ymments make activists fight harder pen Velthuis ws Editor ents made by Premier Gordon Campbell and couver Police Chief Jamie Graham have upset squat- their supporters, and anti-poverty activists. h statement made“on October 16 by Chief Graham ut the Woodward's squat, he was reported to have that the squatters at the Woodward's building on couvers Downtown Eastside are not homeless and they are “really radicals trying to score cheap politi- points . ccording to an article posted on CKNW 980’s web- , Campbell said that while there’s nothing wrong with timate protest, the people who harassed him last rsday at UBC and the Britannia Community Center nothing more than thugs. he comments have forced individuals and groups to bk out even louder in support of the homeless and the atters and protesters at the Woodward's building. in, of Vancouver's Anti-Poverty mittee explained that people who live on the wntown Eastside just want the buildings turned into al housing—what any human being would want. he squatters want a decent and dignified shelter, and a member shelters we have are not decent or dignified,” he said. in thinks the concept that the protests were overrun by outside agitators—those protesters who were not squatters but who were just there to stir things up—is a false one. “There is no split between squatters and supporters,” he said. “What Police Chief Graham said [about the pro- testers being radicals] was completely untrue.” The Anti-Poverty Committee wants Chief Graham to know that they’re not forgetting it either. “A group of us met the other night—right now we're in the process of responding with [our own] statement,” he explained. The Anti-Poverty Committee wants Campbell to do something about the housing situation downtown. Some of the protesters who followed Campbell last Thursday were Anti-Poverty Committee members. According to the CKNW article, the Committee “has been linked to the trashing of Pacific Center Mall.” “It [the protest] is a political issue,” Calvin said. “The squatters are running the show.” The Woodward’s protest has been ongoing since September 14 of this year. On September 21, police raid- ed the building and the squatters were evicted. 58 squat- ters and protesters were arrested that day, and since then a fund has been set up so they can defend themselves in aving Saint Mary’s ly Parry Contributor July 10, 2002, The Fraser Health Authority gave ice of its to terminate the 1995 liation Agreement with Saint Mary's Hospital— agreement that ensures the hospital can stay open. p Fraser Health Authority provides 93 percent of funding for New Westminster’s Saint Mary’s spital, and cancellation of the agreement would the hospital to close. intentions Saint Mary’s currently relies on the money—$29 lion dollars—to serve the needs of over 35,000 ents and provide employment to 600 workers each r. The hospital, founded by the Sisters of idence over 115 years ago, has provided quality th care services to local and regional residents e 1887. Ironically, over the five years that Saint Mary's spital has been affiliated with the Simon Fraser bith Region and the Fraser Health Authority A) the hospital has consistently met its financial iget targets, demonstrated fiscal responsibility and the highest level of patient satisfaction in the ince. Saint Mary's was even chosen as one of the Oral Surgery nurse Shannon Woodhouse Photo by Devon Lewis Photo byRea Harasemljuk court—the “Woodward’s 58 Legal Defense Fund.” Homelessness is not just a local problem, and squats are becoming a more and more common way to bring awareness to it. Recently, two buildings on Pandora Avenue in Victoria were occupied by squatters and sup- porters. The BC Supreme Court issued an injunction last Thursday, effectively evicting those squatters as well. None of the buildings occupied by squatters to date have resulted in social housing for the homeless. the Fraser Health Authority's decision must determine not whether Saint Mary’s can be saved, but whether the FHA has the right to make that decision. In less than six weeks’ time, their recommendations will be for- warded to The Minister of Health Services, the Honourable Colin Hansen. Hansen will have the final say in the future of Saint Mary's. Press releases from The BC Nurses Union suggest this decision is simply a “smokescreen for a scheme to create a ‘public/private partnership’ with a for-profit company from Alberta.” Dr. Irwin Stewart, former Chief of the Medical Staff at Saint Mary’s was reported saying, “The Friends of Saint Mary’s are urgently requesting all help possible to save, once again, Saint Mary's.” The Friends of Saint Mary’s organized a September 19 rally that brought out more than 1,000 people to help protest. Since the rally last month, the city’s plan- ning department has received petitions signed by more than 11,000 people. This count is further augmented by the numerous online signatures and letters received by the city and St. Mary’s Hospital. 25 employers by BC Business magazine—the only union employer and the only itutional employer to be selected. “The official reason given by the Authority,” claims Karl Crosby, the Director of t Mary’s Hospital Foundation, “is that the FHA wishes to favour its ‘own’ hospitals r Saint Mary’s, even though Saint Mary’s has performed better financially than any the other hospitals. You see Saint Mary’s is still owned by the Sisters of Providence, while it is a public hospital serving the public, the FHA does not control the day lay administration. This is more important to them, it seems, than the health of the D00 patients served by Saint Mary’s each year, 11,000 of them surgical patients who > no place to go other than on a long wait list if Saint Mary’s should close.” Plans to fight the cancellation of Saint Mary's funding by evoking a clause in the liation agreement are currently underway. By mid-November, the panel reviewing “We need all the help we can muster to convince the Health Authority and the Province that closing Saint Mary’s is a bad decision. Students at Douglas College could help us by mounting their own campaign, writing letters and making your concerns know to government,” Crosby said. If you would like to help, petitions are available at New Westminster City Hall (511 Royal Ave.), New Westminster Parks and Recreation office (600 8th St.), St. Mary’s Hospital (220 Royal Ave.), People’s Drug Mart (80 McBride Blvd.), and London Drugs (60 10th St.). The petitions will be forwarded to the legislative assembly of British Columbia. There is an online petition available at the New Westminster City website at: Anyone wanting to obtain copies of the petition to collect signatures can contact Clair Lee in the city planning department at 604-527- 4558, or by e-mail at: clee@city.new-westminster.bc.ca. page 3 ©