CONTENTS

1. CALLS TO ACTION
2. EVENTS
3. ARTICLES

Stop Limits on Freedom of Expression

Councillors James Pasternak and Brad Bradford have a motion going to City Council this Wednesday, May 22, 2024. The motion is asking the Attorney General of Ontario to introduce legislation to create “safety zones” to limit where protests are allowed.

If 2/3 of City Councillors vote in favour of this motion, it will pass without a chance for community engagement on it. If it gets less than ⅔ support, it would be referred to the Economic and Community Development Committee (ECDC) where there would be an opportunity for public consultations and for community residents to make deputations and share feedback with Councillors on the Committee.

actionnetwork.org

Tell Trudeau to Regularize Everyone, Ensure #StatusForAll

The federal government promised regularization – permanent resident status for undocumented people – this Spring. Life-changing rules for migrant care workers, international students and other migrant workers are also being developed right now.

Be part of a historic #MigrantSpring. Prime Minister Trudeau, Cabinet Ministers and MPs need to hear from you to ensure equality and justice for all. Send them a message now.

Mayworks Festival 2024

When: All of May

This year, twenty artists are featured, each of whom, with compassion, engages in the spirit of collective power.

From responses to inaccessible health care in Ontario to a fight for dignity among migrant workers in Quebec; from capturing the alienation of injured workers in Toronto to classist land grabbing in Pakistan; from an analysis of radical protests against resource exploitation in the Caribbean to clarifying the long-lasting impacts of French colonialism, and also to witnessing the endurance of Palestinian political prisoners; the artworks narrate our joint struggles.

mayworks.ca

[Ottawa] Chili Cook-Off

When: May 23rd, 6pm
Where: 95 Clegg St, Ottawa

Fundraiser for the Coalition Against the Proposed Prison

eventbrite.ca

Comparing US and Canadian Healthcare

When: May 23rd, 7pm

Join us on May 23rd for a conversation with Dr. Robert Zarr. We will explore his insights and experiences from practicing in the US and Canadian health care systems, discuss his tenure as the president of the Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), and examine the threats and opportunities for public health care in Canada. CDM’s Chair, Dr. Melanie Bechard, will moderate this event.

Zoom.us

On to Ottawa #PeaceCaravan

When: May 25th, 6pm
Where: Friends House, 60 Lowther Ave

Join @vowpeace and @wilpfcanada in Toronto on Saturday May 25th, 6pm, for an evening with inspiring peacemakers.

Speakers include: Lyn Adamson, Cathy Walker, Ellen Woodsworth, Lorelei Williams, Setsuko Thurlow, Judy Rebick, Rachel Small

Join @vowpeace and @wilpfcanada on the “On to Ottawa” #PeaceCaravan and meet us on May 28 at noon for a big — rally on Parliament Hill.

Canada needs to #demilitarize, decarbonize, and decolonize. Make a country of #peace, not of war and militarism.

wilpfcanada.ca | vowpeace.org

Open Doors at 401

When: May 25th, 10am to 5pm
Where: 401 Richmond St W

Explore the building and the community of tenants, and observe the Three ‘C’s – community, culture, and commerce – at work. Join a guided tour or wander freely through galleries, shops, open studios and more. Fuel your visit with refreshments from our café and take in our green rooftop and inner courtyard. Family-friendly and free!

401richmond.com

African Liberation Day

When: May 25th, 2pm
Where: Nathan Phillips Square

One Struggle – One Enemy

The African Liberation Day is a day of building solidarity amongst nations who fight imperialist colonization, occupations, genocide and much more. As the organizers beautifully state: “It’s been a delight to see the worldwide student protests for a Free Palestine because it is very reminiscent of the student protests against the Apartheid regime located in South Africa.”

Film screening: Alam, The Flag

When: May 25th, 7pm
Where: Innis College, 2 Sussex Ave

A skillful examination of the fraught political awakening young Palestinians are forced to undergo, the film is a striking debut feature film from Firas Khoury, that marries conversations around nationalism and iconography with the universal themes of growing up.

Following the screening there will be a discussion of the film and the current situation in Palestine.

This is a fundraiser for humanitarian aid to Gaza.

eventbrite.ca

Singing with the Olive Trees

When: Saturday May 25th, 7:30pm
Where: St.Stephen-In-The-Fields Church, 103 Bellevue Ave
Tickets: $20+ (fundraiser)

Join us for an evening of music with all proceeds going to the Toronto Community Justice Fund. Listen to local artists, bid at the silent auction, and enjoy free snacks. This event is all ages!

eventbrite.com

Sashbear Walk

When: May 26th, 9am registration
Where: Sir Casimir Gzowski Park

Let’s get together to raise awareness for mental health and to raise funds to help us provide life-changing skills in support of those who live with borderline personality disorder, chronic emotion dysregulation and other related mental health challenges.

The Sashbear Walk is the largest event of its kind in Canada for chronic emotion dysregulation and borderline personality disorder. We bring together families, friends, those with lived experience, mental health providers and supporters throughout the community to create a sea of orange in support of those with chronic emotion dysregulation and BPD.

sashbear.akaraisin.com

INFLATION: What it is? How to fight it?

When: Sunday May 26th, 10am
Where: 720 Spadina Ave, Room 202

Our wages are not keeping up with rising prices; rent, food and gas keep going up and we can’t pay the bills.

Some say we need to fight inflation with high interest rates. Others say we need to cut the money government spends on things like health care, education and social assistance.

But does this help us or hurt us? What else can workers do to take on the cost of living crisis? Join us on Sunday, May 26 to find out!

justice4workers.org

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

Riots, Rebellions and Anti-Colonial Formations

When: May 26th, 3-9pm
Where: Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave

In response to the screenings of “Battle of Algiers” (1966) and “La Haine” (1995), Esmat Elhalaby and Mathieu Rigouste will provide commentary on the films and explore facets of resistance to, and the wide reaching impacts of, French colonial violence. Considering the important role of South-South solidarity, they will take up historic and contemporary exchanges that led to movement building against empire. Moderated by Esery Mondesir.

mayworks.ca

Solidarity Rally

When: Monday May 27th, 8am
Where: Student Encampment, University of Toronto

As a gesture of encouragement, I am calling on all trade unions and allies to join a solidarity rally on Monday at 8:00 a.m. at the student encampment at the University of Toronto. If, by then, you decide to move against the students, you’ll have to go through the workers first

OFL.ca

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

The fightback is on to save public healthcare

When: May 30, 12pm
Where: Nathan Phillips Square (south side)

The situation has never been more urgent. The Ford government is dismantling public non-profit health care, closing local public hospitals’ emergency departments and other vital services. They are privatizing hospital care, long-term care, primary care and other services to for-profit corporations.

ofl.ca | Register to get on a bus.

Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture

When: May 30th, 7pm
Where: George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, Metropolitan University, at the Sears Atrium
Tickets: $30

The 2024 Ellen Meiksins Wood Prize is awarded to economist Dr. Isabella Weber for critical research on economic shocks and inflation that equip Canadian progressives with alternatives that push back against anti-democratic policy choices and help to empower workers.

Each year’s prize recipient also delivers the Ellen Meiksins Wood Lecture.

eventbrite.ca

Israel: State of Denial

By Judy Haiven

The lies. The packs of lies – deliberate, filthy, and deadly. And they keep going. As if the world owes Israel and its “most moral army in the world” something – after it massacred more than 35,000 Palestinians in six months. Israel and Jews who support Israel, plus the powerful pro-Israel lobby in our country and in the US (and that includes millions of Christian Zionists) will not admit to any of the following…

Source: The Bullet No. 2990

#Nakba76: Demand Action and Accountability to End Gaza Genocide

By Palestinian BDS National Committee

The forced expulsion of approximately 750,000 Indigenous Palestinians from their homes marked the formal beginning of a regime of settler-colonialism, apartheid, military occupation, and now genocide that persists to this day. We call out the complicity of states, corporations and institutions that have enabled Israel’s ongoing Nakba (“Catastrophe”) and shielded it from accountability for 76 years. The BDS movement reiterates the unyielding spirit of the Palestinian people in our legitimate struggle for freedom, return, justice, and self-determination, at a time when our people are experiencing the world’s first live-streamed genocide.

Source: The Bullet No. 2991

Toward a Global Anti-Apartheid Movement for Palestine

We, delegates from more than two dozen countries around the world, expressing the views of millions of people from all walks of life, of all faith and non-faith persuasions, of diverse political and ideological views, meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 10 to 12 May 2024, are outraged by a century of colonialism; 75 years of ongoing Nakba; 75 years of Israeli genocide, colonialism, and apartheid; more than 75 years of land theft; 75 years of repression and denial of basic rights and freedoms. Palestinians in the West Bank (including Jerusalem), Gaza, the ’48 areas, the refugee camps, and in the diaspora have suffered for decades under the Zionist military machinery.

Source: The Bullet No. 2992

A Generational Challenge: Taming Amazon, Renewing Labour

By Sam Gindin

As the Occupy protests of 2011 exhausted themselves, a dramatic turn from protests to politics surfaced. In the US, the energy was channeled into Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination. When this too was derailed, many of Sanders’ supporters turned, once more, to the labour movement as the foundation for radical social change. From a historical perspective, these ‘turns’ marked an advance in the long march toward finding a new socialist politics.

Source: The Bullet No. 2993