Expropriation

In the spirit of all those May Day expropriations that came before, we entered Mamie Clafoutis’ St. Denis location and filled our bags this morning in total rejection of the encroaching gaze of surveillance and and the false gods of capitalism. Partnering with retail tech startup Leav, Mamie Clafoutis boasts that it is “pioneering a new era of automated smart stores.” This is the beginning of the same Amazon Go model that has already infected other cities, praised by media as innovation. Registering with a facial scan on their app can get you the ‘privilege’ of buying bread 24/7 in these automated, cashless bakeries. ...

The slogan was launched by a horde of elves: “Christmas is ours.” In the heart of Montreal, a group called Les Robins des ruelles raided a Metro grocery store a few days before Christmas. This action seems to be a response to the call made by Les Soulèvements du Fleuve the previous week, which invited people to reject the current food production and distribution system. In an exemplary gesture of sharing, some of the food was left in the middle of Place Valois (in Hochelaga) - at the foot of a Christmas tree erected for the occasion - while the rest was reportedly distributed to community refrigerators throughout Montreal. ...

Hochelaga, April 30, 9pm Tonight, people engaged in combative mutual aid. Food should be free, as with all essential items. The scourge of capitalism has made it so that necessities such as food and housing are things to be earned rather than inalienable basic needs. Today we are making food free in our own way, by liberating sustenance to redistribute amongst the community. And we will do it again. The state apparatus may try to stop us, and in doing so, show its true colors. The government and the corporate interest it serves are not your friends. They will sooner let you starve than sacrifice their bottom line. Eat freely! ...

A balade for de-gentrification took to the streets of Saint-Henri on the evening of May 28, 2016. About 30 people, all in black bloc, strolled down rue Notre-Dame and looted the yuppie boutique grocery store “Le 3734”. As most of the crowd held down the street outside the store, a few people went inside and filled duffel bags with fresh and dry sausages, cheese, maple syrup, and other items. Meanwhile, the storefront was redecorated with graffiti reading ‘Fuck Empire’ and wheatpasted posters that communicated some of the intentions behind the action. After throwing smoke bombs ahead of and behind the crowd on Notre-Dame, people dispersed via the train tracks before police could arrive, and no arrests have been made. In the days that followed, we re-distributed the food to people in the neighborhood who wouldn’t regularly have had access to it. The poster left behind read as follows: ...