Pivot’s Criminalization & Policing Campaigner, Meenakshi Mannoe, writes about defunding the VPD and the importance of shifting away from criminalization and enforcement and leaning into equity, inclusion, and social justice.

Read Pivot's new blog on how talk is cheap and local governments must Act Now! to decriminalize simple posession.

Last week, the Supreme Court of Canada delivered a unanimous decision on R v Zora; a case about bail breaches in which Pivot intervened with help from Vancouver-based criminal defence lawyer David Fai.

Our fight continues after an Ontario Court reaches a disappointing decision on prison-based needle exchange programs.

Simons et al. v Minister of Public Safety et al.

Despite the heavy snowfall we are experiencing, Oppenheimer Park residents continue to be refused onsite-options for warming. We recently sent letters calling on both Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services and the City of Vancouver to “meet people where they are” and provide warming options for those who will inevitably remain outside in the cold this season.

As we close out this year and look back on the past few months, we commend the steadfast, principled advocacy of Oppenheimer Park Tent City residents. We stand in solidarity with the assertion of Indigenous sovereignty in the Park. As long as people must rely on public space, we must respect Tent Cities as the safest option in a list of undesirable alternatives.