Now here’s an interesting calendar of events.June 27-29: The Negotiating Committee for CUPE Local 1989, Mississauga Library Workers Union, returns to the bargaining table for three days.June 30: The Negotiating Committee presents membership with a sett…
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wmtc: dogtopia: a dog hotel comes to mississauga (and we give it a great review)
When we travel, we’ve always had someone stay over in our home with the dogs. In almost 30 years of dogs, we only boarded our dogs once. It was not a good experience, and we never did it again. Also, for many years, our schedules also required a dogwal…
Continue readingwmtc: blue jays vs. royals, library style
Library smackdown? Toronto Public Library vs. Kansas City Library, via Twitter.
Continue readingwmtc: a historic opportunity for residents of peel region: vote ndp on october 19
In the upcoming federal election, Peel residents have an opportunity to make a real difference for ourselves, our neighbours, and all of Canada. We can support a platform aimed at supporting working people, preserving and expanding public healthcare, restoring our democracy, and protecting our environment. We can vote NDP. NDP
Continue readingwmtc: sunrise from the 19th floor
19th floor, central Mississauga, facing east. For locals, this is from the corner of Hurontario and Burnhamthorpe. You can see a bit of Lake Ontario on the right. Toronto is not that close. I’m zooming in. Here’s the actual foreground.
Continue readingwmtc: the other side of waste management in peel: shocking lack of recycling in apartment buildings
Goodbye, old friends In the 10 years I’ve lived in Mississauga, I’ve always been impressed with Peel Region’s recycling and trash management. Now that I live in an apartment, I’m seeing another side of those services, and it’s not pretty. First, there’s no “green bin” – organics – recycling. I’ve
Continue readingwmtc: wheelchair rugby finals, parapan am games 2015
The 2015 Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games were held in Toronto and the GTA this summer. Although I regard these events as a ridiculous waste of money, a very bad deal for residents of the host cities, there was one very bright upside for me: the opportunity to
Continue readingwmtc: thoughts on luxury, plus know your rights, rental edition, part three
We have to move. We are heartsick over it. Our landlord is selling the house we live in. We’re not letting ourselves get kicked out (see below), but chances are very good we’ll have to move, so we’re taking steps to find a place sooner rather than later. With the
Continue readingwmtc: more art and culture in the suburbs: indian art activism and the baps mandir
In September my mother was here for her annual visit. I always plan some art or cultural attraction for us to take in. This time she was recovering from some knee surgery, so major walking in Toronto was out. On a previous visit, we had already done most of the
Continue readingwmtc: steve mahoney for mayor of mississauga
We’re having a historic election here in Mississauga: it will be the first time in the city’s existence that Hazel McCallion is not running, the first mayor other than McCallion that Mississauga has ever had. Twelve candidates are on the ballot, but the race comes down to two people: Steve
Continue readingwmtc: guest post: "rob ford, eid prayer and the silencing of dissent"
Rob Ford, Eid Prayer and the Silencing of Dissentby Fizza Mir July 30, 2014 My Eid started out like most, enjoying a morning coffee after a month of abstinence, rushing to get to the downtown prayers at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and navigating through hoards of playful children and
Continue readingwmtc: summer, teens, the library, and me
Yesterday was my first summer program at the library. Attendance was low, but very keen. An artist and activist (who happens to be a friend of mine from the war resisters movement) led a workshop I called “Comix that Save the World”. We explored the use of the comics form
Continue readingwmtc: sometimes knowing your rights is all it takes: in which we win our landlord battle
We won! And we won so easily, we’re left scratching our heads and asking, “What just happened?” As you’ll recall, our landlord asked for an illegal rent increase – 10.5% when the legal allowable is 0.8%! – and implied that he would resort to dirty tricks if we didn’t pay.
Continue readingwmtc: know your rights, rental edition, part two
Just about one year ago today – July 8, 2013, to be exact – our area was hit with a massive flood that swamped homes, cars, highways, trains, and . . . our basement. The basement had been Allan’s office. The office in which he was working to meet a
Continue readingwmtc: a baby polar bear, three white lions, and my first visit to the toronto zoo
After living in the Toronto area for more than eight years, I still had never visited the Toronto Zoo, opting for several trips to Jungle Cat World and the Haliburton Wolf Centre instead (links here and here). But when one of the polar bears in the Toronto Zoo gave birth
Continue readingwmtc: dispatches from ola 2014, part 3: hip-hop programming in the library
My final post about the OLA Super Conference sessions I attended saves the best for last. “Sub-Urban Beats: Hip-Hop Programming in the Library” thrilled me with possibilities. Even more exciting, it was co-presented by two librarians from the Mississauga Library System who are youth specialists, Erica Conly and James Dekens.
Continue readingwmtc: a small green victory: more plastics now recyclable in peel
Yes! A few years back, I blogged about discovering that many of the plastics I had been putting in my recycling bin were not, in fact, recyclable. A few months after that, I unpacked a typical environmental dilemma: organic lettuce. Organic lettuce is the perfect example of a green paradox. It’s
Continue readingwmtc: the tar sands is coming to toronto: speak out on october 19 (and every day) to stop it
By now I hope you all know about Line 9, Enbridge’s plan to transport the dirtiest, most spillable oil on the planet through the most heavily populated areas of Canada and some of the most environmentally sensitive areas of New England. Line 9 is the third stage of Enbridge’s plans
Continue readingwmtc: hedges: "when harper passes right-to-work, you must go on a massive general strike, or you’re finished"
Last night, I heard author, journalist, and activist Chris Hedges speak at the Bloor Street United Church in Toronto, sponsored by the excellent Canadian Dimension. Hedges is a radical intellectual, in the Chomsky vein, also compassionate and fearless, in the mode of Howard Zinn. He touched on many subjects –
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