[opirgyork] OPIRG AGM + Tools for Change Trainings + Many Upcoming Events!

Sat Apr 25 07:20:38 PDT 2015

Hey folks,

Are you feeling a little betrayed by the weather? Well don't despair there
are still many great ways to keep warm and pass the time while we wait for
Spring to actually arrive! Check out some of the great events happening in
the community below!!!

If you're interested in volunteering at OPIRG York, or have any questions,
please get in touch with Victoria, at victoria.opirg at gmail.com. We always
need volunteers! And stop by the OPIRG York office anytime -- Room 449C
Student Centre!

-- OPIRG York

****************
*TODAY'S DIGEST:*

*//////// OPIRG YORK \\\\\\\\\\\*
1. *May 13th**: *JFAAP General Meeting
2. *April 30th: *OPIRG York AGM
3. *May 4th: *OPIRG Toronto Hiring for Summer Positions!
4. *May 5th: *OPIRG Peterborough is Hiring!
5. *SERIES: *Tools for Change Spring Schedule!
6. *ONGOING:* Environmental Justice Global Divestment Day

*//////// COMMUNITY \\\\\\\\\\\*
7. *April 25th: *Furniture Drive for Mishkeegogamang
8. *April 26th**:* Eat for Tibet
9. *April 27th (Online Registration Deadline): *CESA Conference
10. *April 28th*: Enough is Enough! Rally to End Health Crisis at Toronto
South Detention!
11. *April 29th: *Public Forum With Leaders of Mexican Social Uprising
12. *April 29th:* No More Deaths! Emergency Rally In Support of Migrants
Crossing the Mediterranean
13. *April 29th: *Evict Imperial: Stand With Secwepemc Women Warriors
Society!
14*. April 30th:* No More Goldcorp, No More Murders: Goldcorp AGM Memorial
March
15. *May 1st: *AMC Early Registration Deadline!
16. *May 21st: *3rd Annual Tommy Douglas Institute Presents: Education &
Activism: Rethink, Resist, Reclaim!
17. *July 9th-12th: *Cahoots Festival
18. *ONGOING: *OCAP Presents: Raise the Rates Week of Action: May 18th -
25th
19. *ONGOING*: 30th ANNUAL MAYWORKS FESTIVAL!
       19.1 *May 4th: *What Ail's Your Soul?
20. *OGOING*: Jane Finch Mother's In Motion Fitness FUNDRAISER

****************

*1. **JFAAP General Meeting*

*JFAAP* general meeting will be on *May 13th at 6pm at Seneca College in
Yorkgate Mall (North West corner of Jane and Finch) Room 218/219 (2nd floor
of the mall) *on the *1st & 3rd Wednesday of every month*;
new members are always welcome!

****************

*2. **OPIRG York AGM:*

*Date*: Thursday, April 30, 2015
*Time*: 1-4pm
*Location*: RM 313 Student Centre
*Offers*: Free lunch and childcare subsidies available

*Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/346680715532606/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/346680715532606/>*

****************

*3. OPIRG Toronto Hiring for Summer Positions**!*

OPIRG Toronto is hiring for the positions of Summer Events and Programming
Coordinator and Community Research and Engagement Coordinator!

*Deadline for applications:* *Monday, May 4th @ 12:00PM*
*Start Date:* *The week of May 11th, 2015*
*Rate of Pay:* *$12.00/hr @ 30 hrs/week for 8 weeks*

*Note:* These jobs are funded as part of the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ)
Program and follow the regulations as set out for those positions. However,
OPIRG Toronto is determined to be flexible, accessible, and equitable
regarding terms and hours of employment.

Details on the job description and how to apply can be found on their
website. <http://opirgtoronto.org/node/235>

****************

*4. OPIRG Peterborough Hiring for Full Time Position*

Are you passionate about social and environmental justice? Do you get
excited about working with students? Do you want an engaging and fulfilling
job that let’s you bring those passions together? If so, you’re in luck!
Our current Coordinator is going back to school, so we’re looking for
someone to take his place!

The Coordinator is tasked with supporting OPIRG’s Board of Directors and
many volunteers, administering the office, facilitating programming, and
more. It is a full-time, permanent position, unionized with CUPE 1281. A
full job description is available in the PDF below.

OPIRG welcomes the contributions that individuals from marginalized
communities bring to our organization, and invites aboriginal people;
people of colour; poor and working class people and those on social
assistance; women, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, queer-oriented people;
transgender, transsexual, intersex and two-spirit people; single parents,
members of ethnic minorities, immigrants, people from non-academic
backgrounds and people with disabilities to apply.

Interested applicants should deliver a resume, cover letter, a minimum of
three references and a one-page essay to *opirgptbo at gmail.com
<opirgptbo at gmail.com>* by 5pm, May 5th. No phone calls please. For more
information on the position, please see the job description below.

*http://opirgptbo.ca/2015/were-hiring-a-new-coordinator/*
<http://opirgptbo.ca/2015/were-hiring-a-new-coordinator/>

****************

*5. Tools for Change Spring Schedule!*

*Tools for Change <http://www.toolsforchange.net/> *workshops are free for
all OPIRG members, but please remember that *prior registration is required*
.

*Upcoming Spring Workshops: *

*Theatre of the Oppressed*

*Monday, May 11 | 6:00pm - 9:30pm | Greenpeace, 33 Cecil Street | Register
here <http://www.eventbrite.ca/o/tools-for-change-1382386439>*

This workshop is an introduction to improvisation exercises and August
Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed techniques. Designed to encourage embodied
learning, it will provide participants with consciousness-raising tools to
help broaden understandings of social injustice and oppression. the use of
interactive exercises will also help participants uncover and practice
conflict resolution and community-building strategies and will focus
especially on the importance of interpersonal communication skills,
team-building, and empathy.

Please note: There is limited space for this workshop (a maximum 12
people). Please register now to avoid disappointment. If when you register
the workshop is full and you want to be placed on a waitlist, please send
an email *laura.severinac at greenpeace.org <laura.severinac at greenpeace.org>*.

Trainer: Lauren Spring is a professional actor, educator, and development
worker. She is Creative Director of Extant Jesters Theatre ( a company that
strives to bring theatre to those who may not otherwise appreciate or have
access to it ) and has been facilitating theatre and improv workshops for
more than a decade for a wide variety of participants (ranging from grade 2
students in "priority" public schools, to government ministry staff, to
bank executives in office tours). Lauren Holds a BFA in Theatre and
Development, an MA in International Development and is currently pursuing a
PhD in Adult Education and Community Development at the University
ofToronto.   Lauren also works part time in the education department at the
Art Gallery of Ontario and is especially interested in the ways in which
art (both theatre and visual art) can help foster resilience after trauma.

*De-escalation and Non-violent Communication*

*Thursday, May 21 | 6:00pm - 9:30pm | University of Toronto campus, exact
location to be emailed to participants | Register here
<http://www.eventbrite.ca/o/tools-for-change-1382386439>*

The purpose of this workshop is to provide techniques for de-escalating
conflicts, and communicating in thoughtful, non-reactive ways, in order to
build healthy organizations and movements.  Topics to be covered include
conflict resolution styles, triggers and grounding techniques, and
de-escalation strategies.

Trainers: Joan Ruzsa is the coordinator of Rittenhouse, an abolitionist
organization that advocates for transformative justice and community
alternatives to incarceration.  She also works for PASAN (Prisoners with
HIV/AIDS Support Action Network) and is studying to become a
psychotherapist.

Cara Fabre also works with Rittenhouse part-time.  Her other projects
include making a documentary about the history of juvenile detention and
current alternatives to incarcerating youth, as well as interviewing
frontline prisoner support workers to find out the effects of Bill C10
(Conservative tough on crime legislation).

*How to build the right info graphic & easy-to-use tools to make your own
sharable images*

*Tuesday, May 26 | 6:00pm - 9:30pm | University of Toronto campus, exact
location to be emailed to participants | Register here
<http://www.eventbrite.ca/o/tools-for-change-1382386439>*

In the first half of this workshop we’ll look at the range of online
infographic and shareable image types that you can use to amplify your
campaign or group's messages. We will also explore which types of
infographics will be the most useful depending on your goals and what
information you want to impart. During the second half of this workshop
we’ll look at 3 easy-to-use online tools that will help the non-graphic
designer create professional shareable images.

Trainers: Riccardo Filippone is currently a Senior Communications Officer
at the national office of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
Riccardo’s training and background in website management, graphic design,
email marketing and social media began as communications assistant in the
office of NDP MP Peggy Nash in 2006. He continued this work in many
electoral campaigns and numerous roles with the New Democratic Party,
including Staff Training Officer, Executive Assistant to Jack Layton,
 Interim Deputy National Director, and Campaign Director of the Peggy Nash
Leadership Campaign (2011-2012). Riccardo also worked at Public Relations
firm Navigator Ltd. in Toronto before joining CUPE.

****************

*6. Environmental Justice Global Divestment Day*

In order to avoid dangerous climate change, the world needs to redirect
investment from fossil fuels to alternative forms of energy that are
compatible with climate safety and social justice.

York University is invested in the fossil fuel industry. Governments and
organizations around the world have recognized that we are approaching the
threshold where climate change will become dangerous and irreversible.
Investment in fossil fuel corporations drives the consumption of fossil
fuel reserves, which must remain underground in order to avoid dangerous
climate change. In addition, the detrimental effect that extraction of
fossil fuels takes on the environment and surrounding communities cannot be
ignored. York plays a direct role in facilitating violent and dangerous
extraction techniques by funding
these fossil fuel companies.

York has divested before from companies for supporting investments contrary
to the mission of the University, and must do it again.

The York community plays a crucial role in the fight for fossil fuel
divestment. I call on York University to:
1. Freeze new fossil fuel investments immediately.
2. York University to commit to full fossil fuel divestment within five
years.
*https://divestyorku.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/fossil-free-york-petition*
<https://divestyorku.wordpress.com/2015/02/11/fossil-free-york-petition>

*https://www.facebook.com/fossilfreeyork*
<https://www.facebook.com/fossilfreeyork>

****************

*7. Furniture Drive for Mishkeegogamang*

Based on the success, feedback, and lessons learned from our furniture
drive in December 2014, we are launching the initiative again this spring!

We are now launching a Tools, Youth Activities and Furniture Drive for
Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation.

While the initiative in December 2014 was successful, it only reached a
fraction of the community as the need is so significant. Also, the response
in Toronto to the call-out for donations and volunteers was overwhelmingly
well-received, so we know we will be able to bring much more. We are doing
another drive with the same focus onfurniture for sleeping. We are also
responding to the feedback from the last drive inprioritizing youth sports
equipment, tools and building materials.

***Please help outreach and SUPPORT our fundraising to make this drive
possible!:***

*https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tools-and-furniture-drive-for-mishkeegogamang
<https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tools-and-furniture-drive-for-mishkeegogamang>*

*Volunteer Meet-up!*
Come join us* April 25 for at 700 Dufferin St. 3-5pm* for food, a short
documentary, and a discussion on the context and plan for this initiative
with Gary Wassaykeesic (member of Mishkeegogamang and Toronto organizer).
R.S.V.P.:
*https://www.facebook.com/events/1436793703287855/*
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1436793703287855/>

Donation Pick-Ups
We will be collecting donations and doing pick-ups of useful items in May
2015. For more info: *www.furnituredrivesolidarity.wordpress.com*
<http://www.furnituredrivesolidarity.wordpress.com/>

Learn More
Watch this short doc on Colonialism and the Housing Crisis in
Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation:* https://youtu.be/AK-UHoFfNwQ
<https://youtu.be/AK-UHoFfNwQ>*

*Facebook Event*
Here is our facebook event page!:*
https://www.facebook.com/events/1387947244863517/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1387947244863517/>*

Thank you for your heartfelt support.
Laura Lepper
on behalf of CUPE 3903 First Nations Solidarity Working Group

****************

*8. Eat for Tibet*

SFT Canada is pleased to announce that we are hosting The Largest Tibetan
Food Festival in North America.

The 5th annual Eat For Tibet Food Festival is on *Sunday, April 26th 2015
in Little Tibet aka Parkdale from 11am till 7pm*.

Come out with your friends and family to enjoy some delicious Tibetan food
at any of the Tibetan restaurants in Parkdale. Proceeds will support our
crucial work with youth leadership and campaigning for Tibet.

Enjoy a wide variety of different styles and flavours of Tibetan food from
the best Tibetan restaurants in our ‘Little Tibet’ in Parkdale.

*The participating restaurants are (in alphabetical order) :*

*Himalayan Kitchen - 1524 Queen St. WestLhasa Kitchen - 1422 Queen St. West*

* Loga's Momo Corner- 216 Close Ave.Norling Restaurant - 1512 queen St. WOm
Restaurant - 1439 Queen St. WShangrila Restaurant– 1600 Queen St WTibet
Kitchen – 1544 Queen St WTsampa Café – 1528 Queen W*

Come with a hunger for some great Tibetan dishes and learn about what we do
at Students for a Free Tibet Canada, and how you can help us!.

P.s. - Photo Opp. With Tibetan Yak and Dress up in Tibetan Traditional
Clothing

RSVP here -
*http://www.eventbrite.com/e/eat-for-tibet-food-festival-tickets-16409694839*
<http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.eventbrite.com%2Fe%2Feat-for-tibet-food-festival-tickets-16409694839&h=fAQGwxGZ0&enc=AZNJwHstErJ8w6h9a6xCxQlkUmN47vfesEtlN44L1C3MaN0UTj8ho65hsCdMNFzVCVc&s=1>

*#ImGoingToEatforTibet and #IAteForTibet are the hashtags that we are
encouraging people to use on instagram and twitter!*

Organizer -
Students For a Free Tibet-Canada
*www.sft-canada.org*
<http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sft-canada.org%2F&h=xAQFwnhqO&enc=AZMDy-bSGEM8h50QILV-FVAEphRdj-jtz_zBa7b9mQrKKhBp4d23kENRwfNLdqfNNlI&s=1>

*Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1557501234525399/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1557501234525399/>*

****************

*9. Critical Ethnic Studies Assoc. Online Registration Deadline!*

The third Critical Ethnic Studies Association (CESA) Conference will take
place at York University, Keele Campus, from April 30 to May 3, 2015. The
theme of the conference is Sovereignties and Colonialisms: Resisting
Racism, Extraction, and Dispossession. The gathering will honour Indigenous
sovereignty, struggles for land, culture, food, water, education, and
health, and centre Indigenous, Black, and people of colour activism and
scholarship, especially work coming from feminist, trans, Two-Spirit,
queer, and disability struggles and perspectives.

The four-day conference will feature twenty plenary speakers, over 400
presentations by community activists, artists, and academics, film
screenings, book and community exhibits, and much more. Speakers include
prolific international academics, such as Andrea Smith, Chinyere Oparah,
and Andrea Ritchie, and well-known local activists, such as Krysta
Williams, Zainab Amadahy, and Min Sook Lee.

*Online registration is available until April 27, 2015* at
https://www.criticalethnicstudies.org/content/2015-conference-registration

. Registration at the York University conference site will begin on *Thursday,
April 30th, 2015 at **8:30 am.*

For more information: https://www.criticalethnicstudies.org/contac
<https://www.criticalethnicstudies.org/contact>

t[image: Inline images 1] <https://www.criticalethnicstudies.org/contact>

*Facebook Event Page: **https://www.facebook.com/events/1580676855513574/*
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1580676855513574/>

<https://www.facebook.com/events/1580676855513574/>
****************

*10. Enough is Enough! Rally to End Health Crisis at Toronto South
Detention*

Join us in solidarity to help raise awareness and demand action to address
the health crisis at The Toronto South Detention Centre. *At 1 PM on April
28th we will rally in front of the Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services*.

The Toronto Justice Prisoner Coalition is a group comprised of local
organizations and concerned citizens who have come together to fight the
terrible conditions in the Toronto South Detention Centre, including lack
of access to adequate health care and the use of solitary confinement for
people experiencing physical and mental health challenges.

The Ministry set a deadline of April 2015 for the opening of Toronto
South's infirmary and mental health units. April is here, and staff were
being interviewed for the medical unit in January. The fact that people
were moved to this facility before adequate health services were
operational shows a failure to consider the basic human rights of those who
are incarcerated in our detention centres.

The use of segregation or solitary confinement to warehouse sick,
incarcerated individuals is inhumane. It is no place for a person
experiencing illness. It is no place for people living with chronic
conditions. Solitary confinement harms all aspects of health. Solitary
confinement exacerbates stigma.

In addition to unjustly punishing incarcerated people, the Toronto South's
inadequate visitation facilities also punish their families and
communities. Its electronic visiting system does not allow incarcerated
individuals to even be in the same room as their families, relying instead
on a video system – and families still have to travel all the way to the
jail to utilize this. Children cannot hug their parents. People cannot
touch their loved ones. This undermines the health and psychological well
being of incarcerated people and their families. Despite the facility being
brand new, access to telephones is poor. Frequent lockdowns impede visits
and phone calls altogether. People without outside support deteriorate
faster when incarcerated, and those on the outside who care about them hurt
too.

Join us, march with us and demand justice with us! The time is NOW for the
Ministry to address the above concerns. We must provide appropriate health
care to individuals being held at Toronto South Detention Centre

*Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/879334452107757/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/879334452107757/>*

****************

*11. *
*Public Forum With Leaders of Mexican Social Uprising - Ayotzinapa to
Toronto*

On September 26, 2014, 43 Mexican student-teachers from Ayotzinapa were
disappeared by Mexican state authorities in Iguala, Mexico. The resulting
social movement has seen millions of people take to the streets in over 100
cities around the world. Now, for the first time, organizers from
Ayotzinapa will be speaking in Toronto about their experiences, and calling
for support.

*Speakers: *
*ISIDORO VICARIO AGUILAR *is the Coordinator of the Legal Department of the
Tlachinollan Centre for Human Rights. Isidoro is Indigenous Me'phaa

*HILDA LEGIDENO VARGAS* is the mother of Jorge Antonio Tizapa Legideño, one
of the students disappeared on Sept. 26, 2014

*JORGE LUIS CLEMENTE BALBUENA* is a spokesperson of the 43 students from
the Raul Isidro Burgos teachers school

Canada plays a critical role in supporting the Mexican state responsible
for the disappearances. In 2012, two way trade between Mexico and Canada
totalled $20 billion. As a signatory to NAFTA, Mexico is Canada’s 5th
largest export destination. Despite the human rights crisis in Mexico,
Canada’s refugee system has deemed it a ‘safe country’.

In the lead up the Pan-Am Games, the Pan-Am Economic Summit and the Pan-Am
Climate Summit, join us on *April 29th* to learn about what's happening in
Mexico and how we can support them from here in Toronto.

Part of the Ayotzinapa to Ottawa Cross-Canada tour:http://makemexicosafe.ca/
ayotzinapa2ottawa/

Supported by: CAW-Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy,Centre
for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean
<https://www.facebook.com/cerlac> United Steelworkers - Syndicat des
Métallos <https://www.facebook.com/uswmetallos> Common Frontiers
<https://www.facebook.com/common.frontiers>

Endorsed by: No One Is Illegal | Personne n'est illégal | Nadie es ilegal
<https://www.facebook.com/NoOneIsIllegalNetwork> - Toronto, Amnesty
International <https://www.facebook.com/amnestyglobal> , LATIN AMERICAN AND
CARIBBEAN SOLIDARITY NETWORK <https://www.facebook.com/groups/LACSN/>
and United
Food and Commercial Workers International Union
<https://www.facebook.com/ufcwinternational>

For more information see http://makemexicosafe.ca/ayotzinapa2ottawa

*Facebook Event Page: **https://www.facebook.com/events/813015278779207/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/813015278779207/>*

****************

*12. No More Deaths! Emergency Rally in Support of Migrants Crossing the
Mediterranean*

*Join us at the Italian Consulate in Toronto on April 29th, at 1:15pm, at
136 Beverly Street (Dundas & Beverly) to insist no more migrant deaths! *

More than 1,750 migrants have died since January 2015 trying to cross the
Mediterranean Sea to find dignity and safety in Europe. European Union
border policies shut out poor and racialized migrants, particularly
Eritreans, Somalis, and Libyans, forcing them to get on dangerous boats to
cross the water. At the same time, funding for search and rescue operations
has been cut, imposing a death sentence on many that are making their way
to Europe. EU countries (former and current colonial powers) occupy much of
North and Central Africa, either through military presence or with EU
Border Agency Frontex’s land operations. Their actions are murdering
thousands well before they can get on ships to cross in to Europe.

[If you, your family or your friends have been impacted by the
Mediterranean crossing, please get in touch with Syed Hussan at
*hussansk at gmail.com
<hussansk at gmail.com>*]

The utterly inadequate Mare Nostrum mission by the Italian Navy, which was
the only rescue operation in the region, was cancelled last year. On April
20th, Foreign and Interior Ministers of the EU met in Luxembourg and
decided to respond to the humanitarian crisis with brutal police and
military interventions. The Italian politician Federica Mogherini chaired
this meeting. On Thursday, April 23rd they will meet again to develop a
plan to capture and destroy smuggler's boats instead of deploying rescue
operations.

The Italian government (like Canada) is a leading proponent of
'interdiction border policies' that aims to transfer border enforcement to
other countries. This includes funding Libyan and Egyptian authorities to
target boats leaving their shores, and pushing to open camps in Lebanon and
Turkey. Canada has taken up similar measures. In 2003, Immigration Canada
boasting about stopping 40,000 migrants before they boarded planes bound
for North America.

The crisis in the Mediterranean has many roots. It is caused by EU border
policies. It is a crisis created by the World Bank, which has funded the
displacement of at least 3.4 million people over the last decade. It is
caused by ongoing military aggression in Libya, Syria, Iraq and other
places that profits western arms manufacturers and dealers and countries
like Canada. It is a direct result of global border policies that make it
harder for poor and racialized people to travel anywhere.

Join us on April 29th to demand rescue operations in the Mediterranean.
Call for immediate regularization of undocumented people in Europe, and
across the world, and immediate access to resettlement of displaced people
and refugees from Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and other regions. End Dublin II
and Dublin III laws in Europe which make it harder for migrants to get
justice.

The deaths in the Mediterranean, the deaths on the US-Mexico border, and
the suicides and death in Canadian immigration detention custody are
linked. So too is our global struggle for freedom to move, return and stay.
Join us.

Coordinated by No One Is Illegal - Toronto
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/nooneisillegaltoronto/> and Justice for
Migrant Workers (Justicia for Migrant Workers, J4MW)
<https://www.facebook.com/groups/2258183409/>

*Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1439999309633118/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/1439999309633118/>*
<https://www.facebook.com/events/813164988750014/>

****************

*13. Evict Imperial: Stand With Secwepemc Women Warriors Society!*April
29th, is a national day of action called for by Secwepemc Women Warriors
Society to demand the eviction of Imperial Metals and to stop the reopening
of the Mount Polley Mine. Last August Imperial Metals dumped 25 million
cubic meters of toxic mining waste in to the unceded Territory of the
Secwepemc Peoples. The spill has disrupted the Secwepemc Peoples way of
life. The toxics tailings have reached the Fraser watershed and the 2nd
largest salmon spawning grounds in the world. Allowing this corporation to
reopen the Mount Polley mine is a violation of sovereignty and opens the
territory up to further damage.

Join organizers from *MISN: Mining Injustice Solidarity Network*
<https://www.facebook.com/mininginjustice.solidarity> and *No One Is
Illegal | Personne n'est illégal | Nadie es ilegal*
<https://www.facebook.com/NoOneIsIllegalNetwork> *April 29th* as we gather
at the Toronto Stock Exchange, which facilitates the negligent practices of
Canadian mining companies, to hold Imperial Metals accountable for the
Mount Polley disaster.

This event is organized by No One Is Illegal Toronto and the Mining
Injustice Solidarity Network.

Stay tuned for more information and speakers!

The Toronto Stock Exchange is located by St Andrew Station, which has
elevator access.

This is a family friendly event, bring your kids, parents, grandparents,
aunties, and uncles!!

*National call to action:* *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvahN7pdXek*
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvahN7pdXek>

*National Facebook:* *https://www.facebook.com/events/479754152172313/*
<https://www.facebook.com/events/479754152172313/>

*Facebook Event Page: **https://www.facebook.com/events/366904806851416/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/366904806851416/>*

****************

*14. No More Goldcorp, No More Murders: Goldcorp AGM Memorial March*

Please join us at Goldcorp headquarters (130 Adelaide Street) for a
memorial march to the Goldcorp Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Please join us on *April 30th at 2:30pm at Goldcorp headquarters (130
Adelaide Street)* for a memorial march to the Goldcorp Annual General
Meeting (AGM).

2015 marks the 10th anniversary of the operation of the Marlin mine in the
Western Highlands of Guatemala where communities surrounding the mine have
experienced ongoing human rights violations and environmental destruction
for the last decade.

The memorial march takes its lead from the 2011 Revolucion de las flores
(the flower revolution) that was organized by Guatemalan community groups
and environmental groups resisting Tahoe's mine in San Rafael Las Flores.
marchers left red carnations outside the company's headquarters in
Guatemala City and then marched to the Canadian embassy where they left
more carnations. On April 30th, we will also march with red carnations to
express our disgust and sadness at the ongoing repression, violence and
environmental destruction that is taking place at the hands of a Canadian
mining company. We hope you can join us in person or in spirit!

*Background:*
Goldcorp, a Canadian company based in Vancouver, is one of the largest gold
mining companies in the world. The company has mines in Canada, US,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Chile. Goldcorp has a long and ongoing
history of human rights violations at their mines and was found guilty at
the 2011 Peoples’ International Health Tribunal for “seriously damaging the
health and the quality of life, the quality of environment, and the right
to self determination of the affected Indigenous and campesino
communities”. Goldcorp is responsible for human rights violations,
environmental devastation, negative health impacts on communities near the
mines, repression, murder, violence, criminalization against communities
resisting their mines.

In 2010, Goldcorp sold its Escobal Silver Mine (in Guatemala) to Tahoe
Resources retaining 40% of shares in the Escobal mine. Tahoe Resources
continues the same violence and destruction as Goldcorp, while communities
surrounding the mine have been peacefully protesting since the exploration
licence was granted. This year, we will march together to hold Goldcorp and
Tahoe Resources accountable for the murder of 16-year-old mining resistance
activist, Merilyn Topacio Reynoso Pacheco who was active in the resistance
against Canadian company Tahoe Resources’ Escobal mine.

Goldcorp has revenues of over $3 billion and has illegally extracted over 1
million ounces of gold from the Marlin Mine in Guatemala. Since the Marlin
mine's inception, community members opposing the mine and defending their
land and rights have become targets of criminalization and intimidation.

Keep checking here for more details on route, times, locations and
estimated times of arrival at locations to come soon. See you there!

*Facebook Event Page: **https://www.facebook.com/events/439473559544423/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/439473559544423/>*

****************

*15. AMC Early Registration Ends May 1rst!*

We have been busy finalizing sessions for AMC2015
<http://alliedmedia.us7.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ed3193a97f901cbe49364e914&id=7f7b6025d6&e=8d354ca297>,
which we will be announcing in early May! This year the AMC will feature
over 300 hands-on workshops, strategy sessions, panels, performances, film
screenings, and music events.

We offer a sliding scale registration rate of $75 - $500 so that the
conference can be accessible to as many people as possible. We are also
offering some special options for "early unicorns" who register before May
Day (May 1). See the options below.

*Reduced Sliding Scale before May 1*
If you register before May Day you will have the option of registering at a
reduced sliding scale rate of $50 - $500.

*Free AMP Iridescence Logo T-shirt*
The true expense of the AMC is $150 per person. If you register before May
Day at the $150 rate or higher we will gift you a hot-off-the-presses AMP
Iridescence Logo T-shirt
<http://alliedmedia.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed3193a97f901cbe49364e914&id=3077c57a33&e=8d354ca297>
.

Learn More + Register
<http://alliedmedia.us7.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ed3193a97f901cbe49364e914&id=ddb93133ec&e=8d354ca297>

Coming in from out of town? Make sure to make your housing arrangements
<http://alliedmedia.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=ed3193a97f901cbe49364e914&id=974e7998db&e=8d354ca297>
 for your visit. You can also join the AMC2015 Facebook Event
<http://alliedmedia.us7.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=ed3193a97f901cbe49364e914&id=06f24230b6&e=8d354ca297>
 for updates and to post your questions to the larger group.

****************

*16. The 3rd Annual Tommy Douglas Institute Presents: *

*Chris Hedges Speaks at The 3rd Annual Tommy Douglas Institute - Education
& Activism: Rethink Resist Reclaim*

*CHRIS HEDGES*: Activist, writer and public intellectual
featured keynote speaker

*WHEN: Thursday May 21st, 2015, 9:30am – 4:00pm / Anniversary Reception to
followWHERE: George Brown College (St James Campus) - 290 Adelaide St. E.,
4th Floor*

*FEE: $55 (regular)*  /  $20  (with student/low wage
subsidy)* *Lunch/refreshments includedOnline Registration / Detailed
Program:http://georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute
<http://georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute>*

The 3rd annual Tommy Douglas Institute at George Brown College is pleased
to announce celebrated writer, activist and public intellectual Chris
Hedges as its keynote speaker on Education & Activism: Rethink Resist
Reclaim on *Thursday May 21st, 2015*.

The one-day event of provocative discussions, thematic roundtables,
interactive exhibits and a closing community forum, featuring an
intergenerational panel of activist-educators, will bring together
activists, students, faculty, community organizations, admin., communities,
and the public in looking at the impacts of neoliberalism on post-secondary
education. A special anniversary reception will follow.

Participants will have the opportunity to share their thoughts in a range
of roundtable sessions: Aboriginal Perspectives: Decolonizing
Post-Secondary Education; From Access to Inclusion: Rights-Based Approaches
to Post-Secondary Education; Community Partners and Post Secondary
Education: Breaking Down the Walls; Faculty Perspectives on Critical
Pedagogy and Educating for Change; Is There a Better Way? Policy
Alternatives in Post-Secondary Education; Student Perspectives: From
Consumers to Learners - Reversing the Trend; Labour Perspectives: Work with
Dignity in These Times; Beyond Classroom Walls: Popular Education,
Engagement and Activism; The Legacy of Tommy Douglas.

>From its beginnings neoliberalism has entailed the systematic dismantling
of social welfare, leaving more and more communities neglected, excluded
and often devastated.

Our colleges, schools and universities are by no means exempt. In 2015 we
see the frustrated, largely contract faculty of two major Ontario
universities go on strike. A private college abruptly closes its doors
leaving faculty, students and support workers out in the cold. Students in
Montreal have taken to the streets in protest against austerity, in
recognition that the impacts on education is only part of a much greater
problem.

As decreased funding, rising tuitions, disappearing job security, and
regressive policy agendas attempt to transform students into "consumers",
teachers into contract workers and curricula into extensions of competitive
commerce, we ask:

Are we witnessing a tipping point in higher education?
As neoliberal principles burrow into the very heart of our educational
centres, how do we preserve these spaces of public debate, discourse and
dissent that have always been so essential to our democracy?

A more humane and accountable society requires educational institutions
that are ethical, critical, rigorous and robust defenders of social justice.

Join us in discussing EDUCATION AND ACTIVISM as we…
RETHINK the role of education in these times …
RESIST neoliberal incursion into teaching and learning, and…
RECLAIM our educational institutions as vital democratic centres of
thought, inquiry, community-building and advocacy for the common good.

*Contact Us: tdouglasinstitute at georgebrown.ca
<tdouglasinstitute at georgebrown.ca>  /  416-415-5000 ext. 2555
<416-415-5000%20ext.%202555>*

*Facebook: facebook.com/TommyDouglasInstitute
<http://facebook.com/TommyDouglasInstitute>*

*Twitter: @TDIGBC*

****************

*17. Cahoots Festival*

Cahoots is a Festival of Faith, Justice and DIY happening July 9 – 12,
2015. There will be workshops, skill sharing, music, art, and more - all
nestled together at Liebenzell Mission in Milton, Ontario. This will be the
second year for Cahoots!

Cahoots will explore how faith communities struggle for justice. How do we
stay resilient and strong to oppose injustice while building a new world?
What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in this age of injustice, cuts
to essential social services, destruction of our land and the poisoning of
our water by multinationals, deportation of migrants and refugees, and the
further industrialization of our prison system?

At Cahoots, we will ask questions together, listen to unique and remarkable
people, sing freedom songs, practice skills, and create together as a
diverse community of faith.
http://www.cahootsfest.ca/

The Student Christian Movement is offering a subsidy for York University
Students hoping to attend the festival. Students can email
york at scmcanada.org for more information!

Thank you!

<victoria.opirg at gmail.com>
-- 
*STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT*
*AT YORK UNIVERSITY*

E-Mail <york at scmcanada.org> - YU Connect
<https://yorku.collegiatelink.net/organization/scmyork>
 - Facebook <https://www.facebook.com/groups/206537342860108/>
 - Tumblr <http://scmyork.tumblr.com/>

* * *

*STUDENT CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT*
*NATIONAL OFFICE*

SCM Canada
310 Dupont Avenue, Suite 200
Toronto, ON
M5R 1V9

E-Mail <info at scmcanada.org> - SCM Canada Website <http://www.scmcanada.org/>

****************

*18. OCAP Raise the Rates Week of Action: May 18th - 25th*

Raise the Rates Week of Action Against the Liberal Government’s ‘Invisible
Austerity’ War on the Poor

The Raise the Rates Campaign is calling on local communities to challenge
MPPs during the week of May 18. During that week, they will be in their
constituency offices and this is an ideal time to challenge the austerity
and growing poverty that is being imposed in this Province.

The Liberals have long tried to present themselves as a kinder alternative
to the Tories but, in reality, they are imposing a range of cuts on poor
people and communities. In a recent announcement, the Government cynically
presented a reduced commitment to funding anti homelessness initiatives as
an infusion of new cash. This highlights the stealthy and misleading
Liberal approach that can be described as ‘invisible austerity’. We are
putting forward a series of demands that address this:

• Suspend the ODSP medical reviews that are now underway until a properly
functioning computer system is in place and the backlog of people waiting
to be moved from OW to ODSP has been cleared. Make the reviews simpler and
less intrusive and ensure all who face them have been properly notified
and provided with the medical and advocacy services they nee to complete
the process.

• Stop the elimination of the $100 a month work related benefit for people
on ODSP

• Scrap the SAMS computer system as a failure that continues to impose
misery and hardship on people on social assistance and creates intolerable
conditions for ODSP and OW workers.

• Fully restore the Special Diet and Community Start Up (CSUMB) so that
people in poverty can have the chance of eating a healthy diet and
remaining housed

For more information or to sign on to participate in the Week of Action,
contact via the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP):

*E-mail: ocap at tao.ca <ocap at tao.ca>Phone: 416-925-6939
<416-925-6939>Twitter: @ocaptoronto*

---

*Ontario Coalition Against Poverty157 Carlton St #201Toronto, ONM5A
2K3Phone: 416 925 6939 <416%20925%206939>Fax: 1 855 714 0566
<1%20855%20714%200566> (toll free)www.ocap.ca <http://www.ocap.ca/>*

*Twitter: @OCAPtorontoFacebook: facebook.com/OcapToronto
<http://facebook.com/OcapToronto>*

****************

*19. 30th ANNUAL MAYWORKS FESTIVAL*

*MAY 1 - 14, 2015 | TORONTO*
Festival Program: On Website
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001zbgrszGWc4Qu_J3bbnEj-zZG0fJ653ME8idqRAT-ugXGFyZ339zFw-J_usGasGXk8vmjCUcPmmb5qiChuyK54-CnKadqIXa38KlxwRLvPo3UTJ9QhTZ57eMjCZ7YWBXqL5ctRFKBqbnKTeMwXgQBDFaxq5_9LSo4F47dTN-QtJOf8sYUY5dP6VDDixazvr_s&c=hzNhb-Gkq4aQe-7qotH25-d9A3GCSUJWkfWR7QjnHZvmneUSjCSX6w==&ch=3PguTHW4kMn0vNZOytnqjO-cbVzuq8QnywkMDMK7XjSzGNv0Riw1wg==>

 Festival Program: On Facebook
<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001zbgrszGWc4Qu_J3bbnEj-zZG0fJ653ME8idqRAT-ugXGFyZ339zFw-J_usGasGXk_0UMBshcCzU-nmtlgGncvs5jQUBdO4_QjWpScF3FFCzdJNyS-PCKfk6S3Ag0W5dTvDv0m6pcdhnV1JLv6hR_5ekxRupfYUvKHDur0UP8G3R1OBYqZZFzrCpTpfFIhOYxowy7e4emeVbKD2rZZf8G7Zz4cR5BYpZoBdIgk7i5_jlU7J4etmksOZmKiRtOZnExAhtOQ7PkWf9sV1S8qYFnB2sXcf1kmrLnDXblQvLOQyh6WdtUZKRv0ZtuZJWuQuyu&c=hzNhb-Gkq4aQe-7qotH25-d9A3GCSUJWkfWR7QjnHZvmneUSjCSX6w==&ch=3PguTHW4kMn0vNZOytnqjO-cbVzuq8QnywkMDMK7XjSzGNv0Riw1wg==>

The 30th annual Mayworks Festival of Working People and the Arts will take
place from May 1 – 14, 2015 at various GTA locations.* This year’s
multidisciplinary program features visual arts exhibits, a walking tour, a
film screening, theatre performances, concerts, and interactive community
workshops.
*Some events have earlier start dates, and some events continue past the
end of the festival period.
To view program visit:  *http://mayworks.ca/festival-program/
<http://mayworks.ca/festival-program/>*

*WELCOME TO THE 30th ANNUAL MAYWORKS FESTIVALMAY 1 – 14, 2015 | TORONTO*

Aiming to provide a forum where arts-positive unionists and union-positive
artists can create and dialogue, Toronto’s Mayworks Festival has held its
ground as an independent, grassroots, and community-oriented festival for
thirty years. Mayworks continues to carve out a space for artists, cultural
workers, and trade unionists working in a range of mediums to engage with
the common struggles of artists and labourers.
The 30th annual festival launches with silkscreen printing workshops
facilitated by members of the Justseeds Artists’ Collective. At these
workshops participants are encouraged to print materials for Toronto’s
annual May Day rally. The evening of the rally, we are celebrating with the
United May Day Committee at a concert featuring worker-positive
performances. Later in the festival we are presenting the Toronto premier
of the album Work Songs about an activist and organizer’s struggles to
remain hopeful while attempting to reach personal and political goals.
Closing our festival Mayworks Rising: 30th Birthday Party and Concert is a
musical co-presentation with BOLD As Love, a series dedicated to uniting
racialized and Indigenous artists and communities.

We are featuring three visual arts exhibits exploring a range of themes.
Portrait of Solidarity is showcasing how five artists with a rich history
with Mayworks have taken up the issue of migrant labour; Like Flesh and
Blood draws on the historic figure Joseph Emin to speak to the similarities
of indentured labour in the 18th and 19th century and global migration
patterns of contemporary, and often racialized, labour forces; and the
research-heavy Do what with less? visual arts exhibit highlights challenges
faced by over thirty interviewed workers in the cultural sector.

We are also presenting three theatre performances: including What Ails Your
Soul – a culminated performance of a series of theatre workshops in which
Jane Finch Action Against Poverty members, community artists and residents
share the stories of their lived experience of poverty; the one-woman
multidisciplinary play The Erasable Woman takes up the issue of invisible
labour and transgenerational trauma; and the theatre piece Life on the Line
– recounts the six-month women’s strike at Eatons in the winter of 1984-85.
Along with these theatre works, we are excited to be screening Deux Jours,
Une Nuit (Two Days, One Night) – a 2014 Oscar-nominated film about a female
worker fighting to keep her job.

Our co-presentation with Jane’s Walk, is featuring a walking tour of
downtown Toronto that informs participants about the labour movement’s
anti-war positions against World War I. And our co- presentation with
Turtle House Art and Play Centre, an art-based organization programming
activities primarily for children and families from refugee backgrounds, is
providing a free drumming workshop open for all. Another workshop we are
proud to host is Co-Creating Images For The World We Want To See, teaching
participants how to design images that reflect the significant work of
artists, social justice organizers, and labourers.
Reflecting on the festival’s artistic direction over the years, one can see
that Mayworks’ programming reflects the diversity of our city’s unionized,
migrant, un-waged, and precarious workers while building links between
precarity in the art world and broader patterns of precarious work in the
city, and globally. We hope you enjoy the 30th annual festival!
—————————————————————————————————————-

*#MAYWORKS30 ANNIVERSARY CAMPAIGN:GIVE $30 FOR 30 YEARS OF ART, LABOUR &
SOCIAL JUSTICE*
As part of the 30th year celebrations, Mayworks has launched its first-ever
crowdfunding campaign.  We are asking Mayworks’ friends and supporters to“*Give
$30 for 30 years of Art, Labour and Social Justice*
<https://fwyc.ca/campaigns/mayworks-festival-working-people-and-arts>
“.
Your crowdfunding donation will help preserve:

A space where artists, workers and community members gather to share
creative labour and struggles
Artists being fairly paid for their work
Opportunities for young, diverse, marginalized and emerging artists
Good wages & benefits for unionized Mayworks staff
Partnerships with unions, community groups & artists’ organizations
A festival where most events are free or pay what you can
Community-based, accessible venues

   How to support the #Mayworks30 anniversary campaign:

   Please visit our crowdfunding site and make a donation to join our 30
   for 30 campaign:
*https://fwyc.ca/campaigns/mayworks-festival-working-people-and-arts
   <https://fwyc.ca/campaigns/mayworks-festival-working-people-and-arts>. *
   Please *share the link*
   <https://fwyc.ca/campaigns/mayworks-festival-working-people-and-arts>
    on social media and over email with friends, family, co-workers and
   encourage them to join the 30 for 30 campaign.

*19.1. What Ails Your Soul?*

What Ails your Soul is the culminating performance of a series of theatre
workshops in which the Jane Finch Action Against Poverty members, community
artists and residents share the stories of their lived experience of
poverty. The storytellers look through the lens of social determinants of
health to unpack the effects of poverty while unveiling how policies
created by the different levels of governments contribute to poverty and
austerity, as deeply felt by low income and racialized communities.

Maryama Ahmed, Sashoya Simpson and Amanda Parris lead the workshops in
storytelling, scriptwriting, theatre production and acting.

The performance is accompanied by a photo exhibition and followed by a
panel discussion.

Food and childcare will be provided.

Co-presented by Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP)
<https://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Finch-Action-Against-Poverty-JFAAP/132701496774939>,
Driftwood Community Center, and Opirg York
<https://www.facebook.com/opirgyork>.

Funded by Toronto Arts Council <https://www.facebook.com/torontoartscouncil>’s
Community Connections.

*Facebook Event Page: **https://www.facebook.com/events/964292100248310/
<https://www.facebook.com/events/964292100248310/>*

****************

*20. **Jane Finch Mother's In Motion Fitness FUNDRAISER*

*FUNDRAISING LINK:*
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jane-finch-mother-s-in-motion-fitness

There are two ways to help:
1. Contribute - $15 is a hour of childcare for the women in the program
2. Share- the more people hear about the campaign, the more we are likely
to meet our target.
3. The first person to donate $100 will receive a free family portrait from
Errol Young - Professional Photographer.
4. the first 2 people to donate $50 will receive 2 free movie tickets.

We are a group of mothers with children of various ages who want to improve
our health and that of our children through increased physical activity and
healthy eating.

The Jane Finch Mother's In Motion (MIM) fitness program was started by
mothers in the Jane Finch Community. It started in 2012 and currently has
over 45 women registered. It runs Tuesdays and Fridays mornings at Oakdale
Community Centre. The program is coordinated by the participants with
support from Black Creek Community Health Centre (in kind staff support)
and City of Toronto Parks and Recreation (space). Initially, The Canadian
Association for the Advancement of Women and Sports and Physical Activity
provided some funding for childcare and instructors.

According to statistics Canada, Jane Finch has one of the highest rates of
diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Many of the women who
participate in the MIM fitness program get access to dieticians,
instructors, free childcare and personal trainers.

Our funding will come to an end and so we are looking for new partners to
assist us in sustaining this program. Your donation to the MIM fitness
program will provide childcare and instructors for the fitness program.

For more information please contact Ama Amponsah at 647-787-7291 or email
at leticia.boahen at yahoo.com

*FUND ONLINE:*
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jane-finch-mother-s-in-motion-fitness

-- 

-OPIRG York
--
www.opirgyork.ca
416-736-5724
opirg at yorku.ca

*There are many ways to get involved at OPIRG. Apply to be a working
group: **http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups
<http://opirgyork.ca/working-groups>*
Contact victoria at opirgyork.ca for further information.

*We also have two collectives: *PrOPIRGanda Radio and the Radical Reading
Room. You can contact us about ways to get involved in these collectives:
opirgyork at gmail.com.

*Unsubscribe*: https://lists.resist.ca/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/opirgyork
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