Stories

Migrant Spring Marches Held Across Canada, Calling for Status for All

Migrants and allies take action to push the slow-moving federal government to introduce a pathway to regularization for all immigrants

A series of nationwide demonstrations for migrant workers rights were held across eight Canadian cities this weekend.

Supporters in Toronto gathered at Christie Pits Park on Saturday demanding permanent residency status for all undocumented people in Canada. The “Migrant Spring” protest also called on the federal government to remove unfair immigration requirements for care workers and to end deportations immediately.

Canadian Police-Involved Deaths in February 2024

Police killings in February 2024.
Waterloo Regional Police Cruisers. Via Wikpedia.

At least five people were killed in Canadian police actions in February 2024. These deaths include people who were directly killed by police, as in police shootings, or died during police deployments or in police custody. Three people were shot and killed by police in February, one was killed during a police chase, and one died during an arrest while in medical crisis. Two victims were in mental distress at the time police were deployed against them. One person was in a medical crisis.

Healthcare workers slam their CEOs for slandering pro-Palestinian protesters

After 15 hospital CEOs in Toronto mischaracterized a peaceful pro-Palestinian rally as antisemitic, many of their employees have joined thousands of voices demanding an apology and retraction of their “fabrications.”
What's been the fallout of the Hands Off Rafah rally in Toronto?
SPIDERMAN4PALESTINE WAVES A PALESTINIAN FLAG ABOVE THE ENTRANCE OF MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL, ONE OF AT LEAST EIGHT ELEVATED SPOTS THEY CLIMBED TO IN THE COURSE OF THE RALLY ON FEB. 12. PHOTO CREDIT: ANNA LIPPMAN.

Toronto healthcare workers are pushing back against their employers, demanding an apology and a retraction for what they say are “false accusations of antisemitism over the fabricated Mount Sinai story.”

Anti-Palestinian racism permeates Canadian institutions, critics say

A recent report detailed over 500 instances of anti-Palestinian racism in 2022 from nonprofit organizations, the media, and governments, but notes the scope of the problem is likely much wider when individual accounts are taken into consideration
What is anti-Palestinian racism?
Screenshot from CTV News report about Selina Robinson’s “controversial” remarks about Palestine.

Referring to pre-1948 Palestine as a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it” — as former BC NDP Minister of Postsecondary Education Selina Robinson recently did — is not just a sign of ignorance but an expression of the anti-Palestinian racism (APR) that critics say runs deep within our institutions and across political party lines. 

Op/Ed: Surrey City Council locks out residents, fails to shut down Palestine solidarity

Palestine solidarity organizing in Surrey.
Palestine solidarity rally in Surrey with Palestine flags and umbrella.
Palestine solidarity rally at city hall in Surrey.
Palestine solidarity rally at city hall in Surrey.
Palestine solidarity rally at city hall in Surrey.
Palestine solidarity rally at Central City mall in Surrey.
Palestine solidarity rally outside library in Surrey.
Palestine solidarity rally under Skytrain rails in Surrey.
Palestine solidarity rally outside city hall in Surrey.

Palestine solidarity organizing and mobilizations in Surrey, British Columbia (traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Katzie, Kwantlen, and Semiahmoo) have been growing in size and frequency. Now it seems local politicians are getting worried and taking pre-emptive steps to silence voices against the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

How an urban village model is tackling Toronto's housing crisis

As many people struggle to find affordable housing in Toronto, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world, some immigrant communities have decided to build their own
How are communities addressing the housing crisis?

Kizito Musabimana is one of more than 1000 Rwandan refugees who came to Canada following the Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsis in the 1990s, which claimed around one million lives in 100 days. After struggling through a period of homelessness in Toronto, and knowing the importance of culture and community, Musabimana would set out to help others from the African diaspora access culturally-sensitive resources, particularly affordable housing.

B.C. cabinet minister sacked after making racist comments about Palestinians

PNGtree free image

B.C.'s Minister of Post Secondary Education and Future Skills, Selina Robinson, stepped down on Monday, February 7, over anti-Palestinian comments she made six days earlier during a Zoom meeting with B'nai Brith Canada, a zionist organization. Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network Vancouver called an emergency rally Monday morning at the Guilford Sheraton Hotel in Surrey, where the B.C. NDP was holding the All MLA Retreat. 

Canadian Police-Involved Deaths in January 2024

Police killings in January 2024.
Winnipeg police car with lights flashing..

At least four people had their lives taken in police actions in January 2024. The police-involved deaths include people who were directly killed by police, as in police shootings, or died during police deployments or in police custody. All deaths in January occurred during arrests or in custody. This includes two people killed during intoxication arrests, a practice that is often deadly and should be ended.

More Than a House: Losing our Home to the Bush Creek East Wildfire

An interview with spi7uwie scalemc and Honey Williams of Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw
Personal story impact from wildfire, climate change
guitar inside spi7uwie scalemc  and Honey William's house,  before it burned

Unceded Secwepemc Territory — 2023 was the worst wildfire season recorded in so-called B.C.'s history. According to B.C. Wildfire Service, record-breaking warm temperatures and drought conditions from as far back as October 2022 set the stage for it, while an unusually high number of lightning storms started many of the fires in July, with cold and powerful winds in August fanning them.

Learning from Organizers – Nina Newington

A *Talking Radical: Resources* interview
Nina Newington in Bell Tent at Last Hope, Dec 22 2022

Nina Newington is an organizer based in rural Nova Scotia. In recent years, her grassroots work has focused on protecting forests in the province. 

Opposing police repression of drug user liberation organizers

Rally demanded: "Free DULF!", "Safe Supply Now", and "End the Drug Wars"
Ending the drug wars.
It is not a crime to save lives banner.
DULF rally sign.
Settler Colonialism is a Crime sign.
DULF rally sign.
DULF Saves Lives sign.
Safe drugs and love is all we need sign.
David Eby Effigy.
DULF Coffin.
Safe Supply Now Sign.
DULF Rally.

On January 16 more than 200 people rallied at the Vancouver courthouse in support of Drug User Liberation Front (DULF) co-founders Jeremy Kalicum and Eris Nyx, and called for all state charges against them to be dropped. This was part of an international day of action in solidarity with DULF which also saw actions in Nelson, BC; Calgary, AB; Dublin, Ireland; and, London, England. Voices were raised against the policing and criminalization that make drug users' lives more precarious — and which themselves kill people.

First Nations Strategic Bulletin Sept - Dec 2023

First Nations Strategic Policy Counsel
Nipissing First Nation Chief Scott McLeod speaking at the AFN general assembly in Halifax, July 12, 2023.

FIRST NATIONS STRATEGIC BULLETIN: VOLUME 21, ISSUES 9-12, SEPT - DEC 2023.

Click on file attachment below to access the bulletin.

In this issue:

  • Chiefs as Crown Agents
  • Re-Colonization Plan
  • No TRC Results Until 2081
  • Feds Fight Tobacco Case
  • AFN Report - NC Archibald
  • Australia Fought UNDRIP

Click here to view the PDF of the First Nations Strategic Bulletin: Sept - Dec 2023 Issue

Files attached to this post: 

Canadian Police-Involved Deaths in December 2023

Police killings in December 2023.
Winnipeg Police SUV with lights flashing.

At least 97 people had their lives taken through police actions in 2023. This comes after a December in which at least 12 people were killed in police actions. This matched May as the deadliest month of policing this year, the two bloodiest months of police violence since October 2022.