Granville Island is a hub for Vancouver’s tourism industry. The Island’s vendors and makers, who create everything from traditionally made brooms to small batch spirits, trade in the image of authenticity. That this image is built upon the skill and toil of workers is a commonly ignored detail. With the strike at Granville Island Brewing Company (GIB) entering its sixth week, we see the rough edges of this crafty branding.
Yesterday tenants from 2325 Glen Drive delivered a collective letter to their landlord, Deecorp Properties Ltd. The letter, signed by a supermajority of tenants, calls on Deecorp to cancel the eviction notice that was served to their neighbour, Keir Nicoll. The notice Keir received claims that the landlord intends to move a building caretaker into his suite. Two of the building’s 12 units are currently already unoccupied and listed on Airbnb.
On July 19, the City of Vancouver issued an email letter to Vancouver Coastal Health declaring the lease for Thomus Donaghy Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) in Yaletown will not be renewed in 2024 – only three years after it opened. The decision was praised by ABC Councillor Peter Meiszner, who in the weeks prior had adopted the campaign to shut down the OPS as his personal cause célèbre.
As filmmaker Ryan Sudds states, the documentary “encourages people to take a critical approach to the City of Vancouver’s work, and not believe Mayor Ken Sim when he says that they’re taking a ‘compassionate’ approach to encampments and homelessness.”