Remember the Pope Squat?

Remember the Pope Squat?
The Real Campaign is about to begin in Parkdale.

See below for ways to get involved and major upcoming actions and events.

Every time an election rolls around the politicians promote their agenda
and say what they think people want to hear. They make all kinds of
claims about what they have done, what they are doing and what they will
do if elected. But no matter who sits on City Council and no matter who
sits in the Mayor's Chair the fact is that poverty in this city continues
to grow as does the housing crisis. This Fall OCAP won’t be waiting to
see what the politicians put forward- we will be on the streets in
Parkdale- a community which has felt the full brunt of government policies
and inaction- building a different Campaign, a movement of residents
ready to fight for solutions.

One of the most glaring examples in this city of the failure of all levels
of Government to address poverty is the empty building sitting at 1510
King Street West- The Pope Squat. The building has sat empty for 12 years
in the heart of Parkdale except for four months when it was squatted by
OCAP and made home by dozens of individuals. In the wake of the City
expropriation of another privately owned abandoned property- the building
at 1495 Queen- we will be holding a March to the Pope Squat on the eve of
the municipal election to begin the process of addressing the needs of
Parkdale.

We are demanding:

1. A USE IT OR LOSE IT BYLAW

2. A RAISE IN SOCIAL ASSISTANCE AND THE MINIMUM WAGE

3. AFFORDABLE, DECENT AND ACCESSIBLE HOUSING FOR ALL

4. FUNDING FOR HOUSING AND SERVICES NOT EVICTIONS AND ENFORCEMENT

We need people across the City to join in the campaign by endorsing our
demands, getting involved, helping our door to door outreach campaign or
confronting any and all Council candidates with these issues.

If you live in Parkdale email ocap@tao.ca to get a Remember the Pope Squat
lawn sign delivered to your home.

If you support the struggle for justice and dignity come out to the
following events:

NIGHT MARCH ON THE POPE SQUAT
Thursday November 9, 2006
6:00pm
Masaryk-Cowan Park (corner of Cowan and Queen Street)
Dinner will be served.

MEMORIAL FOR VASYL- FORMER POPE SQUAT RESIDENT
Tuesday October 24, 2006
7:00pm
at the Pope Squat- 1510 King Street West (corner of Wilson Park)

Vasyl Miroshnikov was a resident of the Pope Squat throughout most of the
summer and fall of 2002, when it was occupied by OCAP. Many people who
were involved with the squat remember Vasyl as a kind, soft-spoken man,
who put in many hours turning an abandoned building into a livable home
for himself and the other residents there. After the Pope Squat eviction
on November 1, 2002, Vasyl, as with the other residents, was sent
scrambling to find somewhere to live.

Vasyl was a Refugee from Ukraine. Before ending up at the Pope Squat, he
was injured while working for an unscrupulous contractor in High Park and
lost an eye. When the contractor claimed he could get him deported if he
tried to seek worker's compensation, Vasyl believed him. Vasyl also
couldn't get welfare because it would prohibit him from sponsoring his
daughters to come to Canada. He ended up on the street, and somehow came
upon the Pope Squat. He continued to live in Parkdale after the Pope
Squat was evicted. In January 2004, tragically, Vasyl took his own life.
In a final insult, the City of Toronto refused to pay for his funeral as
they (in this case wrongly) believed he was a non-status person. His body
remained in the morgue as his daughters were too destitute to pay for him
to be returned to Ukraine.

As we prepare to struggle around the Pope Squat again, we feel it
necessary to remember a person who was there with us in past, but will not
be this time around. When we remember Vasyl, we remember the hardships he
faced living in Canada, how those same hardships continue to affect so
many others, and we Gather our resolve to continue fighting.

Whether you knew Vasyl, knew the Pope Squat, or simply know what it is
Like to live through poverty and unemployment or without papers in this
country, we invite you to join us for this memorial for Vasyl.

**
Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
10 Britain St. Toronto, ON M5A 1R6
416-925-6939 ocap@tao.ca www.ocap.ca