Straight Talk

The Anti-Poverty Committee is planning to take over Grandview Park for a Civil City sleepover and a late-night screening of The Simpsons Movie.

According to APC cofounder David Cunningham, the "pragmatic goal" of the Saturday (August 18) event is to "politically occupy" the Commercial Drive park.

"The sleepover gives the homeless people who use that park for subsistent safety the opportunity to have a night to sleep in peace," Cunningham told the Straight by phone. "It is also to protest the effects of [Project] Civil City in terms of criminalizing homeless people."

A leaflet for the event tags the Simpsons screening "Parks for People Not Pigs". Vancouver Police Const. Howard Chow told the Straight he is "well aware of the event".

"There are operational plans that are in place for any event like this–be it a protest or, oftentimes, a protest from violent groups," Chow said. Chow added that police presence would be "much more involved" than just one officer.

"But we wouldn't discuss publicly what that plan would be," he said. "I can tell you there is an event or a protest going on in the city just about every day and our emergency planning section is well aware of this event as well. We wouldn't talk publicly about what we would do and how many guys [would be deployed] or anything like that."

The APC leaflet states that Mayor Sam Sullivan's Civil City is "socially cleansing the poor". Sullivan could not be reached for comment by Straight press time. David Hurford, Sullivan's communications director, told the Straight Civil City is "absolutely not" cleansing the poor.

"I am proud of our goals and objectives," Hurford said. "Regarding the APC, I think they are more interested in getting their pictures in the paper."