Omar Khadr has been in the news recently. The federal government has agreed to an out-of-court settlement estimated to be $10.5 million. This has angered many Canadians. It has not angered me at all. In fact, it confirms my long-standing belief that governments engaging in torture must be held accountable. Let me explain. At the…
Category: equality
The nightmare of SRO conditions can be solved in an instant
With income assistance rates frozen for over 10 years now, welfare recipients have a very small amount available for rent. With the province of BC providing a single person on welfare with only $610 a month, SRO landlords are very limited in what they can charge for rent. So they use the low rental revenue…
Double or nothing: Garbage collection vs. city councillors?
City council salaries are in the news again! The Vancouver Courier’s Mike Howell, in one of his recent 12th and Cambie columns, notes that all city councillors but one are earning more than $100,000 per year, and that’s before any additional remuneration they collect, say, for chairing other committees such as ones tied to Metro…
A positive new direction for HandyDART
As co-chair of the HandyDART Riders’ Alliance, since last October I’ve been sitting on a task force set up by TransLink. Our mandate is to advise TransLink on HandyDART issues. The creation of this task force and the appointment of many individuals from the HandyDART community to it is another indicator of the positive working…
The power of girls and women
As many of you may know, October 11 was the International Day of the Girl. In all walks of life we need to do a better job of creating a truly equal society. In commerce, politics and our work environments, girls and women are still not treated equally or fully valued for their contributions. One…
A silver lining to Victoria’s tent city
Many of us concerned about the crisis of homelessness have watched with interest as homeless people in Victoria started living on the lawn in front of the courthouse last year. As their numbers grew, so did the pressure on the provincial government to offer meaningful solutions — not just overnight shelters but real accommodations. In…
As TransLink turns a page
Those of you familiar with the HandyDART file will be aware of the fact that a few years ago TransLink awarded this very important contract to a for-profit, privately owned American company based in Dallas, Texas. Users and workers have been complaining about the quality of service ever since. A group I’m with, the HandyDART…