“Today, inspired by a summer of rebellion and anti-racist protest, a diverse coalition of young activists take it upon themselves to act where the city has failed,” read the flier.
“We offer this action in solidarity with the Indigenous peoples of Tio’tia:ke, Turtle Island and across the globe, and all those fighting against colonialism and anti-blackness in the struggle for a better world.”
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The statue — which has long been at the centre of a debate over how it symbolizes Canada’s colonial past — was unbolted, pulled to the ground and sprayed with graffiti earlier Saturday afternoon, according to images of the incident posted to social media.
The statue was removed at the end of a peaceful protest where an estimated 200 people marched, according to The Canadian Press. No arrests were made.
Protests have also taken place in Toronto and others are expected to happen in Fredericton, Moncton and Calgary on Saturday.
The demonstrations are calling for money allocated to police forces to be reinvested into community organizations that work to address systemic racism and save the lives of BIPOC Canadians.
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“This event, it’s been organized by groups and organizations from all across the country. We all got together and decided we needed to stage something bigger to get more people’s attention and to try and get people to understand that we’re not just going to take this lying down,” Gal Harper, member, organizer, and lead activist with Black Lives Matter London told Global News.
“Things need to change and it needs to happen now,” Harper said.
In Toronto, demonstrators gathered at Downsview Park for a march beginning at 11 a.m. ET, according to the Coalition for BIPOC Liberation.
By 12:30 p.m. ET, dozens of protesters had gathered on Sheppard Avenue.
Dozens have gathered on Sheppard Avenue in support of the Coalition for BIPOC Liberation during a nationwide day of action. Demonstrations are taking part in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Moncton. @globalnewstopic.twitter.com/yJDtEJQBr9
A second march is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET at Christie Pits Park.
4:58 Jacob Blake’s family delivers powerful message to protesters: “You must fight with self-love”
Jacob Blake’s family delivers powerful message to protesters: “You must fight with self-love”
In a Facebook post Saturday morning, the coalition outlined its demands.
“We demand our basic human right to live peacefully with the equitable opportunity to live our best lives, take care of our families and support our communities,” the statement reads.
The coalition says without the removal of the laws of colonialism, the liberation of Black, Indigenous and People of Colour will “cease to exist.”
“Invest in people, not police,” the statement says. “Reallocation Committees will ensure funding divested from police forces will be reallocated back to community-based initiatives.”
In a press release issued on Thursday, Black Trans Lives Matter, DefundYYC and Idle No More — who have organized the demonstration in downtown Calgary — asked protesters to gather at Sien Lok Park.
That march is slated to begin at 2 p.m.
In the release, organizers said the world is “changing fast,” and that systems in place are “not evolving at the same pace as humanity.”
“We must keep putting pressure on those in power to make swift change that immobilizes racism at every interaction to alleviate ALL oppressions,” the release reads. “We believe ALL Black lives matter and will amplify Trans voices as well as other folx on the LBGTQ2S+ spectrum.”
1:14 Kenosha police chief confirms 2 people killed, 1 injured during Jacob Blake protests
Kenosha police chief confirms 2 people killed, 1 injured during Jacob Blake protests
However, opponents of the defund the police movement claim doing so could have dangerous implications for society.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has claimed calls to defund forces are an attempt to “take away” police.
The Radical Left Democrats: First they try to take away your guns. Then they try to take away your police!
The survey found 51 per cent of Canadians support the idea of defunding the police and redirecting the funds to other local government services.
Of those respndents, 19 per cent said they “strongly” agree, 32 per cent said they “somewhat” agree.
However, 49 per cent of Canadians said they do not support the idea of defunding the police.
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The protests in Canada come less than a week after Jacob Blake, a 29-year-old Black man, was tasered and shot seven times by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Sunday.
The incident was caught on camera by bystanders and has been shared widely on social media.
1:10 UN human rights office calls Jacob Blake shooting “excessive”
UN human rights office calls Jacob Blake shooting “excessive”
Blake was shot as he opened the door to his vehicle. Three of his children were present at the time of the incident.
In an interview with the Chicago Sun Times, Blake’s father — also named Jacob Blake — told the paper that his son, who was rushed to hospital after the shooting, is now paralyzed from the waist down.
Wisconsin’s Department of Justice is investigating the shooting, and all three officers involved have since been put on administrative leave.
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The shooting sparked days of protests in Kenosha. On Friday, a candlelight vigil was held for Blake in the city.
A number of pro sports games were postponed after players took a stand against racial inequality following Blake’s shooting.
The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks were the first franchise to postpone a game.
The decision caused a domino effect within the NBA and across several pro sports leagues with athletes in the WNBA, MLB, NHL, NFL, MLS and ATP choosing to stand with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Blake’s shooting follows months of unrest across the U.S. and around the world over police brutality and racial injustice.
Those protests began after George Floyd — a 46-year-old Black man from Minnesota — died after a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on his neck for more than seven minutes during an arrest.
–With files from Global News’ David Lao, Chris Jancelewicz, Jacquelyn LeBel and The Canadian Press
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
