Frequency Feminisms

FF-WPR Farewell to Jack Layton, the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office and Wendy Babcock

2011-08-25T15:20:00.000-07:00

By anna Saini

Death in the summertime is unnatural. In the Winter and late Autumn it makes sense. Just as Spring is the season of birth winter is the time of death. The reaper begins its fatal sowing of the landscape in the late Fall after the harvest. There is some reason to it, at least. But Summer is the time of youth. Death is unfair in the Summertime.

In the post G-20 deterioration of Toronto politics into the Ford-era, the death of Jack Layton is not fair. Layton enjoyed all the privileges of a white upper class heterosexual man and, as former leader of the NDP, functioned within a system of electoral politics that alienates much of our communities. But I think a lot of regular people, people who you would not necessarily expect would feel kinship to a man such as Jack Layton, are experiencing his loss.

One reason for this is that Layton was regularly spotted riding the streets of Toronto on his bike, which is a grand equalizer. No one is immune to midday traffic, potholes or a collision with a pile of police horse shit. Not Jack Layton, not anyone. He was one of us. He was married to an Asian woman, a survivor of family violence and the first woman MP. Layton's marriage with his colleague Olivia Chow is perhaps the most charming reflection of Canadian multiculturalism in herstory.

We will miss Jack Layton championing the public interest even when we did not always agree that he had his finger on the pulse of it. In his role as leader of the official opposition he leveraged his placement to make real gains for working class people. He demonstrated logic, intelligence and genuine commitment, which is disheartening rare of late.

Exemplary of this void in Canadian politics is the recent dissolution of thee Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office into the Canadian Mental Health Association this summer. Previous to the July hand-off the Office was an independent provincial agency. By compromising the independence of the Psychiatric Patient Advocate, the Ministry of Health has created a conflict of interest that has the Canadian Mental Health Association evaluating and taking action on itself, as the main provider of outpatient mental health services.

The Office was created after a series of deaths at the Queen street Mental Health Center, which led to the revelation of prison-like conditions, involuntary drug treatment and unconsenting electroshock therapy in many of the province's psychiatric hospitals. 28 years later, amongst major inquiries into the killing of mentally ill people at the hands of Toronto police, a burgeoning population of caged and neglected mentally ill people in Ontario prisons and deplorable conditions in the province's psychiatric facilities the issues that prompted the Office's creation are even more relevant. The death of the Psychiatric Patient Advocate Office is another critical blow to the voice of psychiatric consumers and their families against the assault and mistreatment that runs rampant within the broken system.

And the system is rife with casualties. People who don't get the help they need. People who are relegated to abuse and neglect by virtue of them being subversive and vulnerable. Wendy Babcock was one of these people.

As a law student at Osgood Hall Wendy was a leader in the movement to decriminalize sex work, a movement that recently made substantial gains when the Ontario Supreme Court ruled to strike down the laws criminalizing sex work on the basis that they violated human rights of safety and security of person. The Conservative government opted to appeal the ruling almost immediately and proceedings on this issue will likely stretch out over months if not years. With the Ontario Court ruling on its side there is a strong case for decriminalization in Ontario that would cause a ripple effect Federally. It's deeply saddening that Wendy will not witness the ultimate fruition of her labor except in spirit. However there were great strides made when she was with us and her memory will no doubt fuel our communities to further our goals and honor her legacy.

Despite Wendy Babcock's meaningful contributions to Canadian public policy before even having graduated from one of the most prestigious law schools in the country, the media, when they did not ignore the story completely, largely reported on her death as that of a “prostitute cum law student found dead in apartment”. So even in death Wendy, her friends, family, communities and all of those who looked up to her are traumatized by the stigmas on mental illness and sex work that plagued her and that she so fervently resisted in life. These stigmas are vestiges of irresponsible and lazy journalists. Wendy Babcock's death is a reminder that these stigmas often prove fatal and that this kind of death during youth is utterly unnecessary.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: 40 Weeks at 40

2011-07-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Moms Talk about Pregnancy and Childbirth at Age 40 and Older

Submissions (approx. 1500 words apiece) are sought for a planned collection of firsthand, nonfiction narratives about the personal experience of pregnancy, up to and including childbirth, among mothers age 40 and older. As a woman who gave birth at 41, I plan to bring together diverse personal narratives from other 40-plus mothers in an accessible collection. A search for a publisher is under way and will not be limited to academic presses, since this collection is meant to serve scholars as well as a wide popular audience.

Please send submissions and queries to ivyfern@msn.com or to opdebena@plu.edu with "40 MOMS" in subject header. Include complete contact information.

Hard copies may be directed to:
Nathalie op de Beeck, Associate Professor
Department of English
Pacific Lutheran University
227K Hauge Admin. Bldg.
Tacoma, WA 98447-0001

Deadline: July 15, 2011 (this may be flexible-please contact me if you wish to submit a piece!)

Toronto Pride compromised by Zionism on all-sides

2011-04-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Toronto Pride is plagued with Zionism.

For years internal conflicts have led many to organize in response to pink-washing of Israeli Apartheid. This is the process where oppressors point to homophobic inclinations within the culture they are oppressing as a way to absolve and obscure guilt. It is used to silence the group experiencing oppression in protesting the oppression, even when they are protesting oppression as an LGBTQ issue. It disempowers the oppressed group by forcing a particular interpretation of cultural norms that is not indigenous to the culture.

Zionist pink-washing in Toronto Pride ramped up several years ago to support the exclusion of anti-Zionist queers of color organizers from the festival. Now funding may fall through in what Toronto Pride is claiming is an attempt to exclude the participation of Queers Against Apartheid. But pink-washing is not an option in this case, when many of the targets are other so-called Israeli's. Pride has initiated the Proud of Toronto Campaign (details below) to combat the funding cuts.

The funding cuts come at a time when many disenchanted queer activists are none too excited to swoop in to organize and save the festival. That said, it would be a great loss to the city and the queer community to lose Toronto Pride to the ugly forces of Zionism. First University of Toronto, now this?

The only hope for Pride is the guidance of a well-funded, well-supported organizing leadership that represents the real voices of the queer community in our city. We are indigenous, we are radical, we are anti-colonialist. We are ready for Toronto Pride to win us back.

Or perhaps more realistic is the approach of Queers Against Apartheid, who are abandoning Pride entirely and counter-organizing events during Pride Week publicizing Israeli Apartheid and contesting Israeli pink-washing of their international human rights record.

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Don't let City Council cut funding for Pride Toronto!

This a campaign to ensure that the City will fund Pride. It will also give you additional information about the business case for Pride as well as provide you an opportunity to write a letter to your councillor to tell them that you want Pride funded by the City. Please "like" and share in your networks.

The decision about whether or not to fund Pride Toronto is coming to City Council in April. A campaign has been waged to convince city councillors to vote against this funding. Pride Toronto is being accused of tolerating hate speech although there is absolutely no evidence that this has ever happened. This is an attempt to stop the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from participating in the parade. The heavy handed attempt to withhold funding from Pride is an attack on free speech and political expression in the parade, as well as an attempt to censor and control city funded events and programs - a very dangerous road to go down. To find your city councillor's and the mayor's email address go to http://app.toronto.ca/im/council/councillors.jsp. If you want to send your letter to the powerful Executive Committee, go to http://app.toronto.ca/tmmis/decisionBodyProfile.do?function=doPrepare&decisionBodyId=262#Meeting-2011.EX5

For more info about the city council vote and the campaign to defund Pride go to http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/On_a_razors_edge-9979.aspx

Proud of Toronto is looking for organizations to sponsor them. If you are an organization that can support the Campaign, please write to them at: info@proudoftoronto.com and let them know.

Maggie's Aboriginal Sex Worker Outreach Project

2011-04-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

Thank you again to Chanelle Gallant for joining us on Frequency Feminisms. As promised here is more information about the Aboriginal Sex Worker Outreach Project. You can also visit http://maggiestoronto.ca for lots of great information on programs, services, resources, and events by and for sex workers in Toronto. The Aboriginal Sex Work Education and Outreach Project is by and for Aboriginal sex workers. Together we want to build your power to work safely, have safer sex and safer drug use, use street sense to reduce violence and HIV. We host talking circles, meals, develop resources and other activities and events. To get involved contact Maurganne at ASWEOP@maggiestoronto.ca or call 416-964-0150, extension 2 This project is for street sex workers of all genders and of Indigenous descent.

Needs of LGBT Haitians Largely Ignored in Post-quake Recovery Efforts

2011-04-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

(New York, March 28, 2011) Violence and discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people has increased since the January 2010 earthquake, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and SEROvie said in a briefing paper issued today. The paper, The Impact of the Earthquake, and Relief and Recovery Programs on Haitian LGBT People (http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/publications/reportsandpublications/1369.html), documents anti-LGBT human rights violations that have occurred since the earthquake.

“UN Agencies, private organizations, and governments must recognize the horrible impact of the Haiti disaster on LGBT people,” said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC’s Executive Director. “While the needs of some marginalized groups are at least acknowledged, LGBT people are completely ignored.”

Perhaps most shocking, conservative religious leaders in Haiti even blame LGBT for the earthquake, leading to increased stigma and violence.

“In the days and weeks after the earthquake, we were shouted at in the streets…you gay people, take your sin and go, you are responsible for this tragedy’” said Reginal Dupont, Program Manager at SEROvie. “Many masisi were attacked, verbally and physically.”

This irrational blaming of LGBT people for natural disasters is a global phenomenon, with conservative evangelicals like Pat Robertson having blamed homosexuality for the devastation of Hurricane Katrina as well as other natural disasters.

The findings detailed in IGLRHC/SEROvie briefing paper are based on more than 50 interviews conducted by IGLHRC and SEROvie in Haiti in April and September of 2010 with LGBT people and representatives of relief organizations, the United Nations and diplomatic missions in April 2010.

The much-needed security, health and community services provided by organizations such as SEROvie - rare enough before the quake - have been devastated and this has compounded the vulnerability of people whose lives were already characterized by secrecy, isolation, discrimination, and violence.

According to Reginald DuPont, SEROvie’s Program Manager, “Our center was a place for LGBT people to relax, obtain services, and find acceptance. The earthquake destroyed our offices, took the lives of fourteen young men, and deprived the community of a safe haven.”

IGLHRC and SEROvie acknowledge the devastation suffered by all Haitians but it is important to note that LGBT Haitians suffered a range of human rights violations, including those related to their right to security, in particular ways. “LGBT people rely on friends, family and trusted neighbors for security,” said Johnson, “The earthquake disrupted regular patterns of movement, scattered friends, families, and neighbors, and damaged or destroyed the doors, windows, and walls that had previously provided some measure of safety.”

As the briefing paper notes, the basic rights of LGBT Haitians were violated in other ways. Interviews with Haitians and international aid workers show how, for example, the well-intentioned policy of distributing emergency food rations to female heads-of-households had the unintended side-effect of excluding many gay men and transgender people living in families without an adult female. Many lesbian women living without male relatives or friends, although otherwise able to obtain food aid, were discouraged by chaotic and dangerous distribution lines.

This increased vulnerability of LGBT people in disasters and emergency response situations is not unique to Haiti, and IGLHRC and SEROvie draw on similar experiences from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, the 2005 Hurricane Katrina in the US and the 2010 Chilean earthquake in the briefing paper’s conclusions and recommendations.

“While earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes and other natural phenomena will continue to occur, there is nothing natural or inevitable about the ways in which LGBT people are denied equal access to housing, food and security that could mitigate the impact of such disasters,” said Johnson.

IGLHRC and SEROvie urge the government of Haiti and other governments facing such disasters, as well as donors and aid agencies, to base relief and reconstruction efforts on the respect and promotion of all human rights, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, and to include LGBT organizations in relief and recovery efforts.

A PDF version of The Impact of the Earthquake, and Relief and Recovery Programs on Haitian LGBT People in English and French is available at http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/publications/reportsandpublications/1369.html

Victory in Indonesia!

2011-04-06T10:49:00.002-07:00

Following a three-year struggle for union recognition and full bargaining rights, Indonesian workers have won a huge victory in their battle with Nestle. The IUF - the global union federation in the food sector - played a key role in a major worldwide campaign that went under the "Nespressure" slogan. As the IUF stated today on its website,

The agreement, which was initialed by the IUF and Nestlé corporate management on March 28 and signed by the union and local Nestlé management on March 31, sets the stage for the SBNIP to bargain the Panjang workers' collective agreement including the wage bargainingwhich Nestlé management had been steadfastly rejecting for years.

Full details of the victory are at http://cms.iuf.org/?q=node/851

Rights Groups Call on Government to End Abusive Solitary Confinement in Women's Prisons by BCCLA

2011-04-06T10:49:00.001-07:00

The BCCLA and other rights groups are calling on the Minister of Public Safety to end the use of the Management Protocol program in women's prisons.

The BCCLA joined with other concerned groups, including the B.C. Union of Indian Chiefs, the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies, the John Howard Society of Canada, Prisoners' Legal Services, Women's Legal Education and Action Fund, West Coast Women's Legal Education and Action Fund, Pivot Legal Society, and the Criminal Lawyers' Association, to express its serious concern over the continued use of this controversial program.

The Management Protocol is a program that exists solely in women's prisons. A key feature of the Management Protocol is its use of prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement, which places women in isolation for up to 23 hours a day. There is no judicial oversight on its use. Of the women who have been placed on the Management Protocol, all but one have been aboriginal, strongly suggesting that the Protocol is being applied in a discriminatory fashion.

In the wake of the BCCLA's lawsuit, filed earlier this month, challenging the Management Protocol and the use of prolonged, indefinite solitary confinement, the Correctional Service of Canada informed media that it would be "moving away" from the use of the Management Protocol. "Unfortunately, the Correctional Service of Canada has been claiming that it is 'moving away' from the Management Protocol for years," said Grace Pastine, Litigation Director at the BCCLA. "Meanwhile, women continue to suffer. We
need action, not words. The Management Protocol must be abolished."

In 2009, the Correctional Investigator, the independent ombudsperson for federal offenders, recommended that the Management Protocol be abolished.

The correctional service did not follow this recommendation, but instead stated that it would review its strategy "with a view to moving away" from the Management Protocol. In May 2010, the correctional service again claimed that it would "move away" from the Management Protocol.

"And yet, in 2011, we have still yet to see any true movement away from the program, or from
the use of long-term solitary confinement as an administrative tool," said Carmen Cheung, Counsel at the BCCLA.

The serious harms resulting from long-term solitary confinement are well-documented. It is almost 50 years since Canada passed a Bill of Rights that precludes cruel and unusual punishment and preserves due process; it is almost 30 years since Canada adopted a Charter of Rights embedding those principles into the constitution and guaranteeing them to all people in Canada.

Read the Letter to the Minister of Public Safety
http://www.bccla.org/pressreleases/11Toews.pdf

2010-2011 MIGRANT FARM WORKERS REPORT PUBLISHED

2011-04-06T10:48:00.001-07:00

Report finds federal government complicit in Canada’s abuse of migrant farm workers

Canada’s most comprehensive annual report on the challenges facing migrant farm workers has been released. It confirms that abuse and exploitation of migrant farm workers are rampant in Canada’s agriculture industry. The 2010-2011 Status of Migrant Farm Workers in Canada report is published by UFCW Canada and the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA). For more than two decades UFCW Canada has been a leading advocate for farm workers' rights, and in association with the AWA operates 10 agriculture worker support
centres across Canada. The latest report is the seventh released since 2003. The 25-page report exposes federally operated migrant farm worker programs as rife with human and labour rights violations — and those programs are expanding with the assistance of the Harper Conservative government.

Read more (.pdf):
http://www.ufcw.ca/templates/ufcwcanada/images/awa/publications/UFCW-Status_of_MF_Workers_2010-2011_EN.pdf

“No More Stolen Sisters: Safe Shelters, Safe Housing, Safe Services”

2011-04-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

* HOW TO SUPPORT:

1) PETITION: Please sign our online petition. We are hoping to gather 5000
signatures in two weeks and need your help to make this happen! Link to
petition: http://www.petitiononline.com/DTESsafe/petition.html

2) ENDORSE: If you are a member of a women’s group, social justice
collective, community centre, union, service organization, or campus
group, we request that you please endorse our three demands by emailing
hwalia8@gmail.com or calling 778 885 0040.

Our current list of endorsers include: Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre,
DTES Power of Women Group, WISH Drop-In Centre Society, Walk4Justice,
Battered Women’s Support Services, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House,
PACE Society, Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council, Vancouver Status of
Women, Oxfam Canada, No One Is Illegal Vancouver, Vancouver Action,
Council of Canadians, Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and
Solidarity Society, Aboriginal Women’s Action Network, West Coast Legal
Education and Action Fund, Streams of Justice, Franciscan Sisters of the
Atonement, Carnegie Community Action Project, Purple Thistle Centre, W2
Community Media Arts Society, Life Skills Centre , Ending Violence
Association of BC, Portland Hotel Society, Pivot Legal Society, UBC Centre
for Race Autobiography Gender and Age studies, Interfaith Institute for
Justice, Peace and Social Movements, Women Against Violence Against Women,
Aboriginal Front Door

3) WRITE-IN: We are requesting that everyone to please send an email along
the lines of the below to all of the following people in BC Housing, City
Council, MLA’s and MP’s. Email addresses compiled here:

rich.coleman.mla@leg.bc.ca, yourvoice@christyclark.ca,
sramsay@bchousing.org, dmcmann@bchousing.org, MMcNeil@bchousing.org,
gregor.robertson@vancouver.ca,

lranton@vancouver.ca,
Ellen.Woodsworth@vancouver.ca, clrcadman@vancouver.ca,
clrchow@vancouver.ca, clrdeal@vancouver.ca, clrjang@vancouver.ca,
clrlouie@vancouver.ca, clrmeggs@vancouver.ca, clrreimer@vancouver.ca,
clrstevenson@vancouver.ca, harry.bloy.mla@leg.bc.ca,
stephanie.cadieux.mla@leg.bc.ca, mary.polak.mla@leg.bc.ca,
ida.chong.mla@leg.bc.ca, mable.elmore.mla@leg.bc.ca,
Jenny.Kwan.MLA@leg.bc.ca, daviel@parl.gc.ca, Davies.D@parl.gc.ca,
Dhaliwal.S@parl.gc.ca, Fry.H@parl.gc.ca, Murray.J@parl.gc.ca,
Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca, Julian.P@parl.gc.ca, Dosanjh.U@parl.gc.ca

RE: Safe Housing and Safe Services for Women in the DTES

It has come to my attention that for the past two months a coalition has
been raising the urgent issue of women’s safety in shelters in the
Downtown Eastside. I have been dismayed by the lack of response by all
levels of government about the ongoing violence committed against women in
the Downtown Eastside. Sexual assaults against women in this neighbourhood
in particular are normalized and their safety is not considered of highest
priority as we have seen with the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered
women. This would never be acceptable in any other part of town. I support
the call for a 24 hours drop-in space and shelter for women in the
Downtown Eastside, housing for homeless women and children, and clear
protocols to be established within co-ed shelters.

Sincerely,
(NAME, ADDRESS, CONTACT INFO)

* ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN:

Over the past two months a growing group of women residents of the
Downtown Eastside as well as a coalition of DTES and women-serving
organizations have been raising the urgent issue of women’s safety in
shelters in the Downtown Eastside. This has come in response to a number
of reported sexual assaults in DTES shelters.

We have been dismayed by the lack of response by all levels of government
about the ongoing violence committed against women in the Downtown
Eastside. We have been outraged that all four of our correspondences have
been ignored. We have been shocked that our delegation to BC Housing in
March 2011 was met with a heavy presence of police and we were shut out
from any dialogue on this issue. All this suggests to us that BC Housing
as well as city and provincial officials do not consider women’s safety a
priority within their funded facilities.

Sexual assaults against women in this neighbourhood are normalized as we
have seen with the ongoing tragedy of missing and murdered women. Women
should not have to “choose” between the indignity of homelessness and
being warehoused in shelters, and the high-risk of assault associated with
both. We will not remain silent or complicit and are continuing a
grassroots campaign based on three core demands that we believe can and
should be met in a timely manner.

We are calling for:

1) A 24 hours low-barrier women-only (includes all self-identified women)
drop-in space and shelter in the Downtown Eastside, ideally on Hastings
Street between Main and Jackson. The establishment and operation of this
service should be done through an accountable process including a
transparent call for tenders and in consultation with community
organizations and DTES resident women.

2) Housing for homeless women and children with at least 100 new units to
be made available immediately.

3) Clear provincial standards for women’s safety in co-ed shelters to be
implemented immediately in all existing and new shelters, including but
not limited to:

• Women-only facilities in co-ed shelters with adequate women-only beds
and services within those spaces.

• Women staff and training for all staff by women’s organizations
experienced in issues of sexual and gender violence. Shelter contractors
must demonstrate the ability to ensure safety and security for women
shelter users and all staff must be able to demonstrate an understanding
of gender inequalities that contribute to violence against women.

We are calling on allied groups, communities, and individuals to support
us. Please get involved and spread the word! For more information email
project@dewc.ca or call 604 681 8480 x 234. Website:
http://womensmemorialmarch.wordpress.com/

* BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

- Open Letter to Mayor Gregor Robertson “Women Respond to Sexual Assaults
in Downtown Eastside Church Shelter While Shelter and City of Vancouver
Ignore Reports” http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/6390

- Press Release “Women Respond to Comments by Reverend Ric Matthews of
First United Church; Reiterate Calls for 24-hour Women’s Shelter and Safe
Housing in DTES” http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/6496.

- Press Release “Women’s Action in Downtown Eastside for Women’s Safety”
and Open Letter to BC Housing:
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/newsrelease/6692

* SELECTED MEDIA:

- Video of press conference:
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/video/press-conference-women-respond-sexual-assault-dtes-shelter/6484

- Podcast of Vancouver DTES women’s groups shut out of B.C. Housing
office:
http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/pivot-legal-society/2011/03/vancouver-dtes-womens-groups-shut-out-bc-housing-office

- Women rail against violence in shelters:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/assault+protest/4488619/story.html

- Safe Housing, Safe Shelters and Safe Services for Women:
http://vancouver.mediacoop.ca/story/vancouver-politics-and-service-provision/6707

- More emergency shelter spaces needed for women, Vancouver council hears:
http://www.straight.com/article-382418/vancouver/more-emergency-shelter-spaces-needed-women-vancouver-council-hears

- Women’s groups outraged over sexual assault comments:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/03/02/bc-first-united-church-sexual-assaults.html

Send an email to Ont party leaders re Ontario Hunger Report

2011-04-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

New report from Ont Assoc of Food Banks
**Send an Advocacy E-card to the 3 Ontario party leaders now by clicking on
www.oafb.ca

Please share this with your networks.

Key Facts from Ontario Hunger Report 2010
• 402,000 Ontarians a month were forced to turn to food banks in 2010, up
sharply from 374,000 in 2009
• Since the recession hit in 2008, food bank use in Ontario has grown by
28 percent, an unprecedented increase
• In 2010, 3.1 percent of the Ontario population accessed food banks, making the
province of Ontario the third most intensive user of food bank services, after
Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba
• In an effort to balance fixed incomes with rising costs of living, more Ontario
seniors are turning to food banks to make it through the month – 12 percent of
the adults served were over 65 in 2010, up from 4 percent in 2009.
Seniors also make great use of meal programs offered by food banks

Profile of Food Bank Clients

FAMILY BACKGROUND
• Single adults now comprise the largest proportion of the population served by
food banks – 38 percent in 2010, up from 26 percent in 2002
• Single parent families are the second largest group served -- 30 percent in 2010
down from a peak of 39 percent established in 2003
• Two parent families come third. They accounted for 22 percent of food bank
clients in 2010, down from 27 percent in 2002
• Children and youth under the age of 18 account for 37 percent of the population
served by food banks in March 2010, down from 40 percent in 2000.
• 15 percent of food bank clients were new Canadians (have lived in Canada
less than 10 years) in 2010 down from 29 percent in 2007
• Aboriginal clients also declined over time to 7 percent in 2010

SOURCES OF INCOME
• Most Ontario households using food banks depended on social assistance
(45 percent) in 2010. But this was much lower than the 65 percent in 2000.
• In contrast, the number of households receiving Ontario Disability Program
(ODSP) benefits increased over the decade from 14 percent in 2000 to 23
percent in 2010
• Over 5 percent of the households served relied on pension income, about the
same as in 2001
• Only 11 percent of households had employment income in 2010, about the
same as the early 2000s; access to Employment Insurance (EI) fluctuated
through the decade, hitting a low of 2.6 percent of households in 2008 and a
peak of 5 percent in 2004
• In rural areas (communities under 10,000), 9 percent received EI benefits and
40 percent received social assistance, while 22 percent accessed
Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) benefits

HOUSING
• 64 percent of people served by food banks in 2010 lived in market rental
accommodation; 27 percent lived in social housing. Only 4.4 percent owned
their own homes
• Comparing the Ontario average with rural areas, homeownership was higher
in rural settings (17 percent of food bank clients), but rental accommodation
was lower, at 51 percent in 2010. And more people were living with family or
friends (6 percent rural vs. 2 percent for the province as a whole)

Jacquie Maund
Coordinator, Ontario Campaign 2000
Coordinator, Social Reform, Family Service Toronto
www.campaign2000.ca
www.familyservicetoronto.org

END Statement on the BDS Global Day of Action

2011-03-31T12:04:00.001-07:00

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

...support us http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/support

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Toronto Hip-Hop Documentary “1 to 4” Released

2011-03-31T12:01:00.001-07:00

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

2011-03-31T12:00:00.001-07:00

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

2011-03-31T11:59:00.001-07:00

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

2011-03-24T13:32:00.001-07:00

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

2011-03-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

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

2011-03-24T13:28:00.001-07:00

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.

Prisons grapple with increase in mentally ill female inmates

2011-02-02T13:09:00.001-08:00

Kirk Makin — Justice Reporter
Globe and Mail

A wave of mentally ill women is flooding into the Canadian penitentiary system, sparking calls for reform and the creation of treatment facilities that already exist for male offenders.

Across the country, prisons are grappling with the problem of a sharp increase in mentally impaired inmates. But the issue is particularly acute with women.

Some experts see the deteriorating situation as a sign that enlightened policies have broken down under the weight of sheer numbers and the realities of prison culture.

“You now have people in correctional facilities with the severest mental illnesses you could possibly find,” said Colin Cameron, a psychiatrist at Ontario’s St. Lawrence Valley Correctional and Treatment Centre. “Recognizing the challenges faced by Correctional Service Canada, their needs really haven’t been well met.”

On Friday, the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and the Brockville Mental Health Centre, along with Senator Robert Runciman – who spearheaded the creation of a unique, therapy-first facility for male offenders – will try to do the same for women.

Mr. Runciman said they will select a successful tender in a competition to prepare a business plan for a women’s treatment facility. He said he hopes to submit it to the federal government in
March. “The need is clearly greater on the female side of the federal system at the moment,” Mr. Runciman said. “We are going to make a lot of noise about this.”

One of the biggest concerns is access to proper care.

Women in maximum security, who often suffer the most serious mental problems, are not permitted to enter in-prison psychiatric units because they are deemed too dangerous. Many are instead confined to isolation cells or subdued by chemical and physical restraints. Untreated, they are likely to emerge from prison in even worse shape than when they went in.

“Women subjected to these conditions tend to develop new mental-health conditions and symptoms,” said Kim Pate, executive director of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies. “Quite frankly, we are also seeing more bizarre behaviour as a response to conditions.
The women with the most significant mental-health issues tend to be in maximum security, but they never have access to the very treatment units they most need.”

The glut of mentally impaired female offenders epitomizes a problem plaguing the entire penal system. Tougher laws and sentences have created a pressing need for more prison cells, but the needs of the mentally ill are playing a small role in federal expansion plans.

While the male prison population of about 13,000 has changed little over the years and still dwarfs the female population, the number of female offenders has skyrocketed from 210 to 500 in the past 20 years.

It also encompasses a higher rate of mental illness.

By some measures, 40 to 45 per cent of female offenders have serious mental afflictions – and some experts claim that this underestimates the problem. Kelly Hannah-Moffat, chair of the sociology department at the University of Toronto, said close to 100 per cent of female
offenders suffer from a debilitating mental problem such as psychosis,
clinical depression, schizophrenia or coping strategies that involve
self-harm.

“It is really hard to find somebody who doesn’t have some of those issues,” she said.

Why do female offenders exhibit so many mental problems? Women have higher rates of depression and mood-related issues, said Nicole Loreto, a spokesperson for Royal Ottawa Health Care Group, which has created a specialty of women’s health. “Mood disorders involve a
complex interplay of women’s biology, hormonal makeup and psycho-social pressures.”

An overwhelming majority have also suffered sexual or physical abuse. “A history of trauma is a risk factor for the development of depression and to some degree schizophrenia,” Ms. Loreto said.

Federal Correctional investigator Howard Sapers has estimated the suicide rate among female offenders at seven times the Canadian average. Many act out violently or mutilate their bodies to express anger and frustration.

“When someone has a heart attack, we would never presume that the problem can be handled in a prison,” Ms. Pate said. “So why do we think that someone with significant mental-health issues can be handled in a prison setting?”

Ms. Pate attributed the growing number of mentally ill female offenders to well-meaning judges who erroneously believe that women are going to get proper psychiatric treatment in prison.

“The judges never anticipate that they are going to be put in segregation in the most austere conditions,” she said. “There is a presumption that services that no longer exist in the community – or never did – are being provided in a prison setting and can meet the
therapeutic needs of women. But our experience is quite the opposite since those units opened.”

Ms. Pate said she went to a Saskatchewan penitentiary recently to see a psychotic inmate who was strapped to a hospital bed, her arms and legs immobilized and atrophied.

“I had to look through a mail slot and up through her legs to speak to her,” Ms. Pate said. “This was a woman with a history of sexual abuse. … My sense was that her behaviour was certainly exacerbated by prison.”

Shoshana Pollack, a sociology professor at Wilfrid Laurier University,said that prison and treatment simply don’t mix well. “They are concerned with controlling and predicting the likelihood of the person committing another offence – which is a very different mandate than
healing, dealing with and confronting experiences of trauma.”

Please visit the following link to sign an important petition to support gravely ill migrant farm worker Phillip Allen's bid to stay in Canada...

2011-02-02T13:07:00.000-08:00

... and to stay alive.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Phillip-Allen-to-stay-in-Canada/
January 2011

We, the undersigned, write to request the Canadian government to exercise its discretion under s.25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to permit Phillip Allen to apply for permanent residency from within Canada.

Phillip is a hardworking and dedicated husband and father who has made invaluable contributions to the migrant worker community and to Canadian society. From 2003 to 2007, he came to Canada from Jamaica each year and worked for 8 months of the year as a productive member of Canadian society as part of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program. As a legally employed worker, he contributed from his income to Canadian provincial and federal taxes and to employment insurance. He was consistently requested back by his employer.

When his kidneys failed in July 2007, Phillip became dependent on regular dialysis to survive. Without dialysis, Phillip will be dead in between 7 to 10 days. If he is forced to return to Jamaica, he will not receive dialysis. Public facilities are crippled by such long waiting lists that people die while waiting for treatment and private facilities are far too expensive for Phillip. Despite this reality, and Phillip's many contributions to Canadian society, his refugee claim has been denied. A successful humanitarian and compassionate claim is his only hope to remain in Canada.
Phillip is an important and contributing member of his community. He is a volunteer youth group leader twice a week for the youth at the Brampton Church of God, which he has been attending since 2003. Phillip is a pillar of strength for other dialysis patients; he always has words of encouragement and a positive outlook to help lift their spirits and in doing so, improve their health.

Though he can no longer work, Phillip has also remained active in the migrant farm worker community. He has donated his time, his positive outlook and his stories as a public lecturer, travelling throughout southern Ontario to share his experiences as a migrant worker with the Canadian public.

Phillip Allen is an asset to Canada and a courageous, cheerful individual. He will never receive dialysis if he is returned to Jamaica; this would be his death warrant. We ask that such a vibrant individual be allowed to stay in Canada and continue to make these contributions. If he is returned, not only will his wife and children lose a loved one, but his Canadian community will have lost a dear friend. We urge the Federal Government to accept Phillip Allen's humanitarian and compassionate claim.

To sign this petition, please visit: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Phillip-Allen-to-stay-in-Canada/

Please share widely across your networks.

G20 Defendant Alex Hundert Released from Prison, Actions of Crown Widely Condemned

2011-02-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

January 28, 2010, Toronto - After having spent three consecutive months in jail without trial, G20 defendant Alex Hundert was released from the Toronto West Detention Centre on January 24th.

His release came after he signed a plea bargain with the Crown that he was guilty of being in breach of his “no protest condition” for being present during one portion of the panel at Ryerson University. The plea found him not guilty of breach for speaking on a panel at Laurier University, nor did the plea establish that speaking on a panel was equivalent to a public
demonstration.

On being released from jail, Hundert said, “I made this plea because I realised that I was doing no good to anyone as I sat in jail. There will be no justice in the courts because they exist to protect an unjust and hierarchical order. So I took a deal that would allow me to get back into
my community where I can continue to commit myself to issues of social and environmental justice.” Read Hundert’s statement in full here:
http://toronto.mediacoop.ca/blog/alex-hundert/5868

Initially arrested in a violent pre-emptive house raid in June on “conspiracy” charges, Hundert was re-arrested after being accused of breaching his 'no public demonstration' bail condition for speaking at panel discussions at Wilfrid Laurier and Ryerson University in September 2010. Plainclothes officers were present at both of these events.

Commented Nathalie Des Rosiers, General Counsel at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association on the entire operation, “It seems preposterous to think that public resources, policing and even corrections resources have been spent to prevent someone from attending and speaking at a University seminar. The process was unfair and the charges were exaggerated: it ought
not to have happened.”

Numerous academic bodies, unions, and civil society organizations have publicly expressed their support of Alex and have condemned the crackdown on dissent. The Canadian Association of University Teachers, Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations, Canadian Union of Postal Workers, BC Civil Liberties Association, and Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario, have all issued statements to the Attorney General to this effect.

The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations wrote in a public letter, “This criminalization of legitimate dissent represents an assault on both Mr. Hundert’s freedom of expression and the freedom of our universities to foster debate and discussion on issues of public
importance. Academic freedom – the ability to engage in controversial or challenging dialogue without fear of reprisal – is a cherished value of Ontario’s universities. Such freedom cannot exist when subjected to state surveillance or arbitrary exercise of state power.”

In a statement issued on behalf of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), David Bleakney, National Union Representative for CUPW, stated, "This travesty is about much more than just Alex however. It is about a legal and political order that promotes the erosion of rights, freedoms, and justice.” The bail condition forbidding participation in public demonstrations has itself come under scrutiny, and is the subject of a constitutional challenge put forward by G20 defendant Jaggi Singh.

Out of the over 1000 people who were arrested during the G20 in Toronto, only a handful of charges remain. Many of those arrested were never charged, and the months since have seen hundreds of those who were have their charges dropped. The abuses perpetrated by the police during and outside of the G20 summit have been gaining wide attention and condemnation in the public eye.

Adds Yogi Acharya, member of No One Is Illegal Toronto, “This on-going debacle of political targeting of activists gets more transparent to the general public every day. The Police and the Office of the Attorney General ought to be held accountable for their actions; not just during
the G20, but for the daily violence they inflict on marginalized communities.”

CKLN Licence Revoked

2011-02-02T12:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who has been calling in. If you want to express your support for CKLN, please send your comments to board@ckln.fm. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will send them to the CRTC.

CKLN Statement on the CRTC's Decision

The Commission's decision to revoke our license is shocking, heart-breaking and, according to CRTC Commissioner Louise Poirier, "unprecedented".

CKLN has been faithfully serving a diverse Toronto audience for more than 27 years. It is a place where anyone can get trained, learn about broadcasting and speak to their community. We have provided a place for new music, new voices and under-represented issues. We have been the Voice of the Underground.

We were not in compliance while CKLN was off-air in 2009 and in intermittent subsequent periods but this was completely unintentional and once the problems were identified, we collectively undertook in good faith to remedy them. We are responsible campus and community broadcasters and the unprecedented decision of the CRTC to revoke our license rather than issue a mandatory order took us and the broadcast community entirely by surprise.

If this decision stands it is a huge loss for Toronto and for community media across the country.

For more information, please see http://www.facebook.com/l/18763PZ4Tvy39BpC-dyj1tXPUxw;www.ckln.fm

Tea workers on the Nowera Nuddy Tea Estate in West Bengal, India have launched a new stage in their struggle for rights and justice.

2011-01-27T16:13:00.000-08:00

When workers protested over the treatment of a tea plucker in an advanced stage of pregnancy who was denied maternity leave and forced to work, management tried to starve them into submission by denying all wages and rations for 3 months. Criminal charges carrying lengthy prison sentences have been filed against 12 workers - including the pregnant woman who collapsed in the field and was denied immediate medical care. Two workers, including her father, have been sacked from their jobs. And management continues to reject the union's longstanding demands, responding instead with more threats.

Nowera Nuddy Tea Estate is owned by Amalgamated Plantations Private Limited, a company 49% owned by Tata Global Beverages, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of India’s powerful Tata Group conglomerate.

Tata's Tetley Tea is 100% Tata-owned, and sources tea from Amalgamated - though not, it claims, from Nowera Nuddy, an argument it has employed to excuse itself from all responsibility for brutal management practices at Nowera Nuddy. Tetley is the second biggest-global tea brand, and a leading member of the UK's Ethical Tea Partnership.

You can support their struggle by sending a message to Tata/Tetley – the power behind local management – telling them to meet the workers’ demands NOW!

To send a message, click http://www.iuf.org/cgi-bin/campaigns/show_campaign.cgi?c=551.

Ron Oswald
General Secretary, IUF

Urgent appeal: Jailed woman trade union leader in Bangladesh

2011-01-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

It has now been more than five weeks since the illegal arrest of Moshrefa Mishu, President of the Garment Workers Unity Forum in Bangladesh (pictured).

There was no warrant for her arrest at the time that heavily-armed plainclothes officers took her off to jail, where she remains - in poor health and badly treated.

Her real crime was leading a protest campaign to demand the implementation of the legal minimum wage.

I'd like to ask you to take a moment to send off an urgent message of protest to the government of Bangladesh demanding her release.

Please click http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=846 to do so.

If you're on Facebook, please also sign up to support the cause at http://www.causes.com/causes/567255.

And also please forward this message to your fellow union members - let's mobilize thousands of trade unionists around the world to demand Mishu's release now.

Anishinabek to participate in long-form census

2011-01-21T10:21:00.000-08:00

UOI OFFICES, NIPISSING (January 20, 2011) – The Anishinabek Nation is encouraging its citizens to participate in the 2011 Census in order to ensure adequate funding for such priorities as education, health care and economic development on and off-reserve.

“We are actively promoting collection of information from Anishinabek communities so we can gather specific data about our on-reserve and off-reserve citizens,” said Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee.

The Anishinabek Nation and Statistics Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today establishing a partnership for the complete and accurate enumeration of Anishinabek citizens in the 2011 Census and the National Household Survey.

Under terms of the MOU, each Chief and Council will need to issue a Band Council Resolution authorizing the census and promoting the active participation of community members. Statistics Canada will hire at least one person from each of the Anishinabek member communities to assist in the data collection.

The Anishinabek Nation is promoting the National Household Survey, also known as the “long-form” census.

“The short-form census is really of no use to us because it does not provide data on such things as Aboriginal status and our socio-economic situation.”

“Completion of the long-form survey is purely voluntary but this is the information that is essential for our funding requirements,” Madahbee added. “This is our chance to get accurate and up-to-date data on the socio-economic status of our communities and our Nation.”

Anishinabek citizens residing on-reserve are urged to complete the National Household Survey form when the enumerator calls upon them. Those living off-reserve will receive a letter from Statistics Canada in the mail and are urged to complete the National Household Survey online, following the instructions provided in the letter.

“Involving our citizens in initiatives like the census is in keeping with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” the Grand Council Chief said. “For example, Article 14 says signatory states should work with indigenous peoples to have access to culturally-appropriate education. Data from census participation will contribute to that.”

Building from the Bottom Up! “Smart Settlement” in Practice Conference

2011-01-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Registration Now Open!

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

On Thursday, January 27^th, 2011, at the Ajax Community Centre, Ajax, Ontario; the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA), is hosting a one-day conference called Building from the Bottom Up!: “Smart Settlement” in Practice.

Over the last three years, CASSA has connected and developed partnerships with community agencies, leaders and members in small and medium size municipalities in the province. Over this time period we have had many successes, challenges and lessons learned. We have also been observing the excellent work that our colleagues have been doing throughout the province. Thus, this conference is an opportunity for us and others pursuing community engagement for systems change to share experiences and develop skills and capacities.

Similarly, in an environment of limited resources, the settlement sector has moved towards more collaboration, partnership development and the sharing of resources. This forum provides members of the sector a venue to reflect on the political, social and economic environments, to network, and to develop a vision for the future of the sector.

Please join us for this very important event!
What: Building from the Bottom Up! – “Smart Settlement” in Practice Conference

When: Thursday, January 27, 2011

Time: 9am to 5pm

Location:

Ajax Community Centre

HMS Ajax Room

75 Centennial Rd (off Clements & Monarch)

Ajax, ON, L1S 3R3

(This location is wheelchair accessible)

Meals: A light breakfast and lunch will be provided

Admission: Agencies with a budget of over $200,000 per annum: $50.00
Agencies with a budget less than $200,000 per annum: Free
Students and unwaged, underemployed: Free

Registration is required. To register online http://www.cassaonline.com/index3/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&chronoformname=building

To register by phone, contact Ayshia Musleh at 416-932-1359, ext. 17.

Registration deadline: Monday, January 24^th, 2011

For all other inquiries, please email Ayshia Musleh: wco@cassa.on.ca

Please take action today to support over 300 sacked Cambodian garment workers

2011-01-21T10:17:00.002-08:00

Those workers went on strike last September, asking for a wage increase that would ensure basic provisions such as sufficient nutrition and shelter.

Their employers reacted by sacking them.

Well known brands such as Gap, Zara and H&M source from a large number of the involved factories.

Please demand that these workers are allowed to return to work immediately, with compensation paid for the time they have been dismissed:

http://www.cleanclothes.org/urgent-actions/cambodia-wages

Protest the Killings of LGBTI People in Honduras

2011-01-21T10:17:00.001-08:00

Over the past two weeks, three travestis have been murdered in separate incidents in Honduras. In two of the incidents, the victims were set on fire either before or after their deaths. This means that in the past year and a half, there has been a total of now 31 the murders of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in Honduras.

Join the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the Honduran LGBTI organization Red Cattrachas in calling for immediate investigations and demanding state action to prevent future killings on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Send a message to Honduran authorities » http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1870/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5477

TAKE ACTION
• Send a personal message now to Honduran authorities - http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1870/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5477

Background

On December 22, 2010 in Comayagüela, a 23-year-old travesti named Lorenza (legal name: Luis) Alexis Alvarado Hernández was found dead, her body visibly beaten and burned. Bloody stones near her corpse indicate that the bruises covering her body were caused by stoning. Her body was set on fire. Used condoms found nearby have led to the suspicion that she may also have been raped. After her death, the assailants threw her body into a ditch. News reports indicate that severe injuries to her face rendered her corpse virtually unrecognizable.

The same day, another travesti, Lady Oscar (legal name: Oscar) Martinez Salgado, age 45, was found burned to death in her home in Barrio El Rincón of Tegucigalpa. Her body showed multiple stab wounds. Neighbors report witnessing two suspicious individuals running from her house as the fire ignited.

Less than two weeks later, on January 2, 2011, a young travesti known only as Cheo was found murdered on the main street of Colonia Alameda in Tegucigalpa. Her body was left without legal documentation. She appears to have died from a severe stab wound to her chest.

These killings are not isolated incidents. Since the 2009 coup d'état in Honduras, there have been 31 murders of LGBTI people documented by Red Cattrachas. More deaths of LGBT people have likely gone unreported. At least one of those killed, Walter Trochez, was a prominent human rights defender. In the majority of the cases, there have been no investigation or prosecution of the crimes. Since the coup, all Hondurans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, have been subjected to increased violence and have received little protection from authorities; however, LGBT people been particularly vulnerable to attack. Impunity nationwide has created this deadly spike in violence.

In response to pressure from local human rights activists, the Honduran Minister of Human Rights and the Tegucigalpa Chief of Homicide have assigned two investigators to these murders. However, no one has yet been charged in the recent deaths, and there is little evidence that the investigations are underway.

Urge the Honduran authorities to conduct immediate investigations into each of the recent murders of travestis, to hold perpetrators accountable to the fullest extent of the law, and to prevent similar attacks in the future. Let officials know that the world mourns these tragic deaths and demands that LGBTI killings stop.

Send a message to the Honduran authorities » http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1870/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=5477

Stop conflict chocolate

2011-01-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Ivory Coast is on the brink of war. But if cocoa companies cut off revenue to the brutal and ousted leader who is clinging to power, he'll be unable to pay his soldiers and could be forced to step down. Click to send an immediate message to the CEOs of chocolate companies urging them to back democracy and peace:

Ivory Coast, called the 'pearl of West Africa', is on the brink of civil war -- and chocolate companies could play a critical role in stopping the bloodshed.

Despite losing elections in November and united international pressure and sanctions to remove him, Laurent Gbagbo is clinging to power. Revenues and tariffs from cocoa, the country?s largest export, are bankrolling his brutal army that has murdered hundreds of winning party supporters. If chocolate companies immediately and publicly refuse to do business with Gbagbo, his cash supply could dry up ? and without the support of the army, his power base would dwindle, and he could be forced to step down.

This situation could spiral into all-out war within days. Chocolate lovers of the world, let's flood popular brands like Nestle, M&M/Mars and Hershey's with messages to end trade with Gbagbo now and commit to working only with the legitimate government. Click to send a message directly to leading companies -- and we will publish which companies have cut their financial ties to Gbagbo:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/ivory_coast_chocolate/?vl

All regional, African and international institutions recognise Alassane Ouattara as winner of the November elections and the legitimate President of Ivory Coast, but Gbagbo refuses to step down despite threats of military intervention. More than 200 Ivorians have already been killed, and 25,000 have fled to neighboring countries, whilst pro-Gbagbo TV and radio stations are inciting violence against UN peacekeepers and sparking fears that his supporters could undertake campaigns of widespread brutality. The risk of a dangerous spiral into civil war looms ominously and threatens regional stability.

Ouattara, the legitimate winner, is doing what he can for peace and has agreed to accept ministers from Gbagbo's cabinet into his new administration, but Gbagbo insists he be President. Millions of Ivorians risked their lives to participate in democratic elections and exercise their right to vote. Caving in to Gbagbo would only reward impunity and his violent crackdown ? and would encourage other election-losers in Africa to cling to power, as happened recently in Kenya and Zimbabwe.

The Ivory Coast accounts for nearly 40% of the world's cocoa supply. Cocoa companies alone can?t unseat a dictator, but the Central Bank of West African States has just suspended services to Gbagbo -- and cutting the cocoa industry's financial support to his army could be the tipping point. Companies have long bolstered Gbagbo's abusive regime, many through shady financial operations. Three national cocoa institutions gave more than $20.3 million to finance the war effort in 2002-2003, when some of the worst killings and human rights violations were taking place.

We know these companies are making delicate calculations right now and they listen to consumers -- Nestl? just stopped sourcing palm oil from Indonesia after a massive public campaign by Greenpeace to stop rainforest destruction.

It is crucial that the international community escalate pressure, but at this critical time, if they act fast, cocoa companies could hold the key to removing Gbagbo's illegitimate regime. Click to send a message now -- if enough of us persuade them urgently to sever ties to Gbagbo and his forces, we can help pull Ivory Coast back from the precipice.

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/ivory_coast_chocolate/?vl

The world has taken a strong stand to support fair elections and combat impunity in Ivory Coast. Now its future hangs by a thread. If we take action and stand with the democratic Ivorian people now, we can offer hope for a peaceful solution.

With hope,
Stephanie, Benjamin, Alice, Graziela, Maria Paz and the rest of the Avaaz team

P.S. The CEO of Nestle Paul Bulcke, will co-chair the Davos World Economic Forum at the end of January. If 75,000 of us send messages, we will also deliver our appeal to cocoa companies directly to him.

More information:
Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo facing crisis as cash noose tightened ? The Guardian, January 3, 2011:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/03/ivory-coast-president-laurent-gbagbo

Ivory Coast: Africa mediation fails to end stalemate - BBC, January 4, 2011:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12110119

Cote d'Ivoire: Pro-Gbagbo Forces Abducting Opponents - Human Rights Watch, December 23, 2010:
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/12/23/c-te-d-ivoire-pro-gbagbo-forces-abducting-opponents

West Africa Central Bank Says Alassane Ouattara Controls Ivory Coast Funds - Bloomberg, December 24 2010:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-24/west-africa-central-bank-says-alassane-ouattara-controls-ivory-coast-funds.html

Fresh Cote d'Ivoire Violence Erupts as Armed Groups Clash - Amnesty International, 12 January 2011:
http://amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/fresh-c%C3%B4te-divoire-violence-erupts-armed-groups-clash-2011-01-12

UN News Centre on C?te d'Ivoire:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/morenews.asp?Cr=UNOCI&Cr1

Sweet success for Kit Kat campaign: you asked, Nestl? has answered - Greenpeace, May 2010:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/Sweet-success-for-Kit-Kat-campaign/

To find out more about the cocoa trade and how to encourage fair trade and good business practices that reduce conflict as a matter of course:

Hot Chocolate: How cocoa fueled the conflict in C?te d'Ivoire - A report by Global Witness, June 2007:
http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/cotedivoire.pdf

Ending Child Trafficking in West Africa: Lessons from the Ivorian cocoa sector - Anti-Slavery International, December 2010:
http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2010/c/cocoa_report_for_website.pdf

Support the Avaaz community! We're entirely funded by donations and receive no money from governments or corporations. Our dedicated team ensures even the smallest contributions go a long way -- donate here.

Avaaz.org is a 6.5-million-person global campaign network that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decision-making. ("Avaaz" means "voice" or "song" in many languages.) Avaaz members live in every nation of the world; our team is spread across 13 countries on 4 continents and operates in 14 languages. Learn about some of Avaaz's biggest campaigns here, or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Please Support Oneida Activist Whose Ontario Works Income is Being Improperly Cut

2011-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Paul Doxtator lives on the territory of the Oneida Nation on the Thames. He
is active around the issues his People face and is an outspoken critic of
the Indian Act Band Council. Like many in his community, he is forced to
survive as best he can on the sub poverty payments provided by Ontario
Works. Last year, he attended a meeting dealing with First Nations issues
and was issued a small honorarium to cover his costs. The Oneida Ontario
Works office has deducted this from his cheque and he is worried they may do
this again in the future.

There is no doubt that, even under the punitive rules of the welfare
system, the actions of the Oneida OW office are improper. Directive 5.7
makes clear that sums of money should not be deducted if they are 'casual
gifts of small value' or cover 'out of pocket expenses'. Paul has appealed
the decision and OCAP has written on his behalf but the money is still being
withheld. We are asking our allies and supporters to act in solidarity with
Paul and send e mails to the Oneida OW office calling on them to repay the
improper deduction and refrain from such conduct in future.

The OW official to write to is sheri.haselbah@oneida.on.ca and we ask
that messages be cc'd to the Council member responsible for OW, which is
deborah.hill@oneida.on.ca. Also, please Bcc to Paul at kpd1326@yahoo.com
and ocap@tao.ca.

Support for Haiti Community Program Support, Community Coverage and Film Project

2011-01-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Malinda Francis
a docuvixen film
78 Condor Ave
Toronto, Ontario
M4J 3M9
walnutstudiosloft@gmail.com
647-869-1880

To Whom It May Concern,

Dear Community Members,and Organizations,

My name is Malinda Francis, a docuvixen film, and have been around the city as a community filmmaker for a about almost 7 years now. I have done this totally independently and covering stories that I find are missing from the media landscape. I have been following the coverage around the situation in Haiti, and feel that there is a lot of missing stories that need to be told and a lot of voices are being silenced especially Haitian. I have been working with other Haitian filmmakers and storytellers, and would like to raise the production budget to help us get to Haiti to document those stories that are missing in the Mainstream Media. I am requesting donation from your organization to support the film project. The working title of the film project is Displacement Camps. Currently the Team is a cross border collaboration with Haitian Storytellers Michel Dessources Jr and Oja Vincent, the Project Discription and Teams bios are both attached to this email.

In October 2010, Mario Joseph, one of Haiti’s most prominent human rights lawyers, journeyed to North America. Frustrated by the continued human rights violations in post-earthquake Haiti, he petitions the Organization of American States on behalf of his fellow Haitians. The petition calls for the Haitian Government to provide basic shelter to its citizens. He also was here in Toronto and headed a panel discussion on the nine month update on the situation in Haitii. I documented his talk on film and it may be accessed through this link:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_k-a2RCvLg

The situation is really critical and as soon as enough of the budget is raised the team will be making its way to Haiti, to start documenting the stories from the ground, Any Donations towards the Production cheques can be made out to A DOCUVIXEN FILM, that will go directly to the production of this film project, and building support for ongoing projects that support and rebuild Haiti.

Thank you for your time and consideration of this request for financial support, and please don’t hesitate in asking me any question you have about the film project. Please contact me: 647-869-1880, walnutstudiosloft@gmail.com.

The aim is to get to Haiti, as soon as possible, because to current humanitarian crisis, and the need for this story to be told and the urgency that Haitians need support from the international community.

Sincerely,

Malinda Francis
and the Team.

Call for Submissions: Toronto Women's Bookstore Anthology

2011-01-14T14:42:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce an anthology project celebrating 40 Years of the Toronto Women's Bookstore (give or take, depending on when you consider the beginning of TWB to be.) This anthology will be published Women's Press Literary (under Three O'Clock Press, which includes Women's Press' non-academic titles and the Sumach imprint.)

During TWB's recent financial trouble and ownership transition there was an incredible out pour of love and support, discussion of the community created by and around TWB and stories of the store's past. In light of the recent stresses at TWB, its upcoming anniversary and the current state of feminist book publishers and sellers this is a pivotal time to talk about the importance of a place that's very dear to many people, for many reasons.

I am looking for love letters, historical documentation, writings about TWB from authors, artists, academics, readers and activists who have been influenced by the store. I am looking to speak with former staff, Board members, class instructors, students, customers and appreciators of all kinds. I am looking to get in touch with people who were involved in the bookstore's earlier years, so please forward this call for submissions or get in touch if you are able to make these connections. If you have or remember articles or interviews written about the store years ago and want to suggest them as reprints, please direct me to them. TWB has a rich history and I want to make sure to include as much of it as is accessible.

I am looking for non-fiction, personal narratives, articles and interviews on a variety of topics. I highly recommend querying in advance with ideas as so to have as much variety as possible.

Please send submissions as Word documents, double spaced, in 12 point font.
Submissions are due no later than: May 31, 2011
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with your ideas.
Send submissions, questions and queries to: twbanthology@gmail.com

All the best and thank you for advance,
Tara-Michelle Ziniuk

Is this woman a dangerous offender, or a victim

2011-01-14T14:40:00.001-08:00

December 18, 2010
Thomas O. Hueglin

We have read in this paper about Renée Acoby, a 31-year old Aboriginal woman incarcerated at the Edmonton Institution for Women.

She is considered to be one of the country’s most dangerous women by the Correctional Services of Canada. Because of her part in a violent hostage-taking in Kitchener’s Grand Valley Institution for Women in 2005 — one of five or six incidents of this kind since her initial incarceration — the prosecutor now wants her to be declared a dangerous offender.

It seems to be a straightforward case. Acoby has been in conflict with the law since she was 12 years old, and according to a study of 1,200 incarcerated women in Canada she has one of the highest scores for psychopathic behaviour.

Yet reading about her raises the troubling question whether she belongs in jail at all. Obviously, this is not a popular question at a time when the Stephen Harper government plans to pour an additional $155.5 million into prison expansion.

By most accounts, Acoby turned aggressive and violent when she learned, at the age of nine, that the woman raising her was not her mother but her grandmother. Her mother had been murdered by her father.

She first entered the prison system when she was 20 and pregnant. Two months into her initial 3½-year prison term, she participated in the first hostage taking. The women demanded sanitary napkins, coffee, and to see a mental health nurse. Three more years were added to her term.

Acoby gave birth in prison, but her 11-month-old baby daughter was taken away from her when she was caught taking drugs she got from other prisoners. That’s when Acoby took a correctional officer hostage for the second time, in an attempt to escape prison. Her sentence was extended to 10½ years. Meanwhile, she has racked up 21½ years, and has spent most of the past six years in solitary confinement.

University of British Columbia law professor Michael Jackson has called this form of segregation “the most individually destructive, psychologically crippling, and socially alienating experience that could conceivably exist within the borders of the country.”

According to Kim Pate, executive director of the Elizabeth Fry Society of Canada, every one of her hostage-takings came after she had exhausted all legal means of improving her situation, like getting her security lowered so that she could write a birthday card to her daughter.

That’s right: solitary confinement does not just mean a lack of sanitary napkins – it may also mean no pen and paper. As Marian Botsford Fraser reports, the Canadian Chair of International PEN’s committee for writers in prison, Acoby put pen and paper to good use whenever she had them. She writes poems:

There are times when I covet so much
The comfort inherent in a mother’s touch...
Infinite memory, suspended yet rushed;
Fleeting vulnerability... whispered, clutched.
Freedom slips away every time I get near it,
Deprived of intimacy so long, I almost fear it;
The song of North Wind, I long to hear it...
I search for peace to still my transient spirit.

According to Botsford, Acoby also wrote out several grievances for another young woman denied pen and paper at the time, who was stashed away next to her in solitary confinement: Ashley Smith. Smith is the most notorious recent casualty of the Canadian prison system. According to the warped logic of the Correctionla Services Canada, the grievances were dismissed because Smith had not written them herself.

Serious questions arise. The prosecutor thinks Acoby’s indefinite confinement as a dangerous offender is required because her violent behaviour already began well before she entered the prison system. But the correctional prison system obviously failed to “correct” that behaviour.

Taking away her baby daughter as a punishment for taking drugs obviously had the most devastating effect on Acoby’s tormented psyche, but it could be asked whether the ubiquitous availability of drugs in the prison system is not part of the problem.

And then there is the question of sexism. As reported, a psychiatrist noted that “Acoby offends in ways that are more common to men than women.” Is she being punished for not acting womanly enough?
It seems obvious that what Renée Acoby needs is not indefinite incarceration but serious psychiatric treatment. What comes after that must not necessarily be letting a “psychopath out into the community without controls,” as the prosecutor puts it.
Being able to care for her daughter again would be an important control mechanism for Acoby — as would be an environment where she can hear the “north wind” again, and where she can develop her talent as a writer.

Thomas O. Hueglin is a professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Indigenous perspectives on the 8th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, Call for an End to Violence

2010-12-18T18:09:00.000-08:00

On December 17^th 2010, sex workers and their allies across the globe will mark the 8th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This day draws attention to acts of violence that continue to be committed against sex workers worldwide, and to the stigma and discrimination perpetuated by prohibitionist laws and views against sex work, which endanger our lives and work.

In Canada, although the recent decriminalization decision from the Ontario Superior Court has given much hope to the sex worker rights movement, police harassment and brutality are ongoing, and discrimination remains unabated. This is particularly true for Indigenous communities and communities of color.

On this day it is also remembered that the criminal legal system along with the police are creations of the colonial state. The criminal legal system in the United States and Canada disproportionately targets Indigenous communities. Sex work is no different. Indigenous sex workers are vastly more likely to be subjected to repeated arrests, police and prison violence including sexual assault, incarceration, longer sentences, to have their children removed and lack of access to culturally relevant services within or outside of prisons. They are also the most likely group of sex workers to be murdered or disappeared. These realities are not only limited to Canada or the United States, but are reflective of Indigenous experiences the world over.

This year, the Native Youth Sexual Health Network and Maggie’s: the Toronto Sex Worker’s Action Project are working together in order to centralize the experiences of Indigenous sex workers, who face disproportionate amounts of violence due to ongoing colonization, legacies of Residential Schools, and systemic racism in addition to the stigma associated with sex and sex work. Jessica Yee, Executive Director of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network and a board member at Maggie’s says that, “We recognize that violence and patriarchy have long been used as tools to subjugate, disempower and undermine Indigenous people’s autonomy over our own bodies. The very creation of Canada and the United States was achieved through state sanctioned sexual violence and the imposition of heteropatriarchy. Responses to violence against Indigenous sex workers today must be aware of these histories and, as such, should be led by Indigenous people themselves. Further, such responses must be aware of the recolonizing effect of so-called ‘helping’ Indigenous people and ‘rescuing’ sex workers. Most importantly, non- Indigenous peoples and organizations must respect and learn from the many ways in which Indigenous communities have already been and continue to work to end violence.”

Friends, supporters, allies and everyone interested in ending violence against Indigenous sex workers is invited to an event this Saturday, December 18^th at the Native Canadian Centre in Toronto entitled: “Sharing, Celebrating, Decolonizing: Indigenous Sex Work”. Starting at 6pm, this event will feature performances from Brenda MacIntyre, Red Slam Collective as well as a roundtable discussion with various Indigenous sex worker rights activists, community members and community service organizations about the right to work with safety and dignity and how to end violence. There will also be a traditional feast and giveaway to celebrate the lives of those who continue to survive and thrive in the face of racism and discrimination – including Indigenous sex workers – as well as those fighting for the right of self determination over their bodies and spaces.

The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) is a North-America wide organization working on issues of healthy sexuality, cultural competency, youth empowerment, reproductive justice, and sex positivity by and for Native youth. The reclamation and revitalization of traditional knowledge about people's fundamental human rights over their bodies and spaces, intersected with present-day realities is fundamental to our work. We work within the full spectrum of reproductive and sexual health for Indigenous peoples.

Maggie's (Toronto) is an organization run for and by sex workers. Our mission is to assist sex workers in our efforts to live and work with safety and dignity. We are founded on the belief that in order to improve our circumstances, sex workers must control our own lives and destinies.

Media Contact:

Jessica Yee, Executive Director, Native Youth Sexual Health Network

Canada and United States

Board Member, Maggie’s

(416) 419 6937

jyee@nativeyouthsexualhealth.com

www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com

Jane Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP). Ten Demands For Action On Poverty

2010-12-10T16:06:00.000-08:00

Welfare Policies
...
1. Toronto City Council must immediately refuse to implement the Provincial Social Assistance Memo on the Special Diet that has allowed for staff at Ontario Works offices (City of Toronto workers) to deny people access to the vital benefit. Under this provincial directive, the rates of people accessing the Special Diet Allowance will be dramatically reduced. Essentially – this directive is being as a provincial cut to welfare rates.

2. Freeze the Police budget, eliminate Community Action Policing and put the freed up resources into meeting the real needs of communities. Mayor-elect Ford has already promised to hire 100 more officers. Every year, their budget demands go up, and every year, the City gives them what they want. The violent crime rate has been declining for years. In an economic crisis, where more people are without jobs and housing, City money needs to go to housing and social services and not police.

Housing as a Right not an Empty Promise
3. Ensure that enough social, supportive and accessible housing is built to eliminate the waiting list.

71,000 families and individuals are on a 13-year waiting list in Toronto for social housing. Those thousands of people are spending almost all their income on trying to get some form of housing, going hungry, struggling to survive on market rents that are ridiculously unaffordable and living in rotten conditions while they wait.
On top of this, an estimated 10 000 people in this city are homeless. Thousands of homeless people pack into shelters every night because no supportive housing is open. Accessible housing is needed dearly for those with disabilities.

4. Inject money into shelters immediately, including shelters for abused women and children. End all seasonal closing of shelter space. Bring the spaces up to decent, liveable standards.
The solution to homelessness lies in proving housing as a right and not in putting people into shelters. However, this must not become a cover for cynical politicians who cram people into overcrowded shelters or leave them on the street while making empty promises about providing housing. Until the right to housing is won, shelters must provide enough beds and the inhuman conditions that presently exist in them must be changed. Abused women and children presently have to wait for months to get into a shelter. No waiting list for people at risk is acceptable. The practice of closing beds in the Spring that forces people out onto the streets to face police harassment has to be stopped. The right to safety and dignity must be respected with no delay.

5. Repeal all municipal by-laws that are used for 'social cleansing' of neighbourhoods and the persecution of homeless people, such as 'camp in park without a permit'.

Homeless people, especially in the downtown core, face a relentless drive to push them out. Low income housing stock is blocked or destroyed, hostels and drop-ins are closed or prevented from opening, and the police and private security companies commonly harass and terrorize those on the streets to move them out of tourist districts and downtown.

6. Freeze all condo development in neighbourhoods where low income housing stock is threatened with displacement.
An Anti-Condo By-Law would work like this: in any community in the city where the vacancy rate was less than 3% - as it is in all poor communities in Toronto - development of condos would be outlawed. Similar laws have been passed in many cities in Quebec and have helped to stop poor neighbourhoods from being overrun by expensive rental housing. In downtown neighbourhoods like Regent Park, we see condos being built everywhere on top of the destruction of social housing and re-location of poor residents. They cause rents to go up and bars, restaurants, and supermarkets to raise their prices. This is forcing poor people out of their neighbourhoods and into the periphery of the city, where there is less access to community centres and other services. An Anti-Condo By-Law could slow this process down and give us time to organize to stop the destruction of our neighbourhoods.

Community Needs and Access
7.Affordable, Quality Childcare
Subsidized daycare spots are being eliminated across the city. 17,000 Toronto children are currently waiting for childcare subsidies and many non-subsidy parents line up for years to secure a full-fee spot for their children. An infant space costs on average $70 dollars a day without subsidy and this fee will only continue to rise given the instability of the current daycare system. Instead of responding to a crisis in quality, affordable and accessible childcare by investing in the creation of spaces to meet the needs of low income families, daycares are being closed and parents are being told to fend for themselves and to find alternatives. There are no alternatives. Low income families and communities need equitable access to public subsidized spaces that meet their children's needs.

8.Immigrant Rights Demand

9. No Fare is Fair: Towards a Free and Accessible TTC. Last year the Toronto City Council voted to raise transit fares to $3.00. For poor and working people in this city transit costs were already too high and often unaffordable even before the fare hike. The TTC deficit should not be loaded on the backs of poor and working people in this city who rely on transit as a necessity. Public transit in this city should be federally funded and affordable and accessible to all! Transit systems in other cities get more government funding to cover their costs. Free public transit will help create the healthier, cleaner and better connected neighbourhoods that we all want. It will strengthen public ownership and create more, decent paying, unionized jobs. It will open up freedom of movement in this city for thousands of people who, currently, simply cannot afford the fares or are in isolated and poorly serviced neighborhoods.

SIGN ON TO TEN DEMANDS FOR MUNICIPAL ACTION ON POVERTY

The City of Toronto government is currently contemplating its budget options, with powerful forces weighing in on where the money should best be spent. The poor and working people of this City must silence the usual chorus of business and police interests, starting now and ending only when we get what has long been so badly needed to make our lives decent.Therefore, we have begun to band together around clear and simple demands for action on poverty in Toronto. These demands cover basic issues poor people face in Toronto and focus on the measures that Ford and the municipal government he heads have the power and ability to act upon.

ACTION ALERT: Contact your MP to urge them to reject Bill C-42 (Secure Flight)

2010-12-10T15:48:00.000-08:00

(Ottawa, Canada – December 3, 2010) The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) is today urging supporters and all Canadians of conscience to call on their Member of Parliament to oppose the passage of Bill C-42: An Act to Amend the Aeronautics Act. Members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities are on the verge of possibly recommending passage of a new law that will, potentially, have huge impacts on Canada’s sovereignty and our privacy and Charter rights.

Bill C-42 would amend the Aeronautics Act thereby legally permitting Canadian airlines to provide passenger information to foreign states – an action which is currently prohibited under Canadian privacy laws – in order to satisfy the U.S. Secure Flight program. Secure Flight has been roundly criticized by international civil society groups because it requires that a hodgepodge of Canadians’ personal information be transmitted to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) even if the flight is only passing through U.S. airspace.

Canada has already taken many steps to harmonize its airline security with U.S. programs but to no avail as ever more severe demands are made. The purported purpose of the Passenger Protect Program (PPP), a made-in-Canada "No-Fly" list, was to prevent the imposition of the U.S. list on Canada. Yet again the benchmark has been moved.

Due our geographic location, Canadians have the most to lose from the imposition of Secure Flight rules on Canadian travel. It's only right that Canada takes a stand now, before it’s too late.

ACTION REQUESTED

Write or email your Member of Parliament today to urge them to vote against C-42 as an unnecessary violation of Canadian sovereignty, the rule of law, privacy and due process, and ask that, in the least, steps be taken to mitigate its impact on Canadian citizens.

You can find out who your member of Parliament is with your postal code here:

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx

REMINDER: Please cc CAIR-CAN on all correspondence at info(AT)caircan(DOT)ca

SAMPLE LETTER

Dear Honourable __________,

I'm writing to ask you to vote against Bill C-42: An Act to Amend the Aeronautics Act, as it is currently written. C-42 would permit Canadian airlines overflying a foreign states’ airspace to share passenger information with that foreign state – in this case the United States’ Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - an action which is currently prohibited under Canadian privacy laws.

This bill raises serious concerns around Canada’s sovereignty and the privacy and civil liberties of Canadian citizens. If enacted Bill C-42 would, in effect, cede de facto right to the United States to decide, based on its own “No Fly” lists, who can travel to or from Canada to many destinations - even when those travellers are not heading to a U.S. destination.

Many Canadian Muslims share concerns regarding how the introduction of new security regimes seems to have had a disproportionate impact on members of the Muslim community and the possibility that this new bill could potentially introduce the racial or religious profiling of passengers. One obvious example would be the case Maher Arar.

I urge you to vote against Bill C-42 or, in the least, Parliament should take the following actions to minimize the impact of Secure Flight on Canadians:

(i) To limit the amount of personal information disclosed to US authorities;

(ii) To work with the Canada’s other international partners to negotiate accessible and robust mechanisms of redress with

American authorities for Canadians who find themselves prevented from flying as a result of Secure Flight;

(iii) To implement a national education campaign to inform Canadians about the Secure Flight Program and Canada’s own

Passenger Protect Program; and

(iv) To question the length of the retention periods of information and implement agreements to stipulate that clearly

defined protections be set on any information that may be shared.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Address]

NOTE: Your full name and address are required if you wish an official response.

The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations is a federally incorporated, non-profit organization working to empower Canadian Muslims in the fields of the media, human rights, and public advocacy. Its board members include Kashif Ahmed JD, Dr. Jamal Badawi, Selma Djukic, Khalid Elgazzar LL.B., Dr. Wael Haddara, Khadija Haffajee, Aftab Sabir and Shahina Siddiqui

Donate today to ensure our rights are protected and Canadian Muslims are accurately portrayed in the media. Our Monthly Givers Club makes it easy to contribute to CAIR-CAN's projects and initiatives. One time donations are also always welcome.

For more information on how you can get involved and make a difference visit:

http://www.caircan.ca/support.pp_php

To SUBSCRIBE, click here: http://caircan.biglist.com/sub/caircan-infolist/

Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations
P.O. Box 13219, Ottawa ON, K2K 1X4
T: 1-866-524-0004
F: 1-613-254-9810
www.caircan.ca

Who is Indian Affairs helping in England?

2010-12-10T15:42:00.000-08:00

UOI OFFICES (December 3, 2010) – Anishinabek Nation Deputy Grand Council Chief Glen Hare wonders why the federal bureaucracy responsible for improving the lives of First Nations people in Canada is spending exorbitant amounts on overseas travel.

Published reports include thousands of dollars in overseas trips by Indian Affairs bureaucrats to places like Russia, Belgium and Great Britain in a list of $125 million worth of extravagant expenses by federal civil servants.

“They’re supposed to be representing our interests – we’re not aware of any First Nations in England,” said Hare. “We have plenty of funding problems in our own back yard – we don’t need INAC dollars spent in Europe.”

The Deputy Grand Council Chief called the expenses “jaw-dropping” at a time when First Nations education funding has been capped at two per cent for the past 13 years.

“Just keeping up with inflation and our growing population would require annual funding increases of 6.5 per cent,” said Hare. “This is discrimination against our young people,” he said, noting that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – which Canada recently endorsed – says Indigenous peoples have the right to all levels and forms of education without discrimination.

He called on the federal government to demonstrate more responsibility and transparency in spending taxpayers’ dollars.

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 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.

Immigration Enforcement Pushed Out of Anti-Violence Against Women Spaces across the GTA

2010-12-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Check out the video and share with friends, colleagues, on facebook, email http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0I6YOofI8

The Greater Toronto Enforcement Centre (GTEC) of the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), GTA Region, has issued a directive to all its officers, stating:

1. When conducting a road investigation, officers will not enter shelters or other spaces designated as resources for women fleeing/experiencing violence.
2. Officers are not to wait outside or approach the above-noted spaces and will maintain a reasonable distance.
3. Officers are not to approach the above-noted spaces to make any inquiries into the identity of women who may be the subject of an immigration investigation. This includes inquiries made to the staff, volunteers and other residents.

After 2 years of grassroots organizing with migrant women and trans activists, residents and users of anti-violence against women agencies and anti-violence against women service providers the Shelter|Sanctuary|Status campaign has successfully pushed immigration officers out of spaces for women surviving violence and abuse. To see video of the April 2010 SSS delegation to GTEC, click here. To see the chronology of the campaign, click here.

According to the directive above, Immigration Enforcement cannot enter or approach women’s shelters, drop-ins, child protection services, counseling services, community health and legal clinics, neighborhood centres with violence against women programs, rape crisis centers, second stage housing and transitional support programs, and other agencies that provide violence against women supports and programs.

Over the years, we have seen women and transpeople denied refugee status and deported to death. We have seen migrant women forced to work in exploitative and vulnerable conditions, denied workplace protections. For too long undocumented women, particularly survivors of violence, have been unable to access support in the GTA for fear of being arrested, detained and deported. Far too many times, undocumented women have been targeted and arrested in places they gathered for support and strength.

This policy is part of the process of creating safety, justice and dignity for undocumented communities, particularly women, transpeople and children surviving and fighting back against abuse and violence. This is part of the campaign to make all social services in the GTA accessible to undocumented women, particularly survivors of violence.

To ensure that Immigration Enforcement complies with their directive, please paste the directive below prominently at the entrances to your agency. If Immigration Enforcement appears, remind them of their obligation to respect this directive and ask them to leave. We are encouraging all social services in the city to implement a full 'Access Without Fear' policy. Download the draft policy of the directive here.

No One Is Illegal-Toronto will be tracking the effectiveness of this directive. Please email nooneisillegal@riseup.net if CBSA shows up at your service to report how the interaction went.

While this directive has improved access to services for undocumented women, we wish to reiterate that our work and organizing has never been about gaining concessions from Immigration Enforcement. Our struggle is about justice and dignity for migrants, irrespective of immigration status - and that struggle continues. We will continue to fight for a stay on all deportations, particularly for women, children and trans-people who are survivors of violence and a full and inclusive regularization program.

On March 8th, 2010, members of the Shelter|Sanctuary|Status campaign declared “It is our responsibility to ensure that women, transpeople and children in our communities do not live in daily fear of detention and deportation, especially when seeking support”. We stand by our declaration and remind ourselves and our communities that though policies may come and go, real protection and strength comes from within us.

We will continue to organize for a city that is safe and just for all its residents, irrespective of immigration status. As we We commit again today to continue organizing until racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist and exclusionary immigration enforcement cannot function in our city.

JOIN US!

www.nooneisillegal.org
http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/sss

FORWARD THIS VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT0I6YOofI8

Bell Canada failing First Nation customers

2010-11-26T11:15:00.000-08:00

UOI OFFICES (Nov. 24, 2010) – Hundreds of First Nations telephone customers across Ontario are complaining about service providers failing to follow government direction to refund the provincial sales tax portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax.

“They don’t have any problem finding the cheques we send them to deposit in their big corporate bank account,” said Anishinabek Deputy Grand Chief Glen Hare. “But they seem to misplace our citizens’ requests for their lawful refund of the 8 per cent PST that is still on their telephone bills.”

Hare said he had heard horror stories from homeowners in the 40 Anishinabek Nation communities across Ontario who have spent hours on the phone trying to have Bell Canada, one of Canada’s largest corporations, delete the PST from monthly phone, internet and satellite bills.

After the Ontario government directed businesses in the province to comply with directives to honour First Nations treaty rights to exemption from the 8 per cent PST portion of the new 13 per cent HST, Bell Canada asked First Nations customers to send copies of their certificates of Indian Status and a refund form to FAX number 1-877-338-3013 and using the request form http://support.bell.ca/Documents/General/Other/taxexempt%28en%29.pdf?ver=7.0

But complaints are flooding in about lack of response to the requests and poor customer service from Bell Canada. First Nations citizens are being told the forms can’t be located and they will have to re-submit the information.

“Maybe if they were paying rent for all those poles on our territories the phone companies would pay more attention to First Nation customer service,” said Deputy Grand Chief Hare. “We’re looking for Bell Canada to issue a public apology to our citizens and start obeying the law.”

All telecommunications for First Nations citizens in Ontario were to be PST exempt starting September 1, 2010. This includes phone, cell phone, internet, cable and satellite services.

Forcible foster care ‘genocide’: UN Declaration

2010-11-26T11:14:00.000-08:00

UOI OFFICES (November 24, 2010) – Anishinabek have the right to keep their children in their own communities, including those who require foster care.

“Other governments must put a stop to the harm that has been caused to thousands of our kids – first in residential schools, then in foster homes,” said Deputy grand Chief Glen Hare. “They have to give us the resources our communities need to look after our own children; their welfare is more important than providing jobs for outside agencies.”

“And now that Canada has finally endorsed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” he added, “it needs to understand that forcibly removing children from one group of peoples to another is considered genocide by the standards of international law.”

Hare noted that a Human Rights complaint has been filed against Canada for its funding of First Nations child welfare agencies across the country at an average of 22 per cent less than the budgets of provincial agencies like Children’s Aid Societies.

Update on the Growing Grassroots Opposition to Tory Anti-Migration Bill C-49

2010-11-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

Statements have been issued by Health for All (http://health4all.ca/), Health Providers Against Poverty (http://www.healthprovidersagainstpoverty.ca), over 200 Jewish community members (http://jewishopenletteragainstc49.blogspot.com) and numerous others. The Canadian Council for Refugees has compiled a partial list of organizations against the Bill at http://ccrweb.ca/en/organizations-calling-defeat-bill-c-49.

No One Is Illegal - Toronto held a mass-flyering event on Saturday, Nov 20, 2010 - Photos: http://bit.ly/aUGed5, Radio podcast interview with Abeer Majeed: http://bit.ly/bAfM6o

Renowned author, academic and activist Nandita Sharma was recently interviewed by No One Is Illegal-Toronto Radio on the issue: http://bit.ly/9eBh5d (You can download NOII-TO weekly radio podcasts from http://bit.ly/9geqeK)

No One Is Illegal-Ottawa did a recent banner drop against Bill C-49: http://bit.ly/auQZ7e

In an extremely suspicious move, the Harper govt. re-introduced Bill C-56, another immigration bill, late Friday afternoon attempting to bury the news story. Though the full details of Bill C-56 are not yet known, the announcement that immigration enforcement will have enhanced powers to turn down work visas for migrants on arbitrary grounds is a dangerous expansion of the closed-border strategy and needs to be closely monitored. You can read the press release here: http://bit.ly/9DGb1N

For more background info, and to fight back against Bill C-49, visit http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org/node/495

For an article on how the Tories are pushing through key immigration changes, read http://www.rabble.ca/news/2010/11/understanding-tory-immigration-strategy

UN finds Canada and Ontario violate human rights

2010-11-26T10:57:00.001-08:00

An agency of the United Nations has ruled a ban on farm unions violates the human rights of Ontario’s 100,000 migrant and domestic farm workers

GENEVA – November 18, 2010 – The UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) has ruled that Canada and Ontario, through Ontario’s ban on farm unions, violate the human rights of the more than 100,000 migrant and domestic agriculture workers in that province. It follows a complaint filed in March 2009 by UFCW Canada — the country’s largest private-sector union and a leading advocate for farm workers’ rights for over two decades. The ILO is the United Nations agency responsible for formulating international labour standards including basic labour rights.

“The ILO has sent a clear message to the Canadian and Ontario governments that Ontario must end its blatant abuse of the rights of the workers who grow and harvest our food,” says Wayne Hanley, the national president of UFCW Canada. “These are farm workers, not farm animals, and people have human rights including the right to collective bargaining.”

The ILO ruling was handed down in Geneva (http://www.ufcw.ca/ilo). It found that Ontario’s Agricultural Employees Act, 2002 (AEPA) which denies all Ontario agriculture workers the right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining is a violation of human rights under two United Nation’s conventions: Convention No. 87 – Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize, and Convention No. 98 – Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining.

Canada is a signatory to Convention 87 and supported Convention 98, “so you would expect a federal government that bid to get on the UN Security Council would have the integrity to follow up on the UN conventions,” said the UFCW Canada president. “The feds can say it’s a provincial matter but the reality is that both the Harper and McGuinty governments are partners with the farm lobby in plowing under the human rights of people doing some of the hardest and most dangerous work there is.”

The ILO ruling reinforces a November 17, 2008 Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that found the AEPA violated Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms by denying Ontario farm workers their freedom of association. The Ontario government appealed that decision to the Supreme Court of Canada which has twice before upheld the Charter guarantee of collective bargaining rights. The Supreme Court heard the appeal in December 2009 and its final and definitive ruling is pending.

“While Ontario continues to stall by using the courts, the lives of the workers continue to be at risk,” says Hanley. “Without labour rights, Ontario farm workers remain powerless when faced with abusive employers and dangerous working conditions. The Ontario courts have said it. The Supreme Court has said it, and now the United Nations has said it. Labour rights are human rights, and that must include Ontario farm workers.”

UFCW Canada, in association with the Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA), operates ten agriculture worker support centres across Canada. The AWA is Canada’s largest national association and support network for both domestic as well as migrant agriculture workers.

CONTACT:
Stan Raper, National Co-ordinator
Agriculture Workers Alliance (AWA)
416.675.1104 x2232 office
416.523.0937 cell
sraper@ufcw.ca

www.ufcw.ca
www.awa-ata.ca

To Sisters In Spirit Supporters

2010-11-26T10:55:00.000-08:00

It’s not over yet.

The Native Women’s Association of Canada’s (NWAC) Sisters In Spirit initiative 2005-2010 was denied the renewal of its special project status and are now parceled under one portfolio under Status of Women Canada. This change has negatively affected the activities that NWAC can undertake and will hamper our ability to maintain focus on resolving the epidemic of violence that threatens Aboriginal women. A strategic, long-term approach is needed to sustain our high quality of work and effectiveness on this issue.

Sisters In Spirit began out of a dire concern shared by many groups, including the Aboriginal community, social service agencies, churches and international groups such as Amnesty International. These organizations were alarmed by the large number of cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls; they supported NWAC and our application for funding for the Sisters In Spirit initiative to address this issue.

Five years forward, Sisters In Spirit is no longer just a project - it has become something much larger. International, National, local and grass roots groups and individuals now have a connection to the name Sisters In Spirit as a global movement and brand. Sisters In Spirit is recognized in Europe, Latin America, Australia and North America as a symbol of the commitment of not only the community to ensuring the safety of Aboriginal women but also as a way to honour the missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls, their families and their communities.

The Sisters In Spirit logo “Grandmother Moon” is also recognized in conjunction with the initiative and as a connection to the nearly 600 known missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls. The families of Sisters In Spirit trust the name and logo and feel a strong affiliation with them as a beacon of hope for change.

Sisters In Spirit has outgrown project status. It demonstrates NWAC’s success in conducting research, policy development and community engagement on this difficult issue. NWAC is recognized by both governmental and non-governmental organizations as a leader in this activity and an expert voice on this issue – a voice that brings forward the concerns of families who have lost a loved one as well as all those in the Aboriginal and wider communities who share a commitment to reducing violence and improving the circumstances facing Aboriginal women.

NWAC is concerned that the difficulties surrounding ongoing funding are not only curbing the success of the movement but also causing unnecessary pain to the families directly affected by this issue. NWAC hopes that the federal government will recognize this unique situation and work with the organization to make the right decision. NWAC looks forward to further collaboration with the government on new, ongoing and additional projects that will enable us to continue the work we began almost six years ago.

How you can help:

Sending a letter to the federal government stating your support of NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit and urging them to make ongoing funding to this activity a priority
Posting support of NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit on your websites or other locations you feel would be beneficial
Communicating with your affiliates and members to also pledge their support to NWAC’s Sisters In Spirit.

Our doors are always open to family members and communities. Our doors are always open to develop new partnerships and relationships. We would also like to put your letters and supporting documents on our website located at www.nwac.ca

Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions, comments, or ideas.

Sisters In Spirit,
The Native Women’s Association of Canada
1-800-461-4043
sistersinspirit@nwac.ca

Support the Report - Help make a breakthrough on poverty in Canada

2010-11-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

An all party committee of parliament has just put forward a report that could change the face of poverty in Canada.

The report calls for the federal government to immediately commit to a federal action plan to reduce poverty in Canada. Make Poverty History has contributed and pushed for this report, now we must make its recommendations a reality.

Send a message now to Diane Finley, the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development urging her to respond positively to the recommendations in the report. Ask her to commit to developing a poverty reduction plan. Click on http://www.makepovertyhistory.ca/act/support-the-report-help-make-a-break-through-on-poverty-in-canada

The report, Federal Poverty Reduction Plan: Working in Partnership Towards Reducing Poverty in Canada (http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4770921&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=3), is the result of an extensive three-year study on the federal role in addressing poverty by the Parliamentary Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development (HUMA). They support the key goals of the Dignity for All campaign by recommending that the federal government immediately commit to a federal action plan to reduce poverty in Canada. Key components of a poverty reduction plan the committee recommends the federal government take action on include:

Raising the Canada Child Tax Benefit and supplement to $5000 within 5 years;
A long-term national housing and homelessness strategy;
Measures to help the most vulnerable – a refundable Disability Tax Credit, easing EI qualifications, increasing adult literacy, increasing and indexing GIS for seniors, implementing an early learning and child care strategy; and
Major help for Aboriginal People for housing, education and social services, including elimination of the two per cent cap on federal funding.
Recently, the government has ignored recommendations from similar reports on Poverty from the Senate. Don’t let this happen again.

We can’t let this excellent parliamentary report just be ignored and sit on a shelf to gather dust. It was the result of extensive public hearings in a number of communities across Canada – something that action by Make Poverty History supporters helped to make happen. Members of Parliament listened to people living in poverty and have responded to what they heard with very positive and thoughtful recommendations, which if adopted would help to make poverty history in Canada.

Send a message now to the government that we need immediate action to end poverty in Canada. And send a copy of your message to your Member of Parliament asking her/him to support the recommendations in the HUMA Report.

And if you haven’t done so yet, visit www.dignityforall.ca and sign up your support to the Make Poverty History sponsored movement to end poverty in Canada.

Thank you,

Dennis Howlett
Make Poverty History

Bill C-389

2010-11-26T10:51:00.000-08:00

In the next few weeks, the House of Commons will be voting on a proposed law to make it illegal to discriminate against transsexual or transgendered people and to make violence against transexual and transgendered people a hate crime.

Email your MP to support Bill C-389 at http://petition.web.net/psac/node/47?utm_source=PSAC+Master+List&utm_campaign=ab27d07245-Trans_rights_make_history_eng11_16_2010&utm_medium=email

Burnaby MP Bill Siksay has tried to get C-389, a private members bill, made law twice before. But this time, has made it to third reading, a critical stage in the process of becoming law.

But C-389 needs your support. Two conservative members of parliament voted against the bill in committee and you can bet transphobic organizations and lobbyists are gearing up to defeat this bill.

Please tell your MP that you support Bill C-389 and you want to see trans people enjoy protection from discrimination and you want to see violence against trans people treated as hate crimes.

Help make history.

CANADIANS CONDEMN RACIAL STEREOTYPING BY MACLEAN’S AND THE TORONTO STAR

2010-11-19T12:49:00.002-08:00

TORONTO/VANCOUVER, Nov. 15, 2010 – Canadians today strongly condemned editorial decisions at Maclean’s news magazine and the Toronto Star that use racial stereotyping to promote their publications, calling for public apologies and equal editorial space to counter harm done.

“How can a headline, ‘Too Asian’?, not be racist? This is irresponsible journalism that relies on spreading racial stereotypes to sell magazines and newspapers,” says Avvy Go , clinic director of the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic (MTSALC).

“It pushes us back 30 years to the ‘W5 incident,’ when CTV portrayed Asian Canadians as ‘foreigners,’ taking away places at universities from white Canadians, and now we are being blamed for bringing up the academic standard to their disadvantage,” adds Go. “If this is not racism, then I don’t know what is.”

“Thankfully, readers and viewers today are much more educated and recognize racial stereotyping when it occurs,” says Harbhajan Gill, president of the Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation in Vancouver . ”Not only do they recognize this as an insidious form of racism, they also are quick and determined in their condemnation of it.”

The 20^th anniversary edition of national news magazine Maclean’s university rankings, which hit newsstands Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010, carried an article that was headlined, ‘Too Asian’? This article creates and promotes a false perception that ethnic Asian students are limiting opportunities for non-Asians at certain Canadian universities and offers up a litany of stereotypes as proof.

The Toronto Star’s main headline story on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010, made advance reference to the Maclean’s article, seemingly without any editorial consideration that they were also spreading the racist views contained within the Maclean’s article.

“Rather than dealing with the true issues of meritocracy, the role of universities in screening for the rewards of professional careers, and whether higher education means more than just a higher income later in life, Maclean’s obscures any insights it might make with its racist profiling of ‘Asians’ and ‘whites,’” says Henry Yu, history professor at the University of British Columbia.

“The title ‘Too Asian’? draws upon over a century of racist politics using the term ‘Asian’ to flatten everyone who looks ‘Oriental’ in the eyes of bigots into a single category, which is somehow threatening to ‘white’ Canadians.”

Indeed, commentary on Maclean’s own website by its readers is more articulate and intelligent than the writers and editors themselves, and in many instances dismisses the article as being pointless and inflammatory.

“Maclean’s and the Toronto Star need to issue public apologies for their treatment of Canadians,” says MTSALC’s Go. “These apologies should appear in their print and online editions as well as in other national and local media.”

Community groups across Canada will also seek public consultations with both Maclean’s and the Toronto Star, as well as pursue remedies in the form of changes to policy at both media groups that result in preventing further racial stereotyping and racial profiling.

“‘Too Asian’? is a question asked-and-answered by Maclean’s in a story that seems to be deliberately contrived to create controversy,” says Neethan Shan, executive director of the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) in Toronto . “However, the question itself is irrelevant, irrational and even discriminatory in today’s Canadian society, which strives to value diversity and promote multiculturalism.”

“Making people into foreigners starts with the media,” comments Anthony B. Chan, professor of communications at University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa .

“In 1979, CTV's W5 program portrayed Canadians of Chinese heritage as foreigners and the Canadian government said nothing about it,” Chan recalls. “In 2010, Maclean’s and the Toronto Star portray Canadians of Chinese ancestry as outsiders, as people who don't fit into the European culture, as non-drinkers, as foreigners, as aliens.”

The so-called “W5 incident” in September 1979 gave rise to the Chinese Canadian National Council, which formed the following year. CTV wrongfully represented Chinese Canadians in an investigative story, titled “Campus Giveaway,” that claimed Asian students were eroding opportunities at getting a secondary education for “Canadian” students. Many of the students portrayed in the W5 program were naturalized citizens or born in Canada .

“One of the first lessons I learned when I was working was how important it is to change the stereotypical thinking that newcomers have about who Canadians are,” says Winnie Cheung, former director of international student services at UBC. “After chipping away at these myths for the last two decades, there is now a better understanding, at least in a city like Vancouver, that someone who looks ‘foreign’ may be a fifth-generation Canadian.”

Anishinabek: UN Declaration too little, almost too late

2010-11-19T12:49:00.001-08:00

UOI OFFICES (November 17, 2010) – Canada’s endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Rights is too little and almost too late, says Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee.

“We can’t understand why it took Canada three years to offer such a lukewarm endorsement,” said Madahbee. “They could have been one of the first countries in the world to sign on and call the declaration ‘aspirational’ and ‘non-binding’, instead of waiting until they are the second-last nation in the world to do so and say the same thing.

“In supporting the UN declaration, Canada took a step forward in its relationship with First Nations,” said the Grand Council Chief, “but when it added conditions to the main components of the declaration, Canada took two steps backwards.”

“This is a country that has developed a global reputation as a champion of human rights, but its reluctance on this issue gives us an international black eye.’

Madahbee said the Harper government could still redeem itself by convening a summit on the UN Declaration and work in partnership with First Nations leaders to create a domestic action plan linked to the declaration’s principles, which include land, education and resource rights for the world’s 370 million Indigenous peoples..

Canada’s official statement on Nov. 12 expressed concerns with provisions of the declaration that deal with “lands, territories, and resources’ and “free, prior and informed consent”.

“Section 35 of Canada’s constitution does more than protect our hunting and fishing rights,” said Madahbee. “Like the UN Declaration, it says we have the right to govern our own affairs, but provincial and federal governments have dragged their feet on fully accepting this principle.

“If they persist in this approach – and continue to ignore court decisions saying we must be consulted on issues affecting our territories – the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples will be the tool we use to take our grievances to the international community. It is absolutely unjust that First Peoples in Canada continue to be the poorest and least healthy citizens in one of the world’s wealthiest nations.”

Métis National Council Statement on Manitoba Métis Policy

2010-11-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Winnipeg, ON (November 15, 2010) - Métis National Council (MNC) President Clément Chartier delivered the following statement in acknowledge of today’s historic event at the Manitoba Legislature.

“On behalf of the Métis Nation, I’d like to congratulate Manitoba Métis Federation President David Chartrand and the Government of Manitoba for developing the Manitoba Métis Policy Framework. This is truly a historic step forward for the Métis Nation in that it recognizes the significant political and social role that the Métis, under the leadership of Louis Riel, played in Canada. Thanks to the work of Riel’s provisional government, Manitoba joined confederation in 1870, becoming Canada’s fifth province.

The Métis Policy Framework is a bold step forward in that it will enhance Métis participation in key decision making in Manitoba and help to promote a better understanding among everyone about the contributions our Métis ancestors made for the betterment of all Canadians.

My wish now is that all provincial leaders stand up and take notice of this significant development and that they too, will adopt a similar framework.

Today is a great day for the Métis Nation.”

OPPOSE DANGEROUS OFFENDER DESIGNATION FOR NATIVE WOMAN

2010-11-19T12:45:00.001-08:00

SUPPORT RENÉE ACOBY

Renée Acoby, an Ojibwe woman from Manitoba, is currently facing the
Dangerous Offender application following a public hearing in
Kitchener. She was originally convicted ten years ago on a 3.5-year
sentence for trafficking cocaine and assault with a weapon. Pregnant
when imprisoned, her one-year-old was removed from her after she
smoked marijuana and took some valium one evening at an innovative
prison called the Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge for Aboriginal women
(Maple Creek, Saskatchewan), which was itself under pressure to adhere
to government regulations.

What you know about me, poem by Renee

I don't come from anywhere special
I'm not a "G" from any hood
Just an ordinary person that wrestles
With dilemmas, Bad or Good.

But you're quick to claim
That you know who I am~
In reality you don't give a damn.
You just want the Association
~AFFILIATION~
The media hype and greed
Of being linked to a diabolical seed~
To live vicariously through Renée
The alleged psychopath
To pave history, make or break~
Incur the system's wrath.
Transparent.
Superficial,
The Judicial fight~
A living body, Agonized mentality
Out of reach,
Out of sight.

I don't come from anywhere special
I'm not a "G" from any hood
Just an ordinary person that wrestles with who I am, Bad or Good.

In 2004, Renée was the first woman in Canada to be placed on the
Management Protocol (MP), a punitive system which involves prolonged
periods in solitary confinement. In 2005, the United Nations expressed
serious concerns about Canada's treatment of women prisoners. In 2007,
the National Aboriginal Women's Summit published a paper declaring
that the MP contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
and should be abolished immediately. At times, women are forbidden
access to pencil and paper, books, phone calls and visitation. All of
the time, they have little or no contact with family, no community
supports, little or no training for future employment, no sweat
lodges, no sustained contact with elders, no sweetgrass...

Currently, the four women on the MP are all Aboriginal women. Locked
up for 23 hours per day in cells approximately 8' x 12', with access
to an exercise yard of c.15 x 12 metres for the remaining hour, they
have very restricted physical outlet for pent-up emotion. Having been
on the Management Protocol longer than the other women (including the
ill-fated Ashley Smith), Renée Acoby has accumulated a 21-year
sentence from actions in jail. See "Life on the Installment Plan", The
Walrus, March, 2010.

If designated a dangerous offender, Renée could receive an
indeterminate penitentiary sentence, which means that she is unlikely
ever to get out of prison and will be monitored, in any case, for the
rest of her life. Such designations were designed principally for male
sex offenders. Renée has never murdered or sexually abused anyone; her
child was stolen from her - a familiar story in the case of Canada's
residential schools and prisons.
SUPPORT
To protest Renée Acoby's designation as a Dangerous Offender, you can
write to the Attorney General of Ontaraio:

The Honourable Chris Bentley
Attorney General of Ontario
McMurtry-Scott Building
720 Bay Street, 11th Floor
Toronto, ON
M7A 2S9

To oppose Renee's placement under the management protocol or to demand
that community organizations and family be allowed to more freely
support Renee, please write:

The Honourable Robert Douglas Nicholson
Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
284 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0H8

Jennifer Oades
Deputy Commissioner of Women's Corrections
National Headquarters
340 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0P9

Healthy TransActions

2010-11-19T12:44:00.001-08:00

The 519, in partnership with the Trans Youth Toronto program, is pleased to announce the introduction of Healthy TransActions, a new active healthy living program just for trans youth.

Healthy TransActions is a drop-in program for trans-identified youth and youth exploring their gender identity. You will have the opportunity to explore the fun and fascinating world of active healthy living - sport, social recreation, nutrition and education. This is your chance to get active, enjoy a meal, learn about good food, and share ideas and experiences in a space which is welcoming and tailored to your needs. Join us at The 519 and on our many field trips as we explore indoor and outdoor recreation and nutrition spaces in and around the Greater Toronto Area.

Healthy TransActions welcomes youth of all abilities. Instructors will be on-hand to teach you basic skills and to lead fun non-intimidating games.

Healthy TransActions will provide all sport specific equipment. Come dressed comfortably for fun and ready to participate. Private change room facilities are at all programming locations.

This group is open to anyone age 27 and under who is trans or exploring their gender identity and runs every Wednesday and Friday night 5-9. Some field trips will take place on Saturday’s and on those weeks the Friday night program will not run.

Healthy TransActions is a drop-in program, so there is no need to sign-up ahead of time.

If you would like more information about Healthy TransActions, have any suggestions for future programming, or would like to sign up:
Barb Besharat
Healthy TransActions Project Coordinator
416-355-4031
bbesharat@the519.org

For more information on the Trans Youth Toronto drop-in program please contact:
Morgan Page
Trans Community Services Coordinator
416-355-6792
mpage@the519.org

The CPCCA’s Hidden Message: Silencing Criticism of Israeli Apartheid

2010-11-19T12:42:00.000-08:00

Dear friends and allies,

As you may know, the Canadian Government is hosting a meeting of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism in Ottawa this week from November 7th-9th. It is widely expected that the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Anti-Semitism (CPCCA) will use this opportunity to present the findings of their recent inquiry into anti-Semitism in Canada.

To coincide with these meetings, the Toronto-based Palestine Freedom of Expression Campaign has released our own report –

“The CPCCA’s Hidden Message: Silencing Criticism of Israeli Apartheid - A Critical Report on the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism”.

The full report is available online http://tinyurl.com/PFEXreport

As our report shows, this critical analysis of the CPCCA is widely shared. See, for example, two statements below:

KHALED MOUAMMAR - Toronto
Mouammar is the President of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF). “The Canadian Arab Federation supports any initiative genuinely aimed at ending anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all forms of racism. It has become clear that the CPCCA’s goals have far more to do with creating a political climate in which criticism of Israeli policies that violate Palestinian rights and international law will be treated as anti-Semitic hate speech. CAF expressed these concerns in a submission to the CPCCA, but we were not even invited to testify.”

ALAN SEARS - Toronto
Sears is a Jewish Canadian who is a professor at Ryerson University and a member of Faculty for Palestine. “I am deeply concerned that the CPCCA is aiming to redefine anti-semitism, shifting the focus from protecting the human rights of Jewish people to suppressing debate about Israeli policies and Palestinian rights. CPCCA’s mandate was biased from the beginning and it invited very little testimony from those who did not agree with their perspective. Faculty for Palestine is deeply disturbed by the CPCCA’s threat to academic freedom and freedom of dissent in this country.”

To ensure our critical analysis is available to parliamentarians, PFEX mailed a copy of the report to all Members of Parliament last week.

In that mailing we included two other important documents (also available on our website and attached here):

* "Palestinian civil society condemns repression in Canada against Palestine solidarity campaigns and
humanitarian efforts" (May 26, 2010) - a statement by the Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC)

* "Le message caché du CPCCA: Faire taire la critique de l'apartheid Israélien" - French translation of the
report's Executive Summary

TAKE ACTION TODAY!
i. Read the report and attached statement from the Palestinian BNC, and share widely.
ii. Write to your MP. Remind them to read the report and ask them to support it. Encourage others to contact their MPs.

For more information on Palestine Freedom of Expression campaign:
http://www.freeexpressionpalestine.org/
To contact us, send an e-mail to:
pfex@freeexpressionpalestine.org

INSIDE OUT QUEER VIDEO MENTORSHIP PROJECT

2010-11-19T12:41:00.000-08:00

2011 CALL FOR PROPOSALS

A multi-generational video mentorship program

The Project provides a unique opportunity to learn video production from professional artists and editors, using state-of-the-art high-definition cameras and the latest editing technology – all in a group environment that is queer positive, collaborative and supportive. Inside Out and Charles Street Video guide participants through a series of workshops in all aspects of video production – from script development to camera operation to editing and final post-production.

Inside Out will select eight individuals, 4 under the age of 25 and 4 over the age of 55, who identify as LGBTTI2QQ to participate in the project, each making a short video (7 to 10 minutes long) to be screened at the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival in May.

Eligibility Requirements:

· Applicants must be between the ages of 17 and 24 years old or 55 years or older
· Applicants must have little to no experience making films or videos
· Selected participants must be able to commit to 16 hours/week over 4 months starting in January 2011. This commitment includes approximately five weekend-long intensive workshops.

Deadline for proposals: December 6, 2010

For applications and guidelines visit www.insideout.ca
For more information please contact Winnie Luk, Manager of Operations at (416) 977-6847 ext. 24 orwinnie@insideout.ca.

Laura Robinson receives Debwewin Citation for journalism excellence

2010-11-11T12:16:00.000-08:00

GARDEN RIVER FN (November 9, 2010) - Laura Robinson, an outspoken advocate for First Nation access to performance-level sports facilities, is the seventh winner of the Debwewin Citation for excellence in reporting on First Nations issues.

Robinson was accredited to report on the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games for the Anishinabek News, published by the Union of Ontario Indians for the 40 member communities of the Anishinabek Nation. She produced articles before, during, and after the Olympics about Anishinabek and First Nations participants in Games-related cultural activities, and a number of stories and columns that questioned the lack of even a single aboriginal member of the Canadian team.

Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee presented the award during a special fall assembly of the Anishinabek Nation.

"Debwewin means 'truth' in our language," said Madahbee," and these awards celebrate First Nation and other journalists in our territory who do outstanding jobs of telling our stories – something mainstream media have not historically done very well. We congratulate Laura Robinson on her contributions."

Robinson's writing credits include the play Niigaanibotawaad: Front Runners. which has been made into a film about ten young First Nation residential school survivors who ran the Pan American Games torch from Minnesota to Winnipeg in 1967, only to be told they were not allowed to bring it into the Pan Am Games stadium.

Toronto Sun columnist Mark Bonokoski and freelance writer/cartoonist Perry McLeod-Shabogesic of Nipissing First Nation were awarded Honourable Mention citations.

McLeod-Shabogesic has been a frequent contributor to the Anishinabek News, including coverage of this year's Anishinaabemowin Teg language conference, and his Baloney and Bannock cartoon panels are among the newspaper's most popular features.

Mark Bonokoski's "Red Road" – a 15-part Sun Media special report – probed the tragic human consequences behind Canada's collective failure to confront socio-economic challenges facing urban First Nations citizens.

The Debwewin Citation top award was first presented in 2002 to Toronto Star journalist Peter Edwards for his reporting on the events that led to the 1996 death of Anthony "Dudley" George in Ipperwash Provincial Park. Winners have included Lynn Johnston, who introduced Anishinabek characters and communities into the storyline of her world-famous comic strip "For Better or For Worse".

Anyone may submit a nomination for the awards, but nominations must be seconded by Anishinabek Nation citizens.

Debwewin is an eastern Ojibwe word which translates into "truth" in English, but which literally means "speaking from the heart". Truth is one of the Seven Grandfather Teachings of the Anishinabek people, who believe that living a good life can only be accomplished through wisdom (nbwaakaswin), love (zaagidwin), respect (mnaadendmowin), bravery (aakdehewin), honesty (gwekwaadziwin), humility (dbaadendiziwin), and truth (debwewin).

According to the Debwewin Citation terms of reference, “For journalists, “truth” should mean more than accuracy; it also implies fairness, balance and context.”

Rationale for the Debwewin Citations:

Due to the deficiencies of mainstream education curricula, most Canadians have been exposed to inaccurate and incomplete portrayals of aboriginal culture, tradition, and contemporary issues. As a result, mainstream media reporting is the primary public education source for information about Native issues, often with disastrous results.

“Aboriginal people are not well-represented by or in the media. Many Canadians know aboriginal people only as noble environmentalists, angry warriors, or pitiful victims. A full picture of their humanity is simply not available in the media. Mainstream media do not reflect aboriginal realities very well, nor do they offer much space to aboriginal peoples to tell their own stories.”

– Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 1996

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 member First Nations across Ontario. 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.

Vietnam: Jailed labour activists sentenced - time to ramp up the protests

2010-11-11T12:10:00.002-08:00

Bad news from Vietnam. A court has sentenced the three young labour activists who are the focus of a current LabourStart campaign to 7-9 years each.

Amnesty International immediately condemned the sentencing as did unions around the world.

Their families are pleading with overseas unions and others to help, writing that "They are innocent .. They did the right thing and it was not illegal ... From a strong and healthy young man, Hung was physically beaten into a sick and weak man .. We have lost our trust [in Vietnam's regime's justice system] ... We cannot find justice in Vietnam."

Please take a moment to add your name to the protests at http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=798.
And if you're on Facebook, please join the cause at http://www.causes.com/causes/542225

India: One step forward, two steps back

2010-11-11T12:10:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I asked for your urgent support for a campaign to protest the jailing of hundreds of trade unionists in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. You responded in your thousands. On 22 October, the last of the jailed union leaders was released.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that they were released on bail, continue to face criminal charges, and have sign in at court every day.

The union in India has asked for our help. Working together with the International Metalworkers' Federation, we're launching a new online campaign today focussing on this case and a similar dispute at BYD Electronics involving mass dismissals in an effort to break a union.

Both companies - Foxconn and BYD Electronics - are suppliers to mobile phone giant Nokia.

Please take a moment to send off your message (http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=814) - and spread the word!

If you're on Facebook, please join the cause at http://www.causes.com/causes/543123

EMAIL STEPHEN HARPER ON OMAR KHADR

2010-11-11T12:09:00.002-08:00

Following extensive plea negotiations, Omar Khadr pled guilty to all five charges against him on October 25, 2010. The sentencing phase of his military commission trial is now underway in Guantánamo Bay.
The conclusion of proceedings against Omar Khadr means that a number of fundamental issues will remain unresolved including his status as a child soldier, credible allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and his right to compensation and other remedies. Serious concerns also remain about the deeply flawed and unfair nature of the military commission trials.

Diplomatic notes have recently been exchanged between the US and Canadian governments, and these are believed to include a commitment for Omar Khadr to return to Canada after serving some of his sentence in US custody . The contents of the diplomatic notes will be released along with details of the plea agreements at the conclusion of the sentencing hearings.

In the meantime, the Canadian government continues to distance itself from any talk of Omar Khadr coming back to Canada, saying that ?This matter remains between Omar Khadr and the United States government.?

It's time for Canada to finally commit to Omar Khadr's return to Canada.

Urgent! Please sign and send the following email to Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling on him to request the repatriation of Omar Khadr. You can use the comment box to make additional points in your letter.

Instructions:
1. Click on the following link: http://www.amnesty.ca/iwriteforjustice/take_action.php?actionid=367&type=Internal
2. Scroll down and on the right side of the screen, fill out the necessary fields (Name and Email mandatory)
3. Click send

Sisters in Spirit program used by feds to 'squeeze' Native Women's Association of Canada

2010-11-11T12:09:00.001-08:00

http://rabble.ca/news/2010/11/sisters-spirit-program-used-feds-squeeze-native-womens-association-canada

By Jorge Barrera
November 4, 2010

The Conservative government opposes the use of the name Sisters in Spirit and any work on a groundbreaking database on murdered and missing Aboriginal women cases, and this is impacting any future funding the Native Women's Association of Canada expects to receive for new projects on the issue.

And the government has been slowly "smothering" the Sisters in Spirit project which is responsible for bringing to national attention the hundreds of "shocking" cases of murdered and missing Aboriginal women, say sources familiar with the file.

During discussions around a new Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) project on murdered and missing women, Status of Women Canada officials said the rules for the funding's source program prevented the use of government money for research and policy work. They have asked that funding proposals not include the name Sisters in Spirit or any plans to use the money for the database.

Nanci-Jean Waugh, spokeswoman for Status of Women, said they were still awaiting the proposal. She said she could not immediately answer questions on whether the department had imposed conditions on new funding.

Politically, it appears the Conservatives have now turned the page on Sisters in Spirit.

"That project was finished. Don't mix apples and oranges," said Conservative MP Shelly Glover, parliamentary secretary for Indian Affairs. "That project was finished, now we're working with them to pursue other projects."

Only last Friday, Status of Women Minister Rona Ambrose singled out Sisters in Spirit during the government's long-awaited $10-million announcement on a national strategy to deal with murdered and missing women cases.

"The journey truly began with an initiative called Sisters in Spirit that was led by the Native Women's Association of Canada," said Ambrose, during the announcement in Vancouver. "The association has undertaken an incredible amount of research... and they have brought to light the shocking extent of these horrendous acts of violence."

The Oct. 29 announcement highlighted the creation of a new police support centre for missing persons, along with promised amendments to the Criminal Code to allow police to wiretap without warrants in emergencies and obtain multiple warrants on a single application. It also promised funding for community-based projects on violence against Aboriginal women and enhancing the cultural sensitivity of victim's services.

It was criticized by some front-line workers, victims' families, academics and opposition politicians over its lack of focus on Aboriginal women and its emphasis on giving more money and power to police.

The NWAC, however, publicly endorsed the strategy and the Conservatives have since invoked the 35-year-old organization's name as a shield against criticism of the announcement.

Yet, over several months, the government had been quietly squeezing Sisters in Spirit, which was created under NWAC's umbrella by the Liberal government in 2005. The Liberals committed $5 million over five years to the project.

The project was the catalyst that thrust the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women into the public consciousness. Its meticulous research into now nearly 600 cases broke new ground in a realm that had been previously ignored. Its national database became the first of its kind in Canada in its scope and detail.

Sisters in Spirit has received recognition from human rights organizations like Amnesty International. Police agencies and provincial governments have approached the project's staff to share information.

Sisters in Spirit was also approached by police in British Colombia and government officials to become involved in the recently announced inquiry into police work around serial killer Robert Pickton's case and a parallel process to culminate in a summit focusing on violence faced by Aboriginal women.

The "slow smothering" of Sisters in Spirit began last December, when former status of women minister Helena Guergis, after "fighting tooth and nail," failed to convince the rest of the Stephen Harper cabinet to renew funding for the project, putting the future of Sisters in Spirit in limbo.

The government committed $10 million over two years in its 2010 federal budget "to address the disturbingly high number of missing and murdered Aboriginal women."

The money, however, would not go to Sisters in Spirit. With its funding running out at the end of March, the Status of Women department stepped in to provide $500,000 to keep the project's work going.

Sisters in Spirit then released a report that confirmed 582 cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women up to March 31 and a second project was put into the works called "Sisters in Spirit, evidence to action."

Department officials eventually said new money had been found but it would come from an existing program that restricted funds from being used for research and policy work, sources say.

New money would be contingent on taking the name Sisters in Spirit out of the proposal. They also said that none of the money could be spent on the database.

Losing the name would be a serious blow to NWAC. Sisters in Spirit, intertwined with its Grandmother Moon logo, has grown to represent the memories and stories of the missing and the dead women.

Sisters in Spirit vigils are held every year to commemorate murdered and missing Aboriginal women and the Grandmother Moon logo is often prominently displayed at these national events.

If the database of the hundreds of murdered and missing women cases turns stagnant, it remains unclear what could take its place. Before the database came into being, it was up to individuals posting on scattered websites to keep the search for missing Aboriginal women going.

The recently announced national police support centre for missing persons and unidentified remains won't be up and running until at least 2013, according to the RCMP. The centre received $4 million of the $10 million set aside in the budget to deal with murdered and missing Aboriginal women.

The centre has also received an additional $6 million for a total of $10 million over five years, the RCMP said.

The centre will become the third branch of the Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, but it will not have a separate section dedicated for Aboriginal women.

The new centre will rely on missing persons reports filed with local police forces. It will provide linkages to other cases if they exist.

The Sisters in Spirit database includes some historical cases that were not accepted by police. It also includes cases where police have closed the book on a woman's death, despite lingering questions from family members.

After the release of its spring report, Sisters in Spirit has been in the process of analysing 20 new cases.

Jorge Barrera is a reporter with the APTN National News Ottawa bureau. The story was originally published on APTN's website.

[[[ SUBMIT TO UPPING THE ANTI ]]]

2010-11-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

Pitches due December 3, 2010; first draft due January 7, 2010

*WHO WE ARE*

UPPING THE ANTI: A JOURNAL OF THEORY AND ACTION
is a radical journal published twice a year by a pan-Canadian
collective of activists and organizers. We are dedicated to publishing
radical theory and analysis about struggles against capitalism,
imperialism, and all forms of oppression.

In our first ten issues, we've published articles by and interviews
with renowned activists and intellectuals, including Aijaz Ahmad,
Himani Bannerji, Grace Lee Boggs, Ward Churchill, Michael Hardt,
John Holloway, Sunera Thobani, Andrea Smith, and many more.

We have covered a wide variety of topics including Palestine solidarity
activism, trans politics and anti-capitalism, anti-war activism, Indigenous
solidarity, contemporary feminist organizing, and activist burnout.

In every issue, activists and organizers reflect on the state of
contemporary organizing in Canada and beyond. We publish theoretical
and critical articles, interviews and roundtables. UPPING THE ANTI
also includes a book review section where activists assess new writing
on the Left.

*CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS*

We are currently looking for story ideas for ISSUE TWELVE, which will
be released in APRIL of 2011. If you have an idea for a story you
would like to see published in our journal, please send us a one page pitch
by Sunday, December 3, 2010. In addition to the pitch, please submit a short
writing sample (max 1,000 words).

In your pitch, please provide a brief description of the topic of your
investigation, your main questions, an account of how you will address
these questions, as well as a brief biographical note.

Before submitting a pitch, we encourage you to read back issues in
order to familiarize yourself with the kind of writing that we
publish. We also encourage you to have a look at the UPPING THE ANTI
writer's guide, which can be downloaded at http://uppingtheanti.org.

Pitches should be for original stories that have not been submitted or
published elsewhere. Please do not send us a pitch that you have
simultaneously sent to another publication.

Although we will consider all pitches, we are especially interested in
stories about the current economic crisis, contemporary labour organizing,
feminism and women's struggles, dis/ability, international solidarity work,
mobilization strategies, marxism and anarchism in the 21st Century, activist
interventions in art and culture, and struggles around questions of sex and
sexuality.

We will review your pitch and provide you with feedback. After a pitch
has been approved, writers are expected to submit their story by deadline.

Deadline for first drafts for ISSUE TWELVE is January 7, 2011.

Please submit all pitches and direct all queries to uppingtheanti@gmail.com

*CHECK OUT ISSUE ELEVEN!*

Our next issue will be available in November 2010. Content will include John
Clarke on direct action and the fight against austerity, Stacy Douglas on the
queering of colonization, and Lesley Wood on lessons from the anti-G20
convergence.

The issue will also feature interviews with Raj Patel on the politics of starving,
Ladelle Mcwhorter on normalization and its discontents, James Scott on the art
of not being governed, and roundtables on the twentieth anniversary of the battle
of Oka and on No One Is Illegal's fight to build solidarity city.

**We need your support to keep Upping the Anti running. Pick up the latest
issue, and check out our online subscription program.**

For more information about UPPING THE ANTI, visit http://uppingtheanti.org

Support Bill to Ban Use of Temporary Replacement Workers in Ontario

2010-11-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

Ontario needs a law banning the use of temporary replacements workers during a strike or lock out. After a year-long strike at Vale Inco in Sudbury, Ontario where temporary replacement workers were used, Ontario is ready for such a law.

In our Province, 97% of collective agreements are negotiated without work disruptions; and with regard to the remaining 3%, very few strikes or lock-outs involved the use of temporary replacement workers. However, sociological research has shown us that when replacement workers are used in labour disputes, the impact in the short and long term on the people and on the communities in which they reside can be devastating. Laws banning the use of temporary replacement workers, also know as scabs, can also reduce the length and divisiveness of labour disputes.

A law banning the use of temporary replacement workers exists in Québec since 1978, and in British Columbia since 1993; successive governments in those two provinces have never repealed those laws. A similar law existed in Ontario from 1993 to 1996 and during that period of time, investments in Ontario increased.

NDP MPP France Gélinas, has a bill “banning temporary replacement workers” scheduled for a vote November 4th to pass legislation that would prevent employers from exploiting workers by using scabs during labour disputes.

To get involved with this campaign, contact Selina Clement Mikkola at selina@primus.ca

Download the letter from France Gélinas, MPP/Députée Nickel Belt here:
www.facebook.com/l/34ee7kX8NtwocOBFWL49SYsY2XQ;opseu.org/
politicalaction/pdf/France%

20Gelinas%20letter.pdf

Download the petition here:
www.facebook.com/l/34ee7S_LRAFnLtqRllA3N1ENPxA;opseu.org/
politicalaction/pdf/TRW%20Petition.pdf

Visit the OPSEU Political Action -> ban the use of temporary replacement workers page here:
www.facebook.com/l/34ee7S2f8AnrsBLN0hA0uP63PPw;opseu.org/
politicalaction/sept-30-2010-support-ban.htm

NATIONAL CHIEF SHAWN ATLEO INVITED TO ATTEND EDUCATION RALLY

2010-11-05T22:32:00.000-07:00

Chief Lyle Sayers of Garden River First Nation issued the following announcement today. The Anishinabek Grand Council will be meeting in Garden River First Nation on Monday, November 8th for their Fall Assembly. National Chief Shawn Atleo will be the key note speaker at the Assembly and has been invited to participate in the Education Rally together with Regional and local First Nation leadership. Together, we will join to support a two-hour highway slowdown in a united response to the Federal Government’s attempts to impose drastic changes to Post-secondary Education without First Nation consultation.

We will slow down the highway traffic from 10am to 12pm on Monday, November 8, 2010 on Highway 17 and 17 B. This is a peaceful rally and we will allow all emergency traffic to proceed through. We encourage anyone with appointments in the city to leave early so that you will not be delayed.

We understand that the general public may not agree with our actions, however, we need government and all good Canadian citizens to hear and understand our important message regarding access to post-secondary funding.

This is rally is about the future of our Nation and giving opportunity and hope to our young people. Too many of our young people feel powerless over their own futures as they are caught in the ditches of welfare dependency and despair. The current education system is failing our youth. Quality culture-based education is the key to addressing the educational achievement gap. Changes to First Nations education require meaningful First Nation consultation.

Short changing First Nations education affects us all. We are the fastest growing population in the country. Statistics Canada has predicted that Canada will face a labour shortage by 2017. With more than half of First Nations people under the age of 23, our youth will need to fill this gap. Access to a university degree will triple ones’ earning potential, therefore creating an opportunity for prosperity among First Nation people that will eliminate the employment gap and inject billions of dollars into the Canadian economy.

National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations, Regional Vice-Chief Angus Toulouse of the Chiefs of Ontario, Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee of the Anishinabek Nation, Grand Chief Randal Phillips of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, Chief Dean Sayers of Batchewana First Nation, and Chief Lyle Sayers of Garden River First Nation are scheduled to speak.

We invite everyone to come and support this peaceful effort. For further information you can contact Darrell Boissoneau, Councillor, Garden River First Nation @ 705-542-0123 or 705-946-6300.

Dr. Hassan Diab's extradition hearing

2010-11-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

I am writing to urge you to take a firm public stand against abusive extradition cases by 1) signing the statement below and 2) (if you live in Ottawa) attending Dr. Hassan Diab's extradition hearing, which is scheduled to commence on November 8, 2010 (details below).

On October 15, 2010, Dr. Diab’s lawyer filed important documents with the Court showing how French investigators have manipulated unsourced secret intelligence and other materials to falsely implicate Dr. Diab. The documents also demonstrate how evidence exonerating Dr. Diab has been hidden from the Court. These abusive actions by French investigators constitute an attack on principles of fundamental justice and demonstrate how Canada’s extradition law has so far failed to prevent foreign governments from exercising persecution by proxy and failed to honor Canada's international human rights obligations.

We believe this is a matter of importance to all of us and we hope that you will help uphold principles of fundamental justice by signing the statement below and attending the hearing. Please share this message with your friends and colleagues.

**Sign statement

Please consider endorsing the statement below. To endorse, simply email us at diabsupport@gmail.com and let us know that you endorse the statement.

**Court Watch

Dr. Diab's extradition hearing will commence on Monday, November 8, 2010, and is scheduled to continue until December 3. The hearing will take place at the Ontario Superior Court, 161 Elgin Street, Ottawa.

We invite you to come to the hearing and show your support. Court begins at 10:00 am and ends at 5:00 pm daily with a break for lunch. Attendees can freely (but quietly) enter and leave court whenever they wish.

Please email us at diabsupport@gmail.com and let us know which days/times you plan to attend. We will then be able to notify you if the schedule changes unexpectedly.

A Shock to Our Conscience and an Affront to Liberty:
Stop Hassan Diab’s Forced Removal from Canada

Hassan Diab is a much loved and respected sociology professor who is wrongly accused by French authorities of involvement in an attack near a Paris synagogue in 1980. Hassan Diab condemns that attack and is strongly opposed to ethnically and religiously motivated discrimination and violence.

Hassan Diab is fighting his forced removal from Canada (via “extradition”) to face fabricated charges based on secret intelligence, the sources of which are admittedly unknown even to French authorities. There is serious concern that this intelligence may be the product of torture. Dr. Diab’s case represents the first time that a foreign government has sought the extradition of a Canadian citizen based on secret intelligence that cannot be challenged in a court of law.

The contemporary climate of ethnic, racial, and religious profiling means that Dr. Diab, like many other Muslim and Middle-Eastern Canadians, is becoming yet one more victim in the global “War on Terror”.

Since November 2008, Dr. Diab has suffered through over four and a half months of detention, followed by the loss of his university employment and humiliating and oppressive bail conditions that include an exorbitantly expensive GPS monitoring device.

Canada’s extradition law has long been criticized for failing to honor Canada’s international human rights obligations and to prevent foreign governments from exercising persecution by proxy.

The “evidence” presented by France in an effort to tear Dr. Diab from his friends and family is based on an alarming pattern of serious contradictions, prejudicial opinions, significant misrepresentations and omissions, and withholding or burying of exonerating evidence. Key pieces of evidence appear to have been tampered with, to the point of fraud. To cite but a small handful of many examples:

- Evidence proving Dr. Diab’s innocence has either been buried or perversely transformed into incriminating conclusions.
- French investigators hid from the court in Canada the fact that Dr. Diab’s finger and palm prints do not match those of the alleged suspect.
- Handwriting analysis described by the Canadian Crown prosecutor as akin to a “smoking gun” was withdrawn after internationally renowned experts pronounced it to be biased and of “appalling” reliability. It was replaced by a ‘new’ handwriting analysis which these same experts found to be at least as appalling and biased as the previously withdrawn one.
- French investigators have refused to correct any misrepresentations, contradictions, and inaccuracies in their case despite having had ample time to do so.
- Government of Canada attorneys have argued that French investigators are under NO obligation to present information in their possession that would cast a positive light on Dr. Diab.

It shocks our conscience to see deprivation of liberty based on such scurrilous accusations. We are horrified that the standards of Canada’s Extradition Act are so low that this pretence of a case against Dr. Diab has been allowed to drag on for so long.

Given that such an unjust process has been made to appear "acceptable" - in part because of Dr. Diab's ethnic and religious background - we, the undersigned, are compelled to speak up and publicly call for an end to this clear affront to liberty.

We are opposed to the unjust and oppressive extradition proceedings against Dr. Diab.

We thus call upon the Minister of Justice to:

Exercise the power he has, under extradition law, to immediately halt extradition proceedings against Dr. Diab; and to act on his legal obligation to refuse to make unjust and oppressive extradition orders;
Protect individuals in Canada from unjust and abusive extradition practices; stop the use of secret intelligence of unknown, untestable reliability in extradition hearings; and refuse extraditions to requesting states that use secret, unsourced intelligence or intelligence that may have been derived from torture as trial evidence.
Reform extradition law to take into account Canada’s human rights obligations, including the presumption of innocence, the right to a fair trial, the right to disclosure of evidence, and all other due process rights.

For more information about the case, please visit www.justiceforhassandiab.org. To sign the statement, inquire about other ways to support Dr. Diab, or to obtain a copy of the legal factum detailing the manipulation of intelligence and twisting of evidence, please send us an email to diabsupport@gmail.com.

G20 DEFENDANT AND INDIGENOUS POLITICAL PRISONER RYAN RAINVILLE STILL BEHIND BARS

2010-11-05T22:29:00.002-07:00

Tuesday October 26, Mississauga New Credit – Today on Tuesday October 26,
Ryan Rainville appeared in an Ontario Superior Court to argue for his
release on bail. The Judge adjourned the application for Ryan to be
released to a First Nations Bail Program citing ‘inadequate supervision’.
In considering Ryan’s bail application, the judge also did not take into
account Gladue factors, which forces the judicial system to consider the
systemic marginalization and over-incarceration of Indigenous people as
result of colonialism and poverty.

Ryan is a young Indigenous man from the Sakimay Nation and is charged with
several unfounded charges stemming from June demonstrations against the
G20 in Toronto. Ryan has been imprisoned since August 5 when he was
arrested at his home in Waterloo, and has since been denied bail once
before in September.

While targeting strong voices of dissent is part of the state’s desired
culture of fear, the repression and attempted silencing of Indigenous
resistance is part of the ongoing legacy of criminalization and
colonization for 500 years across Turtle Island.

According to Indigenous supporters of Ryan “Ryan has been strong in his
denouncements of injustice and has spoken out without fear. He is honest,
humble and respectful toward his family and people around him. He has also
honoured his role as a man in the community by standing beside Indigenous
women when we needed support.

As native people, our bodies and our minds are constantly under attack
from the state. Their power rests on our degradation, and their violent
exploitation of the land and water feeds and profits the colonization of
every poor and oppressed person. There is nothing new or unusual about
Indigenous people - whether Haudenoshonee or Mapuche, Anishinaabe or
Palestinian - being targeted, violated and locked up under racist,
classist and sexist guises of "law and order" or "justice".

We denounce the ongoing state repression of all people resisting the
austerity measures which are designed to force our relations, friends and
allies into enslavement to a faltering system, to assimilate those of us
coerced into submission, and exterminate those of us who refuse to bend to
colonial terms. Freedom for all prisoners and detainees, including the
Tamil women and children still held behind the walls of a detention
centre, and who are now subjected to the same four walls which face Ryan.”

Ryan appears in court again on Thursday November 4th at 9:30 am at 361
University Avenue. Ryan’s supporters are requesting people to attend court
on Thursday morning to show their support for Ryan and for all who are
being targeted by the state.

For more information please contact: thesheelephant@yahoo.com or
mcorbiere@hotmail.com or hwalia8@gmail.com

FUNDRAISING REQUEST:

There is an urgent need for defence-related funds for Ryan by next week.

You can mail cheques to: No One Is Illegal-Toronto, 90C Beverley Street,
Toronto, M5T 1Y1. Please be sure to indicate “Ryan Rainville” in the memo.

You can also make a secure donation online through Paypal on the No One Is
Illegal-Toronto website (http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org) Please be sure
to send an email to nooneisillegal@riseup.net and let us know you have
donated and what amount

Call for Action: Anti-Native journalist from The Globe and Mail, Christie Blatchford, is soon coming to Your Community.

2010-11-05T22:29:00.001-07:00

The First Nations Solidarity Working Group (FNSWG) of Toronto is issuing a call for communities to organize and respond to Christie Blatchford as she makes her way across Canada promoting her new book, Helpless; Caledonia's Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us releasing on October 26, 2010.

In her book, Blatchford chronicles the events starting in 2006 at Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia where the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) people of the Grand River reclaimed land that has been in dispute for over 150 years. In the years, months and days leading up to the reclamation, and for more than a century, Six Nations people have educated, warned and entreated governments and residents to resolve the unlawful development of their land.

Drawing upon some centuries-old colonial and racist tropes, Blatchford portrays Six Nations people, who were compelled to respond to the continual corporate development and theft of their land, as criminals.
Ignoring the rampant anti-Native rallies that became weekly occurrences in the early part of the crisis, where police were often stretched to their limits controlling the crowds who chanted around barrels of fire burn natives burn, Blatchford champions white Caledonia residents as hero-victims, rendered helpless and traumatized by native lawlessness.

Christie Blatchford does not speak for Caledonia. The residents of Caledonia hold a variety of diverse opinions, and certainly not all of them asked to be portrayed as Helpless by an irresponsible journalist. Blatchford is in close contact with leading anti Native organizers in south-western Ontario and her coverage of the ?Caledonia Crisis? has been compared to a zombie movie. The Six Nations get to be the undead.

Blatchford conveniently and very actively erases the fact that between 1951 and 2006, Six Nations has filed 29 land claims recognized as legitimate by the Canadian government, and out of which, only one claim, has been resolved. Equally important, Blatchford ignores the colonial context of the violence of residential schools (behind the former Mohawk Institute in Brantford, Six Nations children who did not survive the violences, were buried), the massive incarceration of Aboriginal peoples, deaths in police custody, the Indian Act, over 800 missing and murdered Aboriginal women, and other outside-imposed governance structures under which Six Nations peoples have been living and surviving for centuries.

Today, the current Six Nations land base represents only 5% of the 950,00 acres outlined in the Haldimand Proclamation of 1784 as their sovereign territory. Blatchford says her book is not about aboriginal land claims, "but the failure of government to govern and to protect all its citizens equally." Blatchford is thus reproducing the colonial logic of erasing the histories and present context of violence done to Indigenous nations and peoples. This erasure does not belong to Blatchford alone, mainstream media accounts of the reclamation have been largely distorted with sensationalistic accounts that portray Caledonia as an ongoing warzone.

When the root of the Caledonia Crisis is the ongoing land-theft of Six Nations territory, we need to ask Blatchford what she means by stating that her book is not about land claims. We need to show people reading or listening to her, how the erasure of land claims decontextualizes the very root of the issue, and works to portray Indigenous land defenders as thugs bent on chaos and anarchy. We need to go out in our communities to underline that in order to uphold the rule of law , Treaties - the foundation of Canadian law - must be upheld and respected.

Christie Blatchford is taking her book on a tour across Canada and will be selling her book at your local bookstores and/or be making an appearance in your community. We must not allow Blatchford's account of the events at Caledonia to go unchallenged. We are calling on you to respond to Blatchford's appearance in your community and educate others about the context of Six Nations reclamation, land-claims, and colonialism.

Let us also show Blatchford that she does not speak for all Canadians and that we will not let her speak in our name. Organize and respond to Blatchford's presence in your community at bookstores and everywhere she is making speaking appearances.

For questions, information, resources or to share ideas with other group who are organizing responses please contactinfo@6nsolidarity.ca

For more background information and context please go to:
http://www.facebook.com/l/4b358MrWMcSSc3s6FY1rCnrjVWQ;6nsolidarity.wordp...

Here is a list of Blatchford's currently advertised Book Tour appearances:
--McNally Robinson, WINNIPEG. Grant Park in the Atrium. Nov 3, 2010. 7pm

--Chedoke Presbyterian church, HAMILTON. 865 Mohawk Road West. Nov 6, 2010.
7pm

--Aurora Public Library, AURORA. Nov 9 2010, 7pm

--University of Waterloo, WATERLOO. Humanities Theatre, Hagey Hall. Nov 12,
2010, 7pm

--Ramsay Breakfast, George Restaurant, Verity Women?s Club, TORONTO. 111C
Queen Street East, November 17th, 7:30 am.

--Books & Breakfast series, Le Centre Sheraton Hotel, MONTREAL. 1201 Rene
Levesque Blvd. W. Nov 28, 10 am

--U of T - Wordsworth College, TORONTO. March 14th 2011, 6pm

Toronto schools a little more welcoming for undocumented students

2010-11-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

This fall the Toronto District School Board (TDSB) - the largest school board in Canada - provided its 558 schools with a full colour poster stating that "All children living in our community, including those without immigration status in Canada, are entitled to admission to our schools" (attached).

Accompanying this poster was a tip sheet with guidelines for office administrators to ensure that no student is denied access to elementary or secondary school. [Download the document here: http://bit.ly/9xgoOw]. If adhered to fully, this means that the TDSB could become a model school board for the principle of 'access without fear' as well as a major pillar of the ongoing campaign to build a Sanctuary/Solidarity City here in Toronto. For Kimberly and Gerald, for Matthew and Rawad, and for all the others without status who have had to fight for their right to education - we dedicate this victory to you.

And make no mistake, this victory is nothing less than the result of three years of struggle. Since getting the TDSB to pass a "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy in May 2007, the Education Not Deportation Campaign of No One Is Illegal-Toronto and other community groups have been working tirelessly to ensure that the the policy became concrete practice in schools across the city. This experience has reminded us of the gap between policies and their implementation - and even now, we know the struggle is far from over.

The TDSB has stated that they would produce a video to inform front-line staff on revised enrollment procedures as well as a pamphlet for parents letting them know about the policy. To date, it has not produced either of these important tools. Community media also needs to be engaged by the TDSB to widely publicize their policy.

At the same time, there are many new and exciting ways in which we must push forward and eradicate barriers to accessing education from elementary to post-secondary. If you are a parent, a student or a teacher; go to your schools and make sure that these posters are placed prominently and publicly. Make sure that staff and teachers know that undocumented students are welcome in Toronto schools.

We also need to spread these victories to other school boards, to be inclusive of adult learners, and ensure access to colleges and universities. In order to undertake this important work, we need your support. To get involved, or come to one of our Education Not Deportation meetings, contact us at end@riseup.net.

LAUNCH of CKLN FundFEST 2010

2010-11-04T14:07:00.000-07:00

CKLN 88.1FM, the Voice of Toronto’s Underground, is the city’s oldest and most honoured campus/community radio station. Located downtown at Ryerson University since 1983, CKLN has been the voice of Toronto’s underground with a program of music and spoken word which is second to none in it’s depth, quality and diversity. The CKLN community is a unique and rich mix of Toronto’s multi-cultural and artistic communities.

2010 is an important year for CKLN, as it is a rebuilding year. It is an opportunity to offer CKLN’s loyal listeners and the surrounding community the best that the city has to offer from the creative fringes.

FundFEST 2010 is CKLN’s shout out to the wider community to come out and support the station in its comeback year. CKLN programmers say… “CKLN is very much alive and moving forward.”

Running from Friday, November 19th to Sunday, November 28th, FundFEST, an annual onair fundraising campaign, aims to collect pledges, sponsorship and various other forms of
support from listeners, local businesses and community organizations.

Since its challenging year in 2009, CKLN has had to rebuild and re-establish itself to its listeners and the community.

Currently, CKLN radio is run completely by volunteers, so any and all support that can be offered is important. The 2010 FundFEST Campaign goal is to raise $88,100! These funds are an important part of improving the way CKLN serves its surrounding community. The money will go to upgrading equipment in the studio and developing the radio’s direction.

Supporters can go online to www.ckln.fm to make a pledge and to become a member of the CKLN community. More Fundfest 2010 details will be available on the website as the campaign launch approaches.

For more information on FundFEST 2010, please contact Shoshannah Seefieldt, the fundraising coordinator, at fundfest@ckln.fm.

“CKLN 88.1FM is very much alive and moving forward.”

Turkey: Drop Charges Against Transgender Rights Defenders

2010-10-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

Five Activists Assaulted by Police, then Charged with Resisting Arrest

(New York, October 12, 2010) – Prosecutors should investigate the attacks against five transgender rights activists by police in Ankara and drop all charges against the activists, five human rights organizations said today. In a letter to Turkey’s Interior and Justice ministers, the rights organizations said that the police officers responsible for the attack should be held accountable and called for an end to violence against toward transgender people.

The five activists from the Ankara-based transgender rights organization Pembe Hayat were arbitrarily detained and beaten by police officers on May 17, 2010. Following a familiar pattern in Turkey, the five were speedily charged with resisting the police, before the prosecutor had concluded an investigation into their complaint of ill-treatment. Their trial is set for October 21. If convicted, they face up to three years in prison.

"Police ought to protect transgender people and their advocates, not attack them," said Hossein Alizadeh, Middle East and North Africa regional coordinator at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. "When police turn into perpetrators, it becomes painfully clear that official apathy allows leeway for attacks on transgender people."

The letter to the Justice and Interior ministers was signed by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), Human Rights Watch, COC Netherlands, Global Advocates for Trans Equality (GATE), and the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe).

Four police officers from the Esat Police Station stopped the car the in which the activists were riding at about 10:30 p.m. on May 17 and accused them of intending to commit sex work. The women –Yeşim (Duru) Tatlıoğlu, Buse (Bülent) Kılıçkaya, Türkan (Deniz) Küçükkoçak, Selay (Derya) Tunç, and Eser (Nehir) Ulus – phoned for help, prompting 25 local human rights observers to go to the scene. The police forced the five activists out of the car, beat them with batons, kicked them and sprayed them with tear gas. Witnesses told the human rights organizations that the police screamed at the activists, "[f]aggots, next time we will kill you!"

"The Turkish government is turning us trans people into criminals, for no other reason than existing. Being trans in Turkey means being judged and condemned just because of what we are," said Mauro Cabral, co-director of Global Advocates for Trans Equality (GATE). "We are the crime: the government abuses us and forces us to live and die outside of the law, instead of protecting us."

Police handcuffed the women, forced them to kneel, and beat their heads and legs while one policeman told them their activism would not protect them. All five women, visibly bruised, were forced into a police van and taken to the police station. Police held them in custody until the next morning. They were officially charged on June 18, 2010.

"In a situation of clear discrimination, the justice system is treating the victims as attackers," said Boris Dittrich, acting director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights program at Human Rights Watch. "Turkey needs police who are willing to protect all its people, including transgender individuals."

In their letter, the human rights groups noted that these events are part of a larger pattern of violence and discrimination against transgender people in Turkey. The organizations asked the government to repeal laws, like the Law of Misdemeanors (No. 5326), that facilitate violence against transgender people and instead to put in place effective legal protections against discrimination.

"We are outraged by the unbridled transphobia in a country aspiring to EU membership and cannot accept the repeated unpunished murders and abuse of the transgender population," said Koen van Dijk, executive director of COC Netherlands. "Turkey should uphold its national obligations to provide adequate protection to all people in Turkey, including the transgender population."

Nine transgender people have been killed in Turkey in the last 20 months alone. The most recent murder was on September 19, when a 28-year-old transgender woman, known as Irem Okan (Mesut Şaban) was stabbed to death in her apartment in Bursa. On February 16, in the Fatih area of Istanbul, an unknown person stabbed Aycan (Fevzi) Yener 17 times and slit her throat. On February 8, an unknown person stabbed to death 35-year-old Derya Y. in her home in the Altındağ district of Antalya.

"Turkey should improve the situation for its trans population and develop a strategy to protect their lives," said Evelyne Paradis, executive director of ILGA-Europe. "Police forces should address their current malpractices and instead foster a culture of working with vulnerable groups."

Read the organizations’ letter to the government of Turkey: http://www.iglhrc.org/cgi-bin/iowa/article/takeaction/resourcecenter/1208.html

Demand an Apology, Accountability, and Compensation for Three Canadians Targeted for Torture

2010-10-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

October 21, 2010 marks two years since the secretive Iacobucci judicialinquiry found the Canadian government complicit in the torture of AbdullahAlmalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin.

October 21, 2010 marks 16 months and three days since the StandingCommittee on Public Safety and National Security of the House of Commonscalled for an immediate apology for all thee men, along with compensation"for the suffering they endured and the difficulties they encountered."The committee released a report that also called on the federal governmentto "do everything necessary to correct misinformation that may exist inrecords administered by national security agencies in Canada or abroadwith respect to" the three men and their family members.(full report:http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4004074&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2)

October 21, 2010 marks 10 months and 12 days since the majority of theHouse of Commons voted in favour of an apology, compensation, and otherrecommendations contained in that committee report. The Harper governmenthas refused to abide by the majority demand from the House of Commons.

October 21, 2010 is an important day for Canadians to call on PrimeMinister Stephen Harper and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to positivelyrespond to the will of Parliament (through the majority vote of December 9, 2009 and the majority findings of the Public Safety committee of June,2009) as well as the findings of the Iacobucci inquiry by apologizing to,providing compensation for, and making accountable the individuals andagencies in Canada responsible for complicity in the torture of AbdullahAlmalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muayyed Nureddin.

Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture is calling on the Government ofCanada to:

a) issue an apology
b) provide compensation
c) correct the false allegations that have tarred the reputations of thesemen
d) ensure that all officials responsible are held accountable
e) take the necessary steps to eliminate false information about these menand their families from Canadian and international databases
f) issue a clear ministerial directive against torture and the use ofinformation obtained from torture.

Join us (see below for further background and steps you can take this week)

BACKGROUND

Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati, and Muayyed Nureddin are Canadiancitizens who were targetted for torture by agencies of their owngovernment.

All were falsely labelled as alleged threats to Canada's "nationalsecurity," and all wound up in Syrian torture chambers (and, in one case,Egyptian torture chambers as well) where they were interrogated andtortured based on questions that came from Canada. A problematic secretfederal review of their cases (the Iacobucci Inquiry, which unfortunatelyonly heard from government witnesses and excluded the men, their lawyers,the press, and the public from participating) nonetheless found thatCanadian agencies were complicit in the men's overseas detention,interrogation, and torture.

None of those Canadian agencies or individuals responsible for thiscomplicity in torture have been held accountable. No charges have beenlaid, no trials scheduled. In fact, almost everyone involved continues towork for agencies such as the RCMP, CSIS, and the Department of ForeignAffairs. It is in such a culture of impunity that further human rightsabuses are likely to occur.

When the House of Commons Public Safety Committee issued its reportcalling for justice for these three Canadian men, it also recommended that"the Government of Canada issue a clear ministerial directive againsttorture and the use of information obtained from torture for alldepartments and agencies responsible for national security. Theministerial directive must clearly state that the exchange of informationwith countries is prohibited when there is a credible risk that it couldlead, or contribute, to the use of torture."

Despite the mountain of evidence showing Canadian complicity in torture,and despite repeated calls for action to end such complicity, the Harpergovernment has refused to act, and instead continues to portray these menin a negative light. Why would the government of a democratic state haveany difficulty following its international and domestic legal obligationsnever to be involved, directly or indirectly, in acts of torture? And why,rather than apologizing and acknowledging its guilt, does the Harpergovernment continue to act as if nothing has happened?

Involvement in torture ultimately undermines the open, accountable natureof democratic government. Whether it is the government's attempts to hidedocuments showing Canadian complicity in the torture of Afghan citizens,its use of secret hearings to prevent disclosure of the fact that its"national security" cases appear to be based on tortured confessions, orits refusal to acknowledge complicity in the torture of Canadian OmarKhadr in Guantanamo Bay (among numerous other examples), it is clear thatthose who pull the strings in Ottawa are clearly involved in reprehensiblepractices which, if exposed, would shock the conscience of the nation.

TAKE STEPS FOR JUSTICE NOW!

The Federal government will state that such recommendations cannot beagreed to because civil suits are in progress. The Public Safety Committeedisagrees with this position, declaring "The majority of the Committeedoes not agree with the government’s position that issuing apologies caninfluence the course of civil actions. The majority is of the opinion thatthe government must officially recognize the harm caused to theseCanadians." Indeed, the government could end the civil suit processimmediately by fairly addressing the damage that has been inflicted on themen and their families.

While there remain many other tangled webs of Canadian involvement intorture (the case of rendition survivor Benamar Benatta, who still seeks apublic review of his case, the ongoing secret rendition-to-torturehearings taking place in the Federal Courts under the name of "securitycertificates," Canada's involvement in the U.S.-based School of theAssassins, complicity in the torture of people in Afghanistan, among manyothers), we have an opportunity to take immediate steps to ensure a smallmeasure of justice for Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and MuayyedNureddin.

TAKING ACTION

1. Please write a polite, simple letter to Public Safety Minister VicToews, copying Stephen Harper and your MP, calling on them to immediatelyapologize for and provide compensation for Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad ElMaati and Muayyed Nureddin, as recommended by the Standing Committee onPublic Safety and National Security as well as the majority of the Houseof Commons.

Please add in as well that you feel officials involved in facilitatingtheir torture need to be held accountable, and that systemic changes arerequired to permanently end further Canadian involvement in torture.Remind them that the committee also calls on " the Government of Canadaissue a clear ministerial directive against torture and the use ofinformation obtained from torture." Please remind them as well that falseinformation about these three men and their families exists in governmentdatabases around the world and here in Canada, and every effort must bemade to erase those lies.

Personalize the letter if you can.

Vic ToewsPh:(613) 992-3128Fx:(613) 995-1049E-mail: Toews.V@parl.gc.ca

Stephen HarperTelephone: (613) 992-4211Fax: (613) 941-6900Email: HarpeS@parl.gc.ca, pm@pm.gc.ca

Contact details of MPs via http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E

More information:Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, PO Box 2020, 57 Foster Street,Perth, ON K7H 1R0, tasc@web.ca

More details on the men and their cases, plus video interviews:http://sites.google.com/site/endtorturenow/http://homesnotbombs.blogspot.com/search/label/end%20torture

Committee report:http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=4004074&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2

Media Advisory: Harper repeats past immigration blunders, targets migrants

2010-10-30T16:11:00.000-07:00

Toronto -- No One Is Illegal-Toronto, a grassroots migrant justice group that organizes with undocumented people, refugees and immigrants for access to basic services and for a full and inclusive regularization program, insists that the ‘Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing Canada’s Immigration System Act’ will further limit people's ability to migrate to Canada and should be immediately scrapped.

"With Canada slamming the door on refugee claimants applying from overseas, the only way for people to come to Canada as a refugee is to apply for status within the country", explains Macdonald Scott, an immigration consultant and a member of the Immigration Legal Committee. "Applying for refugee status in Canada is enshrined in both Canadian and International law - by saying that it’s illegal, and an abuse of the system, Harper is trying to play us all for fools."

In 2008/09 the United Nations set a goal of 560,000 resettled refugees - of these, Canada accepted about 11,000, most of whom were applications from inside the country. At the same time, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees announced that Syria, Lebanon and Jordan accepted 885,000 Iraqi refugees between them. These numbers give lie to Prime Minister Stephen Harper's assertions on October 19th, 2010 that Canada has "the most generous system of sanctuary for refugees in the world."

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, has warned against the use of terms like 'human smuggling' for migration, stating that “the association of irregular migration with criminality promotes the stigmatization of migrants and encourages a climate of xenophobia and hostility against them.”

"Canada has twice before targeted people arriving on ships, turned them back to death and torture, and then apologized for it - why are these past immigration blunders being repeated?" asks Syed Hussan, an organizer with No One Is Illegal - Toronto. “Harper is now using the same logic that sent hundreds of Jewish refugees to their death in Germany in 1938.”

In 1914, Canada turned back the mass arrival of 354 passengers aboard the SS Komagata Maru, some of whom were killed upon their return. In 1938, Canada turned back the mass arrival of 937 Jewish refugees abroad the S.S. St Louis, most of whom perished in the holocaust. In 1995, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien agreed that Canada "turned its back" on those abroad the SS St Louis. On August 3, 2008, PM Stephen Harper apologized for turning back the Komagata Maru.

"The United Nations High Commission on Refugees, Amnesty International, the World Organization Against Torture, Oxfam have all criticized and condemned Australian immigration policies, particularly its response to migrants arriving by boat", adds Scott. "Of all the places in the world, why is Canada turning to Australia for solutions?", he asks.
Minister Jason Kenney recently travelled to Australia to learn about their immigration system.

As far back as January 2002, 60 migrants detained upon arrival in Australia physically sewed their mouths shut in protest against their treatment. The World Organization Against Torture has called Australian immigration policies "discriminatory, repressive, unworkable and in contradiction with international standards and law".
]
"Smearing refugee claimants and migrants as ‘smugglers’, targeting people arriving on ships, and taking cues from the worst immigration policies in the world are a willful repetition of past wrongs that have been consistently condemned and criticized", Hussan adds. "It is essential that this Act be thrown in the dustbin of history lest it comes back to haunt Canada and another apology has to be issued in the future.”

Defenders of the Land Call Out

2010-10-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

Indigenous Sovereignty Week 2010: Indigenous resistance and revival

Called by Defenders of the Land last year, the first Indigenous Sovereignty Week was a huge success, taking place in 2 dozen cities, towns, and communities across Canada. Building on that success, and a year that has seen continuing land-based struggles to defend Indigenous lands and rights, and growing mobilization for Indigenous rights in cities, Defenders of the Land is calling for a second Indigenous Sovereignty Week to take place in communities across Canada from November 21-27.

Communities and groups should organize their own events according to their capacity; this may mean holding Indigenous Sovereignty Week at a different time. Defenders of the Land may be able to provide materials for presentation, and may be able to make available or facilitate contact with speakers.

We have in mind that this work will reach different audiences: Indigenous people living in communities, urban Indigenous people, and non-Indigenous people living in cities and towns. Events may take place on campuses, in community centres, in schools, or other locations.

The purpose of this week is to build local relationships between groups and individuals, disseminate ideas of Indigenism, and generally, contribute to building a cross-Canada movement for Indigenous rights, self-determination, and justice that is led by Indigenous communities but with a broad base of informed support.

There will be a range of events, including speaking events, cultural or arts events, and ceremony where appropriate. Speakers will include activists and leaders of struggles, elders, Indigenous intellectuals, and supporters.

Canada's Indian policy in 2010

This year, the Canadian government has renewed an aggressive policy of assimilation of Indians. Despite all the apologies and high-minded words from elected officials over the last few years, this policy is the same Indian policy the government has pursued since the 1850s. From Tom Flanagan and the Fraser Institute, there is a push for privatization of reserve lands and conversion of Aboriginal title into fee simple on a small percentage of traditional territories. The comprehensive claims process and the regional treaty tables continue to push First Nations towards extinguishment of title using a range of carrot and stick tactics. Indigenous Peoples who fight back too hard against the assimilation agenda, like the Algonquins of Barriere Lake, are targeted for special repression.

However, Indigenous Peoples across Canada are not backing down in their demand for respect for Aboriginal title and rights. Increasingly, bands are dissatisfied with the comprehensive claims process, which results in permanent extinguishment of title in exchange for a small amount of cash and a fraction of the land rights. Communities from coast to coast are continuing to assert their rights to self-determination, and choosing to chart their own destiny, insisting on consent for resource extraction and industrial activity on their lands, and insisting on their right to choose how they will govern themselves. The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations is calling for the elimination of the Indian Act and the refounding of the relationship between First Nations and Canada on a basis of Aboriginal and treaty rights.

Defenders of the Land is calling on communities across Canada to explore the themes of resistance and revival in the face of the government's assimilation agenda. We are suggesting education and exploration of the following themes:

* Understanding and exposing the government's fundamental strategy of assimilation and extinguishment, and the ways in which this is implemented: through the comprehensive claims process, through the Indian Act, and through Indian Affairs. How does Indian Affairs work to pressure, shape, and control the choices of individual Indians and First Nations? What are some practical case studies of Indian Affairs' actions? How do we expose the very colonial character of Indian Affairs to a broader public?

* Exploring alternatives to the present colonial infrastructure. Shawn Atleo has called for abolition of the Indian Act, but right wingers will also seize on this to replace the Indian Act with fee simple and assimilation policies. What is a viable, concrete alternative that respects Aboriginal and Treaty rights? These questions could be explored through the presentation of a range of concrete alternatives and concrete strategies for achieving them.

* Exposing the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement signed this past year - a deal between ENGOs and industry without involvement of First Nations on the excuse that there are "too many of them to consult". The deal has serious implications for Indigenous Title and Rights but does not even mention the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and its language on Indigenous rights is very weak.

* Understanding the importance of language and cultural renewal, and traditional governance, to Indigenous resistance and self-determination.

* What does it mean for supporters to act in solidarity? What are the dangers of people getting engaged to get something out of it for themselves? How do we recognize and talk openly about the challenges of building relationships of solidarity? What do people need to know to enter into constructive relationships of solidarity, and not impose a further burden, or their own ideological agenda, on First Nations?

We are suggesting that organizing groups may like to develop some of these themes in relation to specific communities. For example, the situation in Barriere Lake can be used as a launching point for a discussion of the Indian Act, the role of Indian Affairs, third party management, and the importance of traditional governance in resistance. Fish Lake could be used to discuss Aboriginal Title, the question of consent, and the comprehensive claims process.

Defenders of the Land maintains that political activism, culture, economy, and language should all be seen as part of the overall picture of resistance and renewal - one aspect should not be highlighted to the exclusion of the others; rather, all should be seen as integral and interrelated.
We encourage ISW organizing groups to explore issues at a range of depths, and not only to stay at the "101" level where a lot of activist education stalls, but to actually grapple with difficult and
important questions for movement building.

We encourage the leadership of First Nations in this process, both on the land, and in urbanized settings, recognizing that there are tensions and limitations. How do people in different locations relate differently to the land? How do we connect urban and land issues? How do urban and rural Indigenous people relate to non-Native communities? How can urbanized Indigenous people participate in supporting land-based struggles and in a broader movement for Indigenous rights? Some of these themes might be explored in private, Native-only or mixed workshops leading up to the week of educationals. The question of solidarity and relationship building with non-Natives could be tackled through one or two-day symposia involving Native and non-Native organizers.

If you are interested in organizing educational events in your community during this week, please contact us by email at defendersoftheland@gmail.com. We will add you to a list to cooperate on developing and organizing this event. Communities can plan their own programs according to their needs and capacities--the purpose of a joint organizing list is to share resources and coordinate speakers' itineraries for example.

You can find out more about Defenders of the Land at our website: http://www.defendersoftheland.org

Defenders of the Land is a network of First Nations in land struggle working with urbanized Indigenous people and non-Native supporters in defense of Indigenous lands and rights.

Migrant Justice Organizer Urgently Needs Support

2010-10-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

In the fallout from the G20 protests, the police and the courts havemade chilling moves to further criminalize dissent and curtail civil rights. The situationof Toronto community activist and migrant justice organizer Syed Hussan is anurgent case in point. Not only must Hussan endure punitive bail conditions,including house arrest, as a result of criminal charges related to theprotests. To make matters considerably worse, he is also dealing with a series ofimmigration-related problems: his application for a renewal of his work permit hasbeen denied, as has his request to briefly enter the U.S. in order toapply for a student visa in Canada so that he might take up an offer of admissionto an M.A. program. As a result, Hussan confronts the real threat of beingsubject to a deportation order while he awaits trial for the next year and a half ormore. Were this to happen, he would be deprived of the right to work, toattend university, and to earn an income, all the while knowing that, even shouldhe be acquitted, he will be deported from Canada.

For those of us resisting the criminalization of dissent, all of the G20 accused deserveour support, including our financial contributions. But Hussan?s case is uniqueand especially urgent, as he must fight complex legal battles involving boththe criminal justice and immigration systems. We are appealing to allsocial justice supporters to help prevent these two levels of government fromdepriving a dedicated community organizer of basic human rights. It isimperative that we do not allow precarious status in Canada to be used as ameans of political punishment. Not only would this be a blow to Hussan; itwould also send an ominous message to all activists without status. For thesereasons Hussan and his supporters are committed to ensuring he gets top-notchlegal representation. But none of this comes cheap. Before all the dustsettles, Hussan?s legal costs could eclipse $60,000.

That is where people like us come in. One of the indispensable things we can doright now is to support crucial fundraising efforts on behalf of Hussan and theother community organizers facing G20 related charges.

Yours in solidarity,
David McNally

ACTIVISTS SUE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO AND TORONTO POLICE

2010-10-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

Two University of Toronto alumni and former UofT Governors have launched a lawsuit against the Governing Council of the University of Toronto, the Toronto Police Services Board, and numerous U of T officials and Toronto police officers for cracking down on peaceful dissent.

In March 2008, a group of students and concerned citizens held a protest at Simcoe Hall, home of U of T’s administrative offices. Toronto Police, in consultation with University of Toronto officials, arrested 14 of those people (dubbed the “Fight Fees 14”), including the Plaintiffs Oriel Varga and Christopher Ramsaroop, and charged them with “forcible confinement” and other serious charges. The two plaintiffs bringing this action, successfully beat their charges under s.11 (b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the right to a trial without unreasonable delay), 17 months after charges were laid. To date the charges against all fourteen have been withdrawn, stayed or dropped.

The University of Toronto threatened Varga, Ramsaroop, and many of the “Fight Fees 14” with potential disciplinary measures under the Code of Student Conduct, but these were not pursued after the criminal charges fizzled. Oriel Varga, who is currently a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School, was not even in Simcoe Hall at the time that the “forcible confinement” allegedly occurred. Nevertheless, the police charged her, jailed her, imposed draconian bail conditions, and caused her to be prosecuted, until the judge stayed the criminal charges over a year later.

“I believe the UofT administration and the Toronto police targeted certain student leaders to lay charges against them and send a chilling message that dissent will not be tolerated on campus," said Varga. “In a democratic society ruled by the Charter of Rights, the public must be able to question and critique institutional decisions and practices without being bullied and criminalized by public institutions like a university or the police. They must be held accountable for breaching the Charter that they are supposed to uphold."

In June 2010, the police arrested and imprisoned over a thousand peaceful protestors during the G20 Summit. Varga notes, “Before the police trampled on the public’s Charter rights during the G20 summit, they practiced on us.”

The lawsuit claims that the Defendants breached their fundamental rights and freedoms under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including their freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, their right to liberty, and their right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned. It also claims damages for conspiracy, malicious prosecution, false arrest and imprisonment, and negligence.

More information at: http://fightfeescoalition.blogspot.com/

Proposed Immigration Act jails refugees, separates families, keeps people sick

2010-10-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney have proposed a new Immigration Act, Bill C-49. It would allow the Minister of Public Safety to declare any group of migrants coming in to Canada, a 'smuggling incident'. There is no definition of a 'smuggler' in this Act.

For the asylum seekers who are declared part of an incident (which could be anyone making a refugee claim in a groups of 2 or more), the Conservative government wants to:

Jail them for a minimum of one year
Deny access to health services
Deny monthly detention reviews, allowing migrants in jail a chance to gain freedom only once every 6 monthsBe able to revoke people's refugee status after it has been granted by the refugee determination process
Ban applications for permanent residence for five years after gaining refugee statusBar people from reuniting with their families for five years after gaining refugee status
Stop people from leaving Canada for five years after gaining refugee status
Deny the right of appeal to a rejected refugee claim
Put in an ex-CSIS director and the man responsible for police brutality during the G20 as a special advisor on human migration

This is an absolute outrage. This Act is now at second reading in Parliament and must be stopped.

It is imperative that people across Canada are aware of this bill and its implications. Please call, fax and email your Member of Parliament (details follow) and ask your friends and colleagues to do the same.

Insist that:

Jailing refugee claimants is ruthless, punitive and absolutely unjust
We want refugee claimants, asylum seekers and migrants to come to Canada
Canceling a refugee claim after it has been granted is absurd and illegal
Ministers having absolute power to call anyone a criminal will give rise to absolute corruption This Act contravenes the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and breaks the objectives of family reunification within the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
This Act is also in violation of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all international treaties Canada is a signatory to.

(Get more ideas from the mainstream articles and other statements linked below)

With Canadian and other western economies responsible for displacement of millions of people through war, economic turmoil and environmental havoc, there has been an intense spike in people migrating in search for physical and economic security. As movements struggle to stop war, cease capitalist exploitation and halt environmental degradation, it is imperative that we resist the militarization and closing of borders that will limit the ability of communities in turmoil to seek safety.

TAKE ACTION!

Participate in the Call/Email/Fax Campaign to the Government and your MP. State your support for the refugees in Canada and denounce the government for spreading unsubstantiated racist lies. Demand that Bill C-49 be scrapped. You can also refer to articles and statements listed below.
To find out who your MP is and where to write them: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC
Have your organization, traditional council, union, community group, or artist collective write a short public statement/press release of support of migrants and against Bill C-49. Citizenship and Immigration Canada engineered dozens of press releases the day after Bill C-49 was proposed from 'community groups'. It is imperative that we counter this propaganda. Please email a copy to nooneisillegal@riseup.net
Always take a minute to write letters to the editor and comment on news stories – make a difference in public conversation! Reinforce your support for migrants, demand that Bill C49 be scrapped and condemn irresponsible reporting including repeating unsubstantiated lies. All letters must be short (100 words), include name, mailing address and daytime phone number of the writer; state “Letter to the Editor” in subject; and content should be in the body of the email.
Globe and Mail: letters@globeandmail.comToronto Star: lettertoed@thestar.ca National Post: letters@nationalpost.com 24 Hours: news@sunmedia.caMetro News: http://www.metronews.ca/toronto/contactusNow Toronto: letters@nowtoronto.comEye Weekly: letters@eyeweekly.com
Invite a speaker to your next meeting. Email nooneisillegal@riseup.net and we would be happy to attend or suggest speakers, as well as provide educational materials.
Join our low-traffic email announcement list to receive news and events. You can subscribe yourself by emailing nooneisillegal-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. Our Facebook group is http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2232590266.Visit our website regularly for updates http://toronto.nooneisillegal.org

Articles & Statements Condemning Bill C-49

Amnesty Int'l trashes human-smuggling bill (Canadian Press): http://yhoo.it/bYCjIe
Public Safety minister's refugee parents came to Canada just before doors shut (Canadian Press): http://bit.ly/bmjmzA
Human smuggling bill draws criticism (CBC): http://bit.ly/ay7iF4
Stopping human smuggling risks penalizing legitimate refugees, experts say (Globe and Mail): http://bit.ly/aI0hK3
Tory refugee bill would have rejected Einstein (The Province): http://bit.ly/bOifkf
Would anti-smuggling law target humanitarians? (CTV): http://bit.ly/bgOoX4
The peril of refugees, It's wrong to create a new class of refugees (Ottawa Citizen): http://bit.ly/bbKSdB
Federal bill will hurt refugees, experts say (Winnipeg Free Press): http://bit.ly/at93QU
Opposition MPs rip into proposed human-smuggling law (Vancouver Sun): http://bit.ly/bol5v8
Canadian Council of Refugees Resources on Bill C-49: http://ccrweb.ca/en/c49
Myths and Realities about the Tami Refugee Abroad MV Sun Sea: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=2167

Making history: First Nations academic think tank

2010-10-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

UOI OFFICES, Curve Lake FN (October 28, 2010) – History will be made on December 1, 2010 when a unique think tank led by First Nations academics is brought together through a dynamic partnership between the Union of Ontario Indians (UOI) and Ryerson University’s Centre for Indigenous Governance.

There are hundreds of federal and provincial reports that highlight the critical gap in the educational achievement levels between First Nations and non-aboriginal Canadians.

“The challenge to date has been that these working groups and reports have had a high participation rate and influence by governmental bureaucrats that has left these reports subject to federal or provincial interpretation and analysis,” said Union of Ontario Indians Education Director, Murray Maracle.

“The ultimate goal of the think tank is for First Nation academics to provide strategic guidance and innovative ideas about how First Nation Governments can address education and specifically post-secondary education,” he said.

Dr. Pamela Palmater, Chair for Ryerson University’s Centre for Indigenous Governance stressd that this event is non-political in nature and not coordinated by federal or provincial governments.

First Nations education has been described as one of the keys to nation-building and this preliminary joint academic think tank will keep the momentum going.

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 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.

What’s left of our lands is not for sale: Madahbee

2010-10-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

UOI OFFICES (October 21, 2010) – Federal legislation to permit the privatization of reserve land is a recipe for disaster that avoids dealing with the root causes of First Nations poverty, says Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee.

"Under the pretense of creating more economic opportunities for our citizens, the Harper government is trying another end-run around Canada's promises and obligations to work with us to build stronger communities. If they want to help us develop our own economies, they can speed up addition-to-reserve processes, and look at ways we can re-zone reserve land for industrial use, or establish off-reserve industrial parks with tax advantages for our business partners.

"Canada allowed most of our traditional territories to be stolen out from under us, which is why there is a backlog of over 800 land claims," said Madahbee, speaking on behalf of the 40 member communities of the Anishinabek Nation in Ontario. "Now the federal government itself is getting into the land-grab business. They're trying to ram through a law that could result in the loss of what postage-stamp properties we have left. Our reserves are not for sale."

The Grand Council Chief said that such legislation would provide land speculators unprecedented opportunities to acquire ownership to lands that the Canadian Constitution says are reserved exclusively for First Nation use.

"A federal attempt to privatize lands reserved for First Nations is like real estate agents charging commission on properties not even listed with them," said Madahbee, who said he is not impressed by the fact that Ottawa has found some First Nations disciples for their privatization plan.

"It's the same old divide-and-conquer strategy they used 150 years ago to take our lands. You can always find someone who says they got a great education in residential school, or who thinks we should try to turn all our citizens into Bay Street tycoons. But in their enthusiasm, those people usually forget two important steps: first, we have to be involved in all decisions affecting our future and, secondly, governments have to start getting serious about sharing the resources with us that the treaties have helped them enjoy."

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 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.

-30-

For more information contact:

Marci Becking
Communications Officer
Union of Ontario Indians
Phone: (705) 497-9127 (ext. 2290)
Cell: (705) 494-0735
E-mail: becmar@anishinabek.ca
Follow AnishNation on Twitter

Migrant Workers March in Historic Pilgrimage to Freedom

2010-10-14T17:01:00.000-07:00

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/nooneisillegal#p/u/0/tsC1Bt-eSJg

On Sunday October 10, 2010 migrant agriculture workers, accompanied by allies from across Ontario participated in a grueling 50 km walk, from Leamington to Windsor Ontario. Organized by Justicia for Migrant Workers, the march was a grassroots effort led by migrant workers.

Beginning at 7am, the exuberant and historic "Pilgrimage to Freedom" demanded immigration status for all, an end to exorbitant recruitment fees, better housing, safe working conditions and an end to racism and sexism in the workplace.

Making stops at local politicians offices and the Canadian Border Services Agency, the march ended nearly over 12 hours later at the Underground Railroad Memorial in Windsor to mark, honor and be inspired by the resilience of migrant and indentured workers that have slaved in exploitative conditions over the centuries, yet have still fought back, and have still survived.

For pictures and videos, visit: http://j4mw.tumblr.com
For a Toronto Star Op-Ed by Justicia organizers, read: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/872459--no-thanksgiving-for-migrant-workers

Northern Superior Chiefs to develop consultation protocol

2010-10-14T16:56:00.000-07:00

OFFICES, Fort William First Nation (October 14, 2010) – Anishinabek Nation leadership in Northern Superior Region say that there has been no consultation with First Nations in the excavation of thousands of 9,000 year-old artifacts being shipped to Lakehead University and have plans to develop a consultation and accommodation protocol.

Regional Grand Chief Peter Collins says that while the current archaeological site excavation is nearing completion, additional related sites have been identified and the time is now to set up the protocol.

“We are proposing in-depth consultation and accommodation in any future endeavors,” said Chief Collins. “The Northern Superior Chiefs, with support from the Union of Ontario Indians, will create a regionally-based consultation protocol to include all traditional territories. This protocol will be presented to both federal and provincial government offices.”

At the current archaeological site in Thunder Bay, First Nations in the Northern Superior Region should have been consulted and involved with any decision-making, planning and involved with the recovery of artifacts.

“Any significant archaeological discovery within the traditional territories requires immediate and meaningful consultation by all parties involved,” said the regional Chief. “While the Northern Superior Chiefs recognize the impact that finds may have on development in the area, it is important to know that the artifacts are tied to our history and people. Government has a responsibility of consultation.”

The Anishinabek Nation established the Union of Ontario Indians as its secretariat in 1949. The UOI is a political advocate for 40 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.

Grassy Narrows Clan Mothers Notice

2010-10-13T17:16:00.000-07:00

October 6, 2010
Re: Road work on our territory.

To whom it may concern:

Our community is repairing washouts and beaver damage to nearby back-roads to facilitate our ongoing use and enjoyment of our traditional territory. The back roads are used by Grassy Narrows members to access hunting, trapping, wild rice and berry picking areas, medicine gathering and ceremonial site access, and for access to the Ball Lake fishing lodge. For generations the lodge has been a key source of employment for our community, but since the mercury poisoning of the English-Wabigoon River System the lodge has had minimal economic development benefits for us.

We the grandmothers, mothers, and clan mothers of the Anishinabek will be at the Slant Lake blockade site to make sure there is safe passage for the road workers to enter into our natural territories and to make sure there is no harassment of any kind from any person or organization so the workers can complete their work as instructed by our people.

We the indigenous peoples of this land sanction the work of these road repair people in any shape or form. Any question on work activities will be directed directly to us at the blockade site and no form of communication or harassment will be handled by the workers.

As our community stated in our moratorium call on January 17, 2007:

From time immemorial we, the Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishnaabek (Grasy Narrows Oijibway) have occupied, cherished, and gained sustenance from, our traditional territory. This land is integral to our identity and existence as Anishnaabe people. As the Indigenous people of this area, we retain our language, our culture, our land, our governance, and our spirituality. On this basis we assert our innate sovereignty and our inalienable right to self determination on our traditional lands. Our land and these inherent rights are given by the Creator and only the Creator can take them away.

In addition to these inherent rights we also have rights recognized in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, other international and national law, in our treaty, and in Supreme Court of Canada rulings.

We the Anishinabek have never given up jurisdiction on our natural territories. We agreed to share the lands with the newcomers, but we will never give up our inherent right to use and protect the land, water and the forests.

We never agreed to be subject to Provincial permitting processes that restrict our access and use of our own territory. Even the Canadian courts have recognized this right. Our people have fought and won on the question of using our territory without permits (in constructing cabins) in Sundown, and Meshake, and the Crown recognized this fact by dropping charges in Red Lake against Keesick.

In spite of this Ontario again claims that we need a permit and threatens to stop our road repairs. Ontario claims that the permits are for the safety of people and the environment. The same province that permitted Reed Paper to dump 20,000 pounds of mercury into our river, decimated our fishing livelihood and culture, and still refuses to acknowledge our mercury poisoning, claims to be stopping minor road repairs for our safety and for the fisheries act? The same government that permitted the industrial clearcut logging of the forests we depend on, the aerial spraying with herbicides, and who still refuses to respect our right to say no, claims to be protecting our environment?

This hypocracy is so flagrant it is shameful. It is an attempt to rob us of our livelihood, our health, and our culture.

We have had enough of your permits. They serve only to protect the profits of the corporations, they have never protected us or the environment.

We will never cease fulfilling the duty given to us by the Creator to use and protect our land, air, and water.

The road repairs are part of a process of reclamation and revival for Grassy Narrows where our people are using the land on our territory to empower ourselves, to sustain our families, revive our culture and heal our community. We are rebuilding what has been taken away from us by decades of provincial permits.

We demand that the government immediately take responsibility for the mercury poisoning of our people and correct this injustice once and for all. We demand that industrial logging cease on our territory. Enough harm has been done to our people, we will take of our territory and determine our own future.

The MNR attempt to stop maintenance of the roads is an attack on our community’s self sufficiency. It is another attempt by the Province to assert unilateral control over the Territory in violation of our inherent and treaty rights.
We will not allow it.

The Clan Mothers of Grassy Narrows

October 10th Headlines

2010-10-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

NATO Convoy Torched in Pakistan as US Apologizes for Fatal Attack
Pakistani militants continue to strike convoys carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, at least fifty-five trucks were set ablaze in northwest Pakistan, hours after an earlier attack that destroyed eight tankers near the southwest city of Quetta. Attacks on the tankers have soared since the Pakistani government blocked a NATO supply route after three of its troops were killed in a cross-border US attack last week. The US has formally apologized, saying the soldiers were mistaken for Taliban fighters. NATO spokesperson Joseph Blotz meanwhile said the convoy attacks won’t impact the Afghan war effort.

Joseph Blotz: "We do have plenty of supplies and stocks within Afghanistan. We do have access to transports and logistics through other border crossing points to Pakistan, but also to neighboring countries in the north. So there is no danger for the ongoing future ISAF operations."

Panel: Admin Censored Disclosure of Spill Size
A federal panel has revealed the Obama administration deliberately prevented government scientists from disclosing the full extent of the BP oil spill. On Wednesday, the national oil spill commission released documents showing the White House budget office denied a request to make public the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s worst-case estimate for the spill size. Despite receiving internal warnings the well was spewing between 2.7 million to 6.8 million gallons of oil a day, government officials repeatedly publicized a figure of 210,000 gallons a day.

Citing Coerced Testimony, Judge Bars Witness at Gitmo Trial
The first civilian trial of a former Guantánamo Bay prisoner has been delayed after a federal judge ruled prosecutors can’t call a key witness to the stand. The prisoner, Ahmed Ghailani, has pleaded not guilty on charges surrounding the 1998 embassy bombings in East Africa that killed 224 people. On Wednesday, District Judge Lewis Kaplan barred a Tanzanian man who says he sold weapons to Ghailani on the grounds he was tracked down as a result of Ghailani’s coerced statements under CIA interrogation. Defense attorney Peter Quijano praised the decision.

Peter Quijano: "Judge Kaplan ruled today that the Constitution is the rock upon which our nation rests. We could not agree more with the court. This case will be tried upon lawful evidence, not torture, not coercion. It is the Constitution that won a great victory today. We applaud the court for its courage and support for the law."

Ohio AG Sues Ally Financial for Foreclosure Fraud
Ohio has filed suit accusing the lender Ally Financial and its GMAC Mortgage division of fraud in approving scores of foreclosures. It’s the first suit of its kind in the widening scandal over the improper approval of thousands of foreclosures by some of the States’ largest banks. Ally as well as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase have suspended foreclosures in twenty-three states after admitting to authorizing foreclosure affidavits and other documents without proper vetting. Speaking to Bloomberg News, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray said Ally’s alleged fraud was widespread.

Richard Cordray: "Everything that we have seen indicates that there may have been thousands of cases where they systematically defrauded the court by filing affidavits under oath that claimed personal knowledge where the signer did not have that knowledge. In an individual case, if an attorney filed a false affidavit, that would be—result in swift and severe sanctions, disciplinary misconduct and so forth. The fact that this may have done on a mass scale is pretty breathtaking to us."

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper also announced Wednesday he’s begun investigating fifteen lenders, including Ally, and has asked them all to freeze foreclosures during the probe. Attorney General Eric Holder meanwhile said the Justice Department is looking into the improper foreclosures.

Wells Fargo Reaches $770M Settlement for Deceptive Loans
The banking giant Wells Fargo has agreed to modify over 8,700 mortgages to settle claims it deceptively pushed crippling loans on borrowers in eight states. Under the deal, Wells Fargo will spend over $770 million to restructure the loans over a three-year period. Despite admitting to misleading customers, Wells Fargo also announced it won’t stop foreclosures and will proceed with evictions.

JPMorgan Chase Agent Breaks into Home of Borrower
A Florida woman has revealed an agent hired by her bank broke into her home after she fell behind on her mortgage payments. Nancy Jacobini of Orange County was inside her home when she heard the intruder. Thinking she was being burglarized, Jacobini called 911.

Dispatcher: "Do you hear somebody trying to open the front door?"

Nancy Jacobini: "Yes, yes."

Dispatcher: "Ma’am?"

Nancy Jacobini: "My alarm is going off."

Dispatcher: "OK."

Nancy Jacobini: "He’s in. He’s in the house."

Dispatcher: "He’s in the house?"

Nancy Jacobini: "Yes."

The intruder turned out to be an employee hired by Jacobini’s bank, JPMorgan Chase, to change her locks. But Jacobini was only three months behind on her payments and wasn’t in foreclosure. Chase has apologized for the incident. Jacobini has hired an attorney to pursue legal action against the bank.

US Deportations Hit Record 392,000
New figures show the US deported a record 392,000 undocumented immigrants last year. Just under half were people convicted of criminal activity.

FBI Arrests 133 in Puerto Rico Corruption Probe
The FBI has arrested 133 people, including over ninety law enforcement officers, in a sweeping anti-corruption operation in Puerto Rico. The US Attorney for Puerto Rico, Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, helped unveil the charges in Washington.

Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez: "Because we are faced with the disconcerting reality that drug trafficking has invaded the sanctity of our state and municipal police departments. Badges were sold and honor was compromised for drug money many times during this investigation."

It’s said to be the largest police corruption probe in the FBI’s history.

Clinton Vows Delivery of Stalled US Aid to Haiti
Former President Bill Clinton is vowing that hundreds of millions of dollars in delayed US aid is finally on the way to Haiti. Speaking after a tour of camps housing thousands of refugees, Clinton said he expects the US to release most of the $1.15 billion it’s yet to deliver in the next week. The Associated Press revealed last week that Republican Senator Tom Coburn has held up over $900 million in congressionally approved aid over objections to a $5 million provision to create the office of a US coordinator for Haiti policy. Clinton and Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive also said Haiti’s reconstruction commission had approved over $700 million in new projects.

Bill Clinton: "We are going to now move to be much more strategic and emphasize the areas of greatest need: the housing, the rubble removal, the jobs. We still have many schools to build, many teachers to train, many learning materials to get, and a plan that will have universal enrollment. That’s the most important thing, but we need a lot of money for it."

Cuba Commemorates 1976 Airliner Bombing
Cuba marked the thirty-fourth anniversary of the bombing of Cubana Flight 455 on Wednesday with a call for the US to extradite the key suspect. Seventy-three people were killed in the October 6, 1976 attack, which was the first and only mid-air bombing of a civilian airliner in the Western Hemisphere. Speaking before relatives of the victims, Cuban President Raúl Castro called on the Obama administration to extradite the anti-Castro Cuban exile and CIA operative Luis Posada Carriles.

Cuban President Raúl Castro: "The government of Cuba asks President Obama or whoever is in charge of the fight against terrorism to act firmly and without double meanings against those who from the United States have and continue to perpetrate terrorist acts against Cuba."

Castro also called for the release of the Cuban Five, who are serving lengthy sentences in the US for trying to monitor violent right-wing Cuban exile groups responsible for attacks inside Cuba.

Nobel in Chemistry Awarded to US, Japanese Scientists
A US and two Japanese scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for developing a chemical research tool known as "palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling." Richard Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki invented the tool to allow scientists to build chemicals that can aid in the production of pharmaceuticals and electronics. Nobel committee member Astrid Gräslund compared it to a Lego toy.

Astrid Gräslund: "It is about joining carbon atoms together in a way that you want to do. So if you want to say it in very simple words, you could say it’s like building a Lego toy, and you want to join two pieces together and you want to decide how and what to do with them, so this is what this reaction does. You decide, and it simply performs for your chemical reaction."

Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Anti-Gay Funeral Protests
The Supreme Court has heard arguments in the case of a Pennsylvania man challenging a homophobic church that held a protest at his son’s military funeral. The father, Albert Snyder, initially won a $5 million judgment against the Westboro Baptist Church, which demonstrates outside military funerals to publicize its anti-gay views. Church members believe that military deaths are God’s punishment for homosexuality in the United States. A federal appeals court overturned the $5 million penalty last year after ruling the church’s First Amendment rights were violated. Earlier this year, the court ordered Snyder to pay Westboro over $16,000 to cover the costs of its successful appeal. On Wednesday, Snyder said the church’s actions shouldn’t be considered an issue of free speech.

Albert Snyder: "In my opinion, speaking as a father, the Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church conduct was so extreme, it went beyond all possible bounds of basic human decency, that it can be regarded as utterly intolerable in a civilized nation. All we wanted to do was bury Matt with dignity and respect."

Poll: Two-Thirds Back Minimum Wage Hike
A new poll shows two-thirds of Americans support raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10 an hour. According to the Public Religion Research Institute, the number includes 51 percent of Republicans.

Students to Hold National Day of Action to Defend Public Education
And students across the United States walked out of classes on Thursday as part of the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education. The call for nationwide protests originated in California following last November’s student strikes and building takeovers. Tens of thousands of people took part in the first national day of action in March.

Peruvian Novelist Llosa Wins Nobel Prize in Literature
Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa has won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature. Llosa is one of Latin America’s leading novelists and essayists. He rose to prominence in the 1960s. Some of his best-known novels include The Green House and The War of the End of the World.
Report: Afghanistan and Taliban Enter Peace Talks
The Afghan government and the Taliban have reportedly begun secret, high-level talks over ending the Afghan war. According to the Washington Post, Taliban representatives have recently met with officials from the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. At least one session was reportedly held in Dubai. There are differing accounts of the scope of the talks, but sources say the Taliban negotiators are for the first time speaking on behalf of the Pakistan-based Taliban group Quetta Shura and its leader Mohammad Omar. Another Pakistani-based faction, the Haqqani group, is said to be excluded from the talks.

Afghanistan Begins Disbanding Private Military Firms
The Karzai government, meanwhile, says it’s begun closing down the operations of private military firms in Afghanistan. Karzai has ordered the companies to disband by the end of the year. On Tuesday, an Interior Ministry official said the Afghan government is now enforcing the decree.

Sayed Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada: "Based on the President’s decree concerning the closing of private security companies, all measures were taken by the Interior Ministry and other respected security organizations. And now we’ve physically started the disarmament of private security companies all over the country."

The Afghan government says it’s taken action against eight companies, including Blackwater.
Shahzad Sentenced to Life in Prison for Failed Times Square Bombing
The man convicted for trying to set off a car bomb in Times Square has been sentenced to life in prison. Faisal Shahzad was sentenced in a Manhattan courtroom Tuesday after pleading guilty in June. Shahzad is a Pakistani-born US citizen and former financial analyst who lived with his wife and two young children in Connecticut. He has said he received explosives training from the Pakistani Taliban.
Fundraising Falls Short on UN Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The United Nations says millions of people will be denied life-saving treatment after donors failed to meet the minimal fundraising level sought by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. On Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the fund has raised over $11.5 billion, short of its austerity level fundraising target of $13 billion.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: "Today we raised more than $11.5 billion for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. This is more than we did the last time at the last replenishment conference, and it is enough to give millions of people living in fear a new lease on life."

The fund needed $13 billion to keep up with its current treatment of three million people with AIDS. It had sought $20 billion to increase that to five million. The Obama administration pledged $4 billion to the fund, $2 billion short of the amount sought by AIDS activists and some members of Congress. In a statement, the group Health GAP said it was profoundly disappointed in the US pledge, adding, "President Obama has found billions to bail out Wall Street and to continue wars. We urge him to find a way to do the same to save lives around the world."

Toxic Sludge Floods Hungarian Towns
Hungary has declared a state of emergency in three counties after toxic sludge from an alumina plant flooded several towns. Over 35 million cubic feet of sludge leaked from the plant’s reservoir, engulfing homes and roads. At least four people have been killed, and 120 have been wounded. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he’s ordered a probe into the disaster.

Viktor Orbán: "We do not know of any sign which indicates that this disaster would have natural causes. And if a disaster has no natural causes, then it can be considered a disaster caused by people. Everyone in this country wants to know who is accountable for this tragedy and the property damage."

Congo Rebel Leader Arrested for Mass Rapes
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN peacekeeping force says it’s arrested a rebel leader on suspicion of leading the raids that led to mass rapes in eastern Congo earlier this year. Over 500 women, girls and babies were raped when Rwandan and Congolese rebels stormed villages in July and August. It took three weeks for the UN to respond, even though the villages were just miles from a UN base. The suspect has been identified as Lieutenant Colonel Mayele of the Mai-Mai militia.

Antiwar Activists to Defy Grand Jury Subpoenas
Antiwar activists targeted in last month’s FBI raids in Minneapolis and Chicago have announced they won’t testify before a grand jury. On Tuesday, demonstrators gathered outside a federal building in Chicago where the grand jury is convening. Stephanie Weiner, whose home was targeted in the raid, said the activists would defy their subpoenas to appear.

Stephanie Weiner: "We believe we have been targeted because of what we believe, what we say, who we know. The grand jury process is an intent to violate the inalienable rights under the Constitution and international law to freedom of political speech, association and the right to advocate for change. Those with grand jury dates for October 5th and those whose subpoenas are pending have declared that we intend to exercise our right not to participate in this fishing expedition."
. DeMint: Bar Single Women, Gays and Lesbians from Teaching
And Republican Senator Jim DeMint is under criticism for defending his 2004 comments that sexually active single women and gays and lesbians should be barred from teaching. Speaking at a church rally last week, DeMint said, "When I said those things] no one came to my defense. But everyone would come to me and whisper that I shouldn’t back down. They don’t want government purging their rights and their freedom to religion."

US Drone Kills 8 German Citizens in Pakistan
A US drone strike in Pakistan has killed at least eight German citizens suspected of being linked to Pakistani militants. The identities of the German men have not been released. The attack came one day after the US issued a travel alert about potential terrorist attacks in Europe. The CIA has sharply increased its use of drones to carry out strikes inside Pakistan in recent weeks. Monday’s attack was the twenty-sixth drone strike in the past thirty-seven days.

Aid Workers Warn of Malaria Outbreak in Pakistan
In other news from Pakistan, aid workers are predicting as many two million Pakistanis will be infected with malaria in coming months due to the devastating floods. The World Health Organization estimates 250,000 Pakistanis are believed to have already been infected.

Supreme Court Opens New Term; Refuses to Hear NSA Suit
The Supreme Court started its new term on Monday, and for the first time the Court has three female justices with Elena Kagan joining Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the bench. Kagan has recused herself from nearly half of the Court’s fifty-one scheduled cases because she played a role in the litigation while serving as US solicitor general. In one of its first decisions, the Court refused Monday to hear a lawsuit filed by a group attorneys seeking to learn whether the National Security Agency had tapped their phones because they represent prisoners at Guantánamo.

Ex-Justice Stevens Regrets Ruling Upholding Death Penalty
Monday’s session of the Supreme Court also marked the first time in almost thirty-five years that the Court was without Justice John Paul Stevens, who retired earlier this year. On Monday, NPR News aired an interview with the ninety-year-old Stevens, who said he regrets only one vote he made on the Supreme Court: his decision in 1976 to uphold the death penalty. He now describes the decision as "incorrect."

John Paul Stevens: "I voted to uphold the death penalty. And I thought, at the time, that if the universe of defendants eligible for the death penalty is sufficiently narrow, so that you can be confident that the defendant really merits that severe punishment, that the death penalty was appropriate. But what happened over the years is the court constantly expanded the cases eligible for the death penalty, so that the underlying premise for my vote in those cases has disappeared, in a sense."

Special Interest Group Campaign Spending Soars
The Washington Post reports special interest groups have spent $80 million on the November congressional elections, more than five times as much as they did during the 2006 midterm. The increased spending is due in part because the Supreme Court cleared the way for unlimited spending by corporations, unions and other interest groups on election ads earlier this year in its decision in the Citizens United case. The bulk of the money is being spent by conservatives, who have swamped their Democratic-aligned competition by a seven-to-one margin in recent weeks. One of the biggest spenders nationwide is a little-known Iowa group called the American Future Fund, which has spent $7 million on behalf of Republicans in more than two dozen House and Senate races.
Tenn. Fire Department Allows Home to Burn Down over Unpaid $75 Fee
In Tennessee, a local fire department refused to put out a house fire last week because the homeowner had forgotten to pay $75 for fire protection from a nearby town. The firefighters showed up to the scene of the fire and then watched as the home of Gene Cranick burned to the ground. Cranick’s neighbors had paid the $75 fee, so when the fire spread across the property line firefighters took action, but only to save the neighbor’s property. The local mayor defended the actions of the firefighters. South Fulton Mayor David Crocker said, "Anybody that’s not in the city of South Fulton, it’s a service we offer. Either they accept it or they don’t." On Monday, Gene Cranick appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.

Gene Cranick: "Everything that we possessed was lost in the fire. Even three dogs and a cat that belonged to my grandchildren was lost in it. And they could have been saved if they had been—they had put water on it. But they didn’t do it, so that’s just a loss."

Keith Olbermann: "When you all called 911, as I understand it, you told the operator you’d pay whatever was necessary to have the firefighters come put out and prevent the fire from spreading to your house. What was their response?"

Cranick: "That we wasn’t on their list."

Report: Debtor Prisons on the Rise
New reports by the ACLU and the Brennan Center for Justice have found a sharp rise in debtor prisons across the country. Poor defendants are being jailed for failing to pay legal debts. In Ohio, a man named Howard Webb, who earns $7 an hour as a dishwasher, has served two stints in jail totaling over 300 days for being unable to pay nearly $3,000 in fines and costs from various criminal and traffic cases. In Michigan, a twenty-five-year-old single mother named Kawana Young has been jailed five times for being unable to afford to pay a few minor traffic tickets. Eric Balaban of the ACLU said, "Incarcerating people simply because they cannot afford to pay their legal debts is not only unconstitutional but also has a devastating impact upon men and women, whose only crime is that they are poor."

Video: Israeli Soldier Belly Dancing Beside Bound Palestinian Woman
The Israeli military has ordered an investigation into a video uploaded to YouTube that apparently shows an Israeli soldier belly dancing beside a bound and handcuffed Palestinian woman. On the video, you can hear the soldier dancing to music and occasional cheers from his fellow soldiers who were documenting the dance. It is not known yet when or where the video was shot. It was uploaded on YouTube over the weekend and aired on Israeli TV last night.

Israel Deports Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire
The Israeli government has deported Irish Nobel Peace laureate and activist Mairead Maguire a week after she was denied entrance at Ben Gurion Airport. For the past week Maguire was held in an Israeli jail as she challenged Israel’s decision to ban her from entering the country for ten years. Israel placed the ban on her after she rode on a humanitarian aid boat that attempted to reach Gaza earlier this year. Maguire spoke to reporters on Monday before her deportation.

Mairead Maguire: "I hope the court will allow me to stay in Israel with my Israeli and Palestinian friends."

Reporter: "Why do you want to come here?"

Maguire: "Because I love this country and I’m very sad there’s so much suffering. I come to support all those who are working for peace and reconciliation. There will be peace in this country, I believe it, but only when Israel ends apartheid and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people."

Fellow Nobel Prize laureate Jody Williams defended Mairead Maguire’s attempt to stay in Israel.

Jody Williams: "Mairead believes that she had the right to challenge the state of Israel for trying to keep her out. She does not believe she has done anything wrong when she was on the Rachel Corrie, with the flotilla. It was attacked in international waters. It was dragged—she was dragged to Israel, and then they say she can’t come back to Israel. It was not her intention to end up there in the first place."

Oxfam: Int’l Community Is Undercutting Haitian Agriculture
In news from Haiti, the aid agency Oxfam says a massive influx of free foreign food after January’s earthquake helped feed many displaced people but undercut Haitian agriculture and hurt farmers’ incomes. Oxfam says the international community needs to help develop Haiti’s agriculture-based economy. The problem dates back over a decade. Earlier this year former President Clinton publicly apologized for forcing Haiti to drop tariffs on imported subsidized US rice during his time in office. The policy wiped out Haitian rice farming and seriously damaged Haiti’s ability to be self-sufficient.

Developer of In Vitro Fertilization Wins Nobel
British physiologist Robert Edwards has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his role in developing in vitro fertilization. The Nobel medicine prize committee said Edwards’s work had brought "joy to infertile people all over the world."

Klas Kärre, Nobel Committee: "Briefly, what he did was to develop, in several steps, a method whereby you can take out eggs from the woman and let those eggs meet the sperm of her partner in a test tube or in vitro, which means in glass, in glass a test tube, and then put back the fertilized egg for normal development in the woman."

Robert Edwards said his discovery impacted other areas of medicine, as well.

Robert Edwards: "We knew for the first time that science and medicine had entered human conception decisively and that from now on we would look at illnesses and disease and other disorders in embryos as part of medicine."

Solar Panels to Be Installed on White House
And the Obama administration is expected to announce plans today to install solar panels atop the White House’s living quarters. The panels will heat water for the first family and supply some electricity. The announcement will be made today by Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. The move comes one month after the White House rejected a proposal by environmentalist Bill McKibben and students from Unity College to reinstall the White House solar panels used by President Carter in the 1970s. The panels were later taken down by President Reagan.

Indigenous Peoples, environmental groups and labor organizations across Panama have turned to the international community for support in their growing nation-wide campaign to defend human rights, enact Indigenous Peoples' rights and restore environmental protections in the country.

In June, 2010, the Panamanian National Assembly pushed through Law No. 30, a controversial piece of legislation that "eliminates the requirement for environmental impact assessments for government-sponsored development projects, protects the police from prosecution for crimes and human rights abuses that they commit on the job, and limits labor unions' right to strike," explains a recent report from Cultural Survival (CS).

Soon after the law was passed, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Changuinola, to which the government responded "with unprecedented violence, killing at least two protesters, blinding dozens with lead bird shot, and injuring and arresting hundreds more. Indigenous leaders say more people were killed, but the government has not released complete information to human rights investigators," CS continues.

In addition to Law 30, which has been appropriately named the "chorizo law" by critics (the "sausage law" for what they perceive to be an excess of political pork stuffed into one omnibus piece of legislation", says a COHA Researcher) two additional laws were forced through, like the sausage law, without any public consultation or the consent of Indigenous Peoples: Law No. 14, which prohibits the act of blocking public thoroughfares during any kind of protest (the penalty for which includes a jail sentence of up to two years); and Executive Decree No. 537, which limits the right of Indigenous Peoples to elect their own leaders according to their own traditions.

Sufficed to say, "Many Panamanians were shocked by passage of these repressive laws. They were equally shocked by the violent police actions against protesters. Civil society organizations are demanding an investigation into killings, beatings, torture, false charges, kidnapping, and cover-ups by the police, and they have requested a special hearing with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights," says CS. Unfortunately, there's a good chance that Panama will simply ignore any recommendations from the IACHR, just as they have consistently ignored the most basic civil and cultural rights of the Ngobe, Bugle, Kuna, Embera, Wounaan, Bribri and Naso Peoples.

And it goes without saying that a massive general strike could erupt at any time, like the one's we have witnessed in Peru, Honduras, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and elsewhere around the world. And like in the cases of Peru and Honduras, it is feared that Panama's government will respond with unrestrained violence.

From October 12-16, 2010, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements, and Climate Justice Activists will converge in more than a dozen countries for the second Global Minga In Defense of Mother Earth. This year's primary focus will be Climate and Environmental Justice.

Echoing the first Global Minga, which took place during the week of Oct. 12, 2009, protests, demonstrations, forums, sit-ins, and other actions will be carried out, states The Andean Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations (CAOI), the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) and others:

To Oppose the commodification of life (food, water, biodiversity, natural assets); the privatization of nature through the carbon market; pollution and predation (by mining, hydrocarbons, hydropower, forestry, livestock , biofuels, GMOs); consumerism and criminalization of social struggles; the persecution of migrants

To Promote the defense of land, natural wealth and spirituality linked to Mother Earth; water for future generations; collective rights; and the importance of "living well" (the need to live with nature in harmony and balance)

To Warn of the imminent danger of environmental catastrophe that threatens the planet and identify those responsible.

To Demand amnesty for all indigenous leaders, social and environmental activists who defend the rights of peoples and Mother Earth.

Among the many coalitions, networks and local groups that will take part in this Year's Minga: Climate Justice Action! (CJA) has announced plans for a Global Day of Action for Climate Justice for Oct. 12; and Via Campesina, an International day of Action against Agribusiness and Monsanto on Oct. 16.

After a massive show of international solidarity, Mapuche representatives have reached an agreement with the Chilean government, marking a near-end to one of the longest hunger strikes in recent memory.
According to the Archbishop of Concepcion, Ricardo Ezzati, 30 of the 38 Mapuche protesters officially called off the hunger strike late Friday, after Chile agreed to drop all terrorism charges against the Mapuche civilians. At the moment, only the Mapuche in Angol Prison are continuing the hunger strike; though, it is believed they, too, will call off the strike in the next few days.
Unfortunately, it appears that charges themselves will not be dropped. According to the agreement, the Mapuche will still be tried, but as civilians under the common penal code.
This, of course, is a pretty far stretch from the Mapuche Demand for "freedom"; however, since so many of the charges are fabrications and, in effect "thought crimes" rather than actual crimes, there's no way they'll stand up in court. Not if reason has anything to say about it.
In addition to dropping the charges of terrorism, Chile says it will also take action "with various authorities and entities" to seek solutions "to the diverse issues that are part of the Mapuche cause."
Hopefully, Chile will keep true to these words and genuinely act in the spirit of democracy and good governance. It would certinaly be a welcomed change from the desperation politics so common in Peru, Colombia and elsewhere around the world. Most of all, for the Mapuche who are simply trying to secure their rights and reclaim their traditional territories.
A military plane was reportedly sent to Rapanui (Easter Isalnd) "with a contingency of SWAT teams to augment the already in-place armed forces set to remove indigenous Rapanui people from their ancestral lands." Since July 31, the Rapanui have been non-violently occupying parts of their ancestral land, illegally taken from their grandparents. Throughout the effort, the Rapanui have been asking for the restoration of their legal title to the land.

The Liard First Nation (LFN) expressed concerns over massive zinc mine project that could severely impact Don Creek, a stream that eventually flows into the Yukon River in northwestern Canada. The Yukon government recently approved the project; however, according to LFN, they "forgot" to explore the potential impacts on the water system before the decision. That is, despite knowing that he companies behind the project are going to dump their mine waste right into the Creek.

The Navajo Nation Council took a welcomed step back from the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement (NAIWRSA) to devote a little more time to "community outreach". Just prior to the Council's decision, more than 160 concerned Navajo (Dine') urge them to oppose the agreement, which would force the Dine' to forfeit their "priority rights to all waters that fall on, run by or through, or are under the land surface between the Four Sacred Mountains."

As many as 20 thousand peasants mobilized to demand agrarian reform in Indonesia. The action, which involved more than 40 organizations, marked the 50th commemoration of the National Farmers' Day in Indonesia.

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the Xakmok Kasek community in Paraguay should be allowed to live on its traditional land. "The community, which comprises around 60 families, has been denied access to the land for over 20 years and deprived of its traditional means of subsistence: hunting, fishing and gathering," explains Amnesty International.

The Fourth Tri-national Encuentro of Indigenous Peoples concluded with Indigenous organizations from Peru, Brazil and Bolivia declaring a "state of emergency" throughout the Amazon rainforest due to the "intense promotion, approval and execution of mega-projects by the governments of the three countries." The event brought together more than a hundred indigenous leaders from AIDESEP, ORAU and FENAMAD in Peru, CIPOAP and CIMAP in Bolivia and COIAB in Brazil.

Villagers in Jharkhand, India are being actively exposed to uranium, according to a recent investigation by Tehelka Magazine. At just one of the seven uranium mines in Jharkhand, says Tehelka, "there are no prohibitory signs, no warnings about radiation, no barbed wire and no demarcation of territory." What's more, several workers were dressed in casual clothing, with no helmets or even a breathing mask. And children were found bathing in a stream that obviously receives radioactive waste water.

Autonomous Authorities ordered the total evacuation of San Juan Copala in Oaxaca, Mexico, after paramilitaries raided the community and said they would kill everyone if they didn't leave. According to latest reports, all residents of the autonomous municipality made it out safely, "with no help from the government."

"In an effort to reclaim a day that has traditionally been imposed as 'Columbus Day,' indigenous peoples around the world have called for a global mobilization 'in defence of Mother Earth'. Climate Justice Action has taken up this call and is proposing a global day of direct action for climate justice on the same day, October 12, 2010. CJA is not picking specific targets or actions, but is rather calling for all of us to engage, plan and take direct action on this day."

Alberto Pizango, the respected and well-known Indigenous leader in Peru, announced that he will be runnning for President in the upcoming 2011 elections. "The candidacy of Pizango has been speculated for months, and he accepted to run after the Apus (leaders) of more than 1,300 Native communities supported his candidacy," reports Peruanista. "His candidacy could be a rising surprise in these elections, even after the media in Lima has portrayed him as a 'social agitator' and a violent man who is financed by foreign groups."

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced plans to give mining firms in Palawan, including some Canadian companies, direct military support in exchange for access to military technologies. The shocking news came just days before the Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) illegally granted MacroAsia Corporation (MAC) an Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) for the mining plans in the Municipality of Brookes' Point.

More than six dozen Indigenous people from the Guarani Kaiowa Y'poi in Brazil have been effectively turned into prisoners on their land. According to the Indigenist Missionary Council (CIMI), six weeks ago a group of hired gunmen surrounded the Guarani, who set up a camp in April on a section of their ancestral land. Since then, the Guarani have been unable to leave the camp, severely limiting their access to food, water, education and health services.

In the Sarawak region of Borneo, more than 150 Penan started blocking roads to protest the ongoing destruction of the rainforest and the Malaysian government’s failure to protect their land and their rights. According to Survival International, "The protesters were marking the anniversary of previous road blockades a year ago, which brought the logging industry in the area to a halt. " Not long after the blockades went up, the police arrived to tear them down.

Indigenous landowners in Western Australia (WA) expressed outrage at the government's plan to "compulsorily acquire" a section of their land for a $30 billion gas processing plant. WA Premier Colin Barnett announced the plan after deciding, on his own, that negotiations with the landowners had failed. According to GetUp! the Oil and gas giant Woodside (along with joint venture partners Shell, Chevron, BHP-Billiton and BP) wants the land to process the huge gas deposits at Browse Basin.

Indigenous Peoples in Botswana filed an appeal to overturn a High Court decision that denied them access to a single waterhole on their traditional territory. The Kgeikani Kweni--more commonly known as the Kalahari Bushmen--have been struggling to access the waterhole since 2002. They now have to truck in water from a settlement 300 miles away. Meanwhile, just a few miles away, a tourist resort and a diamond mine enjoys near-unlimited access to water.

Many thanks to Democracy now and Intercontenental Cry.

Decriminalization of sex work and Indigenous youth and communities

2010-10-06T12:01:00.000-07:00

A response from the Native Youth Sexual Health Network on the recent Ontario Superior Court Decision

October 5, 2010 (Toronto) - The Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) would like to express our support of the recent Ontario Superior Court decision to strike down three aspects of the criminalization of sex work which include: living off of the avails of prostitution, keeping a common bawdy-house and communicating in a public place for the purpose of engaging in prostitution. However, given the lack of Indigenous voices during this process, there is some confusion as to what this could mean for Indigenous people here and now.

As a North America wide organization working in the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive health by and for Indigenous youth, NYSHN is particularly concerned with the ways in which Indigenous youth perspectives and rights as sex workers are generally not taken into account. In this case, it was not Indigenous people bringing this court challenge forward and unfortunately our voices have not been heard well.

However, this decision has the potential to actually mean less violence for Indigenous communities, not only because it allows for safer working conditions for sex workers, it also means less police interference. Given that Indigenous communities face racial profiling and police brutality as an everyday lived experience, as well as extremely high rates of incarceration, this is of utmost importance to our safety. Current estimates state that Aboriginal people make up more than 20% of the total prison inmate population across Canada, which is a full ten times more than the general population.

If sex workers are able to live off of the money they earn, they may be able to afford shelter, better provide for their families, or be able to hire someone else, such as a driver, as protection. If they are able to openly communicate about sex work, they may be able to negotiate safer working conditions (such as condom use) with a client or report violence without fear of being arrested. If keeping a bawdy-house is no longer illegal, then sex workers may have access to indoor working conditions, decreasing the chances of street-based violence. If police are given less opportunity to arrest people on the basis of these laws, it means less Indigenous people that are incarcerated because of sex work. These are just a few examples of how this ruling has the potential to reduce violence.

However, as stated by the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) this ruling does not adequately address the systemic racism and classism as well as a fundamental power imbalance and issues of inequality, which are realities for Indigenous youth in Canada. Given the amount of prejudice and discrimination faced by Indigenous communities, it is imperative that we are included and heard throughout all policy-making processes, not only for our own safety and security but also as a best practice when making decisions that disproportionately affect us.

Furthermore, it is imperative that we recognize that Indigenous youth are over policed, but under protected. High rates of arrest and incarceration are a reality, yet there still has been no justice for the over 500 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. For Indigenous women who do engage in sex work, there is a double discrimination that is experienced because of the overlapping prejudices of racism associated with being Indigenous, and societal stigma associated with engaging in sex work. This increases the risk of violence, which means in order to protect Indigenous women; we need to consider decriminalization in the context of also stopping racism. That being said, decriminalization is still one of the many steps that the courts and lawmakers must take to respect the self-determination of Indigenous sex workers.

Media Contact:

Jessica Yee, Executive Director

jyee@nativeyouthsexualhealth.com

http://nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/

Mariko Passion and Whorevolution @ Granny Boots in Toronto!

2010-09-27T11:33:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we spoke with artist, activist, sex worker and whorevolutionary, Mariko Passion, about sex worker rights, the impetus behind her prolific body of work and her upcoming performance with FF-WPR collective member anna Saini at the Granny Boots sex worker showcase.

Check out more of Mariko Passions deeply personal and powerful work at her blog www.marikopassion.wordpress.com or her facebook page www.facebook.com/marikopassionsongs.

Or check her out along with anna Saini and the sex worker talent extravaganza going on at Granny Boots this Wednesday September 29th 7:30PM at the Melody Bar in the Gladstone Hotel on Queen West.