[opirgyork] Weekly Digest March 15th 2012

[aruna at opirgyork.ca]

1) Call for OPIRG York 2012 Board of Directors
2) TOMORROW! March and Rally - Solidarity against Austerity
3) Whose Borders? - No One is illefgal film screening series
4) (de)Occupy Talks: Big Oil, Tar Sands and how the 1% defines 'Ethics'
5) 2012 Annual General Meeting for the Ontario Public Interest Research
Group @ York U

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1) Are you interested in social justice and environmental issues? Are you
looking for a way to get involved in campus politics? Want to gain new
skills and meet new people? OPIRG York is seeking new members for its next
Board of Directors!

Ontario Public Interest Research Group at York University is only one of
many student-driven public interest research groups across Canada, whose
purpose is to engage the student community in projects and research based
in social and environmental justice initiatives. The York Public Interest
Research Group board of directors is comprised of York University students
and community members, and all York University students who have not opted
out of OPIRG are eligible to run for the Board. Running for the board also
means committing to working within an anti-oppressive framework and
utilizing a consensus decision making process.

The Board of Directors at OPIRG York is responsible for guiding the
political work of the organization, liaising with working groups,
responding to funding requests and overseeing staff work. With the
Volunteer Coordinator, the board assists in planning and promoting events
that fall within the mandate of the organization.  With the Administration
Coordinator, the Board assists in managing the finances of the
organization.

If you think that this is something you would be interested
in, please nominate yourself! You can also nominate a friend, with their
consent.

For nomination forms please visit the OPIRG office in the student centre,
room C449. The deadline for nominations is at 5pm Tuesday, March 20th.
Completed nomination forms can be dropped off at the OPIRG office prior to
this deadline.

Elections occur at the Annual General meeting on Tuesday,
March 27th at 2 pm in the Student Centre, room 307.

Check out www.opirgyork.ca for more information on OPIRG York and the work
that we do.

For more information on the election process, e-mail the Chief Returning
Officer at opirgyork2012election at gmail.com.

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2) On March 16 FIGHT POVERTY AND DEMAND: A LIVING INCOME! HOUSING! QUALITY
PUBLIC SERVICES FOR ALL!

-Solidarity Against Austerity-

Friday, March 16, 2012
Rally and March
12noon
Meet at College St and Bay St, Toronto (Outside the Ministry of Housing)

*Free Meal (provided by members of the Ontario Nurses Association)
*ASL-English at the Rally
*Closest accessible transit station is Queen’s Park

On Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/events/168518953261094/

Join the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) and allies for a march
and rally on Friday, March 16th, in the lead up to the 2012
Provincial Budget. The McGuinty government has hired former head of the TD
bank, Don Drummond, to propose and provide the basis for
massive social cutbacks in their 2012 budget. It is being drafted as the
Provincial component of the austerity agenda that is gathering force
across Canada and internationally. City Hall, Queen`s Park and Ottawa are
delivering austerity, but clearly it is being cooked-up on Bay Street by
bankers like Drummond to the benefit of their rich
friends.

We have to stop the cuts and fight for what poor and working people need!

For poor people and workers in this province, it has been a constant state
of crisis. McGuinty is now preparing to make this situation much worse.

On March 16, we will be rallying at an Ontario Government location but
taking our march to Toronto`s financial centre where the real
decisions are being made by and for the '1%'. We will be marching to
oppose austerity measures but also to demand the reversing of previous
cutbacks, the right to a living income, the right to affordable and
accessible housing, and for good quality public services for all! We will
be marching against the kind of society Drummond and the rich are
creating, and for one that meets the needs and improves the lives of all
of us!

JOIN US!

Endorsing Organizations: Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, Aids Action
Now, Barrio Nuevo, BASICS Community News, Bread & Bricks
Davenport West Social Justice Group, CUPE Ontario, CUPE Local 1281, CUPE
4308, CUPE 4600, CUPE Toronto District Council, Disability Action Movement
Now, Educators for Peace and Justice, Greater Toronto
Worker’s Assembly, Health Providers Against Poverty, Health for All,
Jane-Finch Action Against Poverty, Kingston Coalition Against Poverty,
Medical Reform Group, No One Is Illegal Toronto, Ontario Association of
Interval and Transitional Houses, OCCUPY Toronto, Ontario Council of
Hospital Unions, Ontario Network of Injured Workers, Ontario Nurses
Association, Ontario University Workers Coordinating Committee (CUPE
Ontario), OPSEU Local 525, Poverty Makes Us Sick (KW), Rhythms of
Resistance, Sistering, Students for Medicare, Toronto Stop the Cuts, Under
Pressure Ottawa, Workers Action Centre, Women United Against Imperialism,
and growing!

HOW TO BE INVOLVED IN MARCH 16:

-Organize a contingent: bring a group of people from your
organization, neighbourhood, city or union local to this
demonstration, bring your demands

-Drum out Drummond: bring drums, noise makers, pots and pans. Rhythms of
Resistance will also be there to start us off on the march.

-Join the CHILDCARE NOW contingent of parents, caregivers and kids

-Organize a group of students or a ‘kids block’ to be a part of the day as
part of March Break

-Banners, flags and signs: Organize a ‘banner making day’ in your
area, bring your banners to the march

-Help fund a bus, food, transit tokens, ASL, and materials for the day: if
you or your organization or union local can make donations of money or
in-kind, please help us make this day as participatory and accessible as
possible

-Build the movement: add your organization’s to the list of endorsers for
this day of action

-Get the word out: help us get the message out about this day of
action, download the poster and flyer at www.ocap.ca, forward this
announcement far and wide, contact us if you would like to help with
postering, flyering, etc.

GETTING TO MARCH 16th:

Don’t want to come alone? Need transit tokens or a bus to get in to
downtown? Join one of these many groups meeting up ahead of time and
coming together...

In T.O

Jane and Finch: 1st stop:  BUS from Yorkgate Mall at the 'no frills'
entrance at 11am , 2nd stop: 35 Shoreham Drive   [A senior centre
about 5 or 6 minutes away]

Downtown East: Join the Downtown East Stop the Cuts, meeting at the corner
of Dundas and Sherbourne at 11am **with tokens

Weston-Lawrence/Mt.Dennis: Meeting at Weston King Neighborhood Centre
(2017 Weston Road) at 11am **with tokens

Davenport and Perth: Join Bread and Bricks Social Justice Group,
meeting at The Stop Community Food Centre (1884 Davenport Road) at 11am
**with tokens

Parkdale: Meeting at PARC (1499 Queen St. West) at 11am **with tokens

>From Out of Town

Pick up in Hamilton: CUPE 5167 office, 818 King St East at 9 am
Departing Toronto to arrive back in Hamilton at the 5167 office for 4 pm.

Pick up from Kingston, Belleville, Peterborough: please call 613
328-1938 for a ride

**Vans are also coming from Ottawa, Sudbury and Kitchener

GET IN TOUCH: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
Email: ocap at tao.ca
Phone: 416-925-6939
Web: OCAP.ca
Facebook: OCAP
Twitter: @OCAPtoronto #maketherichpay

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3) No One is Illegal - Toronto Presents:

Whose Borders?

An evening of politics, popcorn and picture shows!

Featuring:

*Enemy Alien (dir. Konrad Aderer, 81 mins.): The gripping story of the
fight to free Farouk
Abdel-Muhti, a Palestinian-born human rights activist detained in a
post-9/11 sweep of Muslim
immigrants. Told through the eyes of the filmmaker, the grandson of
Japanese Americans held in
internment camps during World War II, this documentary provides an
intimate look at detention
regimes past and present.

*Kanawayandan D'aaki - Protecting Our Land (Praxis Pictures, 12 mins):
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug
(KI) First Nation has governed and cared for their indigenous homelands
since time immemorial.
This is a short film about their ongoing struggle against the theft of
their land and resources
by resource extraction companies and the government, and a call for
action, solidarity and support.

**Plus speakers from the Mohammed Mahjoub Support Committee and the KI
Support Committee**

Join us for the first of a series of film screenings where we highlight
issues of indigenous
sovereignty, migration, resistance, and together ask "Whose Borders?"

Friday, March 16, 2012 at 7:30pm (doors at 7:15pm)
Palmerston Library Theatre
(560 Palmerston Ave., North of Bloor St. W., west of Bathurst Subway
Station - the station is wheelchair accessible)
*The Theatre and Washrooms are Wheelchair Accessible*
*Free/PWYC!*

*please let us know how we can make this event more accessible for you by
emailing us at nooneisillegal at riseup.net before March 10th*

www.facebook.com/TorontoKISupport // www.kilands.org
www.facebook.com/SupportMahjoub

Email: nooneisillegal at riseup.net
Web: http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/

Join our low traffic email announcements list
https://lists.riseup.net/www/subrequest/nooneisillegal

Follow us on facebook, twitter, Youtube
www.facebook.com/NoOneIsIllegalToronto
www.twitter.com/noii_to
www.youtube.com/nooneisillegal

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4) (de)Occupy Talks: Big Oil, Tar Sands and how the 1% defines 'Ethics'

When: March 20th, 7 pm
Where: Bloor Street United Church, 300 Bloor St. W.
Livestream: http://www.livestream.com/mediawrench

Tar sands extraction is one of the largest civil and environmental rights
issues of this generation.
The Harper regime, in alliance with the Alberta government and the largest
oil companies in the world,
have ignored First Nations rights, broken global agreements and decimated
hundreds of kilometers of land
in Northern Alberta. Pipelines are expanding the impact to Southern
Ontario, where tar sands refining is
already happening in Sarnia, aka Chemical Valley. As well, Canada has
supported companies and governments
employing brutal military regimes to facilitate mining and oil & gas
projects abroad. We ask the question,
how is this ‘ethical’?

Please join us to discuss the frontlines of struggle with esteemed
community organizers and intellectuals
Eriel Deranger, Ron Plain, Isaac Asume Osuoka and Syed Hussan. The panel
will be moderated by Anna Zalik.

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger – Eriel is a Dene Indigenous activist and member
of the Athbasca Chipewyan First
Nation (ACFN) of Northern Alberta, ground zero for tar sands extraction.
Eriel is currently working for
ACFN as a campaign and communication coordinator to challenge current and
proposed projects by Shell
Canada in Alberta's Tar Sands. Shell is one of the largest operators in
the tar sands and has contributed
greatly to the erosion of Dene lands, culture and health. Eriel is a
longtime Indigenous rights activist,
fighting for environmental justice and has worked with many organizations
including the International Indian
Treaty Council, TakingItGlobal, Canadian Heritage, the United Nations,
Indigenous Environmental Network, the
Ruckus Society and IP3. She has extensive experience and a deep knowledge
of International Indigenous rights,
obtained through the International Training Centre for Indigenous People
in Illuslisat, Greenland as well as
through her work as a researcher for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian
Nations. Eriel is currently working
with many allies to create awareness about the catastrophic climate and
human rights impacts of the tar sands
and demands full recognition of Indigenous rights from all levels of
government and industry operating in Indigenous territories.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TksZzOO40ME

Ron Plain - “I am not an environmentalist, I am Aanishinaabe. My reverence
for Mother Earth is not a conscious
decision, rather it is a genetic predetermination.” Currently, Ron is
campaigning to raise awareness about tar
sands refining in his community, Aamjiwnaang, located near Sarnia,
Ontario, which has been termed the most polluted
place on earth by the National Geographic Society. Ron has been an
activist for many years, his campaigns began
with human rights and discrimination protests in the late 70’s and early
80’s, spanning Turtle Island from Burnt
Church to Portland, Oregon. Ron has established himself as a leader in
social justice movements with a focus on
Aboriginal inherent and treaty rights as they pertain to the holistic
views of our environment. Ron has been
featured in 11 documentaries, numerous print media, Men’s Health, National
Geographic and Chatelaine and network
television, CNN, MSNBC and APTN to name a few for his work and his
community, Aamjiwnaang.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a6vPY5ujtY

Isaac Asume Osuoka - Asume is currently enrolled at York University in the
doctoral Faculty of Environmental
Studies Program. Asume has worked for over a decade to support communities
in the Nigeria and other countries
in the Gulf of Guinea region organizing programs that encourage change in
policy and practice of oil corporations,
governments and international finance institutions. He had served as
Coordinator of Oilwatch Africa (1997-2006),
Directror of Social Action, and also coordinator of the Gulf of Guinea
Citizens Network (GGCN). Asume has
participated in several international conferences on environment, energy
and mining and has been a panellist
at the United Nations. He has also represented communities in committees
set up by the Nigerian Presidency to
address the crisis in the Niger delta.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFXRmBnSGMI

Syed Hussan – Syed is a writer and activist based in Toronto. Hussan is
part of migrant justice, environmental
justice, anti-imperialist and Indigenous sovereignty movements. His
writings regularly appear in alternative
media outlets. Hussan has worked to highlight the links between tar sands
extraction and the US military-industrial complex.

http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/hussan/2011/05/why-hobbit-being-filmed-tar-sands

Anna Zalik - Anna teaches in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York
University and has researched oil
industry strategy since 2000, with a focus on Nigeria, Mexico and Canada.
She has been involved in activism
on social justice issues since the 1980s and has published critiques of
extractive industry activity in a range of sites.

http://blog.platformlondon.org/2012/01/30/legal-oil-ethical-oil-and-profiteering-in-the-niger-delta-and-the-canadian-north/

'Like' Occupy Talks on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Talks/276821545707071?ref=ts

Media Sponsor: rabble.ca

Poster Credit: Chelsea Taylor

Endorsements: Indigenous Environmental Network, Greenpeace Canada, Network
for Pan-Afrikan Solidarity,
Environmental Justice Toronto, No One Is Illegal - Toronto, Indigenous
Sovereignty and Solidarity Network,
Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, Toronto Bolivia Solidarity Network,
Council of Canadians - Toronto,
Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network, Sierra Club Prairie
Chapter, Ecosanity and OPIRG York.

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5) 2012 Annual General Meeting for the Ontario Public Interest Research
Group @ York U

Tuesday March 27th, 2012
2pm to 4pm
Student Centre RM. 307

Refreshments and Food served!
Everyone welcome!

* Revolutionary updates from Working Groups
* Tales of resistance from OPIRG staff
* Report backs on our political projects
* Solidarity work with other organizations
* Participate in this year's Board of directors elections
* Learn more about the amazing work we do and how to get involved!

OPIRG-York is an umbrella organization that facilitates political action
and provides practical tools and
advocacy on social and environmental justice issues at York University and
beyond! For any questions or inquiries, please email opirg at yorku.ca