CSJ Newsletter

August 1, 2024

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CALLS TO ACTION

Organic, Local Garlic Annual Fundraiser

The Ontario Health Coalition works to improve our provincial public health care system. We are committed to saving local healthcare services, stopping cuts and privatization and keeping our community hospitals vibrant.

Every year we sell Ontario-grown organic and heirloom varieties of garlic to raise funds. It’s garlic season and our Annual Garlic Fundraiser is kicking off. We have managed to keep our prices at $16 per bag, which is a pound of garlic, again this year. The bags are organza, tied with ribbon and a little booklet describing the garlic varieties, the farmers, where the funds go, and with a bonus recipe. What we are asking people to do is to go around your workplace or community group and collect orders and the money to pay for them and send them in.

By ordering garlic with us, you are supporting this vital work. You are also supporting local organic and heirloom farmers by purchasing fresh, Ontario-grown garlic.

ontariohealthcoalition.ca

EVENTS

Learn about the power of collective action!

When: Wednesdays @ 8pm and Sundays @ 5pm (July 24 – August 25)

The Unite the Swifties contest invites you to take part in a series of challenges, starting online and then moving offline, to speak now on RBC’s funding of fossil fuel projects and companies violating Indigenous rights. Acting together is the only way to show RBC that we are more powerful than their dirty money. That’s why we’ve put together this five-part training program for you to learn how social movements build power through art, storytelling, leadership, solidarity, and collective action!

In this training program you’ll hear from Indigenous Land Defenders about what is happening in their community and what you can do to be in solidarity with them. You’ll also learn about the power of social movements, the role that artists like Taylor Swift can play, and the role that you can play, to challenge RBC – Canada’s largest corporation and top financier of climate chaos!

unitetheswifties.ca

300 Days of Genocide

When: August 1st, 5:30pm
Where: Yonge and Dundas

This week will mark 300 days of the Zionist state’s genocide on Gaza. A genocide that has seen a projected 186,000+ Palestinians killed, the complete destruction of the Gaza Strip, the imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, and the inhumane siege of Gaza exacerbated. Join us on Thursday as we mark this day with our actions, and show that our resolve is only getting stronger, and our commitment to a free Palestine could never be waivered.

instagram.com

Canada and the Atom Bomb

When: Aug 2-3, and Aug 6-8
Where: Toronto City Hall

“Canada and the Atom Bomb” photo exhibition.

hiroshimadaycoalition.ca

300 Days of Genocide

When: August 3rd, 3pm
Where: Bay and Front

This week will mark 300 days of the Zionist state’s genocide on Gaza. A genocide that has seen a projected 186,000+ Palestinians killed, the complete destruction of the Gaza Strip, the imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians, and the inhumane siege of Gaza exacerbated. Join us on Thursday as we mark this day with our actions, and show that our resolve is only getting stronger, and our commitment to a free Palestine could never be waivered.

Gaza Square

When: Every Sunday, 11am to 1pm
Where: 371 Wallace Ave

We’ll be at Gaza square once again this Sunday morning with hot chocolate and coffee, buttons and posters, lawn signs and colourful chalk! Come say hi and meet your fellow neighbours/organizers as we make our presence known and continue to build safety in our community!

Instagram poster

300+ Days of Genocide

When: August 4th, Gather: 11:30am; Departure: 12:00pm
Where: Cineplex – Square One, Mississauga

Join us on Sunday, August 4th, for a powerful car rally in the GTA as we commemorate 301 days of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, driving through multiple cities to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters.

instagram.com

Weekly Phone-zap for Palestine

When: Mondays at 12pm

Week after week, we’re keeping the momentum going with our Monday lunchtime zaps.

Our collective action is making waves, but we need to ensure our elected officials continue to feel the pressure until real change happens.

Instagram poster | Register at zoom

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 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

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Day Remembrance

When: Tuesday August 6th, 4pm, 6:30pm
Where: Toronto City Hall, Peace Garden

Commemoration with guest speakers Setsuko Thurlow and Rooj Ali, special presentations, musical performances, and lantern ceremony.

hiroshimadaycoalition.ca

Film screening: Alam / The Flag

When: August 9th, 6pm
Where: Christie Pits Park, 750 Bloor St. W.

“Alam, the Flag” is a skillful examination of the fraught political awakening young Palestinians are forced to undergo growing up in 48 Palestine. This striking debut feature film from Firas Khoury weaves conversations around nationalism and iconography with youth and coming of age. This event is free and open to the public.

instagram.com

Fighting to Win

When: September 9 to November 25
No course fees; donations gratefully accepted.

Facilitated by John Clarke, former organizer with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP)

Drawing on the examples provided by a wide range of struggles, the course will look at how working class and popular struggles have won important victories. It will also consider, however, the strategies that have been used by those in power to contain and demobilize social resistance. Finally, it will explore the approaches that are needed today to fight back effectively in these volatile and uncertain times.

Registration required

ARTICLES

France Election: Massive Mobilization of the Left

By Éric Toussaint

In the second round of France’s parliamentary elections on 7 July 2024, the National Rally (Rassemblement National, RN) suffered a political defeat, even though it increased its number of MPs. The wager of the far-right party was to win a majority in the National Assembly (along with its allies who have been expelled from the right-wing party Les Républicains), which would have enabled Jordan Bardella, the party leader alongside Marine Le Pen, to become prime minister. This outcome seemed possible after the European elections on 9 June 2024 and the first round of parliamentary elections on 30 June when the far-right RN had excellent scores and the political bloc behind President Macron was in complete disarray.

Source: The Bullet No. 3021

Analyzing the Israel Effect in Canada

By Peter Eglin

What is the life of a Palestinian worth? Is it worth an em in an editorial in the pages of the [name your Canadian newspaper]? What are the lives of 30, 60, 109 Palestinians worth? Are they worth a column inch in such an editorial? How many murdered Palestinians does it take to disturb the conscience of the owners and editors of the Canadian media, of the leaders and spinners of the [name any one of “the four major political parties” of Canada], of the members of the Business Council of Canada, of Universities Canada, of the leaders of the major evangelical Christian churches?

Source: The Bullet No. 3022

Outreach Workers and Advocates Demand More Shelter Space

The Shelter Housing Justice Network held an emergency media conference on Monday, July 15th, in Downtown Toronto. Frontline workers are urgently calling for help as no shelter spaces are available for hundreds of unhoused people, and the situation continues to worsen. Advocates from the Shelter and Housing Justice Network urged the City of Toronto to expand emergency shelter spaces for unhoused individuals, criticizing the current heat relief strategy as inadequate.

Source: LeftStreamed

Canada must comply with ICJ advisory opinion on Israel’s occupation

By Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East

CJPME urges Prime Minister Trudeau and the Canadian government to take 7 concrete steps to align Canadian policy with international law as outlined in the ICJ advisory opinion:

1. Canada must support efforts by the UN to end Israel’s illegal presence in the OPT
2. Canada must impose sanctions on Israel in response to its breach of the UN Charter
3. Canada must cancel the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement and ban trade with Israeli settlements
4. Canada must comprehensively address the issue of Israeli settlements
5. Canada must suspend all military trade and cooperation with Israel
6. Canada must terminate the Canada-Israel Strategic Partnership
7. Canada must recognize the State of Palestine

Source: The Bullet No. 3023
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