Naomi Klein joins march against condos and gentrification in Downtown Eastside

Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine, stood in front of a pile of rubble at 150 East Hastings-- the site of the old Pantages Theatre--on Dec. 1 to show support for Downtown Eastside residents fighting gentrification in this working class neighbourhood.

Klein talked about the meaning of Occupy movements and about Vancouver’s struggles with inequality and affordable housing.

For over a year, activists in the DTES have been petitioning the city to buy the site of the Pantages from developer Marc Williams and to turn it into social housing instead of high-end condos. That never materialized.

The Pantages has become symbolic in the DTES’s fight against gentrification. I wrote about one of the first demonstrations in front of the old theatre in January 2011. You can read it here.

Below is a transcript of Klein’s speech interspersed with photos of the Dec. 1, 2011 event.

Occupy to get your piece of the pie

"[Occupy Wall Street is saying] this country isn’t broke. This country doesn’t have a budget crisis. It has a distribution crisis. And I think it is so exciting and so moving that as the movement evolves and changes now what we see is people occupy spaces at the site of maximum exclusion, the site of maximum inequality to show the other side of that. And that’s what’s going on this city and that’s what we’re trying to show today and I’m very proud to be here with you, standing with you today.

Matt the Hat said: “I was at the Art Gallery [former site of Occupy Vancouver camp] before. For some chocolate pie, ya know? I just want my piece of the chocolate pie."

[Vancouver] is one of the most unequal cities in North America. It has the least affordable housing—not in Canada, not in North America—most unaffordable housing in the Commonwealth, the U.S., New Zealand, Australia.

It’s supposed to take three years. For housing to be affordable, it should take three years of income to be able to buy a home. In Vancouver it takes nine and a half years, okay? Gentrification doesn’t just drive the cost of houses up in this neighbourhood. It drives the cost of everything up in this neighbourhood. It drives the cost of everything up across the city."

Exclusion not exclusive to U.S.

Police at Pantages protest Dec. 1

“I think it’s important to challenge this idea that Canada doesn’t have any problems, that we’re so much better than the U.S. This is the part of the country that no one wants to look at. You know, there was so much anger at Occupy Vancouver, anger at seeing homelessness, anger at seeing drug addiction and mental health problems. 

They just wanted to sweep it away. Take it back to the DTES, that’s what they were trying to say. But now in the DTES they just want to sweep it away from here. This is a disgrace and I am proud to be with you to say NO, drawing the line."

Klein’s Message for Marc Williams, Condo Developer Extraordinaire

“Marc Williams. He’s been putting up posters up and down the street saying ‘Welcome Naomi Klein. You can buy a copy of the Shock Doctrine for $61 at Spartacus Books.’ We called Spartacus a few minutes ago. They don’t have any copies of the Shock Doctrine, but they have a copy of No Logo for $6. So I all I can say is I hope he doesn’t plan on marking up condominiums as much as he’s marked up my book. Obviously a man not to be trusted.

I would say to Mark Williams that he is acting as if this is a game and he is playing with people’s lives and he should be ashamed of himself. This is about survival.”

Stay Tuned (probably Sunday, since I have to do paid work tomorrow)


After Klein’s speech, the demonstrators moved on to 21 Doors, a condo development that opened Dec. 1. across the street from Pigeon Park. Find out what happened when Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council organizer Ivan Drury posted the following eviction notice on the door. (Click on image for larger size)