CONTENTS

1. CALLS TO ACTION
2. EVENTS
3. ARTICLES
4. EMPLOYMENT

National Day of Mourning

Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc confirmed on Thursday May 27, 2021 the remains of 215 lost loved ones, children, had been found on the site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.

The tragedy is unimaginable.

Survivors of residential schools and their families carry the burden of this tragedy and it is due time that Canada as a whole also share this burden. These deaths impact every person in this land and so it’s important that we all come together to mourn. That’s why we are asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Minister Marc Miller, and Minister Carolyn Bennett to call for a National Day of Mourning.

change.org

Understanding and Engaging China from the Left

When: June 3rd, 3:30pm

Tensions between the US and China have been rising for the better part of a decade, if not longer with President Obama’s executing his ‘Pivot to Asia’ and President Trump waging trade and technology wars and, amid the pandemic, a New Cold War against China. In this context, the left needs to understand and engage with China on the basis of a sophisticated understanding of its internal dynamics and international role. This panel of left experts on China from Canada, the US and China is designed to spark off precisely that conversation.

Chair and Organizer: Professor Radhika Desai, Department of Political Studies, Director, Geopolitical Economy Research Group, University of Manitoba.

zoom.us

The Unveiling

When: June 3rd, 6:30pm
Where: Online – YouTube and Facebook

On June 3rd., ADBCC – The People’s Residence welcomes you to a glimpse of the future. What will the permanent home of The People’s Residence look like? What is progress? Who are the folks behind this exciting project? Will it be cutting edge, state of the art, accessible, green, and people friendly? How magical are the numbers 756? Join us as we travel virtually into the future. Spread the word and be part of legacy making.

eventbrite.ca

#NoWar2021 Virtual Global Conference

When: June 4-6

#NoWar2021 is a unique event that brings together a global grassroots coalition of individuals and organizations around the topic of CANSEC and the global arms trade. As North America’s largest weapons expo, CANSEC typically brings together 12,000+ government and military officials and weapons industry reps from 55 countries to Ottawa each year. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and pressure from our coalition, CANSEC 2020-2021 has been postponed to 2022. But that doesn’t mean our work is over. We’re demanding the permanent cancellation of CANSEC and also drawing attention to the fact that CANSEC is a symptom of a larger problem – Canada’s and the world’s complicity in the global arms trade and the institution of war.

hopin.com

Fair Vote Canada Annual Conference 2021

When: June 4th, 7pm

On the 20th anniversary of Fair Vote Canada, our guests will reflect on why PR matters more than ever and lessons learned from decades of advocacy.

Panel: Andrew Coyne, Judy Rebick, Hugh Segal and Elizabeth May Lessons Learned and Looking Ahead.

zoom.us

Bring Our Children Home

When: Sunday June 6th, 2pm
Where: Queen’s Park

We are calling out to our dancers and drummers to bring our traditions and culture to the streets of Toronto.

We invite everyone to honor the lives of the 215 children who have been recently found in a mass grave at the Kamloops indian residential school.

This National Indigenous Awareness Month, we demand justice for the cultural genocide Canada continues to benefit from.

* Please wear masks and physically distance yourselves

Facebook event

Hotel Workers Rising

When: Tuesday June 8th, 7pm

It was a year-long strike and a bitter strike at the prestigious Royal York Hotel in downtown Toronto. Many of the workers were immigrants, people of colour and mostly, they were women. Join us for this fascinating presentation as race, gender and class play prominently in a famous labour dispute. Speakers will take us on a journey from that that strike right up to the battles hotel workers fight today. We will also play an audio of Tommy Douglas addressing the 1961 striking workers, as well as video footage shot by Glen Richards from that time.

Speakers:
– Andria Babbington, President, Toronto & York Region Labour Council
– Zeleda Davis, ex Vice-President, UniteHere
– Jeremy Milloy, Author of “A Battle Royal: Service Work Activism and the 1961-62 Royal York Strike”

twhp.ca

The Big Tech Monopolies and the State /w Grace Blakeley

As the effects of the coronavirus pandemic swept through the global economy, the average observer could have been forgiven for missing a critical piece of news: by May 2020, the combined market capitalization of the four largest US tech companies reached one fifth of the entire S&P 500. Four companies – Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Facebook – now account for 20 per cent of the combined value of the 500 largest US corporations – an unparalleled level of market concentration. Forty years ago, these corporate entities were either just beyond being plucky start-ups, or did not even exist. Monopolistic tendencies are not limited to the tech sector. In 1975, the largest 100 US companies accounted for nearly half of the earnings of all publicly listed companies; by 2015, their share reached 84 per cent.

Source: LeftStreamed

Indian Farmers Against Neoliberalism

By Praveen Jha

The scale, intensity and tenacity of on-going protests by India’s peasantry have attracted considerable attention, locally and globally, and the protests are widely hailed as among the most significant recent resistance movements to the machinations of corporate power and interests of big business. I begin by flagging the immediate triggers for the eruption of anger amongst the peasantry, then sketch some core elements of the broader structural-economic context of a period of deep and pervasive agrarian distress. Finally, I sketch some features central to the politics of the movement, and the standoff with an essentially belligerent national/ federal/ union government (as they are used interchangeably), intoxicated by its brute majority and wedded to aggressive neoliberalism.

Source: The Bullet No. 2386

International Manifesto in Support of Catalonia’s Right to Freedom as a People

In the 14th of February elections to the Parliament of Catalonia, 52% of Catalans voted in favour of parties that call for Catalonia to become an independent state. This is an irrefutable victory for the Catalan pro-independence movement, after years of mass mobilizations that culminated in the October 1st, 2017 referendum on self-determination. The plebiscite was carried out in support for the creation of an independent state in the form of a republic, winning by a landslide despite the harsh repression exerted by the Spanish police in an attempt to stop it, and which led to more than 1,000 injured, some seriously.

Source: The Bullet No. 2387

Why Big Pharma’s Arguments Against Patent Waivers Don’t Add Up

By Sonali Kolhatkar

Days after he publicly opposed the waiving of patents for lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates had a change of heart. He released a statement saying, “No barriers should stand in the way of equitable access to vaccines, including intellectual property, which is why we are supportive of a narrow waiver during the pandemic.” His statement came after US President Joe Biden, in a surprising move, and in contrast to his European allies, backed a temporary waiver on COVID-19 vaccine patents. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai released a statement saying, “extraordinary circumstances… call for extraordinary measures.” Immediately, the big drugmakers’ share prices fell, and they shot back in anger with a litany of dire predictions.

Source: The Bullet No. 2388

Where Are the Children Buried?

By School Magazine

The discovery of the bodies of 215 children in an unmarked grave outside the former Tk’emlúps Indian Residential School is another horror to add to the long list of genocidal acts against Indigenous people and their families. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission estimated that at least 3,213 children died in the Indian Residential Schools over the 140 years they operated. Scott Hamilton, the anthropologist who wrote the section of the TRC report “Where are the Children Buried?” based on what he knew in 2014, called it a conservative estimate “in light of the sporadic record keeping and poor document survival.” That number could be as high as 15,000 if you include children who just disappeared.

Source: The Bullet No. 2389

Project Administration Officer

We have three summer student job postings as follows: Project Administration Officer, Research Support Officer, Event Co-ordinator. The salary: $17.50/hr.

Students will work from home as our office remains closed due to the pandemic. So students from across the province can apply as long as they are able to work from home by computer and phone.

Please note, the deadline for application is end of day Thursday, June 3, 2021. Applications received after that day will not be accepted.

ontariohealthcoalition.ca