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Alternative Welcome Week 2010 - Programming call-outFor the first time ever, OPIRG McMaster will be having an Alternative Welcome Week from September 13-19.  Alternative Welcome Week will be educating and agitating on themes of Environmental and Social Justice. There will be adventures, workshops, discussions, performances,and joyous times had by all. We are still working on programming and are looking for ideas and proposals. If you or your group/organization have an idea for a workshop, performance, or event and would like to be part of the week's activities, please contact brian@opirg.ca.Themes that we are currently exploring for the week are:-Indigenous sovereignty/anti-racism, anti-colonialism, anti-apartheid-Environmental Justice, local and global action for the planet-Economic Justice/Gentrification, Sex workers, migrant workers, poverty and labour-Gender Justice/Women's, Queer and Trans Issues-Transforming the University - Challenging the Academic Industrial Complex, McMaster-specific issuesWe are open to all sorts of ideas, so get creative!  Soft deadline for proposals is July 30th.OPIRG McMaster follows anti-oppressive principles in our work and programming proposals should reflect this.

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It's that time again, OPIRG McMaster closes for the month of July to accommodate staff holidays.We reopen again Monday, August 2nd.If you have resource material to return, please return it when the office re-opens, or e-mail to make other arrangements.

Here's an open letter to the Canadian Labout Congress regarding the statement they sent out during the protest Saturday. Here's a link to the CLC's statement if you haven't seen it.http://www.canadianlabour.ca/national/news/statement-ken-georgetti-president-canadian-labour-congress-vandalism-surrounding-toronWe are union activists who were part of organizing against the G20 Summit in Toronto and solidarity actions across the country. After the “Peoples First” march, many of us remained on the streets throughout the weekend contesting the unprecedented militarization of our city and the G20 neoliberal agenda.We are disturbed and concerned to read the statement by Ken Georgetti, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, issued during the G20 summit.The CLC issued a statement condemning ‘vandalism’ and declaring their commitment to working with the police throughout the summit; however, the CLC’s statement is shockingly silent about the violence perpetrated bythe state and police, aimed at rendering the right of people to assemble, organize and resist obsolete, brutalizing our sisters, brothers and children. Union members and our allies in the community were victims of the organized confusion that led to the massive violations of our basic civil liberties including house raids without warrants, indiscriminate searches, and the warehousing of activists, innocent bystanders and others for hours without charges in a dehumanizing detention centre. Thousands of union members and others gathered on the streets and in the state and police-sanctioned “free speech zone”, otherwise known as Queen’s Park. As the mainstream media was glued to unattended burning police cars, protesters were being charged and trampled by police horses, subject to indiscriminate arrests, rubber bullets, tear gas and various forms of police brutality.The focus on vandalism and attacks on private property espoused by the CLC statement and some mainstream media outlets, expels from the debate the legitimate concerns and lived injustices of many within the labour movement who turned out to protest the G8/G20.By commission or omission this limited focus legitimizes the suspension of rights and liberties in this city, including the right to assembly and the right to political protest.Thousands mobilized in front of police headquarters on June 28th in solidarity with the hundreds of activists still being detained and our unions and union flags were absent.We believe union solidarity should have been present. While we are encouraged to see the CLC's recent decision to join the call for a public inquiry, we feel that the CLC and Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) must support our allies, call for the release of all prisoners in the detention centres and jails, and resist the attack on our human rights in all its forms.We as a labour movement must commit to organize social movements along with our allies in social justice, environmental justice, grass-roots, anti-poverty, women, non-status, Indigenous, Queer and international movements to challenge and resist neoliberal capitalist governments’ ruthless assaults on the working people in Canada and globally. We will not and cannot win the struggle we face against the violent onslaught of neoliberalism by abandoning our allies and our communities in the wake of a massive crackdown on dissent.Signatories:Farid Chaharlangi, President CUPE Local 4772Kelly O’Sullivan, President CUPE Local 4803Adrian Smith, Justicia for Migrant Workers, Workers’ AssemblyIlian Bubrano, Chair CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee, CUPE Local 3393Dave Bleakney, National Union representative – Canadian Union of Postal WorkersTracy Supruniuk, CUPE Local 3903Chris Ramsaroop, Justicia for Migrant Workers, CUPE Local 1281Rachel Rosen, OSSTF District 12Katherine Nastovski, CUPE Local 3903Herman Rosenfeld, Retired CAW Staffperson, Workers’ AssemblyLynda Lemberg, Retired Member of OSSTF District 12Mohan Mishra, CUPE Local 1281Giti Iranpoor, OPSEU Local 512Alison Fischer, OSSTF District 12To sign on to this letter please email clcopenletterg20@gmail.com

Our Strength Lies in the Justice of Our Cause! Release All G8/G20 Protesters Now!  The Hamilton Coalition Against the G20 call on everyone to join the following local actions. All are welcome!  Wednesday // June 30 // 2010   DROP ALL CHARGES RALLY 5:00pm // Hamilton Police Station // 155 King William St. A solidarity rally for the over 900 arrested and all those still detained due to protesting the G8/G20 Summit. Organized by Common Cause. OPEN FORUM ON THE G8/G20 6:00pm // Workers Arts & Heritage Centre // 51 Stuart St. USW 1005 is holding this open forum where everyone can discuss the significance of the G8/G20 events and how they are part of furthering Harper’s agenda.   The Hamilton Coalition Against the G20 sends its congratulations to all those across Canada who, under difficult circumstances, took a firm stand against the G8/G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto. Despite a lengthy and concerted intimidation campaign, over 40,000 people came together over the last week to denounce the illegitimate G8/G20 and to build the peoples alternative. Four buses from Hamilton joined the actions on June 25 and 26, organized by the Coalition, and Hamilton-based delegations were in attendance throughout the week. The G20 summit and the massive opposition to it, takes place in the context of widespread rejection of the agenda of the Harper government within Canada and of the G8 countries internationally.  At every point, the people have opposed the Harper government’s attacks on democracy which have made Parliament dysfunctional. They have opposed his attacks on everyone: farmers through destroying the Canadian Wheat Board, workers by standing alongside corporations in the face of the destruction of the Canadian manufacturing sector, unions by supporting measures to weaken and destroy them, students by making education increasingly unaffordable. The people have opposed the Harper government’s programs to pay the rich and his government’s cuts to social spending. They have opposed his government’s attacks on women, racialized communities, newcomers, immigrants and other vulnerable sectors of our society. They have demanded that environmental concerns be put on the agenda and that Canada should be a factor for peace in the world. With increasing voice, the Canadian polity has shown its utter contempt and rejection of the Harper agenda. The Coalition is proud to stand with the people detained and denounces the more than 900 arrests over the last week. The Coalition will support all those unjustly imprisoned for affirming their rights. While the world needs genuine people’s democracies, the Harper government is strengthening the instruments of war and repression to make sure the people’s will does not prevail. In order to realize the interests of the rich in Canada and impose U.S. dominance abroad, the opposition of the people must be repressed at home. We saw in the last week how the Harper government bolstered a police state with an unprecedented budget, weapons, and numbers, putting the fear of the gun in the polity so as to block people from affirming their right to political dissent. It is unacceptable that the police attempted, through force, to illegitimately limit the right of all to dissent and their right to protest by imposing a so-called Designated Free Speech Area. It is to the credit of the movement that it took a stand against this, refusing to abide by the police-defined parameters on their right to protest and express their conscience.  It is unacceptable that the police can conduct mass arrests of people based on allegations of criminal acts by some alleged protestors on June 26. The people assembled were opposing the policies of the government at the Summits. In response to this opposition that same government declared the rights of all the people in downtown Toronto null and void, criminalizing dissent. The property damage that took place on Saturday - the sum total of the much touted violence allegedly by the protesters - in no way justifies the negation of basic human rights. The repressive police, indiscriminately attacking and detaining organizers, protesters, bystanders, journalists and others have revealed for all the end result of a $1 billion security budget and 25,000 armed personnel on the streets of Toronto. The time is now to fight back against this anti-human agenda. We must defend ourselves against repression and stand together to affirm our rights. We will not back down while the government forces and their apologists use every occasion to fuel the repression by instilling fear and marginalizing our concerns. By stepping up the resistance to oppression we can turn things around in a manner which favours the interests of the people. Our Strength Lies in the Justice of Our Cause!Release All Detainees Now!No to Fear Mongering and a Police State! The Hamilton Coalition Against the G20 can be contacted at: Hamiltong20resistance@gmail.com

Amina Suhrwardy is enjoying her summer working as project assistant for the local food project, Hamilton Food Matters (www.hamiltonfoodmatters.org).This Anthropology major has been hard at work (and play) programming for kids' camps and farm tours, researching funding opportunities, and  going to more pot-lucks than usual!  The position was made possible thanks to Canada Summer Jobs, a Government of Canada initiative.If you'd like to exchange ideas (or recipes) or have a good old fashioned chat about food, stop by the office or send her an email (not so old-fashioned...) at amina [dot] suhrwardy [at] gmail [dot] com.

Find out about what OPIRG McMaster's working groups have accomplished in the 2009-2010 year, with the just published WORKING GROUP YEAR END REPORT. Read it here (pdf)

OPIRG McMaster is pleased to announce that Harjot Atwal is our summer Resource Library Co-ordinator. She is working on upgrading our Resource Library centre by updating the system as well as revamping the way the books are organized. She is also in charge of ordering in new resources for the library. She has started two new sections on the OPIRG website: New Resources, and Resource Reviews. The New Resources section shows new books and/or dvd’s that have been ordered in. The Resource Reviews section displays reviews Harjot or other library patrons have written about resources currently housed in the library.Harjot is in her final year of Psychology and Religious Studies here at McMaster. She is also an executive at the Queer Student Centre on campus, and she is looking forward to coordinating the 2010-2011 production of the Vagina Monologues at Mac. OPIRG was able to hire Harjot thanks to the Government of Canada Summer Career Placement program.So come check out our Resource Library or browse the OPIRG website. This will please Harjot very much! Maybe a little too much..

Poverty Reduction at the Crossroads: Where do we go from here?  A speech and discussion with John StapletonWednesday June 16 at 7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Hamilton170 Dundurn Street South, HamiltonAdmission is free. Doors open at 6 p.m. Come with your questions. Refreshments will be available.So much talk about poverty: new cuts, old cuts, clawbacks, new taxes on the poor, yet more evidence of the links between poverty and ill health. But who has answers?Well one person who knows a lot about how policy must change to help the poor is John Stapleton. Stapleton worked for the Ontario government in the Ministry of Community and Social Services and its predecessors for 28 years in the areas of social assistance policy and operations. He is undertaking an Innovations Fellowship with the Metcalf Foundation and is a member the board of the Daily Bread Food Bank. Presented by M. Hughes Prod.Sponsored by: Social Justice Committee of First Unitarian, Campaign for Adequate Welfare and Disability Benefits, 25in5, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction.You can find some of Stapleton’s latest writings at http://www.openpolicyontario.comhttp://www.openpolicyontario.com/publications.htm  Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.

STOP THE SPECIAL DIET CUT!RAISE WELFARE / DISABILITY RATES NOW!HAMILTON RALLY AGAINST CUTS TO SOCIAL ASSISTANCEThursday, June 17th1pm Gore Park, HamiltonOn June 17th, we will rally in Hamilton against the Liberal Government’s decision as part of their 2010 budget to CUT the Special Diet Allowance. The Special Diet Allowance is money that people on Welfare (OW) and Disability (ODSP) rely on in order to access healthy food and pay the rent. For hundreds of thousands in Ontario, the Special Diet is the only means left to try to survive on shamefully inadequate OW and ODSP rates.In March, the Ontario Liberal Government, including local Hamilton-Mountain Liberal MPP Sophia Aggelonitis, put forth the most anti-poor budget since Harris in 1995. In cutting the Special Diet Allowance, the Liberals are only the third Government in Ontario’s history to cut Social Assistance. It is a 200 million dollar cut to Social Assistance! This is a brutal move that will make hundreds of thousands of people hungry, sick, at risk of being evicted, or homeless.In Hamilton this cut to Social Assistance will be devastating. Hamilton is a community that has faced huge job losses in this economic crisis and attacks on the Public Sector. Statistics estimate that 22% of Hamilton residents live below the Poverty Line, with official unemployment being well over 8%.We are demanding that the Ontario Government reinstate the Special Diet immediately, and that they finally reverse the 1995 Harris cut by raising OW and ODSP rates at which people can live with health and dignity.Contact the Ontario Coalition Against Povertywww.ocap.ca  / (416) 925-6939Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.

Sparking Sustained Community Action:Greenhouse Gas Emission Discussion Paper More Than a Lot of Hot AirHAMILTON, ON – June 2, 2010 – Hamilton is committed to taking action on climate change. The City recently released “Taking Stock: Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Hamilton” to inform and engage citizens about climate change in the City. Now that the information and facts have been compiled the City is looking for community involvement and partnerships and is seeking input from citizens and business on taking action. “Hamilton is proud to be a municipal leader taking action related to reducing the impact of climate change,” stated Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “We understand the pressing need to address the impact of greenhouse gases by working with our community partners. We also know that government and big business cannot do it alone and therefore, we are encouraging the ordinary citizens in our community to take action on climate change everyday.” The City of Hamilton is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions levels by 10% by 2012, and 20% by 2020 through its Corporate Air Quality and Climate Change Plan. Hamilton has been recognized as a leader in the use of advanced fleet technology that reduces fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. It has the second-largest fleet of hybrid and other clean and efficient vehicles in Ontario and actively promotes new fleet technology. The City has also reduced energy consumption in its buildings through the Corporate Energy Policy. Blue Box recycling and Green Cart programs also reduce greenhouse gases such as methane in the community by diverting waste from landfills.“There is an increasing number of cities and regions from around the world that are developing their own action plans to deal with climate change,” states Brian Montgomery, Air Quality and Climate Change Co-ordinator, Sustainability Section, City of Hamilton. “We are educating our community on local climate change emissions and want to partner with the Hamilton community to tackle our emissions together. As a community we need to take stock and go further to reduce our emissions. The intent of the discussion paper is to trigger discussion, insights and involvement from citizens to take action and address climate change as a community.”   In 2009, the City undertook an Air Pollutants and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory to keep track of how much pollution is being released by the City. Community emissions were 12,758,652 tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2006, and these emissions rose to 13,131,097 tonnes by 2008, an increase of 2.9%. By 2020, if there are no programs put in place to enhance greenhouse gas emission reductions, the community's forecasted emissions will rise to 17,349,621 tonnes. This forecast is 36% above the emission levels calculated for 2006 and 56% above target of 20% reductions of 2006 levels by 2020. For more information and to access the Discussion Paper please go to www.hamilton.ca/climatechange-30-Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.

CATCH News – June 4, 2010Public input sought on city climate plansThe city has released a discussion paper on greenhouse gas emissions in hopes of obtaining public input on the challenges posed to Hamilton by global climate change. The document suggests higher density, cycling, much more transit and “highly protected agricultural land” are among the required solutions.“Taking Stock: Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Hamilton” opens with two potential scenarios for the year 2060. One assumes serious action such as the changes noted above have taken place by 2012, while the other depicts the results of a no-action scenario where: “the temperature tops 30C close to 50 days each year; severe storms, at one time thought to happen once a century, are an annual event; the city’s infrastructure takes a constant beating, power outages are routine and it’s almost impossible to get property insurance for homes and businesses.”The warnings are not out of line with scientific predictions, and may be overly optimistic given that Hamilton had two ‘one-in-a-hundred-year’ storms last year which imposed over $14 million in damages on municipal infrastructure and up to $100 million on homes. Climate scientists are already predicting 2010 will be the hottest year on record and will see an unprecedented reduction in ice cover in the Arctic.The 18-page city document offers a more digestible version of a 152-page study on local greenhouse gases completed late last year that calculated 2007 emissions of 13.1 million tonnes. Municipal operations contribute slightly more than 1 percent of that total.Council has promised to lower local government emissions by 20 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels – but the report predicts a nearly 19 percent decline even if the city takes no new actions, primarily because of the provincial government’s commitment to eliminate coal-fired generation of electricity. In contrast, overall city-wide greenhouse gas releases are expected to rise by 36 percent by the end of this decade largely as a direct result of expected population growth.“As a community we need to take stock and go further to reduce our emissions,” says the city’s air quality and climate change coordinator Brian Montgomery in a media statement. “The intent of the discussion paper is to trigger discussion and insights and then have these conversations translate into tangible action from citizens to address climate change as a community.”  At this point, no reduction targets have been set for the community as a whole. That decision could include using 1990 as a base year for comparison, as has been done in the Kyoto protocol and other international climate agreements – instead of 2005, the benchmark chosen by both the city and the Harper government. Canada’s emissions jumped by more than 25 percent over that 15 year period. If the city’s did as well, it means the promised 20 percent cut by 2020 actually translates into an increase over 1990 levels – and far above the 25 to 40 percent reductions being advocated by most climate scientists.It also means reduction efforts in the 1990-2005 period aren’t credited. An Ontario report released this week, for example, shows industrial greenhouse gas emissions fell by over 16 percent between 1990 and 2008.The city report acknowledges that its greenhouse gas calculations are not “perfect”. For example, the emissions exclude the two steel mills that together emit over 8 million tonnes a year, and don’t include household consumption of goods not produced in Hamilton.The industries that are included accounted for a third of the 2008 emissions, while transportation contributed another fifth. Commercial properties were responsible for 26 percent, while home heating and electrical use generated 18 percent.City government greenhouse gas emissions are dominated by buildings and transportation. Public transit service emitted 21,544 tonnes in 2008, but still a tiny fraction of the nearly one million tonnes produced by car and truck use across the city.The city’s report and related climate change activities are available on-line. An electronic survey is being used to gather public responses. CATCH (Citizens at City Hall) updates use transcripts and/or public documents to highlight information about Hamilton civic affairs that is not generally available in the mass media. Detailed reports of City Hall meetings can be reviewed at www.hamiltoncatch.org. You can receive all CATCH free updates by sending an email to info@HamiltonCATCH.org.Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.

Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.

Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.