CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-MONTRÉAL/CANADA:
FINAL STOP OF OLYMPIC SPIRIT TRAIN GREETED WITH MORE PROTESTS:

The Cheesy Choo Choo aka the Olympic Spirit Train has made its final stop in Montréal on its tax financed failed tour of the country, and there, as elsewhere it was met with protests. First of all here's the story from the A-Infos website about the final stop.

.............................


Canada, Shame Train ends in Montreal with successful disruption:
October 20, 2008
Over 100 protesters gathered in Montreal's Old Port this past Saturday to disrupt the CP Spirit Train's final stop. After successful protests and disruptions throughout it's route from the West Coast to Montreal, the Spirit Train – dubbed the "Shame Train" -- was again met with protesters, and had to cancel or alter large parts of their Montreal program. Photos from the Montreal CP Spirit Train disruption are linked here:
http://www.mediacoop.ca/photo/138



Among the protesters from the "Shame Train Welcoming Committee" was a large delegation from the Kahnawake Mohawk community, including Stuart Myiow Senior from the Mohawk Traditional Council, and Carol McGregor who spoke about continued resistance to the Highway 30 expansion south of Montreal [A protest report from a resident of Kahnawake is included below].



Protesters were also joined by Norman Matchewan of the Lac Barrière Algonquin Community who addressed the crowd about the current struggle at Lac Barrière, four hours north of Montreal (more information about the struggle at Lac Barrière linked here: www.solidaritelacbarriere.blogspot.com ).



Demonstrators also denounced the recent racist comments by Richard Pound, Canada's representative on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Chancellor of McGill University, who referred to 17th century Canada as "a land of savages".



The Shame Train Welcoming Committee – accompanied by a portable sound system, the Chaotic Insurrection Ensemble (Montreal's Anarchist Marching Band) and various noisemakers -- was easily able to access the main Spirit Train site. CP Rail Police, Montreal Police and security staff of the Spirit Train made feeble attempts to block access for the protesters, but the demonstrators manouvered their way around the "security". For a large part of the day the protesters outnumbered actual Spirit Train participants. None of the scheduled speakers or Olympic athletes took the stage, and both the CP Spirit Train Band and the "Québecois de service" band Bottine Souriante were disrupted (or had their tunes turned into anti-Olympics chants). The Olympic mascots systematically were escorted away each time protesters approached. The live media broadcasts by Spirit Train corporate media sponsors – including Q92 and Team990 – were also disrupted.



At least a thousand "No Olympics on Stolen Land" stickers were plastered all over the CP Spirit Train site, and hundreds of flyers outlining "10 Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Olympics" were distributed (but mainly to passers-by, since so few people actually attended the Spirit Train event itself).



In a Canadian Press report, CP claimed that 1500 people attended the Spirit Train event in Montreal, and 35,000 people attended in total at all the stops across the country; but it's evident that those numbers are wildly exagerrated. In fact, the whole Spirit Train spectacle was a grand failure, from the moment the opening ceremony was disrupted in Port Moody, BC, to activists courageously blockading the rail lines in Southern Ontario,to scheduling a Mississauga stop on Thanksgiving Monday (which resulted in a dismally low turnout) right through to the disruption at the last stop in Montreal. All-in-all, networks of grassroots indigenous solidarity activists across the country were able to effectively disrupt and expose the shame of the Spirit Train.



This weekend's Spirit Train mobilization builds on recent awareness raising events in Montreal about anti-Olympics resistance:
-> A video (in five-parts) from the visit of anti-Olympics Indigenous organizers Gord Hill and Angela Sterritt (May 2008) is linked here:
http://www.isuma.tv/?site/displayFilm/id/521/webcam//thumbpage/1
-> A photo-report from the visit of anti-Olympics Indigenous organizers Kanahus Pellkey and Dustin Johnson (January 2008) is linked here:
http://photos.cmaq.net/v/no2010/
-> Audio and news reports from Kanahus and Dustin's visit are linked here: http://nooneisillegal-montreal.blogspot.com/2008/02/2010media.html
-> Previous reports and information in French are linked here: http://contrelesolympiquesde2010.anarkhia.org/
-> The 10 Reasons to Oppose the 2010 Olympics are linked here:
http://www.amp-montreal.net/?q=fr/node/28 (click on page 54 of the Montreal PGA-Bloc Zine)



Indigenous solidarity activists in Montreal, working with their Indigenous allies, will continue to raise awareness about resistance to the 2010 Olympics as part of "Resistance 2010".-- Report by members of the Shame Train Welcoming Committee.
indigenoussolidaritymontreal@gmail.com
- www.amp-montreal.net
- 514-848-7583
------------
Report from a resident of Kahnawake at the Shame Train Protest:
From: hillofpeace@hotmail.com
Date: Sun, 19 Oct 2008 08:52:04 -0600
Kwé, Gway, Salut, Hello!
Anti 2010 (no2010.com) Vancouver Olympic protesters including Mohawk Traditional Council of Kahnawake elder Stuart Myiow Sr and woman speaker Carol Mc Gregor made their opposition known yesterday as the train was parked in Old Montreal. It was an animated but very peaceful demonstration gathering 150 protesters whereas very few visitors to Old Montreal - Old Port were interested in the Spirit of Olympic Train, PR kiosks, rock bands, etc.. Stuart Sr spoke of the tradition of peaceful protest and dialog always displayed by the people of the Longhouse and Great Peace even though the Canadian government and politico-economic system has always provoked, stolen and trampled on on native lands and rights. He mentioned how a couple of hundred years ago chiefs travelling to this site in Montreal (Bonsecour Market) for a negotiation with colonial peoples had been betrayed and torn apart by oxen. He called for all peoples to oppose the current politico-economic system and unite in coalitions respecting peaceful, non destructive developments and inter-people dialog.



Carol McGregor spoke of the women's right and responsibility to protect the earth from destruction in all situations for the planet is a living mother for all peoples. Both she and Myiow said that development projects like the Vancouver Olympics or the Montreal area Highway 30 south (sud est) extension project are destroying living space for ordinary folk and important agricultural - natural habitat areas. Highway 30 is being pushed quickly through the traditional Mohawk land claim area of Seigneurie Salut St. Louis by Transport Québec without all the necessary expropriation or archaeological works completed. Very many non native people and communities such as Candiac, groups from St. Constant, etc. are very disturbed by a southern, agricultural route for Highway 30 because for decades they have been told the existing urban 30 route would be upgraded and made safer. The Mohawk community of Kahnawake is very opposed to its development even though its band council is neither publicly speaking clearly for or against. Mc Gregor called on the women especially to keep all men on the good track of peace and sustainable development for only the women have the ability and true power to do so. In the traditional Mohawk clan system it is them who name and can also depose the chiefs.



For further info please consult via Google (My Space and Mohawk Traditional Council), www.anti2010.cpm , www.sos30.com .
Nia:wen, Merci, Thanks!
In Peace and Friendship,
Stone Iwaasa
............................
And here from the website of the No2010 Network is a reprint about actions across the country.
............................
Spirit Train Ends in Montreal: Update & News :
An unofficial report back from Montreal informs us that approx. 100 persons attended the anti-Olympic protest to greet the CP 'Spirit Train' when it arrived in that city on Saturday, Oct. 18. They were able to disrupt the event using a PA system. Among those participating were members of the Mohawk Traditional Council of Kahnawake, and delegates from Barriere Lake (where last week Quebec riot police assaulted a peaceful road block).




The following corporate media account summarizes the 'Spirit Train' tour and the various protests that occurred. The numbers that Vanoc/CP claim (35,000 participants) is a huge exaggeration; at most stops only a few hundred showed up for the free evening concert.
Winter Olympic supporters and opponents both claim success from Spirit Train
CTV News/Canadian Press, Oct.18, 2008
VANCOUVER — Organizers and opponents of the 2010 Winter Olympics have both declared victory after duelling campaigns to raise awareness about the Games over the course of a promotional train journey from Vancouver to Montreal.




The Canadian Pacific Spirit Train wrapped up its 10-city tour in Montreal on Saturday, with an estimated 35,000 people across the country having taken part in activities highlighting Olympic sport.




"It is making a positive impact in communities," said Breanne Feigel, a spokesperson for the railway.




Protesters who organized activities to highlight social issues connected to the Games also were pleased, although the crowds that protested were generally much smaller than those in support of the Olympics.




"I don't know if it could have gone any better," said Dan Keller, one of the organizers of a protest rally that took place near Toronto.




The Spirit Train delivered the message that while the Games are being held in Vancouver and nearby Whistler, they belong to all of Canada, said Dave Cobb, vice-president of marketing for the Olympic organizing committee.




"They had great enthusiastic crowds with children and family, which was our priority - and to start to remind Canadians about what having an Olympic Games in your country is like," he said.




"Having the Olympians there and inspiring children is really what it's all about . . ."




Activists say there are drawbacks to the Olympics that make national protest important.
In B.C., protests centre around the impact the Games are having on marginalized communities and a belief the event is happening on stolen native land, even though the First Nations bands whose traditional lands are home to the Olympics have publicly pledged their support.




"I just keep going across the province, across the country, one after another and the issues that are affecting (aboriginal people) are affecting me," said Will Morin, a resident of Sudbury, Ont., who was involved in the Spirit Train protest in that city.




While the train's itinerary of promotional activity was similar at every stop, the activist response varied along the route.




The biggest crowd was at the kickoff last month in Port Moody, outside Vancouver, where about 75 protesters repeatedly yelled though bullhorns and banged pots, forcing musicians to turn up their own volume to match the demonstrators' noise level.




Scuffles erupted that day as police officers tried to hold back protesters. One man was arrested and carried away.




Some of the demonstrations attempted to link local issues to the Games.




In Edmonton, the protest that met the train was under the banner of No Tar Sands, No Olympics on Native Land.




A group of about 30 people protested there, handing out balloons and flyers. At one point two people scaled the side of the train to drape a Resist 2010 banner over top.




"The development of the tar sands are led by the same corporations that are funding and promoting the Olympics, so it was very important to make those connections and help people understand," said Macdonald Stainsby, one of the organizers of the Edmonton protest.




"We're looking at the same kind of indigenous land loss, we're looking at the same kind of displacement, the same kind of housing problems in Alberta that exist in B.C."




Protests were sparsely attended in Calgary, Winnipeg and Sudbury. In Saskatoon and Thunder Bay, Ont., police said no one turned up to demonstrate.




A group of activists from various causes blockaded the train tracks between Sudbury and Toronto, with police reporting that one woman was tied to the tracks. The fracas lasted about an hour.




The next day a demonstration at the train's stop in Mississauga, outside Toronto, drew about 30 protesters.




The second-to-last stop was in Smiths Falls, Ont., where police reported no protest.




In Montreal on Saturday, about 50 protesters turned out compared to a crowd of more than 1,500 people there to enjoy the event, said Feigel.




"We did have a pretty strong presence here in terms of individuals choosing to make their statement, but it didn't dampen the spirits," she said in a phone interview.




Though the turnout was uneven along the way, Keller said he believes the Spirit Train protests are a sign of a growing national mobilization against the Games.




"The growing movement, the resistance to the Olympics especially through these protests, it's motivating people, it's encouraging them," he said. "And hopefully the word is getting out that the Olympics isn't about sports or culture any more.




"It's about development, it's about profit, at the expense of the public at large. We are putting billions of dollars into the Games and the people that are profiting are a small elite of people and we're losing a lot."




Making the Games truly belong to all Canadians is a difficult proposition, said Ann Travers, a Simon Fraser University sociology professor.




"If we were going to hold a massive sporting event that would really be the people's, that would really be Canada's games, what would that mean?"
...............................

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-MISSISSAUGA/SMITH FALLS/MONTRÉAL:

OLYMPIC SPIRIT TRAIN TEMPORARILY BLOCKED ON WAY TO MISSISSUAGA:

The Olympic Spirit Train aka the Cheesy ChooChoo continues to stumble its way across the country, to be met by protesters at pretty well all its stops. But yesterday they had an unexpected stop as they were nearing the Ontario community of Mississauga. Here's the story, as told by postings on the Anti-War at Laurier blog who were involved in the blockade.

...................................

Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Rail Blockade Disrupts CP Rail’s Olympic Spirit Train:

by Olympics Resistance Network

“Six Nations and solidarity activists resist Olympic theft of Indigenous land, ecological destruction, and attacks on the poor”

---- Toronto, Ontario –

Moments ago(actually yesterday, October 12-Molly), a group of activists occupied Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s train tracks by locking themselves down to the tracks and hanging banners off of the rail overpass on highway 27 near Elder Mills. The protest was organized in solidarity with the Olympics Resistance Network (ORN) and their call to disrupt CP’s “Spirit Train” that is traveling across Canada. Directions to the blockade site can be found at the bottom of this release.

---- “We are here today to show the world what the Olympics really stands for; capitalist greed and colonialist theft of Indigenous lands” said Winnie Small. They continued, “In stark contrast to Canada’s cherished reputation as a human rights advocate, our First Nations live in abject poverty; casualties of Canada’s apartheid policy refusal to respect Indigenous rights to their own land.”

The “Spirit Train” was launched Sunday Sept. 21, 2008, in Port Moody, B.C. where activists from the ORN, Anti-Poverty Committee, and the Native Youth Movement successfully disrupted it. To the embarrassment of its corporate sponsors, the Spirit Train, still rolling across the country, has been disrupted at several locations with protesters often outnumbering supporters.

“The 2010 Winter Olympics are occurring on unceded First Nations land in British Columbia where they are causing widespread environmental damage, and are resulting in a massive uprooting of homeless and poor people in Vancouver” said Dan Kellar, a spokesperson from AW@L, one of the activist groups involved in the rail blockade. “The Canadian Pacific Railway's (CP) "Spirit Train" is an Olympic propaganda machine spreading the ideals of capitalist colonialism across Turtle Island.”

What: Blockade lock down on train tracks to stop Olympic ‘Spirit Train.’

Where: CP rail overpass on highway 27, just south of highway 73 (Rutherford Rd.).

Visuals: Activists locked down to CP rail tracks, two large banners over highway 27 reading “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land,” and “Resistance 2010 Stop the Corporate Circus,” and Native Unity flags flying high.

Driving Directions: Take 401 to highway 400 North. Take exit 33 off highway 400 onto highway 73 West (Rutherford Rd.). After approximately 6 km, turn South on highway 27. The blockade is on the CP rail overpass on highway 27 approximately 500m South of highway 73.

For more information contact:

Dan Kellar 519 616 4462

Chris Buck 416 708 0834

For more information about Olympic Resistance

http://www.No2010.com

http://peaceculture.org

.................................

Here, also from the Anti War at Laurier blog is the statement the activists gave upon lifting the blockade.

................................

Activists from AW@L, Six Nations and across SW-Ontario Blockade CP Rail Tracks Successfully Disrupting Olympic Spirit Train :
Rail blockade backs up trains across the country in an escalation of resistance to the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympic games

Toronto, Ontario – Moments ago a group of activists from Toronto, Waterloo, London, Kitchener, Guelph, and 6 Nations ended a blockade on Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway’s train tracks in opposition to the Spirit Train.

Activist locked themselves down to the tracks at 5:00pm and hung banners off of the rail overpass on highway 27 near Elder Mills. The protest was organized in solidarity with the Olympics Resistance Network (ORN) and their call to disrupt CP’s “Spirit Train” that is traveling across Canada.

“Today we shed light on what the Olympics really stands for; capitalist greed and colonialist theft of Indigenous lands” said Winnie Small. She continued, “In stark contrast to Canada’s cherished reputation as a human rights advocate, our First Nations live in abject poverty; casualties of Canada’s apartheid policies, and its refusal to respect Indigenous rights to their own land.”

The activists successfully negotiated a peaceful dispersal after more than three hours. No arrests were made and the activists were able to leave the area without incident. CP Police Officer told the activists’ liaison that trains had been backed up “across the country” and that the delay cost the company “millions of dollars.”

The “Spirit Train” was launched Sunday Sept. 21, 2008, in Port Moody, B.C. where activists from the ORN, Anti-Poverty Committee, and the Native Youth Movement successfully disrupted it. To the embarrassment of its corporate sponsors, the Spirit Train, still rolling across the country, has been disrupted at several locations with protesters often outnumbering supporters.
For interviews, photo images and B-roll please contact:

Dan Kellar 519 616 4462

Chris Buck 416 708 0834
For more information about Olympic Resistance

http://www.No2010.com

http://peaceculture.org

..................................

Finally, once again from the Anti-War at Laurier blog , here is the final report on the activity down Ontario way.

..................................

Report Back - Activists from AW@L, Six Nations and across SW Ontario Block the Olympic Spirit Train:
It has just all set in. The non violent action to block The Spirit Train was a resounding success as our goal to have national media coverage that actually speak about the true issues surrounding the Olympics were met. Hopefully we have inspired others to take action as well. More and more people are gaining an understanding that the Olympics in general, and more specifically the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, are no longer about sports and culture, they are about profit for a small elite and wide scale environmental destruction through development of Stolen First Nations Land.

On Sunday October 12th, Activists from AW@L, Six Nations, Guelph, London, Kitchener, Toronto, Waterloo and Hamilton Blocked the Olympic Spirit Train on the tracks as it approached Toronto, by locking down on the tracks and occupying a railway bridge. This highly co-ordinated and well executed non-violent action was taken in solidarity with the Olympic Resistance Network of British Columbia, Native Youth Movement of the Coast Salish People, and The Anti-Poverty Committee of Vancouver, who have called for actions against the Spirit Train and all 2010 Olympic related activities.

Canadian Pacific have called the action a "serious safety risk", though no train was within 5 kilometres of the the blockade as scouts were tracking the progression of the train from Sudbury. Also, the lock down team had full safety control of the situation by using a self-release device. CP followed their pre-set safety precautions and no one was ever put in danger.

The situation was tense at times as the activist liaison negotiated with the police (first Peel Police then CP police), but after a three and a half hour blockade, and the arrival of independent media from the Real News Network, and corporate media journalists, a peaceful deescalation was completed and no one was arrested.

The 2010 Winter Olympics are being held on unceded Coast Salish First Nations land and are causing environmental destruction through venue, road and real-estate development. The Games are also leading to a massive expropriation of social housing units in once of Canada's most at risk communities - the downtown east side of Vancouver.

Further, these games are diverting tax money from social and environmental programs so the small elite of land developers that have permeated through the Vancouver Organizing Committee may pad their bank accounts.

Additionally, the 2010 Winter Olympics are being used as a catalyst to expand the police state in Canada. Those made homeless because of the gentrification of Vancouver's downtown east side, and those already living on the streets are being criminalized by the implementation of 'no sit, no lie, laws. Also, Security costs for the Olympics are likely to exceed 1 billion dollars as a planned force of more than 12,500 police, mounties, and army will converge on Vancouver. It is quite likely that we will also see American troops on our soil resulting from the February 2008 signing of the Civil Assistance Plan by the Harper Government.

Broad Coalitions are forming and the resistance to the 2010 Olympics is growing. This action is an escalation of the protest rallies that have met the Spirit train at many of its stops including, Port Moody, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Sudbury. The spirit train itself is an escalation of the dissemination of Olympic propaganda and with each new escalation initiated by Olympic organizers and sponsors, there will be an escalation in the non-violent resistance to the 2010 Winter Olympics.
For more information about the 2010 Olympics and the resistance visit:

http://peaceculture.org/drupal/olympics

-and-

http://www.no2010.com

.............................

The poor little train that couldn't has two more stops to go before CP goes home to count their profits. These are

*Smith Falls, Ontario

Thursday, October 16

1:00 pm-8:00 pm

CP lot on Rideau Ave. North and Ella St.

*Montréal, Québec

Saturday, October 18

Place des Vestiges on the Quays of the Old Port-Across from the Jacques-Cartier Pier

Expect more demonstrations there and more news from Mollymew as it develops.

work

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-CALGARY/WINNIPEG:

OLYMPIC SPIRIT TRAIN MEETS PROTESTS WHEREVER IT GOES:

The 'Olympic Spirit Train' continues to stumble across the country, destined to make a brief appearance in 10 Canadian cities. To say the least it hasn't attracted any great crowds, aside from the protesters. One wonders how much public money was blown on this show. Tickets for the 2010 Winter Olympics go on sale tomorrow, and no doubt there will be the usual sell-out for the more popular events and the usual empty seats(or snowbanks in this case) for the less popular ones. One can seriously doubt if the effort of a trans-Canada train is anything more than yet another occasion to hand out funds to friends of the present government.

Yet the train is running on two different tracks, both CP and CN, as its appearance in both Edmonton and Calgary attests. What follows is a report back from protests held in Calgary on its September 27th appearance there and an announcement of a planned protest to be held here in Winnipeg when it arrives here tomorrow.

.............................

CALGARY REPORT BACK:

Stop the 'Spirit' Train Calgary Action (Sept.27/08)
There were very few protesters, very few spectators, lots of volunteers and athletes, and tons of police, a fire truck, an ambulance, and the bands in the box cars. We stood on the road between the majority of spectators and the band and held a banner "NO 2010 OLYMPICS ON STOLEN LAND" for about one hour, at which point we moved to the family area and held for almost another hour. We were treated to a lot of interesting remarks from people. As of yet we have no photos, and were unlikely to have received any media attention (Teri likely has a media ban). I am a big fan of Betty who was arrested for ten months for protesting the sky train in BC [Sea-to-Sky highway expansion] and the Olympics and still love that, in BC, she said, "It's not about spirit, it's about money!" I couldn't agree more. Maybe not for the exact same reasons but... We managed to hand out 50 brochures explaining why we resist the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

WINNIPEG PROTEST TOMORROW:

Tomorrow the 'Olympic Spirit Train' will arrive here in Winnipeg, and, like everywhere else it stops in Canada it will be met by protesters. The issues are many...native land claims, poverty, wasteful spectacles, but the sentiment is the same...No Olympics 2010 !!!!

Protests here in Winnipeg will be at the Sinclair Park Community Centre, 490 Sinclair St, beginning at 2:00 pm. Try not to be an hour late-Molly.

Molly Note:

The campaign against the 2010 Olympics so far reveals both the strengths and weaknesses of the way present day Canadian anarchism is "organized". First of all it does demonstrate that ad-hoc "word of mouth"- or in this case "word of website and email" can work in a restricted sense in that rather chaotic responses will happen across a country given common sentiment. In other words not everything has to be planned to the tiniest detail and networks do work.

What is missing,however, is the most effective response. If these sorts of things were organized in the real sense the planning would have begun shortly after the announcement of the 'Spirit Train' project. Given the usual argue, argue, argue, bitch, bitch bitch of leftist politics-that anarchism too often participates in- there would have been the requisite delay as everybody's feelings were assuaged, but even this delay would be nothing as compared to the "oh-shit, the train arrives in 2 days" wake up calls. There is also little doubt that a longer period of planning, such as could only be done by organizations rather than disconnected networks, would have paid good attention to the most obvious glaring deficiency of this campaign- the lack of outreach to the general public beyond the bodies at a demonstration and a few leaflets. Really , you can't depend upon the mass media to make your point for you.

But speaking about "argue,argue argue, bitch, bitch bitch", that's enough from me. If you live in Winnipeg and care about wasteful spending on spectacles try and show up tomorrow.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-EDMONTON:

OLYMPIC 'SPIRIT TRAIN' MET BY PROTESTERS IN EDMONTON:

The 'Olympic Spirit Train' continues its slow chug across the land, hoping to whip up enthusiasm (or is it hysteria ?) for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler BC. But it seems to be met with protests wherever it goes, and two days ago Edmonton was no exception. Here's the story from the No Olympics on Stolen Land website.

...........................

Upcoming events
Disrupt CP's Olympic 'Spirit Train', Sept. 21-Oct. 18, 2008(Now)
Anti-2010 Benefit Concert(25 days)
Why Resist 2010? A Conference on Vancouver Olympic Games(26 days)
2010 Convergence(497 days)

Edmonton Report Back on Spirit Train Action:

Protesters Educate & Agitate; Two Climb on Train to Hang 'Resist 2010' Banner
On September 29, 2008 around 30 protesters greeted the Canadian Pacific Railway “Olympic Spirit Train” as it brought its propaganda machine through Edmonton. Highlighting that the train and the Olympic Games are interlinked with the same corporations carrying out the largest industrial project on earth known as the Tar Sands, protesters disrupted the “spirit train” celebrations with the spirit of resistance. Under the slogan of “No Games, No Tar Sands on Native Land!” demonstrators from the the community of Fort Chipewyan in “Alberta” came in solidarity to act with Native 2010 Resistance, the Olympics Resistance Network, Edmonton Anarchist Black Cross and the Indigenous Environmental Network to let the public know what’s wrong with the Olympics and the Tar Sands. Their message articulated the vast increases in Indigenous land displacement, homelessness and the expansion of environmental destruction brought about by the corporate agenda around the 2010 Winter Olympics and the Tar Sands-- most notably by CP Railways, Petro-Canada and the Royal Bank of Canada.

Protesters distributed flyers, stickers and balloons for children and youth with counter-2010 information on both and used their presence and their voices to confront the “festivities” and alert the larger Edmonton public to the massive destruction being wrought on peoples and the land. Chanting slogans aimed at the event, protesters were met by police who forced them back with bicycles, only to see the crowd regroup and continue to dispel the notion of an “apolitical event”. During the disruption in front of the “spirit” train stage, police cordoned off protesters using force and moved them back, while also putting their hands into the megaphones being used by protesters. The corralling of protesters by police was an attempt to hide and quell protest efforts, however, the ‘safety zone’ protesters were pushed to actually became an area of interest for high school students who showed up in the hundreds to listen to what the demonstrators had to say. Some students became very interested in learning what the protesters had to say and engaged in dialogue on the spot, creating a victory for outreach and education.

During the event, two protesters managed to scale the “Spirit Train” itself and hang a giant banner that read “Resist 2010” containing one of the symbols of the spirit of resistance-- a thunderbird flying off with the five ring symbol of the Games. After affixing the banner to the train the two protesters managed to successfully escape on foot, fleeing the train and eluding police capture. Police climbed aboard the train and removed the banner.

The event marked another victory against the propaganda machine of the 2010 Games and the Tar Sands Gigaproject. Protesters urge continued solidarity with the resistance in Vancouver as the train moves through to Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Mississauga, Smith's Falls and finally Montréal. The largest spectacle in the world of the 2010 Games and the largest industrial project in history of the tar sands continue to displace Indigenous populations, lead to the vast expansion of homelessness and environmental destruction and we will continue to see more and more resistance to their attempts to escalate corporate domination, environmental destruction and massive human rights abuses.

Edmonton organizers strongly encourage people in the cities yet to be visited by the Spirit Train to continue to escalate the campaign to disrupt the propaganda machine and expose the Olympics and the Tar Sands projects as great threats to human and ecological survival with creative and disruptive forms of resistance.
No Games, No Tar Sands on Native Land!

Homes not Games!

Protect the Earth from corporate destruction!
For more information, please check:
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://no2010.com%2F

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://oilsandstruth.org%2F

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.ienearth.org%2Fcits.html
contact:
macdonald@oilsandstruth.org (Edmonton)

edmontonabc@riseup.net (Edmonton)

ienoil@igc.org (Ottawa)

Olympics Resistance Network (Vancouver)

--------------------
To reply to this message, follow the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox/readmessage.php&t=32361057029

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-BC/EDMONTON:

ACTIVISTS DISRUPT LAUNCH OF 'OLYMPIC SRIRIT TRAIN'-MORE TO COME:

It's two years to go until the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler, but already the promo for the event has started...but so have the protests. Just three days ago protestors disrupted the launch of Canadian Pacific's 'Olympic Spirit Train' in Port Moody, BC. This weekend there will be meetings in Edmonton to protest the coming circuses without bread. Here's the story from the No Olympics on Stolen Native Land website.

.............................
OLYMPIC SPIRIT TRAIN SUCCESSFULLY DISRUPTED!:
A more complete reportback is forthcoming, however some basic news,updates, and photos are compiled below.

Olympics Resistance NetworkNews Release to Mainstream Media:

CP-VANOC SPIRIT TRAIN DERAILED WITH ‘SPIRIT OF RESISTANCE’; POLICE MAKE TWO UNPROVOKED ARRESTS
* For photos please visit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/inkflip/sets/72157607424169310/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30781453@N08/
Monday September 22 2008- Amidst pots, pans, sirens, and chants of “No Olympics on Stolen Native Land”, Olympics Resistance Network (ORN) activists- including families with children- successfully shutdown yesterday’s Canadian Pacific’s Olympics Spirit Train launch in Port Moody as intended.

According to Gord Hill, member of the Olympics Resistance Network, “With protesters nearly outnumbering spectators, the most spirited part of today was the spirit of resistance against the Olympics. We are confident that the forced cancellation of the Spirit Train launch ceremonies will inspire others as the train travels across Canada."

The action in Port Moody was the first in a series of actions against the Olympic Spirit Train planned across the country including in Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto over the next month.

Activists further state that they are outraged by the unjustified and unprovoked arrests of two people, including one elderly woman. The two have since been released.

According to protester Peter Haywood “At no point during this protest did we threaten, provoke, or assault anyone. However, some members of the public as well as identified and undercover police officers aggressively shoved and assaulted protesters, escalating the situation.”

For example, a woman with two children entered into the crowd and very aggressively confronted protesters. Although protesters made space for her to leave, she – despite having two young crying children with her – decided to remain and hurl abuses at protesters. During this time, one young male protester was shoved by a photographer into a police officer, who promptly arrested him for no apparent reason. An elderly woman who, along with other concerned people, was following the police to question them about the arrest was violently pushed against the hood of a vehicle and arrested.

“The police refused to read the arrested people their rights or explain their charges. These arbitrary arrests are an expression of police fascism, who make freedom of expression expendable in order to protect Olympic interests”, according to Alissa Westergard-Thorpe, a witness to the arrests.

According to the Olympics Resistance Network, “Far from being simply about ‘sport’, the history of the Olympics is one rooted in displacement, corporate greed, repression, and violence. In Canada, the effects of the upcoming Winter Games are already apparent – expansion of sport tourism on Indigenous lands; increasing homelessness across the province; ballooning public spending; unprecedented destruction of the environment; and unparalleled police and security spending.”

* For more information or if you are interested in actively organizing or coordinating anti-2010 Olympics resistance efforts, please visithttp://www.no2010.com/ or email olympicresistance@riseup.net.

A previous ORN communique is posted at: http://no2010.com/node/295
* Take action against the Spirit Train in your city! For Spirit train schedule and stops, please visit: http://www.no2010.com/node/295
==> COVERAGE OF SPIRIT TRAIN DISRUPTION:
* Dominion article "Protesters Disrupt "Spirit Train" Sendoff":

http://www.dominionpaper.ca/articles/2103
* CKUT Audio:

http://www.ncra.ca/exchange/dspProgramDetail.cfm?programID=75602
* 24 hours "Train buoys the spirits - of protesters" by Bob Mackin

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2008/09/22/6836936-sun.html
* Additional Mainstream news coverage:
Canadian Press:

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5g2sZ79pilyGuihiW34W6BIVrd3yw
Vancouver Sun:

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=22ca5328-e430-4f40-bbd7-151289e57151
Vanocuver Province:

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=e46b84d5-98fe-4c86-ba6d-603db2be7b3a
CTV BC (includes video footage):

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080921/BC_2010_train_protest_080921/20080921?hub=CTVNewsAt11
Resistance and Direct Actions

...........................

Meanwhile, as the promo train arrives in Edmonton this weekend so do the protests.

...........................

Sat Sept 27, 2008:

Free Event at Native Friendship Center in Edmonton (see below)
Anti-Olympic efforts come to Edmonton:
SCOTT HARRIS / scott@vueweekly.com
While it is still 18 months before athletes competing in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games start arriving on Canada’s West Coast, last week’s closing ceremonies to wrap up the Beijing Parolympic Games signalled that the eyes of the Olympic-watching world would now fully shift focus to Canada.

And just as China discovered in the months leading up to the Beijing Olympics, while the Games may bring a flood of corporate sponsorship, new athletic infrastructure and international media attention, they are also inextricably linked with the politics of the host country and rife with controversies about who benefits and who suffers as a result of preparations to host the sporting world.

Since Vancouver first won its host bid in 2003, the Games have drawn the ire of many in British Columbia due to cost overruns—venue costs alone have ballooned 23 per cent above initial estimates to $580 million—and a host of other issues, including the use of a public-private partnership to build a rapid transit link from the airport to downtown Vancouver, concerns about the impact preparations for the Games are having marginalized communities in Vancouver, and issues arising from unresolved land claims and development linked to the Games infringing on unceded First Nations land in the province.

For social justice activists in BC, opposition to the Games has increasingly become a central rallying point.

“Although certainly the issue of Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous land is foundational to anti-Olympics work, it does provide a space for people to come together from various movements,” explains Harsha Walia, a Vancouver-based organizer with the Olympics Resistance Network, a coalition of groups and individuals opposed to the Games. “The Olympics does affect and impact people from a wide variety of communities—whether that’s poor neighbourhoods and therefore anti-poverty activists, people within the labour movement, especially those working on migrant labour justice issues, people working on the Security and Prosperity Partnership because of security preparations. So it provides a space for activists working on a wide variety of issues to come together and make links.”

She says the social and environmental problems caused by the Olympics are easy to see.

“There’s a huge amount of construction, especially in Vancouver, but certainly in surrounding areas to get to Whistler, where most of the winter games will happen. You can visibly see the destruction of the mountains as you drive out of the city,” she says. “You can see a huge number of condos going up all across Vancouver, construction cranes everywhere. And the starkness, for example, in the Downtown Eastside where you have approximately 3000 people on the street while at the same time approximately 1500 condo units that are slated to go up by 2010.

There’s no way someone in British Columbia—no matter what they say about the Olympics, whether they’re neutral about it, whether they support it—there’s no way one walks into BC and doesn’t clearly see the negative social impacts of the Olympics.”

While such impacts have been coming into sharper focus in BC for years, as the Games draw closer, anti-Olympics activists are stepping up efforts to bring the issues surrounding the Games to national and international attention.

On September 21, protesters in Port Moody disrupted the launch of the “Spirit Train,” the first of a series of events planned by Olympic organizers to “move the Olympic spirit across Canada” (see sidebar). Walia says additional protests are being planned in many cities—including the September 29 stop in Edmonton, although she wouldn’t provide details—as the train makes its way across the country.

And as the train moves through the Rockies, activists here in the city are organizing a tour of their own, bringing together Indigenous activists and allies from BC and Alberta to make the links between preparations for the Olympics and our own oil-driven boom.

“The connections between what’s happening in Edmonton due to the uncontrolled development of the tar sands and the social impacts of uncontrolled developments around the 2010 Games seem, at a distance, to be very different,” concedes Macdonald Stainsby, one of the local organizers of the panel. “But in reality the connections are very clear,especially when one draws in the environmental destruction to unceded Indigenous territories in BC and to traditional territories in Northern Alberta.”

He says that many other problems are being seen in both provinces, including the increased use of temporary foreign workers brought in to ensure Olympic facilities are completed in time for the games, much as they are being brought to Alberta to work on the numerous tar sands developments underway in the province.

Stainsby adds that bringing together activists from both provinces is important in light of the Trade, Investment and Labour Mobility Agreement (TILMA), which means whatever happens to standards in one province will have a direct impact in the other.

“Ultimately as a result of the 2010 Olympics, the debt will fall on the people of Vancouver and BC,” he says, “but the social debt with the way we interact with labour legislation, environmental legislation, etc will change across the entire country, and in particular in Alberta, with the two provinces being joined at the hip through TILMA.”

But, says Stainsby, the upside is that the shared challenges presented by the Olympics in BC and the tar sands in Alberta means there is a unique opportunity to build ties between social justice activists in the two provinces, a collaboration he hopes the event in Edmonton can kick-start.

“The primary thing is to understand the commonality of these various struggles. When people feel their community is under siege from these giant corporations and giant spectacles, they realize that we’re all in the same boat and can therefore start to address these things together, with the strength of numbers and the strength and confidence of understanding that it’s a larger agenda and not just their own communities that are under siege.”

...........................
No Games on Stolen Native Land!

Sat, Sep 27 (6 pm)

Panel on 2010 & Tar Sands

Edmonton Native Friendship Centre

(11205 - 101 St);

Free

Publish Content
Anti-Copyright @2007 No 2010 Olympics on Stolen Native Land