Action

Unist’ot’en Camp Gearing Up for Spring Construction Camp

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Apr 042019

From the Unist’ot’en Camp

UPDATES FROM THE FRONTLINES

HEAL THE PEOPLE – DEFEND THE LAND

6TH ANNUAL SPRING CONSTRUCTION CAMP

Volunteers Needed for Cabin Building Projects in May!

Spring camp runs from May 6 to 31

With spring coming early to the north, plans are underway for new projects across WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORY, including cabin construction for WET’SUWET’EN PEOPLE. Following the invasion of our territories by RCMP and industry, we are continuing to reoccupy our lands – helping our people reconnect with, reclaim, and protect our homelands

We need people with CARPENTRY, COOKING, AND CAMPING SKILLS, or a good attitude and a willingness to learn. “Many hands make quick work!”

The UNIST’OT’EN CAMP is not a blockade, a protest, or a demonstration – it is a permanent, non-violent occupation of UNIST’OT’EN TERRITORY, established to protect our homelands from illegal industrial encroachments and to preserve a space for our community to heal from the violence of colonization. This year, UNIST’OT’EN volunteers will be working with other WET’SUWET’EN clans to support WET’SUWET’EN sovereignty.

We prefer volunteers who are able to spend two weeks or more supporting us, but welcome any contribution of time and effort.

Please be prepared to work under the leadership and protocols of the Indigenous stewards of the YINTAH. Supporters are asked to register here in advance: http://unistoten.camp/come-to-camp/camp-registration/

Our spring camp will run from MAY 6 TO MAY 31. Supporters are needed prior to and following the work camp as well, so if your schedule conflicts with our work camp dates, please apply regardless.

If you are not able to make it in person, consider sending a financial contribution to help cover our operational costs.

DONATE TO UNIST’OT’EN CAMP

To maintain safety and security we prefer volunteers to either have previous experience at the Unist’ot’en Camp or be able to provide references from one or more persons who have been to the Camp or are known within the movement.

If you meet that criteria and are physically fit for the hard work of supporting the camp and checkpoints, prepared to commit at least one week or more and are prepared to work under the leadership and protocols of the Indigenous stewards of the Yintah then register HERE.

… AND ONE MORE SPECIAL REQUEST TO SUPPORTERS IN THE LOWER MAINLAND AREA OF BC:

Please reply to this email if you can possibly billet volunteers passing through the Vancouver area and needing a place to stay – usually for just one night – in order to connect with their ride to Camp.

The Bunkhouse was built in the summer of 2014 followed by the Healing Centre constructed in stages over the next 3 years.

THE PROTECTION OF INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY AND MOTHER EARTH MUST BE FOUGHT BOTH ON THE LAND AND IN THE COLONIAL COURTS. WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO SUCCEED IN BOTH. PLEASE CONTRIBUTE GENEROUSLY, WHATEVER YOU CAN AFFORD.

DONATE TO UNIST’OT’EN LEGAL FUND

DONATE TO GIDIMT’EN ACCESS POINT

STAY UP-TO-DATE WITH LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AS THEY HAPPEN

It began with the UNIST’OT’EN CAMP in 2010. Then as the RCMP prepared to assault the Healing Centre checkpoint at the Wedzin Kwah bridge the GIDUMT’EN CLAN stepped up with their own Access Point at KM 44 of the Morice River Forest Service Road. Now other WET’SUWET’EN clans have joined the effort to protect the entire territory of the Nation. Things are moving quickly on both sides of this pivotal confrontation between present-day colonialism and still vibrant Indigenous sovereignty so we urge you to bookmark these links to stay informed and be prepared to respond on a “real-time basis”:

Unist’ot’en Camp
Wet’suwet’en Access point on Gidimt’en territory
Sovereign Likhts’amisyu and Namoks
Tsayu Land Defenders
Unist’ot’en Website
Gidimt’en Website

ADDITIONAL IMPORTANT UPDATES FOR SUPPORTERS

If you are planning a fundraising event or campaign make sure to read
the newly released fundraising protocols.:

Unist’ot’en

Gidimt’en

SIGN THE PLEDGE

Join hundreds of organizations and 13,843 individuals in signing the pledge to support UNIST’OT’EN and the WET’SUWET’EN:
https://goo.gl/forms/GE5bfm5ITDTyNPy12

#UNISTOTEN #WETSUWETENSTRONG #WEDZINKWA #NOPIPELINES #NOTRESPASS

Collaborators of the CAQ

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Apr 042019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

** To be shared widely in teaching milieus and beyond **

The Coalition Avenir Québec is moving forward with its ban on the wearing of religious symbols by many public sector workers.

No matter the party in power, we’re against the government telling people how to dress, as well as feeding fear and hatred of Muslims, and Muslim women in particular, under the pretext of “secularism”.

Any government policy takes effect only through those who apply it and collaborate. For this reason we are making a call to identify those who participate in the enforcement of this law in public institutions. For example, someone who calls the police on an employee in their workplace for wearing a religious symbol, who harrasses them, who denounces them to their superior, who fires them, or who refuses to hire them for this reason.

We invite you to send the information you have about the person who is applying the law (name, organization, job title, photo, etc.) with a description of their actions and their consequences to doxxlescollabos@riseup.net. We’ll do our own research so that we can then publish as much information as possible about the person enacting state-sanctioned racism.

We’re aware that the law will also apply to cops of various types. Cops are the guard dogs of this rotten system based on colonialism and racism, so we have to say that we really don’t care about a cop’s job security, regardless of their religion. As a consequence, let us clarify as a matter of form that any information received about a police service or prison guard will only be used to support research into the links between these agencies and far-right groups in Quebec.

We won’t calm down. If you collaborate with the government by policing religious symbols in a workplace, we’re watching you!

Call to Disrupt the Nature Champions Summit

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Apr 012019

From Printemps tout le temps [Facebook page]

April 24th and 25th, Montreal will host a “Nature Champions Summit” bringing together “major philanthropists, business leaders, non-governmental organizations, United Nations agencies, Indigenous leaders and environment ministers from around the world”.

While the planet burns, the poorest populations suffer the violent consequences of ecological disasters, and animal species rapidly disappear, politicians hope to gather peacefully for one more congress. We don’t need yet another summit organized by the Canadian state, known for its extractivist economy, and which just bought a pipeline for 4.5 billion dollars, telling us that a “new partnership” between a handful of ministers and major capitalists will save us from the climate crisis. These “Nature Champions” are responsible for the catastrophe in progress. There is no way we can let them continue to administer disaster with their hollow promises.

April 24 and 25, 2019, let’s disrupt their summit! Let’s multiply actions and demonstrations to show that the “Nature Championship” will be won by those who defend the water, the land, and all that lives on it, not by those that exploit them.

Sodexo Attacked

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Apr 012019

Suzanne Bergeron, présidente de Sodexo Canada

Suzanne Bergeron, president of Sodexo Canada

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

In the early morning of March 29th, the president of Sodexo Canada was visited at her home in Brossard. All the tires of the two cars in her driveway were slashed, their windshields were smashed in, and FUCK SODEXO and (A) were written on their hoods.

Sodexo profits from imprisonment around the world. They offer among other things management services for private prisons and migrant detention centers, and cafeteria services for prisons.

In Canada more specifically, they profit from the extractive economy by offering security and cafeteria services for extraction sites.

This action is in solidarity with anarchist prisoners everywhere.

Prison profiteers must not sleep peacefully. The companies considering taking contracts for the construction of the new migrant prison in Laval should think twice.

Migrant Prison: Attacks on Lemay Condo Developments

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Mar 262019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On the night of March 19th, the sales office of Humaniti had its windows smashed and two Lowney towers were redecorated using paint-filled fire extinguishers. What do these condo developments have in common? They were both designed by the Lemay architecture firm, which is helping to build a new migrant prison in Laval, Quebec.

Why not disturb the peace and quiet of the citizens occupying these luxury condos, whose wealth and comfort are founded upon the dispossession, exploitation, and imprisonment of those who have been here since before the colonization of this continent, those newcomers seeking a better life, survival, or pushed here by empire, and everyone who resists the prevailing order?

Lemay, we hope you enjoy informing your future potential clients that their projects will be sabotaged if they hire you. Should you choose not to inform them, we will enjoy giving them a costly surprise.

To all those struggling against borders in so-called Quebec and Canada: let us relentlessly attack the companies and agencies involved in any way in the construction of this migrant prison, so that it can’t be built!

Fire to the prisons! Sabotage borders, their enforcers, and collaborators!

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.

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.

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!

Migrant Prison: noise demo blocks site visit, and an update on implicated companies and the ongoing bidding period

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Feb 212019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Much of the ground may be covered in a thick sheet of ice right now, and piles of snow have been growing around the construction site for the new migrant prison in Laval for weeks, but that doesn’t mean the Canadian government isn’t hard at work preparing the next stages of construction for this monstrosity, nor that we should turn our attention away until after the spring thaw.

Early in February, it became public that the bidding period for the General Contractor contract had opened for the project, and that there would be a site visit held on February 20th at 10am for all interested bidders. So, early in the morning on February 20th, a group of people gathered to take a bus out to the construction site in Laval.

The group quickly made their way to the road leading to the security check-in for the bidders, and set up a picket, blocking the bidders’ vehicles from getting to the site. People there to pick up loved ones from the neighbouring prisons were welcomed through, and responded in kind with cheers and honks of support for the demo. Those present loudly communicated the deplorable nature of the prison project, and registered to all those considering working on it that there would be people standing in the way of the project at every stage.

People shouted, banged pots and pans, and blew on horns for over an hour, and had banners and signs against prisons and borders, as well as silhouette posters with the names of people deported in recent years. Company representatives present were personally called out, to let them know opponents of the project are aware of who they are. Some of the company representatives, sent by their bosses to attend the visit, expressed support for the demo following conversations with those in attendance. Over the course of an hour, most of the bidders had turned their cars around and left, accepting that they would not be allowed through. By 11am, an hour after the visit had been scheduled to begin, the group packed up their banners and left the area, leaving behind only a couple of cars – mostly Laval police.

With a month of bidding left, it’s time to assess what we know and what we can do next to disrupt the project. Read on for important updates on the state of the prison project, and newly public information about other companies involved.

What’s happened so far

Since the summer of 2017, Montreal based Lemay and Quebec City based Groupe A have been working on the architectural plans for the prison. In December 2018, Englobe Corporation and Excavation Loiselle completed their environmental remediation work on the sprawling CSC grounds that may become home to an additional prison on Montee St-Francois, already host to the current migrant prison, the minimum and medium federal men’s prisons, and the provincial Leclerc institution. For quite some time, the timeline for construction to begin in earnest on the project has been unclear.

On January 31, 2019, however, Public Works and Government Services Canada posted their call for tenders for who will be in charge of the largest chunk of work on the prison – the General Contractor. The documents provided to interested bidders provide important information about the next phases of work, and offer ideas about where to intervene.

The ongoing bidding period

January 31st marked day one of the six-week bidding period for the General Contractor position. Bidding will be open until March 20th, at which time the company with the lowest bid will get the contract.

During the bidding period, companies interested in bidding on the project are invited to post their information on the publicly available “List of interested suppliers”. On this list, accessible on the government buy and sell website, one can find the company name, contact person, email, and phone number for each company who publicly discloses their interest in the project, though some companies do not publicly state their interest using this list. Many more tried to attend the site visit on February 20th.

As of February 20th, the following information is available for six interested bidders. :

1. Contact Shane Ross, President
Company Standard Building Contractors
Email shane@standard.builders
Phone 6138477258

2. Contact Richard Paradis, Estimateur Senior
Company Construction SOCAM ltée
Email r.paradis@socam.ca
Phone 450-662-9000 #223

3. Contact Matthew Poplaw, Sales
Company Securassure
Email matthew@securassure.ca
Phone 5143733131

4. Contact Lina Tremblay, Estimateur
Company Groupe Geyser
Email ltremblay@groupegeyser.com
Phone 4506252003

5. Contact Richard A. Germano, Président
Company Corporation de construction Germano
Email info@germanoconstruction.com
Phone 450-668-7807

6. Contact Jacques Hosson, Estimateur
Company Tisseur Inc.
Email estimation@constructiontisseur.ca
Phone 8193221523 #258

Also present for the site visit were representatives of the following companies:

Company Bruneau électrique Inc.
Email info@bruneauelectrique.com
Phone 514 353-4343, 450 759-6606

Company Construction CYBCO
Email info@cybco.ca
Phone 514 284-2228

Whoever gets this contract, they will be involved in the project until the projected end of construction (the end of March, 2021). They will be responsible for subcontracting out smaller parts of the construction work – these contracts will likely not be made public.

Other companies involved in the project

Included in the documents released with the call for tenders is a list of other companies with contracts related to the prison, as well as the person responsible for the contract at each company. Some, like Lemay and Groupe A, are names we’ve seen before, as their contracts have been public for a long time already.

Lemay and Groupe A

Lemay and Groupe A are jointly listed as in charge of architecture for the project, with architect Pierre Larouche representing Lemay and architect Patrice Beauchemin representing Groupe A.

Mylène Carreau, a landscape architect with Lemay, represents her firm on the documents for their additional role in charge of the landscape architecture for the project.

LEMAY
3500, rue Saint-Jacques
Montréal (QC) h4c 1h2
t. (514) 932-5101
f. (514) 935-8137

Groupe A
819, avenue Moreau
Québec (QC) g1v 3b5
t. (418) 653-8341
f. (418) 653-1989

Other companies listed are new names – possibly members of a collection of firms with whom the government has what’s called a “standing offer” to work.

KJA Consultants Inc.

Engineer Louis Beauchemin, from the Montreal office of KJA Consultants Inc., features on the documents representing his elevator and escalator design company in their work on conveyor systems for the prison.

KJA CONSULTANTS INC .
1410, rue Stanley, bur. 1003
Montréal (QC) h3a 1p8
t. (514) 284-3119

BPA (Bouthillette Parizeau)

The engineering consulting firm BPA, otherwise known as Bouthillette Parizeau, will be involved in food services and commissioning for the prison. For food services, engineer Sylvie Savoie is representing the company, and for commissioning engineer Dalia Ramy appears to be in charge.

BPA
6655, boul. Pierre-Bertrand
Bureau 250
Québec (QC) g2k 1m1
t. (514) 383-3747

Stantec

Stantec, a huge design, consulting and engineering firm with an office in Longueuil, appears to be heavily involved in many aspects of the project.

For their roles related to electrical and fire alarm work, and fire protection, engineers Alexandre Manseau-Nguyen and Bruno Lehoux are in charge, respectively.
For their telecommunication work, engineer Jonathan Hallee is listed.

Stantec is also involved in many aspects of the engineering work, with the following representatives related to different subsections. Louis-Stephane Racicot’s role is as Engineering Project Manager. Engineer Alexandre Jean is in charge of mechanical, Michel Gendron in charge of electrical, Patrick Bourgeois is listed for structure, and for civil Martin Charron.

STANTEC
400-375, boul. Roland-Therrien
Longueuil (QC) j4h 4a6
t. (514) 281-1033

Work schedule and site security

While it may not be clear what specific work will be happening when, the bid documents indicate that when the construction begins, work will be occurring until 9pm maximum from Monday to Saturday, with noise-generating work happening only 7am to 6pm these days, and no work at all occurring on Sundays or statutory holidays.

There will be offices on site to securely store documents, as well as two site cameras which will be constantly livestreaming work and the site to a private website accessible to a government representative at all times.
Fences obscuring the view into the site will be erected. The documents mention that all workers will have to pass security clearance and will be prohibited from speaking to any Leclerc Detention facility prisoners (who are held just beside the site).

What to expect in the near future

It is reasonable to expect re-excavation and foundational work to begin very quickly following the awarding of the contract to the General Contractor at the end of March. This means that those opposed to the construction of yet another piece of infrastructure solely designed to bolster the government’s capacity to detain and deport migrants must be hard at work as well, as construction may start in earnest in the next month.

Companies considering involving themselves in this entirely unacceptable project, serving only to rip apart families and communities, would do well to stay far away from this project. They may risk their reputation, their clients, and their money by choosing to lend their expertise to this unambiguously racist and violent project in a moment where it is extremely important for everyone to pick a side: against white supremacy and xenophobia. Companies providing materials for the construction, or interested in being subcontracted to work in a more limited role should also think long and hard before making an unethical and indefensible choice.

For a world without prisons or borders.
For freedom of movement and freedom to live for all.

For more background information on the migrant prison project, and to download materials and research documents related to the struggle against it, visit stopponslaprison.info.

To read the documents summarized in this piece, you can download them directly from the government website using these links. We recommend using TorBrowser to avoid giving your IP address.

Migrant Prison: Excavation Company Loiselle’s Offices Redecorated

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Feb 072019

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

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