June 2024 [Hybrid] General Meeting Minutes

Approximately 60 VTU members and guests attended our General Meeting, hosted by the East Side Chapter which took place on June 22nd at the Wise Hall and over Zoom. Here is a summarized version of the minutes.

Item 1 - Land Acknowledgement and Community Agreements

Item 2Vancouver Tool Library Workshop/Group Discussion

Item 3 - Tenant Panel Discussion on Organizing for Better Conditions at Home

BREAK

Item 4 - Chapter and Working Group Updates

  • Mount Pleasant Chapter
    • Won the 1177/Strata conversions campaign 
    • Seeing some new action in the Broadway Plan area and the TRPP is getting tested
  • Eastside Chapter
    • Connecting tenants in several buildings
    • Lots of work to prep for the General meeting 
  • Fairview Chapter
    • Chapter capacity is low - looking for support/guidance
  • West End Chapter
    • Park Beach Tenants Collective held action against landlord Plan A - fight is ongoing

Item 5 - Motion Affirming the VTU’s Unwavering Solidarity with the Palestinian People and Endorsing the "Arms Embargo Now" Campaign

Motion:

  • The VTU become a signatory of the Arms Embargo Now Campaign and echo its calls to implement a two-way arms embargo on the State of Israel, including the cancellation of existing export permits and closing of all export loopholes on military, surveillance, security, intelligence technologies, and other dual-use items (e.g. electronics, computer, sensors, lasers, avionics, etc.).
  • The VTU announce this motion’s passing to the public and membership.

    • VOTE: Motion passed unanimously

Item 6 - Special Resolution on Housing Platform for Provincial Election

Motion:

  • The Vancouver Tenants Union supports and publishes a housing platform that identifies non-market solutions to the actual problems faced by our members and by all tenants, especially those with multiple marginalized identities, to amplify the voices of ally organizations
  • The Vancouver Tenants Union empowers individual members to promote and share this platform as they deem appropriate within the purview of the Union,
    including educating tenants so that:
    • they are able to effectively engage with candidates,
    • they can articulate the systemic causes of the prolonged housing crisis,
    • they are informed about housing policies that sustainably help tenants, and
    • they can find and vote for representatives who support those policies
  • The Vancouver Tenants Union adopts the following housing platform as
    presented and amended (see full motion linked above)

*MOTION TABLED - After some discussion, debate and proposed amendments, we ran out of time.

Adjournment