May 04
On Saturday afternoon a group of protesters gathered in front of Toronto’s police headquarters to protest “in solidarity” with the people rioting in Baltimore. The protest organizer’s media release claimed the event was part of an “international day of action”. If you’ve been following protests for long that phrase probably looks familiar to you, Occupy and …
Oct 07
On September 1st a group of professional protesters were left to wreak havoc on the streets of Toronto. They blocked traffic, harassed motorists, and eventually smashed the windshield of a woman’s car. Toronto cops were there to manage the protesters, but they only protected their own police stations- people on the streets were left to …
Sep 12
Will Canada’s new militant union back the use of violence? Will they back those who profess violence? What will this mean for Toronto’s 2015 Pan-Am Games?
Aug 13
Today was Toronto’s second major protest over the police shooting of Sammy Yatim, a young man who was shot nine times and Tazered by a Toronto police officer after refusing instructions to drop his knife while standing in a streetcar. Videos filmed by people who watched the shooting look pretty bad for the officer who …
May 06
Rob Chamberland is the president of the CUPE 2073, a Toronto based local for people who are hearing impaired. He’s an Anarcho-Syndicalist, a branch of anarchism/socialism that believes the future demands a violent revolution after which we should all be led by the unions. For most Canadians, this is the stuff that nightmares are made of. One …
Apr 16
Update: Shortly after I published this article I found a meeting has been announced at OISE on Friday protesting the Jewish National Fund- here’s the link. Update 2: It appears that Porter Airlines is now suing COPE… Update 3: Two days after publishing this article Megan Kinch of the anarchist-led Media Co-Op publishes a very …
Mar 14
Porter Airlines is in the midst of a labour dispute. Their refuelling staff at Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport recently organized under COPE (Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union), contract negotiations have failed, and the workers have walked-out. Porter has trained alternate staff to do the refueller’s work and there have been no reported delays due to …
Mar 03
There’s a labour dispute erupting at Porter Airlines. Porter staff who are responsible for refuelling the planes joined COPE (Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union) last August- since then, negotiations haven’t gone well. Porter offered its staff a 25% increase in their minimum hourly wage from $12.50 to $14.50. On January 10th Porter refuellers walked off the …
Feb 16
Yesterday was a very interesting one for Toronto’s City Hall. Shortly after noon a group of people from the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty setup camp in front of the mayor’s office to protest the city’s policy on shelters. It was a planned event, OCAP had booked space in the neighbouring Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity …
Feb 02
Last Saturday was the “Rally For Rights And Democracy” in Toronto. It was organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour- Sid Ryan was the major star of the day. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) had a major presence, as did the Steelworkers, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), teacher’s unions, and the …