Gary Mason has one of the most important pieces of real estate in the BC newspaper world. He has his own column in the establishment Globe and Mail newspaper.
When Curtis Brick, an aboriginal man recently died in Grandview Park on one of the hottest days of the year, there was certainly a level of outrage and emotions expressed by people in the community.
Mr. Brick had many friends among the group of homeless people who live near Grandview Park. A number of them are frequent visitors to my office. They have had frequent run-ins with security and policing agencies. They have had their belongings confiscated.
Instead of trying to understand the death or try to get beneath the tragedy, Gary Mason chose to rant. His piece was quintessentially armchair suburban reactionary – a posture Mr. Mason seems to have perfected over the years.
Just because people showed up to a ceremony in the park, doesn’t mean they are ‘perpetually angry.’ Perhaps they should be. After all, there are over 10,500 homeless people in BC. Homelessness has more than doubled in Metro Vancouver since the Olympics were awarded here.
Incidentally, since Mr. Mason’s article appeared, the City of Vancouver unanimously endorsed the call for a coroner’s inquest. So far that includes dozens of aboriginal organizations, the BC Civil Liberties Association and the Official Opposition.
There should be an answer soon.
Tags: Gary Mason, Globe and Mail
