by Nathaniel Jote, Shafiqullah Aziz, Steve da Silva Concerned residents and community members gathered at a vigil on Christmas eve for Jermaine Carby, a Brampton man who was shot and killed by Peel Regional Police three months earlier. The gathering rallied about 50 members at the location of Carby’s murder, near Queen and Kennedy, where …
by Michael Romandel On October 29, 2014, Sportchek in a partnership with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the Raptors owners) launched an advertising and publicity campaign called #MyNorth asking Torontonians to share stories about local basketball culture in the various Toronto ‘hoods. The campaign builds off of Drake’s re-branding of the Toronto Raptors earlier this …
Provincial Judge upholds constitutionality of bylaw that criminalizes the poor. By: Aiyanas Ormond “Don’t kick us when we’re down,” said Susan Aleck, standing in front of the provincial courthouse in Vancouver. “Let us get up and make ourselves better. Give us some space.” Aleck is one of four members of the Vancouver Area Network of …
Grassroots Women picket elite private school to protest education privatization By: Aiyanas Ormond On Tuesday, September 16, about 30 people picketed St. George’s, an elite private school in Vancouver. The picket, organized by Grassroots Women comes after more than 2 weeks of school closures as teachers in B.C. have been on strike. St. George’s is …
Connecting the Old Canada with the New Canada: a legacy of Racism By Tascha Shahriari-Parsa On May 23rd, 1914, the Komagata Maru steamship arrived in Vancouver with 376 passengers who were fleeing India. There were already over 2000 Indians living in Canada, primarily Punjabis, who faced blatant discrimination. Due to racist government policies to keep …
by Shafiqullah Aziz Since June 16th, residents and community members of Toronto’s downtown east side have been subject to a sharp increase in police presence in the area as a result of a new neighbourhood project initiated by 51 Division. Less than a month into the project, community members in the area are already beginning …
by BASICS Kitchener-Waterloo On June 16, 2014, community members in Kitchener protested the gentrification of the downtown core by marching down King Street and constructing a “tent city” in Victoria Park. Victoria Park’s tent city — a temporary housing facility made using tents or other structures — was set up as a fully functioning community. Food …
by BASICS Neighbourhood Committee It’s become a common sight on the evening news. Police proudly displaying a cache of guns, cash and drugs, announcing they took down the latest threat to public safety; Sick Thugz, Dixon City Bloods, Young Buck Killers or any other partially made-up gang held responsible for all the violence in its respective …
by BASICS Kitchener-Waterloo After the recent closure of “The Hot Dog House” — a community outreach initiative that handed out hot dogs and coffee to downtown Kitchener’s poor community — the community came together to rectify the situation. On the afternoon of June 29, 2014, citizens of downtown Kitchener’s poor community handed out pizza in front …
by Aiyanas Ormond Reproduced with permission from author and The Mainlander: Vancouver’s Place for Progressive Politics AUTHOR’S NOTE | This article emerges from 5 years of working as a community organizer for the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU). Thank you to the VANDU Board for allowing me to lean on their community organizing work and …
