VANCOUVER

Lack of democracy,

As we come to the close of the first year of
NPA domination at city hall we see that the
people of Vancouver have not fared well.

The Non-Partisan Association adminis-
tration has: killed the fair wage bylaw after
raising aldermen’s pay by 27 per cent; res-
cinded the stores closing bylaw with no pub-
lic hearing; opened the door for the
rezoning of industrial lands to facilitate
megastores; eliminated bed-and-breakfast
accommodations; cut back civic services;
messed up the Sister City program; aban-
doned the 1980 shoreline policy for the

north shore of False Creek; and generally

operated in an atmosphere of secrecy.

But there have also been some surprise
decisions along the way, where some NPA
aldermen, revealing divisions in the ranks,
have opposed Mayor Gordon Campbell’s
direction.

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Season’s Greetings
and
Best Wishes
for the
New Year

to all our friends
and supporters

Downtown Eastside

Residents’ Association
9 East Hastings St.
Vancouver. V6A 1M9. 682-0931

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Libby Davies
Bruce Eriksen

For example, on Nov. 24 council heard
an appeal from the tenants at 1616 Salsbury
Dr. in the Grandview Woodlands neigh-
bourhood, who were faced with a city clo-
sure order for eviction from two suites.

Earlier in the year the NPA had abol-
ished the process whereby owners and
tenants of secondary suites could appeal
closure orders on hardship grounds. Coun-
cil then charged city staff with enforcing
closures on so-called “priorities” that
included suites built for revenue, those that
incurred complaints from the neighbour-
hood and those found to be unsafe (closure
of unsafe suites has always been city policy).

Back in April your Committee of Pro-
gressive Electors aldermen argued strenu-
ously against the undemocratic and unfair
abolition of the appeal process.

The situation at Salsbury Drive illus-
trated clearly the mess the NPA aldermen
have gotten themselves into. Faced with the
very real housing problems of the tenants,
under threat of eviction from their low-rent,
well-maintained accommodations, some
NPA members broke ranks and supported
a COPE motion to allow a two-year exten-

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Season's Greetings
from the

Tenants Rights
Coalition

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On behalf of the Vancouver City Council,
may' I offer our best wishes to you and
your families. In this season of peace,
goodwill and hope, let us renew our
dedication to creating a better world
for our children.

Gordon Campbell
MAYOR
City of Vancouver

cuts mark NPA rule

Paes

council's cuts to the city budget.

sion on the suites and reinstatement of an
appeal process.

Overall the NPA policy on illegal suites
has been hard line, elitist and the cause of
increasing fear and division in the commun-
ity.

The previous city council had initiated a
pilot program in the Joyce (SkyTrain) Sta-
tion area by which the local community
worked with the city planning-department
on solutions to the illegal suites issue. Sev-
eral community meetings and a local survey
found that a majority of residents clearly
favoured the legalization of secondary
suites with certain controls. But the new
NPA council ignored those findings and
arbitrarily decided to submit only a part of
the area to public hearing on whether or not
to approve an amendment to the zoning
bylaw to allow suites.

So much for democracy.

Also in the works is an absurd proposal
to allow “family” suites. To do this council
will have to try and define what a family is (a
near impossibility in today’s society) and
then order that only certain relatives can live
in family suites.

The legality of such a proposal is highly

VANCOUVER’S NEW BRIGHTON PARK ..

. the grass gets cut less often with

questionable and is ethically wrong. Call
you imagine the situation of hundreds of
city inspectors trying to determine who §
related to whom, and enforcing a bylaw of
that basis? However the real implication of
this proposal is the closure of the suites that
fail to comply with new family suite regula
tions.

Of course the whole debate on illegal
suites and the NPA program to deal with
them has a fundamental flaw: the desperate
need for affordable housing in Vancouver's
ignored. City council can pass any bylaw it
wants, but if the demand for housing is not
being met through the “legal” market, we
will continue to have the black market.

The tenants at Salsbury Drive won an
important victory for all tenants by forcing
the NPA to face the issue as it effects indI-
viduals.

Next year will be important for the pe
ple of Vancouver. The civic election is noW
less than one year away. We want to wish all
our friends and supporters a peaceful and
joyful Christmas and we give thanks for the
ongoing support. Have a brief rest. Then get
ready to help COPE restore progressive
civic government in Vancouver.

Season’s Greetings from COPE |

. . .working to restore progressive
civic government in 1988.

2066 Parker Street, Vancouver, B.C. V5L 2L5

Celebrate the New Year in the
Ukrainian Canadian tradition.

Sunday, Jan. 10, 1988/5 p.m.
Sunnyside Hall, 154th St. and
18th Ave., Surrey.

Traditional feast, concert
program (dancers & musicians),
dancing.

Tickets: $10/$7.50 (non-work-
ing)/$5 (children).

For reservations:
536-4045/591-1638.

2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, DECEMBER 16, 1987