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)

New Year’s in Tokyo

Planning to spend the holidays in Tokyo? Here are some tips for catching a glimpse of Japanese New Year traditions and seeing Mt. Fuji without having to climb it. This piece was originally published in Matador.com on Jan. 12, 2010--my last month in Japan after having lived there on and off since 1999. New Year is the biggest holiday in Japan, and this year will be the first since the Tsunami. I’ll be thinking about my friends.

Mt. Fuji seen from Mt. Takao outside Tokyo

Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station is the world’s busiest transit hub.  Seeing it empty on a Saturday morning had an Armageddon feel to it.  Shops were shuttered and train station attendants yawned in their plexiglass cubicles.  It was January 2^nd.   Everyone had abandoned Tokyo for the lands of their ancestors. I imagined them indulging in impromptu naps, making up for sleep lost to work, commutes and urban temptations.

They’d watch variety shows.  They’d visit relatives and eat yet another auntie’s New Year’s osechi.  Shrimp would bring longevity, salted herring roe fertility, black soy beans health, and dried baby sardines a bountiful harvest.

At temples and shrines, they’d make offerings to seal the deal on all those promises of good fortune. But they’d be back, the commuting masses. In no time at all I’d be cursing them again as I shuttled between the three teaching jobs I need to make ends meet in this ridiculously expensive city. For now, though, the ghost-town emptiness felt creepy.  I called a friend just to make sure the world hadn’t ended, and we decided to get out of town.

Yakuoin Temple on Mount Takao is a good day trip from Tokyo any time of year.  The hike is an easy but satisfying workout, and there’s a splendid view of Mount Fuji from the top.  It’s a great place, too, to witness Japanese New Year traditions.

From Shinjuku, the Keio Line gets you to Takaosanguchi (literally “Gate to Mount Takao”) in 50 minutes.  A colourful map in front of the station displays all the trails to the top.  The shortest takes 30 minutes to complete, and the longest ninety.  A few of the paths are paved, while others offer some of the challenges of “real” hiking—rocks and slippery bits and stuff.  

It was already past two o’clock when we got off at Takaosanguchi, so we chose the Omotesando Trail, which is paved and takes about 50 minutes. We could have hopped on the cable car and been there in ten, but adrenaline greatly enhances mountain-top views so we started walking.

We stocked up on provisions from the shops and stalls at the foot of the mountain.  Onigiri (rice balls), shrimp crackers and roasted chestnuts would be just the thing to munch on while admiring a snow-capped Mount Fuji.  It was a crystal-clear day, and if we reached the top before sundown, the view would be splendid.  We could have made it on time, but we meandered.

Our first stop was at a bend in the path.  People had congregated to take in a view of the Kanto conurbation.  They pointed and named famous landmarks, like Shinjuku’s sky-scraper district or Yokohama’s observation tower. Me, all I could see was a blur of concrete. 

The next bottleneck was about half-way up the mountain.  Food stall vendors in ankle-length parkas proffered ramen noodles in Styrofoam bowls and sake in paper cups. But what I was drawn to was the sweet and smoky aroma of roasted mochi rice cakes.  As a sugar and starch junky, I always do my very best to resist this sticky, gooey concoction.  This time, though, the excuse was built in:  mochi is a traditional New Year’s treat.  For 400 yen, I got three mochi balls on a stick that the vendor dipped in soy sauce.  The combination of sweet and salty, gooey and crispy, was divine. 

At the temple we lit green incense sticks, cupped the smoke and fanned it towards our bodies.  We threw five-yen coins into the slatted donation box and made wishes for the New Year.  Students prayed for good exams, young couples for everlasting love. We wandered around the temple grounds, mesmerized by the chanting monks.

Then the air turned chilly, and shadows seemed to deepen all around us. We bolted and ran the rest of the way.  When we got to the top, all we could see were darkened silhouettes pointing their cameras at the sky.

A boy yelled:

            “Diamond Fuji!  Diamond Fuji!”

            “What’s that?”  My friend asked.

We squinted and shaded our eyes.  It nearly blinded us, but we saw it: a beaming circle perched on Mount Fuji’s fractured cone of a summit.    We munched on our shrimp crackers and roasted chestnuts until the sun slipped away, streaking the sky purple, gold and pink.

“Diamond Fuji” sunset

TIPS for your Diamond Fuji adventure:

*Bring a flashlight.  With all the touristy hoopla on Mount Takao, you’d think there’d bee some lighting.  But there isn’t!  It was pitch-black on the way down.

*For the fastest way to get there from wherever you are by train, check out Hyperdia. Enter your point of departure and your point of arrival, and presto.

*Impromptu stall purchases are fun, but if you’re on a budget, buy your food in Tokyo because tourist prices apply as soon as you exit Takaosanguchi Station.