Police cannot ever solve broad social and political problems created by the neglect of the neoliberal state. They will forever be locked in a chase to find more crime which is continuously generated by our economic system. A dog chasing its tail. Alternatives must be found.
Continue readingTag: Downtown Eastside
Melissa Fong: Once upon a time, there was a Vancouver Mayor who promised he’d end homelessness…
Once upon a time… There was a handsome young prince named Gregor Angus Bethune Robertson. He was a much envied prince. He represented his fiefdom, Vancouver-Fairview, for years before he, […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: DTES Local Area Plan- Speaker #5, on Amendments
We need to respect the experiential knowledge of DTES residents that understand how the plan violates their security. Not fundamentally opposed to Vision- but you have to realize reality. If you insist on the ideology of “social mix” you also have to set up the circumstances for dignity of all
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan- Summary
Like last time, I did some LiveTweeting of the evening- My strategy is to summarize the main point of all the voices; add in my OWN commentary (I can be […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25KLunch WINNERS Announced! Who said there’s no free lunch?
Other than the fact that I should win the best prize for dragging out a meme that would have otherwise had the life-span of a fruit fly… I’ve got some […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: PHS Social enterprises are ESSENTIAL to poverty elimination in DTES
… social enterprises by PHS provide job/skills/alternative livelihoods to those in a tangle with poverty/addiction/unrealized-skills. These social economy opportunities can’t be taken away from people who face job discrimination in almost any other employment situation. ….
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Top 25 of #25KLunch Meme Finalists Announced!
Okay, folks! The moment has come to see your Top 25 Finalists for the #25KLunch meme competition! I can’t even tell you how many messages I’ve received telling me […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Financial reform: Taking responsibility as public servants and otherwise…
Facts: I don’t hate Vision Vancouver. I’m indifferent to the overall career of Gregor Robertson. I actually like Andrea Reimer, from what I know of her. (Confession: I really like […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Admitting to not knowing until it was too late: The DTES Local Area Plan implications
…I admit that I didn’t know how REAL it was until the 3 days came to an end and even after it passed…. After that the reality sunk in, I got more and more angry as I realized the implications of the plan. The fact is that poor people LIVE
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25kLunch Meme Competition Update #1
The #25KLunch meme has received more press than I would have ever imagined! Amazing what a group of really dedicated “mockticians” can do to bring the issues out there. #25KLunch […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: #25kLunch Meme Competition to shame Mayor Gregor Robertson’s partnership with Developers & Condo King Bob Rennie
So I’ve started a #25kLunch tag – the good people on twitter who have engaged throughout this whole process have kept spirits high and helped suggest a meme competition. 1) Create your own meme http://memegenerator.net/ 2) Upload your meme to twitter images (make sure you save image & upload to
Continue readingMelissa Fong: DTES LAP Amendments that Cllr Carr shuts down: Watch the speech & Read the full document by Reimer
I already posted snippets of the full documents (4 separate PDFs here). This post is specifically the first pdf Amendment doc from Reimer and the speaking points Cllr Carr was […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Sneak Peak!: AMENDMENTS to DTES LAP- DRAFT sent to my by Andrea Reimer
Councillor Andrea Reimer was kind enough to send me the DRAFT of Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan Amendments. *OFFICIAL copy posted on website by staff tomorrow. This is a sneak […]
Continue readingMelissa Fong: DTES LAP Part 3- Residents’ Losses & small victories
…Councillor Adriane Carr was the only one who wanted to refer the plan back to staff to ensure an acceptable definition of Social Housing (due date for end of May). The rest of City Council seemed fairly confident that that could be defined as we went along and the plan
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver DTES Local Area Plan City Council Debates- PART 2: CHINATOWN BUSINESS INTERESTS
Chinatown Businesses interests came into the room hesitant. I don’t think any of the mainstream news media (Vancouver Courier or the Straight) did justice to the hesitance … I am personally sympathetic towards Chinatown business interests because I know the exact memories and nostalgia upon which they recall and the
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver DTES Local Area Plan City Council Debates- Part One: Developers
…One topic that dominated the DTES LAP discussions last night was the 60/40 (Social/ market rate housing split) and the definition of affordable housing … All the usual suspects always caution against social housing. Developers are constantly talking about how it is not possible to build social housing without other
Continue readingMelissa Fong: Vancouver Downtown Eastside Local Area Plan- Speaker #55
…when you have an extensive plan that guarantees redevelopment and insertion of new and desirable market rate housing, you are planning the upclassing of a neighbourhood. The DTES has staved off gentrification forces as much as it has because it is has been safeguarded for the poor. The redevelopment of
Continue readingknitnut.net: Seamy Underbelly, Part II
Visiting the Downtown Eastside (DTES) has churned up some contradictions for me, and resolving those contradictions requires re-thinking some questions I thought I already knew the answers to: 1) To what extent do people choose to live in the DTES, and to what extent are they stuck there? 2) Does
Continue readingStraight Outta Edmonton: Social Media and Legal Advocacy: Lessons from MWCI
Within the legal community, blogs, twitter, and other social media platforms have grown to become the norm, as lawyers and firms have realized the potential of these tools to expand their reach and influence. However, at least in the Canadian context, social media has played a secondary role to one’s
Continue readingStraight Outta Edmonton: Social Media and Legal Advocacy: Lessons from MWCI
Being a conservative institution that values confidentiality, it’s clear why social media — with its openness and accessibility — has not been incorporated more directly into legal practice. But there are aspects of legal advocacy that complement the strengths of social media, allowing lawyers to take advantage of them.
The use of social media by lawyers involved in the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry is an example of this. The public inquiry is investigating the factors that allowed serial killer Robert Pickton to murder dozens of women from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside without being apprehended.
Lawyers acting for the victims’ families (@NeilChantler and @ACameronWard), Downtown Eastside (@JasonGratl), and aboriginal interests (@RobynGervaisMWI), have employed social media in novel way, demonstrating how these platforms can enhance legal advocacy. These lawyers routinely live tweet witness testimony and procedural developments, usually followed up with blog posts that provide more extensive discussion of what occurred in court and its implications (in addition to using these platforms for standard legal and social commentary).
By incorporating social media directly into the courtroom, the lawyers are advancing their client’s interests on a number of levels. Firstly, due to funding restrictions imposed by the province of British Columbia, each lawyer individually represents a large and disparate number of people. Not only does this pose challenges to ensuring that each individual client is being served, but how to communicate with them on the developments at the inquiry on an ongoing basis. This is particularly true with those representing the victim’s families, whose clients are spread out across the country. Though the CBC live streams the inquiry, clients may be unable to watch the day time proceedings or easily relate what’s being discussed to the larger issues being investigated.
In addition to the access to justice consideration raised above, the inquiry explores a matter that is clearly in the public interest. Therefore, counsel for the affected parties have an added responsibility to engage broader society in the inquiry. Legal commentary does serve this purpose, but so does tweeting and making available documents, such as weekly overviews of the proceedings. These documents in particular allow the public to directly engage with evidence presented at the inquiry and assess its significance, rather than relying on secondary news reports that can obfuscate much.
Further, by engaging in social media, these lawyers are not merely dispensing information regarding the inquiry, but are also seeking the public’s input. Consistently, we see counsel request feedback in the form of questions, comments, and suggestions, attempting to make their work in the courtroom a collaborative effort.
For legal advocates, as well as law students like myself, the innovative use of social media at the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry is an indication of how these tools can be effectively incorporated into one’s legal advocacy. However, employing social media is not appropriate in all aspects of legal practice. During a public inquiry, it certainly may be acceptable, but not necessarily in private civil cases. Be conscious of the limits.
For further information on the inquiry, please consult:
Hashtag: #MWCI
Counsel for Victims’ Families: Neil Chantler (@NeilChantler) and Cameron Ward (@ACameronWard), as well as their blog.
Counsel for the Downtown Eastside: Jason Gratl (@JasonGratl)
Counsel for Aboriginal Interests: Robyn Gervais (@RobynGervaisMWI) and her weekly proceedings overview found on Harper Grey LLP’s website (though not easy to navigate: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11).
Continue reading