Tagged With: political protest
In solidarity with the 99%
Victoria, like cities across Canada, North America and the globe, has become a site of contestation, where young and old people have drawn a line in the sand against a system they believe is built upon inequality and exploitation. These visionaries offer the brightest beacon in a generation of the possibility for a better world. The … Continue reading
Homeless ruling needs pragmatic city response
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 17 October 2008 Now that the B.C. Supreme Court has struck down Victoria’s anti-camping bylaw, let’s hope that city leaders adopt a more pragmatic and compassionate approach. Too much public money has already been wasted fighting the basic principle of the right to shelter. The … Continue reading
Take sides
Opinion-editorial published in the Martlet (Victoria), 15 March 2003 It is comfortable to pretend we are a big, happy family. Father knows best… Current circumstances make such a stance impossible. Our country is sending battleships and troops to escalate the war against Iraq. The BC Liberals are levelling our social infrastructure to nineteenth-century conditions, pushing … Continue reading
Remembering Carlo Giulliani
Earlier this summer, a 23-year-old Italian named Carlo Guilliani was shot dead in Genoa. As tens of thousands protested a summit of the G-8 powers, the young man was captured on film raising a fire extinguisher above his head, apparently poised to smash the window of a police jeep. A moment later, Carlo was shot … Continue reading
The price of fuel and truckers’ militancy
Published in the Martlet (Victoria), 22 February 2000 Truckers across Canada are parking their rigs to protest rising fuel prices. The deep rumble of air horns lingers in the air from Parliament Hill to the Maritimes. After decades of declining real wages, rising prices have pushed these workers towards militancy. Stalling Toronto-area freeways, shutting down … Continue reading
A peoples’ agenda
Letter to the Editor published in the Victoria Times Colonist, 2 December 1999 I was in Seattle on November 30, along with thousands of others saying ‘no’ to the World Trade Organization and its corporate agenda. The WTO was shut down that day as ordinary citizens filled the streets of Seattle to put forward an … Continue reading
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Ben’s Open Office
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Canadian hero
It is with admiration that I read Brigette DePape’s explanation of why she disrupted the Throne Speech in Canada’s Senate chamber. The 21-year-old parliamentary page from Winnipeg has now been fired for her defiant act. On June 3rd, she stood stone-faced in the centre of the sterile red chamber of privilege, holding a sign reading … Continue reading »