Olympic Evictions

On 7 Dec 2009 at 10:00 am, print and broadcast media gathered in front of a house a few blocks from Fraser Street and East 12th Avenue in Vancouver for a press conference. Sue Brown and Sam Campbell, two residents of a house that normally shelters eight individual tenants, stood on the front walk to tell their stories about being served Olympic eviction notices for 31 January 2009.

On display were two contradictory posters:

• A copy of one of the eviction notices that stated: “Reasons for this 2 month notice to end the tenancy … The rental unit will be occupied by the landlord or the landlord’s spouse or a close family member (father, mother, or child) of the landlord or the landlord’s spouse.”
• A copy of a web site advertisement offering to rent out “a beautiful 9-bedroom 3150 sq. ft. house in quiet residential upscale neighbourhood in the middle of Vancouver available for February through March 2010 … the house can accommodate 20 people … the full house is $11,900/week if rented for a minimum of two weeks.”

Lawyer Laura Track from Pivot Legal Society said:

What’s disturbing about this is the reason given for the eviction is so clearly dishonest. … My sense is this is just the tip of the iceberg.   (CBC News)

Landlord Maria Gerenska told reporter Bob Mackin that the online listing was “a mistake” and would be removed from the web site – yet at the same time she said that she might “still try to rent space if the house isn’t full of relatives visiting from Europe to witness her childbirth.” She made a similar contradictory statement to reporter Lora Grindlay.

City of Vancouver housing policy planner Celine Mauboules said that the city would investigate the apparent violation. Under a city bylaw governing temporary rentals during the Olympics, it would be impossible for the landlords to obtain a required license. If they rent without the license, they will be subject to a fine (Burgmann, Thompson, Grindlay).

Although the City of Vancouver earlier asked the provincial government to amend the residential tenancy act to prevent evictions for Olympic rental, the provincial government refused (News1130, Grindlay). According to Track, “B.C.’s tenancy protections are among the weakest in the country” (Thompson).

The press conference about the evictions was facilitated by Joseph Jones for the Olympic Resistance Network and Rider Cooey for Citywide Housing Coalition.

As soon as the story broke, Jay Thorardson, a former tenant of the house, stepped forward to confirm his own bad experience with the same landlords (Mariana Gerenska and Konstantin Karagiozov). He said he went to the Residential Tenancy Board because of building maintenance violations. Thorardson offered to serve as reference if current residents choose to go to the RTB, agreed to have his name stand in this report, and tried to assist present tenants in finding other rental accommodation.

Thanks to Blackbird for providing this seven-slide photographic record of the event.

 
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(In chronological order)

Sonia Aslam. “Landlord told renters house was needed for ‘immediate family’,” News1130 (7 Dec 2009)

Tamsyn Burgmann. “Vancouver tenants allege eviction for landlord’s Olympics profiteering,” Winnipeg Free Press / Canadian Press (7 Dec 2009)

Wendy Stueck. “Tenants allege Olympic eviction,” Globe & Mail (7 Dec 2009)

“Tenants cry foul over Olympic eviction,” CBC News (7 Dec 2009)

Lora Grindlay. “Evicted tenants blame Olympics greed,” Province (8 Dec 2009)

Bob Mackin. “Eviction sparks complaints of Olympic proportions,” 24 Hours Vancouver (8 Dec 2009) 3

Kristen Thompson. “Tenants allege eviction is Olympic profiteering,” Metro Vancouver (8 Dec 2009) 3

Jamie Graham’s Blabber

On 30 November 2009 Victoria Police Chief Jamie Graham delivered a thirty-minute keynote address to a Vancouver International Security Conference. Through the weeks following, his remarks on the policing of the 30 October 2009 Victoria torch relay protests reverberated in news reports, reactions, and commentary.

Reporter Bob Mackin broke the story in 24 Hours Vancouver and simultaneously posted an audio file (see transcript appended) on his blog. Mackin’s written report included the following additional quotations not found in the 1:22 sound clip:

[Protesters were] probably going to be violent … The relationships individual field officers have with protesters and so on just kills these kinds of disturbances and it worked extremely well. … Police departments from all over the country have taken our game plan, our operational plan, and adopted it as their own.

 
What Jamie Graham Said

The conference program described Graham’s presentation as “an interactive session.” The only interaction perceivable in the Mackin recording is audience laughter at the comment about a cop driving the protester’s bus (belabored in delivery with two repetitions). To judge from the sound clip, the comments were either loosely scripted or completely off the cuff.

At the time of the Victoria torch relay protests, mainstream media provided thin coverage. However, a few writers reported

• Extensively snarled rush hour traffic – “traffic chaos in downtown Victoria for three hours” (Hunter)
• Disruption of the torch relay itself – “10 displaced torchbearers were brought to Mile 0” (Derosa)
• Significant front-of-the-crowd impact on evening ceremonies – “The moment the children began to sing, protesters drowned out their innocent voices” (“Protesters go beyond”)

[For more, see Spectacle Vancouver’s extensive account of the Victoria torch relay protests, together with accompanying links to videos.]

A month afterward, standing in front of a security audience, Graham put quite a different spin on that day of torch relay protest in Victoria:

• Mackin’s written account has Graham boasting of a model “operational plan,” featuring officer action that “just kills these kinds of disturbances” … which were “probably going to be violent.”
• The recording’s claim of everything under control and no problems is followed by enumeration of a torch relay automobile accident, bad police driving, and arrest of protesters. Frustration of protest is emphasized, and the substantial protester actions are passed over in silence as though they never happened.
• The exaggerated and self-contradictory quality of the recorded rhetoric stands out in a mention of careless driving by two motorcycle officers: “One of them was hurt quite badly, but has since recovered.” [A month seems like fast healing for someone “hurt quite badly.”]
• The recording directs attention to a single bus on a ferry: “They all rented a bus – they all came over on a bus.” [Emphases added.]   (Best estimates for the number of Victoria protesters lie in the neighborhood of four hundred.)
• Reference to “a cop driving the bus” has not been further substantiated in any public way. It may have been loose talk, nothing more than bravado laying claim to a degree of control belied by the events. It may have been deliberate disinformation. It may have been a thoughtless outing of an actual undercover agent. [In a subsequent comment on arrests, the transcript displays an odd hesitation and backtracking after mention of “undercover operatives.”]
• The account of the only known arrest incident does not square with either logic or other reporting. According to others, there was one arrest, not two. The speaker also tries to morph the out-of-uniform persons on the ferry (regarded by those being surveilled as “undercover operatives”) into recognizable “security people.”

 
The Aftermath in Media

On 3 December 2009, Katie Derosa reported that Graham “refused to comment on his remarks.” Darah Hansen reported that Graham was “lying low” and “declined The Vancouver Sun’s request for an interview.” Bob Mackin noted: “Olympic Resistance Network members were planning to meet Wednesday night.” The Olympic Resistance Network (ORN) posted a response on its web site at 11:10, condemning the “chilly climate” created by “this latest revelation of police infiltration and surveillance.”

The following day Bob Mackin briefly reported that ORN response. On the same day, the group No 2010 Victoria challenged Graham to “a public debate about secret police tactics and civil liberties.” That challenge was reported by CTV-BC.

On 8 December 2009 Bruce Dean, a freelance photographer in Victoria, filed a complaint against Graham “for outing an undercover officer” (“Complaint filed”), an action which “jeopardized the safety of an undercover agent by blowing his cover” (Derosa). According to a representative of Victoria police, “Graham will cooperate with the investigation and will not be commenting until it’s over” (Derosa).

On 11 December 2009 Jody Paterson published a lengthy column in the Times Colonist that concluded:

Our government must be held accountable for directing police to spy on British Columbians whose only crime is to disagree with the party line.

About a week later, Rod Mickleburgh’s Globe & Mail column listed the bus driver incident among four recent dubious actions, outside VANOC control, that have “tarnished [the] Olympic image.”

 
Two Other Events

As reported by Spectacle Vancouver in Bumbling Bylaw, Vancouver City Councillor Geoff Meggs took delight in springboarding from comments made by Vancouver Police Department officer Steve Sweeney to make a lame joke about how Victoria police had actually facilitated protest by driving a bus. The circumstances were a 3 December 2009 morning meeting of Council about the pending Olympics bylaw.

As reported by Spectacle Vancouver in Olympics Q & A (December 15), Vancouver 2010 Integrated Service Unit head Bud Mercer reacted strongly to a question about the recent reported tactic of infiltrating a protest group with a bus-driving undercover police officer. Mercer said Jamie Graham “spoke out of turn” and “has apologized to me.” Mercer then went on to repeat his disapproval of what Graham did. The setting was a 15 December 2009 question and answer session held in the Downtown Eastside.

 
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(In chronological order)

Justine Hunter. “Olympic protesters disrupt torch relay,” Globe & Mail [online] (30 Oct 2009)

Katie Derosa. “Protesters crossed ‘moral line,’ angry torchbearer says,” Times Colonist (1 Nov 2009)

“Protesters go beyond rights when they deny them to others,” Vancouver Sun (6 Nov 2009) A16

Bob Mackin. “Police infiltrate Olympic resistance at torch relay,” 24 Hours Vancouver (2 Dec 2009) 1

Katie Derosa. “Undercover officer drove busload of Games foes to Victoria demonstration, chief quoted as saying,” Times Colonist (3 Dec 2009) A3

Darah Hansen / Doug Ward. “Victoria cop infiltrated anti-Games group: chief,” Vancouver Sun (3 Dec 2009) A4

Bob Mackin. “Protesters in shock,” 24 Hours Vancouver (3 Dec 2009) 4

Olympic Resistance Network. “Olympic Resistance Network responds to police allegations of undercover cop driving protest bus to Victoria [news release],” (3 Dec 2009)

“Activists want Victoria police chief to explain tactics,” ctvbc.ca (4 Dec 2009)

Bob Mackin. “ORN responds to police infiltration,” 24 Hours Vancouver (4 Dec 2009) 6

No2010 Victoria. “Debate Challenge: No2010 Victoria vs. Jamie Graham,” (4 Dec 2009)

“Complaint filed against police chief for ‘outing’ undercover cop,” Globe & Mail / Canadian Press (8 Dec 2009)

Katie Derosa. “Photographer accuses police chief of misconduct after speech,” Vancouver Sun (8 Dec 2009) A7

Jody Paterson. “Pushing the limits of police involvement,” Times Colonist (11 Dec 2009)

Rod Mickleburgh. “Olympic image being tarnished by events out of organizing committee’s control,” Globe & Mail (17 Dec 2009)

 
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(Appendix:)

Excerpt from Jamie Graham’s keynote address on 30 November 2009 to the Vancouver International Security Conference at the Marriott Pinnacle Hotel in Vancouver, as transcribed from the audio file provided on Bob Mackin’s Vancouver 2010 blog under “Graham Cracks Up Security Audience” (2 Dec 2009).

 

And I said, “Well, how things are going,” and she said, “Well, it’s kind of boring, really. Like there’s nothing doing. It’s … ”

I mean, we had so many people positioned in so many key areas there was no room for any problems. The problems came when one of the – I think the, the motorcade was taking the torch through Saanich and one of the lead – one of the secondary security vehicles got t-boned by an old guy – ran this red light and plowed into one of those new fancy GM vans that they uh use, and they whipped that out and brought another one forward and away they go.

And then we had two motorcycles that went down during the – they, they, they do the jackrabbiting through intersections so the torch run can get through, and, and it was raining and wet leaves and so on, and two of the bikes went down and officers one was – sorry – one of them was hurt quite badly, but has since recovered, so –

And those are the major events that we had to deal with – the protesters, very few arrests made, everybody left, upset with why there wasn’t really much action.

And then, you knew that the protesters weren’t that organized when on the ferry on the way over they all rented a bus – they all came over on a bus – and there was a cop driving the bus. [Laughter.] So, you know, you know that I don’t know who these guys are, but they’re not terribly well organized.

And then, they, they got upset, they thought they were being followed by some undercover operatives, and one of the protesters dumped some water on the, on the, on this person’s head. It turned out it was one of the – not undercover – it was one of the security people, and they arrested two protesters. Those were the only arrests made during the whole, the whole torch run.

 
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Conference program description of Jamie Graham’s presentation:

Best Practices in Shared Jurisdictional Environments Where Multiple Police, Fire, and Ambulance Services Work in Concert to Promote Public Safety

An interactive session that will look at:

• When working together goes well, magic happens. Exploring good examples and why it is a necessity in the current fiscal climate.
• Moral courage at the leadership table when multiple partners are involved.
• Ethics and integrity in a world when information is instantaneous
• The computers and literacy

 
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An Open Border for Shut Mouths?

If a U.S. or Canadian border agent thinks a traveller intends to criticize Vancouver’s 2010 Winter Olympic Games, that traveller will suffer.

On three separate documented occasions in October, November, and December 2009, individuals have undergone interrogation and exclusion – with greatly varying degrees of media attention paid to their plights.

 
October: Gord Hill and Marla Renn

The first instance was the least reported. On 17 October 2009, Gord Hill and Marla Renn, two activists associated with the Olympic Resistance Network, were denied entry to the United States for a speaking engagement in Seattle on the pretext that they were transporting illegitimate merchandise (a few anti-Olympic t-shirts). Hill says that a Canadian policing official told him a few days later that he would never again be allowed into the United States.

Media coverage of this double turnback at the border was thin. The only print story appeared in the Georgia Straight. The other reporting appeared online, with two of the accounts written by Hill himself.

 
November: Amy Goodman

On 25 November 2009, well-known U.S. journalist Amy Goodman was detained for over an hour by Canadian border agents. She was pointedly and persistently questioned (at least six times) about her intentions to speak about the 2010 Olympic Games while in Canada. Officials demanded her notes, searched her car, and examined her computer. Her two colleagues also received scrutiny. Eventually Goodman was allowed to enter Canada, after being photographed and restricted to 48-hour entry on a work visa. On previous trips to Canada, the journalist had encountered no such requirements.

Subsequently Goodman talked about the incident on her radio show. She also wrote a piece entitled “Canada’s Olympic Crackdown,” describing her experience as

a flagrant violation of freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

She went on from there to relate what she has learned about massive security spending, restrictive bylaws, potential displacement of homeless people, distortion of public spending priorities, and harrassment of activists.

The detention, questioning, and searching of this high-profile journalist received extensive media coverage both in Canada and in the United States. News of the incident continued to come out for a week, in Canada at least, with later reporting featuring the viral spread of the reporting.

 
December: Marla Renn

On 10 December 2009 Marla Renn was again turned back at the U.S. border, this time with a warning that if she attempted another entry in the next six months, she would face two years in prison.

A trained teacher, Renn was on her way to speak at educational events in the Portland area. Scheduled locations included Mt. Hood Community College, Reed College, and Portland State University. If nothing else, her disappointed audiences in the land of the free got a first-hand distance lesson in overt state repression.

U.S. authorities at Pacific Crossing detained Renn for over six hours while they grilled her about her speaking topics, her contacts in Portland, and her political activities. They searched her belongings, fingerprinted and photographed her, photocopied her notes, and required her to sign a document that they refused to give her a copy of. Grounds for exclusion were a lack of ties and equities in Canada. No employment since August graduation carried far more weight in this dubious assessment than did her marriage to a Vancouver resident.

That was not the end. U.S. officials physically escorted Renn to the Canadian border station, where they handed over her speaking notes, cell phone, and camera to their northern counterparts. Renn’s home country then put her through another two hours of detention and interrogation while unabashedly ransacking her cell phone. After spending the equivalent of a full working day with border guards, the hapless traveller was at last allowed to return to Vancouver.

Olympic Critic Detained, Questioned, and Rejected at USA Border | 1:51 (13 Dec 2009) – http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/video/2245

 
Conclusions

Olympic critics who try to cross the border are likely to slam into security overkill. These three incidents demonstrate everything from refusal of entry, to imposition of restrictive conditions, to detentions of up to eight hours.

Mainstream Canadian media became quite excited about the treatment of a well-known American journalist. Yet that journalist was so innocent she had no idea that Olympics meant anything more than Obama going to Copenhagen. (At least until she stumbled into Canada’s Olympic crackdown.) Meanwhile, the much bigger story of how Canadian officials mistreat Canadians has continued to go widely underreported.

 
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(In chronological order)

 
October: Gord Hill and Marla Renn

Gord Hill. “The JIG is up! Gord Hill threatened with rendition by Olympic cops,” Vancouver Media Co-op (21 Oct 2009)

Geoff Dembicki. “Activist claims anti-Games comments got him banned from US,” Tyee (28 Oct 2009)

Geoff Dembicki. “Olympics activist detained six hours at US border,” Tyee (11 Dec 2009)

 
November: Amy Goodman

“U.S. journalist grilled at Canada border crossing,” CBC News (26 Nov 2009)

Josh Wingrove. “U.S. journalist says she was delayed at border, questioned about speech,” Globe & Mail (26 Nov 2009)

Lalo Espejo. “Amy Goodman gets brilliant story idea from Canadian border guards,” Vancouver Observer (27 Nov 2009)

Linda Nguyen. “Journalist held at B.C. border, grilled on Games views,” Province (27 Nov 2009)

Petti Fong. “What Olympics? Baffled U.S. radio host interrogated at border,” Toronto Star (28 Nov 2009)

“Border grilling so bush league [editorial],” Province (29 Nov 2009)

Amy Goodman. “Canada’s Olympic crackdown,” Democracy Now! (1 Dec 2009)

David Beers. “US journalist’s howl over Olympics interrogation is going viral,” Tyee (2 Dec 2009)

Rod Mickleburgh. “Amy Goodman’s border woes has Americans in a tizzy,” Globe & Mail (3 Dec 2009)

 
December: Marla Renn

Geoff Dembicki. “Olympics activist detained six hours at US border,” Tyee (11 Dec 2009)

Carlito Pablo. “Olympic critic says she was denied entry to U.S., harassed at border,” Georgia Straight [online] (11 Dec 2009)

Bob Mackin. “Civil rights wound up?” 24 Hours Vancouver (14 Dec 2009) 5

Rod Mickleburgh. “Olympic critic questioned, denied entry to U.S.,” Globe & Mail (12 Dec 2009)

Marla Renn. “Attempts to silence dissent won’t stifle resistance to 2010 Olympics,” Georgia Straight [online] (18 Dec 2009)