The Pivot Blog

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, ICYMI, Drug Policy Reform

International treaties and conventions are not barriers to decriminalization in Canada
Full drug decriminalization is consistent with Canada's human rights obligations
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Sep 10, 2021 | Drug Policy Reform, Position Papers

Community groups sound the alarm on upcoming implementation of vaccine cards in BC

28 health and human rights groups say BC's vaccine card plans intensifies discriminations against already marginalized groups
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Sep 01, 2021 | Press Releases, ICYMI, Project Inclusion

Joint Response to BC's "Proof of Vaccination" Health Order

BC's proof of vaccination plan as it currently stands, fails to account for people who will face legitimate barriers to accessing a vaccine card.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Sep 01, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Project Inclusion, Homes For All, Letters & Statements

Response to Transport 2050
BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, Homeless Services Association of BC, and Pivot Legal Society write to address transit poverty and the role of TransLink in eradicating inequity within its ridership.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Aug 24, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Letters & Statements

Grief, Rage & Resistance
Black and Indigenous women in the Downtown Eastside in conversation about the Impacts of the drug poisoning crisis.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Aug 19, 2021 | Blog, ICYMI, Drug Policy Reform

Pivot's Letter of Opposition regarding Motion B2 “Supporting Community-Led Public Safety in Mount Pleasant”
"Motion B2 assumes that policing is best-suited to respond to a myriad of social and economic issues, rather than grappling with what interventions could be made available through defunding police and investing in community-led crisis intervention."
By Meenakshi Mannoe Meenakshi Mannoe | Jul 21, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Blog, Letters & Statements

Rights Card on Alcohol Seizure

You can refuse consent for law enforcement to seize or dump your alcohol because it violates your charter rights and undermines harm reduction.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Jun 29, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Drug Policy Reform, Public Legal Education

Pivot Legal Society Annual Report 2020
Our 2020 Annual Report is out. You can read about our campaigns and public legal education efforts during an exceptionally difficult year of multiple public health crises.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Jun 24, 2021 | Blog, Annual Reports

Coalition of Organizations Boycott City Panel on Decriminalizing Poverty
"We are making the difficult decision to cease any involvement with the process. In order to move forward with defunding police while supporting community-led initiatives, police and/or police-adjacent organizations cannot be at the table. "
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Jun 22, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Blog, Letters & Statements

Coalition Submits Complaint for the Cancellation of the VPD Trespass Prevention Program
Legal and community-based organizations submit a formal Service and Policy complaint regarding the Vancouver Police Department’s Trespass Prevention Program (TPP). Complainants are calling for the termination of the TPP and a public accounting of its operations to-date.
By Sozan Savehilaghi Sozan Savehilaghi | Jun 15, 2021 | Criminalization and Policing, Press Releases