Comments Off on Migrant Prison: Excavation Company Loiselle’s Offices Redecorated
Feb072019
Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info
According to this article in a local Salaberry-de-Valleyfield newspaper from January 29th, the building facade of the excavation company Loiselle, located at 280 Pie-XII Boulevard in Saint-Timothée, was redecorated. The words “NO TO THE MIGRANT PRISON” can be read.
The article indicates that this crime was committed with racist intentions, specifying that the company has no idea why it would have been targeted.
We do not know the intentions of the vandals, but we know that a new prison for migrants is supposed to be constructed in Laval, and that this company received the contract for decontamination and excavation for this project. Is it not the fact of imprisoning and deporting more migrants that is racist? It’s only logical that the companies involved in the construction of this prison would be targeted.
FUCK LOISELLE, FUCK THE CANADIAN BORDER SERVICES AGENCY, FUCK PRISONS.
SOLIDARITY WITH MIGRANTS WITH OR WITHOUT PAPERS
Currently, pro-pipeline reactionaries are planning a truck convoy from Alberta to Ottawa. This intended show of force is meant to pressure the federal government into taking more forceful actions to get major new oil and gas pipelines built. At a time when Indigenous peoples are heroically resisting massive industrialization in the Pacific Northwest, we must fight back against this foray of far-right forces into pro-pipeline activism before it becomes a real threat.
We call for mass actions in support of Indigenous sovereignty to be organized in Ottawa and in all the cities along the planned route of the truck convoy, from February 14 to 19.
While it may turn out that moving hundreds of oil trucks across the continent will be too tricky and expensive for these inexperienced organizers to pull off, we believe it is important that such an initiative does not go unopposed.
We call for a counter show of force by all anti-colonialists and anti-fascists to push back this movement for further theft and destruction of Indigenous peoples’ territories, and to maintain the mobilization in support of the Wet’suwet’en people who are currently fighting a vital battle against Canadian armed forces and an energy company to preserve their territory.
The truck convoy, which was originally conceived by industry-sponsored institutes, was quickly taken over by far-right organizers, who intend to use this convoy to advance an agenda including anti-Muslim, anti-immigration and white supremacist elements. Their participation, along with the realization of the logistical difficulty of the initiative and the presence of notorious scam artists pushing their own fundraisers under its name, led the industry groups to officially disassociate themselves from the convoy, leaving all the room to the far-right elements. As such, the goal behind the truck convoy is no longer only about pipelines, but also the promotion of a racist, anti-immigrant agenda. Let us seize this occasion to unite the anti-colonial and anti-fascist forces in a mass deployment!
The itinerary of the convoy is as follows:
February 14 – Red Deer
February 15 – Regina
February 16 – Dryden
February 17 – Sault Ste. Marie
February 17-18 – Arnprior February 19 – Ottawa
Participants in this convoy will be looking to book hotels, truck stops and other accommodation facilities to make the journey possible. We anti-fascists will be doing our best to monitor these plans and intervene when necessary, and we encourage people along the convoy’s route to do so also, and to share information with us.
The far-right organizers intend to use the town of Arnprior as a staging ground before the arrival of their caravan to Ottawa. To this end, they have enlisted the support of the Greater Ottawa Trucking Association, with the support of that organization’s ultra-conservative president Ron Barr. The presence of a truck stop right by the Trans-Canadian highway makes Arnprior a strategic location for entering Ottawa from the West.
As we get closer to the date and continue to monitor the far-right planning, we encourage all anti-fascists to join actions in support of the Wet’suwet’en people, as well as other anti-colonial struggles. TransCanada’s recent decision to hire RBC to sell its stake in the Coastal GasLink pipeline strongly suggests that the Wet’suwet’en are winning. If pressure can be maintained and increased, CGL may be forced to abandon their plans. Colonialism is the main system breeding fascism on this land, and so any struggle to smash fascism must include a fight to destroy the colonial state and the capitalist corporations in its midst.
Late last night as many had their eyes glued to screens cheering on the Patriots in the Superbowl, a small crew of pals got busy taking on one symbol of so-called Canada’s nationalism: the RCMP. Within just minutes a handful of determined folks had destroyed all electronic keypad entries to the building, filled the manual locks with superglue and toothpicks, and dismantled the entry and exit systems to their gated police vehicle lot. Along the west windows we left what we came to say: “RCMP OFF WET’SUWET’EN LAND”.
It has been 21 days since the violent invasion of RCMP into unceded Wet’suewet’en territory, but the armed siege has not ended. This action was intended to bring the battle a little closer to home, so we targeted the Stoney Creek detachment. It’s easy to de-prioritize the many struggles taking place across continents, but it’s always worthwhile to trace the roots of broader struggles closer to home. The RCMP continue to enforce a court order that has no legitimate standing, allowing TransCanada and Coastal GasLink to begin pre-construction for a 670km pipeline through unsurrendered homelands and a healing centre. While the initial spectacle begins to fade urgency remains; people are being removed and kept from their homes at gunpoint, traditional traplines are being destroyed, medicine and berry gathering areas bulldozed, and the pristine land and waters are becoming contaminated with diesel. The RCMP are doing their job as per usual, protecting state and capital. By having the audacity to set up a temporary detachment and checkpoint, they are only further criminalizing those trying to live on and protect their own territories.
Things cannot go on like this: let this action serve as a reminder of the importance of taking action – no matter how small – in the face of colonial capitalist exploitation. The Wet’suwet’en being forced to open their gates to industry under threat from the state was not consent, it is merely an opportunity for allies and accomplices to take action.
Get your friends together, stay up all night scheming, and even when you’re tired GET EVEN!
Almost two years ago, on January 29, 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette entered a mosque in Quebec City in Canada and in the course of a few minutes, murdered Azzeddine Soufiane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Ibrahima Barry and Abdelkrim Hassane. Nineteen others were injured, many severely.
What follows is a list of events commemorating the massacre on Tuesday, January 29, that we at Montréal Antifasciste are aware of. Please note that inclusion of an event does not necessarily indicate endorsement of the event or organizers. Thank you to those comrades who helped put this list together.
Presence in front of the offices of François Legault 8:30am to 9:30am in front of the HBSC building; corner avenue McGill College and Sherbrooke
Commemorative Vigil and Workshop on Islamophobia in Côte des neiges
Vigil at 5:30pm at the corner of Plamondon & Van Horne (Plamondon metro)
To be followed by a workshop on opposing Islamophobia at 4755 Van Horne, office 110, at 6:30pm https://www.facebook.com/events/381473549078387/
info: cdnseleve@gmail.com
Community Dinner at the Khadijah Mosque in Pointe Saint-Charles
2385 Centre St, Saturday February 2, 2019, 17:30-19:00
This event is meant to bring the different religious, local and activist communities together to discuss issues and social problems that concern us all. This event is also being held to commemorate the victims of the January 2017 shooting at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Québec City and in solidarity with Muslims who are targeted every day in small and large ways, including as targets of the so-called secularism law that the current CAQ government intends to pass. There will be short presentations from local activists and community members addressing a number of pertinent topics, followed by a community dinner. To help us determine how much food to prepare, please RSVP! soupercommunautaire2019@gmail.com; Khadijah Mosque 514-691-8331
Comments Off on Attacks against OSHA Condo Advertising Billboards
Jan262019
Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info
Last night and the one before, different crews bombarded the colonial-themed advertising billboards for the new condo project OSHA with paint.
The OSHA Condo project is simple: the destruction of Hochelaga. How? With the arrival of more than 200 condo units (selling for between $200 000 for a 2 and a half and more than $500 000 for a 4 and a half). Meaning 300 to 500 more yuppies in our neighborhood, and in a particularly sensitive location home to many of those tossed aside in recent decades by different real estate developments. The arrival of opulence, where misery reigns. Raising the number of cops and patrols, of expensive eco-ethico-responsible-biodegradable stores, of chic restaurants daring to name themselves “Les AffamÉes” (“the starving”) in one of the largest food deserts in Montreal. A social cleansing in every respect.
Adding insult to injury, the owners decided to use an indigenous theme. The billboards’ use of an image of the encounter between peoples reinforces the idea of a peaceful and consensual exchange between colonizers and first peoples. We shatter this image. The Americas were built in violence. Montreal is a city made possible by a genocide. Its modernization rests since its foundation on the exploitation of stolen land. The OSHA condo project is only the latest, most pathetic example.
And you thought we would let you do as you like? The plurality of groups currently organizing against the construction of these condos testifies to the feeling of anger, widely shared in the neighborhood, against this latest offensive of gentrification. In the months to come, the forms of contestation and sabotage will multiply. Despite the advances of gentrifying projects in Hochelaga, an expertise of struggle against them has developed, and there is no doubt we will put it to use.
These attacks are just a first warning
We are many and we are determined
These condos don’t stand a chance
At 8:00am on the morning of Jan 8th, a group of roughly 25 people shut down the Jacques Cartier Bridge – a vital transportation corridor in so-called “Montreal” – in response to the RCMP’s attack on the Wet’suwet’en.
The 22,000 sq km of Wet’suwet’en Territory is divided into five clans and 13 house groups. Each clan/house group manages the use of their own territory. Unist’ot’en homestead sits on Gilsteyu Dark House Territory and manager of this territory is house group better known as Unist’ot’en. From the Widzin Kwa bridge at 66 km passing the bridge going down to 44 KM it becomes Gidimt’en Territory. The Unist’ot’en clan cannot decide or make decisions regarding Gidimt’en Territory. That would be against Wet’suwet’en Law.
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UPDATE: THIS IS THE EVENT PAGE for International Solidarity with the Wet’suwe’ten. Please follow for updates.
⭐When conducting solidarity actions, you MUST follow the action protocols as laid out by the Gitimt’en
Take action against the provincial government in B.C, federal government of Canada, and Canadian consulate internationally.
Demand that the provincial and federal government uphold their responsibilities to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law).
The Wet’suwet’en Access Point on Gidumt’en Territory are conducting peaceful actions as sovereign peoples on their territories, and ask that all actions taken in solidarity are conducted peacefully and according to the traditional laws of other Indigenous Nations.
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The following is a statement from neighboring Wet’suwet’en nation and secondary checkpoint heading towards the Unist’ot’en Territory, Gidimt’en Access Point:
Yesterday, members of the RCMP’s Aboriginal Police Liaison met with the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs and indicated that specially trained tactical forces will be deployed to forcibly remove Wet’suwet’en people from sovereign Wet’suwet’en territory. Police refused to provide any details of their operation to the Dini’ze and Tsake’ze (hereditary chiefs) including the number of officers moving in, the method of forcible removal, or the timing of deployment. By rejecting the requests for information by the Dini’ze and Tsake’ze the RCMP indicated that they intend to surprise and overwhelm the Wet’suwet’en people who are protecting their territories on the ground.
The RCMP’s ultimatum, to allow TransCanada access to unceded Wet’suwet’en territory or face police invasion, is an act of war. Despite the lip service given to “Truth and Reconciliation”, Canada is now attempting to do what it has always done – criminalize and use violence against indigenous people so that their unceded homelands can be exploited for profit.
The RCMP were advised that there are children, elders, and families visiting and present at the Gidimt’en Access Point, to which they did not respond. Since it was established, the Gidimt’en Access Point has hosted gatherings, workshops, and traditional activities for Wet’suwet’en, and provided an essential space for Wet’suwet’en to reconnect with their traditional territories.
Article 10 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples clearly states “Indigenous peoples shall not be forcibly removed from their land or territories.” Any removal of Wet’suwet’en peoples by the RCMP, or any other authoritarian forces, will directly violate UNDRIP and the Trudeau government’s promise to implement UNDRIP. We are now preparing for a protracted struggle. The hereditary chiefs of the Wet’suwet’en and the land defenders holding the front lines have no intention of allowing Wet’suwet’en sovereignty to be violated. In plain language, the threat made by RCMP to invade Wet’suwet’en territories is a violation of human rights, a siege, and an extension of the genocide that Wet’suwet’en have survived since contact.
Canada knows that its own actions are illegal. The Wet’suwet’en fought for many years in the Delgamuukw-Gisday’wa court case to have their sovereignty recognized and affirmed by Canadian law. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the Wet’suwet’en people, as represented by their hereditary leaders, had not given up rights and title to 22,000 km2 of Northern British Columbia. Knowing that further litigation would be prohibitively expensive to Indigenous plaintiffs (and that pipeline construction could be completed before any significant legal issues could be further resolved) TransCanada and the provincial and federal governments are openly violating this landmark ruling.
The creation of the Gidimt’en Checkpoint was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all chiefs present. Under ‘Anuc niwh’it’en (Wet’suwet’en law) all five clans of the Wet’suwet’en have unanimously opposed all pipeline proposals. TransCanada lawyers have argued that the Unist’ot’en are essentially a rogue group without a rightful claim to Aboriginal title. The Gidimt’en intervention shows that the Unist’ot’en are not alone, and that the hereditary chiefs of all clans are prepared to uphold Wet’suwet’en law in refusing CGL access.
The Wet’suwet’en have laid out a path toward the implementation of UNDRIP, and the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent requirement of international law. Canada has chosen to ignore this path toward reconciliation. We call on all people of conscience to act in solidarity through an international day of action on Tuesday, January 8th, 2019.
Support the Wet’suwet’en by offering physical support to the camps, monetary or material donation, or by taking action where you stand. We are conducting peaceful actions as sovereign peoples on our territories, and ask that all actions taken in solidarity are conducted peacefully and according to the traditional laws of other Indigenous Nations. Forcible trespass onto Wet’suwet’en territories and the removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands must be stopped. Provincial and federal governments must be confronted.
Comments Off on The Time Is Now: How to Support Gidimt’en Camp
Jan022019
Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info
At this very moment a standoff is unfolding, the outcome of which will determine the future of Northern BC for generations to come. Will the entire region be overtaken by the fracking industry, or will Indigenous people asserting their sovereignty be successful in repelling the assault on their homelands?
The future is unwritten. What comes next will be greatly influenced by actions taken in the coming days and weeks. This is a long-term struggle, but it is at a critical moment. That is why we say: The Time is Now. If you are a person of conscience and you understand the magnitude of what is at stake, ask yourself how you might best support the grassroots Wet’suwet’en. For different people, this may mean different things. For some people, it means traveling to the front-lines. For others, awareness-raising efforts or cash/material contributions.
BACKGROUNDER:
The Unist’ot’en Camp has existed since 2009, and has been continuously occupied since 2012. It was built directly in the way of a proposed pipeline corridor that included multiple mega-projects, including the previously proposed Northern Gateway and the Pacific Trails Pipeline.
The Unist’ot’en, known as the People of the Headwater, are a family group within one of five clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. Their territories encompass a wide swath of Northern British Columbia. In 2005, a number of large oil and gas companies announced plans to build a massive pipeline corridor through these lands, some Wet’suwet’en people made it their mission to ensure that the future envisioned by these capitalists would never come to pass. Of the five Wet’suwet’en clans, the Unist’ot’en were the first to officially declare themselves opposed to ALL pipelines being proposed to cross their territories. Today, all five clans stand united in this opposition. This unity was achieved through years of consistent diplomacy and consensus-building on the part of the grassroots Wet’suwet’en. The success of their resistance is attributable, in large part, to a steadfast commitment to the traditional Wet’suwet’en governance structure.
In 2009, a cabin was constructed on the exact GPS coordinates of the proposed path of the proposed energy corridor. Because of the geography of the region, which is rugged, mountainous, and seismically active, rerouting the corridor has never been proposed. The site is situated in the Unist’ot’en territory known as Talbits Kwa, whose boundary follows the bank of the Wedzin Kwa (known colonially as the Morice River). A single-lane bridge is the only way in and out of the territory, and can only be accessed by a logging road running south from Houston, BC. For years, the Unist’ot’en Camp has been maintaining a checkpoint on this bridge. The camp leadership is clear that this not a blockade, as they will grant access to various parties, including logging companies, fishers and hunters, provided that they follow the Free, Prior and Informed Consent protocol.
What is the Coastal GasLink pipeline?
The Wet’suwet’en people, under the governance of their hereditary chiefs, are standing in the way of the largest fracking project in Canadian history. The Coastal Gas Link pipeline (CGL) aims to connect the fracking operations of Northeastern B.C. with a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility in the coastal town of Kitimat. This export terminal, called LNG Canada, is owned by a consortium of multinational oil giants (Shell, PetroChina, Petronas, KOGAS, and Mitsubishi). Although there are propaganda attempts to lead citizens to believe that this 41 billion dollar investment is inevitable; the global market for LNG is unstable, as there are several countries currently established in this extremely competitive market.
CGL is the first of many proposed pipelines attempting to cut across the Wet’suwet’en traditional territories. If built, it would expedite the construction of subsequent bitumen and fracked gas pipelines, and create incentive for gas companies to tap into shale deposits along the pipeline right of way. This project aims to blaze a trail, in what has been envisioned as an “energy corridor” through some of the only pristine areas left in this entire region. If CGL were to be built and become operational, it would irreversibly transform the ecology and character of Northern B.C.
What is the Gitimt’en Camp?
The Gitimt’en is one of five clans of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. The creation of the Gitimt’en Camp was announced in the Wet’suwet’en feast hall, with the support of all chiefs present. In response to CGL’s injunction, the Gitimt’en Camp was established on the road leading to the Unist’ot’en Camp, as a way of creating a new front line. CGL’s lawyers have been arguing that the Unist’ot’en are essentially a rogue group without a rightful claim to aboriginal title. The Gitimt’en intervention shows that the Unist’ot’en are not alone, and that the hereditary chiefs are prepared to uphold Wet’suwet’en law in refusing CGL access. The Gitimt’en Camp is clear that this not a blockade, as they will grant access to various parties, including logging companies, fishers and hunters, provided that they follow the Free, Prior and Informed Consent protocol.
On Friday, December 21st, a judge granted CGL an extension to their injunction against the Unist’ot’en Camp, applying it to all resistance camps South of Houston. For this reason, the Gitimt’en Camp is on high alert, prepared to defend their unceded territory from the threat of police invasion. Currently, the front-line is being held by a number of Wet’suwet’en chiefs, families, and experienced front-line activists, and the camp is growing by the day. It is a remote and outdoor camp, inhabited in subzero temperatures. Of course, there are costs associated with this. Surviving, let alone organizing, in a remote area in the Northern winter is difficult. Infrastructure at camp will greatly contribute to the ability to organize effectively.
Ways to Support
With an injunction in place, police action could come at any time. Local intelligence suggests threat escalation in early January. Wet’suwet’en leaders are asking supporters to treat this situation as urgent.
– Come support on the front lines.*
– Sponsor a member of your community to come support on the front lines (giving Indigenous folks priority).
– Plan a work party. Get a group of friends together and come to camp with a project in mind, such as building a structure. This option is ideal for people who want to support but who can’t be away from home for long periods of time. Examples of building projects that would be appreciated are: a yurt, a prospector tent, a woodshed, a watch house. Keep in mind that all structures will need to be heated, so wood stoves are in high demand.
– Create a pamphlet (about fracking, LNG, the Coastal GasLink pipeline, the Unist’ot’en and Gidimt’en resistance camps, etc) that could used to spread information in person. If a ready-to-print PDF file is posted online, it can be easily reproduced by people far and wide. Have your pamphlet approved through yintahaccess@gmail.com
– Translate existing texts about the camp into other languages.
– Plan a solidarity action. If police and industry move in, it is time to block highways, bridges, and rail lines. It is time to occupy offices, be disruptive, and send a strong message that cannot be ignored. Start thinking about appropriate actions you can take close to home. Bear in mind that using secondary and tertiary targeting (i.e. targeting the business partners of the company you are protesting) is sometimes more effective than appealing to politicians.
– Plan an awareness-raising/fundraising event. Consider a film screening.
– Donate cash or material goods. Current needs are for building supplies, a camp truck, a snowmobile, food, fuel, and transportation costs.
– If you a part of an organization, such as an NGO or union, advocate that your organization issue a public statement of support for the Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chiefs.
– If you are a public figure, please use your influence to raise the profile of the issue. For example, if you have a large social media following, post in support.
– If you are part of an organization that deploys human rights observers to conflict areas, please immediately contact yintahaccess@gmail.com.
– Signal boost by using social media to share media links and hashtags. The 3 official hashtags of the Yintah Access Checkpoint are #notrespass, #wedzinkwa, and #wetsuwetenstrong.
Ways to donate to the Wet’suwet’en Access point on Gidimt’en Territory:
– (Preferred) Send an e-transfer to yintahaccess@gmail.com
– Mail a cheque. Write yintahaccess@gmail.com for name and mailing address.
– Paypal – codym@uvic.ca
– Donate to the GoFundMe campaign here: https://www.gofundme.com/gitdumt039en-access-point
– If you are fundraising, consider setting a goal of a particular item – for example, a camper, a snowmobile, a chainsaw, a generator, or a welder. Having a tangible goal can help make fundraising feel more rewarding.
Note: Gidimt’en Camp and the Unist’ot’en Camp support one another. It is important to note, however, that the two are separate and distinct camps. The two camps are located on the territories of two different clans, and answer to their respective chiefs. This is important for legal reasons. The injunction fails to differentiate between the two camps, but this is not accurate or defensible. The finances of the two camps are separate. If you want to donate to the Unist’ot’en Camp, which is encouraged, please donate to them directly. You can do this via their website at unistotencamp.com
*As life on the front lines can be very difficult physically, emotionally, and mentally, not everyone is encouraged to come. Ask yourself questions like: “In an intense, high-stress situation, am I able to think rationally and act intelligently? Am I prepared for the risk of arrest? Do I bring useful skills? Is the Front-Line the place where I can be the most useful? Is there an Indigenous person that could attend in my place?”
Anyone wishing to come should contact yintahaccess@gmail.com in advance. Visit the camp’s Facebook page by searching Wet’suwet’en Access point on Gidimt’en territory.
John A. Macdonald & Queen Victoria statues vandalized (again) in Montreal, with red and green paint
December 24, 2018 — On Christmas Eve, Montreal-area vandals have covered the John A. Macdonald Monument (1895) and the Queen Victoria Statue at McGill (1900) with red and green paint respectively.
This action, claimed by Santa’s Rebel Elves, continues a series of paint attacks on symbols of racist British colonialism in Montreal. The Macdonald Monument has been vandalized at least six times, while the two Queen Victoria Statues in Montreal have been painted at least three times (including in green paint on St. Patrick’s Day 2018).
Concerning the Queen Victoria statue, the Delhi-Dublin Anti-Colonial Solidarity Brigade, responsible for the St. Patrick’s Day vandalism, wrote:
“The presence of racist 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 Queen Victoria 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 weredenigrated 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 ofgenocide, mass murder, torture, massacres, terror, forced famines, concentration camps, theft, cultural denigration, racism, and white supremacy. That legacy should be denounced and attacked.”
Concerning the Macdonald Monument, a poster seen on the streets of Montreal concisely sums up his racist legacy as follows:
“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 responsiblefor the hanging of Métis martyr Louis Riel.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, notwhite supremacy and genocide.” (Poster Link: http://bit.ly/2L0v7a0)
On Saturday, December 8, around two hundred right-wing sympathizers gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa to protest the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” which was in the process of being approved by acclamation at a United Nations conference in Morocco.
After over a month of planning, the demonstration itself barely
filled the space in front of Parliament and was in no way a triumph by
the far right. That being said, the rally was at least superficially
successful in uniting a host of far-right groups of differing ideologies
to announce their xenophobic opposition to the UN compact and propagate
their Islamophobic and racist views. Antifascists from Québec and
Ontario, despite their clearly enunciated skepticism regarding the
compact, organized to oppose the far right’s attempt to claim public
space.
Further investigation into the far-right groups present, before,
after, and during the rally reveals major rifts
and extensive disorganisation on their part that belies the
superficial unity the alliance cobbled together for this demonstration.
The rally’s attendance also reveals that conservative student groups do
not have a problem cooperating with far-right groups, and that populist
right-wing groups are willing to simultaneously work with militias and
invite a Québec MP to address the rally.
Reports from major news outlets paid little attention to the views
presented on either side of the rally, essentially framing it as a
disagreement among citizens about the Compact. Beyond that, the
coverage obfuscated the open police protection of racists and, at its
worst, characterized antifascists as violent extremists, while allowing
members of far-right groups to portray themselves as nothing more
than concerned citizens.
As comrades in Ottawa Against Fascism explained in their call-out for a counter mobilisation:
“Various anti-immigration groups are converging to Ottawa
to protest against the adoption of the United Nations Organization’s
so-called “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration”. This
proposed international agreement is set to be adopted by a majority of
countries at a UN summit in Marrakech on December 10-11, and has become
the centre of a global xenophobic fear-mongering campaign. Far-right
leaders in North America and Europe assert that this agreement, once
adopted, will be implemented by force in signatory countries and lead to
the erasure of borders and unlimited migration from the south. In fact,
they now place this agreement at the center of their racist “globalist”
conspiracy theory, in which they claim that there exists an
international ploy to replace the white population. In reality, the UN
global compact, like all other UN initiatives, is nothing but a
superficial feel-good statement containing a wish list of liberal
policies to ensure a fair and humane treatment of immigrants and
minority groups. Like all other UN agreements signed before, it is
non-binding and there is no actual armed force to back up its
implementation by signatory countries. Similar, for example, to the
Paris agreement on climate change, or to the yearly votes calling for
the recognition of Palestine or for ending the embargo on Cuba, it will
have no actual material impact on the world; it will be simply be
exhibited by multiple world leaders like Justin Trudeau to give the
appearance of a well-meaning liberal institutional order, while the same
governments that signed on to it will continue waging wars across the
globe and enforcing the capitalist economic order which is at the source
of the global migration crisis.”
The Far-Right Opposition
The December 8th anti-immigration rally on Parliament Hill was
organised by groups in English and French Canada, united by their
opposition to immigration from the Global South. This cooperation has
been developing over the past year, a key moment being Toronto white
supremacist Faith Goldy’s attempt to join a Storm Alliance demonstration
at the Lacolle border crossing in May and her subsequent rally at
Roxham Road on June 3. This latter event brought together members of
the III%, La Meute, Storm Alliance, and the Front Patriotique du Québec
(all based in Québec), along with members of the Proud Boys, the
Canadian Combat Coalition, the Canadian Wolfpack, and other far
rightists from English Canada, in a show of growing collaboration across
ideological divides.
Though there was some significant English Canadian presence at the
December 8 rally, the organisational heavy lifting seems to have been
done by an ad hoc coalition of far-right groups in Quebec, the so-called
Table Ronde, or “Round Table.” Though fifteen groups were allegedly
involved in the organizing, it’s clear that only a handful of these
groups are significant forces: the majority have only one or two
members and virtually no street presence. The round table included:
The major groups:
La Meute: Founded on October 6, 2015, by two ex-soldiers, the group
was initially solely focused on Islamophobic agitation but has since
expanded the scope of its activities to include anti-immigrant and
anti-left actions. The group’s claim of forty thousand members is vastly
overblown. Nonetheless, despite numerous internal splits and absurd
rhetoric, La Meute has established seventeen chapters (called “clans”)
corresponding to Québec’s administrative districts and is the central
“national-populist” organization in Québec, with the highest profile and
stature on the Quebec far right … a position it is not afraid to use to
bully and silence rivals.
Storm Alliance:
An anti-immigrant group founded by former national vice president of
the Soldiers of Odin and president of the Québec chapter Dave Tregget in
2017, and currently led by Éric Trudel. Over the past two years, Storm
Alliance has repeatedly shown up at the border to try to intimidate
refugees, openly collaborating with more militia-type groups,
including the III%.
Independance (sic) Day: Self-described as a “citizen’s political
lobby group,” has shown support for Maxime Bernier’s PPC. Among their
members, one finds Michel Laroque,
the former grand wizard of the Montreal branch of the KKK (Longitude
74), who was charged in 1992 for attempted arson on a house inhabited by
Black people in the east end of Montreal. Independance Day were present
in Montreal at the unsuccessful July 1, 2018, anti-immigration demonstration in collaboration with La Meute and Storm Alliance.
III% Quebec: Also known as the “Threepers,” the origin
of this group stems from U.S. militia groups centred on private gun
ownership rights and anti-immigrant patrols on the US-Mexican border. In
the U.S., their ranks
include Alex Scarsella, who shot five people during a Black Lives
Matter protest in Minneapolis, while other members have been tied to the
attempted bombing of a federal building in Atlanta and of Arkansas
State University. In Québec, they have provided security at events for
groups such as La Meute and Storm Alliance, including at a march in
Québec City and at anti-immigrant protests at the U.S.-Quebec border
area of Lacolle.
Some of the minor groups:
Northern Guard: A 2017 split from the Soldiers of Odin, as several
men in the SoO felt it was inappropriate for the group to have a woman
(Katy Latulippe) as its leader.
Recours Collectif Contre Revenu Québec-Canada: An online group that
spreads anti-tax and anti-immigration propaganda, sharing posts accusing
Trudeau of treason for welcoming “illegals” into Canada.
La Horde: Another national-populist group, largely confined to social media.
Canadian Coalition of Concerned Citizens:
Otherwise known as C4, considers itself a federal group, but its core
member and founder Georges Hallak is based in Montréal. Although the
group does not regularly organise activities and is essentially a
one-man show, its Facebook page has 8,800 followers. Hallak’s two-hour
video of the rally provides a lot of humourous
entertainment, alongeven with some insight into the people who were
there.
While all of the above groups were mentioned online as co-organizers
of Saturday’s rally, the most visible were La Meute (which brought a
bus), Storm Alliance, Independance Day, and the III%.
A look at those who addressed the crowd at the Saturday rally
provides further insight into the networks that mobilized, including
connections in English Canada and abroad. Several speakers repeated,
“What unites us is more important than what divides us,” which can be
understood to encompass not just the xenophobes from English and French
Canada but also the political range of far rightists present in an
official capacity, ranging from Act! For Canada through La Meute to the
Canadian Nationalist Party. In order of appearance, the speakers were:
Valerie Price, the Montreal-based cofounder of ACT! for Canada, a
satellite organization of ACT! for America and close ally of the Jewish
Defense League. ACT! for Canada is described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as
an “anti-Muslim … hate group”; its main public activity–beyond
maintaining a website and sending out an email newsletter every week–is
to organize racist talks and film showings. The group tried to arrange
(with the JDL) for Paul Weston, head of PEGIDA’s United Kingdom branch,
to speak in Montréal in 2016 (blocked by antifascists); for New Zealand conspiratorial anticommunist Trevor Loudon to speak at the Ottawa Public Library; and most famously, attempted to screen the racist movie Killing Europe in 2017, also at the Ottawa Public Library (canceled following public outcry).
Tom Quiggin is one of the denizens of that shadow zone where the
various repressive and military state institutions overlap with
far-right conspiracy milieu. He likes to describe himself as a “court
qualified expert on terrorism” (whatever that means), and as a “senior
research fellow” at the Canadian Centre of Intelligence and Security
Studies at Carleton University. Despite this, we have been unable to
find any mention of Mr Quiggin on the CCISS website. Quiggin produces
podcasts and writes internet articles, including the eponymous “Quiggin
Report,” in which he describes various Muslim conspiracies and accuses
politicians like Justin Trudeau of supporting terrorism. Quiggin has
also accused the Islamic Cultural Centre in Quebec City–the site of
Alexandre Bissonnette’s murderous attack in 2017–of funding terrorists.
Thanks to his claimed ties to the intelligence world, Quiggin has had
some limited success in finding a place in mainstream rightist circles.
His work has been promoted by the Toronto Sun, he was invited to sit on a panel at the 2016 Manning Conference,
and for a while he claimed to run what was probably a one-man show, the
Terrorism and Security Analysts of Canada Network. According to Macleans,
“Quiggin’s various research conclusions and work with the obscure TSEC
Network have been vehemently criticized by acknowledged security and
terrorism experts.”
Rasmus Paludan, from Denmark, the leader of the Stram Kurs (Tight
Course) party, apparently drove to Ottawa from Miami, Florida, to attend
the weekend rally as part of a “North American tour.” In its party
programme, Stram Kurs calls for banning Islam in Denmark, stopping all
non-“Western” immigration, and expelling everyone who is not Danish
(defined as an “ethnic, cultural, religious, linguistic and normative
community”). Paludan has also acted as attorney and administrator for
the Danish group For Frihed (For Freedom), formerly known as PEGIDA
Denmark. At a 2016 For Fihed demonstration, Paludan warned the crowd of a civil war
to come: “We will fight side by side with the police and Home Guard,
which make up our brothers, our streets and alleys will be transformed
into rivers of blood. And the blood of the strangers will end in the
sewer where the foreign enemies belong.” Paludan and Stram Kurs are
known for organizing rallies in migrant neighbourhoods, with the
intention of provoking and intimidating the people who live there.
Alexandra Belaire, spokesperson of the Ottawa chapter of ACT! for
Canada, then spoke very briefly of her and her children’s great love for
Canada.
Sylvain “Maikan” Brouillette and Steeve “L’Artiss” Charland spoke
next – the two men sit on the La Meute council, and Brouillette is the
group’s spokesman.
The final speaker was Travis Patron,
who spoke on behalf of the “Canadian Nationalist Party,” a group almost
exclusively represented by him and his publicity stunts. The CNP
advocates for policy to fight what they consider an unacceptable
reduction of the “European-descent” population, by deporting “illegal
immigrants and criminals” and declaring the entire US-Canada border a
point of entry, as well as for banning the burqa, discontinuing public
funding for pride parades, and holding a referendum on same-sex
marriage. On the day of the rally, he spent the morning filming
antifascists. On Facebook, one of his followers responded, wishing
brownshirts and blackshirts were still around to prevent antifascists
from marching down the street. When the CNP emerged on the far-right
scene in 2017, it was very quickly recognized as an outright fascist
organization, and Patron met with quick opposition wherever he tried to
organize publicly. As a result, the group modified its public programme
to try to appear less obviously racist; the initial programme
had denounced the “attempted genocide of the founding Canadian people”
(defined as people of European descent), as well as advocating “the
cancellation of all reparation payments made to Aboriginal peoples,” and
called upon “the mutiny of current authority by all police
enforcement/military personnel and subsequent support for this program.”
We can see why they might have wanted to change that…
There was one man who did not speak Saturday, and whose absence was
noticed. Maxime Bernier of the People’s Party of Canada had been the
much-anticipated star speaker. Several groups, including his own fan
club in Carleton University, spent the week emphasizing the former
Conservative MP’s support for the rally and his plan to attend. But he
was a no-show–the news that he would not be present was greeted with
angry shouts, and later Georges Hallak bluntly stated that he and other
politicians were all “chicken shits.” After the rally, in a statement
directed to La Presse,
Bernier tried to distance himself from the demonstration, stating that
he chose not to attend because of La Meute’s presence, and in turn,
Maikan called Bernier soft, retracted his support, and vowed to expose
the CPP leader’s “true face.” But it’s clear that Bernier is playing a
double game, securing his political legitimacy in the mainstream while
maintaining his appeal to fascist, far-right, and racist action groups.
Despite Bernier’s cancellation, Carleton’s CPP group endorsed the event
and showed up alongside the very groups that Bernier is trying to
disown.
Many anti-immigration protesters present on Parliament Hill wore yellow vests associated with the “gilets jaunes”
movement in France. The far right seem to have interpreted popular
resistance against neo-liberalism as populist resistance against
immigration, and the aesthetic was also apparent in protests against the
UN Migration Compact in other Canadian cities, including Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Regina.
Missing a beat, Sylvain Brouillette, La Meute’s spokesperson, had
previously associated the gilets jaunes movement with the far left,
describing the French protesters as far-left puppets of Soros
and the New World Order, and issuing a proclamation forbidding
participants from attending the event in such attire, and even
attempting to police those wearing the vests. Nonetheless, the overall
mood was definitely in favour of the yellow vests, with other speakers
and people on the ground claiming that this was a revolt against
migration and against the elites that govern Europe. Since last
Saturday, various far-right forces across Canada, including Hallak’s
CCCC, have been pushing the idea of cross-country yellow vest days of
action. The original gilets jaunes movement in
France is also now infested with right-wing populist elements
and has been endorsed by far-right politicians like Marine Le Pen of
the Rassemblement National [formerly the Front National]. French
antifascist activists have had to respond to
the presence of fascist groups such as Action Français as a result of
such infiltration. In Germany, PEGIDA and AfD (Alternative für
Deutschland) have also latched onto the “gelbenwesten” movement, using the symbolism to protest immigration to Germany.
One man who showed up in a yellow vest on Saturday was Pierre Dion,
an obscure figure in the far-right milieu, who was expelled from La
Meute for his public criticisms of the group (including their failures
on July 1 in Montréal, and the vast
inflation of its membership numbers). Dion likes to shoot off his mouth
online, including accusing La Meute members of working with “antifa.” On
Saturday he was accosted by Sebastian Chabot, who was part of La
Meute’s security team, and was physically ejected.
Dion’s expulsion led to a new round of social media griping about
Brouillette’s leadership of La Meute and the group’s arrogant and
bullying stance towards others on the far right.
Others present on Saturday included Lebanese Kataeb
(aka Phalange) supporter Georges Massad, of “Phalange Media,” along
with his co-host Leigh Stuart. With white nationalist Ronny Cameron,
Massad and Stuart had previously published a fake news video filmed without the consent of residents that led to an an arson attempt
at the Radisson Hotel Toronto East, which was housing predominantly
Nigerian refugees. Their video claimed that refugees were slaughtering
goats in the hotel bathroom and were responsible for damages to the
hotel, including the graffiti “free money”
obviously written by Massad himself in order to discredit the
residents. Georges Massad later went on to claim that the hotel fire had
in fact been the act of the refugees being housed there.
As has previously been mentioned, Georges Hallak of CCCC was also
present. Hallak, an oddball who sometimes happens to be in the right
place at the right time, represents many of the contradictions and
complexities of the far right. As can be seen in his livestream of the
rally, early on he engages two antifascists in conversation. They ask
him if he has ever even met a refugee. Belying the common stereotype
many have of the contemporary far right, Hallak answers, clearly amused,
that he himself is a refugee from Lebanon. He is then asked why he is
perpetuating white supremacy, to which he answers that he’s not a white
supremacist. In the big tent of today’s national populist movement,
there is plenty of room for people like Hallak; indeed, the presence of
far-right immigrants and people of colour is welcomed by sections of the
movement. This is consistent with some of the less overtly
discriminatory groups’ attitude, which stresses that their members are
not individually racist, while reinforcing systemic
oppression by pushing for measures such as immigration restriction
policies. Which isn’t to say that Hallak is not a racist: as a Christian
fundamentalist prone to conspiracy theories, Hallak’s personal
obsession is Islamophobia. As he explained later in his livestream,
“Islam teaches evilness…. Muhammad is an evil person. He is not a good
guy. He’s a warlord, he’s a killer, he’s a pedophile. So, you know what?
If a Muslim follows the teachings of Muhammad, then you know basically
he is a Muslim, he’s going to do evil acts. I’m sorry, but this is the
facts.”
There were also a number of QAnon conspiracy theorists present at the rally. The QAnon
hashtag refers to a far-right conspiracy theory that claims Trump is
being undermined by a network of deep state agents; the theory is
extreme and baseless and involves among other confabulations the claim
that Hillary Clinton is involved in a child sex-trafficking ring
(otherwise known as”Pizzagate“).
Like the popular far-right belief that left are funded by George Soros,
this is merely a node in a network of antisemitic, alt-right
conspiracy. QAnon conspiracists here have in turn posted about the
Canadian “deep state,” clearly echoing this theory. Despite relatively
small numbers, they’ve taken up calling themselves the “silent
majority,”; lest we forget, the Parliament Hill Yoga Group has brought out larger numbers than the far right ever has.
Photo from Dec. 8 rally, showing both police and members of III% with matching “Blue Lives Matter” patches.
Another racist at the December 8 anti-immigrant rally in Ottawa
The Antifascist Response
The antifascist counter-mobilisation began grouping at the Ottawa
City Hall on the corner of Elgin and Lisgar at around 8:30AM. Our side
consisted of local antifascists from Ottawa Against Fascism (OAF),
Industrial Workers of the World General Defence Committee (IWW-GDC), No
Pasaran, Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), and others, as well as out of
town contingents from Intersectional Antifascists (INAF), Montreal
Antifasciste (MAF), Toronto Against Fascism (TAF), and comrades from
other areas of Ontario, totalling around fifty people. OAF had initially
made a call-out on social media announcing the nearby Confederation
Park (on Elgin and Laurier) as the rendez-vous point, with a disclaimer
that this was not the actual mobilisation point, but had left
individuals there to redirect people to City Hall. This was to prevent
the Ottawa Police Services (OPS) from hindering the initial mobilisation
from taking the streets. Scouts from our side had spotted members of
the III% already mobilising on Wellington at 7:30AM and deduced that
they were using the private Supreme Court parking lot as a meet-up spot.
By 9:00AM, we had begun marching northward along Elgin towards
Wellington to block them at their meet-up point, with minor
police accompaniment. We managed to take the street and distribute
flyers about the racist demonstration to passersby, eventually making
our way along Wellington to just west of Kent, by the Supreme Court of
Canada. At this point we could clearly see a group of thirty to
forty far rightists with an OPS escort mobilising on Vittoria behind the
Supreme Court. They began to march eastward on Vittoria towards
Parliament Hill, and we marched parallel to them via Wellington. At Kent
and Wellington, we were blocked by the OPS, who attempted to impede us
from marching farther east. The head OAF banner (a large banner on a
wooden frame with handles) was seized by the OPS, and later destroyed
and thrown over a fence by the pigs. Our group had managed to use a gap
in the OPS line to get to the corner of Parliament Hill, but the OPS
diverted some of their forces to block us from moving onto Parliament
Hill. Open chatter from OPS walkie talkies discussed three more
busses and other vehicles carrying Quebec-based far rightists that would
be arriving later and would need a police escorts to Parliament Hill.
After roughly ten minutes, we were able to gain access to Parliament
Hill via the gates on Wellington, arriving just as the tail end of the
fash were entering the barricaded “freedom of expression” zone. We came
up from the west side of the caged area, with no initial police
presence to create a line between us and them. Some scuffles broke out
as their tail end was met by our front end. The security detail on their
side (Threepers, La Meute, and Storm Alliance) lined up on the west
side of the barrier and began taking sucker punches at us, as well as
grabbing our flags and banners, all of which the police completely
ignored. At one point an elderly man had his banner stolen by their
security detail, while Threepers attempted to drag him over the barrier
onto their side. The police reacted to this situation as if the elderly
man was the aggressor, violently pulling him off the barricade and
throwing him to the ground. The cops also used excessive force to arrest
another comrade, with several officers taking him down.
Eventually a fifty-strong detachment of RCMP riot cops showed up and
attempted to drive us out by forming a line northwest of the “official
protest zone” and pushing us southward, continually hitting people with
their batons in the process. RCMP officer number 144 seemed to
be setting the standard for brutality, with his peers calibrating their
level of violence accordingly. More arrests were made as we formed a
line to hold them back, using the MAF banner as a shield. The RCMP
seemed to have a penchant for striking young women in our crowd, as well
as individuals wearing helmets. One of the cops seemed to be
itching to pepper spray antiracist activists. At one point the RCMP
tried to grab the MAF banner, which resulted in a tug of war. After
pushing us about five metres south, the RCMP eventually reformed their
line and things seemed to get a bit less tense, with the shoving match
having come to an end with no real change in the ground held by any
side. A few from our group fell back at this point to assess the damage.
While leaving Parliament Hill for Sparks, we noticed the second wave
of Quebec far rightists, numbering around twenty or so, arriving
and being escorted into the caged area from the southeast.
While we were recuperating in the café, a group of ID Canada locals from Ottawa, numbering twenty to twenty-five, arrived. Led by Tyler Hover, they accessed Parliament Hill from the gates on Wellington without a police escort.
ID Canada, formerly known as Generation Identity Canada, is associated with the Génération Identitaire
movements in Europe, known for its failed attempts to block refugees
vessels and NGO rescue ships (such as Médicins sans Frontières) on the
Mediterranean Sea with their C-Star
ship (whose crew included former Rebel Media host Lauren
Southern). Its membership is drawn from the alt-right, with an emphasis
on a clean-cut “nipster”
image (Tyler has dismissed the “skinhead” look as detrimental to
recruiting). ID Canada embraces a Western chuavinist ideology and claims
to defend European-Canadians from “white genocide”.
Hover (also known as “Kanadisher” and “SilasXIV” on the neo-nazi forum
Stormfront) and his group have mainly been involved in racist postering
and stickering campaigns on university campuses across Canada. They
have had very little physical presence at anti-immigration rallies until
recently (they were present at Faith Goldy’s November 24
anti-immigration rally in Toronto) and have mostly been relegated to the
role of internet trolls. There was a scuffle when they arrived
at Parliament Hill, with Tyler Hover losing his ID Canada flag and some
comrades being arrested.
A final wave of fifty or so (presumably the three buses and handful of cars from Québec) arrived at this point.
Eventually the rest of our comrades on Parliament Hill retreated to
Sparks Street, where we rejoined them and continued to march south
towards the OPS station on Elgin and Argyle to demand the release of
the nine comrades arrested earlier. The OPS lined up to defend their
station, and we chanted slogans for the release of our comrades for
several hours, while a known alt-right troll filmed and observed us from
the corner. Eventually we received news that eight of the arrested had
been released with a ninety-day ban from Parliament Hill, while one
individual, who was being charged for allegedly assaulting an RCMP
officer, remained in custody. Coffee and pizza eventually arrived, and
after some hours we headed out, following a brief photo op with the ID
Canada banner and a Canadian flag—our spoils of war—near the Museum of
Nature.
In Lieu of Conclusion
On relatively quick notice, close to two hundred far rightists
managed to mobilize to Ottawa to hold an anti-immigrant rally. They
brought together forces from English and French Canada representing a
broad range of far-right political positions. A minor but not
negligible segment of them had latched on to the current yellow vest
uprising in France, while others were tapping conspiracy theories and
jumbled thinking from the United States. The bulk of their forces seem
to have been from Ottawa and Québec.
It is clear that the far right is seeking broader unity, as no single
organization or tendency is able to mobilize a significant number of
people. However, together, they are not insignificant. That this
openness is creating a space for actual fascist forces to intervene is
something we have already seen in Québec with the rapprochement between
Atalante and the national-populists. We saw it again last weekend, as
the Canadian Nationalist Party was given the microphone to speak, and
members of ID Canada were present with their flags.
Our role in this situation is clear: to oppose and block the growing
racist movement, while exposing their connections and the politics
underlying their activity.
That the Migration Compact became a hot potato was largely due to
xenophobic and racist rabble-rousing by the far right in Europe. Fake
news was spread to the effect that the Compact would suppress any
opposition to migration and oblige nations to open their borders. While
we wish this were so, unfortunately the Compact is merely another
nonbinding agreement, indicating a political commitment but in no way
guaranteeing any right to move freely or any obligation to provide safe
haven to those fleeing hardship and violence. But to the far right even a
nonbinding agreement is tantamount to “genocide” against the wealthy
countries of the West. To which we say: the entire world has been
plundered for hundreds of years by the West, to the point of real
genocide. That people fleeing the conditions this has wrought would seek
to come here is only normal, and if this provides even a small relief
from the wreckage of Western imperialism, then that is something we can
only welcome with joy.
Support our Comrades
Funds are being raised to help those arrested for opposing the far right on December 8th; to help out, check out these links:
