CONTENTS

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

Help Fight Inequality

Extreme wealth has skyrocketed in Canada and the rest of the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. The world’s 10 richest men have doubled their fortunes, while the incomes of 99% of humanity are worse off. Canadian billionaires alone increased their wealth by roughly $111-billion during the pandemic.

There is a solution — in one small step. By creating a national annual wealth tax on the richest 1% of Canadians and a windfall tax for major corporations, our finance minister could raise more than $20-billion a year. This can be invested in urgently-needed public measures, like universal child care, mental health and income supports, climate action and affordable housing.

With this investment, we could build a more equal economy that benefits women and Indigenous, Black and racialized communities — the ones hardest hit by rising inequality.

act.oxfam.ca

Black History Month 2023

When: February 2 to 28

Black History Month is a distinct period for honouring history, negotiating current realities, and imagining potential futures for Black communities. In recent years, the Harriet Tubman Institute has celebrated Black History Month by focusing on the achievements of Black people; looking back to examine their accomplishments as a path to move forward as well as to spotlight Black knowledge about health in its multiple dimensions, highlighting the work of Africans on the continent and of people of African descent across the diasporas, especially here in Canada.

yorku.ca

Scenarios for the future of climate-change communications

When: Thursday February 9th, 1pm

A must for Canadian climate change communicators, this free EcoAnalytics Opinionation webinar will allow plenty of time for questions and discussion. George Marshall will share fresh ideas featured in an upcoming book that explores social-psychological scenarios for people responding to climate change in the near future. A further exploration of themes in his previous book, Don’t Even Think About It: Why our Brains are Wired to Ignore Climate Change, George will also advise on emerging narratives “we need to monitor, encourage, or suppress.”

eventbrite.ca

Public Transit Safety Townhall

When: February 9th, 7pm
Hybrid event: Online via Zoom or in-person at Centennial College Progress Campus, 941 Progress Ave

In response to recent violent incidents on public transit and proposed TTC service cuts, transit users, transit workers, and other experts will come together at a joint event to explore proactive solutions.

“Everyone deserves to be safe on public transit, whether you are a transit worker or a transit user,” said ATU Local 113 President Marvin Alfred. “Transit workers are in fear and it’s time to listen to them for solutions.”

“All are invited to join this community conversation to share what a safe, dignified, and accessible public transit system means to you,” said TTCriders director Shelagh Pizey-Allen. “Mayor Tory and City Councillors have the opportunity on February 14th to make proactive investments in community safety, such as mental health crisis workers on the TTC, more shelter space, and more TTC service.”

ttcriders.ca

Black Liberation and Class Solidarity

When: February 11th, 2pm

Ho Chi Minh wrote numerous essays throughout the 1920s about racial injustices against Black populations. Among his famous works of literature was La Race Noire (The Black Race) in 1925, a collection of 13 French essays on the topic. In 1924, Ho Chi Minh wrote “Class Solidarity,” a true story about the trial of José Léandro da Silva, a Black sailor in Brazil who was arrested during a labour strike in Rio de Janeiro and faced 30 years of imprisonment. First published in the French newspaper L’Humanité, “Class Solidarity” was printed almost two months later in Portuguese for the Brazilian newspaper O Paiz.

zoom.us

Canadian Foreign Policy Hour with Yves Engler

When: Mondays at 6pm

Join author Yves Engler on Mondays for a weekly news roundup and interactive discussion about Canada’s role abroad. This weekly session will delve into the latest developments on subjects ranging from military affairs and Canada’s role in Ukraine to its contribution to Palestinian dispossession and exploitation of African resources. Join Yves for a critical take on Canada’s foreign policy. Questions, comments and criticisms are all welcome.

zoom.us

18th Annual Strawberry Ceremony

When: February 14th, 12:30pm
Where: Toronto Police Service, 40 College St.

This February 14th, 2023, the Strawberry Ceremony will be back in person at Toronto Police Headquarters for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when we moved to a virtual format to keep each other safe. We look forward to bringing community and supporters back together again. The isolation of the pandemic has been particularly hard on those who grieve violent losses.

Our gathering this year comes in the wake of a massive amount of predatory violence against Indigenous women, girls, trans and two-spirit people across the country, including the serial murders of four women in Winnipeg by a 35-year-old white man: Rebecca Contois, Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, and a fourth woman who remains unidentified but was named Buffalo Woman by the local Indigenous community.

Facebook event

Remembering Jack White

When: Februaury 14th, 7pm

TWHP event to remember Jack White, Toronto civil rights and labour activist, for our 2023 Black History Month event.

Zoom presentation with special participation from:
– Sheila White, Jack’s niece and municipal activist
– Kathy Grant, black and public historian
– Judy Darcy, CUPE National President, 1991 – 2003

Zoom.us

OUT OF SIGHT: Ending Canada’s Armed Drone Purchase

When: Februaury 15th, 7pm

Join this webinar for a panel and Q&A on Canada’s proposed armed drone purchase. The Canadian military is currently picking a contender for up to 5 billion CAD worth of armed drones. Join us to learn more from experts in the field who are speaking out against the government’s attempt to purchase and deploy a fleet of armed drones.

Zoom.us

UNDPAD: A National Conversation with Labour

When: February 16th, 6pm

The United Nations Decade for People of African Descent is coming to an end in 2024. How has labour moved the needle on anti-Black racism? Do we need more time?

Please join us for an evening where we will hear from experts from both Labour and Community discussing how the first 8 years of the Decade for People of African Descent has progressed and consider where we need to focus going forward.

communitybenefits.ca

TWHP Book Club

When: February 16th, 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

Haiti Betrayed: Canada’s role in the current crisis

When: February 16th, 7:30pm

Join this free online panel discussion with Elaine Briére, filmmaker of “Haiti Betrayed,” and special Haitian-Canadian guests Jafrikayiti Jean Saint-Vil, Georges Gabrielle Paul & Garry Auguste, who will discuss the current crisis in Haiti and Canada’s role past and present. The event is being held to remember the coup orchestrated by Canada, France and the United States against the democratically elected Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and to demand accountability. It is also held to recognize Black History Month and to stand in solidarity with Haitians who continue to resist the ongoing neocolonial oppression and violence by Canada in their country.

You are encouraged to watch the film Haiti Betrayed before the panel discussion. The film is available for free at foreignpolicy.ca (code: HB1915).

Facebook event

For Palestinians, There’s No Difference From One Israeli Government to the Next

By Chiara Cruciati

“We woke up this morning to the invasion of the Jenin refugee camp. To nine Palestinians killed. To the news that the military had gone in disguised as civilians, inside the van of a Jordanian company.” The company is called al-Juneidi, and all Palestinian markets have shelves full of its milk cartons, juices and white cheese, featuring its logo in green and blue. Baha Hilo is a Palestinian activist. He lives in Bethlehem, where he has worked for years on olive planting campaigns and in alternative political tourism.

Source: The Bullet No. 2776

The Havana Declaration on the New International Economic Order

The Havana Congress on the New International Economic Order (NIEO), organised by the Progressive International, closed this weekend with delegates agreeing on a declaration and a commitment to advance the New International Economic Order through “securing science and technology sovereignty” for the Global South, as Cuba announces a G77 meeting on the issue later in the year. The Congress brought together over 50 delegates – scholars, diplomats, parliamentarians, and policymakers – from 26 countries across all six inhabited continents.

Source: The Bullet No. 2777

How Corporations Hope to Eviscerate Workers’ Right to Strike

By Tom Conway

Joe Oliveira and his coworkers relied greatly on donations of food and gift cards after going on an unfair labor practice strike against multibillion-dollar specialty steelmaker ATI in 2021. They cut household expenses to the bone, burned through their savings despite the public’s generous support of their cause, and held fundraisers to help one another cover mortgages and car payments during three and a half months on the picket line.

Source: The Bullet No. 2778

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