Today is truly a tragic reminder of the stigma that fuels the hatred and violence towards our most marginalized members of society. Our hearts are with unhoused individuals who are victimized through direct and political violence. We denounce the conditions that manufacture poverty and homelessness - including white supremacy, settler colonialism, anti-drug user and anti-homeless stigma.

The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights recently released their report following a review process on the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) which are the laws governing sex work in Canada. Over 50 witnesses testified and the government received 72 briefs from interested parties. The report contains some very positive recommendations including repealing two provisions of the PCEPA as well as Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that prohibit migrants from working in the sex industry. These recommendations are contrasted by some that seek to increase criminalization as it relates to exploitation and human trafficking. Read more by Kerry Porth - Pivot's Sex Work Policy Consultant #SexWorkIsWork #DecriminalizeSexWork

July 8, 2022, marks the 1 year anniversary of the execution of Jared Lowndes by the Campbell River RCMP. Jared Lowndes, a proud Wet’suweten man and member of the Laksilyu (Small Frog) Clan was murdered on the morning of July 8, 2021.

In June of 2022, Pivot and the BC Association of People on Opioid Maintenance (BCAPOM) testified before the Legislative Assembly of BC’s Select Standing Committee on Health. Our goal? Safe supply and an end to municipal/police interference with drug user-led groups.

The #StopTheSweeps Coalition denounces Vancouver City Council and its refusal to end the practice of street sweeps.

Pivot's 2021 Annual Report - another year of community response to a pandemic which has continued to exacerbate ongoing and overlapping public health emergencies. Our team worked alongside community and grassroots organizations to mobilize...

Community rally at Carrall and Hastings to protest the City of Vancouver’s brutal practice of street sweeps

This year’s blog features an interview with Gabrielle Peters. Gabrielle is a disabled writer and policy analyst and a commissioner on the Vancouver City Planning Commission. She is co-founder of Dignity Denied and the Disability Filibuster. Gabrielle’s work often focuses on further developing the radical theory of accessibility by integrating the lessons of disability justice, harm reduction, trauma-informed practice and grassroots community development and transformative change activism. On Access Awareness Day, we are reminding municipalities that accessible and inclusive communities don’t rely on municipal violence to displace people. To better understand the place of #StopTheSweeps within broader disability justice struggles, Gabrielle Peters shares important insights.

This Investigation uses stigmatizing assumptions and terminology, and is a rushed and inadequate process that is not centered on people’s basic human rights and their lived experience of criminalization.

On December 29, 2021, we were thrilled to receive an affirming decision from the BC Provincial Court in the case of R v Ellis. Alongside Sarah Runyon of Marion & Runyon, we successfully argued a departure from BC’s steep sentencing range of 18-36 months for street-based drug trafficking offences involving fentanyl. Rather than serve up to 3 years in jail, our client Tanya Ellis was instead able to access the health supports she wanted and to focus on raising her children. Despite our government’s routine claims to support evidence-based, health-focused drug policy, the Public Prosecution Service of Canada quickly appealed the decision. That means we will be at the BC Court of Appeal defending the provincial court decision on May 26, 2022.