Libby speaks to Kootenay Morning hosts Jane and Nicole.

This is the fourth in the series, “Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside: Past and Present.” In this episode, Libby Davies, former Vancouver city councillor and former NDP MP for the riding in which the Downtown Eastside is located, discusses the tragedy of missing and murdered women in the community. She recalls addressing the issue with the then federal minister of justice, shocked that not only was the federal government not doing anything about it, he hadn’t even heard of the issue.

In a time when many have felt hopeless, Libby Davies is anything but. The former MP of Vancouver East of 18 years told The PULSE that she believes every group, no matter how marginalized, can “absolutely” make change.

This is the second in the series, “Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside: Past and Present.” Libby Davies, former Vancouver city councillor and former NDP MP for the riding in which the Downtown Eastside is located, discusses the past and the present of the community. Davies recalls the impact of activist and poet Bud Osborn and reflects upon the struggle to establish Insite, Canada’s first safe injection site. She goes on to discuss the impact of the ’90s austerity budget — and the resulting challenges still to be addressed.

ou probably don’t know his name, but for decades Bob Gallagher has worked tirelessly as an activist and organizer behind the scenes in the fight for LGBTQ rights in Toronto and Canada. Libby Davies, Canada’s first out lesbian MP, was a member of Parliament for 18 years, many of them working with Gallagher, who was chief of staff to Jack Layton. Davies pays tribute to a man she calls a friend and colleague, talking to Gallagher recently about the moment 40 years ago when everything changed for Toronto’s LGBTQ community and his years of “getting things done.”

NDP deputy leader Libby Davies has ruled out running in the party’s helm race. “It was a decision made after a lot of thought about what my role should be,” the Vancouver East MP said Thursday. Her minimal ability to speak French was one of her main reasons, she said in a phone interview from New Orleans where she’s speaking at a conference about HIV and housing.

Former Vancouver East member of parliament Libby Davies is asking the B.C. Coroners Service and the Vancouver Police Department to see if anything can be done to more swiftly confirm the identities of Downtown Eastside residents killed by drug overdoses. The request comes in the form of a letter addressed to Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe and Chief Constable Adam Palmer. It was written in conjunction with a similar request from the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU).