Police & Prisons

Seeds Against the New Migrant Prison in Laval

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Jun 122019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

As we all know, the Canadian government decided to invest more than 56$ million into locking up hundreds of people in a brand-new prison in Laval, slated to open in 2021. On June 7th, we decided to take back this site of suffering and grief and transform it into a place of life and hope.

Thanks largely to a donation of organic seeds by a Quebec-based cooperative farm, we sowed the 377,500 square meter construction site with 490kg of oats, peas and fava beans. This action builds on the work of other community members and aims to encourage further efforts to stop the construction of the prison. We also see it as a way of preparing the ground for other projects to collectively reappropriate this land for the common purposes. No prisons, no borders!

Key facts:

In 2017, Canada detained close to six thousand migrants, including 162 minors, in various carceral institutions;

The new prison in Laval is part of a 138$ million package announced by the federal government to accompany its 2016 National Immigration Detention Framework (NIDF). Of the total, 122$ million is allocated for the construction of two migrant prisons. Two Quebec-based firms, Lemay and Groupe A, have signed 5M$ contracts to build the prison in Laval. We are impatiently awaiting the announcement of the general constructor;

A true marketing ploy, the NIDF attempts to shift the public debate from the question of why migrants are detained in the first place to that of the conditions of their detention. In this way, the government prides itself in building a prison that camouflages the fact that it is a prison.

People who are detained often suffer psychological and physical violence at the hands of Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) agents. Since 2000, at least 16 people have died in CBSA custody.

Why do we oppose this prison?

Since its inception, the machinery of the Canadian state has been at the service of economic elites whose sole objective is to exploit resources here and in the Global South, in the process displacing Indigenous peoples throughout the world and extinguishing all forms of life. It is no secret that Canadian companies (Barrick Gold, Goldcorp, Pacific Rime, SNC Lavalin, etc.) working in Africa, South America and the Middle East are accused of violence (murders, gang rapes, forced evictions, etc.) and political interference. Old-style colonialism has been replaced by new forms of control over the bodies and wealth of the Global South, under unbridled capitalism and neoliberalism driving us inexorably towards ecological collapse.

The governments of the Global North promote a utilitarian vision of immigration where migrants are viewed solely as cheap labour; replaceable and temporary. But this migrant workforce has been created by ecological disasters (desertification, deforestation, air and water pollution, floods, etc.), economic and political crises, famine, war – in short, by destruction affecting the entire world, resulting from the greed of a handful of corporations and their masters, which organise this world order.

In this context, the prison, deadly and dehumanising, emerges as a global strategy employed by the west. The objective is twofold: first, to pursue an economic programme characterised by dispossession and unfettered capitalization of remaining resources by the private sector; and secondly, to establish spaces outside the law to confine those deemed “disposable” or a “burden.”

The investment of millions of dollars into the construction of a new migrant prison is not haphazard but exclusively economic necessity and is the result of decades of racist, xenophobic and colonial policies.

Our opposition to the detention of migrants is part of a broader fight against imperialism and colonialism.

— The Rise Up against Prisons and Borders Collective

More information:

Mise en contexte: La détention en immigration au Canada et la nouvelle prison pour réfugié-e-s à Laval

www.stopponslaprison.org

Info on the Laval Immigration Detention Centre

www.ledevoir.com/societe/actualites-en-societe/503523/un-nouveau-centre-construit-a-laval-pour-maintenir-la-detention-des-immigrants
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/amp/1176138/centre-surveillance-immigration-englobe-opposants-vandalisme-vehicule

Sign on statement against the new prison:

No to a New Prison for Refugees and Migrants in Laval

A Nice Way to Pass the Evening

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May 302019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

A few nights ago we stumbled upon an Englobe work vehicle. Englobe is an environmental engineering company subcontracted to perform site evaluation for the migrant prison in Laval. We smashed out the windshield, slashed all the tires, and spray-painted “No Migrant Prison” on the side. This was a spontaneous and easy expression of our anger towards all those involved with building this prison. We hope it prevented at least one worker from getting to their job the next day.

This was a small gesture, but very easy to perform. These company cars are everywhere. Fuck all prisons and anyone involved in building them.

No Borders, No Prisons : New Communiqué Poster

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May 242019

11 x 17″ | PDF

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What Happened to Prisoner Justice Day?

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May 202019

From End the Prison Industrial Complex

EPIC recommends this excellent new mini-series produced in Montreal called “What Happened to Prisoner Justice Day?” for anyone wanting to learn more about the history and context of the prison movement across so-called Canada since the 1970s. From the description:

This is a mini series about the history of prisons in canada focusing on differences in the prison system in the 1960s-1980s versus today. The podcast features interviews with former and current prisoners, as well as supporters on the outside. For those new to prison history, Prisoner Justice Day, also called PJD, started in 1975 on the one year anniversary of the death of Edward Nalon, an inside organizer who bled to death in a segregation cell in Millhaven Maximum Penitentiary on August 10th, 1974. Prisoners refused to eat and refused to work to commemorate Eddie’s death. In May 1976, Robert Landers, who had been actively organizing in Archambault Pen before being involuntarily transferred to Millhaven, died in a segregation cell in Millhaven after repeated calls for medical help met no response. In June 1976, prisoners in Millhaven launched a call for support for their one day hunger strike in remembrance of all prisoners who had died inside – to take place on August 10th. Word spread across the country and, in the end, thousands of prisoners participated in the one day hunger strike and supporters on the outside organized events on the outside. A lot has changed since the 70s, not just in prison, but outside of prison. While respecting PJD remains important to many on the inside and outside, the numbers of those participating are nowhere near the numbers involved in the 70s and 80s. This podcast mini-series sets out to explore why that change has occurred.

To listen, search for “What Happened to Prisoner Justice Day” in your podcast app or visit https://prisonhistoryca.libsyn.com/

RCMP Vehicles Destroyed in Hamilton

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May 142019

Anonymous submission to North Shore Counter-Info

Since 1873, the Canadian government has been using the RCMP and all police services at their disposal to forcefully invade indigenous territory, helping to steal their land for resources and aid in their assimilation.

Out west on Wet’suwet‘en territory in Northern BC the RCMP continue to harass individuals travelling to and from their homes, seizing cars and leaving youth and mothers stranded in the wilderness. In addition, police continue to keep the Wet’suwet’en from freely accessing hunting and fishing grounds and – as the spring thaw continues – areas where they would gather berries and medicines for sickness and ceremony. All this on behalf and in favour of TransCanada/TC Energy.

Out East on the banks of the Sipekne’katik (Shubenacadie River) – occupied Mi’kmaq territory – we see the RCMP cater to yet another destructive energy corporation: Alton Gas. Earlier in April the RCMP trespassed, arrested and charged three Mi’kmaw grandmothers. Arrests came after two years of indigenous community impeding contruction access for a project that will devastate the delicate tidal bore ecosystem.

Colonial policing institutions continue to interfere and trespass where they are not welcome – always in favour of industry and state gains. On May 8, 2019 we even saw the OPP arrest and charge an individual from Wahta Mohawk territory for trespassing – on their own territory – after confronting state-endorsed band council government for corruption.

We see these moments and struggles for indigenous self-determination and land reclamation for what they are; brave and necessary.

We support those reclaiming what has been stolen and correcting what is wrong by doing what we can do, for now – attacking the state apparatuses that continue to harass, interfere with, and criminalize indigenous peoples.

Sometime in the evening of May 12 a group of regular everyday folks tried too, to be brave.

Targetting the RCMP building in Stoney Creek for the second time in recent history these individuals found their way in to a private RCMP car lot and took as many service vehicles out of commission as possible.

Using spray paint we gave their cars new paint jobs, applied etching cream to permanently damage glass surfaces, and put bleach into accessible gas tanks.

We like to think that, for a short time, we have made it just a bit safer around here.

A small act of gratitude for those truly honouring our mother, on this mother’s day.

Moving forward, we call on others to step up. To treat these struggles as seriously as you treat commitments to your family, your jobs, degrees, or community. We call on every single person who has ever believed themselves to be an “ally“ to begin organizing and mobilizing for the inevitable moments ahead. What are you prepared to do when the Mi’kmaw and Wet’suwet’en must once again physically defend their territories from colonial violence? How are you preparing for the moments that have been building for two years, and for ten? Indigenous communities are keeping up their 300-year fight against colonialism and state control, and settlers can (and should) be waging the second front.

Reportback from Montreal’s May Day Against Borders

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May 142019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On May Day 2019 in Montreal there were four different demonstrations at different times and locations across the city. The CLAC (Convergence des Luttes Anti-Capitalistes) called for their annual anti-capitalist May Day demonstration to be held in the theme of “No borders”, in the context of the rise of the xenophobic far right in Quebec and the ongoing attept to construct a new migrant prison in Laval, QC. We attended the CLAC’s No Borders May Day, which gathered at 6:30pm at Square Cabot in the west end of downtown Montreal.

Shortly after the few-hundred strong group left the square, heading south on Atwater towards St Henri, a small black bloc at the rear of the demo took shape, shielded by a rear-facing banner reading “All Bosses are Bastards”. Construction fencing, pylons, and other materials were dragged into the street, creating distance between the demo and the cops following behind. Flyers had been passed out at the departure point encouraging people to take both sides of the street and the sidewalks as an attempt to prevent cops from using the sidewalks to flank the demo. This largely worked, no side cops were able to take position.

The demo turned west on Notre-Dame and then north on Greene, heading towards the headquarters of Lemay, an architecture firm designing the proposed migrant prison. As the demo approached the building, a dumpster was lit on fire at the back of the demo and rolled backwards towards the bike cops trailing the demo, creating a bit of a buffer in the lead up to what was to come. At Lemay, people attacked the building, breaking the large windows at the front and side of the building with rocks, billiard balls, and improvised battering rams. Paint bombs covered the facade on two sides of the building as well. Flyers were distributed explaining Lemay’s role in the construction of the migrant prison.

Riot cops deployed, too late, in front of the Lemay building, and were met with rocks. They responded to the escalating situation with tear gas, and the demo turned north off of St-Jacques. Though the demo split and some people scattered due to the tear gas, minutes later two large groups met up on St-Antoine, a major artery leading to a highway on-ramp — the dispersal attempt was unsuccessful! Marching against already backed-up traffic, the raucous group dragged garbage and recycling bins into the street, lighting some on fire. Though the group continued to thin out over the next 15 minutes, a sizable demo marched east on Notre-Dame, leaving graffiti in its wake, and defending itself with fireworks shot at the cops.

This May Day was a marked improvement from last year, when a confrontation between flanking sidewalk cops and a black bloc at the front of the demo two minutes after departure isolated most of the bloc from the rest of the demo, leading the demonstration to continue but without most of the bloc. Since that confrontation, the cops have consistently kept their distance at major demos, testifying to the success of a combative demo culture. However, they are positioning themselves to go on the offensive very quickly after attacks have taken place, and we will need to continue responding to this change in strategy.

This year, the distribution of groups of anonymous and confrontational people throughout the demo appears to have prevented the isolation of the bloc from the rest of the demo. It also helped to mitigate the negative effects of dispersal attempts — having groups of people throughout the demo that are prepared to stick it out after tear gas and charges means that many others can build the confidence to do this as well. This year’s successful regroupment and the long continuation of the demo even after it had wreaked havoc on Lemay are testaments to this.

****This year, we noticed a lot of people in the demo with cameras or filming with their phones. Filming and taking pictures puts people at risk, whether or not you’re the mass media. Even if you don’t intend to hand your footage to the cops or have the intention to blur out identifying features before you post your pictures, you might get arrested with information that incriminates others. A reminder: don’t film in a demo, and don’t be surprised if you get pushed out of the demo if you do.

The success of the demo’s attack on Lemay was also an exciting development in the struggle against the migrant prison. Lemay has already been attacked multiple times in the past year (its condo projects have been attacked, and the building it is headquartered in had crickets released into it and all its locks destroyed as well), but these attacks have not been as public as this demonstration, and have presumably involved smaller groups of people. We are heartened by the strength and solidity of hundreds of people who stood and stayed together while this abhorrent architecture firm had its building fucked with in broad daylight. It’s this kind of collective strength and daring that will continue to be necessary as the fight to prevent the construction of the prison heats up in the coming months.

Long live the uncontrollable demo! Long live the struggle against the migrant prison! Against borders and against prisons!

Fuck Lemay, happy May Day!

Migrant Prison: Nighttime Sabotage at Lemay Company Headquarters

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Apr 182019

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On the night of April 14th, we paid a visit to Lemay’s headquarters in St. Henri to make a contribution to the struggle against the construction of a proposed new migrant prison, set to open in 2021 in Laval, QC. Lemay is a major architecture firm involved in designing the prison. We shut off access to the building by gluing all the locks, smashing the electronic sensors that permit access to the building by key cards, and u-locking door handles together at multiple entrances. The garage doors were blocked by a combination of spike strips and smoke bombs, which were rigged to go off if the garage doors opened. We assume that employees and company clients had a hard time accessing the building the next day, and hope they will continue to feel the effects of escalating actions against them and others involved in the project.

We want to stop this prison from happening. We want to undo the institutions of exclusion, confinement, and surveillance that uphold white supremacy and capitalism, and send our solidarity to all those struggling against the violence they depend on.

Let’s shut it all down.

No borders, no prisons.

Rage for Lucy: Bring Her Back! No More Detentions and Deportations!

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Apr 172019

From Solidarity Across Borders

One year after the deportation of Lucy Granados, Montreal community gathers to denounce racist and colonial immigration system and demand her return.

Photos here!

On April 13th, friends and supporters of Lucy Francineth Granados marked the one-year anniversary of her deportation with a rally at the Laval Immigration Detention Centre. One year ago, they had gathered in the same location in an attempt to physically block her deportation.

Lucy Francineth Granados lived in Montreal from 2009 to 2018. In March 2018, she was violently arrested at her home by four CBSA officers. She spent 24 nights in the migrant prison before being deported, still injured from the CBSA attack. To date, she has not received an answer to her application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds- if it is accepted, she could return. She is in daily contact with her friends in Canada, and the campaign to bring her home continues.

With chants of “Bring Lucy Back,” “Solidarité avec les sans papiers,” “No borders, no prisons, stop the deportations!” and “Migrant Prison? Shut it down!” the colourful crowd redecorated the fence around the detention centre with silhouettes of Lucy and other detained and deported community members, banners, flowers, and clothing, to represent migrants like Lucy who defy borders around the world in search of safety for themselves and their children.

“We are gathered to show that, despite the violence of colonial borders, Lucy is still a dear member of our community,” said Bill from Solidarity Across Borders. “We have not stopped and we will not stop working to bring her back to her home,” he added.

The group was prevented by a heavy police presence from going to the back of the detention centre, where Lucy had been forced by CBSA through several fences into a waiting convoy. In sharp contrast to the armed force beside them and the cruelty of prisons, supporters sent powerful messages of solidarity and love over the prison walls. Carmelo, from the Mexicans United for Regularization (MUR), and Jihad, from Solidarity Across Borders, both of whom spent time in the migrant prison, courageously denounced the violence of Canada’s immigration system and demanded Lucy’s return. Lucy also addressed the crowd by phone, speaking movingly of her struggle and expressing gratitude for the ongoing support of her many friends.

The group then marched to the planned site of the new migrant prison, where Amy from Solidarity Across Borders shared information about the new prison and the important campaign to stop it from being built. Slated to become operational in 2021, the new migrant prison represents an investment into the state’s continued capacity to detain and deport migrants like Lucy. Construction has not yet begun, beyond a large pit dug at one end of the site. Supporters threw seed bombs, in a symbolic act of defiance that aimed to reclaim the site and to prepare the muddy grounds for better uses.

Idil from Solidarity Across Borders wrapped up with a powerful speech, beginning with Home by poet Warsan Shire, and concluding, “They can dress this project up as nicely as they want but those of us here see it for what it is and it is our responsibility to make sure we let as many others as we can know as well. It is our responsibility to push back against this project, to fight, and to ensure that it never sees the light of day.”

More context about Lucy’s campaign: www.solidarityacrossborders.org/en/bring-lucy-back-the-campaign-to-support-lucy-granados-continues

More about the new prison: www.stopponslaprison.info

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!

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