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Liberals of different feathers attacked together
By Mike Howell-Staff writer
Rick Cook was so disgusted by the attack on Vancouver-Burrard Liberal MLA Lorne Mayencourt's office that he decided to help pay the cleanup bills.
Cook, a city planner, stopped by on his way to work Monday and handed a $20 bill to constituency assistant, Gordon Scott. The money will help repair three large office windows and a glass door shattered early Monday by steel ball bearings, likely fired from a slingshot.
"It's a violation of democracy, and we should respect our democratic institutions-whether you agree with them or not," Cook said. "It's ridiculous."
Other pedestrians on their way to work also shook their heads at what resembled a serious crime scene, with visible holes piercing large panes of glass. "This is pretty shocking for Vancouver," said Lynn Lawless as she placed her finger in one of the holes. "Why would somebody want to do this?"
Mayencourt's office in Library Square at Hamilton and Robson, across from the CBC building, was not the only political office vandalized. Several blocks west, at 985 Denman St., the campaign office of Liberal MP Hedy Fry was also hit by ball bearings, shattering the windows and door.
The two attacks occurred between midnight and 4:20 a.m., and police suspect they are connected, said Const. Anne Drennan, a media liaison officer for the Vancouver police department. Police don't have any suspects. No one was in the offices at the time of the attacks.
A security guard notified police of the damage to Mayencourt's office, and a newspaper delivery person called police about the damage he found at Fry's office.
After visiting the office at 4 a.m. Monday, Mayencourt returned four hours later to crunch through the broken glass on the floor and answer reporter's questions.
He acknowledged he's been personally threatened since being elected in 2001, but didn't elaborate. He also said one of his constituency assistants had been assaulted twice within the span of a few days, about nine months ago.
In one of the incidents, a man came into the office and smashed pictures before elbowing Mayencourt's assistant in the face, breaking his eye glasses.
The incident forced the MLA to build a wall inside the office to separate the public from staff, including Scott, who wasn't the victim of the elbowing but who was shaken by Sunday's incident.
"People shouldn't be resorting to these types of things," he said from behind a desk. "It's very sad."
Sunday's incident angered Mayencourt, who likened it to bullying and cowardice. Although he wouldn't speculate on possible suspects, in recent months members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the Anti-Poverty Committee [APC] have protested outside his office.
"There's a fringe element that thinks this is the way to get things done, and it isn't," he said. "This only strengthens our resolve. We're going to keep going with what we're doing, we're going to serve people."
CUPW mounted its protest after a Canada Post letter carrier was suspended for a week without pay after expressing his critical views of the Liberals to Mayencourt's office staff.
The APC is upset with Mayencourt's introduction in the legislature of two private member's bills, the Safe Streets Act and the Trespass Property Act.
The Safe Streets Act targets aggressive panhandlers and squeegee kids, and makes it an offence to beg from vehicles stopped in traffic, people using a public phone or ATM and those waiting for a bus or taxi.
The Trespass Act targets loiterers who refuse to leave a storefront when asked by the owner. Penalties are not spelled out.
Ambreen Lordan, an organizer with the APC, denied the anti-poverty group is responsible for the attacks on the offices of Mayencourt or Fry.
"It wasn't an action that we planned, had anything to do with or heard about until [the Courier] called us this morning," Lordan said. "But I'm not entirely surprised that somebody would decide to take something into their own hands."
Lordan pointed to Mayencourt's position on the two acts, and the provincial and federal government's cuts to housing that hit the poor hard. "How much are you going to hack away at people before the people are going to hack back?"
Fry campaign spokesperson Christine Hearn said the office has not experienced any incidents that would have pointed to someone firing ball bearings at the building.
"We have no idea [who did this], we've had no threats-no indication of anything like this could happen," Hearn said. | 
Safe Streets Act