WEBVTT
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It was an unusually cold and snowy day in Vancouver
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but the frigid, negative temperature didn't stop over 200 protesters from taking to the streets.
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[chanting: "hell no, we won't go"..]
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The rally started at the Panttages Theatre on East Hastings.
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one of 10 sites protesters are demanding the city buys to create 100% social housing.
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Nothing less.
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Downtown Eastside ( DTES) residents like Fraser Stuart
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wants gentrification in the area to stop.
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"Get the people living in self-contained units that they can afford
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Then maybe, possibly, there'll be room for condos down here.
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But not for the next 50 years.
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Thank you"
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The city wants to allow developers to build new condos in the neighbourhood
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but residents are worried it'll break up the community and push many out.
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"In DTES we are, we take care of one another
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We look after one another.
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We are a community and we don't need to be taken out of our community
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where they can build their condos, which is not our way of life. Thank you."
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But the rally wasn't just to protest the lack of social housing
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it was also the kick off of the Tent City 2011 at Olympic Village,
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the space where the city and developers broke their promise
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and reduced social housing from 66% to 10% of the units.
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Just like the Tent City last year, this one is making several demands.
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"The purpose of Tent City this year is we have three demands
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One is that the city reinstate the 2/3 affordable housing
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that they promised here at the athletes village
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Um, our second demand is that the city purchase 10 sites each year
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to build affordable housing on.
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And our third demand is that they end the criminalization of the poor,
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so, scrap some of the bylaws, to get rid of some of the bylaws
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like project civil city and clean streets sweeps
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um, arrest people, take people from vending, for j-walking, for spitting, for lying down
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Um, the reason that it is the criminalization of the poor
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is because it only applies to that four block radius
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the poorest [off reserve] postal code in canada, so
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Um, we ask that they repeal those laws
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and we ask, we're not asking, we're demanding that they reinstate the housing here
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and we're demanding that the next electioin
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that they purchase the tent ?"
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But the Tent City was quickly disrupted by a growing presence of police
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and eventually there was an announcement made that they had to leave the public space
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or face arrests.
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[police announcements and loud protester feedback: "You are on city-owned land"... "shut the fuck up!!" ...can't make out the rest ]
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So the campers picked up their tents
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and left athlete's village.
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They moved to an empty lot about 2 blocks away.
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But this Tent City didn't last long either.
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The private owner of this space filed an injunction and had them evicted.
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The campers then looked for a space to have a meeting and plan what to do next.
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They couldn't get into the community centre,
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the ? suite where they could meet.
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But the police saw this as illegal trespassing and break and entry.
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As a result, they arrested 11 peple who were in the space
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hoping to have a quiet, warm meeting.
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In the spirit of solidarity, other protesters remained
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until they were driven off in a paddywagon[sic].
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[chants of "let them go!"]
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Tent City could't happen in the end.
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But the message remains
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"What is happening here today should happen right across the country.
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Because homelessness is an issue from one atlantic to the pacific,
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from the great lakes to the arctic circle.
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We need a housing plan here in canada,
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and only the federal government can do that.
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We haven't had one since the 80's.
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And since then, homelessness has gone up in this country
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right across the board.
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Enough is enough."
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[chanting: the people united will never be defeated...El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido...]