KWPeace – Newsletters, articles and events for Kitchener-Waterloo's Peace and Social Justice activists

Workshop on Election Collaboration by Waterloo Region Climate Collaboration, 7pm on Thursday 14 November 2024 at WLU

What: Workshop on Election Collaboration
When: 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Thursday 14 November 2024
Where: Wilfrid Laurier University, Dr. Alvin Woods Building (DAWB), room 2-104.
Location: 75 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario Map
Contact for Registration and Parking: Alex Latta alatta@wlu.ca

Dear Waterloo Region Climate Collaborative participants,

With both federal and provincial elections on the horizon, the time for collaboration is now!

Our next WRCC meeting will be a workshop on election collaboration, and we are reaching out to our network members with the message that we need your participation now more than ever.

For regular attendees at monthly meetings: Can you bring along someone new from your organization?
For organizations without regular attendance: We hope you will consider attending this one; the more groups represented, the stronger we all are!

We are aiming for more synergy, not more work! Here are our key questions for the workshop:

What is your organization already doing or planning to do to boost attention on climate policy in the lead-up to elections?
How can we better collaborate across the climate advocacy community to reach new audiences and achieve maximum climate impact on election outcomes?

An aerial photo of the Wilfrid Laurier University campus showing places to park and directions to transit. — Parking and Transit at WLU

Directions: See the map for directions to parking, and from parking to the building.

Parking passes: Please request 2+ business days in advance to receive a pass via email: alatta@wlu.ca

Save the date and let us know you’re planning to attend! Email Alex Latta (alatta@wlu.ca) to confirm plans to attend, to order a parking pass, or if you have any questions.

Film Screening and Panel Discussion: Bridging Divides: Voices and Visions about Homelessness in Midsize Cities – 7pm on Monday 18 November 2024, Old Post Office library, Cambridge, Ontario

What: Film showing and Panel Discussion: Bridging Divides: Voices and Visions about Homelessness in Mid-size Cities
When: Monday 18 November from 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Where: Old Post Office library, Riverview Room, Reading Room
Location: 12 Water Street South, Cambridge, Ontario Map
Register: https://ideaexchange.libnet.info/event/11792453 (optional, but recommended)

Dr. Erin Dej writes via the Unsheltered Campaign:

Hi friends,

As many of you know, I’ve been doing research the last 4 years on misperceptions of homelessness in mid-size cities, including in Cambridge. The research has all come together by way of a documentary called Bridging Divides: Voices & Visions on Homelessness in Mid-Size Cities. The documentary explores the issue of homelessness, safety, and belonging by showcasing voices from diverse backgrounds, including conversations with individuals with lived experience of homelessness, service providers, business owners, and law enforcement.

We are holding a screening and panel discussion on 18 November 2024 from 7:00 – 8:30 at the Old Post Office Library (12 Water Street South) in Cambridge. It would mean so much if you were able to attend. As you know, Cambridge is struggling right now, so this conversation is more important than ever.

The panel discussion is going to feature Dr. Laura Pin, as well as Marjorie Knight and José de Lima, so you know it’s going to be a great conversation!

You will find all the details in the poster below and in case you’re able to share on any of your social media. All the details are at Wilfrid Laurier University website.

Thanks everyone!

Erin

Download poster: 2024-Nov_Cambridge – Poster_Bridging-Divides.pdf (1.3 MB)

Bridging divides and building perspectives through a dialogue

A powerful documentary featuring voices from diverse backgrounds. Discover new insights on homelessness and explore solutions to build safer, more inclusive communities.

Documentary screening – panel discussion
November 18th | 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Old Post Office -12 Water St S,
Cambridge, ON N1R 3C5

FOR INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION VISIT:
UOGUEL.PH/BRIDGING-DIVIDES
REGISTRATION IS RECOMMENDED BUT WALK-INS ARE WELCOME

Stand Up For PCL fundraiser, Wednesday 6 November 2024 at Maxwell’s Concerts & Events

When: 7:00pm on Wednesday 6 November 2024
Where: Maxwell’s Concerts & Events
Location: 35 University Avenue East, Waterloo Ontario Map
Website: Stand up for PCL – Comedy Event
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/stand-up-for-pcl-comedy-event-tickets-1000355358807

Parents for Community Living is having a fundraiser: Join Parents for Community Living for an evening of laughter and purpose as we Stand Up for PCL to help develop housing for people with developmental disabilities.

Attendees will be treated to uproarious performances by top-notch comedians Rob Bebenek and Martha Chaves. The evening will be a blend of entertainment and goodwill as the power of laughter brings people together for a positive impact.

7:00pm doors open and silent auction begins. Show starts at 8:00pm (approx.90 min show). Wrap up of silent auction after the show.

Movie and Discussion: A Human Picture, 7pm Wednesday 6 November 2024 at the John M. Harper library

What: Movie and Discussion: A Human Picture
When: 7:00pm to 8:30pm, Wednesday 6 November 2024
Where: John M. Harper Branch, Waterloo Public Library
Location: 500 Fischer-Hallman Road North, Waterloo Map
Register: https://calendar.wpl.ca/event/11998737 for both in-person and online by Zoom.

Shared by Basic Income WR:

Join us for a viewing of the short documentary film A Human Picture, about Ontario’s short-lived, but transformational Basic Income Pilot. The session will also include informative presentations and discussions with local experts about this important topic.

The event is being offered in-person and online via Zoom. Please indicate whether your registration is for in-person or online. Those attending online will be sent a Zoom link the day before the event.

Presented in partnership with Basic Income Waterloo Region, a group of community members dedicated to a Basic Income Guarantee as a critical solution to eliminating poverty, responding to the rise of automation in the workforce, and boosting or stimulating the local economy.

Learn more and register at: https://calendar.wpl.ca/event/11998737

LWIFF and Fight For Farmland Film Night, Monday 28 October 2024

What: Film Screening and Discussion: Rebels With A Cause – How a battle over land changed the landscape forever
When: 7:00pm to 9:00pm, Monday 28 October 2024
Where: Princess Twin Cinemas
Location: 46 King Street North, Waterloo Map
Register: Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rebels-with-a-cause-free-film-screening-discussion-tickets-1038678975777
More info: Wilmot Fight For Farmland Upcoming Events

Rebels With A Cause – How a battle over land changed the landscape forever- A DOCUMENTARY by NANCY KELLY and KENJI YAMAMOTO will be playing at at the Princess Twin Cinema on October 28th from 7-9pm. This is a free film night hosted by the Laurier Wellbeing Film Forum (LWIFF) to learn about and discuss the proposed industrial development of Wilmot Township and explore what it would mean for the future of the Waterloo Region.

Advance registration for this free screening is required to guarantee entrance and tickets are going fast with only a few left. Please sign up at Eventbrite.

A free film night to learn about and discuss the proposed industrial development of Wilmot Township and explore what it would mean for the future of Waterloo Region.

Egypt Week Finale, 11:45am on Sunday 27 October 2024 at First United Church, Waterloo

What: Egypt Week Finale
When: Sunday 27 October 2024 starting at 11:45am
Where: First United Church
Location: 16 William Street West, Waterloo, Ontario Map
Website: https://www.crosscultures.ca/2024/10/23/finale-of-the-week/
Contact: office@firstunitedchurch.ca

You’re invited to United Church’s first inter-cultural Lunch and Learn event
This is a great chance to connect and learn together – everyone is welcome !

enjoy Egypt’s rich culture and heritage . . . savour . . . a u t h e n t i c . . . Egyptian cuisine, listen to Ehaab Abdou and Sally Dawoud duet of spiritual acapella . . . Maged Zarif and 3agwand band . . . plenty of turath and sing along

Egyptian artists . . . and a sing along

sponsored by Outreach Committee & Vision Fund Grant
c/o Rev Hoeun Lee
at the uptown Waterloo United Church
in the Hilliard Hall after the Sunday service
16 William Street West, Waterloo, ON N2L 1J3 @King Street South (Bridgeport exit from hwy)

A Womb With A View Movie Night in Willow River Park, 6:30pm on Thursday 10 October 2024

What: Mental Health Day Movie Night
When: 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Thursday 10 October 2024
Where: Willow River Park (aka Victoria Park), Kitchener Map
Contact: Two White Feather or Gentle Eagle at awombwithaviewmakesadifference@gmail.com

October 10 is WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY

A Womb With A View is recognizing this with showing video clips 🎥 of Mental Health as seen through an Indigenous lens! You are invited to join us from 6:30pm to 8:30pm under the stars ✨ in Willow River Park . Bring your blanket or chair. We will have a Potluck Snack drink 🥤 🍫 🍿 table – please bring what you can share with others, if you are able.

Let us know if you will be there by emailing awombwithaviewmakesadifference@gmail.com

Chi Miigweech

Rally to keep CTS sites open in Ontario, 5:30pm Wednesday 28 August 2024 at 150 Frederick Street, Kitchener

What: Rally to keep Consumption and Treatment Sites open in Ontario
When: 5:30pm to 8:30pm, Wednesday 28 August 2024
Where: in front of Waterloo Region Council Chambers
Location: 150 Frederick Street Map

From the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region:

SDC stands in solidarity with those asking the province to keep CTS (Consumption and Treatment Services) sites open in Ontario. Come show your support at at a rally for change tonight.

Dear friends,

SDC is deeply concerned about the planned closure of Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) sites across Ontario, and we wanted to share our official statement with you. The Ford government’s decision is anti-science, anti-evidence, and yet another way to limit the healthcare options available to Ontarians. SDC stands in solidarity with drug use advocates and all those who’re asking the province to keep CTS sites open.

Read The Media Release (PDF, 251 kBytes) (Mirror)

Julian Ichim and Donald Lacasse are members of SDC’s lived expertise consultancy and have been fighting for safe injection sites with the Alan Ryan People’s Defense Brigade since 2014. These are some of their reflections on the provincial government’s decision to dismantle harm reduction services like CTS sites and safe supply.

What some lived experts are saying: “By closing down the safe injection site and rejecting safe supply, the Ford government is promoting criminality and keeping drugs in the hands of dealers who only care about profit and not people’s lives.” “I am worried that this is a process of elimination. They did this when they first came to this land. By eliminating us, they can start over. They can erase us and rewrite history again.”

How You Can Help

Please join us in supporting grassroots organizers at a peaceful rally this evening – together, we can bring greater awareness and urgency to the need for an adequately resourced, evidence-based drug strategy in Waterloo Region.

Tonight’s rally for change is being organized by the Drug Action Team Waterloo Region, an unfunded, volunteer-driven team of Waterloo Region residents with interest, experience, and expertise in resolving a wide range of drug-related issues. You can find them online at drugactionteam.ca.

Overdose Action Day Rally for Change. Wednesday, Aug 28th. 5:30 – 8:30pm. 150 Frederick St. Kitchener. 820+ residents of Waterloo Region have died by preventable overdose. Rally together to call all levels of government and community to action. We have the evidence, we know the solutions, now is the time for action. Bring your signs, banners, shirts, photos of loved ones. Free Pizza (while supplies last).

In solidarity,
The team at SDC

Grief Walk for Palestine, at KW Farmer’s Market, every Sunday at 11am

What: Grief Walk for Palestine
When: Every Sunday at 11:00am
Where: Kitchener Farmer’s Market
Location: 300 King Street East, Kitchener Map
Online: @KWPalestine on Facebook
Additional links: https://linktr.ee/kwpalestine

Every Saturday at 11am there is a grief walk for Palestine from the Kitchener Farmer’s Market. Organized by KW Friends of Palestine

BW illustration of a First Nations man wearing a ceremonial headdress and a Palestinian man wearing a keffiyeh, both dancing on a line of barbed wire. There is a red highlight on the headdress. — From KW in support of Palestine

Waterloo Region ACORN Day of Action for Anti-Renoviction Bylaws, 1:00pm on Tuesday 27 August 2024

What: Region-Wide Day of Action for Municipal Anti-Renoviction Bylaws
When: Tuesday 27 August 2024 at 1:00pm
Where: Register on Zoom
Contact: Vonica Flear, kw@acorncanada.org Phone: +1‑226‑545‑4359
Website: https://acorncanada.org
Waterloo Region ACORN: https://acorncanada.org/locations/waterloo-acorn/

ACORN members and tenants across Waterloo region are banding together to fight for better protections from bad-faith evictions.

On Tuesday August 27th, Waterloo Region ACORN will be holding a Region-Wide action calling on Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge city councils to enact anti-renoviction bylaws similar to the one passed in Hamilton earlier this year.

On January 17th, Hamilton City Council voted unanimously in favour of the city passing a strong anti-renoviction bylaw called the “Renovations License and Relocation Bylaw.” This happened after a 5 year effort by Hamilton ACORN and several motions passed to direct the creation of a bylaw based on the success of policy from New Westminster, BC. The original bylaw in New Westminster eliminated renovictions since passing in 2019, reducing the total number of renovictions from 333 to zero. The new Hamilton bylaw will require landlords to:

Apply for a licence within 7 days of issuing a tenant a N13.
Provide tenants with a Tenant’s Rights and Entitlements Package
Provide tenants wishing to exercise their right to return to their unit (at the same rent!) with temporary accommodation OR a rental top up for the duration of the renovations.

ACORN members across the Region are ecstatic to see Hamilton pass STRONG tenant protections that will significantly reduce the number of affordable units being systematically removed by landlords taking advantage of the loopholes in Ontario’s rent control measures. Waterloo Region ACORN members will be meeting on Zoom on August 27th to review ACORN’s renoviction bylaw campaign and facilitate phone blitzes to Kitchener, Waterloo, and Cambridge city council offices to call for similar bylaws to be passed in each city.

Maribel Jagorin, Co-Chair of the Waterloo Region chapter of ACORN and currently facing renoviction from her own apartment, says, “There is a big disconnect between the cost of living and income. There is a housing crisis out there. How am I supposed to live? I can’t afford somewhere else, and there’s nothing out there for me. I am fighting for my affordable housing and my rights because everywhere I look I can only see greed and lack of balance. Landlords are privileged!”