CANADIAN LABOUR-SUDBURY:

INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR THE SUDBURY STRIKERS:

Molly has mentioned the strike against Vale Inco in Sudbury many times before on this blog, and I have also expressed my opinion that this struggle is very crucial insofar as a "victory" on the part of Vale Inco management,will 'set the bar' as to how managerial power will be able to determine both working conditions and compensation for years to come. The Vale Inco strike is important far beyond the immediate disagreements in Sudbury. Others have recognized this. What follows is a pdf available at the Fair Deal Now website about the Sudbury workers are supported by workers across the world.

This is undoubtedly "comforting" to those who are on strike in Sudbury. Yet it has little effect "on the ground". While recognizing that I am not immediately involved in this strike and therefore being somewhat reluctant to offer "advise" what is happening in Sudbury now seems to cry out for an escalation of tactics as production is resumed more and more via scab labour. Perhaps it's time to consider occupying the workplaces in Sudbury. Yeah, I know just how illegal this is, but it is no less illegal than the previous proposal of union leadership to block the 401 in support of their NDP friends in the Legislature.

Occupying the workplace (ie the mines and the processing facilities) brings the whole matter to an "immediate question". Will the corporation be more be reasonable when their plans for hiring scabs become an impossibility ? Can government be better persuaded to come down on the side of the workers when an occupation hits the world news ? All these things are indefinite. Molly, however, says that something new obviously has to be tried. I suggest an occupation of the mines and the processing plants.

Are people will to defy the law that is stacked against them ? The alternative is to see the strike defeated.Think about it,

Here's the story about the international solidarity from the Fair Deal Now website.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCLCL
Declaration of Solidarity with the USW (Canada)
We the 80 organizations from Brazil and 13 other countries that took part in the North
and South fact-finding tours and attended the FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING
OF THOSE AFFECTED BY VALE in Rio de Janeiro, declare our repudiation for
Vale’s aggressive posture toward Canadian workers. They have been on strike for 9
months against the attempt by Vale to dismantle rights fought for and won decades
ago. In order to put pressure on workers, in disloyal and arrogant fashion, Vale has
announced it will restart activities in the mines with replacement workers, i.e., scabs.
We reject this attitude and declare our full support and solidarity for the members of
the USW, on strike for their rights. We demand the immediate re-opening of
negotiations, for bargaining to be conducted in good faith and lead to a fair deal for
Canadian workers!

Vale has used the global economic crisis to put pressure on workers the world over, to
reduce pay, increase hours, fire people and reduce hard-won rights. The strike, begun
by Canadian workers in June 2009, is an important example of struggle and
resistance against the arrogance and intransigence of the company. In Brazil, workers
suffer from unjustified dismissals, lack of workplace safety and pressures of various
kinds, which have often led them to suicide. The high rates of labour outsourcing at
Vale (out of 146,000 jobs, 83,000 are indirect) mean that the company sheds its
responsibility and obligation to provide its employees with better working conditions,
pay, health and lives. It thus makes labour relations more precarious.

More than ever before, we are energized by the fact-finding tours and by the
FIRST INTERNATIONAL MEETING, and identify with and lend our solidarity
to Vale Inco workers in Canada! The fight for dignified and safe work —
whose resulting wealth belongs to all of society — is a fight that belongs to us
all!
One day longer, one day stronger!!!
Globalize the Struggle, Globalize Hope!!!!

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-OTTAWA:

SPYING IN OTTAWA:

The following item is from the Ontario platformist site Linchpin/Common Cause. It seems that in the run-up to the upcoming G20 meeting in Toronto that the police in Ontario are doing what police always do ie gather intelligence and try to intimidate protesters. that is hardly "news", though the fact that they have been caught in at least one visit is. One more item about the violation of civil liberties in Canada to add to the tremendous list. I may think that what follows is both very true in some aspects and the result of unsupported speculation in other parts as to how the secret police proceed. The general advise, however, is quite sound. Nobody should answer questions from the usual fishing expedition on the part of the police unless 1)they have at least 40 years experience in radical politics, 2)they are at least 25 or 30 years older than the cop(intimidation factor), 3)they've been visited at least once before, 4)they have immediate access to a hidden recording devise, 5)the cops will agree to come by at a reasonable time of day and agree to the presence of witnesses and, perhaps most importantly, you have a plan in place to say nothing while continually questioning the agent.





To say the least all these items rarely (ever ?) come together at once. Therefore the advise to "say nothing" is the best that can be given. Here's the Linchpin item, corrected for English punctuation ( Don't get me started on this item-Molly ).
LPLPLPLPLPLPLPLP
Heads up: Cops visiting Ottawa activists

On Thursday morning, an Ottawa-area activist was visited at their home by two plainclothes police who said they were RCMP from out-of-town.

The previous night, after a public event on diversity of tactics, some activists present suspected the event was under surveillance when men in a white van were seeing watching from outside the venue.

So perhaps more people will be visited in the future? We've seen these kinds of strategies before, most recently in the lead up to the olympics in Vancouver, where activists involved in anti-Olympics organizing were visited, followed, and surveilled.

The visits are surely intended to gather intelligence and to intimidate.

Ottawa activists should be aware that this is going on. learn how to protect yourself, don't let yourself be tricked. guidelines on how to deal with police visits are posted on the anti-G8/G20 mobilization website, attacktheroots.net: http://www.attacktheroots.net/node/38
During such a visit, they may say that they are there to help you and your group/cause, trying to secure real information which they can distribute to others (cops and non) who may be less appreciative or understanding of what you are doing than they, the visitors, are.

They may say they are supportive of your cause, they know you're not out to do anything bad, they believe that the progressive victories in our society are in large part due to the kind of work you and others are doing and have done.

They tell you they're dressed in plainclothes, no official car, so that people won't see you speaking with the police and think that you're stabbing the movement in the back.

They may ask you to go for coffee or meet in some other way.

They may assure you that they do talk with other activists and that there is no unofficial 'activist policy' to not speak to the police.

They may mention pieces of your personal information, just so you know they know more about you than they should.

They may speak to your interests - the importance of unions, the problems of corporate media, whatever moves you/them.

They say they want to help you in what you're trying to do and that good communication and communication channels will benefit all involved.

They may tell you about their personal convictions, their background, how they agree with your values and about instances of their work where they are modeling these values.

They may be gathering intelligence through observation of you, your behaviour, anything you might say - even if you try and keep quiet.

They may be intimidating (but probably not explicity, they're probably trying to come across as friendly and an ally).

They may not even directly mention the upcoming G8/G20 summit/protests.

Again, see the info/advice posted on http://www.attacktheroots.net/node/38

EVENTS- TORONTO:

PEOPLE'S HISTORY TOUR OF TORONTO EAST END:

Here's an interesting event coming up next Wednesday down Toronto way. From the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) ...

TOTOTOTOTOTOTOTO
People's History of Downtown East End:

Wednesday, April 28th‏

**Next Wednesday:

Historical Walk of Downtown East End

with anti-poverty activist Gaetan Heroux

Wednesday April 28, 2010

6pm to 8pm

Meet in front of 51 Division (South East Corner of Parliament and Front Streets)

East Downtown Toronto is home to one of the city's oldest working class neighbourhoods. East Downtown Toronto was once the home to some of Toronto’s wealthiest residents. Today, Toronto's "skid row" is located in the heart of East Downtown Toronto, and the area has one of the largest concentration of social housing in Canada. The current gentrification of the area threatens the very existence of this working class neighbourhood. During the Great Depression and in the mid 1990's East Downtown Toronto became a staging ground for some of the most militant anti-poverty demonstrations in the country.

How did this transformation happen? What was the relationship of Toronto's wealthy philanthropist and the various church organizations to the"vagrants", "tramps", and "unemployed" who were flooding the city in the 1830’s and onward? What role did the House of Industry, Toronto’s first poor house, play in the lives poor people and the unemployed? How did this poor house come to dominate the lives of Toronto's poor for over a hundred years? What was the city's response to slums which emerged in East Downtown Toronto shortly after the industrialization of the city? How did a local church, All Saints Church, which at one time claimed some of city’s richest citizens as its parishioners, come to open its doors to Toronto’s poorest residents? How did a local park, Allan Gardens, go from being the playground of the rich to being the staging ground for some of the most militant anti-poverty demonstrations in the country? Why are the poor now being displaced and from their own community by the city?

Come and walk in East Downtown Toronto with Gaetan Heroux and find out how the poor survived, organized and fought against relief policies that often left them destitute. Gaetan is an anti-poverty activist with the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. He has worked in East Downtown for the last twenty years. Over the last five years Gaetan has been researching the history of how the poor in East Downtown Toronto have resisted and organized.

More information?

Contact the Downtown East Fightback Campaign

eastfightback@gmail.com

416-760-6579

Visit: http://www.ocap.ca/

CANADIAN LABOUR/CANADIAN POLITICS:

GREEN ECONOMY NETWORK LAUNCHED:

This past Earth Day which Molly successfully ignored the Green Economy Network was founded. This is a collaborative effort on the part of a large number of Canadian labour, environmental and social justice groups, and is dedicated to promoting "green jobs" in the Canadian context. Here's their self introduction from their website. All very well, though I have some doubts about the statist methods which they intend to use to promote their goals. The federal government should do this, and the federal government should do that, etc.,etc.,etc.. Little attention seems to have been given to either local or cooperative initiatives. Yet such initiatives are the very ones that could actually both invoke the greatest public participation/enthusiasm and generate the greatest number of jobs. Dependence upon government, especially the federal government, is like depending on giant corporations. Much will be lost in waste, and what results is not necessarily the best outcome in terms of either ecology or employment. For what it is worth, however, here is their introduction.

GEGEGEGEGEGEGEGE
Vision Statement--Green Economy Network
We have come together as members of unions, environmental and social justice organizations to form a common front of civil society groups for the building of a green economy in Canada. In so doing, we realize we are living in one of those critical moments of history wherein urgent decisions and actions must be taken that will ultimately affect our destiny as a people, a nation, and the planet itself.



Like most of the world, Canadians continue to experience the turbulence of an ongoing global economic crisis. It is increasingly evident that the current economic model is broken. Any economic recovery based on a simple return to the old status quo would risk being a feeble and jobless one. At the same time, this economic crisis both augments and is compounded by an environmental crisis, highlighted by the alarming advance of climate change and global warming that now threatens civilization and global ecosystems. In turn, this environmental crisis is further reinforced by an emerging energy crisis in which our societal addiction to fossil fuels is now threatened by diminishing conventional and cheap oil supplies. What’s more, our economy and society are seriously plagued by an equity crisis of increasing poverty marked by growing gender, race and class disparities.



We believe the time has come to chart a new model and direction for Canada’s economy. This country can no longer afford an economic model that treats the natural environment and human beings as disposable goods. Instead, Canadians need to rethink our manufacturing processes, the way we use and generate energy, and the ways we construct our buildings. We need to rethink the way we transport ourselves, move goods, use water, fuel industries, and heat our homes and businesses. In doing so, we also need to break our addiction to fossil fuels and overcome the poverty and inequalities that plague our society. In short, we need to build a green economy that transforms the mode of production and consumption in our society, makes existing jobs more environmentally sustainable, and simultaneously creates new decent paying, full time, safe and healthy green jobs in all sectors of society, to address the pressing economic and social inequalities of our time.



Although both the public and private sectors have key roles to play in building a green economy for the future, we maintain that governments and publicly-owned institutions must now take the lead, since they alone have the tools to marshal resources of the magnitude and speed necessary for this kind of economic transformation. Through public sector-led investments and infrastructure, sound regulation and targeted incentives, governments can stimulate the private sector to play a key role in greening the major industrial sectors of the economy ­-­ such as manufacturing, resource, transportation, and construction industries. Moreover, much of the impetus for creating green jobs is going to come from local and regional economies where people live and work in closer relationship with their environment.



As civil society organizations, we are committed to make every effort to inspire Canadians to join in building an economy aimed at providing good green jobs for all, so that current and future generations can meet their needs while living in harmony with each other and the ecosystems that support human life and prosperity. To advance this transition to a real green economy, we will vigorously advocate concrete proposals and organize campaign activities designed to meet the pressing environmental, energy and equity challenges of our times. In doing so, we will make use of all the educational tools at our disposal, not only to inform and animate our members and the public at large, but to cultivate a broad-based movement for a green economy in this country and in solidarity with like-minded movements around the world.




It is only by progressively developing, step-by-step, a new economic model in Canada ­-­ one which is clean and sustainable, just and participatory ­-­ that we have any hope of contributing to the building of a better world in the 21st century and protecting the biosphere for succeeding generations to come.

AMERICAN LABOUR- MASSACHUSETTS:


TAKE RESPONSIBILITY SUPERVALU:









Since last month workers at the Shaw Supermarket distribution centre in Methuen MA have been on strike. Supervalu is the parent company of Shaw, and even though they basically set the negotiations for their subsidiary they refuse to acknowledge their responsibility. The following appeal from the Jobs With Justice group asks that you support the workers by putting pressure on Supervalu.
SVSVSVSVSVSVSVSV
Tell Supervalu to be good Parents!
Support Striking Shaw's Grocery Workers‏

Supervalu, the parent company of New England grocery store chain Shaw's, is behaving badly. The 310 workers from Shaw's Supermarkets Distribution Center in Methuen, MA, members of UFCW Local 791, have been on strike for almost 7 weeks. Although Supervalu is the driving force behind negotiations, they refuse to take responsibility and come back to the bargaining table to negotiate in good faith. They claim that they are not responsible for their subsidiary Shaw's.


Call and write Supervalu today to tell them to be good parents and settle the strike now!
- Call Supervalu CEO Craig Herkert at (952) 828-4000
- Send a fax to Supervalu http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/supervalu/wukd7sd9y7mbw3k3?


Last month, union workers at Shaw's distribution center voted to go out on strike after the company refused to return to the bargaining table. Workers rejected a company proposal that would have increased employees' health insurance payments, resulting in a net loss of pay.


To make matters worse, the company is threatening to permanently replace all striking workers, placing all the workers at the distribution center's jobs in peril. Shaw's followed up its refusal to bargain with an announcement that they were going to lay off 4% of the workers in its local stores. Then the company announced that, "store associates who are laid off will be offered positions at the Methuen, Mass., distribution center as permanent replacements for 300 striking workers." Then the company announced it was ending health benefits for the workers it has refused to bargain with.


The new CEO Supervalu, Craig Herkert is the former president/CEO of Wal-Mart's operations in North and South America. Supervalu could pay him an annual bonus of more than $2.5 million if the company meets certain "targets" for net earnings. In January, the company announced quarterly net earnings of $109 million. Supervalu is the parent company for grocery stores nationwide, including Albertson's, Jewel-Osco, Cub Foods, Shopper's food Warehouse, and Acme among others. Tell Supervalu to be good parents and settle the strike now!


You can take action on this alert either via email (please see directions below) or via the web at: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/supervalu/wukd7sd9y7mbw3k3? Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/supervalu/forward/wukd7sd9y7mbw3k3?


We encourage you to take action by June 30, 2010
Tell Supervalu to be good Parents!
Support Striking Shaw's Grocery Workers
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME----
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
I support Shaw's Methuen Warehouse workers in their struggle fora fair contract and a living wage with decent benefits. I am writing to express my outrage that your company has forced hundreds of Shaw's warehouse workers onto a picket line to protect good jobs in their community and affordable health care, and has threatened to replace your workers.


Supervalu, as Shaw's parent company, has a responsibility to ensure that Shaw's comes back to the table to negotiate a fair contract. Shaw's cut off health care coverage for strikers and their families, ignoring the plea from U.S. Congressman Michael E.Capuano (D-MA) to reinstate their coverage. The company announced a lay-off of 1,000 workers in their retail stores and offered them positions in the Methuen warehouse in an attempt to permanently replace the strikers.


Many respected voices including political, religious, labor and community leaders have asked Shaw's to come back to the table. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick sent a letter to the UFCW and to Shaw's on April 12 in which he offered to mediate a settlement and Shaw's refused to participate. I urge you to sit down at the bargaining table and bargain in good faith in order to work out a reasonable and fair agreement so that the hardworking men and women at your Methuen, Mass.,warehouse can go back to work and resume their lives.

LOCAL EVENTS - WINNIPEG:

METIS HOMECOMING FESTIVAL:

Well it's Earth Day, and I'm busy ignoring the whole corporate lovefest. Still there at least some other interesting things happening today in the Peg. Tonight at Tech Voc High School the Metis Culture and Heritage Resource Centre will be holding their Metis Festival Homecoming 2010. Great music. Good times. Atten if you can. here's the promo.

WWWWWWWWWW
"A Metis Festival Homecoming 2010"

at Tec Voc High School Theatre, 1555 Wall Street, on Thursday, April 22, 2010 from 7:30pm - 9:30pm.

This event is hosted by Honourable Yvon Dumont and features fiddling with Ray St. Germain and various Metis Entertainers from jigging, square dancing, to choir, history, craft's tables, silent auction, bannock and tea.

Tickets are $15 each. Proceeds go towards the Metis Culture and Heritage Resource Centre focusing on cultural and educational programming. You can pick up your tickets at the following locations:

Metis Culture & Heritage Resource Centre (204) 956-7767

McNally Robinson Book Store, Grant Park (204) 475-0483

Native Communications, Inc. (204) 772-8255

University Women's Club of Winnipeg (204) 954-7880

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-TAIWAN:

TOUCHSCREEN WORKERS STRUGGLE FOR THEIR RIGHTS:

The "tech miracles" that gain such enthusiastic praise (and even more enthusiastic marketing) often have a grimy core that is hidden beneath the gee-whiz. One such situation is the Young fast Optoelectronics company in Taiwan, manufacturers of touch screens for some of the biggest players in the world tech market. The following appeal for these workers is from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.

ILILILILILILILILILIL
Taiwan: Touch panel screen workers struggle for basic rights
Workers at Young Fast Optoelectronics (YFO) in Taiwan urgently request your support for their struggle to defend their union and basic labour rights against the company's union-busting actions and the Taiwanese government's negligence of the law. YFO is one of the major manufacturers for touch panel screens in the world; its buyers include: Samsung, LG, HTC and Google. Although making tremendous profits, the working conditions in YFO's Taoyuan Plant are worse than most people expected. The unacceptable conditions include child labour, excessive and forced overtime working, deduction of overtime wages, and poor health and safety conditions. YFO has been sabotaging the union YFOTU since its establishment in December 2009. It dismissed five union officers and more than ten active union members in March 2010, under the pretense that their production line will be moved to China. Trade unionists in Taiwan believe that this is a deliberate union-busting action and gross violation of the Labor Union Law. YFOTU and National Federation of Independent Trade Unions (NAFITU), which YFOTU is affiliated with, have waged a campaign since the illegal dismissal.

ILILILILILILILILILIL

THE LETTER:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to both the Taiwanese government and to corporate management.

ILILILILILILILILILIL
I am deeply concerned about the working conditions and union-busting actions at Young Fast Optoelectronics (YFO), which is a supplier to Samsung, LG, HTC, Google, Qualcomm, Vodafone, Verizon, Chunhwa Telecom and Taiwan Mobile, and I am writing to request you to look into the case and correct the abuses of labor rights in YFO. In support of YFOTU and NAFITU, I call on the above mentioned corporations to communicate with YFO aiming to reinstate the dismissed union officers and members; resolve the labor dispute through dialogue with YFOTU and NAFITU; monitor the labor rights and working conditions, and prevent repetition of labor rights abuse in YFO. I also strongly urge the Taiwan Government to make a thorough investigation on the working conditions and labor rights in YFO; and to take concrete actions against the illegalities and to protect the workers in YFO.

AMERICAN LABOUR-NEW YORK:

SOLIDARITY WITH MOTT'S WORKERS:

Workers at the Mott's plant in Williamson NY have recently taken a strike vote, and voted overwhelmingly to go out if management persists in its unreasonable demands. Mott's, despite its high profits is begging poverty and wants to both roll back wages and abolish the workers' pension plans. The workers, represented by the RWDSU, have launched a campaign for public pressure on Mott's management to force them to bargain realistically. Here's the appeal from the American Rights At Work group.

ALALALALALALAL
Take Action:

Tell Mott's Management: Don't Take Money out of Workers' Pockets!
The Mott's company is raking it in and its market share is up. Just last year, its parent company - the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group - earned $555 million in profits.

The popular apple sauce and juice company should be rewarding its workers for the company’s success.

But Mott's is doing the opposite. At the Williamson, NY, facility, management is trying to slash wages by as much as $2.50 per hour AND take away the workers' pension plan!

Tell the parent company President Larry D. Young: Mott's workers deserve better!
ALALALALALALAL

The Letter:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to Mott's management.

ALALALALALALAL
Dear Mr. Young,
As a consumer who cares about how a company treats its workers, I am writing to express my concern about the Mott's facility in upstate New York. It has come to my attention that Dr. Pepper Snapple, as Mott's parent company, is trying to slash workers' wages and pension plans despite the fact that the company is profitable and financially healthy.

It is an outrage that a company would seek to take advantage of a distressed economy to inflict further economic pain on workers in upstate New York. I would ask that you do what you can to intervene in this situation and work with the union to reach a fair contract that protects workers' pay and retirement.

ALALALALALALAL

Here's an article from the Prnewswire that gives more background on this dispute.

ALALALALALALAL
Mott's Workers Authorize Strike as Company Refuses to Bargain
Profitable Company Trying to Cut Workers' Wages

WILLIAMSON, N.Y., April 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Over 300 members of Local 220 of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, UFCW, voted to authorize a strike if no agreement can be reached with Mott's for workers at the company's Williamson, NY facility. The vote, which was 250-5, gives authorization for the union to call a strike if the company continues to engage in unfair labor practices and refuses to bargain.

"We may have no choice," said RWDSU Local 220 President Mike Leberth. "All we want is a fair contract but the company refuses to even talk to us."

"We want to reach an agreement with Mott's," said RWDSU Representative Ron Duncan. "We stand ready to bargain but the company has taken this position that we should just shut up and accept whatever they are offering. It's really disgraceful that they want to take away from their employees at a time when the company is doing well."

"The employees of Mott's deserve better," said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. "The company should be working with us to resolve whatever issues there may be. But from the beginning they came to the table looking for drastic cuts to workers' wages and pension even though the company is very profitable. There is no economic reason, no justification, for taking money away from the workers. None. They are simply trying to take advantage of the bad economy and high unemployment in the area."

Mott's LLP is a subsidiary of Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (DPSG). Last year alone DPSG earned $555 million in profits.

"Mott's told us we were simply making too much," said Leberth. "They said they know they are profitable. I guess they figure they can put their hands in our pockets and nobody will care."

"These are hardworking people, decent people, and what the company is trying to do will cause a lot of hardship," said Appelbaum. "That they won't even try and work this out is inexcusable. They may give us no choice but to strike."

Despite Mott's aggressive stance at the bargaining table the union was trying to reach an agreement that would protect workers' wages, health coverage and other benefits. The company made an offer on Tuesday, April 13, 2010, that the union brought to the membership for a vote. That offer was rejected by a vote of 272-18 and the union sought to continue bargaining. The company refused and even threatened to cut workers' wages if their "final" offer was not accepted. The union has filed unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board over the company's conduct.

"The company has violated the National Labor Relations Act and we are confident that the board will find in our favor," said Duncan.

The RWDSU represent 100,000 members in the United States and Canada and is affiliated with the United Food and Commercial Workers.


SOURCE Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union

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RELATED LINKS
http://www.rwdsu.org

HOLIDAYS:

WHY I WILL IGNORE EARTH DAY:

This Thursday April 22 will be the now traditional Earth Day. While there is some small competition from people who hold that the day of the Spring Equinox should be the date the powers that be have pretty well made this artificial holiday into a worldwide event. As seems usual for this sort of thing the child has grown and grown, and now we have 'Earth Week'. For those who are interested, in addition to the Wikipedia article highlighted above you can find more information on the USA Earth Day site and the Earth Day Canada site. No doubt other countries have their own pretenders to the title of "official site". For myself, however, I really don't care. Why ? Read on.

Now, I have no objections to people taking the opportunity to have a big party. I'm rather pleased by it as a matter of fact. I could only wish, however, that it wasn't mixed up with a gigantic, almost Roman clerical, dose of hypocrisy...the pretense that the participants are actually doing something that will accomplish the nebulous goal of "saving the Earth".

That's what it is - pretense. It's all very "nice" to send the yard apes out to pick up trash

from the local parks for instance, but whatever this has to do with changing to a more "sustainable" economy escapes me entirely. Similarly I have no desire to mindlessly consume "green bric-a-brac". I have plenty of green shirts already thank you very much, and once more the point escapes me. Except to observe that such consumption is the precise opposite of the sort of simplification that might actually make our societies more ecologically sustainable.

Neither do I have much interest in listening to the barely disguised advertisements for corporate and government sponsors as they tout their 'green credentials'. To me it smells of scam, and yes I have more than my fill of advertising every day as well. I'd prefer new green shirts. If the reader is interested in one of tens of thousands of examples of how business hopes to expand into this lucrative market then check out this salivating call to prosper. Think I'm wrong about the snake oil aspect of the whole thing ? Consider what sort of business Canada's reigning King of Con Rahim Jaffer was involved in. That's right. 'Green Technology'.

I think the key word in all the above is the term "expand". I have no doubt that certain important reforms can be accomplished even in our present political and economic system. Still, if we are to lead a life that is both sustainable and also humanly fulfilling I cannot see how this can be done when we are burdened with an economic system whose very nature demands continual expansion. Neither can I see how this can be done when this drive is mirrored and quite often exceeded by centralized government and its planning. Both the corporations and government presuppose the division of society into order givers and order takers. Any reforms that might come about by their efforts will see the costs borne chiefly by the order takers and the benefits reaped disproportionately by the order givers. That's the way it will be.

I see little to celebrate about such a skillful piece of fraud, unless, of course, you wish to admire its sheer larcenous beauty in a purely intellectual fashion, like admiring the work of a safe cracker. I wish everyone a good party, but it'll be an ordinary workday for me. Now if organizers of such events would borrow a page from the month before and promote green beer as part of their anti-consumption consumption well then I might at least stop off for a drink.

CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT/LOCAL NEWS-WINNIPEG:

THE "A QUILT" RAFFLE:

As mentioned before here at Molly's Blog the tenants of our local 'A-Zone' (the Old Market Square Autonomous Zone) are funding raising in hopes of purchasing 91 Albert St as a cooperative venture. Part of this fundraising is a raffle for the 'A-Quilt'. See the picture above. The draw will be held on May 1, followed shortly by the 24 hour fund raiser telethon. See details on the appeal below and check out the A-Zone website for what will be happening at the fundraiser. You can purchase tickets for $5.00 at Mondragon, Natural Cycle, Junto Library (all at 91 Albert St) or from various individuals.

The perfect thing for keeping warm on cold Winnipeg nights. Here's a repeat of the details about the appeal for support.

@@@@@@@@@@
Fundraising Campaign

“The A-Zone is what every activist in every city or town dreams of and few get to experience: a physical space that is under the control of those who work in it, part of a network of alternative institutions where people can learn, together, what could be accomplished in a better society. When I saw it years ago, my first reaction was happy surprise. It was only a little later that envy started to sneak in… one major problem I can think of is that there aren’t more of them.” — Justin Podur, ZNet

The Old Market Autonomous Zone, or the A-Zone, has provided affordable space to activist collectives, worker cooperatives, and small businesses since 1995. Beyond access to space, the A-Zone has brought together a diverse and complementary range of people and organizations with commitments to ethical, equitable, and sustainable business practices, the cooperative movement, radical organizing, anarchism, and grassroots cultural projects and events.

We are a meeting place, a training site, a work site, and hub of political organizing, discussion and debate. We aim to foster values such as non-hierarchical organizing, anti-racism, workplace democracy, solidarity with Indigenous peoples, feminism, refugee support, anti-police brutality work, and prisoner solidarity. For this, we’ve become known locally and internationally as an inspiring site of leftist dissent, collective organizing, and resistance to all forms of oppression and exploitation.

In the autumn of 2009, we, the tenants of 91 Albert Street were presented with the opportunity to collectively own and manage the A-Zone. Natural Cycle Courier, Natural Cycle Cycleworks, Winnipeg Copwatch, Canadian Dimension Magazine, Anarchist Black Cross, Mondragon Bookstore & Coffeehouse, the Rudolph Rocker Cultural Centre, and the Junto Local 91 radical library, among other tenants, have come together to form a non-profit, democratically-run tenant cooperative.

We come together as a diverse set of organizations that, in different ways, provide energy and spirit to Winnipeg’s radical community. We aim to build a co-op that fosters self-sufficiency and mutual aid – not only for ourselves, but for a larger local and global commons. We hope to strengthen new and broaden existing social movements by continuing to make space available for public discussion, political organizing, and everyday mud-rucking.

The A-Zone needs your support! We are embarking on a 4-month international fundraising campaign to raise the funds needed for the downpayment. Donations of any amount are gratefully welcome. In-kind donations are also welcome.

Ready to donate? Cheques can be made out to “Winnipeg Parecon Worker Council”, and sent to the address and post box listed below. Please put our name in the notes section of the cheque.

Address:
Old Market Autonomous Zone Co-op
2D - 91 Albert Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3B 1G5

CANADIAN LABOUR:

BOYCOTT SKLAR PEPPLER, ALAN WHITE FURNITURE:

The Sklar Peppler plant in Ajax Ontario is one of those where "bankruptcy pays", at least for corporate management, as detailed in the story below. Not so for the workers laid off during the wheeling and dealing. The United Steelworkers reports that the Canadian Labour Congress has called for a national boycott of Sklar Peppler and Alan White Furniture in response to the underhanded way that workers at the plant have been treated. Here's the story from the Steelworkers' website. The news is not yet up at the CLC website, but it likely will be shortly.

CLCLCLCLCLCLCLCL
National Boycott of Sklar Peppler, Alan White Furniture

RELEASE, 13 April, 2010 - About 100 Steelworkers lost their jobs when a Canadian plant was closed and production shifted to Mississippi.

In support of 100 Steelworkers who lost their jobs and severance pay, the Canadian Labour Congress is asking its three million members to boycott Sklar Peppler, AW Manufacturing Inc. and Alan White brand furniture products.

After moving to Ajax from Whitby in 2006, furniture manufacturer Sklar Peppler went into bankruptcy in August 2008, affecting about 100 Steelworkers.

“The President of Sklar Peppler bought the company’s assets out of bankruptcy in late 2008 and proceeded to close the facility,” notes Ken Neumann, United Steelworkers National Director for Canada. “He then bought AW Manufacturing Inc., another furniture manufacturer in Mississippi, and now uses product from that plant in Mississippi to sell to Sklar’s customers.

“The hard-working Steelworkers that were employed by Sklar Peppler in Canada not only lost their jobs, they lost their severance pay in the bankruptcy proceedings,” Neumann says.

“The Canadian Labour Congress has endorsed a national consumer boycott against Sklar Peppler, Alan White branded furniture and its manufacturer AW Manufacturing,” says CLC President Ken Georgetti.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:

TAKE ACCOUNT OF PEOPLE WHEN FIGHTING CLIMATE CHANGE:

Everybody wants to save the Earth these days, and surely the sentiments are laudible. Despite the gloating of the climate change deniers the scientific evidence is virtually incontrovertible that a)the Earth is warming and b)human activities are very much responsible for this. The minor actions of a couple of researchers don't take away at all from the tens of thousands of others across the world who have come to the obvious conclusion. Whatever those who search the internet for evidence of their pre-formed beliefs may think.

Yet, there is something that should be taken into account when measures are proposed to mitigate climate change...the rights of indigenous people. While very few outside of Nazi and primitivist ideological cesspools would advocate outright genocide of such "marginal" people to "save the Earth" the general 'liberal consensus' gives such people minimal importance. Here's an item from the Care2 site about how such things should deserve attention.

IPIPIPIPIPIPIPIP
Bring Indigenous Voices into the Conversation About Climate Change

The United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries or UN-REDD was created to offer developing countries financial incentives for cutting down carbon emissions by preserving forests and biodiversity.

Addressing global climate change is vital, but unfortunately policies developed by the global North are not always harmonious with the livelihoods of the indigenous peoples that live on the lands. The watchgroup REDD-Monitor points out specific language in REDD's call to action that can be problematic:

1. "conservation" sounds good, but the history of the establishment of national parks includes large scale evictions and loss of rights for indigenous peoples and local communities.

2."sustainable management of forests" could include subsidies to commercial logging operations in old-growth forests, indigenous peoples’ territory or in villagers’ community forests.

3."enhancement of forest carbon stocks" could result in conversion of land (including forests) to industrial tree plantations, with serious implications for biodiversity, forests and local communities.

When groups of marginalized people barely have a voice at the state or national level, it is easy and convenient for world leaders to overlook them. But besides bringing unique perspectives and knowledge of the issue, indigenous peoples need to have a say in the fate of the land they live on.

TAKE ACTION:

Tell the Head UN-REDD Programme Secretariat Yemi Katerere that indigenous peoples must participate in deciding climate change policies by signing the petition.

IPIPIPIPIPIPIPIP

The Letter:

Please go to the link above to send the following letter to the United Nations Collaborative Program on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation in Developing Countries (REDD).

IPIPIPIPIPIPIPIP
Dear Dr. Katerere,

As the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (UN-REDD) develops its policies for COP-16 in Mexico, I am writing to encourage you to promote the participation of local and indigenous peoples. They are the key to conserving standing forests and restoring degraded forests to combat global climate change.

[Your comment will be inserted here]

In particular, EcoLogic encourages integration of UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in REDD projects and policies, including: a) free, prior, and informed consent of local and indigenous people in REDD project development; b) land rights based on traditional ownership, occupation, and use; and c) a transparent and fair process to recognize and adjudicate these rights.

I strongly support the EcoLogic position that indigenous people must be an active part of the solution to protect the world's forests.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
[Your name here]

LOCAL NEWS WINNIPEG:

ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY BROOM:


Ah Winnipeg mon amour. Like pretty well every other burg with a population greater than three people and one dog Winnipeg has its "boosters". Sometimes they actually make a good "score" in terms of publicity as in the ever cost escalating Museum of Human Rights. Such things, however, rarely live up to even 1/10th of the original hype. What Winnipeg is is basically a city that failed to live up to its original promise and which has drifted ever since. This may not necessarily be a bad thing as the consequences of "greatness" can often be negative rather than positive. Winnipeg is also unique in Canada as being in the only province where the capital city accounts for 2/3rds of the provincial population. Only St. john's and Newfoundland comes even vaguely close. This may also be good as it is an early start towards the idea of Winnipeg as a self- governing "city state".


That being said the efforts of the "civic boosters" are even more patently absurd in a place like Winnipeg. No, this place will never be the first choice for a neurosurgeon's convention, though it is in the running against Bedrock for holding the next convention of the Imperial Order of the Water Buffalo. Now I don't say that Winnipeg is the deepest pit in Canada. Far from it. I spent 14 years in "beautiful" downtown Regina, and if efforts to promote Winnipeg may be termed "pathetic" then efforts to promote Regina might qualify as "crimes against humanity". Winnipeg's "firsts" include its long running title as "car theft capital of Canada" in which it surpasses almost all American cities. It is also always in the running for "murder capital of Canada" even when you include the pest holes that are less than half a million in population. In this, of course, there are many American cities that top anything Canada may have.


Still, believe it or not I actually like Winnipeg, and not just because I know of places that are worse. It has its virtues, and one of them is that the average citizen knows enough to treat the boosters with the mockery they deserve. It's a place of common sense in other words. There are many other places where the population generally believes the Chamber of Commerce booster bullshit. The "unofficial anthem" of this ville is the Weakerthans' 'I hate Winnipeg', and even our Mayor (Sneaky) Sammy Katz has enough of a Winnipeger's sense of humour to like this tune. Says something. Says a lot.


Now the efforts of the civic boosters may be futile in terms of attracting tourist dollars. Most of them revolve around the concept of of "being within driving distance of something actually worth visiting" anyways. Despite this Winnipeg has repeatedly received worldwide publicity in the last month due to three incidents, all of them ,of course, connected more or less with (ahem) "sex". One of them, reported previously here at Molly's Blog, is the case of Pizzeria Gusto where the firing of the chef was connected with a supposedly salacious tell all book by a community college student. Reality beats reality TV in this case, and the student's future career is firmly established. She's probably selling rights in New York as we speak. Then there was the "lap dance heard round the world" where the "pep rally" antics of two teachers went viral on You Tube. Finally, there is what follows, a replay of the old buggery in the private school story (told for the 250,000th time), about criminal events at the St. John's Ravenscourt boarding school. What can I say ? Winnipeg may not be able to support a major league hockey team, but it seems we can support a major league humping team.


The story below from our local paper the Winnipeg Free Press tells the latest news about the case with four students and ex-students charged and the police in "search" of two others". As a bit of a "backgrounder" to our non-Winnipeg readers St. John's Ravenscourt is a private school established by the Anglican Church (though I think it is independent today). To our British readers "private school" in Canada equals "public school" in England. To everyone else the reverse is the case. The criminal charges involve senior students swarming younger ones, stripping them down and either actually sticking a stick up their asses or threatening to do so. One can imagine the adolescent hard-ons in the mob that participates. Sexy, sexy, sexy.


Now you have to understand that private schools in Canada are very much like private schools elsewhere in the "anglosphere". They are places where the ruling class sends their miserable little progeny for training on how to be...members of the ruling class. Stands to reason doesn't it ? As such one can only speculate whether the Winnipeg City Police (not the largest outfit in the world) will ever catch up with the two others they are looking for. The 'Reginalds' and the 'Percivals' may be enjoying Tuscan skies as we speak. I wonder what the weather is like in Provence this time of year ?


Now there are lots of other things that one may speculate on. How much of the "tradition" of this sort of thing comes from the old idea of the English boarding school ? The British Empire (now happily deceased) was ,after all, founded on buggery, maintained on buggery and died with its bad thing in the wrong place. I may be wrong, but I'd say less than you might imagine. I put this down to a failure on the part of teachers in such places in imparting good English usage to their students. The students at such places are, of course, being trained as members of the ruling class, to do exactly what they did to the younger students to the working class. The problem revolves around the fact that their teachers haven't been able to communicate the difference between literal and figurative to the little Lords. Time for some serious "in-service" ( a greater term of evasion I have never heard) for these "educators".


Then there's another problem here that I brought up with the wife over dinner last night. Being part of the "onlooking mob" is actually a criminal act even if you never personally shove the stick up the ass yourself. Oh Oh !! What percentage of the senior students actually took part in these little fun and games ? Can you say close to 100%, excluding the nerd that nobody else wanted anything to do with ? Can you actually charge the entire progeny of the province's ruling class ? Think about it. The whole idea is absurd. It's about on the level of declaring an anarcho-communist society tomorrow. So, if nothing else, as the actual law will be ignored in this case, this is one more demonstration of how "law" actually operates in our society.


Oh, lest you think I forgot. here's the news item.
WWWWWWWWWWWW
Police seek more suspects
Judge orders two accused youths to surrender passports
By: Kevin Rollason and Gabrielle Giroday

Winnipeg police are looking for two more St. John's-Ravenscourt School students as suspects in a sexual-assault investigation that has already led to the arrests of four students.

And a judge has ordered two of the accused youths who were granted bail Thursday to turn in their passports over fears they might flee the country.

Three are youths who appeared at the Manitoba Youth Court on Thursday. An 18-year-old suspect, a student from China in his second year at SJR, was charged as an adult. He has no prior record.

The accused appeared by video from the Winnipeg Remand Centre but said nothing. He remains in custody there.

Eight days after a student first talked to school officials, police charged four teens Thursday with sexual assault with a weapon, forcible confinement, and uttering threats.

It's alleged the senior boarding students threatened the younger male boarders, holding them down and placing a wooden stick up against their buttocks, sometime during the fall session between September and December. As many as 15 students may have been targeted.

Police said the charges were based on an interview with one victim Wednesday, and more charges are pending.

"There are a number of victims, or possible victims, that will be interviewed in the near future," said city police spokeswoman Const. Jackie Chaput.

CFS will also be investigating the school.

"We want to make sure that this investigation is conducted as quickly and as thoroughly as possible. We don't want to put any undue pressure on other potential victims that are out there," she said.

Chaput said the WPS child-abuse and sex-crimes units are handling the investigation.

"It's clearly another level of concern," said Stephen Johnson, head of the elite private school in Fort Garry. "Those are very serious charges."

A letter to parents last Friday said two students were to face a disciplinary committee and two students were suspended for five days in connection after information emerged "students were assaulting other students in boarding."

At least four boys from grades eight, nine, 10 and 11 were affected, said Johnson.

"It just redoubles our efforts to make sure we work with our boys in boarding and the boarding staff to get to the bottom of what happened," said Johnson. "Whether it was four or 14 (victims), it doesn't matter, it's still a problem."

Johnson said school officials did not delay giving information to police before officers arrested and charged the four students.

He said additional information from an internal SJR investigation was turned over to police on Tuesday, after school officials asked officers to put down what they needed in writing.

Johnson said legal counsel instructed the school to consult with the affected families before going to police.

The two suspended students will be able to continue their studies, and the two who withdrew will be able to get an SJR diploma through online work and distance education.

Two of the accused voluntarily withdrew from the school Tuesday after a disciplinary committee recommended expulsion.

Two more, who were suspended for five days last week, will not be allowed to return to school until CFS officials clear it.

A source said the charges announced Thursday relate to a single incident involving a roommate of one of the four teen suspects. The charges only came to light after an SJR teacher allegedly overheard a remark made by an SJR student that led to further questions, said the source.

As of Thursday, the victim and one of the accused were still friends on the social-networking site Facebook.

Parents at the school originally learned of the allegations last Friday after a letter was sent about an assault. A letter this Monday said police had been contacted, after school officials spoke to the affected families.

One St. John's-Ravenscourt parent said he was "disgusted" with the way the incident was handled and is investigating other schools. Parents were asked by St. John's-Ravenscourt not to speak to the media.

"I don't know what the hell they were waiting for," he said.

A letter sent to SJR parents Thursday afternoon said none of the accused students was allowed back in the school.

"Police still have more interviews to do with students and there may be more charges laid against these four individuals resulting from those interviews," said the letter.

It continues later: "As you can imagine our boarders have families living halfway across the world and speak many languages. Keeping the parents of the affected children informed and getting parental permission at different steps in the process takes time and patience."

Sheldon Pinx, who represents the adult charged, said his client is anxious to proceed with a bail hearing, possibly this afternoon.

"He's never been in this kind of a situation before," said Pinx, who had wanted to have a bail hearing Thursday. The Crown, however, asked for a one-day adjournment, after apparently getting a package of material from police just 10 minutes before court, with other materials still to come.

Pinx said all he had is a two-page summary of the case. "We're waiting on a significant amount of disclosure, which hasn't been sent over to us yet."

He has no family in Winnipeg, but does have good family and friends here who will be supporting him as part of the bail plan, Pinx said.

Pinx said a special hearing may go as early as 2 p.m. today, although he conceded it could be pushed to next week if he still doesn't have disclosure and the Crown is not consenting.

Meanwhile, at the Manitoba Youth Centre on Thursday, the three suspects looked calm as they listened to the proceedings. At the side of the courtroom, the parents of one of the youths and a family member of the third looked sad during the hearing.

Judge Sid Lerner agreed to let all three out on bail as long as they agreed to certain conditions, including the surrendering of their passports, not having any contact with the alleged victim, not going within two blocks of the private school, making weekly personal appearances with justice officials and putting up $10,000 sureties.

-- with files from Mike McIntyre

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca

LOCAL NEWS WINNIPEG/BLOGGING:

THE RETURN OF THE REPRESSED:

Molly is happy to see the return of the Insurrectionary People's Picture Show Theater from here in Winnipeg after a far too long hiatus (since last October). The IPPST comes back with an improved design and also a commitment to cover music as well as video and film. Well worth checking out. See their website from which the Godzilla graphic has been stolen.

LOCAL NEWS WINNIPEG:

ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK PRESS STATEMENT:

The following press statement from the Israeli Apartheid Week Winnipeg gives their point of view about the mercifully recently concluded debate in the Manitoba Legislature about a statement of condemnation of the event. The motion, sponsored by the provincial Conservatives was (let's say it again- mercifully ) defeated. The outstanding thing to my point of view is how few people see that the proposers of the motion should be set to work cleaning latrines for at least six months (the equivalent in minimum wage as opposed to their bloated salaries) for wasting the public's money on such nonsense. Is a university debate really a matter of pressing priority for a provincial legislature ? You be the judge.

All that being said this whole subject makes me "itchy" and not just because both sides operate from the twin assumptions that a)one has to chose sides in a dispute on the other side of the world where both opponents have their unsavoury aspects and b)that doing this side choosing actually has a real effect on the world. It also makes me itchy because over the course of decades I have seen that neither pro-Israel nor anti-Israel nor right nor left in this country seems to have much respect for the principle of free speech. I've expressed myself on this matter before, both in terms of the local IAW and on other matters. I have little to say to the "right". Let them conspire away and depend on the likes of Sneaky Stevie Harper to push their agenda that is barely hidden. I have a lot to say to the "left" whose general response to assaults on free speech from their side is cheerleading rather than criticism. In terms of recent events, totally unconnected with the subject at hand, I am not so much disgusted by fools who give a right wing clown the publicity she thrives on as I am by apologists who try to explain away what happened and pretend it was something other than what it was. I can think of better uses for language fluency than low evasion.

That's beside the point. I'm a firm believer in free speech, and I find the attempts of IAW's opponents to stop it before it began and to waste the time of the Legislature when it was over as good evidence that they shouldn't be trusted with power over anything beyond their own bodies. Perhaps not even that. Any volunteers for bathroom monitors for the Conservative caucus ? All that being said I hope though not expect that at least some who oppose Israel's policies will remember their arguments about this sort of thing when they are tempted to do similar things.

OK enough pontificating. Here's the press release.

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Israeli Apartheid Week organizers saddened by debate in Manitoba Legislature


While organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week in Manitoba are temporarily relieved that the Manitoba Legislature did not pass Heather Stefanson’s anti-free speech motion to condemn Israeli Apartheid Week, there is still concern that this motion will return at a later date.


While Stefanson and Leader of the Opposition Hugh McFadyen spoke in favour of the motion, they claimed to support free speech in Manitoba. Sadly, their actions in the weeks prior to IAW contradict these claims. Stefanson has stated on her website that she wants to “eradicate” IAW, and McFadyen stood next to David Matas of B’Nai Brith as he called for IAW to be banned. “Despite their protestations to the contrary, this motion is clearly part of a campaign to prevent IAW from occurring in the future,” stated Brian Latour, spokesperson for the Winnipeg IAW Coordinating Committee.



Organizers of Israeli Apartheid Week were saddened by the tone of the debate. During the course of the debate, various MLAs made false accusations of anti-semitism, harassment, and intimidation, and MLA Ron Schuler even made the absurd and offensive on many levels comparison between IAW and its organizers and the Nazis through his references to Neville Chamberlain.



“The entire debate in the Manitoba legislature was a depressing display of ignorance and slander,” stated Latour. “It is a sad day in Manitoba when so many members of the legislature decide to single out a small group of dedicated people fighting against oppression with so many false accusations. Had any member of the legislature even bothered to contact IAW organizers or done the most basic of research, this harmful and pathetic display could have been averted.”



Israeli Apartheid Week is an anti-racist event designed to educate people about apartheid as a system of oppression which Palestinians face on a daily basis, and promote the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against the apartheid practices of the Israeli state which was initiated by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations and is now supported by hundreds of organizations around the world. Palestinians face many forms of racist discrimination on a daily basis in the Occupied Territories and Israel, including discrimination before the courts, restrictions on access to clean water, and a system of checkpoints, walls, and travel restrictions.



Last month’s Israeli Apartheid Week was the sixth one held since it was started at the University of Toronto in 2005. It was held in 60 cities in 2010, including Winnipeg for the first time. Events in Winnipeg discussed Israel as an apartheid state, as well as connections between gender discrimination and apartheid, Canadian apartheid and indigenous solidarity, and the freedom to speak and organize against apartheid on campus. The Winnipeg events were sponsored by ActLeft, the Canada-Palestine Support Network, and Independent Jewish Voices.



There were zero incidents of racism, threats or harassment during IAW at the University of Manitoba. The events put on during IAW not only upheld the University of Manitoba's Respectful Work and Learning Environment Policy and the Manitoba Human Rights Code, but were also opened with a statement opposing racism and other forms of discrimination. Minutes of the March 16th meeting of the University of Manitoba Board of Governors cited the University President stating that the IAW events had "proceeded as anticipated and were orderly" and that the University's position to not shut down IAW was the correct choice. Contrary to the fear-mongering by some individuals at the time, IAW turned out to be a positive discussion of the issues around Israeli Apartheid.
Media contact:
Brian Latour
iaw.winnipeg@gmail.com
phone: (204) 226-4186
http://winnipeg.apartheidweek.org/