Activist group fights for access to city hall
Last Updated: Tuesday, December 19, 2006 | 2:32 PM PT
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An activist group that has launched numerous lawsuits against the City of Vancouver alleging police misconduct in the Downtown Eastside now accuses the city of barring it from access to municipal services on behalf of its clients.
Pivot Legal Society lawyer David Eby says his members have been told not to contact city staff directly, even in cases not connected with the 15 court actions.
Pivot lawyer David Eby says the city's ban on dealing with his group is wrong.
(CBC)
A letter sent to Eby by the city back in October asks him to refrain from contacting city staff until a protocol can be worked out for communication between the city's legal department and lawyers at Pivot.
Eby said that no-contact policy, which remains in place more than two months later, is unacceptable.
"If we're sending one message to city hall today, to the mayor, in fact, it's that it's not OK to use city hall services as leverage to cause people whose policy positions you disagree with, to be marginalized and cut out [of] legitimate democratic debate."
He says he has sought a legal opinion from another lawyer that supports that view.
Eby also warns that if the city's lawyers continue to block access for Pivot members, he'll launch a complaint with the Law Society of B.C.
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