T.O. Greenspiration Events: Love, Ecocide & Eternity

Sun Feb 12 17:35:30 EST 2012

Toronto Greenspiration Events

Pass this onto a friend... -angela

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Curious what Occupy Toronto is up to? Lots still happening.
Check out their calendar here: http://occupyto.org/ 

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A Petition to City Hall by Tenants for Social Housing  

People can sign online http://www.thepetitionsite.com/57/a-petition-to-city-hall-by-tenants-for-social-housing/

Tenants for Social Housing came together earlier this year to stand up for our homes and for social housing in Toronto. We oppose the sale and privatization of our homes, and advocate for a stronger tenant voice in the decision making that affects our lives. Tenants were promised that are homes would not be sold, but we've already seen 22 scattered homes approved for sale, another 900 scattered homes waiting to be approved, and now, each and every home is being threatened to be sold.

We are asking for Toronto's Mayor and Councillors support to stop the sale of our homes

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Politics in Action: Municipal Governance and Your Part in the Process 

Monday, February 13, 2012 - 12:00pm until 3:00pm
Ryerson U, ENG - Atrium . 299 Church St.

This is a panel event aimed to create discussion regarding municipal governance and provide an opportunity for students and interested participants to learn about civic engagement opportunities within Toronto, with:
* Councillor Shelley Carroll 
* CAW Sam Gindin Chair in Social Justice and Democracy Professor Winnie Ng.

It is presented to you by the Social Work Student Union in partnership with the Faculty of Community Services, Ryerson Commerce and Governance Association, Politics Course Union, Psychology Course Union, Nutrition Course Union, Nursing Course Union and Criminal Justice Course Union.

Free food. Great Company. And did I mention Free Food!
Sign up here before the event fills up! http://politicsinaction2012.eventbrite.com/

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Alternatives to the Use of Animals in Education
with Dr. Olivier Berreville of InterNICHE, the International Network for Humane Education.

Mon. Feb. 13, 7 p.m.
Medical Sciences building, University of Toronto (MS 4171)
Free

Every year thousands of animals are killed for the purpose of education at University of Toronto and other universities. None of this is necessary because there are humane alternatives that are quite adequate for this purpose. InterNICHE.org is a group that provides information on alternatives.

Dr. Olivier Berreville, Canadian representative for the International Network for Humane Education (Interniche), will provide overview of existing alternatives to the use of animals in medical, veterinary, and biological science education and training. Concrete examples of alternatives successfully used to replace animal use are featured, including models and simulators, film and video, multimedia computer simulation, student self-experimentation, ethically-sourced animal cadavers, clinical practice, and in vitro labs.

Facebook event site: https://www.facebook.com/events/316586195050297/

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Community Bicycle Network – Annual General Meeting

Mon. February 13th, 6:30 pm.
CBN shop, 761 Queen St. W.

All CBN members are invited to attend and vote on the next board of directors.
CBN will be open from 4:30-6:30 pm on February 13th for anyone interested in joining to purchase a membership. The suggested donation is $5.

CBN has a lot of important planning to do in 2012. Our lease is up in December and we'll be looking for a new space. We continue to expand our workshop programs (teaching bike mechanic skills as well as safe cycling) and divert hundreds of bikes and bike parts from landfill. There will be spaces on the board opening up, and lots of other volunteer opportunities such as outreach at community events, updating the website and other media, designing a t-shirt, stripping bike donations and much, much more.

For more info: board at communitybicyclenetwork.org.
http://communitybicyclenetwork.org/

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Toronto Premiere of I AM Documentary & Second Release of GOD LOVES HAIR

Monday, 13 February, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Thomas Lounge, 55 Gould St., RSU Student Centre
No cover.

Please join Positive Space Ryerson and RyePRIDE for Toronto's premiere screening of Sonali Gulati's 'I Am', and the release of the second edition of Vivek Shraya's book 'God Loves Hair', followed by Q&A.

I AM - I Am chronicles the journey of an Indian lesbian filmmaker who returns to Delhi, eleven years later, to re-open what was once home, and finally confronts the loss of her mother whom she never came out to. As she meets and speaks to parents of other gay and lesbian Indians, she pieces together the fabric of what family truly means, in a landscape where being gay was until recently a criminal and punishable offence. http://www.sonalifilm.com/I-AM.html

GOD LOVES HAIR is Vivek Shraya‘s first book, a collection of 21 short stories following a tender, intellectual, and curious child as he navigates complex realms of sexuality, gender, racial politics, religion, and belonging. Told with the poignant insight and honesty that only the voice of a young mind can convey, the stories are accompanied by the award-winning illustrations of Toronto artist Juliana Neufeld. God Loves Hair was selected as a finalist in the 2011 Lambda Literary Awards. http://vivekshraya.com/godloveshair/

The emcee for the evening will be Farzana Doctor. Farzana Doctor is a Toronto-based novelist. Her first novel, Stealing Nasreen, received critical acclaim upon its release in 2007. Her second book, Six Metres of Pavement, was named a Top Ten Book of 2011 by NOW Magazine and won a Rainbow Award.

Sponsored by:  Positive Space Ryerson University (http://www.ryerson.ca/equity/positivespace/), RyePRIDE (http://www.ryepride.ca/), INSIDE OUT (http://www.insideout.ca/) , The South Asian Visual Arts Centre- SAVAC (http://www.savac.net/), Thomas Lounge Ryerson University

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Amnesty International's Action Network for Women's Human Rights (ANWHR) invites you to attend: 

The Power of Love
a special pre-Valentine event and fundraiser in support of WOZA (Women of Zimbabwe Arise!)

Monday, February 13th: 6pm -9pm
Amnesty International Toronto Office, 1992 Yonge St , 3rd floor, closest subway is Davisville Station

Join us for an evening of: snacks, solidarity building with members of WOZA, human rights actions and of courses, roses for sale!

Keynote address from Violah Shamu, women and children rights activist and original member of Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA). Violah relocated to Canada due to persecution by the government of Zimbabwe.

For more information on Woza: www.wozazimbabwe.org
Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/327817720574992/
http://www.aito.ca/node/179

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Canadian Electoral Alliance - NEW 

Monday February 13, 6:30-8:30pm
Innovation Room, 4th Floor, Centre of Social Innovation. 215 Spadina Ave. (north of Queen)

Agenda:
 1. Getting support for the electoral alliance Canada wide
 2. NDP leadership candidates, questions to, responses, organization in NDP
 3. Liberal Party organization, questions to potential leaders
 4. Green Party connections
 5. Other business

contact at electoralalliance.ca  
http://electoralalliance.ca Please forward the link to anyone interested and encourage people to sign up our contact list.  

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Women & Money Workshop
by Amanda Mills of Loose Change

Monday, February 13th, 6 - 9 p.m.
Toronto Women's Bookstore, 73 Harbord Street
Participation fee: $35.00 (Proceeds donated to the Toronto Women's Bookstore)

In this 3 hour workshop you will discover your financial strengths and learn how to harness them and apply them to areas that are problematic for you. Following this workshop, over ninety percent of participants indicated that they had experienced a shift in their relationship to money as a result and felt less victimized by money.

RSVP – Space is limited Tel: 416-922-8744

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Easy Steps to Saving Home Energy – a Hands-on Workshop

Mon. Feb. 13, 7-9 pm
St Michael and all Angels Church (southeast corner of St. Clair and Wychwood). Enter off Wychwood, through wooden gate, top floor.

Most of our homes waste an amazing amount of energy through air leaks and “phantom” power loss. Luckily both are easy to find and fix! Come and learn how to use a thermal leak detector, and then try one on the spot. Learn about sealing cracks and other ways of reducing heat loss around doors and windows. Get the scoop on two different ways to catch those hidden power drains that can crank up your hydro bill. Learn about – and try – a home electricity monitor.

Sponsored by Green13

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Social Media for Social Good

Mon. Feb. 13, 6 p.m.
Pauper's Pub, 539 Bloor W.

Panel on using the online community for the good of others with My Smart Hands founder Laura Berg
socialmediaweek.org/toronto 

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Bold Native

Tues. Feb. 14, 7 p.m.
Galbraith Building room 220 (GB 220), 35 St. George, University Toronto

Bold Native is a fiction feature film. Charlie Cranehill, an animal liberator wanted by the United States government for domestic terrorism, emerges from the underground to coordinate a nationwide action as his estranged CEO father tries to find him before the FBI does. The film simultaneously follows a young woman who works for an animal welfare organization fighting within the system to establish more humane treatment of farmed animals. From abolitionists to welfarists, Bold Native takes on the issue of modern animal use and exploitation from several angles within the context of a road movie adventure story. See http://boldnative.com/

Facebook event site: https://www.facebook.com/events/376828542343357/

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Toronto's 7th Annual Rally for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women 

Tuesday, Feb. 14, 12:30pm - 1:30pm
Toronto Police Headquarters, Yonge and College 

Feast following the rally at location to be announced. Please bring signs and banners about the missing and murdered women only. 

Raising our Voices to Support the United Nations Request to Investigate Canada's Missing & Murdered Indigenous women. According to research conducted by the Native Women Association of Canada (NWAC) under the Sisters In Spirit Program, over 600 Indigenous women have been murdered or gone missing, most of them over the last 30 years.

On February 14th we come together in solidarity with the women who started this vigil over 20 years ago in Vancouver's DTES, and with the marches and rallies that will be taking place across this land. We stand in defense of our lives and to demonstrate against the complicity of the state in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the impunity of state institutions and actors (police, RCMP, coroners' offices, the courts, and an indifferent federal government) that prevents justice for all Indigenous peoples. 

Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/107180609402087/

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Haroon Siddiqui on the Arab Spring 

Tuesday, February 14 @ 7:00 pm
Beit Zatoun,  612 Markham St. (Just across from Bathurst Subway Stn)

What has been called the "Arab Spring" is an exciting development not only for the Arab-speaking world but for all nations and cultures who wish to see the people at the centre of national governance. A respected senior member the Canadian media and elegant defender of human rights for all and an advocate of true multiculturalism in Canada, Haroon Siddiqui tells us why the Arab Spring matters for all Canadians . To learn more.

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February Homeless Memorial

Please join us at the monthly homeless memorial, Tues. Feb. 14, at 12 noon 
Outside the Church of the Holy Trinity (just west of the Eaton Centre).

Guest speaker: City Councillor Joe Mihevc
A lunch follows the memorial. All are welcome. 
For further information, contact Vivian Harrower (416-361-9488)

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Into Eternity - screening and talk

Wed. Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto Free Gallery (1277 Bloor St W at the corner of Bloor and Lansdowne)

INTO ETERNITY is an award-winning documentary about the ongoing effort to build one of the world’s first permanent repositories for nuclear waste in Finland. Directed by Michael Madsen, the film is a visually stunning account of the immense uncertainties of trying to build a multi-generational underground site, capable of storing hazardous nuclear waste for 100 000 years. As Canadian officials actively attempt to find a permanent home for tens of thousands of tonnes of Canadian nuclear waste, INTO ETERNITY is particularly relevant film in a Canadian context. 

INTO ETERNITY will be introduced Brennain Lloyd, Coordinator of Northwatch. Northwatch is a regional coalition in northeastern Ontario, working to prevent northern Ontario from becoming a dumping ground for Canada’s nuclear waste. Brennain will also be available for a Q and A session after the screening.

For more information on Northwatch please check out: http://www.web.net/~nwatch/
For more information on INTO ETERNITY please check out:  http://www.intoeternitythemovie.com/

Cost: $10/PWYC (No one will be turned away for lack of funds)
https://www.facebook.com/events/133486750105881/

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Is Transit Back on Track? Get a Behind-the-Scenes Perspective on the Challenges Facing Transit in Toronto

Wednesday February 15, 7 – 9 p.m.
Artscape Wychwood Barns  (601 Christie St.)

Join Councillor Mihevc as he moderates a panel discussion and round table workshop to get you thinking about transit in our City.
Panelists are Paul Bedford, former Chief Planner of Toronto; Dr. Matti Siemiatycki, U of T professor specializing in transportation policy, planning and infrastructure financing; Steve Munro, Toronto's foremost Transit blogger.

Treats, coffee, tea and beer. Bring friends, neighbours and families from across Toronto
For more information, please contact my office by calling 416-392-0208 or visiting www.joemihevc.com

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SolarShare 

Wed. Feb. 15, 5:30 p.m.
401 Richmond (at Spadina)

Learn about Community Solar Bonds and how you can get involved. 
http://solarbonds.ca/what%27s-new/events

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Dykes Planning Tykes Drop-In Info Sessions 

Upcoming Dates: Feb. 15, March 13, April 10
6:30 - 8:30 pm at the Sherbourne Health Centre
(333 Sherbourne - 2nd floor).

The Dykes Planning Tykes Drop-In Sessions run once a month. Come with your questions about family planning, including fertility, home and clinic insemination, sperm banks, adoption, co-parenting, family configurations and family recognition. No registration required. For more info:parentingnetwork at sherbourne.on.ca

* Trans Women/Trans Men Welcome   

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If a Tree Falls: a Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Wed. Feb. 15, 6:30 p.m.
Hart House Library, U of T
Free.

Film screening followed by a discussion. 

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The Journey from Political Activism to Spiritual Activism

Wed. Feb. 15, 7 p.m.
B.A.N.D. Gallery, 823 A Bloor W.
$20

Lecture by health advocate/psychotherapist Ebun Adelona

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Me to We Travel Talk

Wed. Feb. 17, 6:30 p.m.
Adventure Travel Co, 408 King W.

Talk on travelling and volunteering, and working with Free the Children

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Entrenched Male-domination, Altered Sex-ratios and Women's Well(ill)-being: The case of India
with Aysan Sev’er, Professor of Sociology, University of Toronto

Thur. Feb. 16, 4 - 6 p.m.
Rm. 87, University College, U of T (15 Kings College Circle)
Free. All welcome

Co-Sponsored  by University College Health Studies Programme, Canadian Pugwash Group, Science for Peace, and Voice of Women for Peace

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Centre for Environment, University of Toronto presents:

Dream Catcher? Where the Industrial Nightmares Fall

with RON PLAIN, Member, Aamjiwaang First Nations

Thur. Feb. 16, 4:10 p.m.
Room 1170, Bahen Centre for Information Technology, 40 St. George Street.

Legend has it that the Dream Catcher, when hung over a bed, catches ones dreams and nightmares. The dreams flow through the webbing and the nightmares get caught up and end at the center of the ornament. The companies of Sarnia’s Chemical Valley have woven a Dream Catcher the size of Turtle Island and the center, where the industrial nightmares fall is in the Heart of Aamjiwnaang. Aamjiwnaang has been called “The Most Polluted Spot in North America” by National Geographic staff and “The Most Polluted Spot in Canada” by the World Health Organization. 

This presentation will guide you through the Dream Catcher, from Fracking to the Oil Sands, and how all of the energy/petro-chemical extraction ends up in one of the sixty-three Petro-chemical refineries that surround Aamjiwnaang in Sarnia’s Chemical Valley. Thousands of pipelines weave in and out of Chemical Valley in all directions, connecting places far into the remote corners of Turtle Island. Stories of Activism, sacrifice, courage and victory will intertwine to demonstrate the blatant Racial and Environmental Discrimination that is condoned, encouraged and regulated by the many governments of Canada. The time proven strategy of “How To Steal Human Rights” will be spelled out with a clarity that will motivate the most moderate of social activist and leave the participants asking themselves, “What Do I Stand For”

Visit www.environment.utoronto.ca for schedule updates, abstracts and speakers' bios.

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Stop Canada’s Environmental Injustice – Building for the Future 

7 p.m., Thursday, February 16
OISE, 252 Bloor Street West, Room 2212, Toronto

How can we challenge the Harper government’s environmental crimes? Join a discussion with representatives of six leading environmental organizations including Ben Powless, Indigenous Environmental Network; Raúl Burbano from Common Frontiers, Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians (National Office), both just returned from the world Thematic Social Forum: Capitalist Crisis, Social and Environmental Justice in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Kim Kerridge, Greenpeace; Dave Vasey, Environmental Justice Toronto; Andrea Peloso, Code Pink

Challenges to Harper’s plans for more pipelines to export dirty Canadian tar-sands oil; opposition to mining injustice; protection of Ontario farmland from megaquarry destruction, safeguarding secure public water supplies, and more: environmentalists are active in many fields. Yet Canada’s government remains among the worst promoters of environmental injustice. As we approach the June 2012 Rio+20 world conference on sustainable development, how can best advance our common struggle for environmental and climate justice in Canada and internationally? 

Initiated by Common Frontier, and Toronto Bolivia Solidarity, an action group of OPIRG-Toronto
torontoboliviasolidarity at gmail.com   http://t.grupoapoyo.org

Organizers: Common Frontiers, Toronto Bolivia Solidarity (action group of OPIRG Toronto) 
Sponsors: Latin American Caribbean Solidarity Network, Toronto Greater Workers Assembly International Solidarity Committee

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Film: Between Two Worlds The Jewish American Cultural Wars 

Thursday, February 16 @ 7:00 pm
Beit Zatoun, 612 Markham St. (Just across from Bathurst Subway Stn)

Between tradition and change between loyalty and dissent.Filmed in the United States and Israel, Between Two Worlds is a personal documentary that explores the divisions that are redefining Jewish identity and politics in America and beyond. The filmmakers' own families are battlegrounds over loyalty to Israel, interpretations of the Holocaust, intermarriage and a conversion to Islam, and a secret Communist past. Followed by a moderated conversation with audience. Co-sponsored by United Jewish Peoples Order . To learn more.

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JustEarth Toronto planning group meeting - you're invited!

Thur. Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
419 Carlton St. (506 streetcar)

Agenda items:
1. Climate Action Network strategizing
2.  MP visits
3. Oil subsidies lobbying
4. Tar sands and pipelines: support on Gateway pipeline opposition
5. Support for Toronto event in June (of For Our Grandchildren)

For more info: info at justearth.net

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The Indigenous Education Network and the Deepening Knowledge Project Present:

Indigenous Resurgence

with Dr. Taiaiake Alfred, Professor, Indigenous Governance, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria

Thursday, February 16 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
OISE, 252 Bloor St. W., Room 5280

Taiaiake will focus on the importance of applying, in real and immediate ways, Indigenous teachings, traditional knowledge and political philosophies. He will discuss the importance of re-establishing reconnections to land, culture and community, and describe ways some Indigenous people have begun to regenerate their Indigeneity and regain freedom in their homelands.

Gerald Taiaiake Alfred is a Full Professor in IGOV and in the Department of Political Science. He specializes in studies of traditional governance, the restoration of land-based cultural practices, and decolonization strategies. He is a prominent Indigenous intellectual and advisor to many First Nation governments and organizations. He has been awarded a Canada Research Chair, a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the field of education, and the Native American Journalists Association award for best column writing.

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Defend our Education - All out in support of our TA's!

Thursday, February 16, 3:30 PM
Simcoe Hall (King's College Circle), U of T

CUPE 3902 (the U of T TA union) has set a strike deadline of February 24.  CUPE 3902 is fighting for smaller tutorials, fair graduate student funding and a better education for all.  Teaching Assistants represented by CUPE 3902 supported the Student Day of Action against tuition fees. Now is the time to support them! As university educators, students, and community members, we share concerns about the declining quality of education at our university. We are committed to the common cause of defending our education and ensuring that this public institution is not driven by profit. As students and workers at this university, we are at the forefront in the struggle over its future.  

Teaching assistants’ working conditions are our learning conditions! Now is the time for both undergraduate and graduate students to join together to defend our education.  Come support our TAs and defend our education on February 16th!

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Freedom Dialogue 

with: Malcolm Shabazz & Krysta Williams

Thursday, February 16, 6 pm - 9 pm
SCC 115 Student Centre (Ryerson University)

Info: internal at rsuonline.ca
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/events/290385014354436/

Join us for an evening of sharing histories, awareness and reflection on the importance of racialised and aboriginal communities organizing for themselves. 

Malcolm Shabazz is the grandson of Malcolm X, the prominent civil rights leader from the United States. Shabazz’s experiences growing up with a famous name in a famous family lend insight to what inspires him to share his views on social justice with people from all around the world.

Krysta Williams is an Indigenous Feminist and Turtle clan from Moravian of the Thames First Nation. Krysta is the Lead Youth Advocate at the Native The Native Youth Sexual Health Network, and is passionate about food justice, Indigenous self-determination and healing our relationship with the land.

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Living the Limit: Criminalization, Incarceration and the Law

A panel discussion to celebrate the double book launch of:
Dean Spade’s Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics and the Limits of Law and 
David Gilbert’s Love and Struggle: My Life in SDS, the Weather Underground and Beyond 

Thursday, February 16, 7pm
Sandford Fleming Building, Room 1101, 10 King's College Circle, U of T
(copies of both books will be available for sale at the event)

Patterns of criminalization and incarceration reveal that the state disproportionately persecutes marginalized people through its legal, policing, and social services. This panel looks at how we might build social movements critical of these state apparatuses that maintain structures of injustice, while still recognizing our need to navigate them strategically in order to provide crucial support for those most vulnerable to persecution or already struggling in prison.

Participants include: Dean Spade, Christa Big Canoe, AJ Withers, and statement from David Gilbert

This venue is wheelchair accessible. 
Sponsored by OPIRG-Toronto. Endorsed by Certain Days Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar, Upping the Anti, Toronto Anarchist Black Cross

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Vandana Shiva - Seeds and Seed Multinationals

Thur. Feb. 16, 7 p.m.
Big Carrot, 348 Danforth
Free.

Sneak preview of the animated video and discussion on stopping GM alfalfa

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Resisting Apartheid, Campus Complicity, & Barriers to Education: From Palestine to Turtle Island

Thursday February 16th, noon - 2 pm
Room 103 Fitzgerald Building, College Street, U of T

Featuring: 
- Basem Ra’ad, Palestinian professor at Al-Quds University in East Jerusalem, and author of "Hidden Histories: Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean"
- Lee Maracle, Sto:Loh nation professor at U of T, and award-winning author and poet
- Susana Caxaj and Megan Kinch from Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, which works to bring the voices and experiences of communities impacted by Canadian extractive industries to Toronto 
- Speakers from Students Against Israeli Apartheid, which works to raise awareness about Israeli Apartheid and Palestinian resistance, as well as being part of the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanction movement.

Our university is complicit in crimes domestically and internationally, through investments in companies involved in war crimes, occupation, genocide or apartheid, through corporate influence over curricula, or through other exclusionary structures. 

Join us, as our speakers discuss:
•The right to education, barriers to education for Palestinian students, and institutionalized discrimination
•Peter Munk, Barrick Gold, corporatization of U of T, holding the university accountable, and how Indigenous mining communities are resisting
•The university and its role in ongoing colonization, institutionalized exclusion of First Nations students, and Indigenous education and resistance
•Divestment from complicit companies on campus, in the context of international solidarity and the growing global Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions movement

It is our money and our university. We have the power to refuse complicity!

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Love is in the Air - Skate and Dine - Fundraiser for Ecojustice

Thur. Feb. 16, 5 - 10 p.m. (dinner at 7)
25 Dockside Drive (on the lake at Jarvis)
Come out for a fantastic night of outdoor fun and indoor warmth, and support a great cause! Enjoy a skate at the Sherbourne Common with the best view of the city either before or after a delicious 3-course dinner at Against the Grain right near the lake.  
Learn how Ecojustice is helping to defend and protect your environmental rights.  Special guests and speakers will be there to tell us more.   Go to www.ecojustice.ca to learn more.
Please note:  There are no skate rentals at the Sherbourne Common so please bring your own.  Also, the rink is outdoors and not supervised after 6 pm.
To purchase $89 tickets for this fundraiser (the prices includes a tax receipt), go to http://loveisintheair2.eventbrite.ca/?ebtv=C 

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Family Day Action to Demand Justice for Migrant Farmworker Deaths

Friday, 17 February, noon - 3 pm
Office of the Chief Coroner, 32 Grenville St (College and Bay)
Followed by march to the Ministry of Labour, 400 University Ave. (University and Dundas)

As Ontarians prepare to celebrate Family Day, Justicia for Migrant Workers is urging community allies to join us to demand justice for the families of Ralston White and Paul Roach. We will also be remembering the lives tragically lost in the recent crash that killed ten migrant workers just outside London, ON. Ten migrant workers employed as chicken catchers and the driver of a transport truck died on February 6, 2012.

Mr Roach and Mr. White were two Jamaican migrant workers who were killed in a confined space accident at work in September of 2010. All charges were recently dropped against three people who operated Filsinger Farms where these deaths occurred. A plea bargain resulted in a guilty plea for one supervisor of a minor charge of failing to provide proper precautions against confined spaces and a miniscule fine of $22,500 for both deaths. This is believed to be one of lowest fines issued for a workplace death in the history of Ontario. 

For more information, contact: Chris Ramsaroop 647-832-4932 or Nicole Wall 613-296-8719

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Anti-Black Racism in the Canadian Criminal “in-Justice” System Reaches Epidemic Proportions

Fri. February 17, 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Room 314, Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Toronto (King West & John Streets)

Panel and discussion with:
Arnold Minors: Co-ordinating Associate, Arnold Minors & Associates and Former Member of the Toronto Police Services Board
Marie Clarke Walker: Executive Vice-President, Canadian Labour Congress & Executive Member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists
Gary Mwentin Hibbert: Ordained Minister, International Author, Mentor and Social Justice Activist

Did you know -
• That there has been a 52% increase in the incarcera-tion of People of Afrikan Descent in Canada’s Federal prisons?
• That the imprisonment of People of Afrikan Descent jumped by 9.12% in 2010-2011?
• People of Afrikan Descent make up approximately 2.5% of the Canadian population, yet they makeup 20% of the Federal Prison population in Ontario?
• 80% of teens in the Canadian prison system are of Afrikan descent?
• Aboriginal imprisonment jumped 26% in the 10 years since 2000?

The Global Afrikan Congress is demanding the immediate cessation of this onslaught against People of Afrikan descent by the government and the criminal “injustice” system. We demand remedial action and strategies to address systemic racism and racial discrimination against People of Afrikan Descent and the First Nations.

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Beat the Winter Blues

Friday, 17 February, 6:30 - 9:30 pm
Davenport Perth Neighbourhood Centre, 1900 Davenport Road

Come join us for an evening of food, entertainment and lots of fun to raise money for our Pelham Community Hub project.

OK here's the scoop! This year we have the return of North of Queen and we also have an amzaing drummer -- muhtadi -- check out muhtadi drumming festival online! Its going to be loads of fun, and we hope to raise $5000 for Pelham community hub!

FB event: https://www.facebook.com/events/202724729802075/

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Haiti: Solidarity and Social Justice

Friday, 17 February, 7:00 - 10:00 pm
Steelworkers' Hall, 25 Cecil Street (near College and Spadina)

Public Forum with:
•	Nicole Phillips, staff attorney for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, adjunct professor at University of San Francisco and assistant director for Haiti programs at the university. 
•	Roger Annis, coordinator of the Canada Haiti Action Network in Vancouver and director of a ten-day fact-finding and solidarity mission to Haiti in June, 2011 

Issues to be covered:
•	Updates on the ongoing legal efforts to try Jean Claude Duvalier for human rights abuses against the Haitian people and the strong legal action against the United Nations on behalf of 5,000 victims of cholera for its role in the introduction of cholera into Haiti.
•	Evaluation of the aid and recovery effort in Haiti, two years following the earthquake. Has it met the expectations of the Haitian people, and if not, why not?
•	What is Canada’s role in aid and recovery in Haiti?
•	The future of the United Nations police and military occupation force in Haiti.

Hosted by: Internal Education and Political Development Committee and the International Solidarity Committee of the Greater Toronto Workers Assembly; Toronto Haiti Action Committee; and Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network

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Meet Polly Higgins, Earth's Lawyer - EcoCide
Saturday, February 18, 4 p.m. (followed by a potluck at 6 p.m.)
Friends' House, 60 Lowther Ave. (near St. George subway station)
Free!

She is widely known as ‘Earth’s Lawyer’. It’s a title that is richly deserved, because British  lawyer Pollly Higgins has dedicated her life to one client—the Earth—and founded the campaign to make Ecocide a crime. She is an inspirational speaker, lawyer, and a tireless activist. 

Next June, Heads of State gathering in Rio for Earth Summit 2012 will be asked to endorse Ecocide, the environmental equivalent of genocide, as the 5th International Crime Against Peace alongside Genocide itself, Crimes Against Humanity, Crimes of Aggression and War Crimes. The aim of making Ecocide a crime is a way to achieve climate justice—ultimately to prevent environmental destruction happening in the first place. It is a feasible amendment to international law that could catapult global society into a sustainable future.

More info or 416-731-6605

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Icycle 2012

Sat. Feb. 18, 7 - 10 p.m.
Dufferin Grove Ice Rink (near Bloor and Dufferin)

Tentative date for the annual Ice bike race at Dufferin Grove has been achieved. Just waiting for confirmation from the city. Come one come all, to Toronto`s most anticipated winter, if we get any cold weather, event. 

Free to watch from the sidelines, $5 to sit in the box
All proceeds go to Charlies Freewheels.
After party at the Bike Pirates 1292 Bloor West

https://www.facebook.com/events/128418677275737/ 

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Haiti: Solidarity and Social Justice - Public Forum

Friday February 17, 7pm
Steelworker’s Hall, 25 Cecil St. 

Speakers:
• Nicole Phillips, staff attorney for the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, adjunct professor at University of San Francisco and assistant director for Haiti programs at the university.
• Roger Annis, coordinator of the Canada Haiti Action Network in Vancouver and director of a ten-day fact-finding and solidarity mission to Haiti in June, 2011.

Covering:
• Updates on the ongoing legal efforts to try Jean Claude Duvalier for human rights abuses against the Haitian people and the strong legal action against the United Nations on behalf of 5,000 victims of cholera for its role in the introduction of cholera into Haiti.
• Evaluation of the aid and recovery effort in Haiti, two years following the earthquake. Has it met the expectations of the Haitian people, and if not, why not?
• What is Canada’s role in aid and recovery in Haiti?
• The future of the United Nations police and military occupation force in Haiti.

For more info: niraj_joshi at sympatico.ca; or jordycummings at gmail.com

Hosted by: * Internal Education and Political Development Committee and the International Solidarity Committee of the Greater Toronto Workers Assembly and * Toronto Haiti Action Committee

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Voces Politicas (Political Voices): Direct, Open Debate 

Sat. Feb. 18,  5:00 pm 

Beit Zatoun House, 612 Markham St (near Bloor and Bathurst)

The new constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia entrench concepts for a different way of thinking about how humans should relate to each other, in a manner that should translate into a ¨good way of living or living well¨ (buen vivir o vivir bien). A discussion exploring these constitutional innovations and their significance for nation states, citizenry, Indigenous peoples and respect for the environment. 

More information: nchamah at me.com

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Your Food, Your Choice: The Value of Organic

Sat Feb 18, 9am-5pm
U of T Conference Centre, 89 Chestnut St. 

For consumers and growers interested in healthy food that nourishes people and the environment.
Canadian Organic Growers and The Big Carrot present this full-day conference.

http://www.cogtoronto.org/COG_Toronto/Conference_2012.html

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Seeds - A Play about Monsanto vs Percy Schmeiser

Produced by Crow's Theatre (Toronto) and Porte Parole (Montreal)

February 18 to March 10
Young Centre for the Performing Arts (Distillery District)

Think you know what's on your plate?  Think again. Centering on the four-year legal showdown between biotech giant Monsanto Inc. and Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser, SEEDS leads us through a high-voltage labyrinth of political maneuvering, patent wars, cash-fuelled science and the global domination of the planet's seed supply.  A bold new documentary play by award-winning Annabel Soutar and director Chris Abraham.
Feb 18-22 previews (8pm): $10
February 24-25 (8pm): $25
February 27-March 3 (8pm): $30
March 5-March 10 (8pm): $35

Call 416-866-8666 or visit www.crowstheatre.com  Use Promo Code "Organic" to get 25% all regular priced tickets!

"Seeds is great journalism, and even better theatre."  The Gazette

http://www.crowstheatre.com/production/current-plays/seeds-2/

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Colombia: Mining Injustice Chronicles & Social Conflict Video & Discussion

Sun. Feb. 19, 7:00pm
OISE, 252 Bloor St. West, Room # 2211

Sponsored by: Colombia Action Solidarity Alliance, an action group of OPIRG-Toronto & endorsed by LACSN.

More information: cca_toronto at hotmail.com

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