP's b r i e f t o t h e Royal Commission on Educa- t i o n i n 1989 and p i c k o u t some o f t h e most i m 2 o r t a n t p o i n t s : - S t u d i e s show t h a t poor c h i l d r e n , w h i l e

o f t e n d i f f e r e n t than midd le c l a s s c h i l d - r e n , c a n be independen t , spon taneous , op- e n , c r e a t i v e , h i g h l y c o o p e r a t i v e and un- p r e t e n t i o u s ; - Poor c h i l d r e n show t h e wonder fu l human

c a p a c i t y t o a d a p t and cope w i t h t h e i r en- v i ronment , y e t i t ' s t h i s b e h a v i o u r , a l o n g w i t h l anguage development , which i s s o o f t e n c r i t i c i z e d i n low income c h i l d r e n (Gordon, 1968; Edwards, 1979) ; - The i s s u e s o f c l a s s i s m , r a c i s m & sex-

i s m a r e n ' t a d d r e s s e d i n t h e c l a s s r o o m and c l ~ i l d r e n who a r e t a r g e t s o f t h e s e opp- r e s s i o n s a r e made t o f e e l l i k e f a i l u r e s .

Before t h e y l e a v e , A n t o i n e t t e hands me a l i s t o f 1 5 names, a d d r e s s e s & phone / / ' s of s i n g l e mothers s h e g o t a t a s i n g l e p a r e n t camp i n C u l t u s Lake. These women were keen t o s t a r t a s u p p o r t g roup focus - e d on p o v e r t y . I ' m e x c i t e d . L a s t week a s i n g l e mother i n C h i l l i w a c k phoned and wanted t o s t a r t a group o u t t h e r e . The name s h e thought of was g r e a t : S.M.A.R.T. - S i n g l e Mothers Are R e a l l y Tough - The e v i d e n c e of t h e work t h a t k e e p s u s

w h i r l i n g is everywhere . S t e v e n , a volun- teer, is making o u r F i g h t i n g P o v e ~ t y K i t s which w e send t o anyone who wants t o know more a b o u t t h e c o a l i t i o n . Another vo lun- t e e r , Dave, is g e t t i n g o u r m a i l i n g o u t . We have 3 monthly p u b l i c a t i o n s : o u r ELP N e w s l e t t e r t h a t g o e s o u t t o p e o p l e i n food bank l i n e u p s ; FLAWline t h a t g o e s t o BC w e l f a r e a d v o c a t e s ; and t h e ACTIONLIUE, a n e w s l e t t e r f i l l e d w i t h a n a l y s i s o f pov- e r t y i s s u e s and what w e ' r e d o i n g .

We're p r e p a r i n g a workshop on t h e econo- my & t h e r e a l c a u s e s of p o v e r t y . Oxfam

gave u s money t o do t h e s e f o r g roups . I n t h i s m o r n i n g ' s m a i l a r e two l e t t e r s from m u n i c i p a l c o u n c i l s who have p a s s e d o u r r e s o l u t i o n s : - minimum wage s h o u l d b e r a i s e d t o a t

l e a s t t h e same p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e p o v e r t y l i n e a s i t was i n 1975. T h i s would b e

o v e r $7.50 a n hour . ( E d i t o r ' s n o t e : T h i s f i g u r e was c o r r e c t when t h e r e s o l h t i o n was f i r s t w r i t t e n i n 1990. New S t a t s Can- a d a f i g u r e s show t h e minimum wage today n e e d s t o be $8.26 a n hour t o have t h e same p u r c h a s i n g c a p a c i t y a s i t had i n ' 75) - t h e w e l f a r e r a t e s s h o u l d be r a i s e d t o

t h e p o v e r t y l i n e ; - t h e p r o v i n c i a l government s h o u l d l e t

s i n g l e mothers on w e l f a r e d e c i d e whe ther t h e y want t o s t a y home w i t h t h e i r c h i l d r e n f u l l t i m e o r work o u t s i d e . S e v e r a l towns, c i t i e s and g r o u p s have p a s s e d t h e s e . You can u s e them t o t a l k a b o u t p o v e r t y i n your a r e a .

J e a n i s t a l k i n g w i t h Debbie , a s i n g l e p a r e n t and ELP Board member. T h e y ' r e p lan- 1 n i n g t h e d e t a i l s of a n e v e n t w e ' r e organ- i z i n g i n a c o u p l e o f weeks. Banners t o = . I ,

sew, s t r e e t t h e a t r e t o c r e a t e , a c t o r s t o f i n d and r e h e a r s e , l e a f l e t s t o w r i t e up & copy, media r e l e a s e s t o compose and f a x . .3

The i d e a h a s come from t h e s i n g l e mothers i n t h e Forced Employment Committee, a group who a r e a f f e c t e d by t h e M i n i s t r y o f S o c i a l S e r v i c e s & Housing p o l i c y o f c l a s s - i f y i n g s i n g l e mothers w i t h c h i l d r e n 6 mo. / o r o l d e r as employable and f o r c i n g them l o o k f o r work. I l o o k a round . Jean and Rose a r e b o t h on

t h e phone, Rose t o Karen i n Nanaimo, co- o r d i n a t o r o f o u r member g roup , t h e Associ a t i o n f o r B e t t e r Communities. Karen, ano- t h e r s i n g l e mom, s a y s s h e was on t h e f r o p page o f t h e Nanaimo Times. Her g roup of s i n g l e p a r e n t s have been working t o g e t h e r f o r 3 y e a r s r a i s i n g t h e i s s u e of pover ty . They have succeeded i n fo rming a 15-membe a n t i - p o v e r t y c o a l i t i o n i n Nanaimo.

The w a l l s have l o n g brown p a p e r s h e e t s s t a r t i n g c l o s e t o t h e c e i l i n g and go ing a l m o s t t o t h e f l o o r , covered w i t h newspap e r a r t i c l e s a b o u t p o v e r t y . ELP and o u r member g r o u p s a r e everywhere . T h e r e ' s an a r t i c l e a b o u t l u n c h programs i n V i c t o r i a ,

with quotes from t h e s i n g l e moms i n t h e V i c t o r i a Child Pover ty Action Committee. Beside i t i s an a r t i c l e i n t h e Ottawa C i t i z e n quo t ing Jean , from a speech she gave a t t h e Nat iona l Symposium on Women and t h e Law. I si t down t o c a t c h my b rea th , bu t two

groups of people come i n t o t h e o f f i c e . Three h igh schoo l s t u d e n t s a r e doing re- s ea rch about pover ty f o r papers they a r e doing, and a TV Crew from Radio Canada wants an i n t e rv i ew .

We have t o keep informat ion about pover ty and s o c i a l j u s t i c e i s s u e s c u r r e n t . We speak t o groups, and keep a c t i v e i n na t - i o n a l groups l i k e t h e Nat iona l Anti-Pover- t y Organiza t ion and t h e Action Canada Net- work. We a r e funded by unions , churches & law groups l i k e t h e Law Foundation and Le- g a l S e r v i c e s Soc i e ty , United Way & o t h e r s . I o f t e n t h i n k I ' m s o p r i v i l e g e d t o be on

s t a f f he re . Ge t t i ng pa id t o do t h i s work s t i l l amazes me. I ' v e been a s i n g l e p a r e n t s i n c e Steven and Melanie were 1 and 3 and now t h e y ' r e teenagers . A l l t hose years . .

: mostly on we l f a r e . I chose pover ty on wel- f a r e ove r a s l i g h t l y h ighe r income working a t a job o u t s i d e . Melanie needed e x t r a a t - t e n t i o n , having Down's Syndrome. Looking back, ove r t hose y e a r s , w i th bad o r no housing (one summer s t a y i n g wi th a f r i e n d ) not enough money and t h e overwhelming bone t i r e d n e s s . I wonder a t myself - a l l t h e o t h e r work I d id . I helped s t a r t a w e l f a r e r i g h t s group i n Surrey , a c t e d a s an advo- c a t e t o more t han 30 people a month o u t of our home, and l e d t h e Pover ty Game workshop dozens of t imes .

I was lucky too. I d i d n ' t have t r o u b l e with t h e law o r have an a d d i c t i o n o r h e a l t h problems t h a t would have fo rced me t o d e a l w i th a u t h o r i t y more than I d i d . While I was doing advocacy, I t a l k e d t o women whose cho ice of working on t h e s t r e e t made s e n s e a f t e r t h e hundredth harassment by workers a t , t h e w e l f a r e off- i c e . S t e a l i n g food i s sometimes more d ig - n i f i e d t han 'wa i t i ng hours i n a food bank l i neup f o r s t a l e buns and canned peas. Get t ing drunk o r s toned is sometimes a vaca t ion from an ugly r e a l i t y .

I s e e myself come i n h e r e t o t h e o i f i c , ? ' o r hea r my v o i c e on t h e o t h e r end of t h e l i n e every day. Keeping your fami ly to- g e t h e r and h e a l t h y i s almost imposs ib le , and i s imposs ib le sometimes. The s i n g l e p a r e n t s we s e e who have t h e edge t o s t a r t f i g h t i n g pover ty u s u a l l y l i v e i n p u b l i c housing o r housing co-ops, w i th t h e worry of h igh r e n t s and crummy housing gone. Some people pay 70% of t h e i r income on poor s h e l t e r , no ya rds where t h e k i d s can p l ay , no q u i e t p l a c e f o r them t o s tudy , co ld i n t h e w i n t e r , w i th bugs. There may be no p l a c e t o do t h e laundry s o you end up on t h e bus w i th k i d s t o t h e co in laun- d ry , where a l l t hose q u a r t e r s could pay f o r a washer, i f you d i d n ' t do laundry f o r a y e a r .

. - - - -- WHO OWNS THE MOST IN CANADA?

DIVISION OF PERSONAL WEALTH IN CANADA

When working people are accused of greed end causing inflation w ~ t h wage domonds. perhups those doing the accusing just don't like to share.

The government's own puljlications show t h ~ t the top 10 porcent of Canadians families have more wealth than the rest of the people combined. The top 2 0 percent have well over double what the remaining 8 0 percent have.

Working people fall in the 8 0 percent group. while professional and middle management domineto the top 2 0 percent. Tha corporate elite would be the top one or two percent.

The actuid breakdown of wealth as of 1984 is 8 5 follows:

% share of wealth poorest 20•‹h -.3% 2nd poorest 20% 2.4% niddle 20% 9 .3% 2nd to richest 20% 19.8% r~chest 20% 68.8% richcst 10%) 51.3%

!Source: Statistics Canada Cat.13-588;. G Oja Changes in tho D~s t r~bu t~on of Wealth In

C~mada, 1970.1984." Juno, 1987). .

The memories I have of be ing on w e l f a r e are grim, pushing t h e two k i d s up t h i s huge h i l l w i t h them and 5 c a s e s of empty bee r b o t t l e s my new l a n d l o r d had g iven m e t o ca sh i n and g e t money f o r supper.Wait- i n g i n a 20 minute l i n e a t t h e w e l f a r e o f f i c e t o make an appointment t o see my worker and t h e r e c e p t i o n i s t i n s i s t i n g I can only make an appointment by phone.

(I used a q u a r t e r and c a l l e d from a phone booth r i g h t o u t s i d e t h e o f f i c e .) Bringing t h e k i d s t o one of Melanie ' s hundreds of d o c t o r ' s appointments on t h e bus and see- i n g u s neve r as c l e a n and unrumpled a s t h e people who packed t h e i r k i d s i n t o a c a r and drove t h e r e .

These d a i l y sma l l h u m i l i a t i o n s t h r e a t e n t o p e r v e r t t h e l o v e I have f o r Steven and Melanie and t u r n i t i n t o impatience. I can f e e l t h e r a g e and f r u s t r a t i o n as I

w r i t e t h i s b u t t h e b i g g e s t memory, t h e one t h a t comes back t o shake m e , is shame The h a r d e s t , most confus ing t ime I spen t h e r e was t r y i n g t o s e e myself as a worker dese rv ing of a paycheque. 1 f e e l t h e - t e n y e a r s of w e l f a r e b e a t my p r i d e and t h e t r u s t I had i n my t h i n k i n g r i g h t 0-ut of me. To g e t i t back was a f i g h t . Support of my f r i e n d s was a b i g he lp . Another el- ement t o h e a l i n g my se l f -es teem w a s see- i n g myself as p a r t o f t h e huge movement i n Canada and around t h e world working t o g e t j u s t i c e f o r women, ou r c h i l d r e n and poor people everywhere.

T h i s i,s what I am lucky t o s e e every day i n o t h e r s i n g l e p a r e n t s . The f i r s t s t e p is t o g e t t o g e t h e r w i th o t h e r s t o s h a r e s t o r i e s and suppor t , and p r a c t i c a l he lp . Then I see women change and grow, doing t h i n g s t hey never thought t hey had t h e courage t o do, meeting p o l i t i c i a n s and t e l l i n g them what t hey and t h e i r c h i l d r e n need. I s e e s i n g l e p a r e n t s go through t h e p roces s of working t o g e t h e r , f i g u r i n g ou t what 's wrong and why and what t o do about i t . ~ t ' s e x c i t i n g t o watch. There a r e powerful consequences: f e e l i n g

b e t t e r and s t r o n g e r so you d o n ' t blame your se l f f o r your pover ty ; l e a r n i n g s k i l l s l i k e w r i t i n g and reading; o rgan iz ing and running a meeting; making a speech; g iv ing an in t e rv i ew on TV o r r a d i o ; keeping a group going - i t ' s very empowering.

Sometimes I t ake low income people t o one of t h e s choo l s i n Vancouver t h a t have lunch programs. I n a b u s t l e of 300 ch i ld - r e n e a t i n g , (of t h e 1500 Vancouver k i d s who a r e fed a n u t r i t i o u s , ho t lunch every day, i n a program t h a t doesn ' t s t i g m a t i z e t h e low income k ids ) I always f e e l so hope

f u l . End L e g i s l a t e d Pover ty , low income people, d i d t h i s . We brought peop le ' s a t t - e n t i o n t o t h e problem of pover ty and work- ed hard t o g e t k i d s f ed . I ' m reminded of a quote from Margaret Mead: ever doubt t h a t a sma l l group of t hough t fu l , concern- ed c i t i z e n s can change t h e world; indeed, i t ' s t h e only t h i n g t h a t eve r does."

THE EDITOR The '~ditor, ~arnegie Newsletter

Dear Sir,

I am writing with regards to the current situation at First United Church. I was a social work student at First United from September, 1990, to April, 1991. I have several con- cerns I wish to raise publicly and your newsletter seems to be the best format for this. I should begin by saying that me ex-

perience with First United's advocacy program was excellent thanks to Allan Alvere (my supervisor), Chris Downing (an outstanding community activist) and Georgina Marshall (also an out- standing and caring worker). I grew to know the downtown eastside community and better understand the unique and extremely difficult living conditions of many of its residents. I sincerely hope I did my best as a student advo- cate to support those people who came to me for help. Unfortunately there is more to work-

ing in an agency or organization than the actual front line work with cli- ents. There is also the work environ- ment and the way in which different levels of an agency interact. What I found and could not ignore at First

appear to sbpport thei!imitiative land' ideas of the "bottom". Needless to say this was a great surprise and dis- appointment to me because I felt the grassroots at First United was involv- ed in some wonderful work (eg. native programs run by dedicated and energet- ic native people). Most of the "dysfunction" at First

United took the form of quiet anger and disagreement. The upper echelons of the Church did not seem interested in the grassroots' views or opinions. I cannot be specific because I do not wish to name individual people but suffice it to say that it appeared that people were sometimes actually punished for expressing their views when those views differed from the views of those in charge. I have rare- ly seen such a top down approach to managing an organization. It reminded me more of a bank or a large multi- national company than a social service organization. Shortly before my practicum was

complete the Board of First United and the superintendent decided to "fire"

*

Chris Downing (this is my interpreta- , tion). The termination occurred sudd- enly at 9:OOam while I was on front line. At 9:20am I was informed of Chris' termination and because the reason for the termination was Chris' particular approach to community dev- elopment I felt it was necessary to protest the termination by suspending work. Both myself and another social , work student walked off the job at I 9:30am. The UBC School of Social Work supported my job action. The Superintendent of First Church

asked to see me two days later be- cause he felt my action was inapprop- riate and ill-conceived. During the actua4 meeting he said, "So, you wanted { to ses me?" In my opinion the Super- 1

-

I1n! ced was an extremely "dysfunctional" intendent's confused approach to my

environment in which the "top" did not I

challenge to his authority was symptom- atic of his difficulty in dealing with the "dysfunction" of the Church's organization. I feel I am free to raise these con-

cerns because I am a member of First United Church and not an employee and therefore am not subject to the unruly discipline of the Church's Board. I feel the community work of First Unit- ed's employees has been excellent and I am both angry and sad to see it in such disarray. It is my sincere hope that by naming the "dysfunction" of First Church I will thereby speed up the change that must occur as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

John Richmond

7. Seems the "dysfunction" is becoming a

matter of intense concern for United Church Headquarters. All United Chur- ches get a "Visitation" once every 3 years or so by a quasi-independent per- son who just sort of looks things over. FUC is getting a special visitation due to the amount of crud & garbage visited on our community in general and on the employees, both past & present, in par- t icular .

(For those of you unfamiliar with DE definitions; 'crud' is a synonym for the work used to describe the product of a bull's bowel movement.) In the last 4 or 5 issues articSes 6

letters have brought light to what FUC administration has tried to keep in the dark. Each time a public response has been asked for from FUC. Our comm- unity has a crucial need for unity'and committed, caring and effective activ- ists..people whose integrity & manner lead to progressive and beneficial change. The FUC administration (this Oversight Board) continues to ignore the issues that resulted in 3 highly

, respected community workers leaving.

(Editor's note: The situation at FUC - acronymical connotation, vis-a-vis the Oversight Board & Hillson & Elliot, definitely intentional - remains un- addressed. Hillson is the head of the Oversight Board & Elliot is the head Rev., so either one could be the super- intendent referred -to by John Richmond.

The welfare advocacy role is crucial; FUC seems to be passing this off with a casual shrug, having spent a fruit- less year trying to find a person with the proper 'theological' background to do advocacy & community work. Rumour has it that FUC is now doing

"other things"; maybe they should just close the building on Hastings and move somewhere where these "other" are priorities. You see, there's no way the FUC administration is going to start the inevitable public meeting over this crap with "What's wrong?")

" I n s i d e every man t h e r e is a wi ld , savage b e a s t t h a t i s a t t h e c o r e o f t h a t man..oppressed, sub l imated , y e t t h e r e ready t o be unleashed t o . . . . Well, i t s t a r t e d ou t a s a quote but i t sounds too much l i k e t h e p l o t f o r e i t h e r a p l o t f o r a Late La te Show B movie w i t h t h e urban wimp suddenly t u r n i n g i n t o Tarzan whi le o r d e r i n g 25,000 more doohickeys f o r $1.49 Day and s a v i n g t h e world OR maybe wha t ' s on t h e cover of t h e brochure a d v e r t i - z i n g an ' i n t e n s e pr imal workshop t o uncover and r e l e a s e your hidden power' - t h e wet dream of every g i r l - t h e WILD MAN!

., " I f any of t h e above l e a d s you t o a

q u i e t c h i c k l e o r , worse, you j u s t end up shaking your head..and you d o n ' t f e e l i t ' s your week t o be saved. .you might j u s t be a mild man (assuming no woman i n h e r r i g h t mind would s t i l l be read ing t h i s c r a p ) .

Yes V i r g i n i a , t h e r e i s a s t o r y some- where i n h e r e ; Bob had an i d e a . . o r i t might have been J e f f ( d o u b t f u l but s t r a n g e r t h i n g s have happened). .or Dan (no, Dan r e a l i z e d he was a l i v e i n 1960 o r s o and got confused s o he de- c ided t o s t i c k t o t h e d e t a i l s ) .... Donald had h i s i d e a i n 1973, C a r l ex- claimed t h a t he 'd been shanghied by nepotism, Ed go t t a l k e d i n t o i t ("you always want t o g e t o u t of here!") and Wayne thought i t was a l i t t l e weird bu t s a i d s u r e , what t h e h e l l . I was t h e last s t a r t e r bu t I have an i ron- c l a d a l i b i Your Honour.

Various and sundry o t h e r s copped ou t so f i n g e r - p o i n t i n g is f u t i l e .

D e s t i n a t i o n - CEEDS farms i n t h e Cariboo. I d e a t i o n - g e t mi ld . Po in t one, we go t t h e r e (we a l s o go t back h e r e but t h a t ' s anodder s t o r y shweet- h e a r t ) , and t h e 6-hour d r i v e on ly took 8 o r 9 hours . Pan ic w a s n o t t h e o r d e r of t h e day, bu t g e t t i n g f o u r mild men p e r v e h i c l e t o a g r e e on t h e d i f f e r e n c e between l e f t & r i g h t i n a matter of seconds can be hard.

weeding went on f o r t h e nex t 5 o r 6 CEEDS i s okay. A f a i r number o f people g o t i t t o g e t h e r and have more hours w i t h 9 o r 10 people . Seeds f o r

o r l e s s kep t i t t o g e t h e r w i t h o r g a n i c CEEDS were s i f t e d on t h e s i d e w i t h mouncing mishmash composed f o r com- farming & gardening & animal husbandry p o s t . Time t o t a l k , walk, work ... & Trooper Power and o t h e r good s h i t . t a l k whi le walking t o work. It soon g o t through our c i t y f i e d minds t h a t

e a r l y evening and Carl, who was gross- i n g himself o u t w i t h no shower f o r a few days (weeks?) d i d t h e r e l a t i v e l y wi ld t h i n g of washing i n t h e l a k e but had t o change o u t o f h i s s h o r t s when he f o r g o t h i s knees .

Rain n ixed t h e d i n n e r ou tdoors and Music of t h e Biosphere c a r r i e d on in-

A c o l l e c t i v e agenda was t h e f i r s t s i d e t h e farmhouse. Word h a s i t t h a t joke and p e r s o n a l agendas were s lowly supper was served at 2 a.m. t o r t u r e d over slow f i r e s . J e r r y & Nic P a r t of t h e l a s t day and t h e t r i p & Greg & Terry were ready to back was s p e n t i n a t t e m p t s t o a g r e e us g e t mild w i t h an a c r e & a h a l f of on a s t o r y f o r a l l t h e f a i n t - o f - h e a r t garden i n need of weeding. The 8 of ( spouses , f r i e n d s , t h e v a r i o u s and u s had s p e n t about an hour a f t e r sundry. . ) who would ask , "What d i d b r e a k f a s t be ing s a r c a s t i c about s a r - you do?" Nothing wi ld man. casm then accep ted t h a t t h e world was

By PAULR TAYLOR

THE WEST VANCOUVER CLAN

The West Vancouver Clan (WVC) h e l d a confe rence t o s i d c u s s how b e s t t o p r o t e c t and expand t h e i r nouveaux r i c h e s .

I t was dec ided t h a t t h e g r a c e of Aurora would be bestowed beneath them, and t h a t t h e Melman conquest would n o t come t o p a s s .

Summoning a q u i c k s e n s e o f honour, t h e Melman Conquest l e f t t h e WVC and chanted "uni ty" as i t marched t o t h e Fire-In-Her-Belly-Camp (FIHBC), where t h e y were welcomed l i k e an i ce -co ld a l k a - s e l t z e r .

Now t h e WVC was under t h e c o n t r o l o f t h e Nineteen-Ninety-Nine Hong Kong S h u f f l e Video Club (NNNHKSVC), and t h e FIHBC w a s n o t .

So t h e WVC, knowing t h e y cou ld n o t soon b r i n g i n t o being t h e i r own band of puppet power b r o k e r s , decided t o suppor t t h e i r most dangerous enemy, t h e Whose-Side-Are-You-On-Coalition (WSAYOC), l e t them f i g h t i t o u t w i t h t h e FIHBC f o r 4 o r 5 y e a r s & then s t r i k e w i t h t h e red-hot i r o n o f NNNHKSVC.

And from a l l of t h i s came t o p a s t u r e t h e g r e a t Middle Of Road B r i t i s h . Unity L i n g u i s t i c L e g i s l a t o r s ' S o l i d Heavy Economic T r e a t i s e (MORBULLSHET).

I J u s t a reminder t h a t I ' m s t i l l a v a i l -

a b l e - no charge - t o h e l p Carnegie p a t r o n s w i t h problems of TV r e c e p t i o n . Your s e t s t a y s a t your home. As a "TV Handyman" r a t h e r than a t e c h n i c i a n I ' m o n l y s u c c e s s f u l i n about 50 per- c e n t o f t h e c a s e s .

I might a l s o be a b l e t o o f f e r a d v i c e about where t o buy a low-price, c o l o u r TV w i t h a war ran ty .

I f you t h i n k I cou ld h e l p , l e a v e a message f o r me a t Carneg ie ' s I n f o Desk. Th is is a v o l u n t a r y Carnegie program.

ERIC ERICKSON

FAUlL I PUBUC WC C A W LS. R WUE

G MSROCHE (INTEffiEsrKN I H&

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CANADA'S CRIMINAL GOVERNMENT

M.BEAU0RY (0 PARENT)

R.BOURASSA IT GfMrTONnAF RENIE RE

CAlSsE OEPOT

MILA ANGUWJARVIS

RONEY

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TRANSPISMALLBUS. h BbS;Hlt7; h OUEtnTt

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E d i t o r , ment of t o o many of our r i g h t s i n t h i s For those who a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n our so -ca l l ed "democracy". Act now - g i v e

freedom I ask you t o w r i t e t o your MP them t h e message t h a t Enough i s Enough. t o p r o t e s t t h e d i c t a t o r i a l i n f r i n g e -

L i l F r i e d r i c h & W.B., McLure, BC

New Democrats - B.C. r i d i n g s -

DAVE BARRETT M .P . Iim 914, Confederat ion Bldg.

DAWN BLACK M.P. &n 379, Confederat ion Bldg.

J O H N F , BREWIN M.P. Iim 430, West Block.

J I M KARPOFF M.P. Rm 639-C, Centre Block

LYLE KRISTIANSEN M.P. Rm 900, Confederat ion Bldg.

J O Y LANGAN M.P. Rm 640-C, Centre Block.

NELSON RIIS M.P. Rm 437, West Block.

RAYMOND SKELLY M. P . Rm 747, Confederat ion Bldg.

DAVID STUPICH M.P. Rm 928, Confederat ion Bldg.

J A C K WHITTAKER M.P. Rm 903, Confederat ion Bldg.

J I M FULTON M. P. Rm 754, Confederat ion Bldg.

BRIAN L. GARDENER M.P. Rrn 742, Confederat ion Bldg.

LYLE HUNTER M .P . Rm 760, Confederat ion Bldg.

LYLE DEAN MacWILLIAMS M.P. Rm 658-D, Centre Block

"MARGARET ANN MITCHELL M.P. Rm 385, Confederat ion Bldg.

SID PAEXER M.P. Rm 9 ~ 7 , Confederat ion Bldg .

SVEND J. ROBINSON M.P. Rm 386. Confederat ion Bldg. ROBERT E. SKELLY M.P. Rm 748, Confederat ion Bldg.

IAN WADDELL M . P . Rm 759, Confederat ion Bldg.

The on ly L i b e r a l MP i n BC: RT. HON. J O H N N . TURNER M. P. Rm 409-S, Centre Block.

P.C. ( T o r i e s ) - B.C. r i d i n g s -

ROSS BELSHER M.P. Rm 238, West Block.

MARY COLLINS M.P. Rm 624, Confederat ion Bldg.

HON. J O H N A. FRASER M.P. Rm 229-N, Cen t re Block.

AL HORNING M.P. Rm 158, Confederat ion Bldg.

HON. THOMAS SIDDON M.P. Rm 121, Eas t Block.

STAN WILBEE M.P. Rm 252, Confederat ion Bldg.

K I M CAMPBELL M.P. Rm 434-N, Cen t re Block. CHUCK COOK M .P . Rm 534-N, Cen t re Block.

BENNO FRIESEN M.P. Rm 172, Confederat ion Bldg.

HON. FRANK OBERLE M.P. Rm 576, Confederat ion Bldg.

ROBERT L. WENMAN M.P. Rm 235, Confederat ion Bldg.

DAVE WORTHY M . P . Rm 276, Wel l ington Bldg.

A l l : House of Commons, OTTAWA, Onta r io . KIA 0A6

P

o r t h e Exander-Smith Publtic Review P a n e l . E d i t o r , I remember t h e 1 9 7 0 ' s Goa l s f o r Vanccu-

"pe t ro leum b a r g e s o p e r a t i n g i n Vancouver V e r s t u d y which found t h a t 10% o f a l l j o b s Harbour can b e c h a r a c t e r i z e d a s s i n g l e i n t h e Lower Mainland are d i r e c t l y o r in - s h e l l h u l l e d v e s s e l s , which a r e unmanned & d i r e c t l y l i n k e d t o t h e P o r t . We have t o

u s u a l l y towed by a w i r e r o p e connec ted t o P r o t e c t t h o s e j o b s b u t we a l s o have t o en-

e i t h e r a wire o r c h a i n l i n k b r i d l e . The 10- s u r e t h a t o u r environment i s p r o t e c t e d . c a l Vancouver f l e e t c a n be c l a s s i f i e d a s m e m a j o r o i l s p i l l c o u l d d e s t r o y b e a c h e s ag ing - few a d d i t i o n s have been made s i n c e f o r q u i t e Some t i m e . Imagine E n g l i s h Cay

t h e e a r l y s e v e n t i e s . " o r L i g h t h o u s e P a r k c o a t e d w i t h a b l a c k goo;

No, t h e above s t a t e m e n t i s n ' t from an t h o u s a n d s o f s e a p l a n t s , b i r d s & f i s h dead .

o p p o s i t i o n p o l i t i c i a n . I t ' s from a g o v t . I n . s h o r t I b e l i e v e we have t o e n s u r e t h s t

r e p o r t , "A R i s k A n a l y s i s o f Tanker T r a f f i c t a n k e r s e n t e r i n g Canadian w a t e r s a r e s a f e

klovement w i t h i n t h e P o r t o f Vancouver" - Can be, ' t h a t government is p r e p a r e d t o

t h e 3 r d s u c h g o v t . r e p o r t i n t h e l a s t COU- respond e f f e c t i v e l y s h o u l d a spi l l o c c u r , p l e of y e a r s . I hope a l l C a r n e g i e Newslet- t h a t t h e r e a r e a d e q u a t e i n s p e c t i o n s o f

t e r r e a d e r s w i l l j o i n w i t h me i n u r g i n g t z n k e r s , t h a t p e n a l t i e s i n p l a c e f o r v i o -

t h e f e d e r a l government t o implement t h e l a t i n g t h e law s e r v e a s a d e t e r r e n t & t h a t

recommendations which a r i s e from t h i s . F o r t h e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f t h e wes t c o a s t t a n k e r whatever r e a s o n s , t h e y have chosen n o t t o e x c l u s i o n zone i s reviewed. implement e i t h e r t h e David h d e r s o n Repor t Dsr ren Lowe

&*S*** *&*&~*&*ss&*saf&rAk X**H&*** THE SCENT of SUMMER ROSES

The roll of distant thunderlwith winds that bend the trees, The sounds of angry waterlout there upon the seas. Scratchings on the window-~ane/as shadows trace the wall, Faint rustles in the closetland creakings in the hall.

Now time to sleep,my darlinglto cover up your head, To snuggle in the blanketslinside a soft,warm bed. It's time to hold your ~eddy/to press him very tight, He'll stay with you,my darlingluntil the morning's light. Think of baby bunnies, Good times at the Fair, The scent of Summer roses, Floating on the air. Now dream the dreams of ~den/up where an angel sings, Where you can ride white horseslthat fly on silver wings. Where baby swallows flutterlwithout a single care, Through the scent of Summer roses/floating on the air.

Then as the misty morninglbegins a brand new day, When pretty dreams start fadingland slowly slip away. If in those passing moments/you breathe a quiet sigh, And if there comes a sadnesslwith teardrops in your eye. TSnk of baby bunnies, Good times at the Fair, The scent of Summer roses, Floating on the air.

Michael James McLellan

t h e E a s t - grimy b a r - s l a n t e d f l o o r s and broken c h a i r s - but who t h e h e l l n o t i c e s .

A few b e e r s - a few good l a u g h s , a good t i m e ; who among u s r e a l l y n e e d s a panc)vamic decorum - c h a n d e l i e r s and cashmere c a r p e t s - sometimes t h e music i.n t h e s e l e s s t h a n g r a c i o u s b a r s i s t h e b e s t y o u ' r e gonna h e a r anywhere; and you know t h e guys p l a y i n g i t a r e t h e guys l u r i n g i t : and eve ryone t h e r e i s l i v i n g i t somehow o r o t h e r .

Did t h e j i g i n t h e BC i n t e r i o r . . t h a t l a n d i s someth ing beyond words. Whit- man o r Shakespea re c o u l d have s a i d i t bu t f o r me sometimes words f a l l s h o r t - b u t ~ ' m s u r e an a r t i s t o f l and -

s c a p e s would have a good t ime p a i n t i n g f o r y e a r s . . . Drove t o a farmhouse down a l o n g - f o r g o t t e n r o a d , p u l l e d up and what t h e h e l l - c a r s and peop le every- where and a f u l l - t i l t band c a l l e d "Coyote" someth ing p l a y i n ' 6 p l a y i n ' good and a l l t h e l i q u i d and food a body c o u l d consume - somewhere a f i r e was go ing o u t s i d e t h e farmhouse - l o t s o f f o l k s walked o f f t h a t way, n o t t o be s e e n a g a i n u n t i l morning . .cone t o t h i n k o f i t I n e v e r r e a l l y knew where t h e farmhouse was.

p e o p l e be t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e p r i c e of e v e r y t h i n g : f o o d , h o u s i n g , t o b a c c o , day c a r e , h o s p i t a l s , r o a d s , b u i l d i n g s - n o t t o ment ion a i r & water - i t ' s e x p e n s i v e b r e a t h i n g i n d i s e a s e and c h e m i c a l s - i t ' s e x p e n s i v e e a t i n g con tamina t ed f i s h & a n i m a l s ... b i g q u e s t i o n is when d o e s i n f l a t i o n l r e c - e s s i o n END?or is t h i s r i d e t h e o n l y r i d e a t t h e f a i r !

I t ' s a s a d f a c t o f r e a l i t y , b u t f a c t i s we g o t no c o n t r o l ' bou t what o u r ' e l e c t e d ' o f f i c i a l s a r e d o i n ' -

Oh, we t a l k i t up - s t o p a few bad- s m e l l i n g B i l l s , b u t o n l y t h e B i l l s

I t h e o f f i c i a l s want s t o p p e d - expenda- b l e B i l l s , used a s a smoke s c r e e n - I t a k i n g p e o p l e ' s t h o u g h t s away from t h e r e a l problems. . . t h e d e s t r u c t i v e b i l l s sneak by un- n o t i c e d , o u r l i v e s r u i n e d , u n c h a l l e n g e d

Did t h e j i g a t t h e 01' Greyhound Bus s t o p - and t h a t was ' c a u s e i t w a s r a i n soaked c o l d -

I s u r e w a s n ' t a l o n e d o i n ' t h e 2- s t e p a t f o u r i n t h e e a r l y morning and a f t e r e v e r y t h i n g i s s a i d and done .

c i g a r e t t e s tas te b e t t e r i f eve ryone i s smokin' them a t t h e same t i m e -

l i k e most t h i n g s I suppose!

P r i c e s based on a b i l i t y t o pay (!) Fees based on a b i l i t y t o pay (!) So f a r , t h i s is p r e t t y i d e a l i s t i c

s o l e t ' s s t a r t w i t h a b a s i c peeve of humans everywhere: Paying f o r some- t h i n g t h a t , i f you g e t complete i n f o and go through o t h e r , e q u a l l y okay channe l s , you g e t f o r f r e e .

A guy c a l l i n g h imse l f J i m G . came i n t o Carnegie and wanted t o s h a r e what he 'd j u s t s p e n t t ime going t h r u . He had a c r i m i n a l r e c o r d and, through t h e John Howard S o c i e t y , could g e t bonded and be e l i g i b l e f o r a l o t of j o b s t h a t o t h e r w i s e were c l o s e d t o him. Fine. One of t h e b a s i c p i e c e s of paper he needed was a h a r d , o f f i c - i a l copy of h i s r ecord and t h e form t o g e t t h i s had t o have a copy of h i s f i n g e r p r i n t s a t t a c h e d .

A l i t t l e f a c t t h a t some o f u s can r - l a t e t o - J i m G . i s c u r r e n t l y on d e l f a r e .

"Acceptable" f i n g e r p r i n t s a r e t h o s e taken by t h e p o l i c e . Now comes t h e p a r t t h a t J i m G. j u s t c o u l d n ' t a c c e p t : Every munic ipa l p o l i c e f o r c e c h a r g e s a f e e t o t a k e your f i n g e r p r i n t s and Vancouver 's f i n e s t have one of t h e h i g h e s t f e e s i n BC - $32. For J i m . . f o r anyone on income a s s i s t a n c e . . t h e t32 h a s t o come o u t of your food money bu t he w a s t o l d of a l l t h e r e s t r i c t i o n s & r e a s o n s & whatnot t h a t a l l seemed t o add up t o no way ------ o u t - no money = no i n k on 'd f i n g e r s .

J i m w a s t o l d he c o u l d n ' t go t o a d i f f e r e n t town because he l i v e s h e r e ; he l e a r n e d t h a t when t h e RCMP a c t as a m u n i c i p a l i t y ' s p o l i c e i t is tech-

n i c a l l y a c o n t r a c t ( t h e y a r e enforc- i n g munic ipa l law) and a r e n ' t r e q u i r - ed , by law, t o do f i n g e r p r i n t i n g as a p u b l i c s e r v i c e - f o r f r e e .

J i m decided t o g e t t h e f a c t s o f t h e m a t t e r and c a l l e d a t o l l - f r e e number t o g e t t h e lowdown on t h e law - t h e P r i v a c y Act.(l-800-276-0441). He spoke t o Monique LeBlanc i n t h e P r i - vacy Commissioner's O f f i c e . It began t o g e t c l e a r e r . Then he t a l k e d t o Robert Woodward and g o t t h e r e s t c l e a r . Seems t h a t what he 'd been t o l d about n o t be ing a l lowed t o c r o s s boundar ies (going t o a town w i t h a cheaper f e e ) was "pol icy" , n o t law, and was o n l y p r e s e n t e d as ca rved i n s t o n e s o each m u n i c i p a l i t y ' s p o l i c e would have more income. The b i t on t h e RCMP was o n l y t r u e i f you went t o a detachment, and t h a t b i t of i n f o opened t h e r i g h t door .

Turned o u t t h a t a l l J i m G. had t o do - what anyone need ing a copy o f t h e i r f i n g e r p r i n t s had t o do - was go t h e t h e RCMP's E D i v i s i o n Head- q u a r t e r s a t 657 W. 37 th Avenue, Mon. t o F r i . from 8am - lpm and i t ' s f r e e . Not o n l y do they t a k e t h e p r i n t s , t h e o r i g i n a l copy i s g i v e n t o you t o m a i l and they even p r o v i d e t h e l e t t e r a l r e a d y addressed . It goes t o :

David J. McCormick, C/Supt. P r ivacy Co-ordinator RCMF' 1200 Vanier Parkway OTTAWA, Onta r io . K I A OR2

The phone number o f t h e Commanding O f f i c e r a t 37 th Ave. is 264-2000.

The i d e a l r e s u l t i s be ing bonded i n t h i s c a s e . P r a c t i c a l r e s u l t s , i f you need your f i n g e r p r i n t s o r what- e v e r from t h e f e d e r a l government, i s t h a t g e t t i n g t h e c o r r e c t & complete i n f o can l e t you e a t f o r a n o t h e r 10 days of t h e month. Thus ends t o d a y ' s l e s s o n i n b u r e a u c r a t i c b u l l s h i t .

By PAULR TAYLOR

STD LLLNLC - fl0n~ap:~Q~rpqgh~rFr.idq1~~Barp; - 5pm. '

DOWNToWN FREE HEDICAL CLINIC - Mon, Wed, F r i , 5:30-7 : 30 NEEDLE EXCHANGE - 221 Main; e v e r y day - 9am-5pm

YOUTH Needle exchange van - on t h e s t r e e t Mon-Sat even ings . N.A. meets e v e r y Monday n i g h t at 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

blendel R.-$15 Marilyn S .-$36 Heather M.-$15 Darren L.-$50 Herman L.-$10 F o r e s t Lawn -$20 Ke i th C.-$30 E t i e n n e S.-$20 Sandy C.-$35 Nancy W.-$75 T e r r y T.-$200 A r t VL -$5 Brenda -$5 Vishva A.-$15 Jane t B .-$20 E l l e n -$5 L i l l i a n H.-$20 Sue H.-$50 Col leen E.-$25 Donald M.-$5 Dave -$ lo B i l l T .-$20 Nancy J.-$10 Anne t t e R.-$30 W i l l i a m B.-$20 Rhinos -$3.03 Laughing Bear -$200 A l b e r t H.-$8 S a l v a t i o n Army Chi l l iwack -$30 Legal S e r v i c e s S o c i e t y -$500

1991 DONATIONS: Char ley B.-$30 Oly(Sven) -$20 Cement Masons -$175

TIITS N:..JSI.ETTER I S A PUBLICA'TZOH OF TIIT. . CXHN!..C IPS C'OEQKIN ITY CLNTRC A S 3 0 C i ZTION.

Nkxt I s s u e ' s A r t i c l e s represent t h e v iews o f i n d i v i d v n l

c o n t r i b u t o r s and n o t o f t h e A s s o c i a t i o n . DEADLINE

12 August FREE - Ddnntions a c c e p t e d .

Monday C i t y I n l o s t a f f c a n ' t acrq-pt donat ions f o r t h i s N e w s l e t t e r , s o if you can h e l p , f i n d Paul Taylor and h e ' l l g i v e you a r e c e i p t .

Thanks everybody!

-

F i r s t United Church -$500 Anonymous -$38 The Downtown Eastside Itesidents' AGsociaUol~

* any melfiire problerns + lnformatlon on legal rlghts * disputes w i h landlords * unsilie living crsnditinns + lnconle tax + UIC probleins + f irding housing * opcning a tank account

FOOD BANKS ARE A BANDAID, NOT A SOLUTION

On July 16 & July 23, articles appeared in the Vancouver Sun reporting on Vancou- ver's Food Banks, Executive Director Jill van Dijk is quoted as saying that, while the Food Bank was originally set up to help the most needy through tough times, its use has steadily increased in its 9- year existence. Also, "We now have a 2nd generation of food bank users" referring to one young mother. In each article, the picture presented is uniformly one of Blaming the Victim. People getting food are referred to generically as "(not) learning living skills, they learn how to accept a handout." And "shufflers - those who stand meekly, quietly & anonymously in line, refusing to make eye contact, refusing to believe they have a choice." It's a cruelly-written piece. How academic is it when you learn to

accept a handout or go hungry, when a person shuffles their feet because a walk of a mile or more is often necessary to get to the food bank when you have no money for the bus, when being meek & qui- et is one of the few ways to hold onto some dignity and self-esteem because of having to rely on charity? Please remem- ber that many single mothers just cannot go - cannot find a babysitter who will care for an infant or young hcildren for , free for the several hours involved. Counting back, it seems the doors of

the Food Bank first opened near the end of the 1981-82 recession. Downturns & re- cessions are regular occurrences. The methods in common use in business are ex- posed periodically, the best at them cut & wait, thousands of people get burned &, as prices fall & commodities are devalued these buzzards move in for killings on a massive scale. Fortunes were made during the Great De-

pression with criminals able to buy goods & real estate at up to 1/100th of the actual worth. The Food Bank wasn't an overnight mir-

acle either. As unemployment rose and prices skyrocketed, economic pressures crushed choice with hunger & inadequate methods of dealing with it. The overall cost of living (then as now) far exceeded the meagre welfare rates. In B.C. today welfare provides incomes that are from 44-61% of Stats Canada's poverty lines. The poverty line is the level of income

required by single people & different sized families to pay for the minimum ne- cessities of food, clothing, shelter, medical aid & education. Former socred premier Bill Bennett had

kept welfare rates frozen for years but inflation didn't freeze and (then as now) II unemployment & underemployment, in which people have to work at poor-paying, part- time jobs..devastating rent increases & people spending up to 70% of their income on rent". .. in the last year there has been a 21% increase in the number of people using food banks. P.R. Sarkar, in a talk entitled "Psy-

cho-Economic Exploitation" says:

"When the exploitation in the physi- cal sphere is directly economic in character, even the common people can understand that; they need not Laboclr hard to comprehend it. But in the event of exploitation in other spheres the exploited people are not even aware of the fact that they are being exploited. That is why it becomes easy for the cunning exploiters to keep them in prolonged domination by crea- ting inferiority complexes in their minds. "And the tragedy is that the exploit- ed mass don't try to understand; they even refuse to understand even though some may try to make them understand, that they are the victims of exploit- ation. So. this is more dan~erous. - - - When the exploitation is directly ec- onomic, the people can easily under- stand it; but when the exploitation is perpetrated in this socio-economic sphere or the psycho-economic sphere, the situation becomes complicated. The people feel a little aggrieved be- cause they feel that they are being psvchicallv suppressed, but they are

not aware of the fact that the ulti- mate result is their economic exploit- ,

ation. "Today all over the world there is greater economic awareness than before. That is why the cunning exploiters have resorted to the path of either socio-economic or psycho-economic ex- ploitation. They have spread their trap over a vaster area, hoping to reap a rich harvest. "

The Food Bank is a bandaid yet the wound it's covering is carefully avoided - the problem of hunger & poverty that is grow- ing faster & more menacingly than any cha- rity's ability to cope. Charity itself, however well-intentioned,

is a bandaid, not a solution. Charity cre- ates a relationship of power & dependence instead of equality & respect. It makes the giver feel good and the receiver feels humiliated..it perpetuates inequality, doesn't end poverty & lets the government off the hook. It creates the illusion that people's needs are being met when they are not. Many, many people fall through the cracks of charity. The "tough times" are not and never will

be a thing of the past as long as wealth accumulation practices are permitted which allow obscene amounts to stop in increas- ingly fewer hands. In 1987 Stats Canada figures show that the poorest 20% of Cana- dians owned .3% of our wealth, while the richest 10% owned 51.3%. Almost 70% of those with a substantiak amount of wealth inherit it. One phone call will give anyone up-to-

date, almost exact numbers of people on welfare last month. Unemployment figures are exaggerated down; if you work fur an hour a week, you aren't counted - you are employed! The Stats Canada figures stated are from 1987 - the most recent available. A professor of economics at the University of Alberta did a report & video in 1990 entitled "Who Are The Real Welfare ~ums" and stated that it took him over a year just to weed out the grants, tax-free loans and loopholes that profit multinat- ionals billions. Who wins and who loses?

These conglomerates , a ided by t h e i r pol- i t i c a l ' go - f e r s ' , have fue l ed high unem- ployment (almost 200,000 i n BC i n June - 10.3% nat ionwide) ; kept wages down ( a s i n g l e person can work fu l l - t ime a t t h e -.li.nimum wage and s t i l l be over $3,000 be- ?o - t h e Poverty l i n e ) ; made housing too expensive & hard t o f i n d ; keep i n t e n s e p re s su re on t o s h i f t t a x e s from being f a i r , (based on a b i l i t y t o pay) t o being u n f a i r ( l i k e t h e GST and continuous i n c r e a s e s f o r the middle-class , working & poor) ; paid something l i k e $54 m i l l i o n t o promote Free Trade before t h e 1988 e l e c t i o n s ( i t ' s c o s t 250,000 jobs s o f a r ) and con t inue t o work hand-in-.glove wi th government t o keep un- employment h igh (we l f a r e can be c u t i f you don ' t t ake any job a t any wage), wages low

( i p s o f a c t o ) and t r a s h s o c i a l programs - a l l p a r t of t h e i r s t r a t e g y t o become "com- p e t i t i v e i n a g l o b a l market." With smoke & mir ro r s & r e g u l a r bashing of t h e poor, middle-class v o t e r s con t inue t o b e l i e v e the s t e r e o t y p i c a l "bum", "lazy", " s h i f t - l e s s " , e t c . and t h e Royal Bank of Canada g e t s t o d e f e r ( f o r e v e r ) over $140 m i l l i o n i n t axes i n 1987.

ad nauseum.. . rin independent r e p o r t i n BC c a l c u l a t e s

t h a t i t c o s t s more j u s t t o f u l f i l l d a i l y n u t r i t i o n a l requi rements , over a month, than a person o r a fami ly on we l f a r e re- c e i v e s f o r food, c l o t h i n g & o t h e r essen- t i a l s i n t h e same month.

With Eaton ' s p r i c i n g T - s h i r t s a t $38.. . To ach ieve t h e same purchasing power i t

had i n 1975, t h e minimum wage would have t o be r a i s e d t o $8.26 an hour.

Pub l i c awareness i s growing and people, e s p e c i a l l y (but no t e x c l u s i v e l y ) those wi th low incomes, know of p o l l u t i o n & poi- sons & ecology..and may have a time "choo- s i n g between canned peas & canned corn" whi le t h ink ing of p e s t i c i d e s & t o x i c chem- i c a l dumps. S t a l e buns can equa l r anc id o i l s & packaging waste.

The Food Bank has g o t t e n l e s s i n dona- f t i o n s p a r t l y because of t h e t u rmoi l over Sy lv i a R u s s e l l , but a l s o because of more [ and more a r t i c l e s l i k e t h e s e appear ing . The causes of pover ty make t h e c a u s e r s angry - i t ' s l i k e g e t t i n g caught . The cause & e f f e c t connect ions a r e s imple , bu t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y is denied . The d i r e c t re- s u l t s of t h i s d e n i a l a r e i nc reased pover ty . .and food banks.

his. van Dijk s t a t e s t h a t co rpo ra t e a i d is "ext rcmely low". People a f f l i c t e d w i th t h e greed mindset have t o blame t h e v i c - t i m ; wi th a conscierlce t h a t ' s s t o n e co ld dead, such r a t i o n a l e i s a p r e s e r v a t i v e .

A l l t h i s i s t o g i v e c redence t o t h e s ta tement t h a t t h e Food Bank cannot be phased ou t o r a b r u p t l y c lo sed wi thout bo th , immediate & long-term changes i n Canadian , and c a p i t a l i s t economic s t r u c t u r e s . I ' l l end t h i s w i th a quote from Dom Helder I

Camara :

"When I. g i v e f o ~ d t o t h e poor, t hey c a l l m e a s a i n t . I

When 1 a s k why t h e poor have no food , , they c a l l me a communist."

By PAULR TAYLOR 1 I

3 e r e a r e t h e f i v e b i g g e s t t a x loop- ho les a l lowed by t h e f e d e r a l govern- ment. Any of you e v e r c o l l e c t e d them?

I 1. C a p i t a l Gains L i f e t i m e Exemption & I p r e f e r r e d r a t e s . Thfs i s t h e loop-

hole t h a t makes money f o r peop le who buy t h i n k s t h a t go up i n v a l u e l i k e r e a l e s t a t e o r p a i n t i n g s . When hhey s e l l t h e t h i n g s , t h e government d o e s n ' t tax p a r t of t h e i r p r o f i t . T h i s loopho le cos t s t h e f e d e r a l g o v t . $ 2 . 8 b i l l i o n .

2 . Bus iness & Ente r t a inment Deduct ion. Corpora te e x e c u t i v e s go o u t f o r bus-

inesk lunches o r buy s p e c i a l s e a t s a t s p o r t s e v e n t s . With t h i s l o o p h o l e , they cad deduct t h e c o s t from t h e i r in- come. T h i s loopho le c o s t s t h e f e d e r a l government $ 1 . 1 b i l l i o n .

o u r problem, the more we more w e wan t."

3 . Dividend Tax C r e d i t . T h i s i s f o r peop le who g e t money from owning

s t o c k s . They d o n ' t have t o pay t a x on some of i t . T h i s loopho le c o s t s t h e f e d e r a l government $1 b i l l i o n .

4 . Manufactur ing & P r o c e s s i n g Tax. T h i s loopho le c o s t s t h e g o v t . $1 b i l l i o n .

5. I n t e r e s t D e d u c t i b i l i t y Tax. T h i s i s f o r c o r p o r a t i o n s t h a t buy up o t h e r

c o r p o r a t i o n s . When t h e y borrow money t o do t h i s , t h e y can deduct t h e i n t e r e s t t h e y pay from t h e i r income. T h i s loop- h o l e c o s t s t h e gov t . $800 m i l l i o n .

T h a t ' s a t o t a l of $6 .7 b i l l i o n t h a t t h e government g i v e s t o t h e r i c h . It could b e used f o r b e t t e r w e l f a r e , h e a l t h , e d u c a t i o n & c l e a n i n g up t h e

., environment . ww-

Hours a r e Mon-Thur (3pm-2am), Fri-Sun (Ipm ~ l l e S t a r 11 in go Hal l a t 877 E. Hastings -zam) . ~t has a p l e a s a n t , renovated atmo- i s our couununity bingo entertainment spo t . sphere, courteous s t a f f , a n ~ n - ~ r n ~ k i ~ g B Y p lay ing t h e r e , w e support our l o c a l or- a rea , mobi le co f fee c a r t s , a Break-Open ganizat ions l i k e Carnegie, Ray-Cam and ba r and a new concession. ~ t r a t h c o n a Community Centres, Eastsi.de Fa- so if an afternoon o r even- m i l y p l ace , ire hall Theatre , MOSAIC and ing of wholesome fun. .see you a t S t a r II! ! Cris i s Centrs .

( A message of t h e Carnegie Community Centre ~ s s o c i a t i o n )