March for Jobs Justice and the Climate, Sunday, 5 July 2015 in Toronto

People marching in the street
March for Jobs Justice and the Climate
A large rally is planned in Toronto for jobs, justice and the climate.

If you would like to attend but don’t want to drive, there is a bus going from Kitchener-Waterloo and Guelph.

Read more about the rally and sign up for the bus on the Facebook page March for Jobs, Justice & the Climate. More information is available at March for Jobs, Justice and the Climate web site.

Canada needs a new economy that works for people and the planet

From Alberta to the coasts, Canada is ready for an economy that creates good jobs for all, protects the air, land and water, and tackles climate change.

We don’t have to choose between the economy or the environment. By taking climate action, we can create an economy that is more fair and equal and generates hundreds of thousands of good green jobs. It means supporting the labour that takes care of people and the planet — education, healthcare, childcare and the protection of the land, much of it done by women. It means expanding localized agricultural systems to use less fossil fuels and provide affordable, nutritious food for everyone in Canada.

We want an economy in which workers earn a living wage – starting with a $15 minimum – and which prioritizes people who are unemployed, struggling in precarious, temporary, or non-unionized jobs or in industries being shut down. Which honours Indigenous peoples’ rights and recognizes their role in protecting the land, air and water for everyone. Which guarantees migrant and undocumented people are not excluded and receive full immigration status. Which ensures that black and brown lives matter as much as white ones and are free of racism and police violence. Which respects the limits of the environment made clear by climate science.

Climate action means protecting and expanding public control over our energy systems to ensure cheaper rates and a transition to clean energy sources. It also means building affordable, energy-efficient housing and better public transit.

This July, Toronto will host a Pan American Climate Summit and an Economic Summit, where politicians will face a choice: listen to corporate leaders from across the Americas gathering to advance an economic austerity agenda that is increasing inequality and causing a climate crisis felt disproportionally in the global south – or listen to the people.

On the eve of those summits, let’s make sure they hear our demands: a justice-based transition to a new energy economy, in which corporate polluters pay and ordinary people benefit.

The only way to overcome a small, powerful group who have a lot to lose is to build a massive movement of people with everything to gain.

On Sunday July 5, join the March for Jobs, Justice & the Climate in the streets of Toronto.

Films at the Balsillie School, 17-18 June 2015

Received via e-mail:

Hello everyone,

Please find attached an announcement for films that will be shown at the Balsillie School for International Affairs this week in classroom 1-42.

Both films are by filmmaker Amit Breuer, who will be attending the second of the viewings. I will facilitate a discussion following each of the films.

If you’re interested in documentary filmmaking and the Israel-Palestine conflict, feel free to attend. Both events are free and open to the university community.

With all the very best,
Jasmin

Balsillie School for International Affairs (BSIA) presents:

Open to students, faculty, and the university community

Exile: A Myth Unearthed

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in BSIA Classroom 1-42

Discussion following film facilitated by Jasmin Habib (University of Waterloo)

NFB + Amythos Description: The exile of the Jews following the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD has played a central role in the Christian and Jewish traditions. But what if it never happened? That is one of the provocative questions raised by Exile: A Myth Unearthed. The film travels from Sepphoris to Masada, Jerusalem, and the catacombs of Rome, featuring interviews with leading historians and archaeologists. Throughout, we also return to a group of tourists who hear the traditional interpretation of events such as the siege of Masada – an interpretation which stands in sharp contrast to recent evidence. The issues raised in Exile are of more than passing historical interest. The possibility that many Jews – such as those of Sepphoris – simply remained where they lived raises uncomfortable questions. Re-thinking exile might overturn long-held historical and cultural ideas. But it may also point to a richer, more diverse past than we had ever imagined. [Amit Breuer (Amythos Media), Serge Gordey & Christine Camdessus (Alegria Productions), Colette Loumède (National Film Board of Canada), Ilan Ziv (TAMI)]

Checkpoint

with Introduction by Amit Breuer (Amythos Films)

Thursday, June 18, 2015 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm in BSIA Classroom 1-42

Q+A following the film facilitated by Jasmin Habib

AMYTHOS Description: The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under Israeli Military authority since 1967. Over three million Palestinians live under Israeli occupation. When travelling from one village or city to another to go to work, to visit relatives, or to get medical treatment, they must pass through Israeli checkpoints. These checkpoints, essentially the first points of contact between the two people, have an enormous significance in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Amit Breuer (Amythos Media), Edna & Elinor Kowarsky (Eden Productions).

Awards include: VPRO Joris Ivens Award, 2003, IDFA, The Netherlands; Best International Documentary Feature Award, 2004, Hot Docs, Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto; The Golden Gate Award, 2004, San Francisco Int’l Film Festival, USA; Special Documentary Award, 2004, DOKFEST Munich Documentary Festival, Germany; Cinematography Award, 2004, Tel Aviv Int’l Documentary Film Festival, Israel; Special Jury Mention, 2004, First Prize for Innovative Photography; Documentary Madrid, Spain; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Newport International Film Festival, USA; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Calgary International Film Festival, Canada; Best Documentary Award, 2004, Docupolis Festival, Barcelona, Spain; Winner of The Golden Rib Award, 2004, Zagreb Int’l Film Festival, Croatia; European Film Academy Documentary PRIX ARTE Award (2004).

These films form a part of the workshop on “Israeli Emigres, Human Rights, and the Israel-Palestine Conflict” organised by Jasmin Habib, University of Waterloo and Rhoda Howard Hassman, Canada Research Chair, Human Rights, Wilfrid Laurier University and sponsored by the Balsillie School for International Affairs.

FREEDOMS …. Saturday March 21 2015 … all day at Kitchener City Hall

Received via e-mail:

Date: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 08:11:21 -0400
From: CROSS CULTURES <crosscultures@bellnet.ca>
Subject: FREEDOMS …. Saturday March 21 2015 … all day at Kitchener City Hall

please join us (even by Skype – that can be arranged):

Cross Culture’s annual commemoration of the UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

a FREE all day public event

at the Kitchener City Hall

Saturday March 21 2015

10:00 am
opening ceremony

followed by

SPEAKERS’ CORNER

1:00 pm
interactive PANEL DISCUSSION on FREEDOM of speech, thought, religion …
where each panelist will give a 5-7 minute perspective and then engage in dialogue with the audience and the other panelists .. (not Q & A)

  • definition of freedom
  • religious cartoons
  • distinction between freedom of speech and hate speech
  • historic and global examples
  • impact on minorities
  • Bill C-51

booths

more speakers

and of course . . .

6:00 pm

PEACE concert

and the visual artists show …

please feel free to call or email me for further details


Gehan D. Sabry
Editor / Publisher
Cross Cultures magazine (since 1991)
POB 20002 Kitchener ON N2P 2B4
Tel: (519) 748-9520
Fax: (519) 893-4259
email: crosscultures@bellnet.ca
http://www.crosscultures.ca

UN day

Group Nine of Amnesty International in KW meeting, 7pm Monday 29 Sept 2014

From the Group Nine mailing list:

Group Nine Meeting

Amnesty International CanadaThe meeting will be on Monday, 29 September, 7PM, room 1301, at Conrad Grebel on the east side of Westmount Drive just north of University Avenue.

Parking is free and, for those who need it, there are several accessible spaces just in front of the main door.

Our main agenda item will be organizing for the Write-for-Rights event in December. This always occurs on or near Human Rights Day which is on the 10th. Nancy Bernhardt can no longer organize these, but she will be there on the 29th to advise anyone else who can volunteer.

One of the items to be discussed is the invitation from Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel to give a one hour presentation on Group Nine and Amnesty International to their brown bag lunch series. I’ve tentatively set this for November 20th.

If there are any other items you’d like to have on the agenda, please let me know ASAP. In general, I see this as an opportunity for all of us to get to know each other and make plans for the coming year. New members are always welcome!

Hope to see you on the 29th!

David Lubell

groupnine9@gmail.com is the offical Group Nine e-mail address. Group Nine is the local chapter of Amnesty International Kitchener-Waterloo and area.

Website for Group Nine : *under reconstruction*
Amnesty International Canada: http://www.amnesty.ca

Book Launch – Harsha Walia: Undoing Border Imperialism — 19 January 2014, 6:30pm

Found on the WPIRG events calendar:

Undoing Border Imperialism Book Launch w/ Harsha Walia and the End Immigration Detention Campaign!

VENUE : Kitchener Downtown Community Centre, Multipurpose Room – 35-B Weber St W, Kitchener, ON N2G 4V6

CITY: Kitchener, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory

Join us for the book launch of Undoing Border Imperialism with the End Indefinite Immigration Detention Campaign, who will be speaking about the continued struggle of immigration detainees.

Undoing Border Imperialism is an exciting new book that situates immigrant rights movements within a transnational analysis of capitalism, labor exploitation, settler colonialism, state building, and racialized empire. By providing the alternative conceptual frameworks of border imperialism and decolonization, this work offers relevant insights for all grassroots and social movement organizers on effective strategies to overcome the barriers and borders within our movements in order to cultivate fierce, loving, and sustainable communities of resistance striving toward liberation. (Visit: https://www.facebook.com/undoingborderimperialism )

Books will be available for sale at this event (cash-only). The author and local contributors will be available for a book-signing following the event.

This is a free event, although we welcome any donations to support ongoing local struggles.
[…]
Organized by Grand River Indigenous Solidarity (GRIS)

For more information, contact GRIS : decolonizethegrandriver@gmail.com
[…]
For more information on the book, including ordering information:

AK Press | Undoing Border Imperialism

goodreads – Undoing Border Imperialism

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Harsha Walia is a South Asian author and activist who resides in Vancouver, on the lands of the Indigenous Coast Salish people. Over the past decade, Harsha has organized in a number of social justice movements, particularly within anti-racist, feminist, anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movements. Currently she is active in the migrant justice group No One Is Illegal, the February 14th Women’s Memorial March Committee for Missing and Murdered Women, the South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy, the provincial Social Housing Coalition, as well as regular support for communities in the Indigenous Assembly Against Mining and Pipelines. Harsha is also a youth mentor for Check Your Head and an editorial collective member at Feminist Wire. Harsha has been named one of the most influential South Asians in BC by the Vancouver Sun and one of the ten most popular left-wing journalists by the Georgia Straight in 2010. She is the winner of the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives “Power of Youth” award.

Social Justice Workshops for Teachers — Friday, 17 January 2014

Found this on Eventbrite:

A Day of Professional Development
Waterloo Region Occasional Teachers Local
Friday, January 17, 2014 from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM (EST)
Kitchener, ON

The Equity and Social Justice Committee for the Waterloo Occasional Teachers Local is pleased to present a Day of Professional Development. We are pleased to provide two workshops; you may choose to attend either workshop or both! If you choose to attend both workshops, lunch will be provided.

Workshop #1 (10:00am to 12:00pm): An Arts and Literacy Approach to Address Bullying presented by Larry Schwartz. This interactive workshop will invite K-8 teachers to explore and integrate the Arts into literacy approaches to address bullying issues. Participants will be offered drama and arts strategies that help students to respond reflect and consider healthy relationships while recognizing that everyone is capable of showing positive actions.

Workshop #2 (12:30pm to 3:30pm): Social Justice Begins With Me presented by Jeffrey Wilkin. This workshop introduces members to the Social Justice Begins with Me resource kit, designed to help teachers address issues of equity and social justice in their classroom and assist students in developing awareness and understanding of these issues. Lesson plans for K to grade 8 are linked to Ontario’s curriculum. The workshop will show teachers how to engage diverse learners and create classroom environments that are safe and inclusive.

Have questions about A Day of Professional Development? Contact Waterloo Region Occasional Teachers Local on Eventbrite

Peace and Justice Studies Association Student Conference – Thu-Sat, 17-19 October 2013

The University of Waterloo Calendar tells me:

PEACE & JUSTICE STUDIES ASSOCIATION STUDENT CONFERENCE 2013

Thursday, October 17, 2013 – 8:00 pm to Saturday, October 19, 2013 – 7:00 pm

What is PJSA?

The PJSA (Peace and Justice Studies Association) is a non-profit organization formed in 2001. It is a professional association for scholars in the field of peace and conflict resolution studies. It is the North American affiliate of the International Peace Research Association. This year, the PJSA Conference is co-hosted by Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) and Conrad Grebel University College (CGUC, UW). The conference starts on Thursday Oct 17th, 8:00 pm, ends on Saturday Oct 19th, at 7:00pm

The conference will take place at both Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) and Conrad Grebel University College (CGUC).

Petitions for a Better Canada

In her latest newsletter, Eleanor Grant writes of several local events, followed by a number of petitions on federal issues as Canada Day approaches ….

ACTION: Are you sick of scandals and secret deals in Ottawa? Democracy Watch has launched 2 campaigns for better ethics rules:

Government Ethics Campaign | Democracy Watch

and Stop Fraud Politician Spending | Democracy Watch

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ACTION: Tell Harper to support the G8 plan on closing Tax Havens: Canada Must Support the G8 Tax Haven Action Plan | Canadians for Tax Fairness

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ACTION: “Fix the Bill” on banning Cluster Bombs. Canada has ratified a Convention to ban cluster bombs, but the bill to implement it, Bill S-10, is full of loopholes: Petition at Mines Action Canada. There is also a write to your MP tool on Mines Action Canada’s website tailored to the Bill S-10 issues. From the group that brought the ban on Landmines.

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ACTION: NO to Genetically Modified Alfalfa: GM Alfalfa has now been Registered for use in Canada. CBAN says, “Our government is siding with multinational companies against the best interests of farmers and our food system. I do not accept this. Do you?” Email your MP instantly from Stop GM Contamination: Stop GM Alfalfa / Take Action – Canadian Biotechnology Action Network – CBAN

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And don’t forget the MultiCultural festival next weekend June 22-23, and the Nonviolence festival Sat July 13 – both in Victoria Park.

Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com

Obstacles to a Good Life for Refugees — Monday, 17 June 2013 at 7:00pm

Obstacles to a Good Life for Refugees — Monday, 17 June 2013 at 7:00pm

In her latest newsletter, Eleanor Grant writes of several local events, followed by a number of petitions on federal issues as Canada Day approaches ….

EVENT: Obstacles to a Good Life for Refugees.
Tonight Mon June 17 at 7 pm at First United Church, King and William Street, Waterloo. (Park in public lot off Caroline.) [map]
KAIROS-GRAND RIVER invites you to explore what are the obstacles for good life for refugees and how can our community respond to these issues.
Contact: Dianne Gilchrist at 519-579-3589 | dianne.gilchrist@bell.net

WORLD REFUGEE DAY JUNE 20

Events are being held throughout June in honour of the refugees among us:
http://worldrefugeedaykw.ca/events/

Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com

World Refugee Day, 18 June 2013

Eleanor Grant writes:

Events will be held throughout June in honour of the refugees among us:

History of Seeking and Providing Refuge in Waterloo Region

Museum displays, open house, books, art, story-telling, concert, community BBQ and much more!

Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com