Throughout this past week, some of your friendly neighbourhood anarchists have been going on a sticker and poster campaign in Hamilton, Ancaster, Toronto, Kitchener, Guelph, and Waterloo. Maybe you’ve seen some of the “Blackout Black Friday” stickers and posters urging residents to not shop or work on Black Friday for ten days. Read More …
This is a short interview with Cheyanne Thorpe, an Indigenous woman and resident of Waterloo Region, who has been organising protests and public pressure against the placement of the Sir John A MacDonald statue in a public park in Baden Ontario. The statue, part of the “prime ministers walk” project was located in Baden with little support, after residents in Kitchener and Waterloo rejected the idea that the project be built in their cities. Read More …
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 …
Following RCMP raids on Wet’suwet’en Territory this week, indigenous people, land defenders and accomplices have been taking up the call to Shut Down Canada with ongoing actions across the country targeting urban centres, highways, ports and railways. Here is an update on some actions across southern Ontario thus far and some notes on what’s to come. Something incomplete or missing? Send us a reportback! Read More …
As the world swirls with renewed interest in climate change and the uncertain terms of humanity’s future, we have to ask if we are going in the right direction or down the same path. Surely, the fate of the climate, however ambiguously defined, is something that concerns most people, even if the goofiness that is climate change denial seems to be on the rise as well. There is lots of talk, as we slog into the current election cycle, of the possibilities of a ‘New Green Deal’ and what the most effective way of achieving this might be. And many people will be striking today demand further action. Read More …
Fascists in Kitchener-Waterloo had a rally today to celebrate Chris Vanderweide’s homophobic attacks on Hamilton Pride. I put on my hot pink war shirt and took my horse down to twirl a rainbow flag at them. Read More …
On the morning of June 28th a crew of kw anarchists dropped a banner in solidarity with all those fierce queers arrested and attacked in Hamilton. Read More …
Do you ever read your local paper and wonder why there aren’t more articles favourably comparing school children to Donald Trump? Well, the Waterloo Region Record’s got you covered. Yesterday, May 13, they ran an article called “Waterloo Region Youth Learn the Art of the Deal”; so lying, bravado, and sexual harassment, right? It described children as young as 4 gathering to highlight their businesses and sell each other stuff at the Children’s Business Fair: “They hope it will help children learn about the entrepreneurial spirit from a young age — something they don’t get in most classrooms.”
Are we actually expected to believe that a lack of “entrepreneurial spirit” is a problem with schools? And that we should be grateful that Catalyst 137, a space for venture capitalists and developers of the creepy “Internet of Things”, has stepped in to fill the gap? There are a lot of things that kids don’t get in most classrooms that would actually be beneficial, like time in nature, accurate sex education, or conflict resolution. Or (why not?) anti-capitalism. “[These kids] aren’t even 12 years old yet, but they know how to close” — I’m sure that’s exactly what we all need. Read More …
Next week, a speaking event is scheduled at Queen’s University featuring alt-right-connected and self-styled ‘free speech warrior’ Lindsay Shepherd. Posters have appeared in Kingston calling for a counter-demonstration. It feels like a familiar story is unfolding, one in which we play our parts in a script already written by the strategists of the campus right. Wanting to contribute to an ongoing discussion about how to engage with these kinds of events, I reached out to an anarchist comrade in Kitchener-Waterloo who is familiar with Shepherd’s strategy and has experience with various efforts to counter her events. What follows is a reflection without an obvious solution, but my hope is that it will encourage creativity, strategic thinking and effective practice. We did this interview over email; it has been edited for clarity and length. Read More …
From KW May Day Collective By Adam, member of the KW May Day Collective It seems necessary to respond to some of things outlined in Socialist Fightback’s statement about KW May Day. As a member of the KW May Day collective I can certainly speak to some of our feelings, thoughts and rationales around this. My perspective is informed in part by various interactions with Fightback generally over the last Read More …
