Media ReleaseFor Immediate Release December 28, 2012 Attawapiskat Chief Spence heading into day 19 of hunger strike and seeking Canadians, Members of Parliament and politicians to urge Prime Minister Harper to meet and commit to Nation to Nation relations with Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples. Algonquin Territory, Ottawa, Ontario Chief Theresa Spence
Continue readingTag: human rights
wmtc: stephen harper, meet with chief theresa spence before it is too late
When our ancestors made treaties with the British Crown to allow the Queen’s subjects to live in our territories, it was for as long as the sun shines, the waters flow and the grass grows. The Crown’s only legal access to our lands is contingent upon the fulfilment of the
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Idle No More and the Bigot Voices
As Chief Theresa Spence enters the 16th day of her hunger strike, with Stephen Harper still refusing to meet her, I see his inaction is causing some old Canadian demons to take flight.Flying out of their internet caves like bats, and emitting bigot sounds.Read more »
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Amnesty International Urges Harper to meet with hunger striker Chief Spence
by Amnesty International Canada: Editor’s Intro: In the letter bellow, issued yesterday, Amnesty International urges Prime Minister Stephen Harper to meet with hunger-striker Chief Theresa Spence as her peaceful protest reaches Day 18. Chief Spence is demanding a meeting involving Harper, a representative of the Queen, and First Nations leaders. She wants
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Idle No More and the Con Denial of History
When I woke up today and saw that it had snowed, for the first time this winter, I felt like I was back in Canada eh?Because I can't imagine winter in the Great White North without snow. Just like I can't imagine this country without the Québécois or the First
Continue readingwmtc: follow-up memo to children’s aid: we told you so. happy christmas.
Back in May, I blogged about a family in my area who faced a nightmare: social services had threated to remove their child from their home. Both parents have disabilities, and although they had proved themselves completely capable of taking care of a baby, Children’s Aid said they must hire
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Chief Spence, Harper, and the Attawapiskat Christmas
I didn't want to blog tonight. I just wanted to enjoy Christmas.But I couldn't get these two contrasting images out of my mind. Chief Theresa Spence slowly starving to death.While Stephen Harper, with a weird look on his face, plays cribbage. Read more »
Continue readingwmtc: tell stephen harper you support chief theresa spence and idle no more
As Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence enters her twelfth day without food, solidarity actions with the IdleNoMore aboriginal movement are growing throughout Canada and around the globe. In Winnipeg, demonstrators blocked the Trans Canada Highway. In freezing weather in Edmonton, protesters filled downtown streets. At least 1,000 people came out in
Continue readingAccidental Deliberations: Thursday Morning Links
This and that for your Thursday reading. – Thomas Walkom discusses the meaning of the Ontario Libs’ attempt to take collective bargaining rights away from teachers in the context of the wider labour movement: The union movement is one of the last remnants of the great postwar pact between labour,
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Chief Spence Hunger Strike: Solidarity letter from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers
by Canadian Union of Postal Workers: Chief Theresa Spence, The Canadian Union of Postal Workers honour Chief Theresa Spence of Attawapiskat for her courageous stand in defense of the land against the moral bankruptcy of the Canadian state. We recognize the racist and genocidal history of Canada and that the
Continue readingwmtc: happy birthday, bradley manning
Today is the third birthday that courageous military whistleblower Bradley Manning has spent in prison. By the time his court martial begins in March, he will have been imprisoned almost three years, including a full year in solitary confinement – an internationally recognized form of torture. Bradley Manning helped people
Continue reading350 or bust: Idle No More: A Drumbeat Is Heard Across The Nation
There are a lot of things I could write about on this crisp winter morning; NOAA’s updated 2012 Arctic Report Card, for example (hint: it ain’t lookin’ good) or the aftermath of the tragedy in Newton Connecticut on Friday, or the (related) fact that American drones have killed nearly 200
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canada’s Human Rights Reputation is Fast Becoming a Myth
by Ontario Federation of Labour: This year, as the global community recognizes December 10 as International Human Rights Day, many Canadians struggle with a vanishing sense of pride in Canada’s once renowned reputation as a leader in human rights. While that reputation has always been contradicted by the lived experiences
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Canada’s new refugee system unfair to refugees
by Canadian Council for Refugees AND Amnesty International Canada: On the eve of the introduction of important changes to Canada’s refugee determination system, the Canadian Council for Refugees and Amnesty International expressed fear that the system will fail some refugees, violate their rights in Canada, and send them back to persecution.
Continue readingArt Threat: Amnesty International goes Gangnam Style for Chinese dissidents
I’m tired of Gangnam Style. Especially so since Psy denounced his past anti-war performances in South Korea — presumably because criticizing the US military doesn’t jive with his newfound pop celebrity status in America. Even more exhausting are the endless Gangnam Style parodies and rip-offs, most of which are simply
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Toronto solidarity fast in support of Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence
The details, from the organizers: Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence has begun her hunger strike in Ottawa today and she has pledged to continue until Prime Minister Stephen Harper (and the Queen of England) agree to respect colonial and Canadian treaties and work with First Nations in Canada. She has offered
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: Obert Madondo’s Canada crime Bill C-10 hunger strike: Response from the Minister of Justice
On June 6, I ended my 85-day hunger strike against Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s New Jim Crow-style crime Bill C-10, the deceptively christened “Safe Streets and Communities Act”. Two of my demands: the immediate repeal the Safe Streets and Communities Act and a national inquiry for the 600+ missing and murdered aboriginal women and girls. I
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: U.S.: Cutting through the indefinite detention and NDAA controversy
by Cora Currier | ProPublica: Last Tuesday, the Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a yearly military spending bill. Last year, the bill affirmed the U.S.’s authority to hold suspected terrorists indefinitely and without charges. The provision had generated plenty of controversy, particularly about whether U.S. citizens could be detained indefinitely. This year, the Senate bill says that citizens
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