Morning Brew: The Greatest Place on Earth

I know you're lobbying hard to see Carol James' NDP take charge of the province come next election - but as far as the mental health system, you should know that it was the 1990's BCNDP that dumped the mentally ill on our streets for 'community support'

And apparently the 2000's BCNDP apparently plan to continue along that abysmal track..

Quoting from their official health care platform, (http://bcndp.ca/upload/20070629104331_Health.pdf) they plan to:
"Increase spending on prevention and street-level mental health and addiction services."

Yeah, "Street level" - there is NO mention of re-opening Rivierview, NO mention of funding detox or rehab.. just street level service, which of course is code for more Portland Hotel type services..

The NDP are completely in the back pocket of the poverty industry..

The NDP did that? How many reasons must they give me to hate them?

"I know you're lobbying hard to see Carol James' NDP take charge of the province come next election"

That's funny, because I distinctly remember running for the Green Party in the last Provincial election...

Dear BR readers: I liked that comment about Sean attempting to defeat poverty with sarcasm ---I have to confess he gets it from me but I just rant to myself.

And I am glad to see that Sean is being his usual annoying self and ruffling a few feathers ---the time to worry is when he is being quiet and besides, he usually is right on the mark--but you already know that.

For the record If I hear that refrain that BC is the best place on earth one more time I will ---well I don't know what I will do---such hubris is profoundly misplaced --it is not just the DTES which looks like a hell hole--look under any bridge in any BC city or drive down 108th Avenue in Surrey and you can easily see a landscape which resembles Dante's Inferno. I don't know how we got into such a dire situation ( well I have an inkling )and until we start building decent long-term social housing we aren't going to get out of it any time soon

Dear BR readers: I liked that comment about Sean attempting to defeat poverty with sarcasm ---I have to confess he gets it from me but I just rant to myself.

And I am glad to see that Sean is being his usual annoying self and ruffling a few feathers ---the time to worry is when he is being quiet and besides, he usually is right on the mark--but you already know that.

For the record If I hear that refrain that BC is the best place on earth one more time I will ---well I don't know what I will do---such hubris is profoundly misplaced --it is not just the DTES which looks like a hell hole--look under any bridge in any BC city or drive down 108th Avenue in Surrey and you can easily see a landscape which resembles Dante's Inferno. I don't know how we got into such a dire situation ( well I have an inkling )and until we start building decent long-term social housing we aren't going to get out of it any time soon

sean Orr:

"That's funny, because I distinctly remember running for the Green Party in the last Provincial election..."

Really? that IS funny - because I've yet to hear you take any swipes at the BCNDP - who as a Green would be your biggest competition..

Hey Jerry (or old school eastsider, or whatever nym you're using) - so if the NDP talked more about funding detox and rehab, would you say they're in the pocket of the medical industry? Just trying to grasp your logic, such as it is.

Well erling - let me spell it out for you..
there's a BIG difference between the 'business models' behind detox/rehab vs the poverty industry in operation in the DTES. By it's very definition - rehabbing someone for all intents and purposes means they won't be coming back for the services that are the mainstay of the poverty industry .. you know - they'll be going on to hopefully more fulfilling and productive lives. By that its not an especially compelling way to make money for P3's.

Beside, last time I checked, rehab is not the exclusive purvey of the medical industry - in fact a lot of abstinence based rehabs are run by religious organizations, or even spearheaded by Alfred E Neuman looking MLAs from the West End. Frankly, I don't really care who does it .. I'd just like to see it done.

Frankly the fact that you are unable or unwilling to comment on the fact that in their own published platform (see above link) BCNDP has absolutely nothing on offer for mental health and addiction save "street-level" services.. and absolutely NO mention of funding critically needed detox or rehab beds says a LOT ABOUT YOU... poverty industry worker maybe? lefty lemming? who's pocket are you in???

oh and by the way erling,

IF the NDP/Vision talked more about funding detox and rehab, and IF they talked less about ghettoizing the city's poor and addicted and mentally ill into the DTES, I would have a lot less disdain for them, heck I've voted for those f*ckers for 20+ years - because for the most part, I believe in justice and equality and better life for everyone - but I can't stand ineptitude, backroom politics, hypocrisy and corruption...

By your "logic", people working at the Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS don't want to see a cure, because then their section of the "medical industry" would be out of work.

I'm gonna guess that you have no idea what goes on in the community non-profit sector except to the extent that you have a hate on for some agencies and the NDP (a party I have no affection for, by the way). Get an issue already.

Oh, and I'm a grocery clerk, you twit. Any more questions?

erling,

if you think the fact that our provincial opposition party has no platform on addiction and mental health issues save street-level services is a "non-issue", that's your prerogative. IF ghettoizing all the poor and addicted and mentally ill down here is cool with you, then so be it - you apparently share that attitude with most of the rest of this NIMBY city. If you'd rather avoid commenting on the actual subject and prefer to make half-baked sarcastic inferences about my logic.. well, I guess that's just the kind of person you are.

but I actually live here and work here and have since you were likely playing with Barbies - so it IS an issue for me.. So I'll continue giving a shit about my neighbourhood and maybe you can stick to what you know about: like bagging groceries or whatever.