WestCoastRunner

A very good reason for legalized prostitution where they can offer services in a safe working environment. And a very good reason for legalized mj.

Perhaps if we had men who were not deadbeats and were supporting their children we would not have such a big problem with single parent families led by women. Women who are in charge of their single parent families and living on welfare are not dummies. They may very well be intelligent but have lacked the ability/opportunities to an education/and or employment opportunities. Just imagine for a minute if a single parent woman was able to achieve an education and pursue an above average income and contribute back to society with her contribution to taxes, charitable donations to the very services that helped her along the way. And of course, her children to receive high quality child care to start them off on the right foot in society. Do you not think the children would be better off receiving high quality/safe child care instead of at the neighborhood babysitter who is most likely taking care of kids well beyond the regulated # of children.

I have a friend that lives near the DTSE neighbourhood and raises two children. She has walked her kids to school and has come across needles. She vigorously fought for the needle exchange site and it did indeed drastically reduced the # of needles on the streets, on the beaches and and the # of needles that kids may come across in their daily travels. The DTES is nothing that can be compared to the rest of Canada and it requires it's own unique solutions. For anyone that does not understand that, they should perhaps move to Vancouver and live here for a decade or so. Every single service that is offered in the DTES is required and we absolutely need more recovery centers.

Depends on what you mean by the 'future' of the aquarium.

A poor argument for programs that actually work to save lives and get people into recovery programs.

Yes, that worries me about the loss of control of the parks board.

Many of the services offered by the DTES have been proven to increase the likelihood of drug abusers getting help, seeking out resources to abstain, staying safe and alive. I can absolutely cite those studies here but honestly, it's been reported so many times. This is a silly argument to discount the work that is being done in the DTES as being useless. The naysayers have been discounted ad nauseum.

Priceless.

You really think victims are saying that to themselves?

A study that was just completed and obtained from the Justice Department's research and statistics division highlights a disturbing statistic that two thirds of sexual assault victims lack confidence in the criminal justice system. This should provide ample evidence that more needs to be done to address this issue. Some of the highlights from the report: More than one-third of those who experienced adult sexual assault reported it to the police or had another person do so. 53 per cent of participants stated that they were not confident in the police, Three broad themes emerged on making improvements — helping survivors feel safe and comfortable, providing them with information on sexual violence and justice procedures, and adjusting the overall system to ensure things like more timely processing of cases and a better balancing of how victim and suspect are treated. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sexual-assault-victims-lack-confidence-in-justice-system-study-says-1.2836408

The city of Vancouver attracts many people from the rest of the country, including employable folks and those who end up on the street, especially given our climate. Eyeball is correct in that Vancouver does take responsibility where many jurisdictions don't. There is also the 'NIMBY' syndrome. Whenever a location is proposed to house those with mental issues, the outcry shuts them down before they can even open.

No, you are back peddling.

Uhmmm, I hope you mean metaphorically! Exactly!

I mean for god's sake. Can't they open their minds just a little bit.

Yes, no problem.

I can see you contemplated my response to the best of your ability.

Yes, I'm thinking it's a windows issue.

I had issues with copy and paste on chrome and firefox.

I am amazed that we still do not have universal child care. It is truly mind boggling.

First of all, this isn't a leftie or rightie issue. It affects women of all political parties. And believe it or not, the Canadian workplace does indeed have sexual harassment ocurring against women everyday. I work in the high-tech industry and I see it happening quite often. Women do not report it until it becomes excruciatingly unbearable. There are many reasons for women not to report these issues. For instance, the perpetrator is a drinking buddy with her manager, or he plays golf with her manager or he is a married man with children and she knows his wife from company parties. It is difficult for women to get hired in the high-tech industry to begin with, so they don't want to rock the boat. They feel they need to suck it up and take it like a man. When they do get hired, they are likely earning an above average salary and they could perhaps be a single parent so they don't want to jeopardize their way of life. Perpetrators pick their victims very well!

I believe his point is that when men drink with women and the men get propositioned and refuse, they do not worry about the consequences of refusing propositions, whereas a woman may feel threatened if she refuses (in many, many circumstances).

You are in for it now!

Let's consider that Microsoft, blackberry and other high-tech companies provide scholarships, computers, and other equipment to schools. Is there any difference between this and Chevron donating money? Sun Life donated a large sum of money to Sarah Maclachlin's school of music. Her schools provides music instruction for under privileged kids. Should they have refused this donation? I understand it is a private school, but we all see how much funding has dried up for our public education system. The only problem I have with Chevron is the posting on their pumps that they will donate a buck to the school system for every $30 purchase of gas. However, on the other hand, I'm pretty sure the high-tech companies milk their contributions whenever they can.

To Tim: I will leave you to your world of denial.

What I care about is the planet.