1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,400 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 --> 00:00:31,740 Vancouver is a very beautiful place. 11 00:00:31,740 --> 00:00:34,180 Happy to live here. I'm happy I was born and raised 12 00:00:34,180 --> 00:00:36,460 here. The beaches are beautiful 13 00:00:36,460 --> 00:00:40,700 summertime, There's so many wonderful beaches, trails if you 14 00:00:40,700 --> 00:00:44,060 love hiking, if you're a boater. If you're into fishing. 15 00:00:44,660 --> 00:00:47,540 If you're into. Skiing if you're in the camping, 16 00:00:47,580 --> 00:00:51,140 actually a great city to live in if you can afford it. 17 00:00:51,340 --> 00:00:55,100 People in Vancouver. Have they have a shell for kind 18 00:00:55,100 --> 00:00:58,710 of icy, but once you break the past that you you can build 19 00:00:58,710 --> 00:01:01,830 really quality friendships. But there's a lot of crazy 20 00:01:01,830 --> 00:01:04,030 people here. See the city? 21 00:01:04,030 --> 00:01:06,190 It's almost like it's it's two cities. 22 00:01:06,470 --> 00:01:09,630 There's a normal people, the healthy people, the health 23 00:01:09,630 --> 00:01:13,950 conscious people, the attractive people that come here for. 24 00:01:13,950 --> 00:01:18,110 Acting Vancouver has one of the largest movie industries in 25 00:01:18,110 --> 00:01:20,950 North 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 --> 00:01:45,950 I I spent some time in New York. I love New York. 34 00:01:45,950 --> 00:01:49,190 New York, of all the cities I've been to, had the most impact. 35 00:01:49,190 --> 00:01:50,830 On me, 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 it came back to 39 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:03,360 Vancouver, the green, the fresh air, the the, the quiet, the 40 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,440 tranquility was just 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 --> 00:02:20,520 outdoors, athletic person, gorgeous city, the neighborhoods 45 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:22,320 are amazing. There's so many diverse 46 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:23,960 neighborhoods now I'm going to talk about. 47 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,240 Both the Ugly Vancouver and the Ugly. 48 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,160 Vancouver is kind of like underneath the surface. 49 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,640 There's a lot of mental illness. 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 --> 00:02:42,190 health issues or drug addiction, they migrate. 53 00:02:42,190 --> 00:02:44,670 Here because they think it's a warmer climate, they think. 54 00:02:44,670 --> 00:02:47,870 It's going to be easier here and it's not the case because 55 00:02:47,870 --> 00:02:50,510 Vancouver is not an. Easy city to break into. 56 00:02:50,510 --> 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 this is this, 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 --> 00:03:10,420 underlying drug addiction, you're going to get marginalized 63 00:03:10,420 --> 00:03:13,540 pretty fast. It's happened is that, hey, I'm 64 00:03:13,540 --> 00:03:16,780 going to go to Vancouver and come here and they're first of 65 00:03:16,780 --> 00:03:19,980 all, they're shocked at the the sticker price of what rent is a 66 00:03:20,020 --> 00:03:23,580 cost of living is high. They find it hard to meet 67 00:03:23,580 --> 00:03:26,020 friends, be people from Vancouver who are health 68 00:03:26,020 --> 00:03:28,420 conscious and good things going on. 69 00:03:28,420 --> 00:03:30,780 They don't really want to invite someone in their life that has 70 00:03:30,780 --> 00:03:34,300 drug problems and not from here and maybe cause problems because 71 00:03:34,460 --> 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, hills, 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 --> 00:04:36,880 They're not prepared that Vancouver people seem a little 89 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:38,840 cold. No, the Vancouver. 90 00:04:38,840 --> 00:04:40,960 Just weary because they didn't burn. 91 00:04:40,960 --> 00:04:42,960 They didn't, you know, trust me on that one. 92 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,120 They and so makes people kind of more standoffish to new people 93 00:04:47,120 --> 00:04:51,120 especially people that party and do drugs and things like that in 94 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,680 Vancouver. The ugly You can get drugs 95 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,400 really cheap and guess what? Now you can make lots of 96 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,590 friends. Now you feel welcome because you 97 00:05:00,590 --> 00:05:02,470 have drugs and you're generous with them. 98 00:05:02,470 --> 00:05:04,470 You're gonna make lots of friends, right? 99 00:05:04,550 --> 00:05:08,510 I probably was more of a binge drinker rather than a binge drug 100 00:05:08,510 --> 00:05:10,630 user. I've used drugs in the past, but 101 00:05:10,630 --> 00:05:14,190 I don't use them now. I worked in the IT industry. 102 00:05:14,190 --> 00:05:17,150 I worked in the stock market industry and and a lot of times 103 00:05:17,150 --> 00:05:21,190 after work you'd go out to blow off steam, decompress and need 104 00:05:21,190 --> 00:05:23,790 drink heavy. I found I was always a person 105 00:05:23,790 --> 00:05:25,870 that seemed to be the most strenuous when I was drunk. 106 00:05:25,910 --> 00:05:27,670 Boom. I had all these friends around 107 00:05:27,670 --> 00:05:29,270 me buying rounds and rounds of drinks. 108 00:05:29,270 --> 00:05:32,070 I felt like I had all the friends in the world stop doing 109 00:05:32,070 --> 00:05:33,950 that. Those friends disappear and now 110 00:05:33,950 --> 00:05:35,310 you're lonely. So that just gives you 111 00:05:35,310 --> 00:05:38,270 perspective, right? So drugs are very easy to get. 112 00:05:39,390 --> 00:05:42,710 Then what happens? A lot of people here is they get 113 00:05:42,710 --> 00:05:45,270 in over their head. They can't afford their drugs 114 00:05:45,270 --> 00:05:47,150 anymore. They can't afford the rent, get 115 00:05:47,150 --> 00:05:50,030 their self into a crisis situation, and they end up 116 00:05:50,030 --> 00:05:52,150 homeless. They end up on Hastings St. or 117 00:05:52,150 --> 00:05:55,350 they end up in one of these awful hotel rooms that are full 118 00:05:55,350 --> 00:05:59,090 of bedbugs and now to cope with that they're doing harder drugs. 119 00:05:59,090 --> 00:06:01,690 It's a cycle. I've seen Soma if you probably 120 00:06:01,690 --> 00:06:04,850 if you went down Hastings St. and you took the majority of the 121 00:06:04,850 --> 00:06:07,290 people there, from my understanding I would say 122 00:06:07,290 --> 00:06:09,130 majority of those people are from out of town. 123 00:06:09,130 --> 00:06:11,610 The reason why I say that is that things that the ministry 124 00:06:11,610 --> 00:06:13,930 does or Ministry of Social Services, they like to send 125 00:06:13,930 --> 00:06:18,570 these people back on one way bus tickets because other 126 00:06:18,570 --> 00:06:22,730 jurisdictions in Canada send their people here with one way 127 00:06:22,730 --> 00:06:24,730 bus tickets. So it's like all these different 128 00:06:24,730 --> 00:06:28,810 jurisdictions and cities are sending all their unwanted by 129 00:06:29,090 --> 00:06:31,530 one way bus tickets. But also with that, you're 130 00:06:31,530 --> 00:06:34,610 getting, you're getting sex offenders, you're getting drug 131 00:06:34,610 --> 00:06:37,330 addicts, you're getting people evading the law, you're getting 132 00:06:37,330 --> 00:06:39,850 all kinds of problems. And again, there's this 133 00:06:39,850 --> 00:06:43,650 perception Vancouver's beautiful, Vancouver's awesome. 134 00:06:43,650 --> 00:06:45,970 It's it's like the California of Canada. 135 00:06:45,970 --> 00:06:50,090 So 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 00:07:15,180 --> 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 --> 00:08:19,750 of cash. On camera and then trading them 158 00:08:19,750 --> 00:08:21,870 for chips like 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 00:09:00,390 --> 00:09:02,750 They can launder their money through our housing because you 172 00:09:02,750 --> 00:09:05,030 can just. And that's what drove prices of 173 00:09:05,030 --> 00:09:09,070 housing through the roof because Vancouver became a holding 174 00:09:09,350 --> 00:09:13,470 assets for criminal organizations to hold their 175 00:09:13,470 --> 00:09:18,430 money in and then have access to the Canadian banking and credit 176 00:09:18,430 --> 00:09:25,310 casinos to wash your money and a large population that consume 177 00:09:25,310 --> 00:09:27,950 drugs. It's like the massive pipeline, 178 00:09:27,950 --> 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 00:09:45,700 --> 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 --> 00:09:58,420 this area called Pigeon Park. And Pigeon Park is kind of like 186 00:09:58,420 --> 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 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 --> 00:10:16,940 And he said I just need one more piece of crack because he was 191 00:10:16,940 --> 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 --> 00:10:33,080 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 I 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 --> 00:11:09,460 Guy just kind of ushers in. We walk into the hotel now. 211 00:11:09,460 --> 00:11:11,860 This is a really rundown, barely, you know, should be a 212 00:11:11,860 --> 00:11:13,860 condemned building. Looks like a condemned, but 213 00:11:13,860 --> 00:11:18,060 there's probably about 100 people in the lineup, and the 214 00:11:18,100 --> 00:11:22,410 area inside the hotel lobby area is very crowded with people and 215 00:11:22,410 --> 00:11:24,330 people are going in and out fast. 216 00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:28,810 We get up to the counter, cabin pulls out a $50.00 bill, asked 217 00:11:28,810 --> 00:11:32,010 for $50 crack, the guy pulls out a big crack rock, he grabs it 218 00:11:32,010 --> 00:11:34,850 and we go, and I'm just looking like, holy shit. 219 00:11:34,850 --> 00:11:38,660 And I'm just watching people. So every every second you can 220 00:11:38,660 --> 00:11:43,700 count 123-4567. Eight people are pulling out 221 00:11:43,740 --> 00:11:48,220 tens, 20s, but people are buying, you know, crack at 1020 222 00:11:48,220 --> 00:11:49,220 dollars a pop. But. 223 00:11:49,220 --> 00:11:52,460 Thing is, is as fast as you can count as fast as that 224 00:11:52,460 --> 00:11:55,980 transactions going and. And this is open air. 225 00:11:55,980 --> 00:11:59,140 This is like everyone you know. And down the street there's a 226 00:11:59,140 --> 00:12:02,540 police station and there's patrol cars and there's cops on 227 00:12:02,540 --> 00:12:06,140 beats. And I my mind is blowing, 228 00:12:06,610 --> 00:12:09,090 absolutely blowing. And I just said to Kevin, like, 229 00:12:09,090 --> 00:12:10,610 how long is this place been operating for? 230 00:12:10,610 --> 00:12:13,770 It was all about a couple weeks. Now that's the type of drug 231 00:12:13,770 --> 00:12:16,690 atmosphere that takes place in Vancouver, like. 232 00:12:17,130 --> 00:12:21,170 It it, it just blows your mind. Like I remember like I used to, 233 00:12:21,170 --> 00:12:25,050 I lived downtown quite a bit and I would take friends when they 234 00:12:25,050 --> 00:12:27,210 come in front. His friend from Australia, he 235 00:12:27,210 --> 00:12:31,450 was a roadie actually for like rock bands, A/C, DC, they're big 236 00:12:31,450 --> 00:12:34,120 bands. From Australia he would come and 237 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:36,680 do a show. At BC Place or at time, it's 238 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:38,200 called GM Place and it's called Roger. 239 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,640 It's Rogers Arena now. So I remember one time, So I 240 00:12:40,640 --> 00:12:42,880 said to him, hey, what a sea cycle, blow your mind. 241 00:12:43,280 --> 00:12:46,600 And it was a welfare Wednesday, which is, you know, the day when 242 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:49,680 all the people get on social assistance, get their checks. 243 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:52,920 The summertime it was August, I remember. 244 00:12:52,920 --> 00:12:55,120 It was that band he was wrote it for that band. 245 00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:56,720 They had they. I can't remember the name of the 246 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,150 band, but they had a hit song called How Bizarre. 247 00:13:00,150 --> 00:13:02,350 I don't know if he can Google that song, but I remember that 248 00:13:02,350 --> 00:13:03,750 was a song, right? He was here for. 249 00:13:03,750 --> 00:13:06,950 So anyways. I take him down Hastings St. 250 00:13:06,950 --> 00:13:11,030 during the height of Welfare Wednesday and it is like just a 251 00:13:11,030 --> 00:13:16,390 carnival of mayhem and ambulance and cop cars and thousands of 252 00:13:16,390 --> 00:13:18,910 people that is using and smoking. 253 00:13:18,910 --> 00:13:23,590 Crack and doing drugs and he he. Just said I've traveled all over 254 00:13:23,590 --> 00:13:25,940 the world cuz he know he's a roadie, right? 255 00:13:25,940 --> 00:13:27,500 Because. I've never seen anything. 256 00:13:27,500 --> 00:13:29,460 And then I point on Main and Hastings. 257 00:13:29,460 --> 00:13:31,180 That police station has now closed up the end. 258 00:13:31,180 --> 00:13:35,460 There's a cop station, right? There's a he he he couldn't 259 00:13:35,460 --> 00:13:38,900 comprehend it, right. So again, Vancouver, the ugly, 260 00:13:38,900 --> 00:13:43,780 right, so massive drug consumption which must attract 261 00:13:43,780 --> 00:13:46,620 people that are in the drug trade because Jesus, like, you 262 00:13:46,620 --> 00:13:49,620 know, just a guaranteed, you know, take your, take your 263 00:13:49,620 --> 00:13:52,580 powder, take your whatever it is and turn it into cash. 264 00:13:54,370 --> 00:13:57,370 So there's that. And the strange thing that's 265 00:13:57,370 --> 00:14:00,570 always blowing my mind all my life, there's never. 266 00:14:00,570 --> 00:14:04,090 Seem to be any major boss that shuts down Hastings St. 267 00:14:04,090 --> 00:14:06,290 Never heard of it. They bust the dealers on the 268 00:14:06,290 --> 00:14:08,370 street. They do these little cleanups 269 00:14:08,370 --> 00:14:10,650 once in a while that this almost like our just. 270 00:14:10,930 --> 00:14:14,570 Don't really do anything but you've never heard of some big 271 00:14:14,570 --> 00:14:18,140 organization you know name. The one you can think of been 272 00:14:18,140 --> 00:14:21,140 shut down. And it now, now Hastings St. 273 00:14:21,260 --> 00:14:22,700 dries a bone. There's no more. 274 00:14:22,700 --> 00:14:24,780 Drug, you know, it just never has happened. 275 00:14:24,980 --> 00:14:27,220 Being around Vancouver all my life and I remember. 276 00:14:27,220 --> 00:14:30,140 When I was a kid, my mom would take me to Woodward's. 277 00:14:30,300 --> 00:14:33,580 Woodward's was a department store that was a BC department 278 00:14:33,580 --> 00:14:36,820 store and they had grocery store on one floor. 279 00:14:36,820 --> 00:14:39,700 Then it was like for any department store to Woodward's. 280 00:14:39,700 --> 00:14:42,820 This is like in the 80s and it was like a bit rough and you 281 00:14:42,820 --> 00:14:44,780 know, it was downtown, but we didn't. 282 00:14:44,820 --> 00:14:49,370 There was No Fear. But then when crack hit, it 283 00:14:49,370 --> 00:14:53,810 changed the street like it was. Probably like late 80s when the 284 00:14:53,810 --> 00:14:58,650 Crack hit Vancouver and it was a that was a game changer in my 285 00:14:58,650 --> 00:15:00,130 opinion. Like they're like especially 286 00:15:00,130 --> 00:15:04,170 when I talk to old timers and maybe old I can remember I know 287 00:15:04,170 --> 00:15:07,490 an old biker he's telling me like back in the 70s you know 288 00:15:07,490 --> 00:15:10,170 they'd go down to Hastings St. and they'd get the stuff called 289 00:15:10,170 --> 00:15:12,090 wax. I don't know apparently was some 290 00:15:12,090 --> 00:15:15,130 type of speed or something that they did he's do is always talk 291 00:15:15,130 --> 00:15:18,530 about that or. Downtown, that area was more 292 00:15:18,810 --> 00:15:21,250 known for, Ruby says. My mom would call him like 293 00:15:21,290 --> 00:15:24,970 Alcoholics, hobos, people that would drink like, you know, 294 00:15:24,970 --> 00:15:27,930 cheap wine it was. More like that was more Hasting 295 00:15:27,930 --> 00:15:29,730 street where people would. Drink, you know? 296 00:15:29,730 --> 00:15:32,650 And there I think that there was always heroin, but I think 297 00:15:32,650 --> 00:15:35,610 typically the heroin people would just buy their heroin then 298 00:15:35,610 --> 00:15:39,890 kind of go indoors. You didn't see the epic St. life 299 00:15:39,890 --> 00:15:41,690 with with cocaine. Because now they're not 300 00:15:41,690 --> 00:15:43,850 sleeping, they're like and they constantly. 301 00:15:43,850 --> 00:15:46,130 Need another hit, another hit, another hit. 302 00:15:46,660 --> 00:15:51,180 And and so that was a real game changer as far as like the 303 00:15:51,180 --> 00:15:57,420 dynamic of of changing the the the scene of of Hastings St. and 304 00:15:57,420 --> 00:16:02,900 then with that became more girls for more women getting desperate 305 00:16:02,900 --> 00:16:06,300 because they were getting hooked on cocaine and and and more of 306 00:16:06,300 --> 00:16:09,920 the harder drugs And then they started doing prostitution and 307 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,720 then that attracted the predators creeps that would 308 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:16,000 target these women because they were desperate for drugs or dope 309 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,720 sick and then they were selling themselves for is. 310 00:16:18,720 --> 00:16:22,320 Vancouver's always had a prostitution, a high rate of 311 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,760 prostitution. There was lots of prostitutes 312 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:31,040 along E Broadway, which is kind of not the downtown, but there 313 00:16:31,040 --> 00:16:33,960 was lots along E Broadway because I remember my brother 314 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,040 got a job at some government warehouse. 315 00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,600 It was like kind of like East Broadway and Fraser St. 316 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:40,720 It's like a government warehouse. 317 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:42,800 It was called the election branch. 318 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:45,800 I guess they had they. It was a warehouse that had all 319 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,440 the paperwork for, you know, upcoming municipal and BC 320 00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:52,120 elections. And and in the summertime they 321 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:55,200 would open the doors because we get really hot. 322 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:59,480 And I remember one time, I mean, I went by to get give my brother 323 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,960 his lunch and there was all these really like fracked out 324 00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,680 prostitutes and bikinis like trying to go in. 325 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,400 And they're like, you know, they'd actually walk into the 326 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:13,319 warehouse and, you know, try to get a trick from the men working 327 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:13,800 there. Right. 328 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,240 So this is kind of like 80s, right? 329 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,800 So this is like when the cocaine really started, hit, you started 330 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,240 to see this kind of stuff where you never saw before. 331 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:24,880 And then in the 90s it started to get really bad because there 332 00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:28,680 was more drugs, more pills. I don't think meth was around. 333 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:30,970 I think I remember meth, kind of. 334 00:17:30,970 --> 00:17:35,010 Like in the club scene, a crack cocaine. 335 00:17:35,010 --> 00:17:38,850 Was was the big thing in the 80s and and I'd say even up to the 336 00:17:38,850 --> 00:17:43,930 90s and then course now fentanyl and meth and you know all these 337 00:17:43,930 --> 00:17:47,250 different derivative drugs that are out there. 338 00:17:47,250 --> 00:17:50,650 So going back to like early Vancouver, like there was Davie 339 00:17:50,650 --> 00:17:54,210 St. and there's a really a good documentary, The Hookers of 340 00:17:54,210 --> 00:17:56,250 Davie. Street and Davie St. was crazy 341 00:17:56,250 --> 00:17:59,190 in the West End was not from Vancouver. 342 00:17:59,190 --> 00:18:01,230 This is so confusing, but I'll break it down. 343 00:18:01,230 --> 00:18:04,190 So there's the West side of Vancouver. 344 00:18:04,190 --> 00:18:06,710 So the city of Vancouver is divided by east and West, right? 345 00:18:06,710 --> 00:18:10,310 So Main St. divides the city. Actually it's Ontario St. but 346 00:18:10,390 --> 00:18:13,630 divides the city. East side, West side. 347 00:18:13,710 --> 00:18:16,630 Traditionally the West side was seen as more affluent or the 348 00:18:16,630 --> 00:18:18,470 east side was more working class. 349 00:18:18,470 --> 00:18:20,510 And but then there's the West End. 350 00:18:20,630 --> 00:18:24,990 The West End is a neighborhood in downtown Vancouver, which is 351 00:18:24,990 --> 00:18:27,150 mostly apartment blocks and stuff like that. 352 00:18:27,560 --> 00:18:32,200 In the past, it was considered more of a gay area of Vancouver. 353 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:33,840 And I don't think as much anymore. 354 00:18:33,840 --> 00:18:36,720 Like Davie St. still has a lot of gay stores and gay clubs. 355 00:18:37,040 --> 00:18:40,560 But back in the day in the 80s and 90s it was, it was a lot 356 00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,880 more of a gay neighborhood and but but heavy partying. 357 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,600 It was like known for parties and things like that. 358 00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,880 I'll tell some West End stories in another podcast cuz they're 359 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:53,600 they're and they're incredible. So there's a West End and then 360 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,210 there's West Vancouver which is across the water in West 361 00:18:57,210 --> 00:19:00,650 Vancouver is probably the most affluent neighborhood in in all 362 00:19:00,650 --> 00:19:03,570 of Canada like and one side of the North Shore is North 363 00:19:03,570 --> 00:19:06,330 Vancouver and then the other side is West Vancouver. 364 00:19:06,330 --> 00:19:10,890 So anyway, so this is the West End and it was it was hookers 365 00:19:11,130 --> 00:19:15,930 all the way up Davie St. all the way down into downtown on on 366 00:19:15,930 --> 00:19:19,850 Seymour and Robson. So there's always been in 367 00:19:19,850 --> 00:19:25,090 Vancouver this underbelly of St. life of prostitution and drugs. 368 00:19:25,250 --> 00:19:29,760 And in Vancouver, the beautiful is very different than 369 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:31,280 Vancouver. The ugly at night. 370 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,400 So again, this is, this is the whole point of this, this 371 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,160 particular podcast. Vancouver the beautiful, the 372 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:42,680 gorgeous, the scenic, the lovely neighborhoods, the communities, 373 00:19:42,680 --> 00:19:47,200 the world class restaurants do love this place. 374 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,720 It's it's a it is my home as cities, like in my DNA. 375 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:55,320 It's in my blood. But there's something unique and 376 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:57,800 creepy and dark too. You know? 377 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:01,120 This beautiful facade has a very dark underbelly. 378 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,720 And the other thing about. Place like Hastings St. and this 379 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:07,800 is something that was talked about I've heard you know people 380 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,400 that who put a lot of time and effort talking about this, that 381 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:15,920 a lot of people believe that Hastings St. is a place for what 382 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:19,280 they call a dark tourism. You know people that are like, 383 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,000 you know they we've all heard about sex tourism right. 384 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:24,040 People that go to places like Cambodia and. 385 00:20:24,490 --> 00:20:27,290 You know third world countries and molest children, which I 386 00:20:27,290 --> 00:20:30,890 believe they should be rounded up and shot for doing such a. 387 00:20:30,890 --> 00:20:33,850 Disgusting thing. But there's people that come to 388 00:20:33,850 --> 00:20:37,410 Vancouver for dark tourism. There's vulnerable women or drug 389 00:20:37,410 --> 00:20:40,610 addicts, you know, that they that they can target and do 390 00:20:40,930 --> 00:20:44,090 terrible sick things to some could be serial killers. 391 00:20:44,090 --> 00:20:46,330 Like, you know, we're talking about the Highway of Tears, 392 00:20:46,330 --> 00:20:48,570 right? See what makes the Highway of 393 00:20:48,570 --> 00:20:51,010 Tears unique? Remember, Highway Tears is not 394 00:20:51,010 --> 00:20:52,770 in Vancouver. It's in northern BC, but 395 00:20:52,810 --> 00:20:57,050 obviously. A murderous highway and what 396 00:20:57,050 --> 00:20:58,930 makes it unique? And when I was posting about it 397 00:20:58,930 --> 00:21:01,250 before and then people are saying, well, do you think 398 00:21:01,250 --> 00:21:02,850 they'll ever catch the serial killer? 399 00:21:02,850 --> 00:21:06,890 It's like it's not one person, it's an isolated area. 400 00:21:06,890 --> 00:21:09,850 Where women are vulnerable, it's not just one person. 401 00:21:09,850 --> 00:21:10,570 It's, it's. It's. 402 00:21:10,650 --> 00:21:15,210 People that go there knowing that they could have access to a 403 00:21:15,210 --> 00:21:18,170 vulnerable woman and they can just flee because. 404 00:21:18,740 --> 00:21:21,140 You know, once you're on that highway, you're gone hundreds of 405 00:21:21,140 --> 00:21:23,620 miles in any direction. If you go up north, you're in 406 00:21:23,620 --> 00:21:27,900 Alaska, you go down South, you're back in, you know, Metro 407 00:21:27,900 --> 00:21:30,580 Vancouver. If you go E you're back in 408 00:21:30,580 --> 00:21:33,940 Alberta, like here, you're gone like and get away with it, Which 409 00:21:33,940 --> 00:21:36,860 that's been the case. It seems like the only time 410 00:21:36,860 --> 00:21:39,420 these cases get solved if they get caught in the act. 411 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,920 If they do get caught and they can afford counsel, they can 412 00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,440 delay a very lengthy trial and and this seems like the court 413 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:49,080 system in my opinion. I'm not a legal expert, but it 414 00:21:49,080 --> 00:21:53,440 seems to favor the criminal who can afford good legal counsel. 415 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:57,040 If you have any questions, feel free to directly DM me. 416 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:00,440 I'm always happy to talk to people and I'm always happy to 417 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:02,640 interact with you and every one of you. 418 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:05,160 Have an awesome day and thank you so much. 419 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:06,520 Have a great day. I don't. 420 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:10,120 Know what to do?