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Queen Victoria Statue in Montreal attacked with green paint in advance of Demonstration Against Racism and Xenophobia

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Mar 242019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Montreal, March 24, 2019 — A landmark bronze statue to Queen Victoria, unveiled in 1900 and located on Sherbrooke Street at McGill University, was vandalized last night, in advance of the upcoming Demonstration Against Racism and Xenophobia.

Queen Victoria statues in Montreal were targeted at least three times last year: this past Christmas Eve by Santa’s Rebel Elves, on Victoria Day by the Henri Paul Anti-Monarchy Brigade, and on St. Patrick’s Day (2018) by the Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade itself.

According to Séamus Singh of the Brigade: “This year we decided to wait one week after St. Patrick’s Day, to better time our action with anti-racist organizing in Montreal.” The Brigade emphasizes, however, that they are not involved directly or indirectly with the organization of today’s important anti-racist march.

Lakshmi O’Leary, also a member of the Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade, explained: “Actually, we had to spend a considerable amount of time to remove the thick plastic covering which has kept the statue hidden since December, when it was covered in red paint on Christmas Eve.” She added: “We left the hood on Queen Victoria’s face, since, if Irish and Indian anti-colonial rebels in the last century had their way, she would have been properly hanged for her crimes.”

The Brigade asserts that the presence of Queen Victoria statues in Montreal are an insult to the self-determination and resistance struggles of oppressed peoples worldwide, including Indigenous nations in North America (Turtle Island) and Oceania, as well as the peoples of Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, the Indian subcontinent, and everywhere the British Empire committed its atrocities.

The statues are also an insult to the legacy of revolt by Irish freedom fighters, and anti-colonial mutineers of British origin. The statues particularly deserve no public space in Quebec, where the Québecois were denigrated and marginalized by British racists acting in the name of the putrid monarchy represented by Queen Victoria.

Queen Victoria’s reign, which continues to be whitewashed in history books and in popular media, represented a massive expansion of the barbaric British Empire. Collectively her reign represents a criminal legacy of genocide, mass murder, torture, massacres, terror, forced famines, concentration camps, theft, cultural denigration, racism, and white supremacy. That legacy should be denounced and attacked.

Last night’s action is motivated and inspired by movements worldwide that have targeted colonial and racist statues for vandalism and removal: Cornwallis in Halifax, John A. Macdonald in Kingston (Ontario) and Victoria (BC), the Rhodes Must Fall movement in South Africa, the resistance to racist Confederate monuments in the USA, and more.

In the words of another Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade member, Udham Connolly: “Our action is a simple expression of anti-colonial and anti-imperialist solidarity, and we encourage others to undertake similar actions against racist monuments and symbols that should be in museums, not taking up our shared public spaces”

Séamus Singh concludes: “This time, however, we are not asking for this statue in particular to be taken down; as long as it remains vandalized with green paint, with Queen Victoria’s head in a hood, it can stay up.”

John A. Macdonald Monument in Montreal vandalized on International Day Against Racism

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Mar 222019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

MONTREAL, March 17, 2019, 5am — At dawn today, on the International Day Against Racism, the racist and colonial John A. Macdonald Monument (1895) was again vandalized with paint.

This time, the #MacdonaldMustFall group in Montreal claims responsibility. Our action is undertaken in solidarity and support with worldwide actions and mobilizations against racism and fascism, including #UniteAgainstRacism demonstrations across Canada, coordinated by the Migrant Rights Network.

The vandalism this morning marks at least the sixth time that the Macdonald Monument has been vandalized in the past two years (previous actions, by our count, on November 12, 2017, June 27, 2018, August 17, 2018, October 7, 2018, and December 24, 2018).

The #MacdonaldMustFall group reminds the media: John A. Macdonald was a white supremacist. He directly contributed to the genocide of Indigenous peoples with the creation of the brutal residential schools system, as well as other measures meant to destroy native cultures and traditions. He was racist and hostile towards non-white minority groups in Canada, openly promoting the preservation of a so-called “Aryan” Canada. He passed laws to exclude people of Chinese origin. He was responsible for the hanging of Métis martyr Louis Riel. Macdonald’s statue belongs in a museum, not as a monument taking up public space in Montreal.

Macdonald statues should be removed from public space and instead placed in archives or museums, where they belong as historical artifacts. Public space should celebrate collective struggles for justice and liberation, not white supremacy and genocide.

Help Build a New Resistance Camp on Wet’suwet’en Territory!

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Mar 202019

From Sovereign Likhts’amisyu

Likhts’amisyu Spring Construction Camp: APRIL 28, 2019 – MAY 18, 2019

The Likhts’amisyu Clan, one of the five clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation, will soon be asserting their sovereignty by creating a new, permanent land reclamation on their territory. In doing so, they are requesting support with their upcoming Spring Construction Camp, scheduled to begin on April 28th, 2019.

For almost ten years, the Wet’suwet’en have been resisting an array of oil and gas pipelines with the purpose of transporting bitumen from the Alberta tar sands and fracked gas from Northeastern B.C. to the Northwest Coast for export. The focal point of these efforts have been the Unist’ot’en Camp, a long-standing territorial re-occupation which was built directly in the path of the proposed pipeline corridor. Years of resistance have caused multiple multi-billion-dollar projects to be delayed and/or cancelled, however, this winter, the Coastal GasLink pipeline corporation obtained an injunction, and in January, the RCMP raided the Gidim’ten Access Checkpoint, which had been established on the road leading to the Unist’ot’en Camp. Several days later, CGL and the RCMP breached the gate at the Unist’ot’en Camp.

It is important that people realize that this fight is far from over. The events of December and January should be regarded as one phase in a struggle that has been going on for a decade. A new phase of struggle will begin in the Spring of this year, and it may prove to be the decisive one. Part of the strategy is to stymie CGL by blocking them at multiple points. Whereas at the beginning of December, there was one resistance camp on Wet’suwet’en territory, there are now three, and a fourth will be beginning soon. We encourage all committed land defenders to plan to participate in the struggle on Wet’suwet’en territory this Spring and Summer.

The Sovereign Likhts’amisyu Camp benefit from the leadership of two renown warrior chiefs, Smolgelgem and Dsahayl. Smolgelgem (also known as Toghestiy and Warner Naziel) co-founded the Unist’ot’en Camp and has been a driving force in the Wet’suwet’en resistance, and in the indigenous sovereignty movement of Turtle Island. Dsahayl, also a Likhts’amisyu chief, has decades of experience fighting for Wet’suwet’en rights, particularly in regards to fishing and conservation. The two of them are organizing with the full support of their clan behind them.

The new Likhts’amisyu Camp will be strategically located in order to impede the ability of the Coastal GasLink corporation to force their pipeline through Wet’suwet’en land.

The chiefs state: “We will be building permanent buildings on our territory in an effort to assert our precolonial rights and jurisdiction on our lands. We will be asking for help from volunteers to assist in fundraising, building a cabin, a kitchen dining and a bunk house, and also the associated outbuildings.

We plan on the Construction Period being between April 28th until May 18th. This initiative will likely start with site prep before April 28, 2019 with site preparation and logistical planning. It will also likely continue after May 18, 2019, with finishing off the construction projects.

We are looking for people who have carpentry, electrical, and log construction experience. We are also willing to invite people who have little to no experience with any construction trade skills but who are solid and willing to help out with the construction projects. This is a great opportunity to learn new skills off of skilled trades people. We also hope to start a large garden on the site for growing food. First Aid skills and Cooking skills are also essential personnel to have at our camp.”

We are also requesting help in other areas as well, such as fund-raising. If you would like to offer assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

For more information, please visit www.likhtsamisyu.com or email likhtsamisyu@gmail.com and/or lihtsamisyu@riseup.net.

Notes on Our March 15th

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Mar 182019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

I want to remember how it felt to be shook by the beauty of the crowd. Fear and anxiety dissipate as a hundred-strong black bloc takes the street, realizing its collective power that compels police units to maintain a safe distance. It’s happening. We can do this.

Attacking luxury cars, hotels, and banks when the police have been made unable to defend them is an attack on the police, which depends on the perception that it can maintain law and order to be respected by good citizens and feared by the excluded. A call-and-response of shattering glass echoes down Peel Street, as projectiles fly at bank windows in quick succession. Not to worry, several rocks, flares, and at least one decent firework are reserved for the SPVM.

Spontaneity works pretty well sometimes, and it’s cool when people roll a dumpster out of an alley, someone else drops a flare in it to start a small fire, an “ACAB” gets tagged on the front, and others decide to charge with it at some cops up ahead, all in the span of sixty seconds, as though carefully choreographed. Our time together is limited, yet expansive.

Riot cops arrived from behind on Maisonneuve and quickly shot tear gas, which had its usual effect on such a relatively small demo. Two people were arrested, and some people were hurt. This brings us to the requisite tactical suggestions for next time:

Making dispersal dangerous (for the cops): when a demo splits into multiple directions after the police attack, we could try to keep our composure, check in with our friends and new surroundings, and see if we can regroup with the others who turned the same corner. We may be smaller in number, but the cops’ attention is divided, and they are unlikely to be positioned to attack us again right away. We might even come across isolated groups of police that are unprepared for a hostile crowd. The state is using chemical weapons and blunt force to cut short a joyous departure from the devastating routine of a prison society, and it might be injuring our friends: let’s respond to the height of their aggression.

Accelerant: let’s bring some/use it? The aforementioned dumpster would have made a better battering ram if it was more fully on fire.

Review of Black Bloc Manual 13th Edition, Chapter 12: choosing the right tool for the job. Not everything is a substitute for a good hammer. Secondly, covering your face isn’t enough to be anonymous. If your mask or something else about your attire stands out amongst the crowd, it could help the cops track you (via undercovers, livestream, or video footage after the fact), which could put you in greater danger as the demo is ending or afterwards.

The rear of the demo: the dispersal tactics on Friday and in the election night demo last October were identical: riot cops arrive about a block away behind the demo and shoot tear gas. The panic that circulates can allow them to drive vehicles straight into the running crowd, accelerating the dispersal. What could a combative crew of people holding down the rear of the demo accomplish? No specific proposals to make here, but we think this is an area for improvement.

Warm greetings to all the other crews and individuals who came out, and to everyone who was there in spirit. Let’s take care of each other and destroy all authority. We would like to hear how you experienced this March 15th.

Sending love to all the rebels behind bars. Fire to the prisons.

We also remember the sacrifice of Anna Campbell, an anarchist who fought with the YPJ in Rojava, who was killed along with four comrades by the fascist Turkish army one year ago, on March 15, 2018.

See you on May Day, or sooner! Fuck the police.

Montréal Antifasciste: Statement of Solidarity With the Victims of the Islamophobic Attack in Christchurch

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Mar 162019

From Montréal-Antifasciste

We from Montréal Antifasciste extend our solidarity to all Muslims and to all people of color and antifascists in Christchurch and across Aotearoa.

It was with horror that we learned of the massacre that took place in Christchurch on March 15th. Horror that only deepened with every new detail, as we read the assassin’s manifesto, as we learned that racists around the world – including in Aotearoa, including in Quebec – were shamelessly sharing his diy snuff film and cheering his acts.

An unbearable feeling, as we recalled the massacre in Quebec City in January 29, 2017, when another young racist entered that city’s Islamic Cultural Centre with the intention of killing as many people as possible.
Six people died that night; at least 49 died today in Christchurch.

Words fail us.

We recognize the name of the Quebec City killer, Alexandre Bissonnette, scrawled along with others on the ammunition cartridge that Brenton Tarrant photographed and uploaded before his attack. We recognize the ideas in Tarrant’s manifesto; we’ve come across them before, too many times. The mix of fear of a clampdown and admiration for the killer and laughs at his humour on 4chan and facebook and other social media networks have come from around the world, including our own backyard. We remember just last year as you provided us all with a positive example in resisting as two of “our” racists, Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, traveled to your country to spread their poison. We recall, too, that one of “your” far-rightists, Trevor Loudon, has been welcomed in Canada at events organized by “our” Islamophobes. And of course we have all heard about how far-right zillionaires à la Peter Thiel have decided New Zealand is just the right place for them to relocate to, to ride out their accelerating nightmare, and perhaps to try out some of their own dystopian ideas.

Clearly, your situation and our situation are not foreign to each other; addressing them is part of the same deeper and broader struggle for a world without exploitation or racism.

We already knew this, as we’re sure you did too. We didn’t need this latest reminder, but we got it anyway.
With anger and sorrow, we honour the memory of those who died in Christchurch, as we renew our pledge to resist the rising tide of far-right, racist, and misogynist violence around the world.

Solidarity with Wheao ā-Ihirama
Solidarity to all targets of Islamophobic, racist, and far right violence, in Aotearoa and everywhere
Solidarity with antifascists in Aotearoa and around the world

Kia kaha.

Stop The Prison, Open The Border

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Mar 152019

From From Embers

This week’s episode features two interviews with people involved in the struggle to stop a new migrant prison from being built in Laval, Quebec. Topics discussed include:

-the project and how the government is trying to frame it as a “nice” cage.

-senses of strategy and what might work to actually stop a project like this.

-actions that have taken place against the prison, how they’ve gone, and what actions might be on the horizon.

Stop The Prison

Ni Frontières, Ni Prisons (facebook link!)

Solidarity Across Borders

Open Letter to Climate Strikers

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Mar 152019

Anonymous submission to North Shore Counter-Info

Preface: We wrote this text to distribute at a climate strike demo on Friday, March 15th. It’s a work in progress, but we wanted to share it ahead of time in case it inspires others to steal some or all of these words for cities elsewhere. Change it to fit your context.

First of all, thank you. Thank you for giving a shit. For deciding that there are futures worth fighting for, even when the future being imposed on us looks increasingly bleak. The good news is that you are here, with your body, along with so many others around the world. Today we have a chance to acknowledge that we are connected to each other and to the living and non-living beings on this planet, in ways that are far more complex and beautiful than any #hashtag could express.

Every few days, another horror story, or another prediction, reminds us that we’re facing an existential threat. Experts no longer study how to prevent climate change, instead they discuss how we might mitigate its effects. We already know that everything is going to change. The question for 2019, for this generation, is: change towards what?

The vultures are already circling.

Corporations ask, “How can we profit?” Whether it’s tapping new oil reserves under the melting glaciers or marketing a ‘green’ product to make us feel comforted, their goal is always profit.

Governments ask, “How do we stay in control?” Whether it’s expanding surveillance programs, or encouraging ‘democratic dialogue’ so long as nothing gets out of hand, their goal is always to consolidate power. The most advanced governments today will do this in the name of combatting climate change. Here in Canada, the government isn’t quite so sophisticated, and still pushes for massive expansions of fossil fuel infrastructure and mining projects, forcing them on indigenous people at the barrel of a gun if they can’t be bought.

Politicians, including some aspiring ones who call themselves ‘activists,’ ask how the growing fear and discontent might be exploited for personal gain. History clearly demonstrates that if we allow these people to lead our movements, they will pull the plug at precisely the moment that we become a real threat to the existing order. Those in power rely on funneling our rage towards dead ends. Let’s get organized, but not behind politicians trying to sell us the latest Hope™.

We don’t know exactly what a ‘better world’ could look like. But like you, we feel that we have to try. We don’t want to just feel like we’re on “the right side of history,” a narcissistic trap. We want to be effective, within an ethical framework that values freedom, autonomy and solidarity. Let’s start taking seriously the idea we might actually have an impact. To that end, we propose a joyful, strategic, and fierce resistance that might include these ingredients:

Transformation, not reform. Capitalism is killing the planet. It is a system based on endless growth, and only serves the rich and powerful. No lifestyle change or government reform is going to touch that. It’s gotta go. Those in power will not simply be persuaded to change their ways and give up the wealth and power they have accumulated through centuries of patriarchy, colonial plunder, and mass exploitation.

The police stand in our way. Maybe you already hold your breath when a cop drives by. If not, remember that even the friendliest cops have to follow orders or get fired. Police are the violent defenders of this rotten system. To even make a dent, many people will have to break a lot of laws, and not just in the “arrest me for the cameras” kind of way.

Let’s build lives worth living. We’re cynical, but we are not hopeless. When we refuse to resign and instead build lives worth living now, we see glimpses of a different future, and start to feel compelled to defend ourselves. We want collective lives rife with empathy, creativity, and openness.

Thank you, again, for showing up. This is the beginning of a long road, or maybe a tightrope. Let’s walk it together, trying to avoid the traps that lay ahead.

– some anarchists

Banner Drop in Solidarity with Unist’ot’en

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Mar 152019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

14th of March, 2019
Tiohtiá:ke, so-called Montréal

This morning at 7:34 AM at the intersection of Papineau and St-Grégoire streets, a banner with the writtings “Solidarity with Unist’ot’en” was erected on a viaduc.

This action is a symbolic gesture in relationship to the 15th of march, on this day two importants protests are to be held, the student protest in defense of climate and the protest against police brutality.

It is important to remember that day in and day out, native peoples find themselves everyday on the frontlines defending against environmental colonialism defended by the police and state institutions.

On the 7th of January of this year, RCMP agents dismantled by force the access point Gidumt’en of the unsuceeded territory of the Wet’suwet’en nation, where is located the Unist’ot’en camp. The native peoples protecting the access point were brutally removed from their territory by the armed forces of the RCMP in order to allow the start of the construction work of the pipeline (Costal GasLink project) of the TransCanada company.

The Unist’ot’en camp, established on the Wet’suwet’en territory since 2009, is an important living environment, that holds a healing center by reconnection to the environment. One of the camps roles is to assure a presence on the territory in order to protect it from the many high-environmental-risk projects that are planned without the consent of the first-nation peoples. Up until now, the presence of the camp has lead to the abandonnement of many pipeline projects.

This banner drop is also a denouncing the hypocrisy of the Trudeau government. The prime minister feigns reconciliation with the first nations, while remaining silent when faced with the recent events in Unist’ot’en. Moreover, his support for the numerous environmentally damaging projects demonstrate an opportunistic immobilism that defies all logic in the current environmental crisis.

“The invasion of the Wet’suwet’en territory by TransCanada is but one example among many that proves the proximity between climate violence, police brutality and native struggles. This banner is a reminder of the convergence between theses struggles as well as a message of solidarity with the peoples who are currently fighting in Wet’suwet’en territories” cries a participant of this action.

Callout for the March Against Police Brutality 2019

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Mar 062019

From the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality

As is the case each year, the COBP organizes a week against police brutality which starts on March 8th and ends on March 16th, 2019.

State brutality must be denounced, whether this brutality is coming from police, politicians or judges. Especially considering the massive over reach of the criminal injustice system this year alone.

Was there any justice for Nicholas Gibbs, assassinated in broad daylight? By those so-called “peace officers?”
Is there any justice for the migrants? For which we refuse to give the quality of life that was stolen from them by canadian companies abroad?
Is there any justice for the people of Unist’ot’en and Wet’suwet’en? Taken away yet another time from their ancestral lands?
Is there any justice for environmental activists? Imprisoned for blockading projects leading to our own destruction?
Is there any justice for all minorities, whether racial, religious, queer and/or native, which are constantly profiled and imprisoned by a system trying to erase their very existence?

Because the judiciary system, the political system, and their state agent lapdogs (RCMP, SQ and SPVM, etc.) have nothing to do with protecting minorities. Their role is to answer to the needs of the better off: the rich and privileged. Their role has nothing to do with justice, and all with the defence of the castle of the privileged. A castle which is, every day, less sustainable, and less acceptable.

There cannot be peace in a system who keeps acting unjustly and refuse to admit it. It is a sanpshot of justice built as a system. And an unjust society cannot be peaceful.

This is why we invite you to the activities of the week against police brutality along with the one of March 15th. The March 15th event takes place at Norman-Bethune Square and starts at 6PM with food organized by Food Against Fascism, along with speeches. The annual protest against police brutality will start at 7PM at the same place.

NO JUSTICE? NO PEACE!

* As an organization, we recognize that all the events of the Week against police brutality take place on unceded Kanien’kehá:ka territory of Tio’tia:ke, here on Turtle Island. As an organization, we express our solidarity with local and global native communities in their struggles for their right and we honor the guardians of this territory.

**Sexual abusers are not welcome to the activities*

Owner at the beach, workers on the street: Former workers at M. Mme claim over $20,000 in unpaid wages

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Mar 062019

From the Montreal IWW

In addition to our organizing campaigns, the Montreal IWW also organizes Claim Your Pay campaigns, where our members help workers who have been robbed of their wage after being fired. These campaigns mostly happen in the restaurant business and involve a few hundred dollars. When a worker came into contact with us about some unpaid wages in a restaurant that had just closed, we were not expecting such an important case.

Currently, the Montreal IWW is on a huge Claim Your Pay case: more than $20,000 in unpaid wages and tips and 11 people remain unpaid since at least December, more for some. Some of the workers were unable to pay their rent, others had to ask for help from food banks or had accumulated debt because of bounced cheques from the bosses. All of these people worked at the M.Mme wine bar located at 244 Laurier West in Montreal, which closed suddenly on January 26th.

The bosses and what happened:

The owners are John Hovannes Kalanjian, Asbed (or Aspid) Istanboulian and Sevan Istanboulian. The last two are also owners of Café Mystique, a distributor of coffee products around the world and present in several stores in Quebec. They also own the Toi, moi & café coffee chain, which is trying to set up shop in several subway stations in Montreal. Based on the workers’ testimonies, we would like to tell you more about how Asbed works with his employees. Asbed was the most present boss of the two brothers at the M.Mme and Toi, moi & café nearby.

As these two businesses share a back hall connecting them, it was easy for employees to learn more about the bad habits of Asbed Istanboulian: other stories of wage theft, tip theft, late pay cheques and bounced cheques… Asbed would also take advantage of the precarious working conditions of migrants by underpaying or simply not paying them.

In addition, Asbed Istanboulian has a history of negligence in the management of his businesses. In order to save on health-related costs, he preferred to use cheap mouse traps instead of using an exterminator, which is not in compliance with regulations. Employees and clients would end up hearing the dying mice. He sometimes did not pay suppliers and bills which meant several bailiffs even came to the restaurant. The inability of employees to reach him meant they did not have the necessary means to run the restaurant smoothly. He, for example, neglected to place orders at important moments of the restaurant (such as high booking times and office parties). He was also used to accusing employees of being the cause of the restaurant’s financial problems.

It is not the first time Asbed Istanboulian steals wages. We found out that a former team member of the M.Mme restaurant had filed complaints. We found a 4-year old testimony on the Toi, moi & café on Laurier’s Facebook page stating that a worker had their wages stolen. We also learned that other employees of Toi, moi & café had not been paid.

The present situation:

The union has already taken action against the owners of the M.Mme. Two out of 11 workers were paid! The kicker? We also learned that Asbed is off on a trip to the South for the week! The happiness of the few is evidently at the cost of the misery of the many. The union does not intend to let the boss get away with it.

To conclude, know that the Mystique Coffe, owned by Asbed Istanboulian, prides itself on being the largest fair trade coffee distributor in Canada, while it is not at all equitable with its employees. Also know that he and his partners are planning to open 26 new Toi, moi & cafés in metro stations and at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. We urge you to boycott Toi, moi & café and Mystique Coffe products and to denounce the actions – especially wage and tip thefts – of the owners on the businesses’ Facebook pages and other promotional sites.

We are appealing to everyone: if you too have worked for Asbed Istanboulian in the past – at Toi, moi & Café, at the restaurant M.Mme or another one – and you have been the victim of wage theft, contact the Montreal IWW. We offer you our solidarity and are ready to help you.

An injury to one is an injury to all!

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