Canada

New Canadian Postal Veep Has A Plan To Revive Militancy Coast To Coast

July 15, 2022 Alexandra Bradbury, Labor Notes. Strategize! Canada, Postal Workers, Unions, Worker Rights and Jobs

A letter carrier who helped organize a militant campaign of refusing forced overtime has won national office in the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, with the goal of taking that direct action approach nationwide. Roland Schmidt, president of the local in Edmonton, Alberta, won a national election in May to became CUPW’s third vice president in charge of internal and external organizing. Three years ago he won his local presidency on a platform of reviving shop floor militancy. Under his leadership the local has trained hundreds of members in direct action, revitalizing its workplace culture. Schmidt has been a postal worker for 18 years. He was first drawn to Canada Post for its storied union history—CUPW had won collective bargaining rights for the federal sector, and maternity leave, which eventually became mandatory for all Canadians.

Fossil Fuel Interests Are Behind Canada’s Blue Hydrogen Push

July 7, 2022 Danielle Paradis, DeSmog. Educate! Blue Hydrogen, Canada, Fossil Fuels, greenwashing

Talk to fossil fuel execs, government ministers, and industry reps these days and they’ll all tell a similar story: Blue hydrogen is the clean fuel of the future that will help Canada and the world get to net-zero emissions. It’ll power everything from airplanes to long-haul trucks and will even heat our homes. Canadian media has called blue hydrogen, which is produced from natural gas and has its emissions captured, “a key part” of the nation’s emissions-reduction strategy and “fairly clean” — a claim that echoes an infographic from ATCO, a major Canadian energy company, that said blue hydrogen produces “nearly zero emissions.”

CIA And Western Special Ops Commandos Are In Ukraine

June 29, 2022 Ben Norton, Multipolarista. Resistance Report Britain, Canada, CIA, France, Russia, Ukraine, United Kingdom (UK), Wars and Militarism

The CIA and special operations forces from NATO members Britain, France, Canada, and Lithuania are physically in Ukraine, helping direct the proxy war on Russia, according to a report in The New York Times. These Western forces are on the ground training and advising Ukrainian fighters, overseeing weapons shipments, and managing intelligence. At least 20 countries are part of a US Army-led coalition, guiding Ukraine in its fight against Russian troops. Some Ukrainian combatants are even using US flag patches on their equipment. This is all according to a June 25 report in The New York Times, titled “Commando Network Coordinates Flow of Weapons in Ukraine, Officials Say.” The Times is a de facto organ of the US government. Although technically private, the paper closely follows the line of the CIA and Pentagon.

Canada’s Brutal And Dangerous ‘Pipeline Police’

June 29, 2022 John Clarke, Counterfire. Educate! Canada, Indigenous Activism, Pipelines, Police

The expansion of oil and gas exports has become a strategic priority for a major section of the capitalist class in Canada and its political enablers. The declining possibilities for export to the US, moreover, have led ‘business and political leaders...to pivot to East Asia, particularly China.’ This has involved the development of the required infrastructure in the western provinces, including the construction of major pipelines. Obviously, this whole initiative can only compound the impacts of climate change and other forms of environmental degradation. It has also put the Canadian state on a collision course with Indigenous nations who are determined to prevent such an assault on their traditional territory.

Canada Steps Up Surveillance Of Indigenous Peoples To Push Pipelines

June 19, 2022 Nick Cunningham, DeSmog. Resist! Canada, Fossil Fuels, Indigenous Rights, Pipelines, Surveillance

Canadian police and security forces have intensified their surveillance and harassment of Indigenous people in recent months in an effort to clear the way for the construction of two long-distance oil and gas pipelines in British Columbia, earning the condemnation of international human rights observers. “The Governments of Canada and of the Province of British Columbia have escalated their use of force, surveillance, and criminalization of land defenders and peaceful protesters to intimidate, remove and forcibly evict Secwepemc and Wet’suwet’en Nations from their traditional lands,” the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) wrote in an April 29 letter.

Transit Is The New Frontline Of The War On The Unhoused

June 13, 2022 James Wilt, Canadian Dimension. Create! Canada, Decriminalization, Homeless, Human Rights

On June 9, Winnipeg’s public works committee voted to remove the glass, seating, and doors from two bus shelters outside Kildonan Place mall as a means of displacing unhoused people who have been living or spending time in them. While far from the first time this has happened⁠—the city has removed doors and heated benches from at least 11 bus shelters to discourage their use as “temporary homeless shelter[s]”⁠—it’s one of the most visible and contentious instances of the trend. Councilor Shawn Nason, who represents the Transcona ward where the two bus shelters are located, has spent the last several months inciting an increasingly aggressive campaign about the issue, including introducing a motion against “hoarding” in public areas that would enable city staff to more easily raid encampments.

Three Animal Rights Advocates Face Trial Over 2019 Hog Farm Occupation

June 13, 2022 Alex Binder, Unicorn Riot. Resist! Animal Rights, Canada, Factory Farming, Legal System

Abbotsford, B.C., Canada – It’s been three years since two hundred animal rights advocates descended on the Excelsior Hog Farm on April 28, 2019 “to expose the reality of what is happening to the victims of the ‘meat’ industry and to challenge the current mindset within our society,” according to the activist group Meat The Victims. Over a year later, a total of four activists were facing multiple charges, however today, three of them stand trial at the end of June 2022. During the farm action, approximately 50 of the activists got inside the building where they witnessed deceased pigs in a dumpster, pigs laying on the ground unable to get up because of injuries, and “row upon row of pregnant pigs crammed inside metal crates the size of their own bodies, unable to even turn around or move for months on end.”

Hundreds Protest, Block Entrances To North America’s Largest Weapons Fair

June 3, 2022 World Beyond War. Resist! Canada, Wars and Militarism, weapons, Weapons Fair

Ottawa — Hundreds of people have blocked access to the opening of CANSEC, North America’s largest weapons and “defense industry” convention at the EY Centre in Ottawa. 40 foot banners saying “Blood On Your Hands,” “Stop Profiting From War,” and “Arms Dealers Not Welcome” obstructed driveways and pedestrian entrances as attendees attempted to register for and enter the convention center immediately before Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand was slated to give the opening keynote address. “The same conflicts around the world which have brought misery to millions have brought record profits to arms manufacturers this year,” said Rachel Small, organizer with World BEYOND War.

New Gas Industry Astroturf Group ‘Fuelling Canada’

May 14, 2022 Geoff Dembicki, DeSmog. Educate! Canada, climate crisis, Energy, Oil and Gas

In April, the Globe & Mail published an article on its website extolling the virtues of natural gas appliances in people’s houses. The story, headlined “Why natural gas is the smart choice for your new home,” has the look and feel of actual journalism. It includes statistics about Canada’s “reliable” gas industry, a photo of a young couple cooking on their gas range and quotes from Canadian homebuilders and makers of consumer products—such as grills and fireplaces—that use gas. It looks explicitly designed to appeal to first-time homebuyers. But even though natural gas is a major growing source of emissions in the country (Canada is the world’s fourth largest producer of the fossil fuel), the article didn’t once mention climate change, nor the potentially severe health impacts from breathing in gas fumes.

Land Defender Sentenced To Jail For Breaching Trans Mountain Injunction

May 12, 2022 Kris Hermes, Stop TMX. Resist! Canada, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Pipelines, Trans Mountain Pipeline

xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) & səl̓ilwətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Territories/ Vancouver, BC - Before a courtroom packed with supporters, Tsleil-Waututh Land Defender Will George was sentenced to 28 days in jail for breaching the Trans Mountain Expansion (TMX) pipeline injunction and was immediately taken into custody. BC Supreme Court Justice Shelley Fitzpatrick deferred to the Crown's recommended sentence and all but ignored arguments from defence counsel for why George should instead be sentenced to community service hours and probation. Today was Day 2 of George's sentencing hearing. Yesterday, Justice Fitzpatrick stated in the morning that she had not read George's 16-page Gladue report, which lays out his childhood history and cultural background, and gives reasons why the court should consider non-custodial sentencing options.

Public Relations War Over F-35 Stealth Fighter Jet Enters New Phase

April 21, 2022 David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen. Resist! Canada, F-35 Jets, Wars and Militarism, weapons

Members of the Ottawa Peace Council will on Friday head to the Lockheed Martin Canada headquarters on O’Connor Street to protest the Liberal government’s decision to purchase that company’s F-35 stealth fighter. The gathering is part of what is being called the Global Mobilization to Stop Lockheed Martin, a series of at least nine protests in various cities around the world to highlight the company’s role as the largest weapons producer in the world. The F-35 is expected to be featured prominently at the various protests, including in Toronto, as the public relations war over the jet enters a new phase. The Liberal government announced March 28 it was entering into negotiations to buy the fighter plane, retreating on Justin Trudeau’s promise Canada would never acquire the aircraft he claimed didn’t work and wasn’t needed.

Wet’suwet’en Protesters Face Surveillance And Harassment

April 20, 2022 Anish R M, People's Dispatch. Resist! Canada, Coastal GasLink Pipeline, Pipelines, Wet’suwet’en

As the Indigenous anti-pipeline resistance against the Coastal GasLink (CGL) continues in the Wet’suwet’en lands in Canada, the police have been intimidating the protesters and residents of the land and conducting surveillance. On Monday, April 18, the Royal Mounted Canadian Police (RCMP) arrested and later released a supporter of the Wet’suwet’en cause over mistaken identification. According to the Gidimt’en Checkpoint, a group of Gidimt’en clan members of the Wet’suwet’en organizing the resistance, the arrest is an outcome of more than a month of intimidation and harassment by the police. “This tax-payer funded harassment and intimidation is an explicit attempt to make Wet’suwet’en people unsafe on our own lands,” the group said in a statement.

Canada And Anishinabek First Nations Sign Historic Self-Government Agreement

April 10, 2022 Anishinabek Nation, Twitte, Indian Country Today. Create! Canada, Indigenous Rights

The Government of Canada is working with First Nation partners to restore respectful nation-to-nation relationships, recognize their inherent right to self-determination and support communities as they move out from under the Indian Act and transition to self-government. Yesterday, the Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, joined Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Reg Niganobe, Chief Lloyd Myke of Magnetawan First Nation, Gimaa Kwe Rhonda Williams-Lovett of Moose Deer Point First Nation, Chief Scott McLeod of Nipissing First Nation, Chief Larry Roque of Wahnapitae First Nation and Chief Irene Kells of Zhiibaahaasing First Nation at a virtual ceremony to celebrate the signing of the Anishinabek Nation Governance Agreement.

Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs Confront Royal Bank Of Canada

April 9, 2022 Stand.Earth. Resist! Big Banks, Canada, Fossil Fuels, Wet’suwet’en

Despite abruptly canceling the in-person portion of their annual general meeting (AGM) today, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) faced growing calls to phase out coal, oil, gas, and tar sands funding, and instead invest in a safe, and renewable future. Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and climate finance experts asked the RBC Board and management about their role in violating Indigenous rights by bankrolling projects that perpetuate genocide against Indigenous Peoples, such as the Coastal GasLink pipeline, as well as the role of RBC’s fossil fuel financing contributing to the climate crisis. Melina Laboucan-Massimo, the co-founder of Indigenous Climate Action, spoke to shareholders about how RBC’s financing of the tar sands has detrimental impacts to her homelands, the health of Indigenous people on their territory and to the climate.

Caravan For Water And Life Opposes Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline In Mexico

April 4, 2022 Brent Patterson, PBI Canada. Resist! Canada, Mexico, Pipelines, Tuxpan-Tula Gas Pipeline

Earlier this year, the Peace Brigades International-Mexico Project accompanied the organizations and communities that gathered in the municipality of Juan C. Bonilla, Puebla for the National Meeting of Struggles Against Gas Pipelines and Death Projects. At that time, PBI-Mexico tweeted: “We celebrate that this meeting has been an opportunity for defenders of the territory and the environment to share their words and experiences on the road to articulating a culture of peace, justice and respect for community rights.” Those gathered at the National Meeting expressed their opposition to the TC Energy Tuxpan-Tula gas pipeline (across the states of Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo), the Morelos gas pipeline (across the states of Tlaxcala, Puebla and Morelos) and other megaprojects.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

Daily movement news and resources