END Statement on the BDS Global Day of Action

March 30, 2011 – Education Not Deportation (END), a campaign of No One is Illegal Toronto, stands in solidarity with Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) in fighting for an end to Israeli Apartheid.

Taking inspiration from the recent uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, we must remember the immense impact that can result from a collective and united struggle against exploitation and subordination. Today marks both a global day of action for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the state of Israel and Land Day, a commemoration of the events of 35 years ago when Israeli security forces shot and killed six young Palestinian citizens and injured many. END honours and supports the courage, dignity and self-determination of the Palestinian people as they resist the illegal occupation of their homeland by the Israeli state and its allies.

As a result of over 65 arbitrary permanent checkpoints, an Israeli constructed wall that has been deemed illegal by the International Court of Justice, a series of illegal naval blockades of Gaza, and 235 UN Resolution-violating settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Palestinian people have been forced to live in conditions of abject poverty and humiliation. As a result, the ability of Palestinians to access work, education, medical care, and other basic services is severely hampered, since the fundamental right to free movement is so heavily repressed by Israeli authorities.

From Palestine to Turtle Island - we stand in solidarity with all peoples opposing policies of occupation.

The Palestinian people have been forcibly displaced by illegal Israeli settlements that have been built on agricultural land and key water resources. By denying them basic human needs like water, food and shelter, Israeli apartheid is directly responsible for making Palestinians the world’s largest refugee population.

From Palestine to Turtle Island – we stand in solidarity with all peoples opposing policies of exploitation and displacement.

Since the 1967 annexation of the West Bank and Gaza, there has been a sustained exercise of violence by the Israeli state and its allies against Palestinian civilians. Through illegal incursions, kidnapping, detainment and torture of civilians, and through deliberate acts of collective punishment, the state of Israel is responsible for the death and misery of thousands of Palestinians.

From Palestine to Turtle Island - we stand in solidarity with all peoples opposing policies of violence.

We call on all Canadian post-secondary institutions to take action today by ending their complicity in the continued marginalization, displacement and murder of Palestinian civilians, which occurs through the investment of tuition monies in companies that enable Israeli apartheid. We specifically demand that the University of Toronto and York University immediately divest from BAE systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Hewlett Packard; companies that are all directly responsible for killing and displacing Palestinians, and many other vulnerable populations, through their development of weaponry manufacturing, military technology and information technology infrastructure for the state of Israel and other occupying forces.

Boycott- Divest-Sanction!

End All Occupations Now!

Justice, Freedom, and Status for All!


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No One Is Illegal-Toronto is an all volunteer, unfunded, grassroots migrant justice organization that fights for a decent livelihood, food, education, healthcare, childcare, shelter, accessible services, freedom of movement, justice and dignity for all people, particularly undocumented and migrant worker communities in Toronto. We also act in solidarity with Indigenous movements for self-determination and organize against wars, economic and environmental attacks that push people out of their homes in the first place

Check out our updated website: http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org

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Toronto Hip-Hop Documentary “1 to 4” Released

Toronto, March 28, 2011 – The most important three hours for hip-hop in Toronto has always been Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. on CKLN 88.1 FM. The impact of this musical institution is captured in the brand-new short documentary, “1 to 4.”

It all began back in 1983, when legendary radio host/concert promoter Ron Nelson first broadcast The Fantastic Voyage from Ryerson University’s campus, making it the first hip-hop radio show to exist anywhere in the nation. The timeslot continued to gain historical significance and cultural relevance with the three shows that followed – The Power Move Show, The Real Frequency and Mixtape Massacre. CKLN’s been rocking the airwaves and our eardrums for nearly 30 years, making it the longest-running source for hip-hop music in Canada.

On Saturday, February 12, 2011, a monumental gathering took place when all four generations of radio shows came together for a single broadcast. Thinking it would be their last, Mixtape Massacre invited their predecessors to each play one hour dedicated to the era of hip-hop they represented while they were on the air.

CKLN had its license revoked by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) at the end of January due to problems with how the radio station conducted its operations (Decision 2011-56). But the day before its last broadcast, CKLN was granted a stay, allowing the station to remain on the air pending a decision by the Federal Court of Appeal. The mood that Saturday quickly turned from somber to celebratory.

“1 to 4” is a six-minute documentary capturing the historic radio show that took place on February 12, 2011. It features footage and interviews with Canadian hip-hop legends Michie Mee, Ron Nelson, Thrust and DJ X, along with P-Plus, Arcee, DJ Linx and Big Jacks. Fans are taken into the studio and treated to interviews with the on-air hosts and DJs who helped shape our city’s musical identity.

We hope that this timeslot lives on forever. Without it, Toronto hip-hop will never be the same.

Timeline of Saturdays, 1-4 p.m. on CKLN 88.1 FM

Fantastic Voyage: 1983-1988

The Power Move Show: 1988-2000

The Real Frequency: 2001-2005

Mixtape Massacre: 2005-present

Watch the short documentary "1 to 4" here:

VIMEO: http://www.vimeo.com/21464839

YOUTUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbf1HS5enZU

To hear the historic broadcast from February 12, 2011, please visit:

http://therealfrequency.podbus.com/blog/2011/02/16/podcast-mixtape-massacre-back-to-the-future-edtion/

“1 to 4” is the first documentary produced by Wavel Edwards and Celine Wong. Edwards is a freelance editor who’s also known as Musiklee Inzane, a DJ for The Real Frequency radio show and Wong is a hip-hop journalist who wrote for The Source, XXL, Vibe and Rap Pages before becoming a TV producer/director. They’ve both spent plenty of time at CKLN’s studios on Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and credit the timeslot for molding their musical tastes and knowledge.

Treaty Chiefs and delegates meet to talk moose management and Inter-Treaty Harvesting

Chiefs and Delegates from the Robinson Huron Treaty region met in Garden River First Nation on March 23-24 to discuss Inter-Treaty Harvest rights.

On the first day, the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) presented on a long-overdue issue; Inter-Treaty Harvest rights of the Anishinabek. The MNR role in having this discussion was clear - to place the matter of moose management and Inter-Treaty Harvesting rights before the Robinson Huron Treaty Region Chiefs and delegates. On the second day the Chiefs and Delegates convened the meeting to discuss an approach that will advance Anishinabek jurisdiction.

In 2007 the Ontario Court of Appeal made two rulings that would once again clear the way forward to ensure that First Nation rights are formally recognized in their respective territories. Since that time, First Nations are exercising their acknowledged authorities, but it is unclear how far others understand those authorities. Chiefs however are clear; “the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources must recognize Anishinabek jurisdiction.”

First Nation leaders and their Elders say that the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources have been given far too much time with an interim approach to the rulings. Chiefs are now more determined than ever; “a Ministry of Natural Resource process will not be accepted. We must establish our own Inter-Treaty Harvest Framework.”

The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled that the First Nation right to harvest moose and have that right sheltered in another Treaty territory is an unextinguished right. One of those rulings was R versus Meshake – recognizing the kinship right to harvest inside another’s treaty territory. The other significant ruling was in R versus Shipman; the court struck down the First Nation argument, only because evidence of permission was not provided when MNR officials questioned the First Nation harvester during the hunt. In this ruling against, it was seen as a victory for First Nations because the courts only concern was that permission could not be proven at that particular time. The rights to be ‘sheltered’ in another treaty territory, and to acquire the permission to harvest by the Anishinabek were clearly significant rulings recognizing Anishinabek jurisdiction.

Lake Huron Regional Grand Chief Isadore Day, Wiindawtegowinini said, “Our meeting has been in the works for several months. It was important for Anishinabek to gather and provide input as to how we move forward. A presentation from the Ministry of Natural Resources helped establish dialogue, despite the fact that it was tough discussion.”

Chiefs and their experts will now consult their Citizens in months ahead to ensure that whatever approach is considered, it will be provided through engagement with those who hold priority use over the resources – the Robinson Huron Treaty Citizens.

Day says, “It was a good step toward solutions when the Ministry of Natural Resources as a Crown representative, finally stood in front of our assembly and declared that it was now up to the Anishnabek to determine the process moving forward and that the MNR has no right to determine that process.”

Chiefs not only stand firm on the right as it was written in the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850, they sternly assert that those rights existed prior to the treaty and were never meant to be confined by provincial policy; those rights must be recognized and honored in perpetuity as an inherent right.

In conclusion, Chief Day states, “The Chiefs and their Citizens will now provide us direction on a meaningful framework that ensures Anishinabek rights are interpreted by other users through adhering and respecting Anishinabek law and the jurisdiction of their respective territories.”

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Chief Isadore Day, Wiindawtegowinini
Serpent River First Nation
Lake Huron Region Grand Chief
iday.srfn@ontera.net
1-705-844-2418
1-705-844-1865

Economy Lab:- Bad policy creates the poverty trap

JUDITH MAXWELL
Globe and Mail Blog March 22, 2011

Judith Maxwell is the former chairman of the Economic Council of Canada and former president of Canadian Policy Research Networks

Feeding the hungry. It's a global problem. It's also a local problem and a sign of costly malfunctions in housing and labour markets.

In 2010, food banks in Ontario provided emergency food for 3.1 per cent of the population, up from an average of 2.4 per cent from 2000 to 2007, according to Running on Empty: A Decade of Hunger in Ontario published Tuesday by the Ontario Association of Food Banks. In the midst of so much plenty, there is hunger. Why?

The first malfunction is the cost of shelter. Soaring rents in small cities like Sudbury, Timmins and London and sky-high rents in big cities like Toronto and Ottawa far surpass the ability of low-income households to pay. Even though these people migrate to the low-rent districts in the city, the typical household accessing food banks in Ontario pays 65 per cent of its income in rent. By the end of the month, there is no money for food.

Food banks can ease the hunger, but families cannot meet their nutrition needs because low-rent housing is typically located far from grocery stores, transit and public services. The result is "food deserts" in many parts of Toronto, according to James Milway and colleagues. Without access to the quality and selection offered by major food stores, poor Canadians fall victim to obesity and diabetes. The long-term costs to society for health care and lost tax revenue are staggering.

If people could access affordable housing, they would be able to feed themselves three healthy meals a day. The back story on this is that federal and provincial governments decided in the early 90s to get out of the business of building affordable housing. They left the job to private developers who decided not to play because the business was not profitable. Now, governments occasionally cough up a special program to build new housing that people on low and modest incomes can afford, as they did in 2009. But supply lags far behind the demand. The Ontario waiting list was 142,000 in 2010, according to the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association.

The second malfunction is the labour market. Ontario social assistance and disability benefits impose severe penalties when clients earn income. Like most provinces, they claw back 50 per cent of earnings. When you combine that penalty with the fact that the work available is in low-paid, insecure jobs, family incomes fall far below the cost of living. The minimum wage in Ontario is now $10.25 an hour, but no one can support a family on that wage, even if they do find full-time, full-year work. Nor do these jobs provide training or opportunities for promotion to better paying and more productive employment. It's a poverty trap.

The impact of the trap shows up in the sharp increase in food bank use by single adults in their prime working years (18-44). The number accessing emergency food was 158,000 in a typical month in 2010, double the number in 2002. These people are not just broke, they are in distress. The Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto reports that single adult clients are more likely than other households to have a disability or to have cycled on and off Ontario Works (social assistance) two or more times.

So there it is folks. Bad public policy is marginalizing the generation we were counting on to keep the economy humming as baby boomers head into retirement. This is devastating news for Canada at a time when the priority is to accelerate productivity growth to meet global competition. The combination of low-paid work and rents that far surpass their purchasing power leaves too many low-income Canadians hungry and malnourished and undermines the longer term prospects for the Canadian economy.

From East Harlem to Downtown East Toronto: El Barrio is Not for Sale, It is to be Loved & Defended

http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/581

25 March 2011

6pm – 8pm (includes food)

St Lukes United Church, 353 Sherbourne Ave

Sisters and brothers: We are in the same situation as you are and, from New York, we can see the cause and culprit of the exploitation of human beings as cheap labor, which is the political-economic system...The capitalist system moves its money from country to country and from one continent to the next. There are no walls or borders or immigration laws for money. For money, there are no problems. The ally of this monster is the political system, which is used like a tool to destroy our communities, to change laws that allow for further exploitation and enslavement of humanity.

Like the vast majority of the IMMIGRANT community, the members of Movement for Justice in El Barrio also suffer the consequences of the savage exploitation of our labor.

In exchange for our work, they impose upon us new racist, anti-immigrant laws and walls on our borders, fences on the Evros river, floating detention centers, Euro-Army forces on the Aegean Sea, assault battalions in the cities, and massive deportations. They attempt to convince the workers that we are a threat to them, that we are the reason for oppression that their very governments inflict upon them. They implement all of this to deny us our right to a dignified life fit for a human being...

-From Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio, 'Declaration of Support for Our Immigrant Sisters and Brothers in Greece' (http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/582)

Come hear Juan Haro and Maria Mercado from Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio, or Movement for Justice in El Barrio, in East Harlem, NYC, as they share stories of their struggle, build connections, and raise funds. Movement for Justice in El Barrio is an organization composed mainly of immigrant tenants in El Barrio, New York City that fights for human dignity and against community displacement. They fight for the liberation of every marginalized group, including immigrants, people of color, women, gays, lesbians, transgender communities, and all the poor of the world. Movement for Justice in the Barrio is part of The Other Campaign, initiated by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation.

Movimiento’s members, at over 600 strong, have never taken on a battle they have not won. In addition to taking on and defeating greedy landlords and multi-national corporations, they also target the city institutions and politicians who facilitate gentrification and displacement. Of the many organizing tactics and strategies members utilize to build solidarity with other organizations and advance their struggle, include Zapatista-inspired community consultations (consultas) and gatherings (Encuentros).

Talks and Film Screenings

Gentrification and Resistance
24 March 2011, 4pm – 6pm
Sidney Smith Hall Rm. 5017B, 100 St. George

El Barrio is Not for Sale, It is to be Loved & Defended with speakers
from OCAP and NOII-TO
25 March 2011, 6pm – 8pm (incl. Community dinner)
St Lukes United Church, 353 Sherbourne Ave

El Barrio is Not for Sale & The Other Campaign with speakers from Barrio Nuevo
26 March 2011, 4pm – 6pm
Accents Bookstore, 1790 Eglinton West

Videos from their actions:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TCNngd7auM

Inspired by these amazing talk take to the street on On April 1 to Raise the Rates! (http://ocap.ca/node/944) & on May 1, March for Status for All! (http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/MayDay)

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El Movimiento por Justicia en el Barrio de Nueva York: El Barrio NO ESTA EN VENTA y debemos Amarlo y Defenderlo
24-26 de marzo 2011, Toronto

Venga a escuchar a Juan Haro y Maria Mercado del Movimiento por Justicia en el Barrio, activistas en East Harlem en la ciudad de Nueva York. Estarán en Toronto compartiendo las historias de sus luchas, conectarse con organizaciones y recoger fondos.

El Movimiento por Justicia en el Barrio es una organización compuesta principalmente por residentes inmigrantes en la ciudad de Nueva York luchando por dignidad humana y en contra del desplazamiento de sus comunidades. Su lucha es por la liberación de cada grupo marginalizado, incluyendo a los inmigrantes y personas de color, mujeres, personas de la comunidad LGBTQ y los pobres de la tierra.

Mas de 600 personas hace parte de el Movimiento y nunca han tenido una batalla que no hayan ganado. Ademas de enfrentarse a la codicia de los duenos de las propiedades y corporaciones multi-nacionales, tambien han desafiado las instituciones en Nueva York y politicos que han facilitado el desplazamiento de los inquilinos.

Inspirados por las luchas de liberación Nacional de los Zapatistas en Chiapas, Mexico, los miembros del Movimiento utilizan tácticas y estrategias para construir solidaridad con otras organizaciones y fortalecer sus esfuerzos incluyendo consultas y encuentros con las comunidades.

Conferencias y proyección de películas

Gentrificación y resistencia
24 de marzo 2011, 4pm-6pm
Sidney Smith Hall Rm. 5017B, 100 St. George

El Barrio no se vende! Se ama y se defiende!
(con ponentes de OCAP y NOII-TO)
25 de marzo 2011, 6pm – 8pm (incluye cena communitaria)
St Lukes United Church, 353 Sherbourne Ave

El Barrio no se vende & La Otra campaña
(con ponentes de Barrio Nuevo)
26 de marzo 2011, 4pm – 6pm
Accents Bookstore, 1790 Eglinton West

Videos de sus acciones: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TCNngd7auM

Inspirados/as por estas presentaciones, tomen la calle:
- 1er de abril para exigir una subida de los prestamos de asistenica social -- (Raise the Rates! http://ocap.ca/node/944

)
- 1er de mayo para exigir papeles para todos y todas -- (March for Statusfor All! http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/MayDay)

First Nations launch blue-ribbon campaign to protect Great Lakes

UOI OFFICES (March 22, 2011) - First Nations across Ontario chose World Water Week to launch a light blue ribbon campaign. And if plans proceed this spring to ship nuclear waste through the Great Lakes watershed, those decorative pins could become battle ribbons.

"The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission and Bruce Power Corporation claim that First Nations were sufficiently consulted, but my community was never consulted,” said Southwest Regional Anishinabek Nation Chief Chris Plain, who presented concerns about the proposed nuclear waste shipment to the Ministry of Natural Resources Standing Committee in Ottawa on March 10. “In fact, I know most of the Chiefs and Councils who are signatories to treaties all along the Great Lakes were never consulted. The duty to consult and accommodate must be done with the rights holders and we were never consulted."

Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee says that the Anishinabek Nation will be challenging the decision of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

"We will do everything in our power to prevent the Ontario and Federal governments and the nuclear power industry from using our precious waterways as a garbage disposal route," said Madahbee, who added that Bruce Power’s plan would be breaching the rule of law.

"It is contrary to Supreme Court decisions, our aboriginal and treaty rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the laws of Nature," said the Grand Council Chief, speaking on behalf of 39 member communities of the Anishinabek Nation which occupy all of the Great Lakes shoreline and a significant part of its basin.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples says that States must take effective measures to ensure that no storage or disposal of hazardous materials shall take place in the lands or territories of Indigenous peoples without their free, prior, and informed consent. It also affirms the right of Indigenous peoples to conserve and protect the environment and productive capacity of their territories.

“The Anishinabek, Mushkegowuk, and Onkwehonwe peoples have made clear their relationship, rights, and responsibilities to the lands and waters, which are drawn from sacred law and traditional law,” Madahbee added. “We need to protect the lands, waters and all living entities for seven generations to come.”

The United Nations reports that more than one billion people around the world lack access to safe drinking water, including over 100 First Nation communities in Canada. Globally, two million tons of sewage and industrial and agricultural waste are poured into the world's waters every day, and at least 1.8 million children under five years of age die every year from water-related diseases, or one every 20 seconds. More people die as a result of polluted water than are killed by all forms of violence, including wars.

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 39 member communities across Ontario, representing approximately 55,000 people. The Union of Ontario Indians is the oldest political organization in Ontario and can trace its roots back to the Confederacy of Three Fires, which existed long before European contact.

Feminism FOR REAL, edited by Jessica Yee - now on sale

Pre-orders have started for a new CCPA book edited by Jessica Yee-- Feminism FOR REAL: Deconstructing the academic industrial complex of feminism.

Against a backdrop exposing a 500+ year legacy of colonization and oppression, Feminism FOR REAL explores what has led us to the existence of 'feminism', who gets to decide what it is, and why. It provides thoughtful, honest and unapologetic insight into how different communities; including Indigenous and women of colour, sex workers, disABLEd, queer, Two-Spirited and trans youth define and relate to feminism; what it means to them -- and more importantly, what it doesn't mean.

In the words of editor Jessica Yee, this is not a hate-on of feminism or of academia. It is about truth-telling. And, as explained in the introduction, in the process of uncovering truths, facing them head-on and seeing where they lead us, we can redefine feminism beyond a first, second, or third wave policed by academic institutions so that it becomes about truly cross-cultural human movements that are about real justice - and doesn't end up reinforcing the very forms of oppression it claims to confront.

Jessica Yee is a self-described "Two-Spirit multi-racial Indigenous hip hop feminist reproductive justice freedom fighter". She is the founder and Executive Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network (the only organization of its kind in North America) that works within the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health by and for Indigenous youth across the continent.

Click here to pre-order your copy of Feminism FOR REAL.

Join the discussion and follow along as the book launches across Canada on the Feminism FOR REAL Facebook page.