[opirgyork] Upcoming Events + May Day and Mumia Screening Next Week!

[OPIRG York]

Hi Everyone,

We haven't sent a digest out for a while, but that doesn't mean we haven't
been doing and supporting awesome work!
First we'd like to introduce to you the OPIRG (York) digital archive:

http://archive.opirgyork.ca/

You can see a collection of some old posters and media on here, and upload
your own collections to the OPIRG archive.
Also check up the upcoming events - Tomorrow is the confront Barrick Gold
event at their AGM, and May Day #May1TO is upcoming next week.
Also DON'T MISS the *Toronto Premiere + Free Screening of Mumia: Long
Distance Revolutionary *-- May 2nd @ York U in the NAT Taylor Cinema. Please
share all the events with your friends and please attend yourself!

Feel free to get in touch with us at anytime at opirgyork at gmail.com.

-OPIRG York
--
www.opirgyork.ca
416-736-5724
opirgyork at gmail.com



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*In this email:*
*
*
*YORK NEWS*

*(1) May 2: **Toronto Premiere + Free Screening of Mumia: Long Distance
Revolutionary**
*
*(2) ONGOING: CHRY 105.5 Summer 2013 Internships*
*(3) ONGOING: **VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: MayDay Special Programming CHRY*
*(4) ONGOING: SOCIAL JUSTICE FILMMAKING THIS MAY...*
 *
*
*COMMUNITY NEWS

*
*(1) TOMORROW: Confront Barrick at their Annual General Meeting!**
(2) April 24: Canadian Jewish politics & Palestine) and Warsaw anniversary
article*
* (3) April 25: **Whose Borders? Panel and Coffee Table Discussion
(4) ONGOING: **Justice for Ned Livingston Peart *
*(5) May 1: #May1TO, May Day: Solidarity City! Status for All! Decolonize
Now! *
*(6) May 1: Resistance in Jane & Finch - MayWorks Festival
(7)May 4: **A Poor People's History of East Downtown Toronto*

*YORK NEWS*

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*Toronto Premiere + Free Screening of Mumia: Long Distance Revolutionary*

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*DATE & TIME:* Thursday May 2, 2013 | 6PM - 9PM
*LOCATION:* Nat Taylor Cinema, N102 Ross Building, York University Keele
Campus, 4700 Keele St
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*
ON FACEBOOK:* https://www.facebook.com/events/162063513957016 -- Please
Share and Invite!

Before he was convicted of murdering a policeman in 1981 and sentenced to
die, Mumia Abu-Jamal was a gifted journalist and brilliant writer. Now
after more than 30 years in prison and despite attempts to silence him,
Mumia is not only still alive but continuing to report, educate, provoke
and inspire.

REBELS WITH A CAUSE FILM FESTIVAL, CINEMA POLITICA AT YORK, OPIRG YORK and
JUSTICE IS NOT COLOUR-BLIND host the FREE SCREENING of Stephen Vittoria's
new feature documentary - an inspiring portrait of a man whom many consider
America's most famous political prisoner - a man whose existence tests our
beliefs about freedom of expression. Through prison interviews, archival
footage, and dramatic readings, and aided by a potent chorus of voices
including Cornel West, Alice Walker, Dick Gregory, Angela Davis, Amy
Goodman and others, this riveting film explores Mumia's life before, during
and after Death Row - revealing, in the words of Angela Davis, "the most
eloquent and most powerful opponent of the death penalty in the world...the
21st Century Frederick Douglass."

Film length: 120 min.

After the screening of the film, a panel will be speaking about:
+ Racist policies in the North American criminal justice system
+ Inconsistencies between governmental criminal justice policies and
international law
+ Prison systems as oppressive tools of the state

*SPEAKING ON THE PANEL WILL BE:*

*STEPHEN VITTORIA* - Long Distance Revolutionary: A Journey with Mumia
Abu-Jamal writer, director and producer (via Skype)
*MOHAMMED MAHJOUB *– Infamous Canadian security certificate detainee who
has spent the last 12 years in either detention or house arrests.

Facilitated by Chris Deo - CHRY 105.5 NEWS NOW host.

We regret that the film does not have caption. Nat Taylor Cinema is
wheelchair accessible.
*
For info and accessibility contact:* rebels at opirgyork.ca
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*CHRY 105.5 Summer 2013 Internships *

CHRY is a community-based, non-profit, volunteer run radio station that has
been serving the North Toronto community
for 25 years. We believe in professional and guided programming that
reflects the diverse issues and cultures in the
surrounding areas. Our mandate is to provide alternative programming such
as music, especially Canadian music, not
generally heard on commercial stations. Although students play an important
role in programming, we also provide
access to members of the community at large.

To view Sumer 2013 May-August Internships, please click here:

http://opirgyork.ca/sites/opirgyork.ca/files/print/INTERNSHIPS%20summer%202013.pdf

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*
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*VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: MayDay Special Programming CHRY*

MayDay: Honouring Workers’ Struggles and Resistance!

On Wednesday May 1st CHRY will celebrate MayDay: The International Day of
Workers' Struggles. May 1st is a day set-aside by labour organizations,
activists, and unions to draw attention to the fact that workers, who make
up the majority of any population, are essential part of the economic
system. Despite their importance, however, workers are often paid
marginally (sometimes not even minimum wage), while executives take home
huge salaries and bonuses. Other forms of labour, e.g. child-rearing, are
not given any financial recognition! Around the world labourers are
fighting for better pay, (better) benefits, and more control over their
labour. Throughout MayDay, CHRY will air specialized content to draw
attention to the struggles and advancements of workers around the world!

As we have previously done with Afrikan Liberation Month and International
Womyn's Day, we are looking for volunteers to help us out with writing
PSA's for MayDay. In addition if you would like to board Op. or host the
day of please let us know.

Here are instructions on how to write the PSA's and topics you can choose
from: http://opirgyork.ca/sites/opirgyork.ca/files/print/PSA%20table.doc

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*SOCIAL JUSTICE FILMMAKING THIS MAY...*

2030 Film Production for non-majors: The New Neo-Realism (6.0) is an
intensive three-week for non-majors this May that will give you hands-on
training in digital fiction film production … making films that make a
difference. Short neo-realist films will be collectively created by
students, working in small groups and rotating through various creative
roles. Lectures and screenings every morning will be followed by afternoon
workshops focused on specific skills: camera, acting, directing, production
management, scriptwriting, editing. Designed equally for first-timers and
those with more experience, 2030 is a course for anyone who's ever wanted
to make a fiction film that makes a difference.

What's the New Neo-Realism? In the forties, Italian neo-realism was a
cinema of social urgency, shooting on the streets because the studios had
all been bombed. Today, neo-realism around the globe reinvents this legacy,
using accessible digital cameras, available light and naturalistic acting
to explore diverse stories, silenced voices, and local struggles that
Hollywood and the CBC prefer to ignore. A passionate cinema of the margins,
a subtle cinema of the dispossessed, it can be comedic or shocking, minimal
or experimental… an artistic practice of great diversity that refuses
slogans and conventions and easy answers. A trans man applies for a job in
Sault Ste-Marie; a girl lies to her mother in Tahrir Square; two teen
rivals join an Idle No More blockade; a bartender misses his bus at
Jane/Finch. The New Neo-Realism has emerged as a subversive, global idiom
of digital urgency, seeking to observe and surprise and haunt… and get
people talking.

*Instructor: *John Greyson (Associate Professor, Film) is a
Genie/Gemini/Teddy award-winning writer/director of such features as
Lilies, Zero Patience, Proteus, Fig Trees and most recently, the TTC
trans-murder mystery Murder in Passing. In 2012, TIFF Lightbox and the AGO
presented a complete retrospective of his films and videos.

Open to all York undergrads, no pre-req. Class meets Mon-Thurs, 10am-5pm,
from May 6 to May 24, 2013

FA/FILM 2030 Film Production for non-majors: The New Neo-Realism (6.0)
For more info: johngreyzone at gmail.com

*
*
*COMMUNITY NEWS*
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*(1)*
*==============================
 TOMORROW!!
*Confront Barrick at their Annual General Meeting!Once a year, the board of
Directors of the world’s most powerful gold mining corporation converge in
downtown Toronto. This year, we're releasing a report that chronicles
Barrick's lies and highlights the true stories behind their false CSR spin.
Help us ensure that these stories don't get ignored.

*Join us to… *CONFRONT BARRICK GOLD!

*WHEN: *April 24, 2013 9:30am
*WHERE:* 255 Front St. Metro Convention Center, Toronto
*SOCIAL MEDIA:* https://www.facebook.com/events/361759053928131/
*WHY:* Around the world, Barrick robs Indigenous people of their lands,
destroys sensitive ecosystems and agricultural land, supports brutal police
and security operations, and sues anyone who tries to report on it. But
despite repression and a sophisticated PR machine, the truth is getting out
about this corporate criminal.

Join us as we debunk Barrick's lies and help create a powerful movement of
solidarity against Barrick and corporate impunity.

Be there with us to tell investors: “GOLD IS A TOXIC ASSET, INVEST IN LIFE!”

more info: protestbarrick.net

*
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April talk (Canadian Jewish politics & Palestine) and Warsaw anniversary
article Dear all,

Later this month, I'm giving a talk in Toronto *(April 24 at Beit
Zatoun)*on Canadian Jewish politics, Palestine, and the left. The talk
will put the
situation following the dissolution of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC)
in context, and is being co-sponsored by the Centre for Social Justice, the
Greater Toronto Workers' Assembly, Independent Jewish Voices (Toronto), the
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (Toronto), and Socialist Project.

Please send the details along to any Toronto contacts who might be
interested: <https://www.facebook.com/events/551605134870672/>.

Also, for those interested, this month marks the 70th anniversary of the
Warsaw Ghetto uprising, and in connection with this I've written a broader
article on international Jewish politics which came out today: <
http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/802.php>. My photo from east end
London's best mural is, I think, itself worth checking out!


In solidarity,

Dan Freeman-Maloy
*
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*Whose Borders? Panel and Coffee Table Discussion*

April 25, 2013, 6:30pm, Toronto Free Gallery (1277 Bloor Street West)
Lansdowne Subway Station
The space including bathrooms is wheelchair accessible.

Presentations from Sebastian Rodriguez (Arizona, USA); Indigenous land
defenders from Akwesasne Mohawk Territory; David Moffette (on the Ceuta
(Morrocco/Spain) border crossing); members of No One Is Illegal - Toronto
and more.

With Canada clamping down on permanent immigration, borders becoming more
lethal globally, over 50 million people displaced around the world,
indigenous communities demanding and asserting control over their
territories while trade agreements take away community self-determination,
join us in lead up to the 8th annual May Day of Action for a discussion on
Borders. What are they? What are they not? What is a no-border struggle in
the current context? Is it the same everywhere? What does decolonization
work mean when thinking about borders?

Sebastian Rodriguez is an anarchist who has been doing humanitarian aid and
no borders work on the US/Mexican border and around the world for the past
few years.

The Border is Everywhere: Death, Criminality and Resistance on the
US/Mexican Border: US border policy always gets framed in terms of
“stopping the flow of northern migration.” That is not its purpose. The
main purpose of US border policy is to manage mixed-status communities both
in the border regions and in the interior. Many people view the Sonoran
desert as a humanitarian crisis. It is-over 6,000 people have died since
the mid-90's trying to cross, but calling it simply a “crisis” ignores the
fact that the mounting death toll is intentional on the part of the
government. The US/Mexican border is a war zone and, increasingly, a
testing ground for the domestic application of counter-insurgency theory
developed by the military abroad. Read more here and here.

Akwesasne Mohawk Territory is sub-divided into three jurisdictions:
Ontario, Quebec and New York, USA. As a community divided by border
crossings, Akwesasne has repeatedly organized against the daily oppression
these borders create. In 2009, the community resisted Canada Border
Services Agency from arming itself on their territory, which resulted in
the Canadian border post being removed from Cornwall Island. Unfortunately,
this has created further problems: with the CBSA border post now in
mainland Cornwall, residents of the Island must pass either an American or
Canadian border post just to get to the mainland. Many community members
have reported their cars being seized and being hassled on a daily basis by
border guards while entering and exiting their own territory. Issues in the
community are escalating. You can watch a short video on the community here.

David Moffette is a PhD student who does research on immigration policies
and border control in Spain since 2007. He has been involved in migrant
justice struggles since 2004 and co-organizes the Critical Border Studies
Speaker Series at York University. For this panel, David will discuss the
history of the Spanish-Moroccan border wall in Ceuta from the colonization
of North-Africa to the current war on migrants. Looking at this border as a
frontier of colonial expansion, as a wall of Fortress Europe, and as a
filter that selects who can circulate, how, and why, this presentation will
try to explain the role of borders in nation-building and neoliberal
capitalism.

No One Is Illegal is a migrant justice movement rooted in anti-colonial,
anti-capitalist, ecological justice, Indigenous self-determination,
anti-occupation & anti-oppressive communities. We are part of a worldwide
movement of resistance that strives and struggles for the right to remain,
the freedom to move, and the right to return. We undertake public awareness
about the exploitation inherent in the immigration system and border
controls, as well as inter-related systems of exploitation and oppression.
We mobilize tangible support for refugees, undocumented migrants, and
(im)migrant workers and prioritize solidarity with Indigenous land
defenders. We struggle alongside anti-capitalist, anti-authoritarian, and
anti-imperialist movements, and fight back through rallies and direct
actions to affirm dignity and respect for our communities.

www.nooneisillegal.org
www.facebook.com/NoOneIsIllegalNetwork

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*Justice for Ned Livingston Peart *

Justice for Ned Livingston Peart

Who: Migrant Worker, allies and community groups

What: Human Rights Tribunal into death of migrant worker Ned
Livingston Peart

When: April 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th 26th and June 28th 2013

Where: Ontario Human Rights Tribunal 655 Bay (between Dundas and College)
14th Floor

Time: 9:30-4:30pm

Human Rights Tribunal Hearing on April 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th 26th and June
28th, 2013 (655 Bay street 14th floor from 9 30 am to 4 30 pm)

The Peart case concerns the refusal of the Office of the Chief Coroner to
grant an inquest into the death of a Jamaican farm worker, Ned Peart,
brought to Ontario through the Commonwealth Seasonal Agricultural Workers
Program (CSAWP) at an Ontario tobacco farm in 2002. The worker’s family
sought to have a coroner’s inquest held into the death of Mr. Peart because
of concerns regarding the safety of Mr. Peart’s working conditions. The
applicant, the brother of the dead worker, brought a complaint to the Human
Rights Commission in the summer of 2005 asserting that s. 10(5) of the
Coroners Act, which provides that a mandatory inquest will be held for
certain types of workers while excluding others, violates the Code because
such provisions have an adverse impact on the applicant and migrant workers
in Ontario.

No death of any migrant worker has ever been the subject of a coroner’s
inquest.
The application, which seeks an inquest into Mr. Peart’s death and broader
systemic reforms of the manner in which the Office of the Chief Coroner
investigates the deaths of migrant agricultural workers, seeks to ensure a
safer worker environment for all migrant agricultural workers in this
province. More broadly this application permits the HRTO to consider the
status of migrant agricultural workers within the context of the
requirements of the Code, which potentially could positively impact the
status of workers in the CSAWP and other temporary migrant worker programs
because of the intersection between the Code and the harassment,
discrimination and exclusion inflicted on such workers.

The Peart family’s central argument is that because of the unique
vulnerability faced by migrant workers brought to Canada under the CSAWP,
migrant workers like Ned Peart are adversely affected by the exclusionary
structure of the Coroner’s Act.

CSAWP migrant workers are:
• Caught in a cycle of permanent recruitment, whereby migrant workers may
never obtain citizenship rights, and never obtain seniority, recall rights,
or job security; instead migrant workers are generally selected by their
employer, and while most workers return year after year, and while most
work the majority of the year in Canada (migrant workers are permitted to
work up to 8 months in Canada, though CSAWP prohibits migrant workers from
staying in Canada for a full 12 months of any given year), their status is
always precarious;
·
• Liable to be dismissed and repatriated back to their home country for any
reason, without recourse, which can include where workers are injured or
where workers raise concerns about safety;
·
• Restricted by their work visas to working for only one employer, with
little realistic option of switching employers;
·
• Especially dependent on their employer because migrant workers must live
in employer provided housing, which means living on the employer’s property
and subject to their control, and which means the loss of employment (which
can occur at the employer’s whim for any reason) also means homelessness

• Subject to long hours and difficult work conditions, which are
exacerbated by a documented absence of protective equipment and appropriate
training at many farm, even though the Occupational Health and Safety Act
applies to farm work;

• Socially isolated with little ability, given the nature of their work and
their economic conditions, to assert the rights they have on paper, or to
access the health care, employment insurance, or workers compensation
benefits they pay for out of their wages;

These vulnerabilities, and others, are linked to the underlying structure
of the CSAWP program and migrant workers’ status as racialized foreign born
migrants. The result is that migrant workers perform difficult dangerous
work without complaint, even when they know the work is hazardous because
they are so vulnerable to their employer, and this makes migrant workers
vulnerable to and has led to many workplace deaths—Mr. Peart’s death is
merely one example of dozens of deaths. In certain other hazardous
occupations (like mining or construction) an inquest into such deaths would
be automatic, and inquests lead to systemic changes that reduce the risk of
death. Given migrant workers’ unique vulnerability in their workplace and
the relationship between this vulnerability and their race, place of origin
and status, the structure of the Coroner’s Act imposes a disproportionately
negative impact on migrant workers not simply because of what they do, but
because of who they are, and this adverse impact violates the requirements
of the Human Rights Code.

This case is important because when our government provides services it
should do so in a non-discriminatory way—for every person in Ontario,
regardless of their citizenship, skin colour, or where they come from. This
case is also important because it is about creating a more ethical
agricultural system. In a time where people are becoming more and more
concerned about food sources, local food, and sustainability, it is
important to keep in mind the just food production has to include just
working conditions for the people who are the closest to the Ontario-grown
food that comes to our tables.

The provincial government should take steps to address the vulnerabilities
faced by migrant workers on Ontario farms to ensure that all workers in
Ontario work in safe workplaces, and the province and the federal
government should work together to ensure that programs like CSAWP provide
safe opportunities for workers to fill genuine labour shortages rather than
an opportunity for employers to exploit a disposable and vulnerable
workforce of Latin American and Caribbean workers at low wages in unsafe
and unhealthy work environments.

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**#May1TO, May Day: Solidarity City! Status for All! Decolonize Now! *
*
*
Join us in the streets for Toronto's 8th Annual May Day of Action!

*Videos from previous year:*
http://bit.ly/MayDayTOVids<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FMayDayTOVids&h=vAQEA74r4&s=1>
*More info with links:*
www.toronto.nooneisillegal.org/MayDay<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.toronto.nooneisillegal.org%2FMayDay&h=NAQGc9WRv&s=1>
*Poster series imagining a Solidarity City:*
http://on.fb.me/12HV9DO<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fon.fb.me%2F12HV9DO&h=sAQGPynx-&s=1>

1PM – 4PM: Occupy Gardens @ Queens Park
5:30 PM: Rally and March starting at City Hall and ending at Little Norway
Park in solidarity with striking workers at Porter (Queens Quay and
Bathurst)
*Facebook: *https://www.facebook.com/events/306795326114626/?fref=ts

For seven years, you have marched on May Day to celebrate and invigorate
migrant justice struggles in Toronto. On May 1st, 2013, let's take to the
streets once again to build a Solidarity City. Solidarity City is a unified
struggle for: Respect for Indigenous Sovereignty; Status for All; an End to
Imperialism and Environmental Destruction; an End to Austerity and Attacks
on the Poor and Continued Resistance against Patriarchy, Racism, Ableism &
Homo/Transphobia.

Pipelines, tankers, mines, and so-called development projects are being
forced onto the lands of Indigenous nations. Harper, like every Prime
Minister who came before him, refuses to respect the sovereignty of
Indigenous peoples and continues to neglect his treaty obligations, as seen
in Omnibus Bill C-45. In the face of this and more, land defenders across
Turtle Island continue to resist in powerful and inspiring ways. As we look
towards an exciting summer of action and resistance fueled by the Idle No
More movement, this May Day let us honor all ongoing decolonization
struggles and commit to continuing our support for Indigenous sovereignty.

The past year has seen the implementation of C-31, dubbed the Refugee
Exclusion Act, further criminalizing migrants and expanding the detention
and deportation machine. Jason Kenney announced the creation of a
designated countries of origin, a racist, two tiered system under which
refugees get fewer rights based on their place of birth. This past
November, many of us honored our communities and confronted Minister Kenney
when he showed up in Toronto. On May 1st, let us take to the streets to
build community alliances and resistance once again.

Exploitative temporary worker programs continue to expand and many migrant
workers continue to meet deportation, injuries and in some cases death.
Workers are being forced to pay thousands of dollars to get jobs in Canada
for which entire families go in to debt, yet no provisions exist for status
on landing. Since Harper came into power, over 72,000 people have been
locked up in immigration detention. In December we rallied in solidarity
with security certificate detainees Mohammad Mahjoub, Mohamed Harkat and
Mahmoud Jaballah and all those locked up in immigration detention. This May
Day let us take to the streets to end detentions and deportations and to
call for freedom to move, freedom to stay and freedom to return!

On February 21st, Toronto City Hall reaffirmed its promise to providing
services to residents without full immigration status. We will continue to
build a Solidarity City where communities work together to ensure justice
and dignity for all residents. The history of Access Without Fear in
Toronto is a long one and on May Day let us march to celebrate our
victories and commit to continued struggle.

In the face of austerity, climate destruction, colonial and capitalist wars
and interventions here and across the world that push people out of their
homes, let us fight for status for all. Status for All is the struggle for
self-determination, just livelihood, housing, food, education, healthcare,
childcare, shelter, justice and dignity for all people, with or without
immigration status.

Coordinated by a coalition of community groups including No One Is Illegal
- Toronto, May 1st Movement and Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.
Endorsers include AIDS ACTION NOW!, Association of Part-Time Undergraduate
Students (APUS), Camp Sis, Casa Salvador Allende, Common Cause Toronto,
CUPE local 1281, Educators for Peace and Justice, Grassroots Ontario Animal
Liberation (GOAL) Network, Faculty for Palestine (F4P), Health for All,
Jane and Finch Action Against Poverty [JFAAP], Latin American and Caribbean
solidarity Network LACSN, Law Union of Ontario, Maggie's: Toronto Sex
Workers Action Project, OPIRG York. Refugees Without Borders, Rising Tide
Toronto, Rhythms of Resistance - Toronto, Socialist Project, Toronto Haiti
Action Committee, Toronto New Socialists, Toronto Rape Crisis
Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape, United Food and Commercial
Workers, Women's Coordinating Committe for a Free Wallmapu [Toronto] and
more. To endorse the event, fill out this
formhttp://bit.ly/ZDRwKU<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FZDRwKU&h=aAQEszxQ4&s=1>

*JOIN MAY DAY!*

- Organize a contingent: bring a group of people from your class,
organization, neighbourhood, or union local to this demonstration, bring
your demands, banners, flags and signs.

- 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. Cheques can be made to No One Is Illegal and mailed to 260 Queen
Street West, PO Box 60006, Toronto, ON M5V 1Z8. Please put May Day in the
memo line and email nooneisillegal at riseup.net to let us know.

- Build the movement: add your organization to the list of endorsers for
this day of action. Fill out this form
http://bit.ly/ZDRwKU<http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fbit.ly%2FZDRwKU&h=bAQHpCwIk&s=1>

- Get the word out. Call, text, and email your friends. Share the facebook
events, or better yet, start your own! Make sure to tag everything,
including pictures and videos after, with the hashtag #May1TO.

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*Resistance in Jane & Finch
*
*Date*: Wednesday, May 1st
*Time*: 7pm
*Location*: York Woods Library (Main Floor, Periodical Area), 1785 Finch
Avenue West
*Facebook*: https://www.facebook.com/events/181616421988084

Through sound, poetry and performance, residents and friends of the Jane &
Finch community will share works that speak to the ways government
austerity measures (including cuts to social services, affordable housing,
employment training and education) has impacted those living in this ‘high
priority’ neighbourhood.

Artists presenting their work include emcee, spoken word artist, actress
and community leader, Lola Bunz; Quentin Vercetty Lindsay, Visual Arts
coordinator and Artistic Facilitator with the Lost Lyrics, connoisseur of
creativity and a charismatic virtuoso; Nomanzland a collective that comes
together to create theatre, poetry, music, and art that represents the
struggle of marginalized and oppressed people all over the world. Real
Life. Real Drama. Real Theatre -all members of the West Side Arts Hub- a
grassroots, community lead initiative with a mandate to nurture and support
the development and impact of community arts, by empowering local artists,
arts groups, youth and residents, and promoting social justice through the
arts in the West End of North York, Toronto; long standing and well
respected member from the Jane &Finch community, poet Andrea Tabnor; emcee,
poet and writer Motion, described by the Toronto Star as ‘a true testament
to the power of words’.

This evening will be MC’ed by Guatemalan born arts educator, keeper of the
Sacred Mayan Cholqij calendar, Hip Hop artist and poet SPIN El Poeta.

Performances will be followed by a moderated Q&A, co-facilitated by a
member of the Jane& Finch community and Regional Executive, Vice-President
(REVP) for Ontario of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), Sharon
DeSousa.

***
This event is part of Mayworks Festival 2013 (see below for more
information). It is being co-presented by Public Service Alliance of
Canada.

TICKET INFORMATION:
This event is free.

MORE INFORMATION:
Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts is a multi-disciplinary
arts festival that celebrates working class culture. For more information
on other events at the 2013 Festival, please visit www.mayworks.ca.

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*A Poor People's History of East Downtown Toronto*
Guided by: Gaetan Heroux

    Saturday, May 4th

    10:00 AM

    Meeting Place: 51 Division (Front St. and Parliament St.)
    Est. Duration: 2 hours

The walk will explore the history of poor people in East Downtown Toronto
going back to Toronto's first poor house, the House of Industry. How did
this poor house come to dominate the lives of Toronto's poor for over a
century? What was the relationship of Toronto's wealthy residents to the
unemployed who relied on the House of Iindustry? What happend to the slums
of Cabbagetown? How did Toronto's 'skid row' come to be established in
East Downtown Toronto? These are just some of the questions that we will
explore during the walk.
Public Transit Directions:

Take King St. Street car to Parliament St. ( 51 Division is just south of
King St. E. on the south side of Parliament)
Accessibility:

Everyone welcome
Busy sidewalks
Dogs welcome
Strollers welcome
Bicycles welcome

For more information see here:
http://www.janeswalk.net/index.php/walks/canada/toronto/poor-peoples-history-east-downtown-toronto/


*==============================*

-- 

-OPIRG York
--
www.opirgyork.ca
416-736-5724
opirgyork at gmail.com



*There are many ways to get involved at OPIRG. We currently have 8 OPIRG
York working groups:*
Art For Justice, Justice is Not Colour Blind, Students for a Free Tibet, YU
Free Press, Environmental Justice York, Progressive Filipino Canadians for
Community Empowerment and Development (PFCCED), Students Against Israeli
Apartheid, and the Vanier Prison Support Line working group. You can contact
Victoria Barnett, our volunteer coordinator, about ways to get involved in
these working groups: victoria at opirgyork.ca.

*We also have three different collectives: *PrOPIRGanda Radio, Radical
Reading Room and PrOPIRGanda Zine- see the callouts below. You can contact
us about ways to get involved in these collectives: opirg at yorku.ca.
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