CONTENTS
CALLS TO ACTION
Tell Trudeau and Ford to support child care
Ontario’s early learning and child care system is in crisis. Across Ontario, the impacts of insufficient funding are being felt by educators, parents and providers. At a time when growth and stability have felt more possible than ever, many challenges continue to deeply impact the well-being of children, families, and child care professionals.childcareontario.org
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
Raise the Rates Webinar
When: August 24th, 1pmOntario Works (OW) and Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipients have struggled with legislated poverty, hunger, and housing insecurity for too long. We’re at a breaking point. Ontario’s social security system is failing.
With a united voice, we demand that the current ODSP and OW benefit rates be doubled. Together, we will make social assistance rates a key issue for the fall session of provincial parliament and beyond.
Join the Raise the Rates Coalition on August 24th at 1:00 pm for our virtual campaign launch. We will make social assistance rates a key issue going into the fall session of provincial parliament and in the potential early election.
zoom.us
Palestine is our Compass
When: August 24th, 1pmWhere: Mississauga Valley Park, 1275 Mississauga Vly Blvd
A community gathering and fundraiser for Gaza! We will gather at Mississauga Valley Park to fundraise to support the steadfastness of our people via the Islamic Relief Fund.
The event will feature thoughtfully curated food, vendors, and activities for children and families, all centered around Palestine. As Palestinians in exile in the diaspora, we look to Palestine as our compass, and we uplift ourselves and our community in the spirit of resistance and steadfastness.
instagram.com
Peter Rosenthal (1941-2024)
When: August 24th, 2pmWhere: Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles Street W
Peter Rosenthal sadly passed away on May 25, 2024.
This event will celebrate his many achievements in mathematics and law and activism and family and more.
It will feature short speeches by a number of people who knew him especially well, followed by mingling with light refreshments.
probability.ca
Summer Picnic
When: Saturday, August 24th, 3pm – 6pmWhere: Christie Pits Park, 750 Bloor St W
It’s been a hot labour summer! Now, it’s time to relax, have fun, and reflect on our successes and struggles over the year.
Join us for food, refreshments, activities, and most importantly, community building. Doors open at 3:00pm with a speaker at 4pm.
We will provide vegan and halal food options. If you have other dietary restrictions, please reply to your RSVP email.
justice4workers.org
Gaza Square
When: Every Sunday, 11am to 1pmWhere: 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
We Must Answer Gaza’s Call
When: Sunday, August 25th, 1pmWhere: Kitchener City Hall
Join us Sunday to call to an END in Canada’s ongoing complicity in the massacre against Palestinian people in Gaza and to DEMAND a two-way arms embargo against the Zionist state.
We have witnessed unimaginable death and destruction during these past 10 months by the hands of Zionist forces. Destruction of homes, schools, hospitals, lives and families have been irrevocably changed because of the zionist entity, and Canada’s complicity in this will not go unnoticed.
instagram.com
Weekly Phone-zap for Palestine
When: Mondays at 12pmWeek 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
Scarborough Community Arts
When: Monday, August 26th, 6pmLocation will be shared with registrants
As Israel intensifies its bombardment of Gaza and threatens a regional war, it is imperative for us to continue to organize in all locales to build a stronger movement.
Join PYM Toronto on Monday August 26th for an evening of community and arts in Scarborough to build on our organizing in the GTA as we work towards Palestinian liberation.
instagram.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
Deliver Flyers to Hold Bradford Accountable
When: August 27th, 6pmWhere: Woodbine Ave & Gerrard St E
A report from the City’s Integrity Commission found that Councillor Frances Nunziata (York South—Weston) and Councillor Brad Bradford (Beaches—East York) inappropriately used contact information of residents during their election campaigns. On July 24 2024, City Council voted unanimously to reprimand both the councillors for breaching council’s code of conduct.
The report found that Nunziata misused up to 40,000 constituents’ emails during the 2022 municipal election, in which she narrowly beat progressive challenger Chiara Padovani. Bradford misused the contact information of 10,000 constituents in the 2023 mayoral by-election.
progresstoronto.ca
Film screening: BETHUNE: The Making of a Hero
When: August 28th, 7pmWhere: Eyesore Cinema, 1176 Bloor St
The Socialist Project and The Leo Panitch School are extremely proud to present “Bethune: The Making of a Hero” as the next film in our long running FilmSocial series of screenings. “Bethune: The Making of a Hero” (1990) utilizes factual details and compelling storytelling as it follows the life of Dr. Bethune through struggles, both personal and political, before his elevation as a hero of the Communist movement and working people worldwide.
tickettailor.com
Municipal Politics, Socialist Strategy
When: September 3rd, 7pm (doors open 6:30pm)Where: CSI Annex, 720 Bathurst St
The Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education is pleased to be presenting “Transforming the City,” a discussion of municipal politics, socialist strategy, and organizing to win.
From unprecedented Palestine solidarity actions and struggles against police violence to massive climate strikes and marches against healthcare privatization, recent years have seen a growing number of people taking to the streets, causing Toronto to re-emerge as a site of popular struggle.
tickettailor.com
Fighting to Win
When: September 9 to November 25No 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
NATO Turns Global and Expands Theatres of Escalation
By Anuradha ChenoyThe North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of 32 Western countries has formally declared its security interests to be global, despite its title and founding mandate as a transatlantic security alliance. The 75th anniversary summit held in Washington (10 July) conceptualised its security as a “360-degree approach,” indispensable and essential. The reason to extend its operations are because the threats to NATO are “global and interconnected.” It is the instrument for the “rules-based order” which NATO demarcates from international law. NATO signals that it will operationalise its strategic reach globally anywhere any time and will likely be intolerant and indifferent to the security needs of those outside this exclusive club.
Source: The Bullet No. 3032
The New Chutzpah: Canceling Palestinian Solidarity in Canada
By Judy HaivenMany of you know that the Yiddish word chutzpah means extreme self-confidence or audacity. It is defined here: a young man murders his parents then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he’s an orphan. The new definition of chutzpah is Israel – the Jewish state – killing 186,000 people in ten months, denying it, then getting Jews around the world to also deny it. The longer Israel’s war on Gaza goes on, the more frenzied and desperate pro-Israel Jews in Canada become.
Source: The Bullet No. 3033