CONTENTS
CALLS TO ACTION
We need a tax fairness budget to build back better
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland is preparing Canada’s first budget since the COVID-19 crisis. This will be the most important budget in decades.The federal debt is at record levels, but we need the federal government to invest more in critical areas such as pharmacare, accessible childcare, building a more equitable society, and the fight against climate change.
The same pandemic that left many Canadians struggling has seen billionaires and large corporations grow their fortunes without paying their fair share.
Last fall, the Liberals promised to identify new ways of taxing inequality — this budget is their chance to follow through on that commitment and reverse years of regressive tax measures that have increased billionaire and corporate fortunes while draining revenues for public services.
Please sign our letter asking the Minister to ensure Budget 2021 includes progressive tax measures to build back better and recover from this pandemic with a stronger, more equitable, and sustainable economy.
taxfairness.ca
You can’t “build back better” unless you build back fossil free
Fossil fuel companies are at it again, asking the federal government for massive amounts of our money and trying to derail a green recovery. Don’t let that happen.For months, the Justin Trudeau government has been promising to use COVID-19 recovery funds to ‘Build Back Better’ for a greener, fairer future for all Canadians. Well, actions speak louder than words. With the spring budget just around the corner, now is the time to tell Prime Minister Trudeau to keep his promise to build back better. And that means Building Back Fossil-Free, starting by:
1. Cancelling the TMX pipeline.
2. Ending all financial giveaways to the industry immediately and planning for a phase-out of fossil fuel production and use.
3. Investing in Indigenous and other communities being harmed by fossil fuels.
act.greenpeace.org
EVENTS
Gig Workers United launch
When: February 25th, 10amOne year from the date of the historic Ontario Labour Relations Board decision on Foodora couriers’ right to unionize, gig worker organizers will launch the next phase of the campaign with a media conference and availability. The new Gig Workers United campaign builds on the historic successes of the Justice for Foodora Couriers, working collectively for better conditions and rights for all app delivery workers.
zoom.us
Two State Illusion, One State Solution
When: Thursday February 25th, 12pm ESTWith Diana Buttu and Jeff Halper.
The two state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has been the conventional wisdom among politicians and foreign policy experts in Western nations for decades. Despite this mainstream acceptance, it has done nothing to bring peace any closer for the people of Israel/Palestine. Denial of civil and human rights, confiscation of land and resource for exclusive Israeli use, and total suppression of any attempts to create a Palestinian state have rendered the two state solution irrelevant. An alternative approach is necessary.
zoom.us
The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine
When: Thursday February 25th, 3pm (EST)The CSUSB Center for the Study of Muslim & Arab Worlds (CSMAW) and Intellectual Life cordially invite you to a free and public discussion of Dr. Rashid Khalidi’s new book: The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017.
The discussion will be led by Dr. David Yaghoubian of the History Department.
youtube.com
On Property by Rinaldo Walcott
When: Thursday February 25th, 7pmYou’re invited to the virtual book launch for Rinaldo Walcott’s On Pproperty. Join us on Thursday, February 25th at 7pm EST for the event. Rinaldo Walcott will be joined in conversation by Beverly Bain and Idil Abdillahi. We’re also partnering with Another Story Bookshop as co-host and official bookseller. Tune in live for a discussion, reading, and a Q&A. You could win a copy of the book!
Rinaldo Walcott is a Professor in the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. His research is in the area of Black Diaspora Cultural Studies, gender and sexuality.
The event will be streamed on Facebook Live and on YouTube. RSVP to the event, as the video link will be closer to the day of.
Facebook event
Voices Beyond Borders: A Poetic and Musical Tribute to Paul Robeson
When: Thursday February 25th, 7pmWe welcome you to join us for an evening of poetry and music to commemorate Paul Robeson’s vibrant, heroic voice raised in artful resistance. Orchestrated by the collaboration of trade-unionists and artists, the Peace Arch Concert of May 18, 1952, straddled borders by outmaneuvering state-sanctioned harassment, violence and silencing. This evening of poetry and music is a tribute to Paul Robeson’s contribution to that internationalism, and a celebration of Black History Month.
eventbrite.ca
Dying for an iPhone
When: Friday February 26th, 10:30amSuicides, excessive overtime, and hostility and violence on the factory floor in China. Drawing on vivid testimonies from rural migrant workers, student interns, managers and trade union staff, Dying for an iPhone is a devastating expose of two of the world’s most powerful companies: Foxconn and Apple.
As the leading manufacturer of iPhones, iPads, and Kindles, and employing one million workers in China alone, Taiwanese-invested Foxconn’s drive to dominate global electronics manufacturing has aligned perfectly with China’s goal of becoming the world leader in technology. This book reveals the human cost of that ambition and what our demands for the newest and best technology means for workers.
Jenny Chan, Mark Selden and Kevin Lin take a harrowing look into lives and struggles of a new generation of Chinese workers.
eventbrite.com
Fanonian Futures
When: Friday February 26th, 1:15pmA Global South Forum on the Actuality of Frantz Fanon
Moderation: Pablo Idahosa and Stefan Kipfer (York U.):
– Mireille Fanon-Mendès-France (Fondation Frantz Fanon)
– Jane Gordon (University of Connecticut)
– Gamal Abdel-Shehid (York University)
– Ayyaz Mallick (York University)
Facebook event
Conference: Capitalism is the crisis. Socialism is the solution.
When: Sunday February 28th, 1pmThe triple crisis of the pandemic, climate change and economic collapse are not separate things; they all have the same root cause – the capitalist system. They are the product of a system that is based on profit and use exploitation, and oppression – racism, sexism, homophobia, etc – to keep us divided against each other. It does not have to be this way. We can build a system that is based on human need, and that system is socialism. Join us for this mini-conference for the ideas and actions to build a better future.
socialist.ca
Take the Plant, Save the Planet
When: Sunday February 28th, 3pm ESTPlease join us for a discussion of the politics of plant conversion for an ecologically sustainable future.
The current pandemic crisis has dramatically exposed the need for a massive shift of new resources into the caring sector and the production of medical equipment to meet social needs. But even before the fallout for workers in many sectors from the ecological disruptions, global warming had already indicated the need for a comprehensive approach to industrial conversion.
– Francesca Hannan is an active member of We Are Oshawa, Green Jobs Oshawa, and the Durham Food Policy Council. She has been involved in climate justice activism with Toronto-based groups, and her professional background is in environmental policy and law.
– Stephen Buhler is an organizer with Climate Justice Edmonton and a full-time journeyman machinist currently working in the oil and gas sector.
– Simon Black teaches in the Department of Labour Studies at Brock University and is an organizer with Labour Against the Arms Trade.
socialistproject.ca/events
Haiti Betrayed: Free Screening and Panel Discussion
When: Sunday February 28th, 7:30pm ESTFree screening of Haiti Betrayed is now available. Register and a link and password to the full film will be sent to your inbox.
Panelists: Elaine Brière, Jean St-Vil, Kira Paulemon and Brian Concannon.
zoom.us
Online Protest for LTC Care
When: Wednesday March 3rd, 11amPlease join with families and staff who will share front-line reports of inadequate care and safety in Southwestern Ontario’s LTC homes. The protest will be interactive and live. Watch online speeches, post your comments & feedback, join in the action to put pressure on our local MPPs to improve care and safety.
How to join: Southwestern Ontario residents
Go to the Ontario Health Coalition page on Facebook 11am – 1pm, Wednesday March 3rd.
ARTICLES
Shock Therapy: Public Funding and the Crisis at Laurentian University
By John PetersHere we go again. A major crisis. Governments cutting taxes. Bailouts in the billions for banks and corporations. And suddenly public services – including universities like Laurentian – are on the chopping block. This has been the story in Canada, the United States, Australia and many other countries over the past thirty years. And now, with Sudbury Ontario’s Laurentian University declaring insolvency – the first public university to do so in Canadian history – we can anticipate even more public sector “crises” to come in the very near future.
Source: The Bullet No. 2315
Powerless in Texas
By Snehal ShingaviTwo images capture the crisis in Texas perfectly. First, nurses at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center came to work on Thursday to this: “A notice said the water went out. The notice then listed some instructions for using the restroom, such as to not put toilet paper in the toilet when urinating, and to use trash bags to remove feces from the toilet and to then place it in a biohazard bag.” Reminder, this is in the middle of the pandemic. Second, Ted Cruz, the senior Republican senator from Texas, got on a plane to head to Cancun, Mexico. When asked about why he was fleeing in the middle of the crisis, Senator Cruz gleefully threw his daughters under the bus, saying they had a school vacation and wanted to “take a trip with friends.”
Source: The Bullet No. 2316
Will Andrés Arauz Be the Next President of Ecuador?
By Vijay Prashad and Pilar TroyaIn Ecuador’s presidential election held on February 7, 2021, Andrés Arauz won the largest number of votes but could not prevail in the first round against 15 other candidates; he won 32.71 per cent of the vote, short of the 40 per cent needed to win the election outright (a winner also requires a 10 per cent lead over the second-place candidate, which Arauz did achieve). More than a week after that first round, it remains unclear which of the two candidates who most closely trailed Arauz will go head-to-head against him in the second round on April 11.
Source: The Bullet No. 2317
Remembering Larry Nozaki: ‘Enemy Alien’, Unionist, Socialist
Sadly, Larry Nozaki (1940-2020) died in Surrey BC on December 5, 2020. Larry was a casualty of the anti-Japanese internment camps during the war, long-time union activist in Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), and a member of the League for Socialist Action (LSA) Vancouver Branch. Below is a photo of Larry, and remembrances by his cousin and others who remember Larry, his life, and his contributions to revolutionary socialism.Source: The Bullet No. 2318
Ontario’s Care Crisis /w Pat Armstrong
In this episode we continue our discussion of the crisis in long-term care homes in Ontario. This time we are joined by Dr. Pat Armstrong, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Sociology at York University. Dr. Armstrong’s career has focused on feminist political economy, healthcare and care work, and comparative social policy. She helps us unpack how commodification and privatization have led to Ontario’s current long-term care crisis, as well as provides illuminating examples of how these same politico-economic trends have been dealt with abroad.Source: The Scarlet Standard Episode No. 10
EMPLOYMENT
Communications and Social Marketing Officer
Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights is currently hiring a full-time Communications and Social Marketing Officer to be based out of our Ottawa office or remotely within Canada. Ottawa-based or within easy travel distance (< 5 hours) to Ottawa is preferred but not required. EST/EDT working hours are required.Reporting to the Director of Communications, the Communications and Social Marketing Officer will create, coordinate, and disseminate the external communications of the organization, including social media, newsletters, media releases, fundraising communications, and campaign materials. The Officer will be part of a collaborative team strategically connecting our communications, campaigns, and fundraising to all aspects of Action Canada’s work.
The salary for this position is $53,000 to $59,600 per annum, commensurate with experience.
Deadline to submit your CV, Cover letter and 3 writing samples is 11 March 2021 midnight EST.
www.actioncanadashr.org