activism

Why Many Progressives Misrepresented and Condemned the Ottawa Trucker Protest

Canada’s “Freedom Convoy” began with protesting rules implemented in January by the Canadian and later the US governments requiring truck drivers to be fully vaccinated to enter their country. It snowballed into a demonstration against dysfunctional coronavirus restrictions. The Ottawa trucker protesters demanded: No Lockdowns, No Mandates, No Vaccine Passports, and if not, that Trudeau […]

Former Vietnam Army Nurse Fights To Stop The Privatization Of VA Healthcare

Retired nurse/nurse practitioner Arlys Herem knew she wanted to be a nurse since she was in the sixth grade. What she didn’t know was that she would  spend most of her career in other countries caring for the disenfranchised, educating medical personnel, promoting peace and advocating for veteran care when she retired. Arlys joined the […]

Author Confronts Canadian FM for “escalating” Russia-Ukraine War

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly © AFP / Johanna Geron Writer and activist Yves Engler interrupted a speech by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, accusing the authorities in Ottawa of escalating the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and increasing the risk of it turning into a global confrontation. Engler shared a clip of himself confronting […]

Bringing our Socialist Baby to Life: History of Socialist Planning Beyond Capitalism

Part I – Pre-History of Socialist Planning Beyond Capitalism Waking Up In 2001 Barbara had her awakening to the disasters that capitalism caused. This started as part of the 9/11 events, beginning after the response to the supposed attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. It became immediately clear the US would […]

In Montreal Everyone Still Hates the Police

Early on the evening of Tuesday March 15, anarchists and anti-authoritarians converged in the historic working-class neighborhood of St-Henri, Montreal, for the 26th annual International Day Against Police Brutality. This year, in addition to venting their hatred of the SPVM (the Montreal police), a central theme of the march was the colonial repression faced by […]

Jewish Pro-Israel Group Attacks Pro-Palestinian Activists

The following is an email I wrote on February 20 to a group of progressive political activists from Syracuse, NY, a city less than one hour’s drive west from where I live.  For the last three years the Jewish Federation of Central New York (JFCNY) has sent a series of letters to the Syracuse Peace […]
The post Jewish Pro-Israel Group Attacks Pro-Palestinian Activists first appeared on Dissident Voice.

Malcolm X Hit 2022 on the Head

I have people worried that as white writers they will be hit with “cultural appropriation” if they write a novel with characters who are not of their own race. You know the deal — writing about barrios, or ghettos or even a mix of people in a big city, people outside the lily white background […]
The post Malcolm X Hit 2022 on the Head first appeared on Dissident Voice.

Gridlocked: The Freedom Convoy and the New Canadian Populism

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, a popular movement demanding an immediate end to vaccine mandates and other restrictions on daily life has shaken the Canadian state to its core. Its calls have deeply resonated with members of settler-colonial society in which public health measures and other forms of collective solidarity are seen by some […]

Canadian Emergencies Act, Justin Trudeau, and Civil Disobedience in Context

On Valentines’ Day 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared the 1988 Emergencies Act in response to the Trucker Freedom Convoy in Ottawa and US-Canada border protests in Windsor (ON), Emerson (MB), Coutts (AB), Osoyoos and Surrey (BC). This stunning political development ignored the House of Commons in favour of making the announcement at a press […]

The Right to Protest in the Stolen Indigenous Territory Called Canada

Canada will always stand up for the right of peaceful protest anywhere around the world and we are pleased to see moves to deescalation and dialogue. — Justin Trudeau So said Canada’s prime minister Trudeau about the farmer protests in India. One assumes that “anywhere” includes Canada. Nonetheless, Trudeau has rejected dialogue with the peaceful […]