MLA launches petition for inquiry into death of Tina Fontaine

allthecanadianpolitics:

A Manitoba MLA has launched a petition calling for an inquiring into the death of Tina Fontaine.

New Democratic Party MLA for St. Johns Nahanni Fontaine shared the petition on social media on Thursday.

“I think it is a tangible way for us to still honor Tina Fontaine, honor Thelma her aunt and certainly to honor the community of Sagkeeng, which has some of the highest levels of MMIWG across Canada.”

She said she hopes that the inquiry will deconstruct how the system failed Tina.

Continue Reading.

Petition: Save the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project

allthecanadianpolitics:

Doug Ford’s government announced today that the Ontario basic income pilot project, which was intended to last for three years, is being cancelled prematurely.

This is devastating news for the low-income participants who are currently receiving benefits from the pilot, as well as those who worked hard to design and implement it. The pilot was already producing dramatic results for people like Dave Cherkewski of Hamilton, Ont. (pictured here), who said it was making an immeasurable difference in his life.

“I’m in shock,” he told CBC News. “I had a three-year plan and now it’s gone.”

Throughout the campaign, Ford repeatedly promised not to cancel the program, and now he’s gone back on his word, depriving 4,000 Ontarians of the income they desperately need just to stay above the poverty line.

Tell the Ford government to keep their promise and allow the Ontario basic income pilot to continue. The people of Ontario deserve to hear the results of a completed, three-year experiment, and the participants deserve what they were promised.

Sign the petition here!

Petition: Save the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project

allthecanadianpolitics:

So Toronto, there is going to be a rally for the WCAI (Worldwide Coalition Against Islam), an islamophobic and generally white supremacist group. That rally is scheduled for August 11th, 2018.

There is a counter protest planned.

Info:

4Coordination info for day-of is at the bottom!

8pm Tuesday: 107 Going, 412 Interested
9pm Wednesday: 120 Going, 483 Interested

Event endorsements:
Toronto IWW General Defence Committee Local 28
Toronto Against Fascism
Grand River IWW General Defense Committee
Ottawa IWW General Defence Committee Local 6
Montréal Antifasciste

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Mid-August marks the anniversary of what we’ve come to call Charlottesville, a horrifying weekend of violence at the hands of the far-right.

August 11th bore a warning we’d never forget – hundreds of white supremacists with lit torches marched through the University of Virginia campus, chanting anti-semitic and racist slogans while moving to encircle a small group of counterprotesters. The bigots didn’t just use their “free speech”, but also pepper spray to hurt their captive audience of anti-racists.

It wasn’t over. The next day, these same white supremacists unleashed horrors many had not seen in their lifetime. Charges aside, the video evidence is unrelenting; white men attacking Deandre Harris with a lead pipe, police supervising gratuitous violence against counterprotesters, the brutal domestic terrorism that killed Heather Heyer.

But all wasn’t lost. August 12th saw the masses coming out to defend against what they had witnessed. Seemingly non-political community members turned anti-fascist overnight – no more, never again, not on our streets. Enough is enough. These overt white supremacists unleashed a kind of solidarity against fascism that unshackled communities across the globe.

/ / / / /

One year later and it has only intensified. Mass violence is being committed more often than ever, if not to attack the marginalized then as the product of long-term austerity imposed on the working class. This ongoing conflict between the far-right and everyone else is taking lives from our communities, even when they’re not openly rallying – Jordan Peterson’s lackeys spreading transphobia like gospel, Doug Ford’s attacks on healthcare disguising his misogyny and ableism, Justin Trudeau’s deference and collaboration in ignoring the needs of Indigenous communities reeling from repression on all sides.

And these victims – many like us – are exploited by right-wing media as fodder for anti-human ideologies like Islamophobia. Following the wrong religion, having the wrong skin, being born in the wrong country can all paint a target on your back for The Toronto Sun’s next hit. And in the case of the Danforth shooter, a history of mental illness is disregarded to fuel their pre-existing narrative of outsiders coming to get them.

/ / / / /

The anti-Islam hate group WCAI has called for a regional gathering of racists and white supremacists to come together against our city to espouse their hatred of Islam. Their members are flying in from their base in Calgary and far-right reinforcements are to join them in Toronto. When given the chance, these bigots will commit acts of violence against both marginalized people and anyone who stands in their way – we cannot let them have that chance!

If Charlottesville taught us anything, it’s that the power of working-class solidarity through struggle serves as an unending beacon of justice. It’s that if we all come together, we can empower entire generations of resistance to organize and mobilize against white supremacy. So we ask you, friends and comrades, to come out and fight with us on August 11th 2018 to show WCAI that their racism and Islamophobia will not be tolerated!

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Our counter-demonstration officially begins at 1pm in Nathan Phillips Square. Please come in pairs for safety!

Street medics, legal liaisons and support crew (armed with food, water and love) will be on site and marked for visibility.

While at the event, it is important that we stay close together. The safest place at the rally is in the middle of a tight crowd of antifascists. More people coming out = everyone is safer. Wandering off or hanging out loose around the outside is not advised to do alone.

We advise all participants to cover anything personally identifying while on site, and to take care about when and where you are removing your masks. Please consider that the far-right loves to take photos and videos of counterprotesters, even when we are not near them. If you participate or even just get close to their protest, you run the risk of having your photo taken.

Join the facebook event page here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/651818438529429/

allthecanadianpolitics:

THIS IS A PROBLEM, CANADA.

From the article:

Justin Trudeau is losing the argument on border crossings, poll suggests

Alternate headline:

Canadians are racist as fuck:

This quote says it all:

“The poll — which was conducted between July 25-30 based on interviews with 1,500 members of the Angus Reid Forum, an online panel — suggests that the border issue is resonating with Canadians. Fully 70 per cent of respondents to the poll said they were either “following it in the news and discussing it with friends and family” or “seeing some media coverage and having the odd conversation.”

But despite the high level of interest, only 22 per cent of respondents were able to correctly identify the number of irregular border crossers in 2017. About half of the respondents thought the number was over 50,000, when it’s actually closer to 30,000.”

–

Also YIKES:

“Though 27 per cent of respondents said that most or all of the border crossers were “genuine refugees” fleeing danger, 40 per cent said they believe that most or all of them are “looking for economic opportunities.” The remainder believe the border crossers are driven by a mix of both motivations.

But only 27 per cent of Liberal and NDP voters say that the border crossers are mostly economic migrants — compared to nearly two-thirds of Conservatives who say they believe that’s the case.”

–

To be CLEAR, there is no border or immigration crisis in Canada:

[…]Canada received about 50,000 refugee claimants last year. Though that is about double 2016 levels, by way of context, “this is literally one day in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, during the peak of the Rohingya crisis,” said the UNHCR’s Canada representative Jean-Nicolas Beuze.

“When we’re speaking about a crisis, a crisis of refugees does exist – but it’s not in Canada, it’s not in the U.S., and it’s not in Europe. The big numbers remain in the developing world, whether it’s Bangladesh, Uganda, Lebanon – those are the countries that are facing a refugee crisis.”

[…]

A political debate has raged over language and whether asylum seekers crossing between official points are entering Canada illegally. The term “irregular” is viewed by some as vague jargon and a euphemism. The use of “illegal” (Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls them “illegal border crossers”) is seen by others as inflammatory and dehumanizing.

Legal experts say Canada’s immigration laws are clear: “They’re not illegal border crossers,” said James Hathaway, founding director of the University of Michigan’s program in refugee and asylum law, who is Canadian, and a leading global authority on refugee law.

Our Movement – Notre Mouvement

allthecanadianpolitics:

There’s an upcoming Webinar by NDP MP Niki Ashton on August 4th, 2018 about getting Women into Politics.

The Webinar is free to join.

Info:

About This Webinar

2018/08/13 – Issue Based Advocacy

Women leading matters. Women running campaigns matter. Women getting elected matters. We can’t just talk about it, we need to build it.

That’s why I’m launching Our Movement, a campaign school for women, femmes and non-binary candidates and organizers. I want to take our networks, our experiences and share them to build up the next generation of all star progressive female candidates and organizers”. -Niki Ashton

Over the course of the summer, we will be providing free trainings on campaign related topics such as how to be a candidate, campaign manager, media, fundraising, youth issues, issue-based advocacy and organizing. The trainings will be accessible through online and will last approximately 2 hours, with two facilitators each facilitating workshops on their given topic for approximately one hour each.

//

Il est important que des femmes occupant des postes de leadership. Il est important que des femmes dirigent des campagnes. Il est important que des femmes se fassent élire. On ne peut pas se contenter d’en parler, il faut agir pour que ça se concrétise.

C’est pour ça que je lance Notre mouvement, une école de campagne pour des femmes candidates et organisatrices. À partir de nos réseaux et notre expérience, je veux qu’on pave la voie à la prochaine génération de candidates vedettes et d’organisatrices hors pair.

Au cours de l’été, nous offrirons des séances de formation de campagne sur une série de sujets, tels que sur ce que c’est que d’être une candidate, une gérante de campagne, la gestion des communications, le financement, les enjeux liés à la jeunesse, l’organisation autour de la défense des droits et sur l’organisation politique. Embarquez dans le projet avec nous et laissez-nous savoir quelle formation vous intéresse!

When: Saturday, August 4, 2018 · 04:00:00 PM · Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Duration: 2 hours

Language: English

Who can attend? Everyone

Webinar ID: abde9c7bd40c

Dial-in available? (listen only): No

RSVP here for the August 4th webinar

There is also a webinar on August 8th, 2018

Our Movement – Notre Mouvement

Are asylum seekers crossing into Canada illegally? A look at facts behind the controversy

allthecanadianpolitics:

[…]Canada received about 50,000 refugee claimants last year. Though that is about double 2016 levels, by way of context, “this is literally one day in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, during the peak of the Rohingya crisis,” said the UNHCR’s Canada representative Jean-Nicolas Beuze.

“When we’re speaking about a crisis, a crisis of refugees does exist – but it’s not in Canada, it’s not in the U.S., and it’s not in Europe. The big numbers remain in the developing world, whether it’s Bangladesh, Uganda, Lebanon – those are the countries that are facing a refugee crisis.”

[…]

A political debate has raged over language and whether asylum seekers crossing between official points are entering Canada illegally. The term “irregular” is viewed by some as vague jargon and a euphemism. The use of “illegal” (Ontario Premier Doug Ford calls them “illegal border crossers”) is seen by others as inflammatory and dehumanizing.

Legal experts say Canada’s immigration laws are clear: “They’re not illegal border crossers,” said James Hathaway, founding director of the University of Michigan’s program in refugee and asylum law, who is Canadian, and a leading global authority on refugee law.

Continue Reading.

Are asylum seekers crossing into Canada illegally? A look at facts behind the controversy

Doug Ford’s government didn’t just gut the basic income pilot project or cut increases to social assistance by half

allthecanadianpolitics:

Those are just the biggest things the media focused on.

He also cut all these programs, and almost nobody is talking about it:

Minister MacLeod also cut or cancelled other positive changes that were slated for this fall, including:

-Reducing the amount of money that people on Ontario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) can keep in their pockets while working.

-Cuts to other allowances such as the guide dog benefit for people with vision impairments and the advanced age allowance for people who are older.

-Cancellation of a change to the definition of “spouse” from three months co-habitation to three years.

-Cancellation of full basic benefits to people who get housing and food from the same provider, including many people living with disabilities.

-Cancellation of increased support to people living in Northern Ontario, where daily living costs are higher.

A backgrounder about the changes that have been cancelled is available here: http://incomesecurity.org/public-education/important-changes-coming-to-ow-and-odsp-changements-importants-aux-programmes-dot-et-du-posph/.

Just about all of these cuts target people with low incomes and disabled people.

Doug Ford is going to get people killed.