A prominent housing activist in the Downtown Eastside has resigned from his position with the Carnegie Community Action Project.
Ivan Drury claims one of the funders of the group has issued an ultimatum that CCAP stop organizing protests and that he stop making statements they don't support.
"I take it as a continued closing of the definitions of what acceptable dissent are or what tolerable dissent are in Vancouver and continuing turns towards more conservative political climate that doesn't tolerate criticism or organizing against development power in the city."
Drury says the ultimatum came from Vancity.
When asked whether this has anything to do with protests against gentrification at Pidgin restaurant in the Downtown Eastside, Drury says neither he nor CCAP have had anything to do with organizing those pickets.
He claims Vancity says it wants to fund CCAP to do research and reports about development in the community, but not to organize actions.
Drury was a researcher and organizer with CCAP.