1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,360 Why should you care about crime in Vancouver? 2 00:00:02,800 --> 00:00:05,760 Well, there's quite a lot of it and I think Vancouver is a 3 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,400 cautionary tale for a lot of cities. 4 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,600 And I know every major city has a lot of crime. 5 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,280 I don't know how Vancouver crime would compare to somewhere like 6 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:19,360 Detroit or Chicago or even New York City, but these are cities 7 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:24,240 that are quite a lot bigger. Most of the people in Vancouver 8 00:00:24,240 --> 00:00:26,920 are very law abiding, hardworking, honest, good 9 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:29,200 people. On one side of the coin, 10 00:00:29,900 --> 00:00:32,619 Vancouver is a very beautiful place, Happy to live here. 11 00:00:32,619 --> 00:00:34,500 I'm happy I was born and raised here. 12 00:00:35,060 --> 00:00:38,540 The beaches are beautiful summertime, there's so many 13 00:00:38,540 --> 00:00:42,100 wonderful beaches, trails, if you love hiking, if you're a 14 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:46,540 boater, if you're into fishing, if you're into skiing, if you're 15 00:00:46,540 --> 00:00:50,500 in the camping, actually a great city to live in if you can 16 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:53,420 afford it. People in Vancouver have, they 17 00:00:53,420 --> 00:00:55,740 have a shell, they're kind of icy. 18 00:00:56,270 --> 00:00:59,710 But once you break the past that you you can build really quality 19 00:00:59,710 --> 00:01:01,830 friendships. But there's a lot of crazy 20 00:01:01,830 --> 00:01:04,629 people here. See the city, it's almost like 21 00:01:04,629 --> 00:01:08,110 it's it's two cities. There's a normal people, the 22 00:01:08,110 --> 00:01:11,670 healthy people, the health conscious people, the attractive 23 00:01:11,670 --> 00:01:14,550 people that come here for acting. 24 00:01:14,550 --> 00:01:18,390 Vancouver has one of the largest movie industries in North 25 00:01:18,390 --> 00:01:20,950 America. So many movies, so many TV 26 00:01:20,950 --> 00:01:26,510 shows, so many Netflix specials. Seems like every science fiction 27 00:01:26,590 --> 00:01:29,150 show on Netflix was filmed to Vancouver. 28 00:01:29,150 --> 00:01:30,950 I recognize all the places, right? 29 00:01:30,950 --> 00:01:33,430 So there's a lot of actors, a lot of people that come here for 30 00:01:33,670 --> 00:01:35,950 for work in the entertainment business, right? 31 00:01:36,390 --> 00:01:39,590 Travel to 40 major cities throughout North America. 32 00:01:39,710 --> 00:01:43,270 I was always happy to come back to Vancouver. 33 00:01:43,430 --> 00:01:46,270 I I spent some time in New York. I love New York, NY. 34 00:01:46,470 --> 00:01:49,510 Of all the cities I've been to, had the most impact on me. 35 00:01:49,510 --> 00:01:50,830 Like the city that I think about. 36 00:01:50,830 --> 00:01:53,150 Oh, I'd love to go back there. I want to go back there, but 37 00:01:53,150 --> 00:01:55,920 hey, New York is kind of grungy. It's kind of dirty. 38 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:58,400 Don't see a lot of green stuff. And when I came back to 39 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:03,360 Vancouver, the green, the fresh air or the the, the quiet, the 40 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,440 tranquility, was this so overwhelming from a place like 41 00:02:06,440 --> 00:02:08,400 from New York. On the surface, there's this 42 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:12,080 beauty, this greenery. I I don't think there's a a 43 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:16,040 better place in North America if you are an active, healthy, 44 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,800 outdoors, athletic person, gorgeous city. 45 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:22,320 The neighborhoods are amazing. There's so many diverse 46 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,240 neighborhoods. Now I'm going to talk with the 47 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,640 ugly Vancouver. And the ugly Vancouver is kind 48 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:30,640 of like underneath the surface. There's a lot of mental illness 49 00:02:30,640 --> 00:02:32,640 here. See, The thing is, is that 50 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:35,880 Canada is a relatively cold country, especially in the 51 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,320 winter time. A lot of people with mental 52 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:42,870 health issues or drug addiction, they migrate here because they 53 00:02:42,870 --> 00:02:45,110 think it's a warmer climate. They think it's going to be 54 00:02:45,110 --> 00:02:47,870 easier here. And it's not the case because 55 00:02:47,870 --> 00:02:50,550 Vancouver is not an easy city to break into. 56 00:02:50,550 --> 00:02:53,470 You got to know people, you got to have a bit of in. 57 00:02:53,470 --> 00:02:55,750 It's just the way it is. It's a small community. 58 00:02:55,750 --> 00:02:58,950 It's a small city, right? And sometimes it's not the most 59 00:02:58,950 --> 00:03:01,750 friendly to outsiders. It just is just, it is what it 60 00:03:01,750 --> 00:03:04,350 is. And so if you come here and you 61 00:03:04,350 --> 00:03:07,470 have no money and you have mental illness and you have an 62 00:03:07,470 --> 00:03:10,430 underlying drug addiction, you're going to get marginalized 63 00:03:10,430 --> 00:03:13,550 pretty fast. It's happened is that, hey, I'm 64 00:03:13,550 --> 00:03:16,750 going to go to Vancouver and come here and they're first of 65 00:03:16,750 --> 00:03:19,910 all, they're shocked at the the sticker price of what rent is. 66 00:03:19,910 --> 00:03:23,550 That cost of living is high. They find it hard to meet 67 00:03:23,550 --> 00:03:26,030 friends, be people from Vancouver who are health 68 00:03:26,030 --> 00:03:28,430 conscious and good things going on. 69 00:03:28,430 --> 00:03:30,790 They don't really want to invite someone in their life that has 70 00:03:30,790 --> 00:03:34,310 drug problems and not from here and maybe cause problems because 71 00:03:34,470 --> 00:03:38,500 I've seen it so many times. It's just is the mental health 72 00:03:38,860 --> 00:03:41,900 capital of Canada. Most therapists, most 73 00:03:41,900 --> 00:03:45,500 psychiatrists, most patients. There's a lot of people that 74 00:03:45,500 --> 00:03:49,500 have underlining mental illness, lot of outpatient programs, a 75 00:03:49,500 --> 00:03:52,540 lot of people that come here. It's not what they said and they 76 00:03:52,540 --> 00:03:55,580 get marginalized. Then Vancouver the ugly. 77 00:03:55,940 --> 00:04:00,140 The availability of drugs is nowhere like I've ever seen 78 00:04:00,180 --> 00:04:02,740 anywhere in the world. And I know drugs exist 79 00:04:02,740 --> 00:04:07,170 everywhere, but nowhere have I ever seen an open air drug 80 00:04:07,170 --> 00:04:10,450 market in a three block radius like Hastings St. where I can 81 00:04:10,450 --> 00:04:16,450 score crack, heroin, fentanyl, pills, walk down the street, 82 00:04:16,450 --> 00:04:18,850 hey, got math, got boom, someone will have a handout. 83 00:04:19,410 --> 00:04:22,890 It's an open air drug market. So if you're a recovering 84 00:04:22,890 --> 00:04:26,010 addict, maybe you had a drug problem in the past and you come 85 00:04:26,010 --> 00:04:29,090 here and maybe that job didn't work out because there's a lot 86 00:04:29,090 --> 00:04:32,560 of bullshit here too. People come here, they're not 87 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:34,240 prepared for how expensive it is. 88 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,840 They're not prepared that Vancouver people seem a little 89 00:04:36,840 --> 00:04:39,520 cold. No, the Vancouver just weary 90 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,440 because they didn't burn. They've been, you know, trust me 91 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,280 on that one. They and so makes people kind of 92 00:04:45,280 --> 00:04:49,280 more standoffish to new people, especially people that party and 93 00:04:49,280 --> 00:04:51,680 do drugs and things like that in Vancouver. 94 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,280 The ugly You can get drugs really cheap and guess what? 95 00:04:55,640 --> 00:04:58,080 Now you can make lots of friends. 96 00:04:58,350 --> 00:05:02,070 Now you feel welcome because you have drugs and you're generous 97 00:05:02,070 --> 00:05:03,630 with them. You're gonna make lots of 98 00:05:03,630 --> 00:05:06,270 friends, right? I probably was more of a binge 99 00:05:06,270 --> 00:05:08,950 drinker rather than a binge drug user. 100 00:05:08,950 --> 00:05:11,590 I've used drugs in the past, but I don't use them now. 101 00:05:11,750 --> 00:05:15,270 I worked in the IT industry. I worked in the stock market 102 00:05:15,270 --> 00:05:19,110 industry and and a lot of times after work you'd go out to blow 103 00:05:19,110 --> 00:05:21,950 off steam, decompress and need drink heavy. 104 00:05:22,030 --> 00:05:24,670 I found I was always a person that seemed to be the most 105 00:05:24,670 --> 00:05:26,310 strenuous when I was drunk. Boom. 106 00:05:26,310 --> 00:05:28,990 I had all these friends around me buying rounds and rounds of 107 00:05:28,990 --> 00:05:30,350 drinks. I felt like I had all the 108 00:05:30,350 --> 00:05:32,390 friends in the world stop doing that. 109 00:05:32,390 --> 00:05:34,550 Those friends disappear and now you're lonely. 110 00:05:34,550 --> 00:05:36,550 So that just gives you perspective, right? 111 00:05:36,550 --> 00:05:40,710 So drugs are very easy to get. Then what happens? 112 00:05:40,710 --> 00:05:43,670 A lot of people here is they get in over their head. 113 00:05:44,030 --> 00:05:45,710 They can't afford their drugs anymore. 114 00:05:45,710 --> 00:05:48,550 They can't afford the rent, get their self into a crisis 115 00:05:48,550 --> 00:05:50,670 situation, and they end up homeless. 116 00:05:50,750 --> 00:05:53,030 They end up on Hastings St. or they end up in one of these 117 00:05:53,110 --> 00:05:57,650 awful hotel rooms that are full of bedbugs and now to cope with 118 00:05:57,650 --> 00:05:59,770 that they're doing harder drugs. It's a cycle. 119 00:05:59,770 --> 00:06:03,410 I've seen Soma if you probably if you went down Hastings St. 120 00:06:03,450 --> 00:06:06,130 and you took the majority of the people there, from my 121 00:06:06,130 --> 00:06:08,370 understanding I would say majority of those people are 122 00:06:08,370 --> 00:06:10,330 from out of town. The reason why I say that is 123 00:06:10,330 --> 00:06:12,770 that things that the ministry does or Ministry of Social 124 00:06:12,770 --> 00:06:15,610 Services, they like to send these people back on one way bus 125 00:06:15,610 --> 00:06:20,530 tickets because other jurisdictions in Canada send 126 00:06:20,530 --> 00:06:23,490 their people here with one way bus tickets. 127 00:06:23,490 --> 00:06:26,130 So it's like all these different jurisdictions and cities are 128 00:06:26,130 --> 00:06:30,290 sending all their unwanted by one way bus tickets. 129 00:06:30,290 --> 00:06:33,050 But also with that, you're getting, you're getting sex 130 00:06:33,050 --> 00:06:35,850 offenders, you're getting drug addicts, you're getting people 131 00:06:35,850 --> 00:06:38,650 evading the law, you're getting all kinds of problems. 132 00:06:39,010 --> 00:06:40,690 And again, there's this perception. 133 00:06:41,130 --> 00:06:43,650 Vancouver's beautiful, Vancouver's awesome. 134 00:06:43,650 --> 00:06:46,090 It's it's like the California of Canada. 135 00:06:46,090 --> 00:06:50,090 It tracks a lot of people for the wrong reasons, our people 136 00:06:50,090 --> 00:06:53,050 that come here for the right reasons, and they get in over 137 00:06:53,050 --> 00:06:56,050 their heads with drugs because the drugs are so available. 138 00:06:56,210 --> 00:07:00,010 Then there's a crime aspect in Vancouver, the beautiful people 139 00:07:00,010 --> 00:07:03,370 are pretty law abiding. They don't get involved in drugs 140 00:07:03,370 --> 00:07:05,730 or crime or anything of that nature. 141 00:07:06,170 --> 00:07:10,060 But then there's the Vancouver. The ugly is that if you are a 142 00:07:10,060 --> 00:07:14,900 criminal and if you are the legal system definitely favors 143 00:07:15,140 --> 00:07:20,500 you know, the defendants. If they can afford top level 144 00:07:20,620 --> 00:07:24,940 legal counsel in banking jurisdictions right, there's 145 00:07:24,940 --> 00:07:29,940 companies that will move their corporate location to get better 146 00:07:29,940 --> 00:07:33,580 tax breaks like you know places like Delaware or the Virgin 147 00:07:33,580 --> 00:07:36,060 Islands or Cayman Islands. Like there's there's 148 00:07:36,060 --> 00:07:41,210 jurisdictions were you will move your company assets so you can 149 00:07:41,210 --> 00:07:45,570 save on taxes and you know you take advantage of loopholes and 150 00:07:45,570 --> 00:07:48,010 blah blah blah, right? So think about if you're a 151 00:07:48,010 --> 00:07:53,810 criminal organization, there's a place called Vancouver where the 152 00:07:53,810 --> 00:07:58,090 judges are pretty lenient, the senses are not very high, 153 00:07:58,570 --> 00:08:04,450 there's highly skilled lawyers that really know the law and to 154 00:08:04,450 --> 00:08:06,930 your benefit if you can afford them. 155 00:08:08,030 --> 00:08:11,150 And it's a money laundering paradise. 156 00:08:11,150 --> 00:08:16,910 The casinos were allowing people to walk in with hockey bags full 157 00:08:16,910 --> 00:08:20,430 of cash on camera and then trading them for chips like 158 00:08:20,430 --> 00:08:21,870 being in plain as day. What? 159 00:08:21,870 --> 00:08:25,350 They're obviously so again, so if the government didn't know 160 00:08:25,350 --> 00:08:27,990 that people were just walking into their government owned 161 00:08:27,990 --> 00:08:32,070 casinos and laundering cash, well, shame on them. 162 00:08:32,940 --> 00:08:35,140 And if they did know, well, shame on them. 163 00:08:35,140 --> 00:08:38,820 But there's nowhere better on Earths, well, maybe North 164 00:08:38,820 --> 00:08:41,980 America to launder your money. So if you're criminal 165 00:08:41,980 --> 00:08:44,420 organization, International Criminal organization, right, 166 00:08:44,980 --> 00:08:48,140 you move here, there is an investor program. 167 00:08:48,140 --> 00:08:50,900 You can become a citizen if you pay basically by your 168 00:08:50,900 --> 00:08:53,860 citizenship. Basically they become Canadian 169 00:08:53,860 --> 00:08:56,220 citizens because they buy their way in. 170 00:08:57,020 --> 00:08:59,700 They have access to our financial markets. 171 00:09:00,380 --> 00:09:02,740 They can launder their money through our housing because you 172 00:09:02,740 --> 00:09:05,020 can just. And that's what drove prices of 173 00:09:05,020 --> 00:09:09,100 housing through the roof because Vancouver became a holding 174 00:09:09,340 --> 00:09:13,500 assets for criminal organizations to hold their 175 00:09:13,500 --> 00:09:18,420 money in and then have access to the Canadian banking and credit 176 00:09:18,420 --> 00:09:25,300 casinos to wash your money and a large population that consume 177 00:09:25,300 --> 00:09:27,980 drugs. It's like the massive pipeline, 178 00:09:27,980 --> 00:09:32,060 $1,000,000 a day of drug sales of people consuming drugs. 179 00:09:32,060 --> 00:09:36,860 So you have access now to a those drugs turns into cash 180 00:09:36,860 --> 00:09:40,860 instantly thing. This is a true story and it's so 181 00:09:40,860 --> 00:09:45,260 outrageous that I hardly believe it myself. 182 00:09:45,660 --> 00:09:47,580 But I witnessed it Hasting street. 183 00:09:47,580 --> 00:09:51,100 I remember I was looking for my friend Kevin and I finally found 184 00:09:51,100 --> 00:09:54,780 him because he would go and disappear and I found him in 185 00:09:54,780 --> 00:09:58,380 this area called Pigeon Park. And Pigeon Park is kind of like 186 00:09:58,380 --> 00:10:01,460 a lot of people drink there. It's like a drinking spot of 187 00:10:01,460 --> 00:10:04,180 people drinking booze and of course using crack. 188 00:10:04,420 --> 00:10:08,780 So I found my friend Kevin at Pigeon Park and I said Okay, I'm 189 00:10:08,780 --> 00:10:11,260 going to take you home, right? And time to go home. 190 00:10:11,260 --> 00:10:16,900 And he said I just need one more piece of crack because he was 191 00:10:16,900 --> 00:10:19,060 smoking heavy crack at this time. 192 00:10:19,420 --> 00:10:23,040 And we'll we'll buy some crack and then you can Take Me Home. 193 00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:24,680 So I need some drugs to wean off. 194 00:10:24,680 --> 00:10:27,240 I can't just go cold Turkey And it's like hey, whatever. 195 00:10:27,920 --> 00:10:30,720 And he goes and I want to show you something that's going to 196 00:10:30,720 --> 00:10:33,120 blow your mind. I'm like Okay. 197 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:37,960 So we're walking up Hastings St. kind of closer to I guess the 198 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:40,600 pender like more on pender I believe. 199 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:44,850 And there was this old hotel like really rough looking kind 200 00:10:44,850 --> 00:10:46,890 of like it was. I think it advertised it was 201 00:10:46,890 --> 00:10:49,330 like for backpacking or something like that, like 202 00:10:49,330 --> 00:10:52,010 hostile for out of town people. But it was all homeless people. 203 00:10:52,010 --> 00:10:55,700 And there was like a lineup down the street around the. 204 00:10:55,700 --> 00:10:57,660 But this lineup was moving fast. He was old. 205 00:10:57,660 --> 00:10:59,820 Let's get in the lineup. I'm like, OK, what the fuck's 206 00:10:59,820 --> 00:11:01,140 going on? He goes, I'm going to buy some 207 00:11:01,140 --> 00:11:03,020 crack. So we go in this lineup and the 208 00:11:03,020 --> 00:11:04,660 lineup moves fast and we're in the door. 209 00:11:04,660 --> 00:11:06,260 Kevin looks at the guy, says something. 210 00:11:06,260 --> 00:11:09,580 Guy just kind of ushers in. We walk into the hotel now, this 211 00:11:09,580 --> 00:11:12,340 is a really rundown, barely, you know, should be a condemned 212 00:11:12,340 --> 00:11:14,980 building, looks like a condemned, but there's probably 213 00:11:14,980 --> 00:11:19,660 about 100 people in the lineup and the area inside the hotel 214 00:11:19,660 --> 00:11:23,290 lobby area is very crowded with people and people are going in 215 00:11:23,290 --> 00:11:26,970 and out fast. We get up to the calendar, cabin 216 00:11:26,970 --> 00:11:29,850 pulls out a $50.00 bill asked for $50 crack. 217 00:11:29,850 --> 00:11:33,010 The guy pulls out a big crack rock, he grabs it and we go, and 218 00:11:33,010 --> 00:11:34,850 I'm just looking like, holy shit. 219 00:11:34,850 --> 00:11:38,670 And I'm just watching people. So every every second you can 220 00:11:38,670 --> 00:11:43,630 count 123-4567. Eight people are pulling out 221 00:11:43,630 --> 00:11:48,630 tens 20s but people are buying you know crack at 1020 dollars a 222 00:11:48,630 --> 00:11:50,710 pop. But thing is is as fast as you 223 00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:54,830 can count as fast as that transactions going and and this 224 00:11:54,830 --> 00:11:58,510 is open air this is like everyone you know and down the 225 00:11:58,510 --> 00:12:01,750 street there's a police station and there's patrol cars and 226 00:12:01,750 --> 00:12:07,210 there's cops on beats and I my mind is blowing absolutely 227 00:12:07,210 --> 00:12:09,970 blowing and I just said to Kevin like how long is this place been 228 00:12:09,970 --> 00:12:13,250 operating for it was all about a couple weeks now that's the type 229 00:12:13,250 --> 00:12:16,330 of drug atmosphere that takes place in Vancouver. 230 00:12:16,330 --> 00:12:19,610 Like it it it just blows your mind. 231 00:12:19,610 --> 00:12:23,690 Like I remember like I used to, I lived downtown quite a bit and 232 00:12:23,690 --> 00:12:26,170 I would take friends that when they come in front has friend 233 00:12:26,170 --> 00:12:29,890 from Australia, he was a roadie actually for like rock bands 234 00:12:29,890 --> 00:12:32,730 AC/DC, they're big bands from Australia. 235 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,880 He would come and do a show at BC Place or at time it's called 236 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,440 GM placing, it's called Roger, It's Rogers Arena now. 237 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:41,840 So I remember one time, so I said to him, hey, what a sea 238 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:45,760 cycle, blow your mind And it was a welfare Wednesday, which is 239 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,800 you know the day when all the people get on social assistance 240 00:12:48,800 --> 00:12:52,080 get their checks. The summertime it was August. 241 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:55,120 I remember it was that band he was wrote it for that band. 242 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:56,720 They had they. I can't remember the name of the 243 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,150 band, but they had a hit song called How Bizarre. 244 00:13:00,150 --> 00:13:02,350 I don't know if he can Google that song, but I remember that 245 00:13:02,350 --> 00:13:03,750 was a song right? He was here for. 246 00:13:03,750 --> 00:13:07,990 So anyways, I take him down Hastings St. during the height 247 00:13:08,030 --> 00:13:13,030 of welfare Wednesday and it is like just a carnival of mayhem 248 00:13:13,030 --> 00:13:17,270 and ambulance and cop cars and thousands of people that is 249 00:13:17,270 --> 00:13:20,950 using and smoking crack and doing drugs. 250 00:13:20,950 --> 00:13:24,270 And he he just said I've traveled all over the world cuz 251 00:13:24,270 --> 00:13:27,550 he know he's a roadie rings. I've never seen anything. 252 00:13:27,550 --> 00:13:30,230 And then I point on Main and Hastings that police station has 253 00:13:30,230 --> 00:13:33,270 now closed up and there's a cop station right? 254 00:13:33,270 --> 00:13:36,390 There's a he he he couldn't comprehend it. 255 00:13:36,390 --> 00:13:38,910 Right. So again Vancouver, the ugly 256 00:13:38,910 --> 00:13:43,790 right so massive drug consumption which must attract 257 00:13:43,790 --> 00:13:46,630 people that are in the drug trade because Jesus like you 258 00:13:46,630 --> 00:13:49,630 know it's just a guaranteed you know, take your take your 259 00:13:49,630 --> 00:13:52,590 powder, take your whatever it is and turn it into cash. 260 00:13:54,370 --> 00:13:57,370 So there's that right. And the strange thing that's 261 00:13:57,370 --> 00:13:59,810 always blowing my mind all my life. 262 00:14:00,130 --> 00:14:03,410 There's never seem to be any major boss that shuts down 263 00:14:03,410 --> 00:14:06,290 Hasting St. never heard of it. They bust the dealers on the 264 00:14:06,290 --> 00:14:08,370 street. They do these little cleanups 265 00:14:08,370 --> 00:14:11,650 once in a while that this almost like our just don't really do 266 00:14:11,650 --> 00:14:14,210 anything. But you've never heard of some 267 00:14:14,210 --> 00:14:16,690 big organization. You know name the one you can 268 00:14:16,690 --> 00:14:21,780 think of been shut down and it now now Hastings St. dries a 269 00:14:21,780 --> 00:14:22,940 bone. There's no more drug. 270 00:14:23,020 --> 00:14:26,060 You know it just never has happened being around Vancouver 271 00:14:26,060 --> 00:14:28,980 all my life and I remember when I was a kid my mom would take me 272 00:14:28,980 --> 00:14:31,780 to Woodward's. Woodward's was a department 273 00:14:31,780 --> 00:14:36,060 store that was a BC department store and they had grocery store 274 00:14:36,060 --> 00:14:37,740 on one floor. Then it was like for any 275 00:14:37,820 --> 00:14:40,980 department store to Woodward's this is like in the 80s and it 276 00:14:40,980 --> 00:14:44,300 was like a bit rough and you know it was downtown. 277 00:14:44,300 --> 00:14:45,860 But we didn't. There was No Fear. 278 00:14:46,260 --> 00:14:50,850 But then when crack hit it changed the street. 279 00:14:51,330 --> 00:14:56,050 Like it was probably like late 80s when the crack hit Vancouver 280 00:14:56,090 --> 00:14:59,170 and it was a that was a game changer in my opinion. 281 00:14:59,170 --> 00:15:02,210 Like they're like especially when I talk to old timers and 282 00:15:02,730 --> 00:15:05,650 maybe old I can remember I know an old biker he's telling me 283 00:15:05,650 --> 00:15:08,970 like back in the 70s you know they'd go down to Hastings St. 284 00:15:08,970 --> 00:15:10,850 and they'd get the stuff called wax. 285 00:15:10,850 --> 00:15:13,690 I don't know apparently was some type of speed or something that 286 00:15:13,690 --> 00:15:17,420 they did he's do is always talk about that or downtown. 287 00:15:17,420 --> 00:15:21,100 That area was more known for rubbies as my mom would call him 288 00:15:21,100 --> 00:15:24,940 like Alcoholics hobos people that would drink like you know 289 00:15:24,940 --> 00:15:27,340 cheap wine. It was more like that was more 290 00:15:27,340 --> 00:15:30,060 Hasting street where people would drink you know and there I 291 00:15:30,060 --> 00:15:31,660 think that there was always heroin. 292 00:15:31,660 --> 00:15:34,980 But I think typically the heroin people would just buy their 293 00:15:34,980 --> 00:15:39,900 heroin then kind of go indoors. You didn't see the epic St. life 294 00:15:39,900 --> 00:15:42,260 with with cocaine because now they're not sleeping. 295 00:15:42,260 --> 00:15:45,380 They're like and they constantly need another hit another hit 296 00:15:45,380 --> 00:15:50,470 another hit and and so that was a real game changer as far as 297 00:15:50,470 --> 00:15:56,910 like the dynamic of of changing the the the scene of of Hastings 298 00:15:56,910 --> 00:16:00,230 St. And then with that became more 299 00:16:00,230 --> 00:16:03,430 girls or more women getting desperate because they were 300 00:16:03,430 --> 00:16:06,870 getting hooked on cocaine and and and more of the harder 301 00:16:06,870 --> 00:16:08,720 drugs. And then they started doing 302 00:16:08,720 --> 00:16:12,440 prostitution and then that attracted the predators creeps 303 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:15,000 that would target these women because they were desperate for 304 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,720 drugs or dope sick And then they were selling themselves for is. 305 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,320 Vancouver's always had a prostitution, a high rate of 306 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,760 prostitution. There was lots of prostitutes 307 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,040 along E Broadway, which is kind of not the downtown, but there 308 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:33,960 was lots along E Broadway because I remember my brother 309 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,040 got a job at some government warehouse. 310 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,560 It was like kind of like East Broadway and Fraser St. 311 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:40,720 It's like a government warehouse. 312 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:42,800 It was called the election branch. 313 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:45,880 I guess they had they it was a warehouse that had all the 314 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:49,440 paperwork for, you know, upcoming municipal and BC 315 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:53,520 elections and and in the summertime they would open the 316 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,680 doors because we get really hot. And I remember one time, I mean, 317 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:01,400 I went by to get give my brother his lunch and there was all 318 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:05,920 these really like fracked out prostitutes and bikinis like 319 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,119 trying to go in. And they're like, you know, 320 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,240 they'd actually walk into the warehouse and, you know, try to 321 00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:13,520 get a trick from the men working there. 322 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:15,920 Right. So this is kind of like 80s, 323 00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:17,599 right? So this is like when the cocaine 324 00:17:17,599 --> 00:17:20,000 really started, hit, you started to see this kind of stuff where 325 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,560 you never saw before. And then in the 90s it started 326 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,440 to get really bad because there was more drugs, more pills. 327 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:30,980 I don't think meth was around. I think I remember meth kind of 328 00:17:30,980 --> 00:17:36,620 like in the club scene, a crack. Cocaine was was the big thing in 329 00:17:36,620 --> 00:17:40,620 the 80s and and I'd say even up to the 90s and then course now 330 00:17:40,620 --> 00:17:45,620 fentanyl and meth and you know all these different derivative 331 00:17:45,940 --> 00:17:49,060 drugs that are out there. So going back to like early 332 00:17:49,060 --> 00:17:52,660 Vancouver, like there was Davie St. and there's a really a good 333 00:17:52,660 --> 00:17:55,620 documentary, the hookers of Davie St. and Davie St. was 334 00:17:55,620 --> 00:17:59,180 crazy in the West End, was not from Vancouver. 335 00:17:59,180 --> 00:18:01,260 This is so confusing, but I'll break it down. 336 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:04,780 So there's the West side of Vancouver, so the City of 337 00:18:04,780 --> 00:18:06,740 Vancouver is divided by east and West, right? 338 00:18:06,740 --> 00:18:10,300 So Main St. divides the city. Actually it's Ontario St. but 339 00:18:10,380 --> 00:18:13,620 divides the city. East side, West side. 340 00:18:13,700 --> 00:18:16,620 Traditionally the West side was seen as more affluent or the 341 00:18:16,620 --> 00:18:18,460 east side was more working class. 342 00:18:18,460 --> 00:18:20,540 And but then there's the West End. 343 00:18:20,620 --> 00:18:24,980 The West End is a neighborhood in downtown Vancouver which is 344 00:18:24,980 --> 00:18:27,140 mostly apartment blocks and stuff like that. 345 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:32,200 In the past it was considered more of a gay area of Vancouver 346 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:33,840 and I don't think as much anymore. 347 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:37,360 Like Davie St. still has a lot of gay stores and gay clubs but 348 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:41,920 back in the day in the 80s and 90s it was it was a lot more of 349 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,880 a gay neighborhood and but but heavy partying. 350 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,600 It was like known for parties and things like that. 351 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,880 I'll tell some West End stories in another podcast cuz they're 352 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:53,600 they're and they're incredible. So there's a West End and then 353 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,200 there's West Vancouver which is across the water and West 354 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:00,480 Vancouver is probably the most affluent neighborhood and and 355 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,560 all of Canada like and one side of the North Shore is North 356 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:06,320 Vancouver and then the other side is West Vancouver. 357 00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:10,920 So anyway so this is the West End and it was it was hookers 358 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:15,920 all the way up Davie St. all the way down into downtown on on 359 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:19,840 Seymour and Robson. So there's always been in 360 00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:25,080 Vancouver this underbelly of St. life of prostitution and drugs. 361 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:29,760 And in Vancouver the beautiful is very different than 362 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,200 Vancouver, the ugly at night. So again, this is, this is the 363 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:35,680 whole point of this this particular podcast. 364 00:19:35,680 --> 00:19:40,320 Vancouver, the beautiful, the gorgeous, the scenic, the lovely 365 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:46,360 neighborhoods, the communities, the world class restaurants do 366 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:49,320 love this place. It's it's a it is my home as 367 00:19:49,320 --> 00:19:51,720 cities, like in my DNA, it's in my blood. 368 00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:57,200 But there's something unique and creepy and dark too. 369 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:01,120 You know, this beautiful facade has a very dark underbelly. 370 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,800 And the other thing about place like Hastings St. and this is 371 00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:07,800 something that was talked about. I've heard, you know, people 372 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,400 that who put a lot of time and effort talking about this, that 373 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,920 a lot of people believe that Hastings St. is a place for what 374 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,280 they call a dark tourism. You know, people that are like, 375 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,000 you know, they we've all heard about sex tourism, right? 376 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,040 People that go to places like Cambodia and. 377 00:20:24,490 --> 00:20:27,290 You know, third world countries and molest children, which I 378 00:20:27,290 --> 00:20:30,890 believe they should be rounded up and shot for doing such a 379 00:20:30,890 --> 00:20:33,850 disgusting thing. But there's people that come to 380 00:20:33,850 --> 00:20:37,410 Vancouver for dark tourism. There's vulnerable women or drug 381 00:20:37,410 --> 00:20:40,610 addicts, you know, that they that they can target and do 382 00:20:40,930 --> 00:20:44,090 terrible sick things. To some could be serial killers, 383 00:20:44,090 --> 00:20:46,330 like, you know, we're talking about the Highway of Tears, 384 00:20:46,330 --> 00:20:48,570 right? See what makes the Highway of 385 00:20:48,570 --> 00:20:51,010 Tears unique? Remember, Highway Tears is not 386 00:20:51,010 --> 00:20:54,930 in Vancouver, it's in northern BC but obviously a murderous 387 00:20:55,410 --> 00:20:58,930 highway and what makes it unique and when I was posting about it 388 00:20:58,930 --> 00:21:01,250 before and then people are saying, well, do you think 389 00:21:01,250 --> 00:21:02,850 they'll ever catch the serial killer? 390 00:21:02,850 --> 00:21:07,290 It's like it's not one person, it's an isolated area where 391 00:21:07,370 --> 00:21:09,850 women are vulnerable. It's not just one person. 392 00:21:09,850 --> 00:21:13,810 It's it's it's people that go there knowing that they could 393 00:21:13,810 --> 00:21:17,610 have access to a vulnerable woman and they can just flee. 394 00:21:17,610 --> 00:21:20,670 Because you know, once you're on that highway, you're gone 395 00:21:20,670 --> 00:21:22,350 hundreds of miles in any direction. 396 00:21:22,350 --> 00:21:25,350 If you go up north, you're in Alaska, you go down South, 397 00:21:25,830 --> 00:21:28,590 you're back in, you know, Metro Vancouver. 398 00:21:28,590 --> 00:21:32,270 If you go E you're back in Alberta like here, you're gone 399 00:21:32,270 --> 00:21:35,350 like and get away with it, which that's been the case. 400 00:21:35,710 --> 00:21:38,230 It seems like the only time these cases get solved if they 401 00:21:38,230 --> 00:21:41,240 get caught in the act. If they do get caught and they 402 00:21:41,240 --> 00:21:45,280 can afford counsel, they can delay a very lengthy trial and 403 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,640 and this seems like the court system in my opinion. 404 00:21:47,640 --> 00:21:50,840 I'm not a legal expert, but it seems to favor the criminal who 405 00:21:50,840 --> 00:21:54,760 can afford good legal counsel. If you have any questions, feel 406 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,240 free to directly DM me. I'm always happy to talk to 407 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:02,360 people and I'm always happy to interact with you and every one 408 00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:04,480 of you. Have an awesome day and thank 409 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:06,040 you so much. Have a great day.