[Indigsol] IPSMO Newsletter, Nov. 2 to Nov. 9
Indigenous Peoples' Solidarity Movement -Ottawa
ipsmo at riseup.net
Mon Nov 2 00:37:07 PST 2009
IPSMO Newsletter, Nov. 2 to Nov. 9
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Meetings, Events, Articles, Video
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1) Events
1a) *Decolonial Study Group* Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1pm
1b) Rally in Solidarity With Six Nations Land Rights!
(Brantford) November 7 at 1 PM
1c) Ottawa’s First Decolonial thanksgiving Dinner –
Resistance is Medicine
Sunday, Oct. 8 at 5:30pm
1d) FORUM AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE AND IMPUNITY
1e) Drop Fees Day of Action, November 5th
1f) *Fall Colloquium*, Wednesday, Nov. 25
1g) Nov 9: Getting Hot When You Hurt: A Workshop on Sex, Chronic Pain and
Disability
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2) Articles
2a) Akwesasne People’s Fire, UPDATE October 29, 2009
2b) We did not Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Us
2c) Mexican woman deported to her death
2d) “I plead guilty, I’m a racist.” Jason Kenney confronted and
disrupted in Montreal
2e) Victoria Heat Up Over Torch Launch
2f) Indian Affairs Minister Strahl forces voting on Quebec native
community
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3) Publications
3a) Resistance, Journal of the Earth Liberation Movement
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4) Video
4a) Clayton Thomas-Muller on the Tar Sands
4b) Dead Prez feat. Eriel Deranger
4c) Gitz Crazy Boy on the Tar Sands
4d) Darryl Sainnawap on taking care of the land
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5) Petition regarding migrant workers in Canada:
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IPSMO Newsletter
1) Events
1a) *Decolonial Study Group*
Decolonial Study Group
Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1pm
Exile Infoshop
Sorry this location is not wheelchair accessible
Everyone Welcome!
ipsmo at riseup.net
http://www.ipsmo.org
The Decolonial Study Group is a new project of the IPSM Ottawa. We will
be deepening and broadening our understanding and analysis of indigenous
struggles for decolonization, social justice and revolution. We will be
doing this through readings, workshops, oral presentations, movies and so
on.
The reading for this first Decolonial Study Group will be “Decolonizing
Anti-Racism” by Bonita Lawrence and Enakshi Dua.
http://racismandnationalconsciousnessresources.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/bonita-lawrence-decolonizing-anti-racism.pdf
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1b) Rally in Solidarity With Six Nations Land Rights!
Rally in Solidarity With Six Nations Land Rights!
November 7 at 1 PM, Victoria Park, (Downtown Brantford)
Down with the Brantford Injunction!
No Developments on Six Nations Land!
Drop all charges against Six Nations land defenders!
Meaningful negotiations now!
Brantford, Ontario has become "ground zero" in the struggle over
Indigenous rights in Ontario. Most of the city is under land claim, but
instead of halting development until the status of the disputed land can
be negotiated, Brantford city council is carrying out an aggressive
policy of encouraging the criminalization of Six Nations land defenders.
Since 2006, when protests in nearby Caledonia erupted, over 60 people
from Six Nations have faced more than 160 criminal charges as they have
tried to peacefully stop illegal developments from taking place on their
lands.
It is time for non-native allies and supporters of Six Nations to stand
up and bring pressure to bear on our governments and institutions in
order to demand that they respect and honor the treaties and agreements
we have made with Indigenous nations. The Six Nations Solidarity Network
-- a group made up of non-native activists from communities in and beside
the Haldimand tract, is calling all supporters of Six Nations land rights
to join us in a peaceful protest on Saturday, Nov 7th 2009, at 1pm in
Brantford's Victoria Park (corner of Market St. and Darling St.).
The demonstration will march through Brantford and stop at a variety of
sites including:
* City Hall (where local politicians have criminalized Six Nations land
rights through injunctions and arrests)
*MPP Dave Levac's Office
* Harmony Square (where Six Nations land is being expropriated to make
room for the new YMCA)
* Indian Affairs Office
* Brant's Crossing Park (behind the Brantford Casino) - the very place
Joseph Brant crossed the Grand to occupy the Haldimand Tract
* Erie Ave at Birkett Lane (on the Eagles Nest tract and where Six
Nations land defenders have most recently been charged).
The demonstration will be addressed by a wide variety of speakers from
both Six Nations and various non-native groups and individuals. (Full
list of speakers coming soon).
The demonstration will conclude with a potluck and social which will
begin at 5:00pm at the reclaimed Kanata Village Museum. The space is
being made available by the Mohawk Workers. Bring food to share!
Buses and carpooling to Brantford is being organized from Paris, Guelph,
Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton, Toronto and other nearby cities and towns.
To endorse the demonstration or get in touch with the organizers, email
6nsolnet at gmail.com or visit 6nsolidarity.wordpress.com for more
information.
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1c) Ottawa's First Decolonial Thanksgiving Dinner
Ottawa's First Decolonial Thanksgiving Dinner:
community feast and celebration of indigenous struggle for land, survival
and sovereignty
Featuring:
Marylynn Poucachiche – Barriere Lake
Algonquin community activist
Beverly Pyke – Akwesasne People's Fire
and more TBA
Sunday November 8
5:30 PM
Bethel Field House ( 166 Frank St.)
Free
anti-colonial struggle for land, survival and sovereignty
You’re invited to the first annual Decolonial Thanksgiving Dinner in
Ottawa.. The DCT dinner is an autumn celebration bringing together
indigenous and settler communities involved in land defense, urban
indigenous people involved in diverse daily struggles for justice, and
anyone else interested in learning from and supporting these diverse
struggles.
In the past year, indigenous communities across Turtle Island
have stood up against illegal developments, government repression and
for indigenous sovereignty in their territories. There have been
blockades in Akwesasne, Tyendinaga, Barriere Lake, and Six Nations.
New developments have been reclaimed by Six Nations. There have been
restorative justice programs across Turtle Island. On the west
coast, an indigenous resistance network has been mobilizing
resistance to the 2010 Olympics. Families and communities of missing
and murdered aboriginal women are working to find their stolen
sisters, and engage indigenous and settler communities to end the
epidemic of violence against indigenous women.
Across Canada the tension is mounting as the aspirations of anti-colonial
peoples and colonial culture collide. In Akwesasne, the Canadian Border
Services Agency is attempting to re-install the border
crossing, and to arm the notoriously racist border guards. In an
attempt to stifle ongoing direct actions for land rights in
Tyendinaga, the OPP is attempting to bring in a contentious police
station to the territory, in an attempt to stifle ongoing struggle
for land rights. In Barriere Lake, there has been a renewal of
clearcut logging, and the Quebec government has handed out illegal
timber concessions on unceded land, in violation of the 1991
Trilateral agreement. The 2010 Winter Olympics are set to start in
February on stolen native land, and the Olympic torch is coming
through every large native and non-native community from coast to
coast.
The dinner will be a potluck, so please bring a dish to share if you are
able to. Food will also be provided, with both traditional indigenous
foods and vegan fare being available.
Bethel Field House is a wheelchair accessible space, and the space will be
child-friendly.
To RSVP, or for any questions or concerns, contact ipsmo at riseup.net
or visit www.ipsmo.org for updates and further information.
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1d) FORUM AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE AND IMPUNITY
FORUM AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE AND IMPUNITY
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January 29-31, 2010
Location to be announced
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Childcare and French-English translation available on-site
Our neighbourhoods are marked by a heavy police presence, supposedly in
the name of ˜public safety”, but who is really being protected by the police?
Over the years we have seen the police protect themselves, evading
consequences even amidst widespread calls for justice in cases of police
violence towards both individuals and communities. The unchecked but
widely reported targeting and harassment of racialized and migrant
communities, poor people, sex workers, and people with mental health
issues, show us how those most affected by police violence and impunity
are segments of society that also deal with other forms of
institutionalized violence. Meanwhile, on stolen Indigenous territory,
police forces play an integral role in maintaining and perpetuating the
centuries-long history of on-going oppression and repression of Indigenous
peoples. In looking at the role of the police in society, it becomes clear
that they exist to “protect and serve” government institutions, corporate
and elite interests, but do not ensure the safety and well-being of our
communities and especially our youth. The police and government attempt to
mask their behavior behind "community policing" with the active
collaboration of many NGO's and gatekeeper community groups. However, it
is clear that these so-called efforts only support the perpetual systemic
violence perpetrated by the government and police force against many in
our communities.
The Forum Against Police Violence and Impunity is a collaborative effort
by grassroots social justice activists and community organizers to create
a space that will allow for discussion, sharing experiences, and
developing strategies in the on-going struggle to live free of police
violence.
By focusing primarily on the reality in Montreal, while dealing with
various themes -- including migration, social and racial profiling,
gender-based violence, political repression and colonization -- the Forum
seeks to break the isolation of various communities affected by police
violence and expose its systemic nature. The Forum will aim to reach out
to various groups of people through different formats, including film
screenings, musical & spoken-word performances, hands-on skill-sharing
sessions, workshops, panel discussions and testimonials.
The idea of the Forum Against Police Violence and Impunity was originally
proposed by the Justice for Anas Coalition to bring together those dealing
with and organizing against police violence on the island of Montreal.
One of the main goals of this initiative is to create and deepen links and
networks between people dealing with and organizing against police
violence in different neighborhoods throughout the city. The most
effective way to combat police harassment, profiling and violence is by
building meaningful relationships of solidarity and mutual aid in our
various campaigns and
struggles. Together, we hope to strengthen our movements against police
violence and impunity in the here and now, while simultaneously working
towards building a future society without police violence.
Please note that, in order to ensure a safe space for all participants,
neither the police nor the corporate media are welcome to attend the
Forum.
Organizing Committee of the Forum Against Police Violence and Impunity
Website: www.forumcontrelaviolencepoliciere.net (under construction)
Email: forumcontrelaviolencepoliciere at gmail.com
Phone: 514.398.3323
(take out)
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1e) Drop Fees Day of Action, November 5th
Drop Fees Day of Action, November 5th
- Please circulate widely -
Dear Organization,
Earlier this year, you received a letter from post-secondary students
in Ottawa requesting your endorsement and participation in the
campaign to Drop Fees for a Poverty-Free Ontario. This Thursday,
November 5th, Students and anti-poverty organizations across Ontario
will be hitting the streets to demand that the government invest in
post-secondary education and social infrastructure.
On October 20th, Statistics Canada announced the annual data on
tuition fees across the country for the 2009/2010 academic year. The
new data is very concerning for students in Ontario. Ontario surpasses
Nova Scotia as the province with the highest tuition fees for graduate
students as well as undergraduate students. Unemployment is at an
all-time high, especially for youth. Meanwhile, there has been 15$
billion in corporate tax cuts since 2006, which could have been
invested in important social programs.
We ask that you join with students this November 5th to demand:
• Reduced tuition fees
• Public housing
• Quality Public Health Care
• Raise in Social Assistance Rates
• Affordable Childcare
• Employment Equity
• A Living Wage
• Fair employment Insurance Rates
Schedule:
10:30 am - Meet at the Morisset Library Terrace at the University of
Ottawa to raise our voices and rally our campus
11 am - Other campuses and community groups will converge at the
University of Ottawa to march through the downtown core.
Noon - Join a mass rally at the Human Rights Monument at Elgin Street
and Laurier avenue at noon.
Please circulate this notice widely among membership and staff. If
you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact:
Federico Carvajal
Eastern Ontario Organizer
Canadian Federation of Students
613-232-7394
eastern at cfsontario.ca
- Veuillez distribuer largement -
Chère organisation,
L?été passé, vous avez reçu une lettre des étudiant.e.s postsecondaire
d?Ottawa qui a demandé votre appui et participation à la campagne pour
« À bas les frais pour un Ontario sans pauvreté ». Ce jeudi, le 5
novembre, les étudiant.e.s et les organisations contre la pauvreté à
travers l?Ontario se rassembleront dans la rue, demandant au
gouvernement d?investir dans l?infrastructure sociale.
Le 20 octobre, Statistiques Canada a annoncé les données sur les frais
de scolarité à travers le pays pour l?année académique 2009/2010. Les
nouvelles données sont très inquiétantes pour les étudiant.e.s en
Ontario. L?Ontario a surpassé la Nouvelle-Écosse comme la province
avec les plus hauts frais de scolarité pour les étudiant.e.s des
cycles supérieurs ainsi que ceux au premier cycle. Le taux de chômage
atteint un niveau historique, surtout chez les jeunes. Pendant ce
temps, il y avait 15 milliards de dollars en réductions d?impôts
consenties aux entreprises depuis 2006, au lieu d?être investi dans
une variété d?importants programmes sociaux.
Nous vous demandons de vous joindre ce 5 novembre pour demander :
• Réductions des frais de scolarité
• Logements sociaux
• soins de santé publique de qualité
• Augmentation des taux d?aide sociale
• Garderies accessibles
• équité en matière d?emploi
• Salaire vital
• Taux d?assurance emploi équitable
L?horaire :
10h30- Mobilisation à la terrasse de la bibliothèque Morisset à
l?Université d?Ottawa
11h - D?autres campus et organismes communautaires convergeront vers
l?Université d?Ottawa pour marcher vers le c?ur du centre-ville
Midi - Joignez-vous à un grand rassemblement au Monument des droits de
la personne à midi, à l?angle de la rue Elgin et de l?avenue Laurier.
Veuillez distribuer cette annonce largement avec votre personnel et
membres. Si vous voulez plus d?information, n?hésitez pas de
communiquer avec :
Federico Carvajal
Organiseur - L?est de l?Ontario
Fédération canadienne des étudiantes et étudiants
613-232-7394
eastern at cfsontario.ca
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1f) OPIRG Carleton’s *Fall Colloquium* Two-Spirits and Queer Liberation
Movements
OPIRG Carleton’s *Fall Colloquium* Two-Spirits and Queer Liberation Movements
Wednesday, Nov 25th
More details soon!
Speakers:
- Jessica Yee, founder of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network
- Gary Kinsman, activist sociologist and author of "The Canadian War
on Queers"
- Third speaker TBA
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1g) Nov 9: Getting Hot When You Hurt:
A Workshop on Sex, Chronic Pain, and Disability*
People who live with chronic pain or are identified as disabled for other
reasons often find that these medical conditions affect their relationship
with their own bodies. In a culture that sets an impossible standard for
physical perfection, how do we maintain a sexy self-image, convey our
desires to others, and enjoy our bodies as much as possible? We need new
ways to understand beauty, satisfaction, excitement, potency, orgasms,
foreplay, and union. Sexually active disabled people are seen as either
gross or as a very kinky fetish. Come shatter those harmful stereotypes
and set your libido free. Able-bodied people are welcome at this workshop
because all of us will, at some point in our lives, deal with illness or
accident or a genetic condition that makes living in a mortal body a
challenging experience.
Patrick Califia is a sex educator, author, and activist who has written
widely about sexual minority issues, feminism, and the sex radical
movement. His first collection of erotic fiction, Macho Sluts, is being
released in a brand new, expanded edition by Arsenal Press. Other books
include Public Sex and Sex Changes: The Politics of Transgenderism.
Patrick's work has been translated into many foreign languages, and he's
traveled internationally to teach erotic writing workshops, oppose
censorship laws, demonstrate safe flogging or piercing techniques, do
education about the oppression of queer people, and trouble the sleep of
the privileged classes.
Patrick lives in Berkeley with his partner of five years, Jakob Hero, and
their two cats, Gideon and Artemesia. His hobbies include corsetry,
quilting, Japanese bondage, caning, and daddy/boy role-playing. He also
has a private practice as a therapist. If people are unable to find
affirming, knowledgeable mental health services in their own communities,
he provides consultation via the phone or Internet.
Monday November 9, 2009
7-9pm
Venus Envy Ottawa, 320 Lisgar Street
$25 ($15 limited income, students, and seniors)
Register by calling 613 789 4646 or in store.
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2) Articles
2a) Akwesasne People’s Fire, UPDATE October 29, 2009
Akwesasne People’s Fire, UPDATE October 29, 2009
ANOTHER BUSY WEEK.....
This week started with a few issues: court was on Tuesday for several
people who had issues with CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency). Their
next appearance has been set for November 17, 2009 at 9 am. A number of
people were in attendance for support for those that had been arrested or
charged.
Work has continued on the building and hopefully the weather will be with
us to complete the exterior of the building. Insulation has been donated
and we continue to seek donations to complete the building and to pay for
materials that have been used.
There are activities in Ottawa and Guelph this week concerning indigenous
issues. A march and rally has been planned for October 31, 2009 in
Ottawa, this culminates with a rally on Parliament Hill. A few people from
the Akwesasne Peoples Fire will be attending this event.
We have fire keepers from the south west who are assisting us with the
sacred fire. A desktop has been set up so that we can have contact with
the outside world and to do updates from the site as they occur.
The men have been working diligently on procuring wood for the sacred
fire. Now is the time to stock pile before the weather becomes too
inclement. There are several huge stacks of wood at the site right now.
Our volunteers from the south are getting a taste of our cooler climate.
Nia:wenkowa for staying in there and helping us out.
There is a general meeting scheduled for the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne
tonight. It is going to be on Kawennoke. There will be an update on the
out come of that meeting.
I am going to reiterate the need for monetary donations for the Akwesasne
Peoples Fire building fund. Nia:wenkowa in advance!
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2b) We Did Not Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Us
Racewire Blog
Leticia Miranda
We Did Not Cross the Border, the Border Crossed Us
The Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras/Indigenous Alliance Without Borders has
just launched a new campaign to secure the homelands of indigenous tribes
living along the US-Mexico border from California to Texas.
According to an article at Narcosphere
(http://narcosphere.narconews.com/notebook/brenda-norrell/2009/10/indigenous-peoples-southern-border-rights-campaign):
Indigenous Peoples living along the border in their traditional homelands,
from California to Texas, continue to be harassed and intimidated by US
federal agents, including the US Border Patrol, and local enforcement
agencies working with Homeland Security. The situation has not improved
under the Obama Administration.
While the United States piously demands that other countries assure basic
human rights to their citizens, the United States remains one of the
greatest offenders of the rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The United States was one of only four countries who refused to sign the
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people. In a statement in
response to the US quietly voting “no” on the declaration, the alliance
stated:
The militarization of the southern US border with Mexico threatens the
survival of Indigenous Peoples living on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico
borderline. Our survival as Peoples depends largely on our ability to
practice our ancient Indigenous languages, spiritual beliefs, culture and
ceremonies in privacy and community without interference. This is not
merely a cultural and spiritual concern; it is a matter of human rights
that exists in the U.S. legal statues, U.S. Constitution and International
Law.
Jose Matus, director of the Indigenous Alliance Without Borders, said that
over the 30 years that he’s traveled to Yaqui communities in Sonora,
Mexico to bring ceremonial leaders to the US, he has been harassed and has
witnessed the detainment of those leaders and their families at the
border.
The group plans to confront Homeland Security, the Obama administration,
the United Nations and other international organizations to secure
themselves the right to live on their own lands.
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2c) Mexican woman deported to her death
Toronto Star
Mexican woman deported to her death
Nicholas Keung
IMMIGRATION REPORTER
Published On Fri Oct 23 2009
"A woman between the ages of 20 and 30 was found murdered – and with
evidence of childbirth – with blows to her body and a bullet in the
forehead, a classic revenge from drug trafficking, " said a June 5 story
in the Mexican newspaper El Informador de Jalisco.
A death certificate later classified the woman's death as a homicide.
What the coroner's office didn't mention was that the 24-year-old murder
victim and her mother and sister had twice sought refuge in Canada, in
2004 and 2008, from drug traffickers. The same men are thought to have
kidnapped and killed young Grise, leaving the fate of her baby unknown,
after she was forced back to Mexico.
Grise's tragic death highlights the need to give refugees a right to
appeal when their applications are rejected, say Toronto advocates.
"We need to have an immigration ombudsman to look into mistakes made in
the immigration and refugee system," said Francisco Rico-Martinez of FCJ
Hamilton House refugee shelter, which the family contacted for help.
"The system does make mistakes."
Both Immigration Minister Jason Kenney's office and the Immigration and
Refugee Board declined to comment on the case.
On Tuesday, Parliament's citizenship and immigration committee voted 6-5
to establish an appeal division to hear the cases of failed refugee
claimants. All five Conservative MPs voted against it.
The recommendation now goes to Parliament for a vote that will hinge on
Liberal support. Both the New Democrats and Bloc Québécois staunchly
support an appeal unit.
FCJ Hamilton House persuaded the federal government to issue a visitor's
visa so the surviving mother and sister could return to Canada earlier
this month.
"I am happy and sad to be back," said a tearful Nuemi, the dead woman's
mother. "I'm sad because my daughter had to be killed in order for
Canada to believe in our story. The price is just too high." She asked
that the Star not publish the family's full names out of fear for her
relatives' safety in Mexico.
Nuemi, 44, along with Grise, 24, and Bebe, 17, first arrived in Canada
in 2004, after Nuemi's ex-husband was murdered by Colombian drug
traffickers associated with the La Familia Michoaeana gang in Mexico.
The gangsters believed the man had stolen their drug money and passed it
to his ex-wife, she said.
In 2005, their asylum claim was rejected. The board said, among other
things, that the family hadn't made enough effort to seek help from
Mexican authorities.
"I changed my residence 10 times to avoid our attackers. Every time,
they found us," said a grieving Nuemi. "Canada has to recognize that
Mexico is a war zone run by drug cartels. The government just can't
protect its own citizens."
Rico-Martinez said an appeal process in such cases "would allow another
pair of eyes to look at the case. It would give the claimant a second
chance to address those concerns."
A subsequent pre-removal risk assessment, carried out by a federal
official, recognized the family faced "subjective fear" in Mexico but
said they hadn't refuted arguments that they would be protected by the
state back home.
Facing deportation, the family went into hiding. But in August 2008,
when Grise returned to Mexico to visit her dying grandmother, she was
attacked and raped, leaving her pregnant. She came back to Canada but
was deported in December. Her mother and sister were deported in February.
Grise was kidnapped again last March, then seven months pregnant. Her
body was found in June.
The death certificate determined a Caesarean section had been performed
about a month before she was killed, the whereabouts of the premature
baby unknown.
Nuemi had to pay Ottawa $3,400 for the expenses of their deportation
before she and Bebe were granted the temporary visa for a tenuous safety
back in Canada.
Lawyer Aviva Basman, of Toronto's Refugee Law Office, called her
clients' tragic story "symbolic" of Canada's attitude to asylum seekers
from Mexico, which Ottawa doesn't see as a refugee-producing country.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada said the government makes every
effort to ensure that people are not removed to a situation of risk. "In
rare cases, persons removed from Canada fall victim to unfortunate
circumstances, which may or may not be related to factors examined in
the pre-removal risk assessment," the department said in a statement to
the Star. "The government would not necessarily be opposed to an appeal
mechanism in the context of a streamlined, reformed asylum process."
Kenney slapped visa requirements on visitors from Mexico and the Czech
Republic this summer to curb rising asylum claims, claiming too many
were bogus. He is also said to be seeking new regulations to expedite
claims from ostensibly democratic nations such as Mexico.
"Then we see a case like this," said Basman, who wants Ottawa to give
the family permanent resident status. "This is an extraordinary, tragic
reminder that there are real consequences to this political posturing."
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2d) “I plead guilty, I’m a racist.” Jason Kenney confronted and disrupted
in Montreal
“I plead guilty, I’m a racist.” Jason Kenney confronted and disrupted in
Montreal
October 23, 2009 -- Migrant justice activists and organizers, with their
McGill allies, confronted and disrupted Jason Kenney -- Canada’s Minister
of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism -- before and during a
function with Conservative McGill.
At least 50 protesters, in an action called by No One Is Illegal-Montreal,
were able to surround Kenney in the Arts Building as he tried to enter the
closed event. For about one-minute, Kenney was asked about the report in
today’s Toronto Star that a Mexican woman, who twice tried to apply for
refugee status to Canada, was found murdered in Mexico (article is linked
below). Kenney brushed off the question and didn’t answer.
Kenney was also asked explicitly about his party’s blocking of a refugee
appeals division, and again he didn’t answer.
When Kenney was told by a member of No One Is Illegal that his policies
scapegoat migrants and pander to racists, Kenney replied (with a hint of
sarcasm): “I plead guilty, I’m a racist.” At that point, Kenney’s handlers
and security pushed through protesters to get Kenney inside the venue.
For the next hour and more, protesters chanted and made noise to disrupt
the event from outside. The protest was partially a teach-in as
demonstrators gave speeches about Kenney’s track-record, highlighting in
particular:
- the murder in Mexico of Grise, a woman who twice tried to claim refugee
status in Canada but was refused
- the Conservatives continued refusal to implement a refugee appeals
division;
- the recent treatment of Sri Lankan migrants who are currently detained
in British Columbia;
- Kenney’s introduction of visas for Mexicans and Czechs while at the same
time falsely claiming bogus refugee claims;
- Kenney’s role in defending raids on migrant workers in Ontario this past
April;
- Kenney’s unapologetic defense of Israeli war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon;
- Kenney’s attack on free speech by preventing the entry of George
Galloway into Canada;
- Kenney’s involvement in cutting the funding of the Canadian Arab
Federation (CAF);
- Kenney’s proposed changes to the status of migrant workers, which makes
their situation more precarious;
- the trend under Kenney and the Conservatives to push migrants into
temporary worker categories;
- the lifting of the moratorium on deportations to Burundi, Rwanda and
Liberia;
- Kenney's defense of Conservative policies justifying rendition to
torture and security certificates;
- Kenney’s record of comments that pander to racists, by portraying
migrants as abusive of the immigration and refugee system.
- and more (!).
Members of Solidarity Across Borders, active in support work with local
migrants facing removal, also spoke to the day-to-day reality of
deportation and detention in Montreal, citing examples of local individual
and families fighting for status, in defiance of deportation orders.
At one point, two members of Conservative McGill – Gregory Harris and
Derek Beigleman -- began chanting “We love Kenney, we love Kenney.”
Protesters stayed silent for at least a minute, and then asked the
Conservatives about their view on the murder of Grise, as well as
Conservative immigration and refugee policies that allowed the tragedy to
happen. The two Conservatives laughed throughout the narration of Grise’s
deportation and eventual death.
During the picket, protesters also spoke in solidarity with No One Is
Illegal-Vancouver’s picket today demanding the release of Sri Lankan
migrants who are currently detained after arriving in Canada last Sunday,
as well as this evening’s migrant justice assembly by No One Is
Illegal-Toronto.
No borders, no nations, stop the deportations!
-- No One Is Illegal Montreal
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2e) Victorians Heat Up over Torch Launch
"Corporate festival" will showcase poverty and homelessness
by Tamara Herman
The Dominion - http://www.dominionpaper.ca
VICTORIA, LEKWUNGEN AND WSANEC TERRITORIES—At first glance, Victoria, BC
appears to be an idyllic setting for the official launch of the Vancouver
2010 Olympic Torch Relay.
Only a short trip across the water from Vancouver, Victoria is known as a
sleepy, prosperous, tourist-friendly city. Yet beneath this façade,
Victoria is becoming a hotbed of local resistance to the Olympics, which
is fueled – in part – by deepening poverty.
"Gordon Campbell called the Olympic Torch Relay 'an incredible opportunity
to showcase' B.C." says No2010 Victoria organizer Kim Croswell. "The fact
that he thinks there’s something to ‘showcase’ tells me what circles he’s
running in."
Under the banner of No2010 Victoria, local anti-poverty and environmental
groups have been using the Olympic spotlight to "showcase" the critical
issues that they are working on throughout the community. Growing public
outrage at the colossal cost of the Games and the Torch Relay festivities
have added fuel to the anti-Olympics fire.
"The Olympics are contributing to everybody’s poverty," says Rose Henry, a
Coast Salish elder-in-training whose life experiences led her to become
one of the city’s best-known anti-poverty advocates.
"They're creating a bigger deficit and taking seed money that has been
there to help overstretched social service agencies that are already
struggling with their finances."
Henry estimates there are upwards of 1,600 homeless people in Victoria.
"But there's only 375 beds available during winter months," she adds.
"Beds are like winning the lottery. And so people are criminalized;
they’re getting ticketed for sleeping in public places, having a backpack
or sitting on the sidewalk."
Henry is an organizer with the Committee to End Homelessness, a grassroots
group led by and for members of the street community. The Committee has
already expressed concerns that the Games will make life more difficult
for homeless people living in Victoria. "We're seeing the number of people
growing because of Olympics," says Henry. "We're having people leaving
Vancouver thinking that life is easier in small town Victoria. But
Victoria doesn't have same services as Vancouver, and the issues are just
as big."
No2010 Victoria organizer Linden Stewart says that people involved in
different movements have been coming together to use the Games to draw
attention to the issues they’re working on.
"Victoria is a middle-class town. Maybe some people aren't impacted by
2010, but the folks in their backyards are. It’s important to demonstrate
locally so that people who don’t normally think about these issues do."
While critical media reports in Victoria tend to focus on the escalating
costs of the 2010 Games, local anti-poverty organizers are trying to push
the debate beyond the digits.
"There's an incredible amount of financial, human and environmental
resources going into an event that excludes a large population of
marginalized peoples in our province and our country," says Heather Hobbs
from Harm Reduction Victoria, a local group that works for justice and
dignity for illicit drug users.
"Instead of focusing on addressing the needs of the most marginalized
communities, resources are going into once-in-a-lifetime event," Hobbs
says. "The event arguably won’t benefit marginalized people but will
contribute to a legacy of homelessness and poverty."
Harm Reduction Victoria made headlines earlier this year when it began
operating a "Guerilla Needle Exchange" to mark the one-year anniversary of
the eviction of the city's only fixed site needle exchange.
"We're hearing from people who use drugs that they aren’t able to access
services that they need in order to adequately house themselves and meet
their most basic health care needs," says Hobbs.
"People hear that there's all this money going into Olympics, and it's
very frustrating and infuriating when they continue to be on streets and
have nothing to eat."
Harm Reduction Victoria is also using the Olympic Games as an opportunity
to bring the issues faced by drug users into the local anti-poverty
organizing mix.
"In activist movements there hasn’t been lots of attention paid to needs
of people who use illicit drugs," says Hobbs. "So when we come together to
talk about these issues, we realize how we can support one another and
integrate our concerns in each others' messages."
Bringing groups such as Harm Reduction Victoria and the Committee to End
Homelessness together to share the stage in denouncing the Olympics is one
objective of No2010 Victoria. The collective organized a teach-in on local
issues in March 2009, which featured groups such as the Prostitutes
Empowerment Education and Resource Society (PEERS) and the Society of
Living Intravenous Drug Users (SOLID). The plans for the Olympic Torch
Relay send-off also centred on ongoing local struggles.
“We’re very conscientious about bringing struggles together”, says No2010
Victoria’s Croswell. “We’re imagining a grassroots groundswell to
acknowledge our own communities instead of a corporate festival.”
Tamara is a community organizer, researcher and independent journalist
whose work focuses on international and local poverty-related issues.
2f) Indian Affairs Minister Strahl forces voting on Quebec native community
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indian Affairs Minister Strahl forces voting on Quebec native community
By Jorge Barrera, Canwest News ServiceOctober 30, 2009 6:02 PM
Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl has invoked the powers under section
74 of the Indian Act twice since 2002, and its most infamous use came in
1924, when Canadian authorities imposed an elected band council on the
Ontario Iroquois community of Six Nations. Photograph by: Chris
Wattie/Reuters, National Post OTTAWA - Indian Affairs Minister Chuck
Strahl has used rarely invoked Indian Act powers to force voting on a
small Algonquin community in northern Quebec that has been locked in a
years-long battle with the federal government, while being torn by
internal divisions.
In a letter to Barriere Lake, a 450-person community that sits about 300
kilometres north of Ottawa, Strahl said persistent instability in the
community had forced him to step in to replace the community's
generations-old traditional system with an electoral one.
"I have come to the difficult conclusion that the community, as a whole,
is lacking the political will and the governance tools to resolve the
matter," wrote Strahl, in the letter dated Friday, Oct. 30. "I have
decided, therefore, to invoke the powers conferred upon me by the Indian
Act."
An Indian Affairs minister has invoked the powers under section 74 of the
Indian Act twice since 2002, and its most infamous use came in 1924, when
Canadian authorities imposed an elected band council on the Ontario
Iroquois community of Six Nations.
Barriere Lake sits on 24 hectares of land negotiated by a priest and the
Quebec government. It's one of Canada's poorest communities and currently
is governed by a traditional leadership-selection process codified in the
mid-1990s. Under the system called blazing, elders select leadership
candidates who are either accepted or rejected by the community.
The community, however, has fallen into bitter internal conflict that has
exploded into violence, forcing the intervention of Quebec riot police on
one occasion. Much of the tension stems from a disagreement over whether
to continue a fight to revive a failed agreement with the federal and
Quebec governments, giving Barriere Lake a say over thousands of square
kilometres of their traditional territory.
Strahl's decision to force a new electoral system, however, has united the
two factions.
David Nahwegahbow, a lawyer for the council of Chief Jean-Maurice
Matchewan, said the federal government would face a constitutional
challenge.
"It is draconian and of questionable constitutionality," he said.
Rival Chief Casey Ratt also said he would oppose the decision.
"I am not the one who will do away with any customary practices that our
community has," said Ratt.
Strahl's office said the minister was not available to comment.
============================================================================
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closer to a planet that can no longer sustain life.
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that we are comfortable with, but what we are fully capable of; not what
is convenient, but what is completely necessary to stop the destruction of
our home.
Resistance Magazine is published quarterly:
summer, fall, winter and spring.
Fall 2009 Issue Now Available
Featuring:
• Exclusive interview with Paul Watson on the direct action of the Sea
Shepherd
• Gearing up for the UNFCCC Climate Conference in Copenhagen - will a post
Kyoto agreement be reached by 2012?
• Targeting Encana in British Columbia
• Inside the Oil Industry
• Ecoterrorist of the Season: Shell
• Street of Dreams and Romania II: Solidarity Actions... thanks but no thanks
• Security: Trouble is knocking at your door, will you let it in?
• Book Review: The Green Zone
• Earth Liberation Diary of Actions
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============================================================================
4) Video
4a) Clayton Thomas-Muller on the Tar Sands
http://www.vimeo.com/7322401
4b) Dead Prez feat. Eriel Deranger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-5Hi5d7S6U&feature=channel
4c) Gitz Crazy Boy on the Tar Sands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlfgYNjHckY&feature=channel
4d) Darryl Sainnawap on taking care of the land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-BtTGvvY0M&feature=channel
============================================================================
5) Petition regarding migrant workers in Canada:
Petition regarding migrant workers in Canada:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/migrantworkers/?e
To: Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney
Temporary Resident Policy and Programs Director Maia Welbourne
SCRAP PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION
REGULATIONS! ENSURE STATUS FOR ALL !
------------------------------------------------
As community, women’s, immigrant rights, faith-based and trade union
organizations we strongly oppose the proposed changes to the Temporary
Foreign Worker Program that entrench a disposable workforce with few
rights. We call on the government to scrap these proposed amendments
immediately and ensure real protection and justice for migrant workers.
Under a smokescreen of protection for workers, the regulatory changes
would limit migrant workers’ time in Canada to four years and bar them
from re-entering Canada for the next six years. Workers could be denied
entry at the border if an immigration officer decides their job offer is
not genuine.
These changes do not strengthen protection for migrant workers. These
changes only make workers even more vulnerable and reinforce the
government’s efforts to build a disposable workforce through the Temporary
Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
The government states it is responding to extensive consultations.
However, our organizations and countless workers have told Immigration
Minister Jason Kenney that, to address systemic violations of workers
rights in the TFWP, fundamental changes are needed, including ensuring
migrant workers have permanent status. Imposing limits on workers’ time in
Canada makes workers status even more precarious and is an unjust and
arbitrary provision.
Giving immigration officers arbitrary powers in denying workers admission
to Canada penalizes migrant workers rather than targeting recruiters and
employers who should be held accountable for the exploitation that workers
face.
The government proposes that abusive employers be banned from hiring
workers for 2 years and their names be made public. However, these changes
do nothing to address the reality that migrant workers who are tied to one
employer and who are denied full immigration status often cannot speak out
against the widespread violations in the TFWP without risking deportation.
This policy change is part of an ongoing trend of exclusion within the
Canadian immigration system where the government has created more
temporary programs and less access to citizenship rights. Today, people
from only 38 professions are able to immigrate to Canada under the Federal
Skilled Worker points system. Refugee acceptance rates have declined
sharply and there is talk of further dismantling the
system. Deportations have increased 50%.
The government’s press release states that these changes “strengthen the
protection of temporary foreign workers.” They do not.
Real protection means enforcing standards on employers and agencies hiring
migrant workers. Real protection means allowing migrant workers to bargain
collectively, with full coverage under labour legislation.
Real protection means access to citizenship benefits and
responsibilities. Realprotection means permanent residence on arrival.
Real protection means regularization for all. Real protection means
prohibiting fees migrant workers are forced to pay to find work, a fair
appeals process for repatriations and an end to deportation. Real
protection that Canada’s immigration system has, as yet, failed to
ensure.
We call on the government to scrap these proposed amendments and move to
ensure real protection and justice for migrant workers immediately.
=====================================
=====================================
Endorsed by (22 October, 2009): Agriculture Workers Alliance (National),
Canadian Arab Federation, CAW Canada, Canadian Hispanic Congress,
Caregivers Action Centre, Caregiver Connections Education and Support
Organization, Centre des Travailleurs et Travailleuses Immigrants, Chinese
Canadian National Council, Coalition for Change,
CUPE National, CUPE Ontario, CUPE Toronto District Council, CUPE Local
3393, Local 4308, Local 3907, Interim Place, Juctice for Migrant Workers,
Migrante-Ontario, No One Is Illegal-Toronto, Ontario Federation of Labour,
Portuguese National Congress, Social Planning Toronto, South Asian Legal
Clinic of Ontario, UFCW Canada, UFCW
Canada, Local 175, Local 832, Local 1000a, Local 1118, Local 1400, Local
1518, United Steelworkers Toronto Area Council, Workers' Action Centre
=====================================
=====================================
Remember! The regulations take effect on December 9, 2009. Unless we stop
them!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
ENDORSE this statement! Email coalition4change.to at gmail.com if you are
part of an organization that would like to sign on.
ATTEND the Migrant Justice Assembly this Friday, Oct 23, at 6:00pm at 245
Church Street. Details: bit.ly/1dInB2
SIGN THE PETITION. Individuals can sign the petition at:
bit.ly/1fnfcr. INVITE everyone you to know to sign this statement.
EMAIL your outrage to maia.welbourne at cic.gc.ca AND Minister at cic.gc.ca AND
coalition4change.to at gmail.com
STAY INVOLVED! Email nooneisillegal at riseup.net to hear about UPCOMING
events and actions on this issue.
############################################################################
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