[van-announce] Upcoming APC events & actions [includes updated dates and locations!]

[Jill Malliga Chettiar]

***Please post widely***
Sorry for cross-postings

PLEASE NOTE: Dates and locations for the People's Inquiries into Police
Violence as well as the date for the SSA demo have changed.  The details
included in this e-mail are accurate.


Over the next few weeks the Anti-Poverty Committee has organized a series
of forums and demonstrations to counter-attack the forces of social
cleansing.  With the provincial elections around the bend and the Safe
Street Act now law, the APC will increase our activity and intensify our
struggle.

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                  Peoples Inquiries Into Police Violence
                         March 24-March 30-April 6
                      All forums will begin at 6:30pm
      16 East Hastings St. – Tellier Towers (next door to the DERA office)
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The ‘Peoples Inquiry Into Police Violence’ is an ongoing series of forums
put on by the APC.  The purpose of the discussions is to hear from
community organizers various strategies they have used to defend
themselves and fight back against the police.  The three forums this month
(in order) will focus on ‘racist police violence’, ‘policing poverty’ and
‘police violence and compliance against women’ (note the change of the
women’s forum from the previously announced March 17 scheduling)

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                      Class War starts in the schools!
                         Saturday, April 2nd @ 5pm
                      Burrard Street Skytrain Station
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Gordon Campbell will be the closing speaker at this year’s BC School
Trustees week-long conference being held at the Westin Bayshore Inn.  The
school trustees have been backing the Liberals through out their reign of
terror, and have invited Campbell to their dinner so they can toast his
successes in social cleansing.

Massive cuts to education have added insult to injury for thousands of
working families across the province.  Children have borne the brunt of
the Liberals assault.  Throwing single parents off welfare when their
youngest child reaches the age of 3 ensures that child will face unequal
disadvantage while growing up. The theft of federal funds to poor
families, closing of schools, diminishing health care have all created an
environment of social and economic inequality that is no place for
children.  We say we have no place for the Liberals!

Join us Saturday April 2nd at the Burrard Street Skytrain Station, and
together we will march to the Westin Bayshore Inn to tell the Liberals and
their crony Trustees that their days of living off the backs of the poor
are numbered!

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                  Direct Action Against Safe Street Act
                       Saturday, April 16th @ 2pm
                    Victory Square (Cambie & Hastings)
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Many people consider the Safe Street Act (SSA) to be the best measure of
the Liberals’ success in their campaign to destroy poor people. Now law,
the SSA allows business owners the power to play cops, by red zoning
persons from their property, and the cops power to play politician by
deciding how and against who to enforce the act and to what extent.  Now
all the politicians will have to do is ensure there are enough cops to
enforce the act and enough jail cells to warehouse the poor.

We say enough is enough!  Giving outrageous fines to people who have been
thrown off welfare then jailing them because they are homeless and unable
to pay the fines truly is the new era Campbell promised 4 years ago.

Join the APC as we militantly march throughout the commercial and business
district of downtown Vancouver.  By standing up in solidarity with the
street-involved working poor we will show the police, the Liberals and
their business elite that they cannot target one group for a fight without
all of us joining in to fight back!

APC holds open meetings every Tuesday at 6pm. The address is 251 Union
street (3 blocks North of the Main Street Skytrain).  Childcare and bus
fare are available and we encourage anybody to participate and help
strengthen our collective struggles.

For more info on how to get involved and other campaigns please visit our
website at http://apc.resist.ca/home