John Bonnar Audio Blog

Activists call for permanent shutdown of Mount Polley mine

johnbon — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 22:20:21 +0000

April 29 was a national day of action to stop the reopening of the Mount Polley Mine in British Columbia.

Last August, 25 million cubic meters of toxic mining waste spilled in to the unceded Territory of the Secwepemc Peoples. The spill has disrupted their way of life. The toxic tailings have reached the Fraser watershed and the second largest salmon spawning grounds in the world.

Here in Toronto, 50 people gathered at noon outside the Toronto Stock Exchange on King Street.

Click here to see more photos from the rally.

Canadians 'disappointed and alarmed' by federal government's lack of commitment on climate change

johnbon — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 22:26:10 +0000

Over 30 groups and organizations, representing thousands of Canadians, issued a joint statement to the Canadian government on Wednesday decrying the government's lack of commitment to domestic action on climate change and the international climate negotiations process.

In their letter, the signatories claim that "the government's recent failure to submit Canada's targets for emissions cuts to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by the March 31 deadline is indicative of this lack of commitment."

The groups claimed that the UNFCCC invited developed countries to submit their Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC).

Slaughterhouse donates lamb to Ontario animal sanctuary

johnbon — Sat, 04 Apr 2015 12:34:41 +0000

Dedicated animal rights activists convinced a slaughterhouse owner to spare one lamb from being killed over the Easter weekend.

The Toronto-based activists had come to Newmarket for a break-of-dawn vigil last week, organized by Katie Barber of Aurora’s Animal Rights Advocates, at King Cole Ducks, Canada’s largest duck slaughterhouse.

Photo: Louise Jorgensen

At the same time, a few decided to reach out to a neighbouring lamb slaughterhouse. During a spur-of-the-moment visit, Anita Krajnc and Paul Bali made their appeal for “this small Easter mercy” to Newmarket Meat Packers co-founder Gino Plastino and his son.

Cindy Gladue decision sparks cross-country protests

johnbon — Fri, 03 Apr 2015 13:18:26 +0000

cindyglad.mp3

Click here to see more photos from the rally.

Listen to speeches from the rally in Toronto outside the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General's office at 720 Bay Street.

Toronto speakers:

Introduction by Elder and drummers

Christa Big-Canoe, Aboriginal Legal Services

Audrey Huntley, No More Silence, sharing the statement released by the Gladue family

Lena Peters, Black Lives Matters

Chanelle Gallant, STRUT

CUPE 3902 and 3903 members march for better working, living and learning conditions

johnbon — Sat, 28 Mar 2015 18:23:47 +0000

Although Mary Jean Hande isn’t currently taking any classes, the third year PhD student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Educstion (OISE) puts in 40 hour work weeks doing field work, writing, applying for grants, presenting at conferences and working on publications.

On top of that, she works three additional jobs, two with CUPE Local 3902 and one with CUPE Local 3907, that add up to another 15 to 20 hours per week.

Click here to see more photos from the rally and beginning of the march.

Striking U of T and York University education workers rally for accessible, high-quality education

johnbon — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 22:12:46 +0000

"Ontario will be the best place to live, from childhood to retirement," said Kathleen Wynne on the homepage of the Welcome to Ontario website.

Except, of course, if you're a university student. Then it's the worst place to live.

Ontario university students pay the highest tuition fees in Canada, averaging $7,539 per year, and the Liberal government spends the lowest amount per student than any other jurisdiction in Canada.

By the time they've completed their undergraduate degrees, students have racked up an average of $37,000 in debt.

Click here to see more photos from Saturday's rally.

Community organizer detained by U.S. Department of Homeland Security

johnbon — Thu, 29 Jan 2015 18:21:00 +0000

Julian Ichim made his second trip to Ireland last November to gather information for his blog and radio show as well as attend the Ar Fhies of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement (32CSM) as an international guest.

But ten days later, when he tried to board a flight home from Ireland to Canada, he was detained and interrogated multiple times by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The 32CSM, an Irish republican group, is a pressure group with branches throughout the traditional counties of Ireland. Republicans want to leave the United Kingdom and join a united Ireland.

Crown drops charges against animal rights activists

johnbon — Fri, 16 Jan 2015 18:46:40 +0000

The Crown withdrew criminal mischief charges on Wednesday against six animal rights activists who had been arrested last November for blockading an entrance to a slaughterhouse in the west end of Toronto.

“It’s never pleasant to have charges hanging over one’s head,” said animal rights lawyer Camille Labchuk, who represented the six defendants, in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Homeless men freeze to death during Toronto's winter cold snap

johnbon — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:11:24 +0000

Group moves to stop GTA legal clinic mergers

johnbon — Tue, 13 Jan 2015 14:34:09 +0000

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My guest today is Oriel Varga, a member of a grassroots coalition fighting the idea of amalgamating 17 independent community legal clinics in the GTA into five super clinics.

Keep Neighbourhood Legal Clinics say the move is driven by austerity measures that are not in the best interests of low income people.

I spoke with Oriel via telephone on Monday evening about the impact of community legal clinics on low-income communities and the problems associated with the proposed model.

Click here to visit Keep Neighbourhood Legal Clinics

Feminist activists remain committed to fight for 24-hour drop-in for women and trans people

johnbon — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 01:27:40 +0000

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My guest today is Zoe Dodd, a member of the Ontario Coalition against Poverty and one of five women arrested and charged with criminal offences on November 25 for refusing to leave a Shelter Support and Housing Administration office in downtown Toronto.

The sit-in back in November was part of a campaign, organized by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), that is demanding that the City of Toronto open up more shelter beds and a 24-hour drop-in for women and trans people -- commitments that were approved by City Council in 2014.

I spoke with Zoe via telephone on Thursday evening hours after she and her fellow activists had their first court appearance in Toronto.

Anti-poverty activist reflects on the importance of saving our social safety net

johnbon — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 14:53:27 +0000

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Harry Leslie Smith is the author of Harry’s Last Stand, an account of growing up poor in England, of seeing the welfare state raise a generation out of poverty and then seeing it systematically dismantled in the last 30 years.

He will be speaking on the evening of Thursday December 4th at 519 Church Street Community Centre. The event is hosted by the Put Food in the Budget campaign which began in January 2009 in response to Premier McGuinty's decision to exclude an increase in social assistance rates for adults in Ontario from his poverty reduction strategy.

Click here to find out more about the December 4th event.

OCAP members occupy city building, demand safe space for women and trans people

johnbon — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 15:36:05 +0000

November 25.

A year since the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) began its campaign for 24-hour women and trans drop-in spaces after a homeless woman was sexually assaulted twice in one night near Dundas and Sherbourne in Toronto’s DTES.

Months after Toronto City Council agreed to move forward with a plan to establish 24-hour drop-ins this year, then later mothballed the project until 2015.

"At a time when shelters, especially women and family shelters, operate at nearly 100 per cent capacity every night and turn people away with nowhere to go," said OCAP in its October 20 release.

Health-care activists snubbed by Joe Oliver's constituency office staff

johnbon — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 15:12:23 +0000

On Tuesday morning Health for All, along with representatives from other signatory organizations, tried to deliver a letter to Finance Minister Joe Oliver's constituency office in Toronto.

"We let the staff know we would be coming to drop off an open letter signed by 160 community organizations," said Ritika Goel, a member of Health for All, in an email interview.

"Unfortunately, in response, they decided to lock the door which speaks to the complete disregard for public opinion."

Health for All joined 160 organizations in signing an open letter to Joe Oliver in opposition to provisions in Budget Bill C-43 that would allow provinces to restrict access to social assistance for refugee claimants and others who lack permanent residency status.

Activists block entrance to Toronto slaughterhouse

johnbon — Sat, 08 Nov 2014 14:27:20 +0000

It began at 8 am on an overcast Thursday morning outside St. Helen’s Meat Packers, a slaughterhouse in the west end of Toronto.

In a non-violent act of civil disobedience, 6 activists sat on the pavement to prevent trucks from delivering cows to the facility. Sixty five to seventy other activists turned up to provide support.

Photo courtesy of professional documentary photographer Jo-Anne McArthur

Across the street is a similar operation, Ryding Regency Meat Packers.