Toronto-sometimes Canada-roundup and PSA

It's not that I don't find US politics interesting, it's that their northern neighbours have a lot of our own shit to deal with and nobody really cares. Canadians, unfortunately, tend not to notice either unless Canada gets some attention on a global scale, which is probably why we will be talking about defunding of reproductive health and STFU-gate and protest zones, but not other things. Here's some other stuff that's been happening:

1. June 24 has been declared an action about Canada's record on Indigenous Rights, just in time for the G8/20 summit. Australia and New Zealand have both changed their positions on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, making the US and Canada the only two countries left that have opposed it. If you need more inspiration to be pissed off I recommend clicking the Canada tag on Int Cry, other good resources here, here and here. (Feel free to send other suggestions my way.)
In related news, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for the genocidal residential schools finally starts up in June.


2. 18 year old Alexander Manon died while being pursued by Police near York U. Cops say that he had a heart attack and died on his own, his family's lawyer is wondering then where the bruises and the pool of blood came from.

3. New book out about the Christian right in Canada.

4. Immigration raids, they happen here too.

5. Quebec has caught the French flu and for some bizarre (racist) reason the province is trying to pass a law barring anyone chooses to cover their face from accessing government services of any kind, including healthcare, just like Belgium has. Muslimah Media Watch pointed out that only 25 people in Montreal actually wear the niqaab, demonstrating that Quebec's politicians need to get outside more and stop watching so much French TV. Unfortunately much of the population is in support of the law but hearings have recently been postponed till August with reports that the bill is getting little positive feedback. It's still not too late to act and the No on 94 Coalition has suggestions of action and people to write. Australia recently defeated a bill proposing a similar ban in a vote of 26-3, hopefully that can be repeated here though the bill should just be found unconstitutional anyways.

6. Toronto Pride is (AFAIK) the most recent victim of the Conservative defunding spree. Last year a Minister was punished for giving funding to Toronto Pride. Last year also was the start of a serious campaign of pressure to get Toronto Pride to ban Queers Against Israeli Apartheid from marching or get defunded and an official motion that said as much was introduced to city council but was deferred. It's since been revealed that Pride told city council they would censor the group and have now followed through.
What's a queer Palestinian to do?

For those that haven't been keeping track this isn't an isolated incident but part of a string of attacks on various groups having anything to do with Palestinians, some explicitly political, others not. Last February funding was cancelled for UNWRA, a few weeks after Kairos, a Christan aid organization, lost funding for having Palestinian group Sabeel among many groups it was affiliated with, before that the board of government agency Rights and Democracy was stacked by conservative appointees and cancelled grants for three Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups. The Tory appointed board members' harrassment of R&D's president and his death by a heart attack all eventually culminated in other board members' resignation.

Universities hosting Israeli Apartheid Week and the student activists involved also became the targets and object of much of Canadian politicians' energy and time. Numerous politicians visited campuses to condemn the event and Ontario parliament passed a motion to condemn the lecture series-the federal government couldn't have passed one in time due to parliament having been suspended for Harper to avoid dealing with the fallout of an unrelated torture scandal.