CONTENTS
CALLS TO ACTION
Transform the TTC!
World-class cities are winning back transit riders by increasing service and lowering fares. The TTC Board is voting soon on a new fare plan. Ask your Toronto City Councillor to vote for bold changes to win back transit riders and make the TTC safe and accessible now.ttcriders.ca/fareplan
EVENTS
Canada and the World /w Tyler Shipley
When: Wednesdays at 7:30pm, till August 25Tyler Shipley is running a free, nine-week online course called “Canada in the World”, loosely following the structure of his book of the same title (which is naturally recommended but by no means necessary for your participation in the course). The first class is June 30, just in time to ruin Canada Day!
Anyone who would like to refresh or fill in some gaps in Canadian history is more than welcome to join. There are no assignments or grading, just a couple hours on Zoom every Wednesday evening.
July 14: The ‘Birth’ of a Nation
July 21: Flirting with Fascism
July 28: Korea, Vietnam and the Canadian Cold War
For those interested, send an email to tyshipley@hotmail.com.
Decarbonizing Our Cities and Buildings
When: July 22nd, 11amTo meet the ambitious carbon reduction goals needed to stay on a well below two-degree pathway, collaboration will be key. Join this virtual event to hear what is needed to achieve the 2030 targets that will ensure we’re on a path to net zero by 2050. Hear a panel of experts share lessons learned from decarbonizing the built environment in the UK and discuss how to scale these solutions in the Northeast USA.
zoom.us
[Newmarket] #NoHybrid ChalkTalk
When: Saturday July 24th, 10amWhere: 200 Doug Duncan Dr, Newmarket (weather permitting)
Join York Communities for Public Education for #NoHybrid #ChalkTalk at Riverwalk this Saturday at 10 am!
Bring out your inner artist and chalk the sidewalks of Newmarket Farmers’ Market to let everyone know you say #NoHybrid! Just look for the YCFPE banner once you arrive. Chalk will be provided on-site.
Facebook poster
Bikes vs. Banks
When: July 24th, 11amWhere: South East corner of Christie Pits
Most people don’t know that the big Canadian banks are funding the EXPANSION of fossil fuel infrastructure all around the world — so we’re doing a bike ride along Bloor Street — with stops at bank branches to raise awareness of this critical issue.
On Saturday July 24th, we’re meeting at the South East corner of Christie Pits, then riding along Bloor to Bay, with stops along the way.
Bring yourself and your bicycle and be prepared to join in some chanting and bell-ringing. Feel free to decorate or find a way to fly a flag or poster that shares info about the big banks dangerous loans.
Facebook event
Affordable Homes Rally
When: July 24th, 12pmWhere: Lansdowne Ave and Bloor St W
ACORN members have had enough of the unfair treatment of housing. Another condo is being built while many low-income tenants are having a hard time keeping a roof over their heads. We are asking members and neighbors to join as we march down to the new condo development and force the city councillors to see the unjust treatment being put on the working class. Let’s join together and demand better livable conditions for the working class.
acorncanada.org
Afghanistan: What lies Ahead
When: Sunday, July 25th, 12noonZoom meeting with Ahmed Rashid – one of the most knowledgeable and well-known authorities on the Taliban, Afghanistan and the politics of the region.
The future of Afghanistan is, of course, of the greatest importance to Afghans. However, it is matter of great interest to Pakistan, India, Iran, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan also.
Organized by the Committee of Progressive Pkistani-Canadians. zoom.us
Our Climate Café
When: Monday July 26th, 6pmAt Our Climate Café, attendees can anticipate a 90-minute conversation on the adverse effects of the climate crisis on one’s psyche, as well as hope and how to live well while navigating the current climate crisis.
Attendees are pleased to find other attendees tell a tale or two, profess postulations, communicate concerns, crack jokes, and advise one another—similar to a circle of friends at a café or coffee shop.
tcan.ca
GJO and CUPW Mural Reveal
When: Monday Jul 26th, 6pmWe will be broadcasting on Youtube Live at 6:00pm, the Just Transition Mural in Oshawa, Ontario. We are so excited to have worked with great partners, a talented artist, and bring impactful messaging to the citizens of Oshawa!
On behalf of our partners, we are so excited to continue making murals this year, the year of public art, by creating a Just Transition mural in the heart of Oshawa, Ontario.
eventbrite.ca
Parkdale People’s Economy
When: July 26, 27, and 30thFive years ago, the Parkdale People’s Economy released the Parkdale Community Planning Study as a blueprint for building decent work, shared wealth, and equitable development in Parkdale. This year, we are re-visiting our community planning process to assess what we have accomplished, what we need to continue, and what we need to shift to build renewed plans for a more equitable future in Parkdale.
If you would like to receive a physical handout to accompany the online workshop, please contact info@parkdalepeopleseconomy.ca or drop by the Good Food Market at Masaryk Park (Queen and Cowan) on Thursdays from 3-7pm.
zoom.us
People power beat Goldboro LNG
When: July 27th, 11amYou’re invited to a going-away party for Pieridae Energy! Countless activists, organizers and community members like yourself have been looking forward to this party for over 8 years.
This is your win! Each and every action you took has made this possible.
Come celebrate this win with us! Every action for climate justice, every Indigenous-led effort to defend the land and people from this project, every local group organizing and educating their community about climate justice, every letter and phone call pushing on politicians to reject this project – all of this work has led us to where we are now.
canadians.org
ARTICLES
Capitalist Competition and Working-Class Formation
By Sam GindinThe most vexing political challenge for socialists lies in the ‘really existing’ working class becoming a coherent social force – one with the cultural, material and strategic independence to lead the struggle for transformative social change. In 1993, Howard Botwinick, a long-time labour and political activist, put on his scholarly hat and explored a critical aspect of this dilemma in his important book, Persistent Inequalities: Wage Disparity Under Capitalist Competition (re-issued by Haymarket in 2017). He looked beyond the well-plowed inequalities between capital and workers and argued that it was the persistent inequalities inside the working class that were “one of the key stumbling blocks of the development of a unified labour movement in the United States.”
Source: The Bullet No. 2416
Unions Must Stand United to End Canada’s Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
By Labour Against the Arms TradeDear Brother Dias, I am writing to you on behalf of Labour Against the Arms Trade. We are a coalition of labour and peace activists working to end Canada’s participation in the international arms trade. We organize for arms conversion and a just transition for arms industry workers.
Source: The Bullet No. 2417
Rolling Back the Remnants of Worker Protections
By Bryan EvansOn June 15th, Ontario’s government announced the striking of the Ontario Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee (OWRAC). This new and hastily announced committee is cause for serious concern, given the Doug Ford government’s decidedly anti-worker record. Based on the announcement, the goal of the OWRAC is to propose recommendations to the government for “labour and employment law reforms” contributing to “economic recovery through workforce development and new approaches to employment policy.” That is quite a significant agenda.
Source: The Bullet No. 2418
Solidarity Statement on the Current Situation in Cuba
By Britain Cuba Solidarity CampaignThe Cuba Solidarity Campaign (CSC) calls on the US government to suspend the blockade of Cuba to allow emergency medical and humanitarian aid into the country in order to ease the economic and health crisis the island is experiencing. The current emergency is a result of the ongoing US blockade, an additional 243 sanctions imposed by the Donald Trump administration, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cuba has shown incredible resilience in the face of six decades of economic warfare by the US government in the form of a blockade intended to strangle the economy and create hunger and hardship in an attempt to destabilize the country.
Source: The Bullet No. 2419
Life After the Pandemic /w Christoph Hermann
Perhaps the greatest flaw revealed by the COVID-19 crisis is capitalism’s addiction to profit. The main goal of capitalist production is the maximization of profit; the satisfaction of needs is only a by-product in the endless process of accumulation. This means that the economy cannot simply pause during a lockdown and continue when the pandemic is under control. The insecurity of future profits instantly pushed the economy into an existential crisis. As a result, the crisis was not characterized by a lack of urgently needed supply, as one may expect during a period of large-scale economic inactivity.Source: LeftStreamed
EMPLOYMENT
Communications Manager
Great people know great people! Disability Without Poverty is looking for a dynamic and creative Communications Manager with lived experience of disability to lead a communication strategy on the Canada Disability Benefit Initiative.Disability Without Poverty is building a movement to support the disability community to engage with and impact the ultimate Canada Disability Benefit. A Communications Manager Is required to develop and execute a superior communication strategy to reach, engage and inform our disability networks and the broader Canadian population on the objective, progress, and implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit Initiative and our vision of Disability Without Poverty.
Position: Communications Manager
Term: Full-time contract position, effective immediately
Reporting to: National Director
Annual remuneration is $70,000, inclusive
Deadline: July 25, 2021
surveymonkey.com