CONTENTS
CALLS TO ACTION
Gig Workers’ Bill of Rights
Gig workers played an essential role keeping our neighbours safe and keeping the restaurant industry afloat during the pandemic, yet they are denied basic rights at work available to all other employees. Now the Ontario and Federal governments are undertaking reviews of the workplace protections they should provide for gig workers.This is a Bill of Rights created by gig workers endorsed by Gig Workers United (CUPW), Uber Drivers United (UFCW), and the Ontario Federation of Labour to outline what minimum rights our governments must guarantee to ensure fairness and non-discriminatory treatment for gig workers.
takeaction.ofl.ca
EVENTS
Film Festival: War On Terror
When: Every weekend in OctoberThe War on Terror Film Festival is a month-long, public virtual event featuring 20 award-winning films made over the last 20 years that document abuses, highlight crimes, and satirize absurdities of the “war on terror.
From the Oscar-winning “Citizenfour” and “Taxi to the Dark Side” to the Oscar-nominated “Dirty Wars” and the highly-acclaimed “The Mauritanian,” “Four Lions,” “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “The Feeling of Being Watched,” these films shine a spotlight on the wars on Afghanistan and Iraq, indefinite detention at Guantánamo Bay prison, torture and surveillance.
wotfilmfestival.com
Gig Workers United
When: October 7th, 8amWhere: Rally at Queen’s Park (110 Wellesley St. W.)
On October 7, the World Day for Decent Work, app-based delivery workers are taking action to demand #MakeGigWorkDecentWork. Show your support by telling Minister Monte McNaughton not to carve out a separate employment status for gig workers. This is an issue for all workers: If Ontario legislates lower employment standards for today’s gig workers, Ontario employers will soon try to gig-ify every job possible.
Facebook event
MMIW and Indigenous Rights
When: October 8th, 12pmThe CIC Young Professionals Networks will be joined by former Grand Chief Sheila North, who will speak to CIC members on missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada and how Indigenous and non- Indigenous leaders can advance the political will to address racism and the issues around violence against Indigenous people.
thecic.org
Solidarity with the People’s Struggles in Iran
When: Saturday October 9th, 1pmCommemoration of the massacre of Iranian political prisoners during the 1980s and in 1988.
Speakers:
– Shahin Chitsaz, political prisoner in 1980s: Iran’s Islamic Republic fears the power of struggle and resistance of women political prisoners.
– Mike Macnair, member of steering committee of Hands Off the People of Iran (HOPI), professor in law at Oxford university: Why Iran’s Islamic Republic is not anti-imperialist.
– Moshe Machover, member of steering committee of Hands Off the People of Iran (HOPI), mathematician and philosopher: Iran-Israel – Hot war / cold war.
– Yassamine Mather, senior researcher at Oxford University and editor of Critique (Journal of Socialist Theory): The silence of Western countries at the time of the massacre of Left political prisoners and the role of Raisi (current president of Iran) in that massacre.
Zoom
Adult Secular B’Mitzvah
When: October 12th – May 2022Tuesday evenings, 6:30 – 9:00 pm
Are you an adult seeking a Jewish learning experience? Did you miss the opportunity to have a bat/bar mitzvah? Were you unable to have a bat/bar mitzvah because of gender or were you misgendered at your bat/bar mitzvah? Did you have a bat/bar mitzvah but are seeking a different experience? Do you have a Jewish family member and want to learn more?
Welcome to this opportunity to build your personal relationship to Jewish life! We’ll explore our unique, progressive (Jewish) identities in the twenty-first century as responses to what came before us and the kind of world we want to build.
This course will be held on Zoom. Each class meeting will include learning activities that invite you away from the screen for breaks, to help counter our collective Zoom fatigue. Study of texts, artworks, and historical documents will be accompanied by creative, mindful, and collaborative prompts that will get you making digital co-creations, art, writing, stretching, and possibly cooking apart together!
Facebook event
Struggle for Childcare
When: Tuesday October 12th, 7pmA new federally sponsored child-care program is unfolding across Canada. This initiative didn’t fall from the sky – it’s the result of decades of agitation by child-care activists in Toronto and the rest of the country. We are bringing together a panel to discuss the campaigns for decent, publicly supported child care and to assess how this new program measures up.
twhp.ca
Free legal workshop: Taking the Mystery out of Wills
When: October 13th, 12pmGet to know our newest lawyer, Ken Farrell, as he shares some useful tips on, first, making, and then, maintaining your Will.
eventbrite.com
Animals in Irish Society
When: October 13th, 12noonCorey Lee Wrenn has written a groundbreaking new book exploring the traditions of veganism and the history of animal liberation in Ireland.
Join us as Animal Liberation Currents hosts the book launch of Animals in Irish Society: Interspecies Oppression and Vegan Liberation in Britain’s First Colony. We will be joined by Roger Yates and Mark Fitzpatrick to discuss some of the book highlights. Moderated by Currents editor Michael John Addario.
eventbrite.com
Election is over. Now what?
When: October 13th, 8pmJane Finch Political Conversation Cafe presents “A Conversation with John Clarke, Suzanne Narain and Sam Tecle” on:
– Limits of “parliamentary democracy” and elections
– Options and alternatives for the working class and racialized communities
Facebook event
Climate Emergency and a Just Transition
When: October 13th, 7pmThe Good Jobs for All Coalition, the Labour Council and other sponsors are co-hosting a two-part forum on climate change and just transition this fall. Part 1 will take place on October 13, and Part 2 on November 15. You are invited to register for Part 1 now.
zoom.us
Disability Without Poverty
When: October 14th, 3pmDisability Without Poverty is a grassroots movement led by people with disabilities with room for all Canadians to join us. We want people with disabilities to be prosperous, realize our power, pursue our passions and participate in every aspect of society. The Monthly RoundUps will be a time to share stories and ideas from people with disabilities all across the country.
If you didn’t get a chance to join our previous RoundUps, these are fun, hour-long sessions, full of art, music, poetry and more.
Together we’ll ensure the Canadian Disability Benefit remains a national priority. Your contribution is welcome no matter how small or big and we are so excited about our growing connections.
Register online
ARTICLES
150 Years of Canadian Colonization and Our Right to Self-Determination
Arthur Manuel (1951 – 2017) was a Secwepemc-Ktunaca activist and co-author of Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call. He discusses colonization in Canada and how this systemically impoverished Indigenous Peoples for generations. If Canada is going to renew its relationship with Indigenous Peoples it must recognize the colonial relationship it has with Indigenous Peoples. Canada must recognize that this colonial relationship gives Indigenous Peoples the right to self-determination. This will become clearer when Canada celebrates 150 years of its settler colonial relationship with Britain in 2017.Source: LeftStreamed
Building Back Better or Return to Austerity?
By Stephen McBride, Bryan Evans and Dieter PlehweThe COVID-19 pandemic is ebbing. Governments have amassed unprecedented debts in responding to this public health threat. Soon a choice must be made as to which direction we follow: build a more equal economy and society or return to ‘normal’. In the early months of 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the globe, the collective emotional response of our societies was one of fear. Fear of the mysterious virus causing illness and death in uncomfortably large numbers of people as well as another sort of fear – a fear of economic insecurity as governments directed the closing of large parts of our economies resulting in mass unemployment. A new crisis was upon us.
Source: The Bullet No. 2472
German Election: Losses for Establishment Parties, Defeat for Die Linke
By Manuel KellnerThe parties in the “grand coalition” of Angela Merkel’s government, the conservative CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union) and the SPD (Social Democratic Party) attracted only a quarter of the electorate each. The CDU/CSU had its worst result ever with 24.1% of the vote. The SPD, with its candidate for Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, was able to regain ground (a few weeks ago, it had fallen below 15% in the polls), coming first with 25.7%.
Source: The Bullet No. 2473
Does Capitalism Make Us Crazy?
By Susan RosenthalDoes capitalism make us crazy? The short answer is YES! Life under capitalist rule is perilous. We can’t survive on our own, and we can’t rely on society to support us. We live with perpetual uncertainty: Can I pay my bills? Will I lose my home, my job? What happens if I’m sick or injured? Add the constant threat of racism, war, and climate change disasters. Do you feel safe in this world? I don’t. Every morning, I wake up with a sense of dread, thinking, “OMG. I’m still here, and this is still happening.” I am not alone in this.
Source: The Bullet No. 2474
Teachers and Education Beyond Symbolism: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
By William PaulSymbolism is powerful. It can be misused horrifically as a tool of dominance and loathing. But consider symbols countering hate, division and racism: “Black Lives Matter,” smashing the Berlin wall, even something local like renaming a York region high school after respected Somali-Canadian, journalist, Hodan Nalayeh. Symbols have the potential to galvanize people and drive change for the better- moving off well-trod paths of apathy, neglect or disdain. But it’s the length and breadth of the action beyond symbols that counts in the long run.
Source: The Bullet No. 2475