Category: Actions

Hamilton: Coronavirus Phone Line for Prisoners at the Barton Jail

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On March 20 and 21, we stood outside the Barton Jail with a banner reading: “Jail Sucks! Tell us about it #coronavirus2020” with a phone number on it. The phones in provincial jails only work to make collect calls to Bell land lines (because they are scumbag profiteers), so we had to set up a service in order to be able to receive these calls. This tactic is easy to replicate in different places and only requires a small group, so we share our experience in order to encourage others to open direct lines of communication with prisoners during this time. Read More …

Ghost Blockade – “Edmonton”

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In the early morning of Friday, March 13th, 2020, we took part in an act of defiance and solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en. Inspired by recent actions in the GTA, we setup a ghost blockade along the railway tracks just outside of Edmonton. It was cold, so we gave the ghosts a fire to keep them warm. CN was alerted. We burned the injunction that had been served to Indigenous land and water defenders and their settler allies on February 19th, 2020, for blocking this very same section of rail. Read More …

“St. Catharines” Banner Drop in Solidarity With Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders

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In response to the continued colonialist occupation of Wet’suwet’en land by government, police, and extractive industry, some settler accomplices dropped a banner during rush hour over highway 406 in so called St. Catharines.

We support the autonomy and self determination of indigenous peoples on Turtle Island and abroad, who are leading the struggles against colonialism, environmental destruction, and dispossession.

With this small gesture of solidarity , we hope to inspire others in the Region to stand with land defenders in Wet’suwet’en and beyond, and remind the forces of the settler state that despite the media bamboozle, this struggle is still very much alive. Read More …

Solidarity Ghost Blockades in GTA

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On Wednesday March 11, hours before the student walkout for Wet’suwet’en, fellow supporters continued to disrupt the Canadian economy by holding “Ghost Blockades” at the time of the morning commute. Activists in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en and other Indigenous Land Defenders have planted harmless signals on train tracks in various parts of the GTA, forcing rail traffic to halt while officials investigate. Trains were stopped, but this time there were no visible activists on the tracks for the police to arrest and intimidate. As police forces escalate their responses to peaceful demonstrations on rails, land defenders and allies are finding ways to send their message without risking police aggression. Railway police and other workers will need to investigate each blockade to deem the tracks safe for further traffic. In the mean time, the message is clear: RCMP and CGL must leave Wet’suwet’en territory. Read More …

Three Railway Sabotage Actions Targeting Milton Junction in Solidarity with Land Defenders

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It seems worth sharing that we have managed to shut down, (if only for a few to several hours), different rail lines in Southern Ontario using the ol’ copper wire technique. We did this three separate times targeting a junction in Milton, on lines that connect Kitchener-Waterloo to Toronto and Burlington. Using paper maps to follow where lines go, we had fun finding places to act with most impact. We learned more about how this was done following some of the other informative and inspiring posts here on North Shore. Read More …

Reportback on Pipeline Sabotage Behind Enemy Lines – Alberta

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before the sun rose in the early early morning of 02/20/2020 we took direct action against pipeline infrastructure in Acheson AB
outraged by the Reactionary Colonial Mounted Pigs invasion of sovereign Wet’suwet’en territory and in solidarity with the Secwepemc we decommissioned a section of pipe that the klanadian state (financers of this project) had left sitting in the open air with little defense
solidarity means attack Read More …

Kingston: Report from CN Rail Occupation

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On Thursday February 27th, Kingston locals – settler, immigrant, and Indigenous alike – gathered on the CN mainline in Kingston at the Gardiners Road overpass to continue to pressure the Canadian state in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs.

The rail bridge was taken at 8 am and CN was immediately notified. Flags were flown, banners were hung, a fire was lit for warmth and, as the word got out, supporters began to arrive!

Indigenous drummers kept our hearts light and our spirits high as we held our space with a sense of community, sharing warm food and drinks, laughter and dance. Read More …

Updates from Hamilton Rail Blockade

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It’s a new day, and we started it by burning the injunction delivered by CN rail!

If you wanted to join us last night but couldn’t, today is the day to get down here. We know the spot we’re in has made it tricky, but folks showing up all through the night prove it’s still possible!

And so you know; we’re shutting down an effective junction that handles all rail traffic in and out of Hamiton. For each day we shut it down, it takes them twice that or more to recover! Read More …

Solidarity Blockade Underway in Hamilton

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As of 5pm today (February 24th) we have set-up a rail blockade in Hamilton, ON., in response to the OPP raid on Tyendinaga this morning. Our intention is to stay here indefinitely and we are calling on others to join us (See map below). Come for a couple hours or stay for the night, and bring your friends! If you plan on coming out, dress warmly, bring blankets and sleeping bags, and snacks are always welcome. If you can’t make it out, please help spread the word and share this with your networks.

The site is a bit tricky to get to, but not impossible. It can be accessed from either the West or East side of the tracks, and there is parking scattered around relatively close on both sides. Read More …

Report on Shutdown of Canada’s Second-Largest Rail Yard

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On Saturday February 15 about 400 people showed up in Vaughn, ON to blockade the tracks in and out of MacMillan Yard – Canada’s second-largest rail yard – for 7 hours. This action was just one amongst a wave of solidarity actions in response to Canada’s invasion and violence towards the Wet’suwet’en people on behalf of private industry.

Around 10am 50 trusted folks converged in a parking lot nearby. As the first wave of people to blockade the tracks, they made a phone call to CN rail and had crews 1.5kms east and west to put red flagging on the tracks. Red flags are a univeral indicator for rail crews to stop. After calls and flags were confirmed, folks cut through fencing and threw down large woodens boards so people could easily cross deep ditches filled with icy water and made their way past a (previously) stored train onto the rails. This first wave of people effectively shut down traffic on CN lines headed west out of Macmillan to Kitchener, London, Hamilton, New York and Michigan. Read More …