Of Third Waves and Old Growth Blockades
The Thorn on Thursdays | April 8th 2021
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John Horgan Doesn’t Know Young People
There’s been a recent spike in COVID cases in British Columbia, a third-wave in our ongoing COVID pandemic. In response, the BCNDP announced a new set of three-week-long restrictions on public activity on March 29th, mere days before a long weekend.
John Horgan and Bonnie Henry spoke to the press about the B117 United Kingdom variant “driving much of our current transmission” and claimed a “circuit-breaker is now required” to avoid a new spike in cases. At the same time, the even deadlier P1 variant currently ravaging Brazil has also emerged as a significant concern in the province. One can’t argue with the diagnosis, but the proposed cure leaves a lot to be desired:
There will be no indoor dining or group fitness activities, with no opening until April 19. Whistler Blackcomb ski resort will be closed for the same period. Small indoor religious services have also been banned. Despite this, evictions are still allowed, people are still expected to go into work, and the BCNDP hasn’t made a single move to mandate enough paid sick days for workers to be able to take the required two weeks to quarantine without losing the income they need to pay their bills.
Horgan gave British Columbians a scolding daddy routine, claiming “I am appealing to all British Columbians to not blow this. There must be something you can do at home that is enjoyable as going somewhere else."
British Columbians aren’t “blowing this”. Frontline workers have no choice but to go to work to pay their bills. Even assuming workplaces are doing their best to prevent the spread of COVID, workers still have to take transit, live with roommates or family and shop for groceries and other necessities. Service and Industry workers are especially vulnerable, but the protections for them are paper-thin.
It’s time for Horgan and his government to demonstrate they’re actually concerned with preventing more cases. They should push for more serious measures such as eviction bans, comprehensive mortgage and rent freezes, or even simply offering a Universal Unemployment Benefit to all British Columbians regardless of their status so they can cover their bills until the cases are gone. At the very least they could deploy robust and free rapid testing for COVID as other countries are doing.
Contrary to what Horgan wants us to think, it’s actually his government who risks “blowing this” for the rest of us.
Vancouver City Council moves to protect rental units in commercial zones
On the evening of April 1, Vancouver City Council passed a motion from councillor Jean Swanson to amend the Rental Housing Stock Official Development plan so that it applies to four different commercial zoning categories. This will protect 3,050 rental units in 380 purpose-built rental buildings, which are mostly those built before 1975 and rent for substantially less than rental units in new buildings, from being demolished and redeveloped.
Six Councillors voted in favour of the motion: Adrienne Carr, Pete Fry, Jean Swanson, Colleen Hardwick, Michael Wiebe, and Christine Boyle. Councillors De Genova, Dominato, Bly, Kirby-Yung, and Mayor Stewart voted against.
Read more from Charlie Smith in the Georgia Straight here.
NPA appoints mayoral candidate for 2022 municipal election
The NPA board recently appointed longtime parks board commissioner John Coupar as the NPA’s mayoral candidate for the 2022 municipal election. The appointment was made without any nomination processes and without the knowledge of the four current elected NPA councillors. Coupar, a vocal critic of Mayor Stewart’s decisions related to the city's growing homelessness crisis, has stated he will be focussing on "doing things to make sure taxpayers are getting good value for their dollar.”
In an interview with CBC’s Early Edition with Stephen Quinn April 6, Coupar stated that “adequate” police funding is an important issue to him. Although, as Quinn pointed out, the VPD has had a 70% increase in budget over the past decade, and currently accounts for about 1/5th of the entire municipal budget, Coupar's opinion is that Mayor Stewart has sent the VPD the wrong signal by not increasing the VPD budget for 2021, suggesting it will mean fewer “boots on the ground.” Coupar justified his support for increasing the police budget thusly, "I hear constant sirens in Vancouver all night long.”
Quinn did not ask Coupar about the other boots on the ground currently being deployed in Vancouver to help citizens who are experiencing homelessness and substance addiction and who are also asking for funding. Nor did he ask Coupar why he thinks increasing armed forces as a response to these issues is really the best approach.
Coupar’s backroom appointment comes as rumours have been circulating for months that NPA councillors Colleen Hardwick or Sarah Kirby-Yung might be interested in becoming the party’s mayoral candidate. None of the four currently elected NPA councillors were informed of the appointment until after it happened. All four councillors are women.
Provincial
Fairy Creek blockade and related solidarity actions
Since August 2020, environmentalists opposed to the logging of old-growth forests on southern Vancouver Island have been holding down a blockade at Fairy Creek, in a bid to prevent logging in the area. This week, The Thorn presents three items on the struggle for Fairy Creek, which has heated up in the last couple of weeks.
The first is a report on the solidarity rally with Fairy Creek that took place in Vancouver on March 27. The second is an update on the situation at Fairy Creek from the Wilderness Committee’s Facebook page. The third is a motion passed by Victoria City Council on the matter.
March 27 Cambie Street Bridge Occupation in support of Fairy Creek
On March 27, hundreds of activists gathered at city hall to rally against old-growth logging and show support for the Fairy Creek Blockade on Vancouver Island. BC has lost 98% of its original old growth forests. Now, artists and activists are fighting to save the last 2%.
The demonstration began on the steps of so-called Vancouver City Hall on Unceded Coast Salish territory with drums, speeches, and cheers. Painted rocks, signs bearing watchful eyes, noisemakers emblazoned with the hourglass symbol of the Extinction Rebellion movement.
From there the crowd staged a 'die-in' at Broadway and Cambie and then moved down Cambie to occupy the Cambie Street Bridge.
Six activists seated in the middle of the roadway on the Extinction Rebellion banner were handcuffed and loaded onto stretchers. As each person disappeared into police custody, the gathered crowd cried out, “We love you.”
Vancouver photographer, Yvonne Hanson, documented the event and you can view her photo-reel and article on the DSOV blog.
The following report from Tuesday, April 6, comes courtesy of the Wilderness Committee on Facebook:
“A busy day on the back roads, with all blockades in Pacheedaht and Ditidaht territory on the Southern Vancouver Island being served with the injunction that logging company Teal Jones obtained last week.
WC’s Emily Hoffpauir and Torrance Coste were at the Caycuse blockade (newly established by Rainforest Flying Squad activists over the Easter Weekend), where Teal Jones staff, logging contractors, and the process server were met by several dozen determined folks who told them that they were here to protect old-growth and that they weren’t going anywhere.
With injunctions served, arrests could begin as early as tomorrow, at Caycuse Valley, Eden Grove, upper Walbran Valley or Fairy Creek.
This is a direct result of the broken promises on old-growth of the Premier Horgan and the BC NDP government, and the responsibility lies with them to order a halt to old-growth logging and provide space for a resolution.”
On April 1, the Rainforest Alliance of BC reported that Victoria City Council had unanimously approved a motion from Victoria City Councillor Ben Isitt to call on the BC government to immediately defer logging in all at-risk old-growth forests and fund an economic transition away from old-growth logging.
Read the full text of the resolution here.
National
Federal NDP Convention This Weekend Presents Opening for Socialist Politics
This coming weekend, April 9-11, the federal New Democratic Party will be hosting its Party Convention. As Canada’s only federal (formerly)-socialist party - which features “Democratic” in its name - one would expect there would be ample opportunity for members to have a voice in bringing forward progressive policy and party governance. Such an expectation would be misplaced. This Convention continues a trend (also seen within the BCNDP) of increasing centralization of, and a lack of transparency in, decision-making. Party members’ have few opportunities to choose policy priorities and the methods by which such prioritization occurs is unclear at best. Despite being a virtual convention taking place entirely online, costs to participate in the Convention still often inhibit many folks from participating. A party of the working class must provide opportunities for working class participation.
Nonetheless, the NDP Convention poses a significant opportunity for bold leadership on many significant issues - in ways that the Liberals never would. Resolutions put forward at Convention include proposals to:
Create a publicly-owned telecom;
Abolish billionaires;
Provide free transit for all;
Decriminalize drugs and sex work;
Defund the RCMP;
Return land to Indigenous nations.
If any one of these policy proposals pass, it would show the NDP is a party committed to combating some of the most oppressive ills of capitalism in the 21st century. This is an opportunity to return the NDP to its roots: standing up for oppressed people.
In addition, supporters of the Palestinian people are supporting two important motions on Palestine. These are motion 04-11-20 “Opposing the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Definition of Anti-Semitism”, which calls on the NDP to reject the IHRA definition of antisemitism which falsely conflates criticism of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people with antisemitism; and motion 04-10-20 “Justice and Peace in Israel-Palestine” which Calls for a boycott of Israeli settlement products and an arms embargo on Israel, until Palestinian rights are upheld as recognized under international law.
The “Opposing the International Holocaust Remembrance Association Definition of Anti-Semitism” resolution is endorsed by 40 riding associations as well as the CUPE BC Division, the London and District Labour Council, and the Jeunes néo-democrates du Québec (JNDQ) / Young New Democrats of Quebec (YNDQ); and The “Justice and Peace in Palestine” motion is endorsed by 33 riding associations as well as Canada’s Young New Democrats Executive and the jeunes néo-democrates du Québec (JNDQ) / Young New Democrats of Quebec (YNDQ).
A full list of the resolutions for the 2021 federal NDP convention, as well as other convention info, can be found on the federal NDP’s website at https://www.ndp.ca/convention2021
On Monday, April 5, the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, in conjunction with rabble.ca, hosted an event live streamed on YouTube titled Palestine Solidarity: Why the NDP Convention Matters. The Event featured former NDP MP’s Libby Davies and Svend Robinsion; Zahia El-Masri; Hammam Farrah; and David Mivasair, a Hamilton rabbi and member of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).
Delegates to the NDP convention were allowed on Wednesday to rank their top 10 motions in each of the 7 resolution sections. This is the first convention in which delegates were allowed to rank their top motions online in all of the sections, a change won at the 2018 convention by the Courage Coalition. Previously, the ranking of motions in each section was carried out at simultaneous in-person sessions, forcing delegates to decide which section session to attend.
As of writing, the results of the resolution prioritization process have not been released. This information is expected to be released on Thursday. This prioritization process matters, since only two hours is allotted to debating motions in each section, which severely limits the number of resolutions that get debated and voted upon.
Upcoming Events
DSOV Reading Group
Thursday, April 8, 2021
7:00 PM 9:00 PM
The Right To The City
An introduction to the Right to the City and its interpretations and applications. Come learn about socialism and the DSoV. All are welcome on Thursday April 8th at 7pm for the bi-monthly socialist reading group. This week’s discussion will centre on Lefebvre’s concept of The Right to the City. The book club will gather at meet.jit.si/DSOVBC
Labour Climate Forum
Saturday, April 10, 2021
1:00-5:00pm
A virtual Climate Justice Conference for BC trade union members and allies
An afternoon of dialogue on labour's role in solving the climate crisis
Featuring:
John Cartwright: President, Toronto & York District Labour Council, co-author “Green Jobs” strategy for the CLC.
Jane MacAlevy: Organizer, author, and scholar, and longtime US trade union activist.
Slaydo (Molly Wickham): Land defender and matriarch of the Gidimt'en Clan of the Wet'suwet'en Nation.
Full conference details including workshop descriptions and accessibility information are available at: labourclimatenetwork.ca
Questions? info@labourclimatenetwork.ca
This conference is jointly hosted by the BC Government and Service Employees' Union, The BC Teachers' Federation and the Vancouver and District Labour Council.
Socialist Unity Assembly
Sunday, April 11, 2021
7:00 PM 9:00 PM
We are a group of socialists, anti-capitalists, and environmentalists who are trying to coordinate with like-minded leftist groups to get together in one digital space and devise a strategy to pool our resources and start working in concert to make some serious change.
Hot Docs Film Festival -- Jean Swanson: We Need a New Map
Available 4/29/21 10:00am as part of the Citizen Minutes project at HotDocs.
Single Tickets on Sale Now
Vancouver Filmmaker Teresa Alfeld’s profile of veteran activist and first-term Vancouver City Councillor Jean Swanson as she works along the next generation of Anti-Poverty activists fighting systemic inequality.
Media Roundup
New Global Alliance Defends UN Charter in Clear Rebuke of U.S. Imperialism
‘A system of global apartheid’: author Harsha Walia on why the border crisis is a myth
Amazon Started a Twitter war because Jeff Bezos was pissed