Dave Diewert

“It’s gotten creepy down here now” – Police Occupy the Strip in Surrey

In early December 2016, the City of Surrey and the RCMP launched a new surveillance and containment strategy along 135A Street. (…)

Expanding our sovereignty, not Kinder Morgan’s pipelines – Kwantlen nation stands against Trudeau’s pipeline plans: Interview with Brandon Gabriel

When Prime Minister Trudeau’s government approved the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion, the Kwantlen First Nation replied quickly and decisively with protest. (…)

We are all persons and we all belong

Politicians, government officials, business owners, real estate developers, landlords, and media pundits shape a common perspective on low-income, homeless, drug user, and low-wage working class folks: you don’t belong to the community; you threaten public order; your presence obstructs progress. (…)

Dispatches: Is Surrey punishing homeless protesters?

It was a hard day on Surrey’s Strip. The police, bylaw and city workers descended twice (morning and afternoon) with aggressive take-downs of tents and the disposal of people’s belongings (…)

Violence on the Surrey Strip is rooted in criminalization and dehumanization

Over the last month, Alliance Against Displacement (AAD) has been holding organizing meetings on 135A Street in Surrey (aka. the strip). (…)

“The role of the police is to intimidate and harass homeless people”- Rituals of State Power on the Strip in Surrey

Along 135A Street in Surrey (aka, the Strip), homeless people gather together in small groups, erect tents and tarps to shelter themselves and their belongings, and access the limited services available. (…)

“We Shall Not Be Moved” – Indigenous Land Defense on Lelu Island

Since August, 2015, members of the Gitwilgyoots tribe of the Lax Kw’alaams First Nation have been re-occupying their traditional territory of Lax U’u’lu or Lelu Island, at the mouth of the Skeena River near Prince Rupert. (…)

Healthcare as Regulation and Social Control of the Poor

with Dan Oudshoorn

A few years back a friend went through a rough time. Eventually, he decided to go see his doctor. Hours later, the police escorted him out of the clinic in handcuffs. (…)

Demo-victions in Metrotown and a new anti-displacement movement

The housing crisis in BC has many faces. It is most starkly visible in the homeless camps that have caught media attention in Vancouver, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford, Victoria, and elsewhere (…)

Fight for Dignity – Abbotsford Homeless Await Court Decision

For 6 weeks this past summer, the Abbotsford chapter of the BC/Yukon Drug WaSurvivors and its team of lawyers have been in court. (…)

Death by Cops on the Rise in BC

Despite new training programs, police are killing people at increasing rates in BC. Over the past 12 months there have been 16 known police-involved deaths in BC. (…)

Gangs and Drugs – Probing the Root Causes of the Shootings in Surrey

with Jagdeep Singh Mangat

Volcano: Since the beginning of March, there have been close to 30 shooting incidents in Surrey, and the police say it has to do with groups fighting over control of the drug trade. Are these simply street gangs involved in turf wars? (…)

Devastated and Betrayed – Community in Surrey Faces Eviction

Residents at Park Mobile, a manufactured homes park in Surrey, are facing eviction. Many have lived there for years and have formed a close-knit community of friendship and support. (…)

Maple Ridge homeless camp faces community hostility

There’s a grassy area and a forested ravine just next to the Cliff Ave cul-de-sac in Maple Ridge that has been the site of homeless camps for over a decade. (…)

“We are somebody” – Abbotsford Homeless take the City to Court

with DJ Larkin

On June 4, 2015, members of the Abbotsford Chapter of the Drug War Survivors and their allies gathered at the Happy Tree for a march down Gladys Ave to mark the anniversary of the infamous chicken shit incident. (…)

“There is No camping here. It’s time to move on. Thanks.”

These words were on the note Cody O’Day and Mackenzie Skorepa found attached to their tent in Ravine Park in Abbotsford. Their tent was turned upside down, the poles were broken, their mattress was deflated, and the stove lay on the ground. (…)

“Displace and Disperse” – Abbotsford’s Solution to the Homeless Problem

If there is one thing to learn from the City of Abbotsford, it’s how NOT to deal with the homeless crisis. Abbotsford’s main strategy is to push homeless people from one place to another, hoping that they will leave town altogether or disappear into places where they are no longer visible. (…)

In memory of Lucia Varga Jimenez

News broke this past week of the tragic death of Lucia Varga Jimenez while in the custody of the Canada Border Services Agency. Lucia was a 42 year old Mexican migrant and hotel worker in Vancouver. (…)

The Abbotsford Shuffle – Homeless people pushed from park to railway tracks

On Dec 20, 2013, after occupying Jubilee Park for two months, the people of Abbotsford’s Dignity Village homeless camp were forced to move. They set up a teepee and tents in the park on October 20th. (…)

Women’s Action Group – Women supporting Women in the DTES

Just over a year ago, Dianne Tobin was asked if she would consider forming a women’s peer support group at the Drug Users Resource Centre (formerly known as Lifeskills). She enthusiastically said “Yes!” (…)

Displacement – Past, Present, Future

The forces that drive people out of their homes and communities and off their land have a long history in the Downtown Eastside. (…)

Homelessness and the Drug War in Abbotsford – Interview with Barry Shantz

Recently the Downtown East caught up with Barry Shantz, an organizer with the BC/Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors in Abbotsford. (…)

Taking a Stand for Social Housing

“STANDs for Social Housing” is a campaign strategy currently used by the Social Housing Coalition BC to draw public attention to the housing crisis in the province and the need for social housing. (…)

Vancity is Supporting Gentrification Not DTES Low Income Community

The drive to sell Sequel 138 condos is on. The project at 138 E. Hastings, the former site of the Pantages Theatre, has generated very strong community opposition. (…)

Public Transit not a Border Checkpoint: Interview with Omar Chu of the Transportation Not Deportation Campaign

Volcano: What was the motivating issue that launched the Transportation not Deportation Campaign? OC: Sanctuary Health and No One Is Illegal were hearing reports from people in detention that transit police were referring people to the Canadian Border Services Agency (…)