Co-ops Yes, Gentrification No

We need a Real Deal for False Creek

Nov 04, 2021

Photo: False Creek South, July 2020. Shutterstock.

False Creek South - where to go from here.

Vancouver City Council rejects real estate department’s vision for False Creek South

Last week, Vancouver City Council voted to shut down the plan from their real estate department, promoted by Mayor Kennedy Stewart, to demolish co-op and social housing in False Creek South. In a unanimous vote (including Mayor Stewart), City Council voted to receive the real estate department’s report for information only, and to begin a fresh public planning process involving the RePlan Group of the False Creek South Neighbourhood Association and the City of Vancouver Planning Department. They also instructed the real estate department to begin good faith negotiation on lease extensions for all the co-op, non-profit and strata leaseholders on city land in False Creek South, under the framework set out by City Council in July.

In addition, they attached a series of other recommendations to the planning process going forwards. These include:

• Maintain the 1/3 low income, 1/3 middle incomes, 1/3 high income mix of residents in the neighbourhood;
• Prevent displacement of residents out of the neighbourhood;
• Prevent the creation of poor areas;
• Maintain existing housing as long as possible;
• Work with the non-profit sector to develop all other forms of housing;
• Make Charleson Park a permanent public park;
• Incorporate pollution mitigation measures in the design of new buildings;
• Work to give residents the opportunity to return to new housing in their area within False Creek South;
• Maintain as much green space as possible;
• Prioritize transit connections, including a South False Creek streetcar line;
• Include the indigenous nations on whose unceded territory includes False Creek South in the conversation about the future of the neighbourhood;

Councilors Pete Fry and Colleen Hardwick were appointed as council liaisons to the planning process for False Creek South. These appointments last either until they are no longer members of City Council, or until either the current City Council or a future City Council votes to end the appointments.

Over a hundred people spoke at the public hearing regarding the real estate department’s plan, held over three days. The majority were residents of the False Creek South neighbourhood, and the large majority spoke against the plan. Many spoke about what False Creek South means to them, and what they would stand to lose if the real estate department’s plan went forwards.

Former councillor Tim Louis, speaking against the plan, told Council: “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

Read more:
Future plans for Vancouver's False Creek South to start fresh with public planning process -- Cheryl Chan in the Vancouver Sun

Mutual aid works: New effort to keep community fridges and pantries stocked across Vancouver

On Saturday, October 23 the Democratic Socialists of Vancouver (DSoV) organized a day of action to stock free community fridges and pantries across the city.

Democratic Socialists of Vancouver @demsocsyvr

From East Van to Kits to Marpole, our members and volunteers helped fill the Community Free Fridges and free pantries across the city today. Find the Free Fridge near you, and please support this important mutual aid project: vcfp.square.site/find-a-fridge

This effort was a first in what are planned to be monthly efforts to help sustain the growing network of free fridges and pantries, an example of mutual aid and solidarity in action. The pantries and fridges are designed to be an alternative to the often dehumanizing and alienating system of food banks and other charitable or government services.

“Take what you need, leave what you can” is a small effort to prefigure the just and equitable world we desire. There are still many gaps in Metro Vancouver’s relatively new networks of free community fridges and pantries, and the DSoV hopes that its efforts will encourage more local organizing to support and expand these projects. Check out the Vancouver Community Fridge Project for more information.

Graphic Credit: Brian Palmquist (Retired Vancouver Architect)

Vancouver city staff seek to upzone Vancouver’s arterials

Vancouver City Council is currently engaged in a debate on a mass rezoning of arterial streets and adjacent residential streets in 16 of 22 Vancouver neighbourhoods. If City Council were to approve the plan put forward by city staff, developers would be able to get approval from staff for rental buildings of up to 6 stories on many of Vancouver’s arterial roads without having to submit their projects to a rezoning hearing. Given that market rents in the city are unaffordable to at least 70% of Vancouer residents (not to mention those former Vancouver residents who have been priced out of the city entirely), this plan represents a massive gift to developers. The plan could lead to the loss of older residential and commercial buildings on arterial streets and could displace local small businesses that would not be able to afford the exorbitant rents that the retail space in these new buildings will likely command. Vancouver City Council began a public hearing into the proposed by-law changes on the evening of Tuesday, November 2. The hearing resumes on Thursday, November 4 at 6pm.

Further reading: Vancouver’s Upzoning Push Lacks One Guarantee. Affordability -- Patrick Condon in The Tyee #VanPoli | An Apartment on Every Block | Mass, Arbitrary Rezoning -- Raymond Tomlin (VanRamblings)

Provincial

BC Government’s proposed old-growth logging deferral fails to end old-growth logging

Earlier this week, the BC Government announced a proposal to defer logging in up to 2.6 million hectares of old-growth forest. BC currently has 11.1 million hectares of old-growth forest, 3.5 million of which is already protected. The other 7.6 million hectares is unprotected, and logging companies can bid on the rights to log this forest.

The proposal falls far short of the total ban on old-growth logging that environmentalists are calling for, as it merely defers logging in some of the unprotected old-growth forest to a later date in a bid to appease sections of the environmental movement. Moreover, the proposal would not result in any deferrals until after the government consults with indigenous nations.

Meanwhile, RCMP are continuing to enforce an injunction at Fairy Creek against protesters and indigenous land defenders who are trying to block the logging of old-growth forest in the area. As the Thorn has previously reported, Fairy Creek is already the largest act of mass civil disobedience in Canadian history.

Read more:

‘Extremely frustrating’: B.C. announces 2.6 million hectares of at-risk old-growth, no permanent protections -- Stephanie Wood in The Narwhal

International

COP26: UN climate conference is a climate crime scene

From October 31 to November 12, the world’s leaders are meeting in Glasgow at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties.

With the world’s leaders failing to commit to get off fossil fuels, the main cause of global heating, the conference offers no real response to the climate crisis. Further, they appear committed to capitalist growth, which can only create ecological overshoot.

Instead of tackling the root causes of the crisis, the world’s leaders offer supposed technological fixes that they mistakenly believe will allow them to reach ‘net-zero’ emissions without having to get off of fossil fuels. They remain under the illusion that it’s possible to keep the global temperature below a 1.5 degrees celsius increase from pre-industrial levels (“1.5°C”), and that net-zero by 2050 will get us there. The reality is that we are already at 1.1 degrees above pre-industrial levels, and keeping warming to 1.5°C is not possible. Multiple feedback loops have already been unleashed, such as reduced sea ice cover leading to the oceans reflecting less heat from the sun and methane gas escaping from melting permafrost. Due to lobbying on behalf of OECD countries, the latest UN IPCC climate report suggests through softened language that this level of warming can still be avoided.

The leaders of China and Russia are notably absent. China, the world’s largest emitter, accounts for 28% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Russia, the world’s fifth largest emitter, accounts for 5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Hopes that COP26 could at least reach an agreement on phasing out the use of coal have failed. China plans to keep building new coal-fired power plants until 2026, and their leaders are not present to be convinced otherwise. India is also unwilling to phase out coal immediately.

Treatment of the global south at COP26 has been reprehensible. Thousands from the global south are unable to attend due to Vaccine Apartheid. Before the conference began, an agenda item from Bolivia on “Equitable, fair, ambitious and urgent emissions reductions now consistent with a trajectory to reduce the temperature below 1.5 degrees C” was removed from the agenda. Furthermore, the advanced capitalist countries decided to shift the goalposts and postpone the deadline for their $100 million climate finance target to 2023.

And yet the global south is fighting back. Bolivia made the following opening statement: “Net-zero by 2050 forced on developed and developing countries alike exacerbates existing inequalities.”

Kawsachun News @KawsachunNews

Bolivia's message at COP26

Upcoming Events

UNITED FOR CLIMATE JUSTICE! RALLY AND MARCH

(Image ID: Poster with the words “Hey Trudeau, No More Climate Lies! Stop TMX and CGL Pipelines! Respect Indigenous Rights!” as well as information outlined below)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12 at 4pm

Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Canada Office
401 Burrard St. @ Pender St.

(close to Burrard Skytrain, Downtown Vancouver)

Facebook Event:https://www.facebook.com/events/563765854709301