Vancouver Magazine
Eaters Gotta Eat: Café Medina Owner Robbie Kane’s Fave Meals in the City
Giveaway: Tickets to The Victor’s Rooftop Oasis Event
8 Dog-Friendly Vancouver Patios (Paired with Dog Breeds, Obviously)
Breaking: The Team Behind Published and Bar Susu Bring New Snack Bar to Main St.
Breaking: The Keefer Bar Team Is Bringing New Concept to Cambie Street
3 Very Nice Wines to Drink at the Park
Your Vancouver 2SLGBTQ+ Resource Directory
6 Things to Do in Vancouver for Pride
5 Things to Do in Vancouver This Week (July 22- 28)
The Outsider’s Guide: The Best Places to Rock Climb Outside of Vancouver
The Outsider’s Guide: You’ve Conquered the Chief… Now What?
These Are the Best Swimming Holes Near Vancouver
Personal Space: Inside Illustrator Carson Ting’s Art-Filled Home Studio
7 Straw Bags Perfect for Bringing the Picnic Vibes Everywhere You Go
On the Rise: Pamela Card Makes Jewellery Inspired by Bygone Eras
Most people treat street canvassers the same way they would a full-screen pop-up ad or someone who just escaped from prison. Politicians hate them too: in 2012, a Victoria city councillor named Shellie Gudgeon tried to ban canvassers (sometimes referred to as “charity muggers”) because, as she put it, her “personal enjoyment of the city was being disrupted.”She’s not necessarily wrong—not completely, anyways. I myself have walked off sidewalks into traffic, told elaborate lies, and role-played fake phone calls to avoid interacting with canvassers. “The worst is when someone makes eye contact with us but walks by without saying a word,” says David, a street canvasser of seven months. “It’s dehumanizing.” In truth, I had walked past David in exactly this way a week before. It hadn’t occurred to me that David might be a regular human being—with thoughts and feelings of his own—just doing his job.“We always laugh because people think they’re being clever, taking their phone out or putting their headphones in,” David says. “But it’s so obvious that they’re faking it.” The best rejections he gets are when someone acknowledges his existence for a split second and gives him a simple no-thank-you. “Or, just tell me, ‘I don’t want to.’ Being honest is completely fine, as long as you treat me like a person.”