nancy aka money coach's Blog

Economics trumped Democracy

nancy aka money coach — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:56:54 -0800

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Canadians' blood should be running a little cold today. Economic consideration trumped democracy. I suppose this should not be too surprising, given our collective disengagement with our political process, and given that notions of citizenship, and the attendant rights and responsibilities, seem to have been reduced to residing and consuming in Canada.

What we seem to want, above all, is a government that ensures we continue to collect paycheques and enjoy our lifestyles. (We also want a handful of basics thrown in - education, public safety, and healthcare (maybe). Some of the more progressive among us also want basic food and shelter provided for each citizen regardless of their perceived merit or lack thereof.)

But we're wrong in wanting that as a chief end of our government.

The constitutional mandate of parliament is to legislate for peace, order and good government. I'll get back to this shortly, but first, we're wrong about a couple other critical distinctions too:

1. We think we elected Harper to be our Prime Minister. We did not. He was elected as an MP (as are all Prime Ministers) in Calgary SW; he was the leader of his party; and the governor general appointed him to be the Prime Minister. Again: Our Prime Ministers are appointed, not elected. By convention, the governor general appoints the person most likely to have the confidence of the house. Arguments that the coalition does not have the right to overthrow "the PM we elected" are ignorant arguments.

2. We think that the coalition's request for power is anti-democratic. On the contrary, it is entirely democratic. Combined, coalition MPs were elected by nearly two-thirds of Canadians. The MP conserveratives were in the minority, and subject to precisely the risk of a vote of non-confidence. We can be angry that the Liberals and NDP would choose to do so in the current climate, just like we can be angry that the Conservatives would use the opportunity to reduce the coffers of their opponents, but threatening a vote of non confidence is absolutely democratic. The conservatives are not "our government". They simply have more seats in our house of parliament than any other single party. That's all.

Instead of facing a vote of non-confidence, the Prime Minister asked the Governor General to prorogue parliament. He argued that the economic climate required this. While our economy is indeed a nail-biter, his request was not about parliament's chief concern: Peace, Good order, Good government. It was about protecting the shaky status of his 127 MPs. Good government is about demonstrating a spirit willing to collaborate in the face of challenging times. It may even be about reluctantly trying a coalition government - such as those in Norway, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland.

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean acquiesced. She opted to pre-empt the majority of our MPs, who we Canadians elected, by doing so. Who knows what her reasoning was. Her primary duty is to ensure a functioning parliament - did Harper threaten to deepen the disruption? did she truly believe a coalition government would deepen the disruption?

In any case, democracy took a hit today, trumped by rhetoric about the economic crisis - a crisis which hasn't even really struck Canada, yet. I hope all of us, regardless of political affiliation (I'm green, for the record), especially conservatives who mistakenly claim that this was undemocratic, are shaken.

Dude walked me home

nancy aka money coach — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:22:26 -0800

There's this dude who was homeless, and has been living inside for a couple years now.

He's a hard working binner, and a few of us in my condo periodically let him in to empty our recycling bins.

He's very pleasant and courteous.

A couple nights ago I was walking through the 'hood (dtes) pretty late - 11pm. I'm perfectly comfortable doing this, but he happened to see me, and he escorted me home the 5 blocks to ensure I was OK.

I'm sure I would have been anyway (this is a lifestyle for me) but the gesture on his part was absolutely lovely.

Now *that's* some deeply human integration of those of use with money and those of us who are struggling.

Sometimes, things I hope for happen: Go, Obama!

nancy aka money coach — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:32:03 -0700

It's looking good for Obama. And some serious congressional change -> Democrats.

That will be water on dry -very dry - ground for me, and I imagine for many of us who want to "change everything".

And it's a good reminder that in history, sometimes good and right things happen:
Slavery is outlawed.
Women get the vote.
Wars stop.

Going to STAND tomorrow (Sat. Oct 18th) for housing -join me?

nancy aka money coach — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:33:36 -0700

I had planned/hoped to sleep outside City Hall tonight with several other middle-class Vancouverites who hope for better than a city with people who have little choice *but* to sleep outside.

I arranged the sleeping bag, the foamy, a tarp .... and then found out City Hall has forbidden the use of tarps.

Imagine that - a bunch of their voting citizens are willing to put themselves out there like this, and City Hall is Too Good to allow tarps on the property (which we fund).

Anyway, while I was prepared for an uncomfortable and sleepless night, and to make a bit of a spectacle of myself by actually doing this, I'm not prepared to risk serious illness as a result of sleeping in the rain, sleeping bag notwithstanding.

This is frustrating, but there is a plan B: tomorrow from 1-2 pm there will be a STAND at city hall.

If you have not done any political activism beyond voting (like me, a year ago) this is a really easy way to start. Literally just turn up and STAND for an hour. Bring your ipod, or chat, or bring a coffee. Just be with us (and the "us" is simply whoever turns up) as a way of saying that you, too, hope for a Vancouver that doesn't leave people sleeping outside.

WTF? Have we Vancouverites lost our minds?

nancy aka money coach — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:07:57 -0700

Fellow Citizens, you should know about this:

Many of you know of the infamous Oppenheimer Park in my 'hood, the Downtown Eastside. It's a pretty grim park, frankly. I only go there rarely and I don't let my dogs walk there because of the needles. And other stuff. See image below. But this next part is insane:

People without a house and nowhere to couch surf hang out there in the day and sleep there in cardboard and cheap sleeping bags at night. Not my kinda crowd, not easy people to be around, and easy to dismiss.

Yesterday morning at approximately 4:30am the police took action against the homeless living in the park. People were ticketed and were allowed to leave with their belongings- those who didn't have shopping carts or other means of carrying their belongings had everything loaded into a garbage truck that had followed the police into the park.

The police stated they intend to continue this action on coming nights.

I ask you:

1. What the hell is the point of ticketing them? TICKETING the HOMELESS?

2. Exactly who among us is upset that we can't use the park at 4:30am because people without homes are sleeping there? Why, precisely, was it so imperative that they be moved along at that ungodly hour?

3. Where, exactly, do we as a society expect them to move along to? At 4:30 in the morning? Without a place that is their own?My fellow citizens, and especially those in Vancouver,if you, like me

have a place to call home (esp. us property owners)
enjoy enough abundance that we can delight in getaways for the weekend (ironically, away from our own homes)
possibly struggle with so much stuff that we actually store our excess

if you, like me want, to live in CANADA, not some Dickensian horror,for Christ's sake (perhaps literally), here is some action you can take:

Hold your politicians to account. This is not about the police. It's about what kind of society your politicians are shaping. E-mail the following with your thoughts on the matter: Mayor Sam Sullivan, sam.sullivan@vancouver.ca Peter Ladner clrladner@vancouver.ca ; Kim Capri clrcapri@vancouver.ca ; Suzanne Anton clranton@vancouver.ca or the entire council at mayorandcouncil@vancouver.ca
Inform yourself further - easily - by things like joining the facebook group Streams of Justice. This is a faith-based group but you will be comfortable hearing about and joining their activities no matter your own faith or no faith at all. Or, browse and keep checking Blackbird's photo documentaries on homelessness in Vancouver on Flickr.
If you are ready for some more radical action, I am considering sleeping outside myself as an act of solidarity. Not sure when, not sure where, but I hope to have my podcasting skills up to speed and contribute to the documentary of what happens at 4:30am in Vancouver. If you may be interested in joining me, either twitter me (money coach is my handle) or do a bit of research to figure out how to contact me (because of the nature of this post, I am not going to publish my e-mail or I'll get tons of hate-on stuff)

We don't have to settle for a lame-ass city, fellow citizens. But our politicians need to know we're not OK with this.

-nancyThe park in question:

Do people who drive through my 'hood (dtes) NOTICE us?

nancy aka money coach — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 10:27:06 -0700

overheard a guy living outside asking another one: do all those people who drive right through here (he was talking about powell street) even Notice us?

I thought that was an excellent question.

Letter to CIty Hall: Please stop the condos at 58 W. Hastings

nancy aka money coach — Mon, 12 May 2008 20:16:09 -0700

Hello, Readers --If you are a Vancouver resident who chafes at the lack of affordable housing, you can imagine the hopelessness of my dtes neighbours as nearly half of the barely-affordable housing for low-income people has been wiped out in the past short while, in favour of development.

Now I'm not against development in my neighbourhood. But I want it to be thoughtful, visionary and inclusive.I want it to be a mixed income area where we continue to come up with empowered, creative ways of helping each other out.

Instead, I am personally witnessing a reckless, market-only-driven displacement of members of my community. It's happened so fast and furiously there hasn't been much chance to react.

But here's an opportunity.

1. You can read Jean Swanson's (the loveliest, loveliest presence and coordinator of the Carnegie [Centre] Community Action Project) distress call on her blog.

2. You can ask yourself: what kind of city do you want to create (we DO have a say, you know) and take appropriate action.

3. You can do what I'm doing, and e-mail city hall requesting that the condos slated for 58 W. Hastings Street be stopped, as an indicator to developers that Vancouver will do something more visionary in the dtes/gastown neighbourhood than simply let market forces dictate.

Note: I don't see this as even particularly political. I see this as sound judgement and good business sense: having a plan, and a vision that shapes development. As things are going right now, it will be too late before we know it.

Here's the letter I sent:

The Chair, Development Permit Boardc/o Alison Higginson, Project Facilitator,Development Services453 West 12th AvenueVancouver BCV5Y 1V4

Dear Alison,

As a professional and property-owner on Alexander Street (converted warehouses) since 2000, I am both fiercely proud of my dtes/gastown community and hold out a vision for the neighbourhood.

That vision entails a thoughtful, respectful, collaborative approach to development. I envision an area ultimately respected globally for the way in which those of uswith money, and those of us who are marginalized, are integrated and, indeed, one community.

I am increasingly distressed and panicked by the fast-and-furious displacement of our city's most vulnerable, my neighbours, (and isn't the civility of a nation judged by how well wecare for the vulnerable?) in order to accommodate market-driven demand for housing.

I am writing to request that the brakes - screeching brakes - are put on further development in the dtes, until it can be done in the context of a well-thought-out vision that respects all stakeholders, not only market demand and the desire of developers.

Specifically, please stop the condo development for 58 W. Hastings.In hope, and with vision,Nancy Zimmerman

___________________________________________\

It's not an easy area. Let's not do the easy thing and let this community get snuffed out.

Anyone want to start a social enterprise in the dtes?

nancy aka money coach — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:35:34 -0700

I live and love in gastown/dtes - in a little loft/condo. I have a problem that a social enterprise could solve.

I want to compost but have no garden, and not much room in my home. So, I'm going to try Bokashi (small buckets, no smell). But here's the thing: I have nowhere to put the compost once it's ready.

1. There are, however, a lot of binners who may not fit into usual economic models, but know how to be at the right time/place to get good stuff (there's one guy who routinely appears at our building just as our recycle bins are overflowing).

2. There are also, I'm betting, a lot of condo-dwellers who'd like to compost, like me, instead of contributing to garbage. We'd pay to have the compost taken off our hands, and pay for the bokashi deliveries to us.

3. Last, there are a lot of organic farms who may pay something for the compost.

There's a business model in here, I'm sure of it.

Anyone want to put it together? (I have my hands full, or I would)

I voted, already! :)

nancy aka money coach — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:24:40 -0700

Hey, kudos.

And of course I voted for it (and then lost a couple hours surfing through all the other nominees).

Olympics: a Plus or Minus for Vancouver?

nancy aka money coach — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:10:50 -0700

I voted for the olympics. I wanted them to come. I liked the idea of 'inviting the world to Vancouver' and I also figured it was a good motivator to get different levels of government to commit funding to infrastructure.

Now, I'm not so sure.

Part of my initial enthusiasm was hearing VANOCs agreements to make the Olympics a WIN for several segments of society. The athletes village was going to be leading-edge green design, plus include social housing if I recall (I may be wrong). I thought there was going to be a legacy fund for housing. Etc.

So far, what I've mostly heard is:

The Eagle's Ridge was a red-alert eco-site, that got destroyed to build the highway to Whistler.

The leading-edge green design site isn't so wonderful anymore (I had no idea it would entail yet.more.landfill, did you?) at the athletes village site. I don't know a lot about what was promised there, but I suspect it's been a serious disappointment.

The housing legacy fund (if it ever was such a thing) is definitely no longer such a thing - just a generic kind of fund for something or other.

and certainly my neighbourhood (gastown/dtes) is experiencing displacement already.

And I've heard rumours that VANOC wants to wrap lots of buildings in banners with olympic images, which hardly seems like our enviro-sensitive image we try to portray.

As you can tell, I'm not terribly informed on this, but as part of my "change" - I'm going to try to find out more facts.

Can I remain happy the Olympics are coming? And are they truly 'green' as a recent report by the Suzuki Foundation claims? (Greenpeace said the same about Sidney, and lost tons of credibility). Are they bringing a net economic boom to most of us, or only to the top tiers of Vancouverites?

If you have opinions or suggestion on where to research let me know.