June 3, 2011

Denis Lemelin
National President
Canadian Union of Postal Workers
377 Bank St.
Ottawa, ON K2P 1Y3

Brother Lemelin,

We wish to send all of the 48,000 members of CUPW our solidarity in your struggle against Canada Post's attack on CUPW member's working conditions and wages.

We are with you in your fight to prevent a two-tiered workforce where new hires are only paid 75% of what other workers make for doing the same work. Equal pay for equal work is a corner-stone of the labour movement and must never be compromised.

http://takethecapital.wordpress.com

On June 10th, 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will address the Conservative Party of Canada’s (CPC) National Convention in downtown Ottawa. Taking place during the 3 day CPC National Convention at the Ottawa Convention Centre, Harper’s address to the gathered Conservative Party members will be his first major address after winning a majority government in the last election.

We invite all those opposed to the Harper’s right-wing agenda to come together on Friday, June 10th, and make clear to the Conservative Party that we will not sit idly by while they attack our communities.

By Greg Macdougall
Originally published at rabble.ca | May 19, 2011

Postal service in Canadian cities is in jeopardy from next week if last-minute negotiations between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) do not succeed in coming to an agreement. The possibility of a strike by the union or lockout by management comes into effect on midnight May 24, with a 72-hours notice being given before any such action is taken.


Comrades,


The purpose of this message is to inform you briefly about what is happening the last days in our country and to appeal an international call of solidarity to all anarchists worldwide.



Greece is at a critical turning point, and many critical changes are taking place in a societal as well as a political and economic level. The disintegration and dissolution of the dominant – until recently – model of power and exploitation is more than evident, so it defines what is commonly called ‘crisis.’ What we are experiencing now is the total failure of a system that is unable to secure any longer the social consensus, thereby is engaged in a frontal attack that is unconditional and with no pretext.



Article and videos from the Rally Against Police Violence, and the Forum on Police Violence, Incarceration and Alternatives, held in Ottawa in mid-March 2011.

Videos produced by M-Media for Common Cause Ottawa

Ottawa Rally Against Police Violence - March 15, 2011

by Krishna Bera, Tara Lyons & Greg Macdougall

On 15 March 2011, about 75 people demonstrated against police violence in downtown Ottawa, marking the International Day Against Police Brutality. This was the first year an event was held in Ottawa, taking the lead from the annual march in Montreal that started in 1997. Toronto and Halifax also saw marches commemorating the day this year, while Winnipeg held one the following Saturday.

By Brandon Gray

The notoriously xenophobic Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right 'Party for Freedom' - which holds 24 seats in the Dutch parliament - descended on the Canadian Christian College in northern Toronto on May 9 to spew his racist filth to a receptive audience of Christian chauvinists, as their far-right allies, the Jewish Defense League (JDL), managed parking. The event was given extensive coverage in the National Post and Sun Media, thereby advancing the idea of a 'culture war' between good white Judeo-Christians and the wretched 'others'.

By Devin K.

Hamilton Police Services and the Police Service board are currently attempting to force the city to approve a near 5% ($6.2 million) budget increase. The current process began after city council initially refused the proposed police budget and requested that it be scaled back and re-worked, with budget increases limited to inflation - a call made to all city boards and agencies, but ignored by the cops.

Year after year the police’s cut has consistently gotten fatter, despite a falling crime rate and with little deliberation at city hall. The primary motive behind this year’s increase is simply the cops giving themselves a raise – salary and benefit increases make up 4.41% of the 5%. This is particularly heinous within the context of a province wide wage freeze for public sector workers and the cost cutting other city agencies like hospitals have been forced to undertake.