PRESS RELEASE
Vancouver Civic News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 3, 2005
JAMIE LEE HAMILTON TO MAKE ANNOUNCMENT AT VANCOUVER
CITY HALL
Media are invited to join Hamilton and friends at City
Hall on Wednesday
VANCOUVER - This Wednesday, October 5 at 12 noon,
members of the media are invited to join social
activist Jamie Lee Hamilton and friends on the south
steps of Vancouver City Hall.
Hamilton will be making a major announcement regarding
the November 19 Vancouver municipal election.
As usual, this announcement by Ms Hamilton will have
strong visuals.
-30-
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jamie Lee Hamilton
Phone: 604-781-3361
Weblog: downtowneastside.blogspot.com
posted by Jamie Lee Hamilton @ 10:12 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Damn!
I miss all the good stuff.
Hopefully one of Sean Holman's operatives will be there so I can read about it on the web!
Hi Jaime,
I think you are great - and your appproach to the laughable things that are going on in politics (like the drug treatment plans) is a breath of fresh air. It's easy to feel powerless in our political system - even if you vote. I live in the west end and visit the east end on occasion - It has been clear for some time now that the method we have been using is not working - more resouces are needed. My heart goes out the people who become addicted to these substances - I have known a few in the 10 years I have lived here... Some are still alive, and some are not.
Knowing that vancouver is hearing your comments makes me feel like the situation is alot brighter. Let's treat addicts with dignity and give them a shot at a life. They are part of our community - not just the east end but all of Vancouver. Shame to those with no compassion.
Cheers to you Jaime and keep up the good work!
Hi. I am curious is Jamie Lee transgendered? I saw ummmm... well the person called Jami Lee Hamilton on CTV news at 11:30.
I came here to see what all the fuss is about. So boring! Your lack of sincerity leads me to believe that deep down inside you are nothing but an old man with a few gimicks. Yuck!
Jamie Lee a troubled soul?
The situation involving myself and Jamie Lee Hamilton started in the Summer
of 1999. I was asked to do speech writing and create some political ads for
her civic political campaign. We met at "Spontinos" restaurant (Davie &
Thurlow) where I presented her with a promo-package.
I proceeded to explain t her that attempting this foray into the civic
elections would take a fair amount of money ($50,000 to $80,000) at which
she replied: "Don't worry about the money, there's plenty available tome
through "my" Society."
At this time our meeting was cut short, Jamie Lee Hamilton and her assistant
picked u the printed matter that I had submitted and told me: "We'll get
back to you",--- She never did, and within a month of a media package was
sent to most media outlets from the Hastings Street campaign office of
Hamilton. This package was written word for word when compared to my
promo-package of which I gave her.
To say the least I was shocked and amused by it all. At no time did Jamie
Lee Hamilton thank me or acknowledge my work. Though, I would have refused
payment if offered, due to the fact that for many years I have advocated for
the less-fortunate in our society and would not be able to ethically accept
suspected "grant" monies that should be going to help these same people I
advocated for.
At this point I basically wrote off my relationship with Jamie Lee Hamilton.
Then one day in September of 99, I was at Denny's restaurant on Davie
Street. The manager at the time, David Gogan introduced himself to me and
proceeded to ask me if I would write a letter for City Hall in support of a
pub license for a Mr. Phil Moon. The location of which was to be above
Dennys.
I wrote the letter, and it was so well received that I was asked to send a
copy to all the businesses in the West End, the Mayor and City Councillors
et al (see letters).
I attended the council meeting at City Hall that addressed Mr. Moon's liquor
application and was surprised when the only objection came from Jamie Lee
Hamilton, in one of her more famous, long winded speeches. At this time it
appeared to me as well as others that there was some form of silent
communication signals between Lynne Kennedy and Jamie Lee Hamilton.
It was shortly there after that I wrote a letter (October 2, 1999) that I
mailed to all City Council members and the Mayor, with regards to the
objections of Jamie Lee Hamilton, someone who has questionable limited
knowledge of the issues facing the West End.
It seems that this letter got back to Jamie Lee Hamilton and the ensuing
occurred.---I was at a political debate in central Vancouver involving an
all candidates debate in the November civic elections. Just after the
meeting was over, Jamie Lee Hamilton saw me and screeched in a
blood-curdling, heart-stopping voice, that made my hair stand on end, and
reminded me of fingernails scraping down a blackboard:
"You!, . How dare you call me He/She and make insinuations that I'm running
for a political office to get at a City Hall trough on the backs of the East
End's downtrodden! . My friends at Xtra West are going to destroy you! You
haven't heard the last from me #**!"
I tried to smooth things over because the situation was becoming
embarrassing (for her, because other people in the hall were laughing). - I
could not, so I walked away. - Minutes later while talking to an NPA
candidate, I overheard Jamie Lee Hamilton loudly proclaiming to Raj Takar, a
qaiet, soft spoken East Indian reporter from the past Angeles newspaper, . I
quote form the mount of Madam Hamilton: "You're nothing but a brown faced
Paki, trying to be white!"
I felt bad for the individual involved, (who at times like this, reminded me
of Mohandas Gandhi) and tried to comfort him. He explained to me that he
tried to ask Jamie why she was so confrontational with regards to Nancy
Chiavario and Alan Herbert who have done so much for Gay causes. (Hamilton
constantly interrupted their answers when they were asked questions from the
floor). It seemed Hamilton took offence to these questions from Raj and
blurted out the racial slur in front of many.
It was shortly after the civic elections that I as inundated with
threatening phone calls that several times referred to my interviewing of
East End working girls, on the merits of Grandma's House and where did the
cell phones vanish to or were there any in the first place? I asked the
girls why they don't go to the police with what they knew, of which I was
told: If anyone crosses Hamilton she reports them to welfare. I was also
told (but I doubt) she has a direct line to several MLA and MP's offices. -
The working girls are scared - even the tough ones. And their right to be
terror-stricken. - Anyone who has at any time questioned Jamie Lee
Hamilton's
motives, has felt that strong arm, terrifying wrath of intimidation.
After more countless threatening and harassing calls, my landlord purchased
a caller ID system so that I could screen my calls. Fearing for my safety,
he advised me to disassociate myself from this East/West End issue: "It's
not in your best interest because these personal threatening attacks may be
real indeed". - Sure enough, almost 3 months later, the dreaded,
intimidating story about me was released by X-West.
The truth must have hurt others who are connected one way or another to a
grant program, other than just Grandma's House, . as my suspicion is that we
have only just begun to plumb the depths of this Jamie Lee Hamilton affair.
Indeed, as in so many previous grant scandals, its true significance may not
lie in the facts of the case, but in the conspiracy of silence that
surrounded it. - It falls to me, inevitably, to sum it all up in a single,
piercing question: Why did it take so long for the East End community to
sound the alarm bells that the grants going to Grandma's House could have
problems serious enough to merit an investigation that should be turned over
to the authorities.
The people, now more than ever, need to be assured by the authorities that
all questionable Societies receiving grants will be investigated to ensure
the money is spent properly even if it delays some programs. The authorities
need to ensure the people that the system is sound. It is essential that the
proper authorities and government restores public confidence in these much
needed programs.
But it's also important to remember that not all Societies are like
Grandma's
House: To often the efforts to redress the sin is more scandalous than the
initial transgression. There are still a lot of good people out there
working in the trenches doing good work. We must not paint all Societies wit
the same brush.
This essay of events as stated here is true to the best of my memory and
knowledge of how this whole Jamie Lee Hamilton affair began in regards to my
involvement. Now, that other conscientious 'Brave Knights' of strong armour
are finally confronting this growing disgrace. - I believe now, there is a
God!
Christopher Steven Lord
Woman lets young prostitutes use her house to do business
VANCOUVER - JUST LIKE the world's oldest profession, Jamie Lee Hamilton
says she has no plans to go away.
The Vancouver prostitute-turned-advocate and unsuccessful city council
candidate recently added another occupation to her résumé: madam.
Hamilton has operated a brothel in an east Vancouver bungalow for the past
few months. Far from being discreet, she has used flyers to advertise the
location. Last week, she went further, daring police and city officials to
bust her.
The head of the Vancouver police vice squad says he's investigating. So are
city licensing inspectors, who say Hamilton isn't entitled to run a
business from a residentially zoned house.
The brothel dispute has deeply divided Vancouver residents - and has the
close attention of police and civic officials across Canada.
As well as legal questions, there's a moral issue at stake. People here are
grappling with the controversy of how best to deal with prostitution,
poverty and crime in a family neighborhood.
What happens here might have a ripple effect across Canada.
Prostitution is legal in Canada. Running a bawdy house is not.
Residents of Vancouver's downtown east side, one of Canada's poorest
neighbourhoods, are no strangers to prostitution, drugs and crime. More
than two dozen women selling sex in the area have gone missing over the
past decade, raising fears of a serial killer.
Some agree with Hamilton that having a brothel keeps women safe and offers
a discreet setting for a trade that otherwise happens on the streets and in
back lanes. Her high-profile campaign to stay open, they say, may force
police and city officials to finally address the issue of prostitution on
their streets.
Others say her brothel attracts undesirables into a family neighbourhood.
They agree that violence against prostitutes is a problem but say turning a
blind eye to a brothel on a residential street effectively sanctions the
area as a red light district, putting everyone at risk.
Hamilton's brothel is a test case. If it continues operating, others are
likely to start up in other cities. If it's shut down, Hamilton vows to
fight the decision in court, forcing an examination of our laws - and views
- on brothels, prostitution and violence against sex-trade workers.
Three years ago, Hamilton, in her mid-40s, founded Grandma's House, a drop-
in centre offering a night-time refuge for prostitutes working the streets.
Its $35,000 a year budget came almost exclusively from provincial and city
grants to Hamilton's registered charity, called the ``9 to 5 Working
Society.''
Soon after Hamilton moved into the bungalow on Pandora St. last January,
she was denied a licence to operate her drop-in centre in a residential
neighbourhood. Then her grants were frozen amid allegations of financial
misappropriation.
Hamilton denies the allegations, which she blames on a disgruntled former
director of Grandma's House. The results of an audit by the province have
never been made public. Hamilton says she may apply for funding again next
year.
In the meantime, Hamilton, who has paid the rent by doing cosmetic
makeovers at the house, began in April charging prostitutes $10 a visit to
use a room with their customers. She doesn't need a licence to do this, she
argues, because the brothel is simply a business being operated out of her
dwelling.
Hamilton says she refuses to apply for a body-rub licence at a cost of up
to $6,000 a year because it's intended for for-profit operations ``and we
are fundamentally opposed to that type of exploitation.''
Each week, about 100 prostitutes and their johns use the brothel, which is
open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. They choose from three rooms - two with
beds, one (dubbed ``the oral room'') without. Each comes with a basket of
condoms, towels and alcohol wipes, and shelves of books.
The price was recently upped to $15 per visit to cover the costs of washing
sheets and towels, Hamilton says. She pockets no money, she insists.
``It's a matter of safety and well-being,'' Hamilton says in an interview
in the living room of the house as prostitutes and their customers
disappears into bedrooms.
``Prostitutes are not going to go away. We have a moral obligation to
support them in their fight for economic survival.''
Since Hamilton moved into the house, she says she's received death threats.
People have stood on the lawn yelling obscenities and chanting ``he, she,
it,'' in reference to her sex change long ago from a man to a woman.
``She's the wrong person to be talking about saving people's lives,'' says
Cindy Chan Piper, an architect who has lived a couple of blocks away for 15
years. ``She's exploiting these women. She's nothing more than a pimp.''
Piper belongs to a citizen patrol group that urges prostitutes and drug
dealers to get help and move along. She says residents should be entitled
to safe streets, too.
As it is, children are leered at by men while women get propositioned
whether they are prostitutes or not, she says. ``Nobody seems to give a
damn about ordinary citizens in all this,'' Piper says.
But law student Perry Bulwer, who has lived in an apartment just down the
street for two years, says the not-in-my-backyard attitude of some
residents does not help address the problems.
``Every transaction that goes on in her place is one more off the
street,'' Bulwer says. ``That's one less chance for some kid, or anyone
else, to witness something unpleasant.''
Bulwer sits on a neighbourhood committee looking at ways to deal with
prostitution problems, and he says Hamilton's brothel has some support.
``All of us, including the women, want the same thing - a safe
community,'' he says. ``We have no pretension that prostitution will ever
be eradicated. So let's deal with it like human beings.''
Meanwhile, Hamilton was issued an eviction notice this month. That dispute
is scheduled to go to arbitration in August.
Just in case, she is looking for a new location for the brothel and
Grandma's House. One possibility is taking over a nearby restaurant.
Another, more ambitiously, involves turning a local 35-room hotel into a
brothel and shelter.
``There's no damn way she's going away,'' says resident Frank Gilbert, a
good friend of Hamilton for five years. ``She does these in-your-face
things all the time. That's probably the way she has to do it.''
For her part, Hamilton says she just wants recognition that an alternative
must be found to women being beaten and killed on the streets.
``I'm many things,'' Hamilton says. ``But I'd rather be hated for what I am
than loved for what I'm not.''
Dirty, Dirty. And not in the good way Jamie.
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