Pubdate: Fri, 19 Nov, 1999
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 1999 The Province
Contact:  200 Granville Street, Ste. #1, Vancouver, BC V6C 3N3 Canada
Fax: (604) 605-2323
Website: http://www.vancouverprovince.com/
Author: Jack Keating, Staff Reporter The Province

RAILROADED TO BROADWAY

David Cadman says drug crackdowns by Vancouver police in the downtown 
eastside have pushed a street drug-dealing problem to the Broadway SkyTrain 
station.

"I've been told police have been ordered to move drug dealers from the 
downtown eastside and it's OK if they're in other neighbourhoods," said 
Cadman, the COPE/Green candidate for mayor in tomorrow's civic election.

"The problem's definitely gotten a whole lot worse in the last year since 
the push on the downtown eastside."

Cadman says Mayor Philip Owen and the NPA's one-party city council do not 
care about the Grandview-Woodlands neighbourhood because it's on the east side.

"Let me put it this way. I can guarantee if this (open drug dealing) was 
occurring in Shaughnessy, Owen and the NPA council would be responding," 
said Cadman in reference to the mayor's wealthy neighbourhood.

"I think basically what happened here is they had a lot of pressure from 
Chinatown and Gastown merchants to move the drug dealers on. And basically 
they just didn't care too much where they went. They just wanted to get 
them out of that area."

Police acknowledge that relocating drug dealers is a problem and note that 
pushers turned up at Broadway and Commercial after mass arrests in the 
downtown eastside during Project Scoop in October 1998.

In January there were more mass arrests in the downtown eastside from 
Operation Crackdown, sending even more drug dealers to Broadway and Commercial.

"The way it is right now is that when you're down at the Broadway SkyTrain 
there are drug dealers around there all the time," said Cadman.  "It 
started really within the last year, year-and-a-half."

Mounting complaints have led Vancouver police to act in recent days after 
street drug-dealing calls to 911 were not acted upon, said Cadman.

"We have had an increased level of enforcement in the Broadway and 
Commercial and Broadway and Fraser area," Const. Anne Drennan said 
yesterday. "We had arrests for selling cocaine and numerous people were 
checked and told to move on. This high level of enforcement by police will 
continue until further notice in those areas."

SkyTrain users at the Broadway station are appalled by the drug dealing.

"There's always Latino drug dealers there," said Kathy, a middle-aged 
hospital worker who didn't want her last name used. "It's very common for 
me to see at least two drug transactions by the time I walk the four blocks 
from SkyTrain to my house.

"A couple of years ago it was not a common sight at all. But in the past 
year it's become very common."

Owen and the entire NPA council slate did not attend an all-candidates 
meeting at Britannia high school Nov. 8 and Cadman says that shows the 
disdain they have for the east side.

"They've cut back on garbage collection in street bins," said Cadman, 
referring to overflowing garbage baskets. "It's ultimately the city council 
that is responsible for the level of service that is achieved in that 
neighbourhood."

Owen was unavailable for comment yesterday.

SQUEEZE PLAY

Drug-dealing crackdowns by Vancouver police in the downtown eastside in the 
last 13 months have pushed drug dealers to the area around the Broadway 
SkyTrain station at East Broadway and Commercial Drive.

Crack cocaine dealers started arriving after two major crackdowns in the 
downtown eastside, Project Scoop in October 1998 and Operation Crackdown 
last January.

"What we are attempting to do is a dispersal," said Insp. Gary Greer last 
January. "It is a concern because we don't want to displace a drug problem 
into another community."

COPE/Green mayoral candidate David Cadman is among Grandview-Woodlands 
residents incensed that many dealers have relocated to Broadway and Commercial.

"You squeeze drug dealers one place and they go somewhere else," said 
Cadman. "But the net consequence of that has been basically we've become 
now a regional centre for drug dealers. People come in on the SkyTrain and 
buy their drugs.

"And it's effectively been a green light to say to drug dealers you can 
operate in this area (because) when people here call 911 (police) don't 
respond." 
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