Jenny Kwan, MLA for Vancouver-Mt. Pleasant has been outspoken advocate for Insite, North America’s first supervised injection site for drug addicts. With the B.C. election just days away, Kwan sat down to discuss a range of issues with Am Johal.
Am Johal: You’re running for a fourth term in the B.C. Legislature. Before that, you were the youngest City Councillor in the history of Vancouver. What’s changed in terms of campaigning over the years?
Jenny Kwan: Well, the thing that got me into politics was working as an advocate in the Downtown Eastside. The same issues that we were fighting for then are virtually the same things we are fighting for today, but things are worse today. B.C. has had the worst child poverty rate for five years in a row, the lowest minimum wage in the country and the second highest tuition rates in Canada.
When I first ran for politics, I wanted to push for affordable housing, respect and dignity for everyone and full participation of all citizens. My parents came here as immigrants and experienced the difficulties — language barriers, adapting to a new environment, trying to survive economically. Having grown up in a family where we were fairly low income — my own experience coming from an immigrant family has helped to shape my politics. They didn’t speak Engiish. My mother worked as a farmworker for $10 a day and my father took ESL classes at Vancouver Community College to pick up some English so he could work as a tailor.
Then afterwards, my mother got better employment. She became a dishwasher making minimum wages. Growing up in that environment, trying to make ends meet. I know the importance of increasing minimum wages. When I wanted to enter public life, I wanted everyone to have the opportunity to maximize their potential and to ensure that they had the opportunity to succeed in life in whatever way they wanted. That’s part of the reason why I ran for City Council in ‘93 and later for provincial office.
AJ: The 2010 Olympics are coming to Vancouver. There is an extraordinary amount of money and planning going in to this. There will be 15,000 security people here. These types of mega-events are associated with impacts on the inner city. What are the things you are worried about and what are the opportunities, if any, from the 2010 Olympics?
JK: One of the biggest issues is that these types of mega-events have the effect of accelerating gentrification pressures. Policing is applied in an inappropriate manner. Housing affordability impacts on everyone. SROs are at risk of conversions and tenants are under threat from evictions around the city. We’ve already seen some 700 units that have been converted prior to the Olympics. Now it is estimated to be over 1,400 conversions since the Olympics were awarded to Vancouver. As we get closer to 2010, I think the situation could get worse.
We have the worst homelessness situation since the Great Depression, a 364 per cent increase in street homelessness. About 10 to 15 thousand homeless people in B.C. With 2010 approaching, it is going to heighten pressure on existing residents. Aside from the housing crunch, there are other factors.
Even the Engineering Department from the City of Vancouver is putting pressure on residents in the inner-city. There are street sweeps where the authorities are trying to push the homeless out of sight. The Broken Windows approach is being applied and DTES residents are being targeted and ticketed under the Trespass Act or Safe Streets Act. People are getting ticketed for riding a bike on the sidewalk, for jaywalking, not having a bell on their bike — it’s totally ridiculous. The Vancouver Police Department’s business plan calls for an increase in ticketing. In my view, that’s tied to cleansing the streets for 2010. The situation is deplorable.
AJ: In the late 90s when you came out in support of a safe injection site, it was a difficult position to take even within the NDP. Mt. Pleasant issues end up being on the fringe or periphery of mainstream politics because of the complex nature of the issues here. Sometimes the broader public may not be in favour of such positions, but they authentically represent the constituents of Vancouver-Mt. Pleasant. How do you balance the need to be an activist as well as a member of your caucus and your party?
JK: What we are doing, whether we are activists or elected officials, is to push the envelope in terms of progressive public policy reforms. That is just one of the ways we can faithfully represent the most marginalized in our community. They deserve respect and dignity no matter how complicated their lives have been. We are always on the edge and pushing harder and harder.
It is not a surprise that B.C. has the first and only legally sanctioned safe injection site in North America. It started with people like Bud Osborne who demonstrated the need for this type of intervention in order to save lives and reduce disease. We were relentlessly attacked. During the election campaign in 2001, leaflets were handed out accusing me of being an addict, a drug user and whole host of other things — a community coalition openly attacked me for supporting harm reduction measures.
As an elected person you have to take positions even if they are not popular at the moment. With the supervised injection site, people needed to be educated about it. When they were, we had overwhelming support across the city.
We did support it and we now have this health facility in B.C. The federal government is now trying to turn the clock back. Stephen Harper has made a political decision to appeal a court decision that granted the constitutional right to provide healthcare services at Insite. Stephen Harper is wasting money, is engaging in the politics of fear and is trying to be some kind of demogogue — all for partisan political gain. This is not acceptable. We are now mobilizing to fight a fight that we won a long time ago.
We actually need more facilities –- we need more treatment instead of wasting the time, energy and resources of people to keep health facilities open. Stephen Harper should stop playing politics with peoples’ lives.
AJ: There have been cuts to legal aid over the tenure of the Campbell Liberal government that have disproportionately impacted women. You have advocated for restoring funding for legal aid. Can you talk about how the Campbell government’s cuts have hurt women particularly?
JK: Since 2001, the government has systematically dismantled our social safety net. First of all, the cancellation of affordable housing has impacted women. Many women who are single parents have been trapped in situations due to cuts in services. Campbell took out legal aid for administrative law cases that involve poverty law around income assistance advocacy and tenancy advocacy.
They slashed that budget so severely, the legal community felt compelled to censure the Attorney General. That was the first time in BC history that a sitting AG was censured by the Law Society of BC. Legal aid cuts to family law also impacts women disproportionately. Family law disputes and arbitrations don’t have the resources they need. Without timely legal representation there are many situations which are not addressed properly.
They cut funding to women’s centres. This funding was a drop in the bucket and they still went after them ruthlessly. Why did they cut the funding? Because they do advocacy and speak out for marginalized women. Gordon Campbell targeted his cuts at people who stand up to him. Women are still the primary caregivers in raising children and there have been devastating cuts to childcare under Gordon Campbell’s watch.
Campbell has brought in the $6 training wage and hasn’t raised the minimum wage since 2001. Who earns these wages — they tend to be women and immigrants. They tend to be single parents. There are some 300,000 people making $10 an hour or less.
AJ: There are still major barriers to women entering politics. You were first elected when you were quite young and you have never lost an election. What is your advice to young women entering politics?
JK: I would choose the party that best represents your values and your positions. No one political party that will match your views 100 per cent. You can engage within the party and advance policy changes. It’s very important to get involved in the community. It’s important to have a mentor. I’ve been very lucky that I have had a host of strong women like Libby Davies and former Vancouver East MP Margaret Mitchell who supported me in to public life as an elected official.
Along the way you will need help. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Last but not least, take the plunge. Don’t be afraid to take risks. Step up to the plate, and take on the challenge. If you’re willing to step forward, you’ll be surprised how many people will come out to support you.
Am Johal is a Vancouver-based independent writer, and is currently a volunteer on Jenny Kwan’s re-election campaign.
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