August 15th

We continued to talk about the forum Audism and the Toronto Police Services and heard a clip from the forum outlining the struggles of two deaf womem and their highly frustrating interactions with the police and their constant need to explain the need for a qualified interpreter.

We also talked with Lydia from the Women’s Coordinating Committee Chile Canada about the over 200 Mapuche political prisoners in southern Chile. Lydia talked about the history of the colonization of the Mapuche people, their ongoing struggles for autonomy and land reclamation and the mechanisms deployed by the state to criminalize dissent (such as the anti-terrorism act and military courts). We heard about the role of women as supporters. We were also informed about the rally outside the Chilean consulate on August 12, 2010 and some of the political contensions within the Chilean community.

Finally, to wrap up programming for Prisoner Justice Day, we heard from speakers at a vigil organized on Prisoner Justice Day (August 10) outside the Dawn Jail in Toronto.

August 8th

We talked with quarator Allisa and her sister/partner, Stephani as well as artist,Kanyika York about the exhibition to take place on August 19 at the Train Studio (964 Bathurst St). The exhibition explores the lived experiences of black women through various artistic mediums (music, photography and painting) and talks about a range of issues ranging from the beauty myths to black women in their careers. Our guests talked extensively about the impossible standards for beauty that black women are made to believe they should emulate through exposure to images and content in mainstream media. We heard a little about each of the artists- their preferred meium and mode of artistic expression.

We also talked with Megan Kynch about the activities and distructive impacts of Goldcorp’s illegal mining operation in Guatamala. She talked about local and global responses. Read more at solidarityresponse.net and barrickgold.net. She talked about the recent corperate zombie march to draw attention to this issue as well as the corporatization of Universities and the close relationships between the academy and the mining industry in Toronto.

We finally talked with Saron, a Ph.D. student at York University and a deaf alai on the forum, Audism and the Toronto Police Service. Saron talked about the need for hearing people to deny their unearned privilege and ways to make activism and our events accessible to everyone. She also touched on the discriminatory treatment received by one deaf protestor by the police during the G20 weekend.

August 1st

We talked about Emancipation Day (Aug 1). We also taked with Carol from Magkaisacentre about their recent event Roots, Rhymes and Resistance which seeks to empower and educate philipeano youth through art. We finally spoke with Marylynn Pouchchiche on the peaceful blockade at Barrier lake to preserve their indigenous form of governance and to oppose the recent attempts to impose an non-indigenous governance structure on her community.

July 25th

We heard Gein Wong, a collective member performing a spoken word piece at the Diaspora Dialogues Festival. It can be found here

We also talked with Wendy and Tania about the recent struggle of their union (SEIU) to obtain decent wages and fair working conditions. They talked about what turned out to be the longest strike in Canadian history, its outcomes and the support they received from their clients, the community and other unions.

We also spoke with Linda Eales and Lynn Sky, both organizers with Toronto’s Mad Pride week. They talked about the political underpinnings of Mad Pride, its origins, differences from anti-Psychiatry and the activities and events that took place during the week.

We spoke with Manjula from the Canadian Tamil Congress about Black July. Read more at www.blackjuly83.com. Manjula, herself a survivor of Black July, talked about the differences and similarities between Black July and the present state of militarization, displacement and human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

We finally, talked with a member of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty about the July 21, 2010 rally to challenge the cuts to the special diet and the subsequent arrests of 11 activists who had occupied the headquarters of the liberal party.

We played the following clip from No One Is Illegal Radio (in Montreal):

• Criminalization of Dissent in Canada: G20 resistance in Canada in the wake of 20 years Since Oka

July 18th

We heard a talk by Angela Davis on the Prison Industrial Complex.

June 27th

As part of the collective’s G20 coverage, we provided on the ground updates including coverage of arrests, targeting of activists and community organizers, police brutality, state repression the raid of the Graduate Student Union at UofT where 70 protestors were arrested on campus. We also covered the jail solidarity rally taking place during the show outside the G20 Detension Centre at East and Hastings. We had heard from an activist who was present at the peaceful rally which was broken up due to police violence as protestors were hit with batons and tear gased. We also spoke with Chief Laurie Carr from the Hiawatha First Nations on the indigenous rights march as part of the anti-G20 activism on July 24. She talked about the issues facing her community and the rally, “Canada Can’t Hide Genocide: Indigenous Day of Action.”

June 20th

Today FFWPR looked at some of the organizing against the G8 and G20. We covered the issues that activists wishing to protest the G20 would like to highlight and we covered the recent press conference organized by the Toronto Community Mobilization Network about their work and organizational structure. We played the following clips:

• Resist the G20
• T.C.M.N. Press Conference Part 1
• T.C.M.N. Press Conference Part 2

We also covered the 2010 People’s Summit, discussing the issues that were brought up during the weekend in over 500 different sessions with Summit organizer, Maria and we talked with Sharmeen Khan from T.C.M.N about the network, its objectives and goals, organizing structure and action plan.

June 6th

We covered Black Music Month and played the Following talk by Angela Davis:

How Does Change Happen

May 16th

Today, we spoke with Anna Willats, a long-time community activist and organizer about the gender justice resistance to the G8 and G20 summits coming to Toronto in June (June 25-27). Anna discussed the need for organizing that reflects the concerns of women, queer and trans peoples and takes an intersecting view of gender, race, class etc. The organizers are focusing on a number of issues, including but not limited to:

· Recent decisions by the Harper Government to refuse to fund maternal health which has to do with abortions for women in the developing world, thus inflicting hardship on thousands of women and effectively polarizing the discourse on maternal health at the G8 and G20.

· The personal and structural violence faced by indigenous women (500 missing and murdered indigenous women, the violations of the Calona Accord etc).

· The impacts on poor and working class women through cuts to welfare including the special diet.

· The violence emdemic in the immigration system along with its gendered impacts wherein women who already face life-threatening situations in their countries of origin are further disempowered within our immigration and refugee system either through sexual and financial exploitation or by deportation to countries where their lives are put at risk.

· The negative consequences of the encroachment of the mining industry on native communities and lands.

· The impacts of global and national policies on communities of women around the world and in Canada...

This grassroots group of feminists is working under the umbrella of the Toronto Community Organizing Network. They seek to empower women on the ground to undertake creative actions that will challenge the foundations of capitalism and globalization with a focus on the impacts on women, queer and trans people.

The group is still in the planning phases and would encourage everyone’s involvement. Please come out to the next organizing meeting.

When: May 20, 2010 at 6 PM

Where: 17 Pheobe street (closest intersection is Queen and Spadina)

Note: the space is accessible and child friendly.

The group, although a loose and informal network, brings together womyn and trans people from a number of different struggles including pro-choice, migrant justice, mining justice, worker rights, and other movements.

For information, drop Anna a line at awillats@sympatico.ca or visit the following website:

G20.torontomobilize.org

We next spoke with Daniella who is in Toronto as part of the Mining (in)justice conference held in the city last weekend (May 7-9). The conference was comprised of a number of workshops and caucuses and was a way for the impacted communities to band together and form global alliances as well as to draw attention to the devastating impacts of mining industries at home and abroad and raise the consciousness of Canadians. She is a representative of the Diaguita Huascoaltinos peoples. She talked at length about the impacts (environmental degradation and human rights violations as well as police repression) that are constant features of mining projects. She pointed out the role of Barrick Gold, New Gold and Gold Corp all of which are headquartered in Canada and all of whom are responsible for the exploitation of indigenous peoples and their lands. She also described the various ways in which Barrick Gold strives to present an image of being a philanthropist and paints the company as a agent of economic development and progress. She talked about programs offered to the local people, especially the women, who are then coopted and used by the company as spokespersons for the benefits of mining enterprises. She referred to this as the creation of a parallel culture which alienates the local people while coopting the few. For the people of the Diaguita Huascoaltinus, this has meant the division of this farming community and the start of the process of environmental degradation. More information can be found here. Visit protestbarrick.net for updates and to follow the activities of mining corporations and those who resist their encroachment.