From Pivot Legal Society:
Province and City Backpedal on Olympic Housing Commitment
Vancouver – In a complete reversal on their Olympic commitment to protect rental-housing stock to ensure no residents are displaced, evicted, or made homeless as a result of the 2010 Games, the Province of British Columbia and the City of Vancouver are working together to close the 48-unit Lucky Lodge residential hotel at 134 Pender Street that currently houses more than 60 low-income Vancouver residents.
“I have been informed that welfare will no longer be issuing cheques to individuals who wish to move into the Lucky Lodge,” said David Eby, lawyer with the Pivot Legal Society. “The current tenants in the building will be moved out into existing low-income stock elsewhere. Once the building is empty, the plan is that the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance will sever its relationship with the building, and those housing places will be lost.”
On July 17, 2006, the first phase of the plan went into effect, with MEIA representatives at the Dockside welfare office refusing to issue rent or deposit cheques to a homeless individual who applied to rent a room at the building.
“I spent Friday afternoon calling representatives from MEIA and the city for a tenant of the Lucky Lodge, trying to get MEIA to issue the shelter allowance this tenant was entitled to by law,” said Kim Kerr, Executive Director of the Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association. “Each time a hotel closes, and the Lucky Lodge is no exception, people in Vancouver should recognize that that many more people will be living on the street.”
The impending closure of the Lucky Lodge by the City and the Province follows the dramatic closures of the Burns Block hotel (18 units) and the Pender Hotel (36 units) in March, 2006, and the closure of the Marble Arch hotel (148 units) and St. Helen’s hotel (100 units) to low income tenants, bringing the elimination of low-income housing to a record number of 300 units. The 100-unit Brandiz hotel is operated by the same landlords as the Lucky Lodge.
The 2010 Inner-City Inclusivity Commitment to protect low-income housing and ensure that people are not made homeless was part of the Vancouver Bid Book, the formal application to host the Olympic Games. To read the Inclusivity Commitment Statement, visit:
http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/commsvcs/housing/sra/pdf/statement.pdf
Further Comment: David Eby (778) 865-7997 – Pivot Legal Society
Kim Kerr (604) 785-0009 – Downtown Eastside Residents’ Association
About Pivot Legal Society
Pivot’s mandate is to take a strategic approach to social change, using the law to address the root causes that undermine the quality of life of those most on the margins. We believe that everyone, regardless of income, benefits from a healthy and inclusive community where values such opportunity, respect and equality are strongly rooted in the law.
raincoaster 
I was living in room 53 of the lucky lodge for almost a year. anna laudisio kept illegally entering my room, she would open the door even when i said wait a minute, i’m naked, she was in my room when i was sleeping and she was pushing buttons on my microwave oven, she was in my room several time snooping around in my computer, (power saving features alerted me . . .) . i was evicted based on these “inspections”. i was working during the arbitration. mario was talking to my boss and was in my room leaving the light on twice while i was working next door. . .
i could go on
they still have my damage deposit
harjap at dera hasn’t been following through, i don’t have a reply from the rto because the lucky lodge didn’t give me all my mail.
i wasn’t allowed any visitors and had to find out from would be visitors they weren’t allowed to see me.
I have had many things stolen and the management are the only suspects due to the obviuos use of a key . . .
the laudisios are not supposed to be there but they are and nothing has changed except for the dwindling tennant.
i want to be in court to testify against them for thier sentencing. they have had more than enough opportunities to learn the rules, considering they were renting about 120 out of fifty four rooms :-/
i still want my deposit but am getting delays and hoops from people that are supposed to help :-((
Thanks for your comment. If you go to the courthouse I believe the clerks can tell you when the hearings are scheduled and who is representing each side, so you can get in touch with them. In the meantime, physically go down to DERA. It’s much harder to put off a guy who is sitting there, looking at you, than someone who only phones. Although if you’re working it is of course very difficult.