CONTENTS

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

F-35 stealth fighters for $19 billion

Petition to the House of Commons
Whereas:

– The federal government plans to purchase 88 new Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighters for $19 billion with a lifecycle cost of $77 billion;
– The F-35s are a financial risk with unsustainable operation costs and had over 800 open technical and performance deficiencies according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office;
– The F-35 is a warplane designed for first strike attacks and not defence;
– The F-35 is also a dual capable plane that can carry the B61-12 nuclear bomb, which would cause Canada to violate its commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty…

petitions.ourcommons.ca

Lower fares and improve TTC service

Toronto City Council is voting soon on the 2023 budget. Fare increases for adults and youth, allowing more crowding, and service cuts are proposed – 9% less service in 2023 than pre-pandemic levels. That’s why your Councillor needs to hear from you! Remind them of their promises made before the election, or ask them to commit now to protect the TTC from cuts.

ttcriders.ca

Speak up for better transit

When: January 12th, 7:30pm

Toronto City Councillors are voting soon about how much TTC fares cost and service levels: they need to hear from you! TTCriders will break down what is being proposed in the 2023 budget and how you can take action. There will be time to practice speaking about transit issues, and guidance on how to register to speak to City Councillors on January 17 or 18, 2023 (City of Toronto public budget hearing dates).

ttcriders.ca

Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education

When: January 13th, 7pm
Where: 720 Bathurst St.

Curious about socialism? Interested in a discussion of whether it is really possible and a sober look at the problems it will face? Wondering why socialists put so much emphasis on the working class?

In these uncertain and dangerous times, the Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education is a space to listen, discuss and challenge the contemporary relevance of socialism. The school will provide an introduction to socialism, as well as a variety of courses and events that seek to expand on key aspects of socialist thought and practice. It will be a gathering place for both those already sympathetic to socialism but looking to learn more and those new to socialist ideas and full of questions.

As such, we are thrilled to officially announce the launch of the school at a very special event on January 13, 2023, 7pm. Featured will be an introduction of the school and a guest lecture by Bryan D. Palmer, Professor Emeritus at Trent University, on the topic of “Capitalism, Colonialism, and Canada: How the past is before us.”

eventbrite.com

Support Betty Baker and Drag Queen Story Time

When: Saturday, January 14th, 9:45am
Where: Peterborough Public Library, 345 Aylmer St

There is a planned protest by anti-2SLGTBQ groups against a Drag Queen Story Time event featuring Betty Baker at the Peterborough Public Library on January 14.

Drag Queen Story Time is a fun, inclusive, kid-friendly event that encourages literacy, promotes acceptance, and celebrates differences.

PFLAG Peterborough is asking community members to come together to show support for local drag artist Betty Baker, the Peterborough Public Library, and the children and parents who will be attending this event.

Facebook

Genocidal Practices in Palestine and Colombia

When: January 14th, 4pm
Where: Loretto College, 1st floor, Romero Room, 70 St Mary St.

Exchange and connect with Blandine Juchs, member of PASC – Project Accompaniment and Solidarity with Colombia and Dana Farraj from Palestine. She is part of the Research Institute at Birzeit University, Muwatin for Democracy and Human Rights, and she is a doctoral student at the University of Burgundy, on state responsibility for international crimes.

Facebook event

64th Anniversary of the Cuban Revolution

When: January 14th, 7pm
Where: Steelworkers’ Hall, 25 Cecil St.
Admission: $15

Light snacks, cash bar. Live band “Salsa de Cuba.”

Facebook poster

Rosa Luxemburg: On Revolution

When: January 15th, 1pm

Book launch for Volume IV of the Complete Works of Rosa Luxemburg, Political Writings 2, “On Revolution” (1906-1909).

Hosted by Verso Books and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

YouTube live

Voices from the Holy Land

When: January 15th, 3pm

Does Israel’s treatment of Palestinians constitute a form of apartheid–the systematic segregation and discrimination of a population on the basis of race, first put into place in South Africa? Such is the claim of the UN, Amnesty International, B’Tselem, Human Rights Watch, and journalists from a range of media. The International Criminal Court has labeled apartheid “a crime against humanity.” Two short documentary films explore the separate and distinct laws, physical infrastructure, civil systems and military enforcement applied to Palestinians in Israel and in the Occupied Territories.

zoom.us

City Budget Town Hall

When: January 16th, 2pm

Join Social Planning Toronto and partners on January 16 to hear our analyses of Toronto’s 2023 City Budget. We will talk about what is in the budget and offer insights on its impact on critical programs and services, then hold a dialogue on collective priorities and action.

socialplanningtoronto.org

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

When: January 16th, 6pm
Where: 777 Bathurst Street

A social justice celebration honoring activists, past, present and future.

mailerlite.com

Decent Work Organizing

When: January 17th, 7pm

There is growing momentum for a $20 minimum wage; 10 paid sick days plus an additional 2 weeks during pandemics; the reinstatement of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit; equal pay; and real protections for frontline workers, including gig workers, temp agency workers, part-time workers and casual workers.

justice4workers.org

The Politics of Global Competitiveness

When: January 18th, 11am

In his book The Politics of Global Competitiveness (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022), Paul Cammack analyses World Bank and OECD policy advice from the 1960s onwards, up to the initial response to COVID, and for the period 2010 onwards a good amount of material on the European Commission. In the light of his reading of Marx’s Capital, he argues that the OECD and the World Bank have always been focused on furthering the development of the bourgeois mode of production on a global scale, rather than, say, promoting the interests of one or a group of advanced economies, or of existing capitalist firms, whether transnational or not. Along with Surbhi Kesar and Lucia Pradella as discussants, this exciting panel will discuss how best to understand, and resist, the politics of global competitiveness.

Facebook event

TWHP Book Club

When: January 19th, 7pm

Our next book club read is Carolyn Strange’s Toronto’s Girl Problem: The Perils and Pleasures of the City, 1880-1930.

mailchi.mp

Ontario’s Strong Mayor Reforms: A New Shell for Urban Neoliberalism

By Tom McDowell

Last month, Ontario’s Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell affixed her signature to Bill 39, the Better Municipal Governance Act, conferring Royal Assent upon the most substantial reconstruction of local democracy since Confederation. Along with Bill 3, the Strong Mayors, Building Homes Act, the legislation implements a strong mayor system in the cities of Ottawa and Toronto, giving the mayors of these cities the ability to pass and repeal by-laws with as little as one-third support of city council.

Source: The Bullet No. 2760

Brazil: A Victory in a Tragedy Underway

By Virginia Fontes

Lula’s victory raises many hopes, despite the alliances made too early with a motley array of forces, including those who helped to topple Dilma Roussef in 2016, and those who welcomed Lula’s April 2018 jail sentence. In the final moments, Lula and his team finally came out of their offices and engaged in a popular campaign. This changed the atmosphere between the two rounds. A mix of activists, intellectuals, voters from all walks of life including the working classes, all faced the fear fuelled by Bolsonaro’s government and took to the streets.

Source: The Bullet No. 2761

Socio-Political Formations behind Israel’s Neo-Zionist Government

By Ilan Pappe

Two months after the election of the new government of Israel, the blurred picture is becoming more transparent, and it seems one can offer some more informed insights about its composition, personalities, and possible future policies and reaction to them. It would not be an exaggeration to define Benjamin Netanyahu as the least extreme member of this government, which tells you about the personalities and policies of all the others.

Source: The Bullet No. 2762

The Hundred Years? War on Palestine

This lecture by Dr. Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies in the History Department at Columbia University, was presented on October 13, 2022, as part of an initiative to develop Palestinian studies at the University of Waterloo. Based on his 2020 book, The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance 1917-2017, Professor Khalidi lays out a framework for understanding the conflict over Palestine.

Source: LeftStreamed

Communications and Data Coordinator

Announcing a new job opening for a Communications and Data Coordinator at the Labour Council. It is an excellent opportunity for someone with strong and proactive communication skills to join our team.

This is a full-time, permanent position with a generous benefits package. The successful candidate will lead our communications programs and presence, contribute to strategic oversight and content development, manage related data, and support our diverse campaigns. To apply, please submit your resume and cover letter to campaigns@labourcouncil.ca by Jan 25, at 12:00 noon.

The starting rate for the position is $1,317.50 per week (currently under negotiation), and a generous benefits package is provided.

labourcouncil.ca

Call for Online Survey Participants

PhD candidate Sirena Liladrie is looking for participants to complete an online survey investigating retirement barriers faced by racialized immigrant seniors experiencing low-income in Ontario.

The study is specifically interested in surveying adult children, to better understand the realities their racialized low-income parents are experiencing with retirement, and how that may in turn affect them. Inadequate pensions and reliance on adult children to fill the gaps, is a social justice issue in Ontario that needs to be addressed.

If you meet the following 3 criteria below, please click the link to complete the anonymous survey and for your chance to be entered in a draw to win 1 of 4 Amazon gift cards:
1. Do you have a parent that is retired or around retirement age (60+) and lives mostly in Ontario?
2. Is this parent a racialized immigrant (non-white and came to Canada from another country)?
3. Is this parent experiencing low-income (For example, earns around $30,000 or less a year AND/OR receives the Guaranteed Income Supplement – GIS)?

Survey Link.