Frances Street Squats
Encyclopedia
A set of six squatted houses, including one women-only squat, that existed between February and November 27, 1990 in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 on Coast Salish Territory in one of the most successful public squats in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Going public

An early press release by the squatters stated: “We are some of the many squatters in Vancouver who are occupying several of the hundreds of habitable houses left vacant by developers. These houses have been slated for demolition and gentrification. In the face of unregulated rent increases, and out of necessity, we have chosen to squat as one of many viable means of protesting this atrocity. Housing is not a luxury, it is a right, and these houses are available now. New developments must be kept within an affordable price range for all people presently affected by the housing crisis. We are currently organizing various neighbourhood inclusive community events (potluck barbecue
Barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...

s, daycare facilities, community gardening and recycling) in an effort to open up communication between squatters and paying tenants. We intend to defend these houses. We have been forced to go public at this time because we are in danger of losing our homes.”

Community support

Although the squatters were threatened with arrest for “assault by trespass
Trespass
Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels and trespass to land.Trespass to the person, historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, mayhem, and maiming...

” they gained widespread support from neighbours, the community and area organizations Downtown Eastside Residents Association
Downtown Eastside Residents Association
The Downtown Eastside Residents Association is a non-profit Society in the Downtown Eastside area of Vancouver.The association was founded in 1973 by Bruce Eriksen, Libby Davies, Jean Swanson and other residents of the Downtown Eastside and membership is restricted to those who live within the...

 and Grandview-Woodland
Grandview-Woodland
Grandview-Woodland, also commonly known as Grandview-Woodlands, is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to the east of the downtown area, stretching south from the shores of Burrard Inlet and encompassing portions of the popular Commercial Drive area...

 Area Council because of their community-based approach.

Eviction

The squats ended when the Vancouver Police Department
Vancouver Police Department
The Vancouver Police Department is the police force for the City of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several police departments within the Metro Vancouver Area and is the second largest police force in the province after RCMP "E" Division.VPD was the first Canadian police force...

 (VPD) deployed at least 100 officers to evict the squatters. 12 were charged with mischief and obstructing a police officer.

Prior to the police operation media liaison officer Bob Cooper claimed the VPD had “very reliable information that radical elements have taken control of the issue” and that squatters were in possession of “three shotguns, two handguns, molotov-cocktails, and other homemade weapons.”

Demolition

After the eviction no weapons were found and the police action was subsequently dubbed “Operation Overkill” by the community. Two days later the city council, under then-mayor Gordon Campbell and with the full support of opposition members (including Libby Davies
Libby Davies
Libby Davies is a Canadian Member of Parliament for the New Democratic Party , representing the riding of Vancouver East in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 2007, she was named Deputy Leader of the federal NDP, jointly with Thomas Mulcair.-Background:Davies was born in Aldershot, England and...

), declared the houses a “public nuisance” and granted a demolition permit.

The Beat of Frances Street

A 48-minute documentary, The Beat of Frances Street: Squatting in East Vancouver, was produced during the late and final stages of the squats. The first half of the film contains footage of everyday life in the houses and presents responses to the question “why do you squat?” by fourteen residents. The second half of the film focuses on internal arguments over the use of barricades against imminent police assault and documentation of the assault itself (including commercial news footage) and community response.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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