"The best test of a civilised society is the way in which it treats its most vulnerable and weakest members."

Mahatma Gandhi


  

Hope in Shadows 2009

 
 
Issue-related news
 July 2007		    
B.C. developer sets sights on Downtown Eastside
David Eby, a lawyer and housing activist at Pivot Legal Society, warned that unless Concord's plans include a substantial volume of low-income housing, its Hastings Street project could wind up compounding Vancouver's homeless crisis.
[Globe & Mail, July 30, 2007]

 Vancouver's Olympic Challenge
City Faces Pressure to Fulfill Social Pledges That Helped It Win 2010 Winter Games
Downtown Eastside
Caption: In Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, the streets reek of urine, and rates of AIDS and hepatitis C are at Third World levels. Mayor Sam Sullivan says the city's efforts in the neighborhood "will be the legacy of this Olympics." (By Doug Struck -- The Washington Post)
David Eby, a lawyer who works for a nonprofit legal assistance group, Pivot, said the poor would be left "waiting at the altar" unless the governments acted quickly.
[Washington Post, July 23, 2007]

EDITORIAL Political will is needed to improve conditions in the Downtown Eastside And things could get worse, if we're not careful. The Pivot Legal Society has estimated Vancouver's homeless population will nearly triple to 3,200 by the end of the decade unless housing and other needs are addressed.
[Vancouver Sun, July 23, 2007]

Top candidates now on display
DTES photo contest
For the fifth year running, the Pivot Legal Society handed out 200 cameras to people on the Downtown Eastside - and "three days later, [most of them] came back - we developed them and then had some professional judges go through the 40,000 images to choose the top 40," explained Paul Ryan of Pivot Legal Society.
[24 Hours, July 23, 2007]

New digs for internal investigations now external of cop shop
Over the years, Pivot Legal Society has launched dozens of complaints against the VPD on behalf of marginalized people in the Downtown Eastside. John Richardson, executive director of Pivot, said he welcomes the move because it's a step towards the society's goal of having independent civilian investigations of the police. [Vancouver Courier, July 20, 2007]		   No delay expected in chief's retirement
The investigation stems from Pivot Legal Society allegations that Graham didn't cooperate with the RCMP when it looked into 56 complaints of misconduct filed by Downtown Eastside residents.
[Vancouver Courier, July 20, 2007]

Landlord with collapsed balcony has ignored city orders
Lawyer David Eby, with Pivot Legal Society, said that because Downtown Eastside hotels face constant inspections, the city should have looked more closely at the Sahotas' other holdings.
[Vancouver Sun, July 19, 2007]

Chief Jamie Graham faces investigation
A Pivot Legal Society complaint will hound Jamie Graham well into his scheduled retirement from the position of Vancouver police chief in August.
[Georgia Straight, July 12, 2007]

A City, A Hole, A Dream; Woodwards
David Eby is a lawyer with PIVOT Legal, an advocacy group for citizens of the Downtown Eastside. He explains, "the Woodward's development has led to an effect all around it...
[Tooth & Dagger, July 2007]

Vancouver Losing SROs Faster than It Can Replace Them
"The City of Vancouver has finally acknowledged that we are losing more low-income housing than we are building, and that vacancy rates are functionally zero," said housing activist David Eby, of Pivot Legal Society.
[The Tyee, July 11, 2007]

Justice for All
Katrina Pacey, Barrister and Solicitor
But criminal defence lawyer Katrina Pacey, a partner in Pivot Legal LLP and staff lawyer with the Pivot Legal Society, envisions a better life for all. “The law is a powerful tool for change...
[Shared Vision, July 2007]

Why not check out the archives?
June 2007
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December 2006
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Pivot Legal Society, 678 East Hastings St Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1R1 Canada, Tel. (+1) 604 255 9700