The Pivot Blog

BC vs. Vancouver: A Comparison of Decriminalization Models
BC and Vancouver have each applied to decriminalize simple drug possession. Neither model is perfect, but how do they compare?
By Caitlin Shane Caitlin Shane | Dec 09, 2021 | Blog, Drug Policy Reform

Decriminalization Done Right: A Rights-Based Path for Drug Policy
Leading human rights and public health organizations release national drug decriminalization platform for Canada.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Dec 09, 2021 | Research Reports, Drug Policy Reform

R v Ellis: A New Frontier for Sentencing Drug Trafficking Offences

BC Provincial Court’s recent decision of R v Ellis marks a departure from harsh sentencing ranges for street-based fentanyl dealers. We know that a different approach is needed—the Court listened.
By Caitlin Shane Caitlin Shane | Dec 07, 2021 | Blog, Drug Policy Reform

Renewing calls to defund the police and resource communities

Meenakshi Mannoe & Kit Rothschild want City of Vancouver to reinvest 50% of the police budget into community-led crisis response and peer-led systems of care.
By Meenakshi Mannoe Meenakshi Mannoe | Nov 30, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Blog

Defunding the VPD is an investment in public safety and collective well-being
Researcher and policy analyst Chuka Ejeckam distinguishes public safety from police spending, as these concepts are often conflated.
By Chuka Ejeckam Chuka Ejeckam | Nov 29, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Blog, Data Visualizations

We must defund the police to build safe, healthy, and sustainable communities
Defund 604 Network releases 6 demands to build safe, health and sustainable communities for all with release of results of the 2021 People’s Budget in advance of 2022 police budget deliberations.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Nov 22, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Press Releases

Pivot writes to City of Dawson Creek to oppose bylaw amendments that threaten harm reduction services
Pivot Legal Society letter to City of Dawson Creek: Proposed amendment to zoning bylaw prevents access to life saving harm reduction services.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Nov 19, 2021 | Drug Policy Reform, Letters & Statements

Joint letter to council on SRO vacancy control regulations
We urge Council to take this opportunity to begin addressing the City’s legacy of homelessness, eviction, displacement, and gentrification in the Downtown Eastside.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Nov 15, 2021 | Homes For All, Letters & Statements

Power, control & erosion of rights: the politics of BC’s complex care “housing”
Nicole Luongo outlines the pitfalls of the “Complex Care housing” model that is widely-touted by provincial and municipal governments in BC
By Nicole Luongo Nicole Luongo | Nov 03, 2021 | Blog, Homes For All

BC’s decriminalization plan doesn’t go far enough
Members of the Province’s Core Planning Table express grave concerns that BC’s bid to decriminalize drugs leaves behind the most marginalized drug users
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Nov 01, 2021 | Press Releases, Drug Policy Reform

Report back: advocating for a made-in-BC model of decriminalization
Read an update on Pivot’s decriminalization advocacy and our conditions for supporting and providing input on a made-in-BC model.
By Caitlin Shane Caitlin Shane | Oct 21, 2021 | Blog, Drug Policy Reform

“They know people don’t know their rights”: Daily street sweeps displace & dispossess unhoused DTES residents
Street sweeps are conducted every morning in the DTES. We must end this dehumanizing practice!
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Oct 15, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Press Releases, Homes For All

Joint Statement on Homelessness Action Week 2021
The Coalition of Peers Dismantling the War on Drugs, VANDU and Pivot recognize “Homelessness Action Week 2021”
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Oct 12, 2021 | Blog, Homes For All, Letters & Statements

The Trespass Prevention Program Criminalizes Poverty
The Vancouver Police Department is doubling down on the Trespass Prevention Program by expanding it, despite concerns.
By Meenakshi Mannoe Meenakshi Mannoe | Oct 06, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Blog

Pivot to Represent BC-Yukon Association of Drug War Survivors in BC Supreme Court Judicial Review

We are going to the Supreme Court of BC to fight for Drug War Survivors right to have a space of their own in Surrey.
By Caitlin Shane Caitlin Shane | Sep 23, 2021 | Blog, Drug Policy Reform