CONTENTS
CALLS TO ACTION
Protect Wheel-Trans Service
To cut costs, the TTC is forcing thousands of disabled people and seniors who rely on Wheel-Trans to re-register for the service. The TTC has an internal target to restrict 50% of current users from full “door-to-door” service.Take action! Send a message to your City Councillor and MPP to protect full Wheel-Trans service.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is supposed to remove barriers and expand access. Under the AODA, the TTC is expanding Wheel-Trans access to more people who have a disability — this a positive change.
ttcriders.ca
EVENTS
The Media, CSIS and Modern Sinophobia
When: September 7th, 7pmFor over ten years, CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) and other public security agencies have been targeting Chinese Canadians politicians and researchers as a fifth column for the People’s Republic of China.
Some Canadian journalists rely heavily on CSIS in what amounts to a form of modern Sinophobia.
This discussion, featuring Andrew Mitrovica, Midori Ogasawara and Georgia Kelly, will explore the ethics of responsible, anti-racist reporting in an era of misinformation.
zoom.us
The Tenant Class
When: Thursday, September 7th, 7pmWhere: Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St.
Political economist and senior researcher with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives Ricardo Tranjan joins a panel of leading housing affordability advocates and tenants’ union organizers to discuss his trailblazing manifesto The Tenant Class.
The Tenant Class asks, “What if there is no housing crisis, but instead a housing market working exactly as intended? What if rent hikes and eviction notices aren’t the work of the invisible hand of the market, but of a parasitic elite systematically funneling wealth away from working-class families?” Tranjan breaks down pervasive myths about renters, mom-and-pop landlords, and housing affordability, and asserts that organized tenants have the power to fight back against systems of disinformation and exploitation to secure decent homes and fair rent.
Guests: Ricardo Tranjan, Leilani Farha, Sharlene Henry, Douglas Yearwood.
eventbrite.ca
A Different ‘Trek’
When: Friday September 8th, 7pmWhere: Another Story Book Shop, 315 Roncesvalles Ave
A different kind of Star Trek television series debuted in 1993. Deep Space Nine was set not on a starship but a space station near a postcolonial planet still reeling from a genocidal occupation. The crew was led by a reluctant Black American commander and an extraterrestrial first officer who had until recently been an anticolonial revolutionary. DS9 extended Star Trek’s tradition of critical social commentary but did so by transgressing many of Star Trek’s previous taboos, including religion, money, eugenics, and interpersonal conflict. DS9 imagined a twenty-fourth century that was less a glitzy utopia than a critical mirror of contemporary U.S. racism, capitalism, imperialism, and heteropatriarchy.
anotherstory.ca
A 50 Años De La Batalla de Allende
When: September 9th, 8pmWhere: Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane
Tickets: $15
The Chilean folklorist Hector Pavez and local talented artists bring us “cantata” “Cantos y Poetas Sociales de Chile” (musical/.theatrical/dance/multimedia production) based on the traditional music of Chile. This performance weaves the long history of over a century of working-class men, women and children who have been a critical part of the Chilean culture. It is a critique of the wealthy landowning elite of Chilean society who have used their social and economic power to exploit Chile’s disenfranchised and impoverished communities.
youngcentre.ca
A 50 Años Del Golpe
When: September 10th, 2pmWhere: Royal Theatre, 608 College St
General Admission – $20; Seniors – $15
Nunca Más – Never Again – 50 Aniversario Golpe de Estado en Chile.
tickettailor.com
From #WheresTheBill to #BudgetTheBenefit
When: September 11th, 12pmOn June 22, Bill C-22 became law. Where do we go from here? Join Disability Without Poverty to get the latest scoop. We want to update you on the current status of regulations, the question of budgeting for the benefit, and an update from DWP.
Disability Without Poverty is a grassroots movement led by people with disabilities with an invitation for all Canadians to join us in continuing to push the federal government to make the Canada Disability Benefit a reality now! We want people with disabilities to be prosperous, realize our power, pursue our passions and participate in every aspect of society.
hubspotpagebuilder.com
Canadian Foreign Policy Hour with Yves Engler
When: Mondays at 6pmJoin 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 the exploitation of African resources. Join Yves for a critical take on Canada’s foreign policy. Questions, comments, and criticisms are all welcome.
zoom.us
Canada & the Coup in Chile 50 Years Later
When: September 11th, 7:30pmSeptember 11 will mark 50 years since General Augusto Pinochet overthrew Salvador Allende. On the anniversary CFPI will be hosting Canada & the Coup in Chile 50 Years Later. The event will launch the new book Canada-Chile Solidarity, 1973-1990.
Speakers: John W. Foster, Laura Macdonald, and Joe Gunn.
zoom.us
Will the USA & Canada accept Guatemala’s return to democracy?
When: September 12th, 7pmWhere: Quaker House, 60 Lowther Ave
On August 20, 2023, Guatemalans voted to end 69 years of military-backed, corrupt, exploitative rule. Grahame Russell of Rights Action has just returned from a work trip to Guatemala, where he witnessed the historic day when Guatemalans voted overwhelmingly for the Semilla Party’s Bernardo Arevalo as president and Karin Herrera as vice-president.
During almost this entire time, the United States, Canada and international actors including transnational companies – in the sectors of food exports, mining, tourism, hydroelectric dams and maquiladora sweatshops – have maintained full economic, political and military relations with these regimes, referring to them as “democratic allies.”
mailchi.mp
System Change: An Ecosocialist Discussion on Environmental Crisis
When: September 12th, 7pmWhere: CSI Spadina, 192 Spadina Ave
The worst wildfire season in Canadian history, worsening environmental degradation, and the hottest week ever recorded. Amid the consequences of human impact on our planet becoming increasingly dire, large corporations – including the fossil fuel industry – continue to hold enormous sway over environmental policy and enjoy record levels of profit. Despite numerous international climate agreements and corporate pledges, market-based solutions have failed at every stage to offer a credible way out of our current crisis.
Featuring a fantastic panel of organizers active in both the labour and climate justice movements, including:
– Tiffany Balducci – Green Jobs Oshawa and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
– Vinnie Collins – Socialist Project
– Aniket – Climate Justice Toronto (CJTO)
– Sharmini Peries (moderator) – Socialist Project
tickettailor.com
FilmSocial Presents: The Killing Floor
When: September 13th, 6:45pmWhere: Eyesore Cinema, 1176 Bloor St
During World War I, Frank Custer, a black sharecropper from Mississippi, lands a job in a meatpacking plant in Chicago. Frank succeeds in bring his family up north, but when he decides to support the union cause, his best friends from the South, distrustful of the white-led union, turn against him.
The Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education and the Socialist Project presents The Killing Floor as the next movie shown in our ongoing FilmSocial series.
tickettailor.com
Book launch: Selling the American People
When: Sept 14th, 6pmWhere: 140 Saint George St
Join the Toronto launch of Dr. Lee McGuigan’s Selling the American People: Advertising, Optimization, and the Origins of Adtech (MIT Press, 2023). Presentation by the author, followed by an interactive Q&A session with the audience.
Algorithms, data extraction, digital marketers monetizing “eyeballs”: these all seem like such recent features of our lives. And yet, Lee McGuigan tells us in this eye-opening book, digital advertising was well underway before the widespread use of the Internet.
eventbrite.ca
ARTICLES
Depoliticising Climate Change?
By Barbara Harriss-WhiteMost educated professional readers will not stray further than the 2023 summary for policy makers of three Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) groups working on the physical science basis of climate change, on climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability and on the mitigation of climate change. IPCC’s work represents an immense collective effort at synthesis and co-ordination, one carried out with utmost scientific care.
Source: The Bullet No. 2866
Canadian Workers, the Social-Ecological Crisis and Alternatives
By Socialist ProjectAs workers, we are today confronted with the challenge of defending what we have and making gains in the face of an ever-expanding and relentless employer offensive. The employers’ drive to increase productivity and profits – central to capitalism everywhere – demands that we accept job loss and insecurity, concessions, new forms of speedup, and expanded management control in the workplace. More of us are forced to work in precarious forms of employment, making ourselves ‘flexible’ without access to unemployment and other social benefits or hope of a decent pension.
Source: The Bullet No. 2867
Wildfires and the Threat to Earth’s Biodiversity
By Reynard LokiIn early August 2023, a succession of wildfires ignited within the state of Hawaii, primarily affecting the island of Maui. It is considered “one of the worst natural disasters in Hawaii’s history, and the nation’s deadliest wildfires since 1918.” Driven by powerful winds, these fires sparked urgent evacuations, inflicted extensive devastation, and tragically claimed the lives of at least 115 individuals – though the final confirmed death toll may never be known due to the severity of the fires and the lack of DNA evidence to identify the victims.
Source: The Bullet No. 2868
Stamps Honour Three Quebec Feminists and Social Justice Activists
Canada Post honours three Quebec feminists and social justice activists: Léa Roback (1903-2000), Madeleine Parent (1918-2012), and Simonne Monet-Chartrand (1919-1993). These three Quebec women were lifelong advocates for social justice. They helped build many of today’s approaches to equality and justice in Canada.Source: LeftStreamed
EMPLOYMENT
Labour Community Advocate (LCA) Training Program
Core to Labour Community Services’ work is the delivery of a 10-week program designed to train union members to become referral agents in their workplaces. Participants receive training on social issues faced by working people and the resources available in their community. The program also includes training in communication, interviewing, and referral techniques so they can assist fellow union members. The program allows participants to explore the ways in which unions and other labour bodies can help build resilient and respectful communities.labourcommunityservices.ca