Mtlcounter-Info

I started researching this article while at Standing Rock, after learning that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had approved a $7.5 billion pipeline project to replace Line 3. At the time, I didn’t even know such a proposal was on the table. In so-called Canada, the Kinder Morgan and Energy East pipelines have gotten the lion’s share of media attention. My first thought when I saw the map of the pipeline route was that it seemed calculated to run through areas where the environmental movement is weakest and where anti-oil activism would be most unpopular. My second thought was to ask myself what I could do to help stop it. I think that in more hostile political climates it’s even more important that local organizers know that they have the support of a broader movement. ...

In cooperation with CrimethInc ., Submedia.tv , and others, we are calling for a week of solidarity to support everyone targeted for standing up to the Trump regime and rising fascism. The past four months have seen unprecedented waves of action —from the post-election rebellions and the defense of Standing Rock to the J20 demonstrations , the airport blockades , and the shutting down of advocates of nationalist violence like Milo Yiannopoulos . These efforts have emboldened dissidents from Slovenia to the White House itself, catalyzing global resistance and destabilizing the Trump administration from within. In response, the authorities are bringing felony charges against hundreds of people and seeking to criminalize protest altogether. How effectively we support arrestees will determine how effectively we can continue resisting. ...

...

Praised on both sides of the white world as a turning point in the way of dealing with indigenous communities, a crucial “modern treaty” is getting ready to be signed, should all go poorly. The Petapan Treaty with the Innu communities of Mashteuiatsh, Essipit, and Nutashkuan is the result of 30 years of negotiations, during which six other Innu and Atikamekw communities have ended up withdrawing from the process, leaving a handful of Band Council chiefs to rule on the future of a territory 16 times larger than the Island of Montréal. ...

...

The first issue collects content from the last two years. Future issues will be released every several months, to keep the material timely. For those with free access to colour printers, we’ve included a center-fold of 24 posters that can be attached with an elastic. You can get copies at La Deferle and L’Insoumise. If you’d like more copies for distribution, please get in touch! If you live outside Montreal and don’t have access to free printing, we’re down to print some for you if you can pay for shipping (and if you can’t afford shipping, still get in touch and we’ll try to figure something out). ...

We’re reaching out to allied groups and individuals all over so-called “Canada” because we want to organize an anti-colonial Anti-Canada day on July 1st in Montreal. We’d like to propose you do the same in your city, to have demonstrations, events, disruptions and anti-colonial actions all across Canada. As you might know, this year is the 150th anniversary of Canada. The government will spend half a billion dollars in 2017 to organize ceremonies, parades and parties to celebrate the colonialism, imperialism and racism so characteristic to nation-states. Those amounts will be invested in questionable projects that will benefit the tourism industry, rather than local residents. ...

This morning, the Welfare offices of Parc Extension, Rosemont and Montréal Nord have been covered in posters denouncing the new welfare reform (statute 25). This reform is an attack against the most vulnerable amongst us, forcing those who actually live on a third of the low income threshold to get into employability training or get their check’s cut. This statute is particularly cruel as in increasing the work load of the government workers, it does not create any savings for the government, just even more miserable condition for the population. ...

« La meilleure des polices ne porte pas l’uniforme » (The best police don’t wear uniforms) - La Rumeur, French hip-hop group Hatred for the police? You feel it too? They piss you off, ticket you, harass you, arrest you, bring you to the station, baton you, pepper-spray you, or tear-gas you, beat you, surveil you, follow you, blackmail you, handcuff you, throw you in a cage, make you lose an eye, terrorize you? ...

As the far-right attempted to mobilize demonstrations all over North America on Saturday, anti-fascists came out in force to oppose them. In Montreal, the far-right organized under the banner of La Meute (The Wolf Pack), an anti-Muslim group which was founded by a former soldier in the Canadian army. Anti-fascists attempted to shut the far-right down, but faced down with an extremely determined police force who were intent on allowing the fascists to march. This was the first time that a far-right organization has been able to hold the streets in Montreal in years. ...

...