rabble.ca - Pivot Legal Society

Olympic social housing hit with huge hidden bills

Paul Ryan — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:12:36 +0000

Scott Bernstein explains why Pivot is representing low-income tenants from Vancouver's Olympic Village housing complex who are receiving huge heating and water bills they were not told about before moving in.

Vancouver slumlord sued by 11 more ex-tenants

Paul Ryan — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 23:54:12 +0000

Pivot lawyer Doug King talks about 11 more ex-tenants who are launching legal action against slumlord George Wolsey. Live from the press conference outside the hotel, we also talk to Donald McDonald and Miah about what it was like to live in the Wonder Rooms (warning: graphic content).

Know your rights cards, 10 years on

Paul Ryan — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:38:58 +0000

Katrina Pacey talks with Paul Ryan about the original Pivot publication, the statement for police rights card which has been produced since July 2002. Over 100,000 cards have been ordered by human rights organizations from all over Canada, the most recently being Concordia University which handed thousands of cards out to students before protests in Montreal last week.

Why criminalizing clients won't work

Paul Ryan — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:23:47 +0000

Lawyer Katrina Pacey talks to Paul Ryan about why street-level sex workers would be just as unsafe if laws were introduced to criminalize sex work clients. Katrina also gives an update on legal challenges to change sex work laws in B.C. and Ontario. Read the Toronto Star article mentioned in this podcast.

Solutions to Vancouver's homelessness crisis

Paul Ryan — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:15:35 +0000

Dave Murrray talks about homelessness and addiction in Vancouver, and in the run-up to municipal elections on November 19, Ivan Drury explains 3 easy steps that would be easy for city hall to implement to solve the homelessness crisis, at almost no cost to taxpayers. Ivan also explains why gentrification of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside is the worst thing that could happen to that community.

Carlotta Gurl and Pivot

Paul Ryan — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 22:13:51 +0000

Drag Queen Carlotta Gurl talks about why she supports Pivot's advocacy for marginalized people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside on the eve of Passion for Justice in Vancouver.

Downtown Eastside Magic

Paul Ryan — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:14:55 +0000

Hope in Shadows project director Paul Ryan talks to this year's Hope in Shadows Photography Contest winner Kim Washburn after the recent opening of the annual exhibition at the Pendulum Gallery in Downtown Vancouver. The contest also results in the production of a calendar sold by homeless and low-income people on the streets of Vancouver.

YIMBY kit launched to fight NIMBYism

Paul Ryan — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:26:31 +0000

Darcie Bennett talks about the new YIMBY kit launched in Vancouver by Pivot on Sunday in East Vancouver and we also talk with Johanna Suttor-Doerksen from the Salsbury Community Society who explained why the kits came along from her group just in time -- they are hoping to build mixed-income housing in the neighbourhood and have been coming up with opposition.

Housing and gentrification in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

Paul Ryan — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 22:39:08 +0000

Wendy Pedersen, community organizer for the Carnegie Community Action Project, talks about why her organization is fighting gentrification of the Downtown Eastside, and what she feels should happen to combat homelessness.

New Vancouver sex work report

Paul Ryan — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:58:27 +0000

Pivot's litigation director Katrina Pacey talks about what is -- and more importantly, what isn't -- in the new report put out by the City of Vancouver on sex work in the city.

Homelessness in Vancouver

Paul Ryan — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 00:45:08 +0000

David Eby is the Executive Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. A former lawyer with Pivot Legal Society, he co-published Cracks in the Foundation in 2006. Paul Ryan asks David about what was achieved then and what he believes the solutions to homelessness are now.

Housing rights and slumlords in Vancouver

Paul Ryan — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 22:22:45 +0000

In the first of seven podcasts on solutions to homelessness in Metro Vancouver, Pivot lawyer Doug King talks about representing tenants of the Wonder and Palace SRO hotels in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

A home for everyone: Homelessness in Vancouver

Paul Ryan — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 23:28:36 +0000

Vancouver City Councillor Ellen Woodsworth talks to Pivot's Laura Drake about how to tackle homelessness in Vancouver. Also: Lawyer Scott Bernstein talks to city council about homelessness.

Libby Davies talks to Pivot about human rights, housing and sex work

Paul Ryan — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 16:24:35 +0000

Vancouver East MP Libby Davies talks to Pivot's Laura Drake about the upcoming session of Parliament and what might happen in some of Pivot's campaign areas.

Brutality alleged by DTES residents

Paul Ryan — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 00:08:42 +0000

Pivot Legal Society has launched a Human Rights Complaint and civil suits on behalf of three men who allege that they were beaten up by private security guards who patrol Vancouver's Harbour Centre mall. Pivot campaigner Doug King talks to Laura Drake about the case.

HIV, Law and Human Rights

Paul Ryan — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:52:33 +0000

Vancouver lawyer Elin Sigurdson talks to Pivot's Laura Drake about attending the third annual Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network Symposium on HIV, Law and Human Rights.

Ontario Court of Appeal hears from Pivot lawyer on sex work laws

Paul Ryan — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 22:27:04 +0000

Pivot's Litigation Director Katrina Pacey talks to Laura Drake about arguing before the Ontario Court of Appeal that Canada's criminal laws needlessly endanger Vancouver's street-level sex workers.

Hope in Shadows 2011: The camera return site

Paul Ryan — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:24:28 +0000

This week, Paul Ryan interviews people on location at the Hope in Shadows camera return site. The people interviewed are entering photographs they have taken for the Hope in Shadows calendar. To see last year's photos, visit http://hopeinshadows.com/view-photos/2010-exhibition.

Community groups shut out of Missing Women's Inquiry

Paul Ryan — Thu, 26 May 2011 07:05:17 +0000

Vancouver, May 25, 2011 -- Public interest groups and organizations working with women in the Downtown Eastside were shocked by an unexpected decision by the Attorney General of British Columbia to deny them funding to participate in the Missing Women's Inquiry.

After this morning's press conference Paul Ryan talked to Kate Gibson from the Downtown Eastside sex worker organization WISH: http://www.wish-vancouver.net
Gibson also represents several other women's organizations, including the PACE society: http://www.pace-society.org

Pivot hosts Health, Harm Reduction and the Law: The InSite Case and the Future of Canadian Drug Policy

Paul Ryan — Wed, 18 May 2011 07:19:53 +0000

Paul Ryan speaks to Darcie Bennett following Pivot's forum on the InSite supervised injection facility, a week after the federal government's finalappeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Vancouver homeless shelters close

Paul Ryan — Wed, 11 May 2011 03:22:32 +0000

Sean Spear from Raincity Housing talks about the need for permanent year-round shelters as a first point of contact for hard to house people.

Five HEAT shelters shut down in Vancouver, Pivot calls for shelters to open year-round

Paul Ryan — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 03:21:56 +0000

Pivot lawyer Doug King talks about the social impact of the HEAT (Homeless Emergency Action Team) shelters closing, the need for shelters to be open year-round, and raising awareness of the Red Tent Campaign for a national housing strategy.

City of Vancouver fails to include homeless rights

Paul Ryan — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 02:02:24 +0000

Pivot lawyer Scott Bernstein explains to Carolyn Wong how a new City of Vancouver by-law will limit the type, length and area of many protests. The City of Vancouver was ordered by the B.C. Court of Appeal to amend its Street and Traffic by-law when it ruled that the existing prohibition on protest structures violated the Charter right to freedom of expression. Bernstein also talks about how this by-law impacts homeless people's Charter right to shelter.

No mention of national housing strategy in leaders' debate

Paul Ryan — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 04:41:45 +0000

Pivot lawyer and head of the housing campaign, Doug King, talks about the lack of mention of a need for a national housing strategy during the federal party leaders' debate on April 12, the Pivot Legal Society press release sent out this morning, and an upcoming Red Tents Day of Action.

Supreme Court to hear feds' sex work appeal

Paul Ryan — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:23:23 +0000

Canada's Supreme Court has allowed the federal government the right to appeal an attempt by Vancouver sex workers to challenge Canada's criminal laws relating to adult prostitution. Pivot litigations director Katrina Pacey explains the case and how it compares to a similar case in Ontario.

National housing bill killed by federal election -- what now?

Paul Ryan — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 01:11:31 +0000

Pivot Legal Society lawyer Doug King speaks about Bill C-304, a private members bill introduced by MP Libby Davies. It would ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing, and has been killed by the upcoming federal election. This bill will now have to be reintroduced once the election is over. For more information about Bill C-304 and the campaign for a national housing strategy, visit www.redtents.org.

Vancouver DTES women's groups shut out of B.C. Housing office

Paul Ryan — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 16:35:38 +0000

Harsha Walia, Vancouver Downtown Eastside women's rights organizer, speaks about demands for women's safety in shelters in light of recent sexual assaults. Harsha and other women's groups organizers led a peaceful protest to the B.C. Housing office to present a letter containing demands for improved women's safety but were locked out and barred by a heavy police presence.

Christy Clark: B.C. premier elect's impact on families

Paul Ryan — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 18:00:02 +0000

What will Christy Clark's appointment as B.C. premier really mean for families? Paul Ryan asks Pivot's Campaign Director Darcie Bennett.

Precedent set in standards of maintenance case in Surrey

Paul Ryan — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 02:29:42 +0000

Lawyer Scott Bernstein speaks to Paul Ryan about a tenant who won her case against a negligent landlord in Surrey.

Pivot's social change through Vancouver public space

Paul Ryan — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:52:48 +0000

John Richardson, founder of the Pivot Legal Society, delivers a short talk at Change Through on Pivot's role in using public space for social change. For more information about Change Through, visit www.changethrough.org.