Tag: Hamilton

Hamilton Update: News About Arrests and Tips for Staying Safe at the Blockades to Come

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Several arrests in Hamilton have been made in relation to the recent blockade action that saw rail lines shut down in response to the OPP raid in Tyendinaga early this week. Police took people from their homes and workplaces, for a total of 4 arrests at this time. These people are currently all still in police custody and will be appearing in court for bail in the next couple days. While unfortunate and enraging, none of this is surprising. Over the course of the last month, wave after wave of blockades and other actions have swept across the country causing incalculable economic damage and throwing Canada and its treatment of indigenous communities into the global spotlight. It was only a matter of time until the state responded with force and began to target those involved. This week appears to have been a tipping point in this regard, with police increasingly making arrests in different cities.  Read More …

Hamilton Junction Blockade has Ended

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After holding the blockade for 24 hours, and enduring not one but two readings of the unbelievably long injunction, we decided to end the blockade and walk away on our own terms. Everyone got away, no arrests, no contact with police.

Today we blockaded and diverted not one, two, or three, separate rail companies but four, those four being Via Rail, GO/Metrolinx, CN, and CP.

This is just the start.

See you at the barricades. 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 …

Hamilton: Sabotage to CN Line

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As the Wet’suwet’en, the Mohawks of Tyendinaga, and Coast Salish people all burned injunctions handed down by colonial courts today, we thought to act in solidarity with  them.

Overnight, we burned a small road crossing signal box on the CN line. It’s default is to activate the road crossings if tripped, so no people were in danger.

We chose rail because it has a long history aiding in the colonization and confederation of Turtle Island and the displacement and death of Indigenous people with deep economic impacts. It is impossible to defend, even in the busy city – so tonight proves.

Fuck the state. Fuck the colonial courts. It’s time to stand up and shut shit down. Read More …

Hamilton: Report from Rail Blockade

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On February 2, 2020 – before the RCMP began raiding Wet’suwet’en Territories once more – folks gathered in JC Beemer Park in Hamilton, ON for a “festive disruption” that promised both fun and effective action in support of the people risking their lives out west.

We’re happy to say it was a success!

After approximately 120 people of all ages gathered at the park, we started the day with a traditional Haudensaunee opening and blessing, and then briefed folks not to talk to police for everyone’s safety, or media as to keep messaging aligned with the messages coming from the Wet’suwet’en. We fired up the crowd with some stories and encouragement to challenge their own fears and discomforts – and then took all 5 lanes of an arterial road through the North end of Hamilton. Read More …

Hamilton: Native Women Block the Highway 403!

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On Thursday morning, I got up to the news that the RCMP had begun to move in on the Morice Service Rd heading eventually to Gitdum’ten and Unist’ot’en camps. There were pictures that showed them in full tactical gear, with semi-automatic rifles and attack dogs. This wasn’t a surprise to me, but I was very angry. How many more years will native people have to live at the barrel of a gun? How many more years will Canada force us off our lands because they need to build a pipeline or a railroad? I watched a video put out by Sleydo that called for Indigenous people to rise up and I knew I had to meet the call. It is clear to me that reconciliation is a total lie. I think that this is making it clear to everyone.

So when I got invited to an action to shut down the Highway 403 with some other native women, I was all in. A group of us (some Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, and Métis) women and two-spirited people plus a bunch of supporters (anarchists mostly) met up around 5pm near Hamilton. Read More …

Statement on the Dissolution of HTSN

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We are writing this brief message to formally announce the dissolution of the Hamilton Tenants Solidarity Network (HTSN). This is a decision that our members have reached collectively, and without acrimony. Although this announcement may come as a surprise to some of our supporters, we are looking forward to the opportunities that this change will open up, and the new directions that it will allow us to take with our work. When HTSN was first established, our goal was to organize a federated network of tenant committees across the city of Hamilton. Read More …

Keep your fire bright! Solidarity Railway sabotage in Burlington

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Last night, we did a sabotage at railway bottleneck in Burlington. This place chosen because of the juncture there, with lines from Detroit and Buffalo joining to go forward to Toronto and Montreal. We have heard it’s the busiest intersection of this kind in Canada. This action is in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en people in the front line struggle against the Canadian state and the corporations it supports, in response to a call for actions attacking the railways.

We did this by identifying a signal station and setting a fire under its power supply to destroy the cables that would feed it. Hoping this will take them some time to repair and keeping the line closed for longer. Read More …

Hamilton: Into the Streets: Stand with the Wet’suwet’en – Rally Reportback

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On Friday, January 10th, around 50+ strong rallied in Gore Park in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en who are defending their unceded sovereign land against violent colonial invasion.

Equipped with a marching band, signs, and a giant balloon banner that read: “STOP CGL”, we proceeded onto King Street, catching cops and bankers by surprise when we detoured into the RBC in Jackson Square to disrupt as they prepared to close for the day. One perturbed employee who tried to head off the procession protested “you can’t do this! We’re trying to do business here!” to which a speaker in our midst retorted that was exactly the point.

And that is exactly the point: Business will not go on uninterrupted and unchallenged while indigenous lives are under attack. Read More …