Category: News and Analysis

Ottawa: The “Battle” of Billings Bridge

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A year ago now, on February 13, 2022, Ottawa residents blocked convoy vehicles on Billings Bridge and held it for hours. Since then, much has been written about this mass mobilization from left and liberal commentators. This generally celebrates it as an immense, glorious victory over the convoy, and the beginning of the tide turning in the convoy’s occupation of Ottawa—and don’t get me wrong, it was. But in speaking to friends outside of Ottawa, it feels more and more necessary to complicate this narrative by adding some of my and my comrades’ experiences on that day. Read More …

Practical Abolition from the Inside Out: Reflections on Prisoner Solidarity Organizing

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In the US and Canada, it doesn’t get that much lower than the prisoner. Excluded in every way, stripped of their most basic rights, exposed to humiliation and violence regularly, deprived of basic necessities, prisoners are at the very bottom of the social hierarchy, scorned and blamed by all the other classes. Prison crystalizes all forms of oppression and also props them up, and so organizing around prison can be a way of getting at the core of exploitative power relations in a community.

In Hamilton, our local prison is right in middle of the city, in between the cheap grocery store and the beer store. We pass it all the time, and it literally casts it shadow over us. Our goal in starting the Barton Prisoner Solidarity Project (or BAPSOP) in 2018 was to “thin the walls” and make it so we could hear the voices of our neighbours on the inside, make them feel a little less alone. Read More …

Escaping Tomorrow’s Cages: Winter Update on New Prisons

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Since our last update, EllisDon has started work on the new prison in Thunder Bay, the so-called Thunder Bay Correctional Complex (TBCC). They started work in early November, and the pictures in this post show the status of the site.

Of course, this feels terrible to everyone who understands prison to be an insult to the human spirit, but work won’t be complete until 2026. There is also quite a bit of new info available that could be of interest to those of us who do not intend to just let these prisons get built. Read More …

Drag Defenders Won 4-0 At Weekend Protests

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The far-right movement is coming hard for the 2SLGBTQ+ community right now, fueled by the anti-trans narratives of accounts like Libs of Tiktok and white supremacists like Tucker Carlson. They’re redoing the lavender scare of the 1950s – in which gay men were portrayed as dangerous pedophiles – and saying the same things about trans and 2SLGBTQ+ people today.

As a result of a growing and dangerous anti-trans narrative and movement, both globally and with significant Canadian elements, all-ages drag events are being targeted. Four of them were protested against this weekend alone, but at every one they were vastly outnumbered by the 2SLGBTQ+ community and allies who drowned them out with chants of “our love is louder than your hate!” Read More …

Cult Recruiter, Neo-Nazi, Personal Trainer: Meet Ottawa’s Ben Mockler

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A Canadian fascist organizer and live streamer has been recruiting men into fascism for the past two years — all under the cover of anonymity.

A new investigation by the Canadian Anti-Hate Network has revealed that the man who hid under the name “Aquila the Eagle” is Ben Mockler, a personal trainer and owner of the Nova Signum gym on Ottawa’s Rideau Street. Read More …

From Embers: The Public Order Emergency Commission

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Interview with an anti-fascist observer about insights gained from the Public Order Emergency Commission hearings, a public inquiry into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act to repress the so-called Freedom Convoy in February 2022.

We discuss why governments invoke emergencies, OPP’s Project Hendon, how the Convoy was funded, the relationship between convoy organizers and police, comparisons with #ShutDownCanada, liberal conspiracy theories, the scale of economic disruption during the Convoy, and more. Read More …

Land Back Lane: Ontario Judge Grants Permanent Injunction to Foxgate

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From 1492 Land Back Lane (Facebook) Haudenosaunee Land Defenders Will Remain at 1492 Land Back Lane Forever On December 13, 2022, Ontario Justice Sweeny decided to grant a permanent injunction to Foxgate Developments Inc. This decision now gives Foxgate Developments the ability to seek police enforcement of this injunction. Previous enforcement attempts led by police resulted in serious harm to our community; police shot at land defenders in the back Read More …

Brockville: Drag Storytime Reportback

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From Gay Mafia Protection Racket Like the world’s worst game of whack-a-mole, we were out again yesterday, December 17, in Brockville, Ontario to protect a drag story hour at their local library. And once again, we outnumbered them from the start, successfully keeping them out of the event and away from LGBTQ+ kids. Library staff were happy to see us when we arrived ahead of time and set up our Read More …

Solidarity with Alfredo Cospito! From Barton to Bancali \\ Solidarité avec Alfredo Cospito! De Barton à Bancali

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We were out holding up a banner with a phone number on it to connect with prisoners at the Barton jail in Hamilton, Canada, the way we usually do, but we thought we would also take a moment to express our solidarity with anarchist prisoners in struggle.

Alfredo Cospito has been on hunger strike since October 20th to demand that he be moved out of segregation and have his phone calls, mail, and visits restored. He was placed in these conditions back in May essentially to punish him for staying involved in the anarchist struggle from inside. Read More …

Yes! Throw that baby out with the bath water: Further reflections on the ethic of uncertainty and settler futurity

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Editor’s Note: The final paragraph of this submission was edited the evening of November 14th as per the author’s request. A couple of days after the From Embers podcast aired the episode, “Quebec Nationalism and Settler Futurity – Refusing Innocence,” someone posted a thoughtful and engaging reflection about this discussion. As one of the guests on this episode, I’ve taken some time to sit with the concerns shared in the post and decided Read More …