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Welcome to the Vancouver True 
Crime Podcast. 

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I'm Mark. 
I'm the host. 

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Of the show this episode, I'd 
like to offer a very strong 

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trigger warning. 
I'll be talking about some very 

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dark subject matter. 
This podcast is called The 

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Stolen Sisters of East 
Vancouver, A history of Crime, 

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Poverty, and the Missing and 
murdered. 

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Ranging from 19602022, The 
downtown East Side is a 

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neighborhood in Vancouver, 
Canada. 

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It's a extreme contrast to the 
rest of the city, and especially

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the rest of the downtown 
neighborhoods most of downtown 

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Vancouver has been redeveloped 
over. 

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The last few decades there's 
lots of beautiful restaurants, 

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trendy bars, shopping office 
towers, parks and sea walls. 

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And for the most part, Vancouver
is a pretty safe and low crime 

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city. 
But when you enter the downtown 

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east side, it's like you cross 
an invisible line from the rest 

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of the city. 
You enter a nightmare world just

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half a block away from most of 
the other neighborhoods. 

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The first thing you notice is 
the sunken looks of their faces,

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The maceated bodies, eyes that 
look at you, dead blank stairs. 

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The sidewalk is full of a 
makeshift street market and open

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drug use. 
Crack cocaine and doorways, 

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drinking people doing drugs, 
openly using needles like for 

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example, like in Pigeon Park, 
which is a small triangular park

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in the north corner of Hastings 
and Carroll St. 

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It's full of pigeons, tents, and
heavy drug users. 

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The the smell of Hasting St. 
really hits you. 

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It's a combination of heavy 
exhaust. 

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It's a major this Hasting St. 
especially is a major artery of.

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Of trucks and diesel buses and 
and cars and and commercial 

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trucks that are crossing from 
one part of the city to the 

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next. 
There's heavy exhaust diesel 

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buses. 
The streets are very busy. 

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Everything kind of has a grimy, 
gritty look and feel to it, The 

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smell of stale urine and 
garbage. 

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The buildings are old and very 
poor shape. 

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It's very loud of all the 
traffic and lots of sirens, 

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almost nonstop police, ambulance
and fire trucks. 

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So it's it's a very overwhelming
to the senses as you as you 

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walk. 
As I said, you cross this 

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invisible line and it's like, 
holy fuck, you know and you know

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many of the hotels are half, you
know, health hazards themselves.

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There's black mold problems, 
lots of pests, poor plumbing and

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shared bathrooms and showers. 
Especially dangerous for the the

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female residents that have to 
share a bathroom with the entire

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hotel. 
There's a massive pest problems 

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and many of the buildings are 
controlled by different gangs 

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and St. gangs for the drug 
trade. 

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Each building then, according to
my research and talking to 

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former drug dealers and people 
who lived in the area, according

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to their testimony, each 
building can range about 40 to 

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$50,000 each day in drug sales. 
The residents of the downtown 

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East Side consume about $300 
million worth of drugs each 

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year. 
And you know it's a, it's a 

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major drug pipeline, $1,000,000 
a day is spent on hard drug 

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sales on the streets of the 
downtown East side. 

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It's worth noting though that 
many of the Ng O's have been 

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buying up some of these hotels 
and managing them, bringing them

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up to health code and building 
standards and and there's you 

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know there are more and more of 
these buildings are being bought

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up and so that that is good. 
But there are a lot of hotels 

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that are left that are in 
horrific shape. 

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Just to give you an idea, I have
a friend who's a social worker. 

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He's he's been working on the 
downtown East side for probably 

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about 18 years. 
And just to give you an idea, 

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what he has to do each day is 
that he arrives to work. 

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To his office. 
He arrives to his office with 

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the clothes that he's wearing, 
and then he has to open up a 

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Rubbermaid container, take off 
his clothes. 

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Put all his clothes in the 
Rubbermaid container. 

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Take another Rubbermaid 
container with a different 

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change of clothes. 
Put those ones on. 

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And then he goes out and sees 
his clients while he goes into 

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these hotels. 
He's been doing this even before

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the pandemic because. 
A lot of these hotels are filled

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with bedbugs and pests and a lot
of them are serious health 

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hazards. 
Many of these hotels, as I said,

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are controlled by different 
gangs and drugs and they net a 

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lot of drug sales. 
The residents of the downtown 

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East Side do consume a lot of 
drugs and like I said it, it's 

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it's very overwhelming to the 
senses, seeing raw suffering, 

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addiction, seeing women, 
noodling the in my observations.

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I've worked a lot in very close 
proximity of the downtown east 

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side like a lot of my offices 
that I worked for had an had an 

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office in water St. which is in 
a neighborhood in Gastown very 

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trendy full of restaurants and 
bars and fancy firms and I T 

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companies and you know we're 
you're we're less than half a 

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block away from the downtown 
east side. 

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So when I leave the office, go 
for lunch, you know, do do, you 

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know, do stuff, you have a lot 
of interaction with Hastings St.

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and being a Vancouver resident 
all my life, I live downtown for

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over 10 years plus and most of 
my jobs had offices in the 

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downtown core. 
So I have a lot of experience 

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with Hastings St. and so there's
one thing I. 

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Do notice is that I never seen 
men doing this, but for some 

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reason it seems to affect women 
more, especially the women that 

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do heavy amounts of crack 
cocaine. 

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They do this thing called 
noodling, where their legs are 

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still but their upper bodies are
just flopping around. 

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It's almost like one of those 
things that that car lots have 

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of those man's that flap around 
in the wind. 

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It's pretty distressing. 
It's pretty pretty crazy to see 

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that. 
And you know, I see a lot of 

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homeless men. 
There's literally skin and bones

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passed out on sidewalks and 
looking very close to death. 

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I once saw a blonde woman, She 
was wearing only her underwear. 

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She looked like a human 
skeleton. 

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Her skin was filthy, covered in 
sores and St. grime. 

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And I remember being horrified 
thinking because in the media in

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Vancouver, they love to promote 
Vancouver the best place on 

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earth, the world's most livable 
city and blah blah, blah. 

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Yeah, it's a beautiful place, 
you know it. 

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But it has some issues, you 
know, especially Hastings St. 

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right? 
So you when you see Hastings St.

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for what it is you, you then 
understand the level of 

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vulnerability of these people 
and how they can be very easy 

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prey to creeps, predators and 
serial killers. 

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Most people who are residents of
the downtown east side are 

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suffering from serious mental 
health conditions and they also 

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have some type of substance 
abuse as well. 

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But like I said, I've have a lot
of experience interacting with 

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Hastings St. and working in 
close proximity. 

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In my experience, most of the 
people that I've encountered are

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harmless for the most part. 
They're not bad people. 

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They are outcasts from society, 
and they come from every single 

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part of Canada. 
They drift here. 

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Only about 13% are born in 
Vancouver, and many of. 

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My other podcasts I especially 
the podcast Siri. 

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I'd call Vancouver the beautiful
and ugly. 

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I kind of go into this. 
Vancouver is possibly, you know,

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probably one of the more milder 
cities in Canada. 

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So. 
You get a lot of people who do 

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drift here because they think 
it's going to be an easier city.

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It's. 
Warmer Lot of Canadian cities 

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are very cold, especially in the
winter time, and many people 

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believe that it'll be easier to 
live in Vancouver than the rest 

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of Canada. 
The more violent people who end 

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up in the downtown east side are
from other parts of Canada. 

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Many provinces do not pay for 
them to have to have them sent 

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back to face their punishment. 
And what that means is is like 

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crimes like breaking entry, 
assault, maybe theft, those 

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types of ones. 
They're not going to pay like 

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someone and not like the 
government. 

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Ontario will not pay to have 
them transported to face their 

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punishment. 
Or, of course, if it's murder, 

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rape or something very serious, 
there'd be a Canada wide warrant

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they'll do that. 
So there's a lot of people that 

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flee other jurisdictions because
they know the province is not 

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going to fly them back to face 
punishment. 

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There was a program, I'm not 
sure I have to look this up. 

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There was a program that was 
based on donations and 

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fundraising that was paying to 
have some of these people to fly

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back and to their provinces and 
face their their punishment 

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again knowing social workers who
do work down there. 

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And one of the other issues is 
other provinces have been guilty

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of sending their undesirables to
BC, giving them a one way bus 

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ticket and of course you know, 
they end up on Hastings St. 

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Recently the area has been more 
violent. 

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There's there's been more 
stabbing, more random attacks 

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and there's been more rival gang
fighting over the lucrative drug

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turf. 
My understanding too, because of

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the drug sales are so enormous 
down there, many other gangs 

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from other parts of Canada have 
been sending. 

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Crews to try to get a a stake or
a piece of the action because 

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again, you control one building 
you could be making. 

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Over 40 to 50K each and every 
day. 

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So there's a lot of incentive 
for people in the drug trade to 

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try to get. 
A piece of that action again, as

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I mentioned in. 
Previous podcasts I've been to a

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lot of different cities across 
North America. 

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Through my work I've been to 
both 40 cities throughout North 

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America, mostly work related and
many cities of course have inner

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cities. 
They have poverty and they have,

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you know, drug problems. 
One thing what I find is unique 

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about Vancouver, which I haven't
seen in other cities to this as 

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this in your face is, is this 
massive St. drug use right out 

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in the open. 
Most cities do have those 

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problems, but it's kind of 
hidden and behind closed doors 

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where Vancouver literally you 
walk down Hastings St. specially

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on the welfare Wednesday people,
hundreds of people are cracking 

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up, shooting up without a care 
in the world. 

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Again, a lot of these people who
live in this area are very 

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vulnerable mental health issues 
and you know, facing a lot of 

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trauma, abuse and you know their
their lives are hell and so 

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having access to St. drugs, 
especially opiates, is too 

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tempting for a lot of people. 
Especially at nighttime was 

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around Hasting St. 
At nighttime, let's say I'm 

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going to a nightclub and I'm 
going somewhere kind of on the 

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offskirts of Hasting St. like 
Lake Gastown. 

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Gastown has a lot of nightclubs.
You're one block off of Hasting 

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St. 
So you're out at night, 

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clubbing. 
You leave the club, you walk 

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out, You're on Hastings St. 
I find that night time, for me 

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personally, it has a very dark, 
sinister fill to the street, 

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especially at night time. 
You know, places like Blood 

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Alley are claimed to be some of 
the most haunted parts of the 

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Vancouver. 
There's some interesting history

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of Blood Alley. 
Another kind of. 

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Area where there's a lot of 
heavy drug use and people 

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congregate and do heavy amounts 
of drugs, but it's very old and 

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cobblestone looking and it's. 
It's rumored to be one of the 

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most haunted parts of the city. 
There's claims of a woman all in

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block walking in the back alleys
of Blood Alley over the 100 year

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history of the downtown East 
side. 

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It's an easy argument of of 
almost every square inch of 

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those streets have someone has 
died on those streets. 

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When you combine the massive 
amounts of overdose, the drug 

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use, the poverty, violence, the 
the streets are literally paved 

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in blood. 
You know, if the fentanyl 

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overdose in itself has claimed 
so many people, like so many 

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people, we are still in a 
fentanyl crisis. 

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So we had the most deaths from 
fentanyls, mostly in the 

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downtown east side in record 
level. 

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There's more people who died 
from fentanyl overdose than from

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the COVID pandemic situation. 
So tell a story and I think 

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this. 
Story illustrates the potential 

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horror of the downtown east 
side. 

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So I worked in an office on 
Water St. 

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It was for a software company. 
I met my friend for lunch who 

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works in a different office and 
he he. 

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Suggested, he suggested. 
That we go to save on. 

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Meats save on meats is a kind of
an iconic. 

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A meat shop that also has a bit 
of a a restaurant that has a 

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restaurant breakfast, a bit of a
pub. 

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It's. 
Kind of a cool place, actually. 

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00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:53,480
When Anthony Bourdain came to 
Vancouver, he had a burger 

228
00:14:53,480 --> 00:14:57,200
there, if you watch the. 
Episode of Anthony Bourdain in 

229
00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,000
Vancouver. 
He goes to save on meat. 

230
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:00,560
It's actually a pretty cool 
episode. 

231
00:15:00,560 --> 00:15:03,800
I'm a huge. 
Fan of Anthony Bourdain, So rest

232
00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:05,440
in peace. 
It's very sad. 

233
00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,440
When he committed suicide 
anyways. 

234
00:15:10,500 --> 00:15:14,420
It was summertime, very hot, 
extremely hot. 

235
00:15:14,420 --> 00:15:17,340
It was probably. 
In the high 30s. 

236
00:15:17,340 --> 00:15:22,900
Which is about. 90 The 90s I was
wearing because I had a client 

237
00:15:22,900 --> 00:15:26,300
meeting, so I was wearing dress 
pants a. 

238
00:15:26,300 --> 00:15:29,100
Short sleeve dress shirt. 
A tie. 

239
00:15:29,180 --> 00:15:32,060
So I kind of look like a Mormon.
With that outfit. 

240
00:15:32,300 --> 00:15:35,460
Which is kind of funny, but 
anyways, so we go to save on 

241
00:15:35,460 --> 00:15:38,300
meet, walk up Hastings St. 
It's like. 

242
00:15:38,770 --> 00:15:42,330
People are just like passed out.
Everyone's looking pretty rough,

243
00:15:42,330 --> 00:15:44,410
you know? 
Again, people smoking crack in 

244
00:15:44,410 --> 00:15:49,610
front of you and it's very 
crowded and hot, stuffy, and we 

245
00:15:49,610 --> 00:15:51,690
get to save on me. 
We walk in. 

246
00:15:52,050 --> 00:15:53,770
I go walk. 
Towards the. 

247
00:15:53,770 --> 00:15:58,370
Back and there's like booths and
I sit down wait for my friend 

248
00:15:58,730 --> 00:16:03,450
and the booth in front of me is 
a woman and. 

249
00:16:03,450 --> 00:16:05,290
She looks pretty. 
Rough like she looks like 

250
00:16:05,290 --> 00:16:09,990
someone from Hastings St. 
And she has a bunch of little 

251
00:16:09,990 --> 00:16:12,350
dime bags. 
Of, you know, obviously her 

252
00:16:12,350 --> 00:16:15,710
drugs all divvied up for her. 
You know, do her sales for the 

253
00:16:15,710 --> 00:16:19,310
day and I of course I pretended 
not to see them, but she has one

254
00:16:19,310 --> 00:16:23,590
of those cheap ten of those 
Kicks strollers and there's a 

255
00:16:23,590 --> 00:16:27,230
newborn baby in there without a 
blanket, no receiving blanket, 

256
00:16:27,230 --> 00:16:30,350
nothing to cover the baby up. 
The baby is really newborn. 

257
00:16:30,350 --> 00:16:32,790
I have two children, so I know a
lot about babies. 

258
00:16:33,470 --> 00:16:34,710
The baby. 
Looks like it's. 

259
00:16:34,750 --> 00:16:38,680
Couple weeks old. 
Just laying there, flopped in 

260
00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:42,640
the Kickstart stroller. 
My friend arrived, I ordered a 

261
00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:47,520
burger and I'm eating and I 
swear I didn't see that baby. 

262
00:16:47,520 --> 00:16:49,400
Move once, so I'm. 
Starting to get scared. 

263
00:16:49,400 --> 00:16:51,400
I'm like, does this woman have a
dead baby? 

264
00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:53,040
Like, I'm kind of freaking out, 
right? 

265
00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:56,440
So I'm sitting there, I'm 
staring at the baby and then it,

266
00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:00,440
I it hasn't moved nothing. 
Hasn't opened its mouth, haven't

267
00:17:00,440 --> 00:17:03,400
opened its eyes. 
Its mouth is kind of open, its 

268
00:17:03,400 --> 00:17:05,190
flopped. 
Kind of just. 

269
00:17:05,190 --> 00:17:08,750
Flopped his arms and legs open. 
So I don't know really what to 

270
00:17:08,750 --> 00:17:10,270
do, right? 
So anyways. 

271
00:17:10,270 --> 00:17:12,630
And then her husband or 
boyfriend or whoever. 

272
00:17:12,630 --> 00:17:15,670
The baby daddy shows up and. 
He looks pretty like a tough 

273
00:17:15,670 --> 00:17:18,630
character. 
He has long, long hair. 

274
00:17:19,109 --> 00:17:21,829
He's skinny wiring, not wearing 
a shirt. 

275
00:17:21,829 --> 00:17:24,550
He looks like a guy that can, 
you know, put up a pretty decent

276
00:17:24,550 --> 00:17:25,950
fight. 
He looks like, you know, he 

277
00:17:25,950 --> 00:17:28,230
looked like a guy that would, 
you know, be violent. 

278
00:17:28,640 --> 00:17:30,200
I could see them. 
They're, you know, they're 

279
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,640
talking about their drug sales 
and they're, you know, making 

280
00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:36,400
these little dime bags. 
With whatever dope. 

281
00:17:36,400 --> 00:17:40,800
They have in there and the baby,
I'm staring at it and it's not 

282
00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:44,600
moving. 
So when my with my friend we 

283
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:49,280
finished eating, I'm getting up 
and I opened my phone and I put 

284
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,080
a picture of my kid up and I say
the woman. 

285
00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,120
I said oh you have a new baby, 
congratulations, show her a 

286
00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:59,850
picture of my kid. 
And right away the guy comes and

287
00:17:59,850 --> 00:18:02,250
he says to her, This guy bugging
you? 

288
00:18:03,370 --> 00:18:06,250
And before and then she looked 
and so no, no. 

289
00:18:07,010 --> 00:18:10,010
And I put my hand out. 
Hey, congratulations on your 

290
00:18:10,010 --> 00:18:12,050
kid. 
You know, shake his hand kind of

291
00:18:12,050 --> 00:18:13,970
you know, diffuse the situation 
because all I want to know is 

292
00:18:13,970 --> 00:18:17,290
this is this kid alive or not 
this baby alive. 

293
00:18:17,970 --> 00:18:20,410
And he gives me this like the 
creepiest like. 

294
00:18:20,410 --> 00:18:23,090
Joker smile because he's. 
Completely wasted. 

295
00:18:23,090 --> 00:18:25,930
He's been drinking like a fish, 
like while I'm sitting there 

296
00:18:25,930 --> 00:18:28,280
eating my burger. 
I've watched him, probably. # 

297
00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:30,880
back about four. 
Pints of. 

298
00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,360
Beer and a shot. 
And he looks. 

299
00:18:33,360 --> 00:18:34,920
Like he's on something else, 
right? 

300
00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:37,280
And I looked down and Oh my. 
God, thank God the. 

301
00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:39,280
Baby moved it. 
Opened its mouth. 

302
00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:42,440
Its eyes. 
So I'm like, oh God, thank God 

303
00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:44,320
the baby's alive. 
So, you know, that's all I 

304
00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:45,960
wanted to know. 
I just want to know if that baby

305
00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:47,680
was alive. 
But I'm just horrified, right? 

306
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:50,800
Because obviously, you know, the
parents are pretty, pretty. 

307
00:18:52,230 --> 00:18:54,870
So then I walk. 
I watch them, they they stroll 

308
00:18:54,870 --> 00:18:56,710
out of there. 
They go off, they go down 

309
00:18:56,710 --> 00:18:58,910
Hastings St. and I'm just 
thinking, wow. 

310
00:18:58,910 --> 00:19:01,190
Like, what a life. 
That baby's going to have, 

311
00:19:01,190 --> 00:19:03,430
right? 
So that that's like the horror 

312
00:19:03,430 --> 00:19:06,830
of Hastings St. you see? 
Stuff that just just, you know, 

313
00:19:06,830 --> 00:19:10,150
just blows your mind. 
Like I I remember one time I was

314
00:19:10,150 --> 00:19:14,270
walking was at work. 
I was on my lunch break and half

315
00:19:14,270 --> 00:19:17,030
a block from my from where I 
work. 

316
00:19:18,390 --> 00:19:20,790
Cops come rolling up. 
Really. 

317
00:19:20,790 --> 00:19:23,510
Hard and heavy sirens. 
They jump out of the car. 

318
00:19:23,510 --> 00:19:26,950
They pull guns. 
A guy, but 10 feet from me, I 

319
00:19:26,990 --> 00:19:30,350
guess he went into one of the 
stores and he stole a kitchen 

320
00:19:30,350 --> 00:19:34,310
knife, flashing like it around. 
So obviously someone called the 

321
00:19:34,310 --> 00:19:36,190
cops. 
I'm like 10 feet away from the 

322
00:19:36,190 --> 00:19:39,470
cops, have guns out, screaming, 
put down the knife, I just. 

323
00:19:39,470 --> 00:19:42,620
Casually just keep walking. 
You know that that's Hastings 

324
00:19:42,620 --> 00:19:44,140
St. 
You don't know what to expect 

325
00:19:44,140 --> 00:19:46,340
there, right? 
But again, I want to emphasize, 

326
00:19:46,620 --> 00:19:49,540
majority of the people who live 
down there are not bad people. 

327
00:19:49,900 --> 00:19:51,940
I've had a lot of introductions 
with them. 

328
00:19:51,940 --> 00:19:54,860
I've, you know, people who live,
you know, who are not like me, 

329
00:19:54,860 --> 00:19:57,380
especially if they live on the 
street or close to my office. 

330
00:19:57,380 --> 00:20:00,420
I would bring them warm clothes 
in the winter time, buy them hot

331
00:20:00,420 --> 00:20:04,220
chocolate coffee. 
Occasional meal at McDonald's or

332
00:20:04,220 --> 00:20:06,500
Tim Horton's, and most of the 
time they've been pretty 

333
00:20:06,500 --> 00:20:09,140
respectful for to me and I've 
been respectful to them. 

334
00:20:09,140 --> 00:20:11,940
Majority of the people who live 
down there are not bad people. 

335
00:20:12,180 --> 00:20:14,900
However, there are a lot of bad 
people that do go down there. 

336
00:20:15,060 --> 00:20:21,060
The population is approximately 
about 15,007 thousand are living

337
00:20:21,060 --> 00:20:23,580
in low income housing hotel 
rooms. 

338
00:20:24,660 --> 00:20:28,940
The rest of the population is 
pretty much homeless, living in 

339
00:20:28,940 --> 00:20:32,440
temporary shelters. 
Tent cities and various parks 

340
00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:35,480
throughout the downtown east 
side. 

341
00:20:36,360 --> 00:20:41,080
However, under these very harsh 
circumstances and conditions, it

342
00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:45,320
has a very strong community 
history of social activism. 

343
00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:52,080
Every Valentine's Day, there's 
the annual missing March for the

344
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:57,240
boat. 900 women have gone 
missing, according to their 

345
00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,630
statistics. 
There's also a lot of dedicated 

346
00:20:59,630 --> 00:21:04,590
frontline workers who save many 
lives from drug overdoses and 

347
00:21:04,590 --> 00:21:09,390
social workers Ng O's that 
provide programs and help to the

348
00:21:09,390 --> 00:21:12,830
people that downtown east side. 
So there's a a large population 

349
00:21:12,830 --> 00:21:17,510
of very dedicated people trying 
to provide help and services to 

350
00:21:17,510 --> 00:21:20,110
these people. 
So, and it's also worth 

351
00:21:20,110 --> 00:21:24,270
mentioning, too, that the 
government of BC, the prevention

352
00:21:24,310 --> 00:21:28,460
the federal government, and the 
City of Vancouver spend in a 

353
00:21:28,460 --> 00:21:31,380
combination. 
Of $1,000,000 a day in services 

354
00:21:31,380 --> 00:21:34,180
for the health and welfare of 
these people. 

355
00:21:34,500 --> 00:21:39,460
The fentanyl crisis has caused 
an overwhelming amount of 

356
00:21:39,460 --> 00:21:45,060
overdoses and social problems 
and death, and it's so ongoing. 

357
00:21:45,500 --> 00:21:49,020
Many of the drugs that are 
consumed in the downtown East 

358
00:21:49,020 --> 00:21:54,220
Side, the crack cocaine, heroin 
and meth, has now been 

359
00:21:54,220 --> 00:21:59,650
contaminated with fentanyl. 
And benzodiazepine to as a 

360
00:21:59,650 --> 00:22:04,570
cutting agent, but making these 
drugs more dangerous in this 

361
00:22:04,570 --> 00:22:08,650
series. 
I've have done a lot of research

362
00:22:08,650 --> 00:22:12,050
on Robert Picton in this 
episode. 

363
00:22:12,050 --> 00:22:15,210
I'm not going to go too much 
into him because I have a lot of

364
00:22:15,930 --> 00:22:18,730
writing I've done. 
I've written over 100 pages and 

365
00:22:18,730 --> 00:22:22,690
I'm going to be having a series 
just specifically just on the 

366
00:22:22,690 --> 00:22:25,610
events of the Robert Picton Pig 
farm and all the. 

367
00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:30,400
Atrocities that occurred on that
farm. 

368
00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:37,360
On December 9th, 2007, Robert 
picked in a pig farmer from Pork

369
00:22:37,360 --> 00:22:39,760
Oquitlam. 
It's about a 30 minute drive 

370
00:22:39,760 --> 00:22:42,800
from the downtown East side was 
charged for the death of six 

371
00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:45,280
women. 
He was also charged in the death

372
00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,120
of additional 20 women, many of 
them from the downtown East 

373
00:22:48,120 --> 00:22:50,120
side. 
Twenty of these charges were 

374
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:54,920
stayed by the Crown and in 2010 
in December. 

375
00:22:55,380 --> 00:22:58,700
In 2007, he was sentenced to 
life in prison with no 

376
00:22:58,700 --> 00:23:00,500
possibility of parole for 25 
years. 

377
00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:03,060
It's the longest sentence 
available under Canadian law for

378
00:23:03,060 --> 00:23:06,100
murder. 
Following Picton's arrest in the

379
00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:11,820
aftermath, attention was given 
to a prior attempted murder of a

380
00:23:11,820 --> 00:23:17,500
sex worker In March of 1997. 
During an altercation on the 

381
00:23:17,500 --> 00:23:21,620
farm, the victim informed police
that picked and had handcuffed 

382
00:23:21,620 --> 00:23:24,480
her. 
But she escaped after suffering 

383
00:23:24,480 --> 00:23:28,040
several lacerations, disarming 
him, stabbing him with a knife. 

384
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,320
The charges were stayed in 
January 1998. 

385
00:23:32,560 --> 00:23:35,960
Charges are stayed when a judge 
or Crown decides that it'll be 

386
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:38,320
bad for the justice system. 
For the case to continue. 

387
00:23:38,760 --> 00:23:42,440
This means the issue of guilt or
innocent is never determined. 

388
00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:45,680
Stays can be granted when the 
state has acted unfairly, 

389
00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:49,360
including the failure to bring 
the case to trial in a timely 

390
00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:54,770
manner, the missing. 
Women's Commission of inquiry. 

391
00:23:54,890 --> 00:23:57,770
Had four mandates. 
Evaluate the response of the 

392
00:23:57,770 --> 00:24:01,970
police to reports of missing 
women from the downtown east 

393
00:24:02,130 --> 00:24:05,890
side of Vancouver. 
Evaluate the reason for staying 

394
00:24:05,890 --> 00:24:10,770
charges against Robert Picton in
January 1998. 

395
00:24:11,170 --> 00:24:16,130
Recommend changes regarding how 
missing women and suspected 

396
00:24:16,130 --> 00:24:21,770
homicides are handled. 
Recommend changes on how cases 

397
00:24:21,770 --> 00:24:25,890
are handled when they involved 
more than one investigating 

398
00:24:26,090 --> 00:24:29,290
organization. 
In 2012, the Commission issued a

399
00:24:29,290 --> 00:24:32,930
final report which includes a 
number of recommendations. 

400
00:24:33,090 --> 00:24:38,250
The Commission office was closed
in August 1st, 2013. 

401
00:24:39,210 --> 00:24:43,570
Indigenous women and girls 
represent 16% of all female 

402
00:24:43,850 --> 00:24:47,650
homicides in Canada, while being
only 4%. 

403
00:24:48,270 --> 00:24:53,310
Of the female population in 
Canada, Project Rescue was in 

404
00:24:53,310 --> 00:24:57,510
response to the many violent. 
Drug dealers who are? 

405
00:24:57,510 --> 00:24:59,950
Praying on the Addicted, 
Marginalized women in the 

406
00:24:59,950 --> 00:25:04,830
downtown East Side Women of the 
downtown East Side have been 

407
00:25:04,830 --> 00:25:07,510
complaining to police. 
What they feared most were 

408
00:25:07,510 --> 00:25:10,630
predatory drug dealers who 
conducted their business with 

409
00:25:10,630 --> 00:25:16,270
violence, torture and terror and
preyed on the weak, addicted and

410
00:25:16,270 --> 00:25:19,570
women. 
An investigation team chosen 

411
00:25:19,570 --> 00:25:22,130
from various areas of the 
Vancouver Police Department, 

412
00:25:22,130 --> 00:25:25,250
including Major Crimes, Gangs, 
Drugs, Financial Crime and Beat 

413
00:25:25,250 --> 00:25:30,490
Enforcement Team target these 
individuals who are victimizing 

414
00:25:30,490 --> 00:25:33,610
the most vulnerable and the most
marginalized in the Downtown 

415
00:25:33,610 --> 00:25:37,290
Eastside community. 
One of the people that they 

416
00:25:37,290 --> 00:25:39,690
caught was a sex. 
Offender with a history. 

417
00:25:40,170 --> 00:25:46,410
Of assaulting young teen first 
was among the 11 arrests in Van 

418
00:25:46,410 --> 00:25:50,280
Town Vancouver. 
The The Vancouver Police 

419
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:55,200
campaign was targeting the worst
of the worst violent drug 

420
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:59,120
dealing of predators in the 
downtown East Side February. 

421
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,760
The suspects were arrested 
through Project Rescue and FACE.

422
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:07,600
They faced a combined of 47 
counts, including charges of 

423
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,600
sexual assault, drug trafficking
and extortion. 

424
00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:15,040
Police said that each person had
an alleged role in the 

425
00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:19,180
exploitation and degrading. 
The vulnerable women in the 

426
00:26:19,180 --> 00:26:23,220
downtown neighborhood. 
So over the years I've have 

427
00:26:23,220 --> 00:26:28,580
heard horror stories about these
predatory drug dealers for even 

428
00:26:28,580 --> 00:26:33,820
for debts for as small as $10. 
Women get beaten, they get 

429
00:26:34,060 --> 00:26:36,100
violently abused, their head 
shaved. 

430
00:26:36,300 --> 00:26:40,300
I've heard women being pushed 
out of windows on top of roofs, 

431
00:26:40,380 --> 00:26:44,580
fingers being chopped off, 
forced into prostitution and 

432
00:26:44,580 --> 00:26:49,680
just viciously abused. 
So basically what happens? 

433
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,520
A woman meets a predatory drug 
dealer who's all too willing to 

434
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,160
give them drugs on credit. 
When they can't pay or they're 

435
00:26:57,160 --> 00:26:59,800
late with their payments, their 
nightmare begins. 

436
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:05,800
One of the suspects that police 
put into custody was a sex 

437
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:08,200
offender and drug trafficking. 
Martin Tremblay. 

438
00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:12,280
I will be doing a standalone 
podcast about this creep, and I 

439
00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:15,050
have one. 
Of his survivors, who's who's 

440
00:27:15,050 --> 00:27:17,410
been working with me for the 
last six months and we're going 

441
00:27:17,410 --> 00:27:20,250
to do an interview and talk 
about some of her experiences. 

442
00:27:20,450 --> 00:27:23,250
It was her effort that helped 
declare him as a dangerous 

443
00:27:23,250 --> 00:27:26,450
offender. 
So in this particular case in 

444
00:27:26,450 --> 00:27:30,490
the project rescue, he faced 4 
counts of trafficking cocaine, 

445
00:27:31,290 --> 00:27:35,290
one count of cocaine possession 
for the purpose of trafficking. 

446
00:27:35,650 --> 00:27:39,330
The police made a public 
announcement and a plea for more

447
00:27:39,330 --> 00:27:42,950
of his victims to come forward. 
He's in jail now. 

448
00:27:42,990 --> 00:27:45,870
He can't hurt you, Inspector 
Dean Robinson said. 

449
00:27:46,310 --> 00:27:50,510
We believe the only way we can 
guarantee that he won't harm 

450
00:27:50,510 --> 00:27:55,870
more women if he stays in jail. 
Martin Tremblay was found guilty

451
00:27:55,870 --> 00:27:59,430
in 2003 of 5 counts of sexual 
assaults. 

452
00:28:00,990 --> 00:28:07,070
Tremblay like to use alcohol and
drugs to lure and incapacitate 

453
00:28:07,150 --> 00:28:10,970
his victims. 
He was released after serving 

454
00:28:10,970 --> 00:28:14,810
only a single year in prison. 
Many of the women's advocates 

455
00:28:14,810 --> 00:28:18,770
have complained that not enough 
was being done to protect the 

456
00:28:18,770 --> 00:28:22,250
public. 
During Tremblay's sentencing, he

457
00:28:22,250 --> 00:28:25,650
was not bound by any conditions 
that he stays away from young 

458
00:28:25,650 --> 00:28:28,010
girls. 
On the release from prison, 

459
00:28:29,490 --> 00:28:33,170
Martin Tremblay murdered two 
other teens. 

460
00:28:33,410 --> 00:28:36,130
One Her name was Martha 
Hernandez. 

461
00:28:36,640 --> 00:28:39,800
Her body was discovered lifeless
in his Richmond home. 

462
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:46,000
Her friend Carla Lalonde died 
the same day when her body was 

463
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,160
just dropped on the street. 
Both girls died of a lethal mix 

464
00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:55,200
of drugs and alcohol. 
Martin Tremblay was convicted in

465
00:28:55,280 --> 00:29:00,880
2013 for two counts of criminal 
negligence causing death and 

466
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,480
failure to provide the 
necessities to life. 

467
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:05,840
He was labeled a dangerous 
offender. 

468
00:29:06,260 --> 00:29:10,780
The designation of dangerous 
offenders reserved for Canada's 

469
00:29:10,780 --> 00:29:14,420
most violent criminals and 
sexual predators. 

470
00:29:14,660 --> 00:29:18,940
The Crown attorney can seek the 
designation during sentencing, 

471
00:29:19,580 --> 00:29:22,700
but they must show that there's 
a high risk that criminal will 

472
00:29:22,700 --> 00:29:25,500
commit violent or sexual 
offenses in the future. 

473
00:29:26,380 --> 00:29:29,140
The designation carries an 
automatic sentence of 

474
00:29:29,140 --> 00:29:32,860
imprisonment for an 
indeterminate period, but every 

475
00:29:32,860 --> 00:29:35,260
seven years they can apply for 
parole. 

476
00:29:36,340 --> 00:29:42,820
Dangerous offender laws have 
root in the 1947 Habitual Act 

477
00:29:42,820 --> 00:29:47,100
solely with offenders with 
lengthy criminal records, and 

478
00:29:47,100 --> 00:29:53,380
then the 1948 the Criminal 
Sexual Psychopath Act, and then 

479
00:29:53,380 --> 00:30:00,380
in 1977 the designation 
dangerous offender replaced both

480
00:30:00,380 --> 00:30:04,140
habitual offender and dangerous 
sexual offender. 

481
00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:10,080
Changes to the Criminal Code of 
Canada in 2008 requires some 

482
00:30:10,200 --> 00:30:15,720
repeat offenders convicted of 
three or more times of violent 

483
00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:20,880
crimes or sex crimes to prove 
they are not a danger society. 

484
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:26,280
Putting the onus on the offender
rather than the crown, makes it 

485
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,880
easier to designate some repeat 
offenders as dangerous 

486
00:30:29,880 --> 00:30:33,480
offenders, which effectively can
put them behind bars. 

487
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:34,280
Her life.