Rally Against Bills 5, 6, 17 at Kitchener City Hall, 11:30am on Sat. 31 May 2025

What: Rally against Bill 5, Bill 6, and Bill 17, aka Rally for People and Planet
When: 11:30am to 2:00pm on Saturday 31 May 2025 (speeches at Noon)
Where: Carl Zehr Square, Kitchener City Hall
Location: 100 King Street West, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Website 1: https://gren.ca Grand River Environmental Network | www.gren.ca
Website 2: https://environmentaldefence.ca/stop-bill-5/
Contact: Kevin Thomason – vice-chair@gren.ca

For your safety, never register for rallies, protests, or other events where civil disobedience may occur.

We need to stop Premier Ford’s Power Grab

Premier Ford promised to protect Ontario. But now that he’s been elected, he is already breaking that promise. His latest bill would give his friends special permissions to ignore laws that protect us and our environment.

No guardrails.
No accountability.

We can’t afford to let him and his cabinet get away with this.

Kevin Thomason writes:

It has been an unprecedented week as Doug Ford has tried to ram through the horrific Bill 5 while all the opposition MPPs have worked together to do everything in their power to stop it, join the Kitchener Rally Against Bill 5 on Saturday at 12:00 noon, participate in upcoming webinars and events, speak up against Bill 17’s devastating impacts on our communities, learn about the latest very disappointing Hidden Valley loss to developers in Kitchener, the Greenbelt Scandal continues with more concerning e-mails found, and more. Here’s the latest:

1) Bill 5 Pushback Grows – There are more protests, more groups speaking out. and actions against Bill 5 the “Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act”, a dangerous attack on our rights, environment, and democracy. First Nations, environmentalists, civil liberties organizations, labour, municipalities, and even Amnesty International have come out against Bill 5.

It was fantastic to see all opposition MPPs working together to do everything they could stop the bill this past week including an impressive filibuster at the Standing Committee meeting until midnight on Wednesday night. While the Ford government is promising amendments to try to quell First Nations concerns, Indigenous Leaders say it is too little, too late and frankly the government has made only ineffective, minor, superficial amendments as “window dressing” while completely ignoring the vast majority of concerns raised by tens of thousands of concerned citizens so far.

Protests/Rallies — There have been large protests including hundreds of people in Guelph last weekend. Please plan to join the Kitchener Protest Against:

Bill 5 — Sweeping powers to fast track development, bypass environmental protections, create law-free economic zones, ignore archeology, and violate Indigenous rights.

Bill 6 — Harsher penalties for drugs and trespass targeting homelessness with punitive measures rather than support.

Bill 17 — Prohibiting needed Green Development Standards, limiting development charges, enabling new MZO’s, encouraging dangerous inexpensive water and wastewater systems.

Date/Time: Saturday, May 31st at 12:00 noon
Location: Carl Zehr Square on King Street at Kitchener City Hall

National Indigenous Peoples Month & Pride Kickoff at Kitchener Market, 10am on Sunday 1 June 2025

What: National Indigenous Peoples Month & Pride Kickoff Land Back Camp
(illustration of a Teepee)
When: 10:00am to 2:00pm on Sunday 1 June 2025
Where: In front of the Kitchener Market
Location: 300 King Street East, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Website: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=965234062444705

National Indigenous Peoples Month & Pride Kick Off
Sunday June 1, 2025
10 AM-2PM
Kitchener Market
Food, craft vendors, live music and more!
Rain or shine!
(colourful photo of a man performing a Hoop Dance)

Food, craft vendors, live music and more!
Rain or shine!

Artivism Against Bill 6, Corner of King St. and Victoria St., 5pm on Thursday 29 May 2025

What: Artivism Against Bill 6
When: 5:00pm to 7:00pm on Thursday 29 May 2025
Where: Near King Street and Victoria Street intersection, Kitchener, Ontario Map
Online: Unsheltered Campaign and A Womb With A View
Contact: Two White Feather or Gentle Eagle at awombwithaviewmakesadifference@gmail.com

Lori Gentle Eagle writes:

A Womb With A View would love to create a Protect Art piece with those in attendance and have it stand along side speakers sharing their thoughts and signs held high by people who care. This Artivism would involve tying cloth or ribbon onto a basic scarecrow figure. Each cloth would have a statement or word written on it about the harm that would come with this Bill e.g. violation of human rights, criminalization of the poor, stigmatization of people who use substances, further displacement of Indigenous folks on their own lands, etc.

Artivism Against Bill 6
(a half-tone photo of a hand beside orange letters)

Collective Art | Bill 6 and Bylaw Info | Petition Signing

Shelter 4 All Unsheltered Campaign (stylized drawing of a shelter, white on orange)A Womb With A View (collage of Indigenous artwork)

  • Stand against Bill 6 and the 100 Victoria by-law punishing unhoused individuals’ survival.
  • Help build collective art piece of resistance
  • Write a word naming this harm on ribbon and add it to a scarecrow figure. Scare away Bill 6!

Why Hope Matters – Nith Valley EcoBoosters webinar, 7pm on Thursday 15 May 2025

What: Why Hope Matters: The Practice of Evidence- Based Hope in a World of Climate Doom
When: 7:00pm to 9:00pm on Thursday 15 May 2025
Where: Online Webinar
Register: https://actionnetwork.org/events/how-to-be-hopeful-in-a-world-of-climate-doom
Website: Nith Valley EcoboostersNith Valley Ecoboosters
E-mail: nvecoboosters@gmail.com

When it comes to the ongoing fight against climate change, it is easy to lose heart as stories about the disastrous impacts of global warming seem to make headlines every day. To flip the script on this “climate fatigue”, the Nith Valley EcoBoosters are hosting a free webinar on May 15th at 7:00 p.m.

Why Hope Matters: The Practice of Evidence- Based Hope in a World of Climate Doom, will feature guest speaker Dr. Elin Kelsey, an international thought leader, scholar and science communicator on climate emotions and the role of evidence-based hope, and the author of (book cover) Hope Matters Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis Elin Kelsey (quote at the top) "This book comes at just the right moment. It is NOT too late if we get together and take action NOW." Jane GoodallHope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis.  Dr. Kelsey will share positive climate success stories and where to find them, and discuss how they help us to be more enthusiastic, optimistic and hopeful with respect to our capacity to tackle the climate crisis.

You can register for this free webinar at Action Network  or Nith Valley Ecoboosters

Our Speaker: Dr. Elin Kelsey

A woman with short hair wearing a white sweater and orange skirt smiles into the camera. She is is sitting outside on rocks, seen out-of-focus in the background.
Elin Kelsey
A leader in the solutions-focused environmental and climate justice
movement.

Award-winning author of more than a dozen books for children and adults including: HOPE MATTERS: Why Changing the Way We Think is Critical to Solving the Environmental Crisis.

  • Learn about evidence-based hope, a concept based on real progress and effective solutions that shifts the focus from fear to empowerment. While there are reasons to be anxious about the climate crisis, there are also reasons to be optimistic due to meaningful accomplishments.
  • Q&A will follow Dr. Kelsey’s presentation.