Mtlcounter-Info

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As antifascist and anti-racist militants, some of whom have been active for decades in the struggle against the far right in Montréal, in Québec, and elsewhere in Canada, we wish to absolutely disassociate ourselves from the recent statements made in the media by Maxime Fiset, spokesman for the Centre de prévention de la radicalisation menant à la violence (CPRMV), as well as from the overall position he has staked out. ...

On November 25, the largest far-right demonstration in Quebec since the 1930s took place in the provincial capital, including right-wing militias and the openly Neo-Nazi group Atalante Quebec. Riot police violently repressed anti-fascist counter-protesters in order to allow the far-right to march, and 44 comrades were arrested.

During the fall of 2016 Mi’kmaq opponents of the Alton Gas project, supported by non-Indigenous allies, set up a truckhouse along the banks of the Shubenacadie River near the Alton Gas brine dumping site. This year, they set up a Treaty Camp along the entrance to the Alton Gas work site, effective blocking the company from working on the project. This camp continues to this date, and needs on-going support and donations. ...

Anti-racists in Montreal have built a coalition of over 150 groups in the struggle against fascism, and on Sunday they staged their first demonstration—a massive, festive “fuck you” to nazis. The night before the demo, some people redecorated a statue of John A. MacDonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister and an architect of indigenous genocide. For more info go to Montreal Antifasciste’s website.

(The Anti-Racist Resistance Collective of Montreal (CRAM) anonymously received a link to the following video earlier this morning: https://vimeo.com/242431388 … The video includes a link to the callout below. We are sharing this info with the public, but we are not responsible for this action.) MONTREAL, November 12, 2017 – On the eve of an important demonstration against hate and racism in Montreal, a group of anonymous local anti-colonial, anti-racist, anti-capitalist activists have successfully defaced the historical monument to Canada’s first Prime Minister, John A. Macdonald, located in downtown at Place du Canada. ...

For several years we’ve seen the rise of racist hate speech in Quebec. The Parti Québecois’ “Charter of Values” in 2013, the election of Donald Trump in the USA, and the rise of populist, xenophobic political parties in Europe have galvanized the development of the far-right here. These forces have made a splash with their racist polemics. Far from cooling down this process, the Quebec City mosque massacre seems to have propelled this hateful discourse, normalizing it in the public imagination. These small racist and xenophobic groups have since organized multiple demonstrations, mobilized against a Muslim cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire, spread xenophobic messages against Haitian asylum seekers, and generally succeeded in normalizing public fear and intolerance, while at the same time legitimizing their hate-based organizations. Politicians and sensationalistic columnists are not innocent in perpetuating this toxic atmosphere. These opportunistic pyromaniacs are fanning the flames of intolerance, while at the same time ignoring the growing violence of the far-right in Quebec. ...

In recent days, weeks, and months, new posters and other tags have made their appearance in the territory of Quebec City, visible signs of people who have made the bet of linking themselves to the world by leaving their mark on the walls of the city. Whether we know their identity makes no difference to us. Liaisons [Connections] is the mask by which they become anonymous to power and open to the world; the reflexive and informative tip of the iceberg. What matters to us are connections created in the fault lines of power and actions to expand them. ...

Anti-G7 resistance is revving up! The yearly G7 meeting will happen on Friday June 8th and Saturday June 9th at the Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie. Is there a better place than a casino to welcome the corruption and collusion of the wealthiest powers of the world? The G7 summits are used by these seven presidents and prime ministers for shaping our world, and are therefore followed everywhere by the resistance against them. We won’t leave them in peace! ...

Over the last few days, you’ve surely become aware of the controversial bill proposed in Québec. Bill 62 seeks to protect the state’s much vaunted “religious neutrality” and is the latest move in a long standing political debate about secularism and religious accommodations—a debate that particularly impacts Muslim women. On October 18, 2017, the nightmare became reality: Bill 62 on religious neutrality was adopted by the National Assembly by 66 to 51 margin.1 This report provides a critical overview of the law and its implications, as well as its historical roots and its place in a larger social context, specifically focussing on the Islamophobic discourse advanced by the mainstream political parties in Québec, as well as placing it within the framework of the increasing normalization of the rhetoric and mobilizing of far-right Islamophobic and anti-immigrant groups across North America since early 2017. We also think it essential that the issue be approached from a feminist viewpoint—as an example among many others of the restrictions and controls women are subjected to by the state, particularly racialized and Muslim women. ...

Mark your calendars: Montreal mobilization to Quebec City on November 25 Oppose racism and Islamophobia! Support migrants and people of colour! (please share this callout widely with Montreal-area networks) Two far-right, anti-immigrant groups — the Storm Alliance and La Meute — are co-organizing a rally in Quebec City on Saturday, November 25 at 2pm at the National Assembly. Since the Ste-Foy mosque massacre in January, these Islamophobic groups have escalated their public presence and activities.Their upcoming rally in Quebec City represents a crucial and necessary moment for anti-racists to come together to oppose racism, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and growing fascism. ...

From one forest to another, over the ocean, solidarity against tragic and toxic mega-projects! Bure: Lutte contre le projet d’enfouissement de déchets nucléaires