Ryerson Free Press - December 2011-January 2012

dec 11/ JAN 12

Mega Quarry | Hamilton Steelworkers | Canadian Wheat Board | Attawapiskat | Gaza

Canadians resist austerity and racism

NEWS

Domestic SpyinG Operations Revealed

By Tyler Roach Undercover police infiltrating community organizations and anti-globalization protests is not a new issue. Activists often claim they have experienced police spying and, more often then not, the undercover police are easy to spot. However, due to the open and inclusive nature of these community organizations there is little they can do when undercover police join.

During the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) protests in Montebello, Quebec in 2007, police infiltration became a hotly debated topic in Canada when a member of the crowd filmed a protestor attempting to incite violence. After an altercation with several peaceful protestors, this protester was filmed being arrested wearing his police issued boots. Later, the Quebec Provincial Police admitted to using undercover agents throughout their lead up to the SPP, claiming that such acts were legitimate tools needed for the police to uphold their, “mandate to keep order and security.”

While the state indulging in spying on its own people may not be new, the recently released reports by the Joint Intelligence Group (JIG), that consists of the RCMP, Provincial Police departments and multiple municipal police forces, shows that domestic spying practices continues to grow.

According to the reports, the intelligence gathering prior to the G8/G20 meetings in Toronto and Huntsville was one of the largest undertakings by the RCMP in its

history. At its peak, the report shows that, between the G8/G20 and the Vancouver Olympics, the RCMP employed more than 500 people tasked with gathering information, infiltrating meeting and getting informants.

The Joint Intelligence Group report showcases an RCMP that is paranoid about the G8 and G20 being confronted by “criminal extremists motivated by a variety of radical ideologies.” In particular, the report shows a particular concern for those citizens that may identify with or be sympathetic to “anarchism, anarcho-syndicalism, nihilism, socialism and/or communism.”

Groups that were watched included the migrant-justice group No One Is Illegal, Southern Ontario Anarchist Resistance and Greenpeace The report notes that there is concern about the potential for violence, as the members of these groups are often, “at odds with the status quo and the current distribution of power in society” and, therefore, likely to actively engage against it.

In November, it was revealed that of the 17 community organizers charged over G8/G20 protests, only six will face sentencing. Using the work compiled in the JIG report as their primary evidence. None of the accused will ever make it to trial after four community organizers entered guilty pleas to charges of counseling mischief over $5,000, while another two others entered guilty pleas to counseling mischief over $5,000 and counseling to obstruct police.

The remaining 11 saw the charges against them dropped.

The 17 community activists released a joint statement, following the announcement of the plea deal, stating that many of them did not know each other and only met following their arrests. They also argued, “One noteworthy outcome is that there are no conspiracy convictions emerging from this case, thus avoiding the creation of a dangerous legal precedent that would in effect criminalize routine tasks like facilitation.”

The statement further noted that, “the government made a political decision to spend millions of dollars to surveil and infiltrate anarchist, Indigenous solidarity, and migrant justice organizing over several years…this system targets many groups of people including racialized, impoverished and Indigenous communities, those with precarious immigration status, and those dealing with mental health and addiction. The kinds of violence that we have experienced, such as the pre-dawn raids, the strip-searches, the surveillance, and presentence incarceration happen all the time.”

The JIG has defended their actions by emphasizing that public safety was “their number one concern.” However, critics argue that this seems at odds with the reality of what occurred during the G20 weekend.

Since that summit, the RCMP along with the other agencies that were involved in the G20 weekend have faced severe criticism from community organizations, media groups and bystanders who seemed to have been arbitrarily arrested. During the protests, the police arrested 1,118 people and charged 300, the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.

Indigenous Sovereignty Week Celebrates Third Year

By Peter Lewicki Jimmy Dick has hopes that the future of Aboriginal rights and culture will rest with the children. The James Bay Cree drummer, who is part of the traditional drumming group Eagleheart, spoke warmly and emotionally about his childhood, how he dealt with racism, and how he is looking forward to the future with the hopes that next generations will change things for the better.

Dick was speaking as part of a group of about 50 Aboriginal activists, guests, elders and supporters who gathered at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto on November 14 to kick off National Indigenous Sovereignty Week. Organized by the Defenders of the Land, the events of the third annual Indigenous Sovereignty Week were designed to help create a cross-Canada movement for Indigenous rights, self determination and justice through a series of talks, workshops, discussions and cultural events.

Hosted by artist Tannis Nielsen, the evening featured an open mike, speeches and prayers by community activists and a feast of traditional and contemporary food for attendees.

Award-winning poet Lee Maracle opened the ceremony

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with a prayer, touching on the need to respect the earth and all it provides. Roger Obonsawin also echoed the need to look to the younger generations to advance Aboriginal issues in Canada. Obonsawin is a member of the Abenaki First Nation, is a successful business owner and, for the past 35 years, has been actively promoting and defending treaty and Aboriginal rights for Canada’s Indigenous population.

Indigenous Sovereignty Week 2011, included numerous educational events on Indigenous issues called by Defenders of the Land, a network of First Nations in land struggle. Its purpose was to call on communities and supporters to celebrate, remember, and learn from community victories, recent and historic, while looking forward to discuss how best to organize in the future.

Defenders of the Land believe that the Harper government is attempting “the most dramatic overhaul to Indigenous Peoples’ standing in Canadian law since the Indian Act was first imposed.” According to the Defenders of the Land website, the federal government is attempting, “the further privatization and erosion of the Indian land base, the abolition of

collective land rights, and the gradual assimilation of Indians through conversion of reserve communities into municipalities dependent on the provinces.”

Despite a hostile government, the organizers of Indigenous Sovereignty Week highlighted important victories and protests in 2011. Among these included communities such as Fort Chipewyan, who recently played a major role in halting the Keystone Pipeline development in the U.S. Other actions included the Algonquins of Barriere Lake getting Cartier Resources to stop mining exploration on their territory and Grassy Narrows First Nation winning a significant court victory against clear-cutting and other activities on part of Treaty 3.

Meanwhile, in an historic referendum, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation voted 96 per cent in favour of rejecting industrial development in the Big Trout Lake watershed, and to specify a protocol by which consent must be given for industrial development outside the watershed. This past year also saw the Tsilhqot’in nation stop a mining project that would have destroyed a life-giving lake on their territory.

PHOTO: SIMON GREIG/FLICKR

Bye, Bye, Wheat Board? Ryerson Free

Small farmers raise concern as Conservatives cut board’s monopoly

By Sheldon Birnie Stephen Harper’s Conservative government has passed legislation to end the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly on exports and milling of prairie-grown wheat and barley.

“The Wheat Board was brought into place, basically, so that grain buyers wouldn’t take advantage of farmers,” explained Jo-Lene Gardiner of Manitoba Agriculture, Food, and Rural Initiatives, which is based out of Pilot Mound, Manitoba.

From its offices in Winnipeg, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) markets Canadian grain to world markets and for domestic consumption.

Opinions among grain farmers are divided on the issue. As it stands, grain farmers in western Canada can only sell wheat and barley to the CWB. The Wheat Board therefore decides which varieties of wheat and barley farmers can grow, buys grain from farmers and markets it to buyers domestically and around the world.

One benefit to farmers under the current system is that payment of grain is meted out over a year period, and the CWB attempts to provide farmers with the best price possible for their grain by paying them the average price of grain on the world market over the year.

“If when you sell your wheat, [the] price is five dollars a bushel, and by the time the end of the year came along the price was nine dollars a bushel, under the new system you’re stuck with five dollars, end of story,” said Jan McIntyre, a mixed cattle and grain farmer near Cartwright, Manitoba. “Under the Wheat Board, you would get the average price, which would be the difference between your five dollars and whatever the final average was.”

Currently, the CWB provides all grain farmers with the same price for their grain, “no matter if you have 100 bushels or 100,000,” said Gardiner.

“If you have No. 1 wheat at 14 per cent protein, you would get the same price [per bushel] as the next guy. Everybody is treated equally under the system.” “[The Wheat Board] takes a certain percentage [of wheat] right off the combine right to their elevator,” Derek Marvin told The Dominion. Marvin is a 31-year-old elementary school teacher in Winnipeg, but during the summer months leading up to harvest, he returns to his family’s farm in the rural municipality of Elton, Manitoba, to help his father run their 2,300acre operation.

“Without it, farmers are going to have to bring it back home in their own storage bins on the farm, and so you’re going to have to buy new bins and find more storage and find more space for it all,” he said. “A grain bin holds 40,000 bushels, and that’ll cost you $100,000. That’s like buying a house!”

Opponents of the CWB’s monopoly argue that farmers ought to have the right to market their own grain, and decide which varieties to grow and when.

“An open market will increase the number of buyers bidding on our wheat and barley,” federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said told reporters in October, according to the Globe & Mail. “Unlike what some people may claim, the sky will not fall in an open market. Instead, the sky will be the limit.”

“I think it’s going to be a positive change,” said Barry Critcher, who has been farming grain for 28 years. Critcher farms 3,200 acres between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, British Columbia, one of the province’s most productive grain growing regions. “I think it’s going to be positive to my farm, because I can sell my grain to who I want, when I want, and I can do the things I want to do on my farm without having to worry about letting somebody else do the marketing for me.”

The Prairie Provinces have been experiencing a rural demographic shift since at least the 1970s, which kicked into high gear since the 1980s. Rural populations are diminishing, small towns are dying, and economic control over food systems is held by an increasingly smaller number of players, with money flowing out of small communities and into corporate headquarters, such as those of agribusiness giants Vittera and Cargill, in urban centers.

How will the changes to the CWB affect this demographic and economic transition?

“I think it will perpetuate the problem,” said Marvin, whose family has been farming grain in the Elton area for three generations. “It’s already to the point where rarely can a small family farm exist on its own. It needs other income. When I think of all the farms around my community, all the farmers who were farming smaller acreages than us have dropped off.

They’ve sold a few acres to us, a few to the Hutterites, a few to some other neighbors, because it’s just too tough to keep up.”

While it is impossible at this juncture to confidently predict what effects the changes to the Canadian Wheat Board will have on farmers and rural communities, there is no doubt that grain farmers and farming communities in western Canada will have to adapt to the new economic reality—and fast.

Most expect that the legislation will become law before the end of the year. if it does, as of August 1, 2012, the Canadian Wheat Board as we know it today will be gone.

This article was originally published by The Dominion.

Decision on Mega-Quarry Delayed Active opposition to project forces environmental assessment

By Marsha Ellis Fierce opposition to a proposed megaquarry in Southwestern Ontario has resulted in the project being delayed for some time. Over the past eight months community groups and concerned citizens have argued that the quarry could be disastrous for the environment and undermine Melancthon Township’s agricultural economy.

The Highlands Company, a Boston-based hedge fund company, proposed to use 2,400 acres of Ontario’s prime agricultural farmland for what would be Canada’s largest open pit mine. This limestone extraction development project would require digging approximately 200 feet below the water table at the headwaters of major river systems, including the Grand, Pine, Nottawasaga, Saugeen, Noisy, Boyne, and Mad rivers.

Since 2006 when the Highlands Company first began purchasing farmland in Melancthon Township and the surrounding area there has been much trepidation from the local community. Since the multi-billion dollar hedge fund filed for the official application to build a mega-quarry under the Aggregate Resources Act in March of this year, fierce opposition has risen due to worries about a possible environmental catastrophe due to the pollution of the watersheds, as well as the loss of irreplaceable agricultural land.

Groups such as CAUSE (Citizen’s Alliance United for a Sustainable Environment), MC2 (Mulmur Mono Citizens Coalition), Waterkeeper, Mohawk Six Nations, and CORE (Conserve Our Rural Environment) have joined forces with NDACT (North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce) to stop the proposed quarry. The Agricultural Impact Assessment prepared by the Highland Company indicates that the vast majority of land, 95.8 per cent, proposed for the Melancthon quarry is Class 1 prime agricultural farmland. Only .05 per cent of Canada’s land is classified as Class 1.

The Aggregate Resources Act allows for an objections period, during which time local residents and concerned citizens can submit objections. Following the application for the project, the Ministry of Natural Resources received a total of 2,051 official objections in March and April of this year. The Highlands Company now has a two-year period in which to respond to all the objections raised. Due to the magnitude of responses, the Ministry of Natural Resources has stated that, “it will likely be some time before consideration will be given to the issuance or refusal of a licence.”

In September, due in large part to strong opposition and grassroots mobilization from NDACT, and associated environmental organizations, such as the Council of Canadians,

Waterkeeper, CAUSE, CORE, ECOLOGOS, and members from Six Nations, Turtle Clan Mohawks, the Canadian government agreed to undertake an intensive Environmental Assessment, previously not required by legislation, of the proposed quarry. Ontario Minister of Environment, John Wilkinson stated, “Based on a review of those reports, and because of the unique nature of the Melancthon quarry proposal, I believe a full Environmental Assessment is necessary.”

Organizing against the quarry is, however, not slowing down. In October, Honeywood Ontario hosted 100 chefs from across Canada for an outdoor, pay-what-you can, public food event in support of the movement to stop the mega-quarry. Dubbed Foodstock, the chefs and community showed support to Ontario farmers by cooking lobster, risotto, squash, lasagna, apple pie, and other dishes that featured locally grown food. The event included big name chefs like Jamie Kennedy, Michael Stadtländer, Keith Froggett and Alexandra Feswick.

Organizers and the community were inspired by the level of support from people all over Canada as upwards of 20,000 attended the October 16 event. According to the organizers, Foodstock raised $145,000 towards the fight to preserve Melancthon as an agricultural community.

Press

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Contributors sheldon birnie james burrows shannon clarke theresa do marsha ellis melissa graham anastasiya komkova peter lewicki samantha lui max mertens matt oxman tyler roach kelsey rolfe adriana rolston daniel viola meaghan yuen

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Hamilton Steelworkers forced to give in on pensions U.S. Steel loses in court

By James Burrows, News Editor Employees of U.S. Steel in Hamilton finally have a collective agreement in place. But steelworkers in Hamilton have seen better days.

After a yearlong lockout, pensions have taken a significant blow and morale is not high. In October, Local 1005 of the United Steelworkers announced that it had reached an agreement with US Steel.

In November of 2010, workers at U.S. Steel’s Hamilton Works were locked out when the union refused to let their membership vote on the companies offer, an offer that asked for significant concessions.

The new agreement represents a serious setback for a local that helped shape union politics in Canada. The agreement sees no increases in wages over three years, but rather includes a $3,000 ratification bonus for each of the approximately 750 workers.

The primary fight, however, was over pensions. U.S. Steel wanted to force a defined contribution pension plan on new workers, rather than the defined benefit plan the union wanted to keep. U.S. Steel won this concession and new hires will now be under a union-administered group RRSP. Under a defined benefit pension, workers are guaranteed an income upon retirement. Under the new proposal this guaranteed pension will no longer exist and U.S. Steel will simply contribute $2.50 per hour worked to the group RRSP. Several studies, and even financial institutions themselves, have noted that group RRSPs often provide little security upon retirement, as they are often open to market fluctuations and can be withdrawn by workers over the course of their working life, often leaving little left for retirement.

Also lost was pension indexing for current retirees. Retirees’ pensions will no longer be indexed to inflation but each employee will receive a $1,000 payment, in lieu of indexing, to retirees making less than $1,500 per month.

Pensions have been an issue since US Steel bought Stelco and renamed its Hamilton operations Hamilton Works in 2007. At the time the new owners wanted to remove two provisions that Stelco had agreed to while it was restructuring and under bankruptcy protection.

At the time Stelco was prohibited from paying out dividends until pension plans were fully funded and required that the company put extra money into the pension plan if a certain amount of profit was made. When U.S. Steel asked the courts for these to be removed, they agreed. Given the profitability of U.S. Steel at the time, Local 1005 was immediately concerned that this was a sign of things to come.

Under the Investment Canada Act, a foreign company can be forced to agree to terms that provide a “net benefit” for Canada. In the case of U.S. Steel’s purchase of Stelco, required the steelmaker to produce just over 13 million tons of steel for three years and employ an average of 3,105 workers at its Lake Erie and Hamilton operations. This was to expire in 2010 but, in the spring of 2009, US Steel reduced its operations in Canada and fired many of its employees, breaking its agreement with the Canadian government.

The federal government subsequently fined U.S. Steel and is asking for $10,000 a day going back to November 1, 2008, and is demanding jobs and production promises for three years beginning whenever a final court decision is handed down.

As a result U.S. Steel filed a Notice of Motion challenging the constitutional validity of two sections of the Investment Canada Act. The steel company believed that its right to a fair hear-

ing and its right to the presumption of innocence was violated under the Act and amounted to a violation of their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In the spring the Federal court of Appeal ruled against U.S. Steel, stating that it did not violate section 11 of the Charter because it did not meet the test for a criminal proceeding. Last week the Supreme Court of Canada refused to grant leave for appeal.

U.S. Steel has claimed that the downturn in the economy has negatively affected its operations and has locked out workers at both of its Ontario operations as it has fought for union concessions over pensions. The downturn, however, did not seem to negatively affect the company’s president, who saw his salary rise from $3.5 million in 2009 to $12.1 million in 2010.

The federal NDP and the United Steelworkers believe that this is why closed-door deals with foreign companies should never happen. On November 24, Chris Charlton, MP for Hamilton Mountain, tabled a private members bill that called on the government to release complete details of the deal that allowed U.S. Steel to purchase Stelco in the first place.

In July, Pittsburgh based U.S. Steel announced profits of $209 million despite the lockout, which the company has claimed cost it $40 million dollars up to that point.

The pension troubles seem to be spreading as well. Hamilton’s other steel company, Dofasco, whose workers have not historically had a union, is also cutting 700 jobs and are switching to a the same pension system that Local 1005 fought against. Dofasco has historically kept peace with workers by following closely with what Local 1005 has won in the past from Stelco and U.S. Steel.

These cuts come just a year after Dofasco was given $43 million dollars by the provincial government to improve its Galvalume production, as part of its Open Ontario initiative, which was designed to, “create new job opportunities and help promote economic growth.”

According to a Local 1005 newsletter, this is one more example of how, “the government’s schemes to hand over public money to subsidize private interests must be ended.“ Local 1005 have also stated that, “the government and media should stop disgracing themselves by spouting all these fine words about ‘job creation’.”

Local 1005 once numbered 14,000 members but has seen a steady decline since the early 1980s.

New Flavour on Roncy A Review of Barque Smokehouse

By Jessica Finch Jonathan Persofsky and David Neinstein are bringing new flavour to Roncesvalles Village with their smokehouse restaurant, Barque.

Located at the corner of Roncesvalles and Geoffrey streets, Barque is at the heart of this up-and-coming neighborhood. The village has seen its fair share of small businesses suffer over the past few years due to extensive roadwork along the main street. Construction finally wrapped up this past June, and Roncy was primed for the smokehouse’s debut.

Barque, pronounced Bark, opened in April and has quickly proven to be a welcome addition to the neighbourhood. The name is a variation on the word barbecue, and also refers to the outer coating of barbecue meat. With authentic slow roasted brisket, ribs, and signature dishes, Barque offers a higher-end BBQ experience.

“Timing was perfect for the area and business has been incredibly positive since April,” says Persofsky, one of the restaurant’s co-owners. Packed almost every night, Barque has been drawing hungry crowds with their weekly Family Night.

Family Night at Barque offers a set menu at three sittings throughout the night and includes delicious appetizers,

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main and dessert dishes. “It’s like a dinner party!

We wanted to invite people over for dinner ideally every night,” says Persofksy. While Family Night is only once a week, diners can enjoy a host of delectable, classically smoked treats the rest of the week, including ribs, chicken and their soon-to-be famous brisket. For Jonathan, the sampler platters are a particular favorite allowing customers to choose three meats and two sides that way, he says, “There’s a little bit of something for everyone.”

The restaurant also boasts some unique creations like pulled duck tacos and brisket poutine, adding a twist to the routine barbecue fare. The duck tacos are more of a tortilla and feature as a starter on the dinner menu as well as occasionally on Family Night. “The mix of crispy duck and soft taco works really well together, it was one of my favorites,” says diner Aline Groves.

Although it’s mostly known for its dinner menu , the restaurant also offers brunch and lunch. Prices at Barque are average for the selection and portions, with the most expensive dinner dish, aside from the sampler platters, being the

smoked beef tenderloin at a reasonable $30.00.

Barque’s signature sauces and rubs will be on sale soon for the holiday season. For more information or to make a reservation online visit www.barque.ca.

PHOTOS: TOP: ABMAAC/FLICKR; BOTTOM: JESSICA FINCH

OPINION People with disabilities unite and fight back

By Melissa Graham The International Day of People with Disabilities (IDPD) is a day where people with disabilities across the world are encouraged to celebrate who we are, take stock of how far we’ve come, and look forward to the struggles ahead. The United Nations encourages us to use this day as an opportunity for inclusion and celebration, but also to organize and take action as we work to dismantle the barriers that keep us from full equality. Given the events of this past year, it seems appropriate that part of the theme for 2011 is “Together a better world for all.”

The UN noted that people with disabilities are largely excluded from civil and political processes and are overwhelmingly voiceless in matters that affect them and their society, but this year it seems we’ve found our voice.

In response to austerity cuts severely affecting social assistance programs in the UK, people with disabilities took to the streets in a “Hardest Hit” march. The organizers said about 5,000 people took part in the protest. Many travelled by coach and by train from as far a field as Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the south west to take

part in what is being hailed as the biggest gathering of disabled people the country has ever seen.

When Occupy Wall Street began, people with disabilities were there and welcomed in to the fightback. When occupations sprung up across Canada and another 1,700 cities in solidarity with the occupations in the US, people with disabilities were both occupiers and supporters outside the camps. There is even a Facebook page dedicated to the inclusion of people with disabilities in the movement. At the Occupy Toronto site, People with disabilities were given accessible supports, such as accessible washrooms, that would ordinarily have taken months to receive in their day-to-day lives. This connection is an important one, because not only are people with disabilities part of the 99%, they are typically part of the lowest 1% of the 99%.

Here in Toronto, we were able to link the issues of the disability movement to the Occupy movement through the Toronto Disability Pride March. On October 29th, 2011, one hundred people showed up at Nathan Phillips Square, and took to the streets to march down to Occupy Toronto, carrying signs that said things like “Build Ramps, Not Bombs” and chanting “ No Cuts, No Way! Tell Rob Ford we’re here to stay!” Shortly after this march, a similar event happened at Occupy Wall Street.

Even with these great first steps, there is still much work to be done. Canadians have faced high profile disability hate crimes in the past few months. In August, a man who used a wheelchair died four days after being viciously assaulted in his Winnipeg apartment. Toronto has seen two situations involving police interaction with people with disabilities. In July, Police used handcuffs to restrain a nine-year-old disabled boy who they say “became uncontrollable” at a Toronto daycare centre. Around the same time, a man with a disability was killed during interactions with Toronto police.

Experience shows that when persons with disabilities are empowered to participate and lead the struggles for a better society, their entire community benefits, so in honour of his day, please take up the torch and get involved. Together we can build a better world This article originally appeared in the December issue of Socialist Worker.

Seasons greetings: the phony war on Merry Christmas

By Shannon Clarke The only thing worse than shopping in the holiday rush, is working it.

A friend and I recently exchanged horror stories from our stints as cashiers during the holiday season. There’s always a lot of screaming, arguing, pushing and hyperactive children running around. Though shoppers are exponentially more frustrating during this time of year, they’re also full of festive cheer. “Have a nice day” is usually replaced with a seasonal greeting.

In the rush to check people out, my friend handed a customer her purchases with a smile and said “Merry Christmas,” much like I have.

“Good for you!” said the woman, “Saying Merry Christmas and not happy holidays.”

It took a moment for me to understand what made this worthy of praise.

Last year, Chilliwack, B.C. unanimously passed a motion to have the provincial school board change “winter vacation” back to “Christmas holiday.” In an interview with CTV, school board trustee Heather Maahs said of the two-week vacation, “It’s Christmas. That’s what it is so we should call it that.”

The story received support from Canadians decrying the loss of tradition to political correctness and over-zealous left-wingers who were bending to the whim of immigrants.

“Absolutely it should be called “CHRISTMAS”...Enough is enough when it comes to political correctness,” said one commenter on CTV’s website. “We celebrate Christmas here in Canada, if you don’t like the word, too bad. That’s how we roll here in Canada, deal with it!!”

The problem with this kind of argument, and so many others that claim persecution due to political correctness, is that it comes from a place of ignorance about Canada’s history, and of the privilege enjoyed by Christians in this country.

On the 2001 census, roughly 70 per cent of Canadians identified as either Roman Catholic or Protestant, but Canada is not a Christian country. Our governments and public schools are not governed by religion, and our constitution recognizes and protects freedom of religion. Despite the claims by Maahs, not every Canadian is celebrating the birth of Christ this December. Catholics and Protestants still make up a majority of this country, but according to Statistics Canada, there has been a steady rise in Eastern religions over the last decade.

Add to this an increase in Canadians reporting no religious affiliation at all, and it’s no longer reasonable to claim rights to the holiday season.

The argument for protecting Canada’s religious heritage ignores that this country’s Christian and Catholic roots are a product of colonialism and aggressive assimilation. Since Europeans set foot on the continent, people have been forced to acknowledge and accept Christianity. It makes demands to immigrants that they “go back to their country” laughable if they weren’t so misguided and presumptuous. You can, after all, be the most hockey-loving, PHOTO: BARBARA PIANCASTELLI/FLICKR

winter-worshiping, English-speaking Canadian in the world and still celebrate Diwali, Hanukah, or Ramadan — religions equally foreign to this country as Christianity.

I was raised Anglican. December was the only time of year I saw my religion reflected outside of my home and my place of worship. Christmas parties in elementary school were complete with secret Santas, mandatory for everyone regardless of their faith. We held Christmas concerts and sang songs about the birth of Christ in our gymnasium. It never occurred to me to question the exclusivity of these activities because they were so commonplace. I assumed that outside of the school, everybody’s life was just like mine.

By the time I got to high school, “Christmas holidays” were being called “winter breaks,” and our assemblies weren’t just about Christmas. But there are still trees in every mall, lights and garland in every neighbourhood, displays in store windows of typical Christmas scenes. The same hymns I sing in Mass are blasted out of speakers onto sidewalks.

So what traditions are being compromised when our secular government, school boards and communities acknowledge that, for millions of citizens, winter break is just a break?

In his book, The Unfinished Canadian: The People We Are, Andrew Cohen describes our “fetish with multiculturalism.” For 11 months of the year, we like to brag about our tolerance and love of other cultures. We pride ourselves on our cultural mosaic and our willingness to welcome immigrants with open arms, without discrimination or persecution.

But that means more than just pointing it out in a charter: we have to put it into practice, if only in the tiny act of expressing your wish that, for whatever reason, the holiday is a happy one.

Ryerson Free Press december 2011/January 2012 5

Students support Attawapiskat The National Aboriginal Caucus of the Canadian Federation of Students has issued the following letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Minister of Aboriginal Affairs John Duncan.

Much of the money that Attawapiskat has received is supposed to be dedicated to education. However, as a result of increasing demands and limited funds, students on reserve only receive a fraction of what students off-reserve have for school.

The letter below was sent by Patrick Smoke demanding immediate action.

Monday, December 5, 2011 The Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A2 The Honourable John Duncan Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development House of Commons Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6

Prime Minister Harper, Minister Duncan, On behalf of the more than 600,000 members of the Canadian Federation of Students, we are writing to express grave concern with the current state of emergency in the northern First Nations community of Attawapiskat.

The community of northern Ontario declared a State of Emergency in response to the housing crisis over a month ago and the government has yet to take any meaningful action to address the crisis.

Approximately 200 people, or ten percent of the community population, is homeless.

Many members of the community are currently living in tents, converted garages, and other temporary housing set up two years ago and two bedroom houses are acting as shelter for upwards of twenty people in some cases. The living and housing conditions that residents of Attawapiskat are facing are unacceptable.

The federal government has promised $500,000 to refurbish fifteen homes in the community but ninety percent of homes need to be refurbished and 200 homes are needed to alleviate the issues of homelessness and overcrowding in the community. The community has no running water or proper sanitation forcing them to dispose of waste in ditches around the Attawapiskat community. The federal government has indicated that it has sent official representatives to the community of Attawapiskat numerous times over the previous year yet conditions in the community continue to degrade.

In addition to the critical housing situation, the youth of the community are facing further challenges with regards to access to education. The community’s only school was demolished in 2000 because it was situated on a contaminated site. Members of the community were then promised a new school by the government. To this day, the new school has not been built and children are studying in primary education in facilities composed of deteriorating

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temporary portable shelters.

The Federal government has several explicit legal and moral obligations to First Nations and Inuit peoples. These obligations are codified in treaties previously signed that provide for the use of land in exchange for the provision of adequate housing resources, healthcare, education, among others.

Aboriginal youth are Canada’s fastest growing demographic. It is estimated that providing every young aboriginal with the opportunity to pursue post-secondary education would have significant positive outcomes for Canada’s economy. However, aboriginal youth are systemically denied access to education because of situations like the crisis in Attawapiskat.

The youth of this community are facing insurmountable challenges and the case of Attawapiskat is a representation of the conditions that plague many Aboriginal communities across the country.

We are deeply concerned with the government’s inaction is adressing the crisis in Attawapiskat and in providing resources and funding to countless other northern aboriginal communities. We urge the government to immediately allocate adequate funding to solve the housing crisis in Attawapiskat and all other aboriginal communities facing similar circumstances.

Further, we express our outrage with how the government has attempted to attribute blame, be it to the the community’s band council, to other members of parliament and to the residents of Attawapiskat themselves. It is our belief that Canada’s aboriginal communities must retain their right to oversee and administer funding for their communities. It is the role of the federal government to provide adequate resources and to work with the communities when requested by the communities through mutual cooperation and respect for aboriginal control over their own communities.

We urge the government to take immediate action to ensure proper funding and resources so that adequate housing, water, and social services such as health care and education be provided to all aboriginal communities in Canada.

Regards, Patrick Smoke National Aboriginal Representative

Roxanne Dubois National Chairperson

CC: Linda Duncan, Official Opposition Critic for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Carolyn Bennett, Liberal Critic for Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Charlie Angus, Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay

PHOTO: shoreez.wordpress.com

FEATURES

“We tried. It’s your turn now.”

A Vietnam War protester reflects on the Occupy movement

By Matt Oxman Since Occupy Wall Street began, I have heard several comparisons between it and the Vietnam War protests of the 60s and 70s.

What I have not heard is a voice from the latter.

As it so happens, my father, Andy Oxman, is a Vietnam War protest veteran. This past Saturday I called him up on Skype to ask what differences and similarities he sees between the Occupy and anti-Vietnam War campaigns.

When my father was 18, three years younger than I am now and just out of high school in Denver, Colorado, he became an anti-war activist, refusing to register for the draft. “Ho! Ho! Ho Chi Minh! Ho Chi Minh is gonna win!” he chants at me, via his iPad 2, reminiscing about what, no doubt, was a defining period of his life.

As a member of a political collective, my father helped stage mock trials in schools and churches, to promote war resistance. Dad would play defendant, a colleague of his would be the prosecutor, and the audience would be the jury. He would use the same defense every time, turning to a Supreme Court decision that an individual could break the law without warranting punishment, as well as the Nuremburg-principles. These principles were developed from the German trials of Nazi leaders, who defended what they did in WW2 by arguing: “We were only doing our job.” When the prosecution in the mock trails said the same thing, my father would raise the question of whether “just doing my job” justified anything, including the murder of millions of innocent people.

My father always won.

When, years later, my dad needed a draft registration number to apply for medical school, he was subject to federal prosecution.

The first thing the federal prosecutor told my father was: “Listen, as far as I’m concerned it’s no different than if you went into a bank and you pointed a gun at the bank teller, and you robbed the bank; you broke the law.” Added the prosecutor: “I’m just doing my job.” My dad asked the prosecutor if he had heard of Heinrich Himmler. When the prosecutor said he had not, my father explained who Himmler was, and what he had done. Being compared to Himmler, the Nazi commander, so angered the prosecutor much that my father was thrown out of the interview. Ironically, amidst all the cases against war resistors, my father’s was lost. If he had won, I might not have been here to write this story.

My father says that much like members of the Occupy protests, Vietnam War protestors not only wanted to end the war, but to change society as a whole. They started bookstore and food co-ops, as well as alternative schools. The protests were linked to the civil rights movement, and sought to end racism and poverty. It was, says my father, “a broad social movement, although the focus was on Vietnam” PHOTO: PBWORKS.COM

In one way, as my father will tell you, the Vietnam War protests were a success. They swayed public opinion, and contributed to the U.S. army’s retreat from Vietnam. But my father admits that the protests “petered out” once the war was over. “People like me started going back to school, and got jobs.” In other words, what made the Vietnam War protests successful also made it a movement with less longevity.

Many of the most active Vietnam War protestors, such as my father, were directly affected and motivated in their efforts by the draft. “We’d have to be sent Vietnam, or we would have to be fighting against being sent to Vietnam, and we knew people who were sent to Vietnam,” he says.

Although many of the Occupy movement’s members are directly affected by the greed they are demonstrating against, they do not have the tangible goal and clear focus that the Vietnam War protests had. “Indirectly, they’re saying there should be a more fair distribution of wealth, but I don’t hear them saying ‘We should have much more progressive taxes, and more taxes, more welfare, job programs,’” says my father. However, this may also be media’s fault. He says, “The coverage has been so terrible, there aren’t any clear messages coming out.”

Of the Vietnam War protests’ effect on society, my father says: “We did change it, but it changed back.” One of the problems is that, “A lot of the people who were protesting turned into the people we were protesting against.”

He does, however, think movements such as the Vietnam War protest and Occupy ones are sustainable. He points to Norway, where he now lives and works as a medical researcher, and where I grew up. A welfare state, socialist haven, and the societal result of post-WW2 labour movements, Norway is a place where social solidarity has been institutionalized and prevailed, despite constant threat from the far right.

I ask my father whether he is disappointed I have not been an active part of the Occupy movement (besides liking it on Facebook) and he says: “It’s just not organized, or clear enough, that I know whether I would have been out there.” At the same time, he adds, “I’m just happy people are protesting, and it’s about something on the opposite end from the fucking Tea Party.”

Whether the Occupy movement will slow to a halt without a hook, the way the Vietnam War protests did when the war ended, my father is not sure. Regardles, “There’s only so long you can camp out in a park, right? Eventually you are going want a toilet, and do something besides camp out in a park.”

The only thing that is for sure is that the two movements may be similar, but they are not the same.

Towards the end of our conversation, my father shrugs his shoulders, smiles, and says: “We tried. It’s your turn now.”

Ryerson Free Press december 2011/January 2012 7

After the Tahrir is stopped A day of state piracy, hijacking and kidnapping The following 24-hour chronology was compiled by David Heap, from London, Ontario, one of the delegates on board the Canadian Boat to Gaza, The Tahrir, which set sail from Turkey at the beginning of November with the aim of penetrating the longstanding Israeli blockade around Gaza.

Friday, November 4 Approximately 8:00 a.m.

The Tahrir and the Saoirse enter Israel’s unilaterally declared 100 nautical mile military exclusion zone. We are in fact in international waters up until and after we are boarded.

12:30 p.m.

First spotted large military vessels (frigates?), one to port two to starboard.

12:30 p.m. to 13:00 p.m.

We begin to lose communications with the outside world (satellite phones blocked, also internet connection and TV transmission) and we expect the worst.

13:30 p.m.

First radio hail from the Israeli navy: Vessel Tahrir come in, this is Israeli navy. We didn’t answer at first, but eventually when asked to identify our course and destination... I respond with words I have been waiting over a year to use: Our course is the conscience of humanity. When pressed for more details, Ehab [Lotayef, Canadian] adds: Our final destination is the betterment of humankind.

14:15 p.m.

Last of the satellite phone connections is gone.

14:15 to 15:30 p.m.

Three-way radio communication between Israeli navy, Tahrir and Saoirse (the Irish Boat to Gaza). We will not give our consent to be boarded, nor will we resist.

15:30 p.m.

We observe Israeli naval vessels chase Saoirse and soak her from two sides with water cannons. Water damage causes an electrical fire on board the vessel.

15:45 p.m.

After spraying our foredecks with water cannons, heavily armed Israeli naval commandos board the Tahrir. Sprayed water creates slipping hazard for soldiers as well as for us. When Ehab and I refuse to leave our captain George alone in the wheelhouse, commando threatens -- then uses -- taser on my arm. Commandos take control of the Tahrir and carry out a thorough search of delegates, journalists and ship. Of course,

no arms or ammunition of any kind are found (fact confirmed by commanding Israeli officer) but they nonetheless take our ship to Ashdod by force.

19:30 to 20:00 p.m.

Reach dockside at Ashdod. Five journalists leave when asked, as does George, our captain. Six delegates refuse to cooperate with our kidnapping by leaving our ship willingly. Change of uniformed personnel (IDF to police?). Karen [DeVito, Canadian] and Kit [Kittredge, U.S.] are escorted off, Ehab is pushed off, Michael [Coleman, Australia], Majd [Kayyal, Palestinian from Haifa) and I are dragged and carried off ship.

One of the officers carrying me deliberately knees me in the right thigh, leaving a deep bruise that has me limping for the next two days.

20:00 to 22:00 p.m.

We are searched again dockside, and then again more thoroughly in tents inside a warehouse area. Asked to identify satellite phones, cameras and other electronics on a property table — ­ we are told these items are tagged with our ID numbers and will be returned to us at the time of our deportation (in fact, we never see any of these items again). Identified as “trouble” for resisting, Michael and I are shackled and handcuffed when place on a bus, where we are joined by some of the Irish from the Saoirse.

22:00 p.m.

Taken by bus to an immigration processing centre. We are individually photographed and fingerprinted and told that if we sign a document voluntarily waiving our right to appeal our deportation before a judge, we will be deported within 24 hours. Ehab signs, the rest of us do not. Ehab signs a similar document two days later (Sunday afternoon, Nov. 6) but is not deported until Wednesday night (Nov. 9), at the same time I am. Additional security interviews seeking details of our organization make it clear our discreet departure from Turkey had taken Israeli security by surprise.

Saturday, Nov. 5 2:00 a.m.

We are again transported by bus (no shackles or cuffs this time) to Givon prison. More searches, paperwork. Last off bus and into cells at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

9:30 a.m.

Consular visits and formation of political prisoners committee to press our collective demands.

Canadians S to Break th

Canadians held at gunpoint by Israeli Defence Force after attempting to break Gaza blockade

By Anastasiya Komkova In early November, 27 activists generated attention through international media outlets by launching a campaign called Freedom Waves, which opposes what they believe is an illegal blockade of the Gaza strip. The blockade of Gaza was set up by Israel and Egypt in June 2007 after Hamas was elected to govern Gaza.

This blockade is one of the many aspects that mark the ongoing and complex dispute between Israel and Palestine, and is often responsible for worldwide tumult and meddling. It was once again brought to international attention the a Canadian ship named Tahrir, accompanied by an Irish ship named Saoirse through the Freedom Waves campaign, set sail in an attempt to break the Gaza sea blockade. This was another in a series of attempts of human rights agencies funded from other countries to break the Gaza blockade through flotillas.

The activists argue that the blockade is a suppression of the Palestinian people since it damages their economy, doesn’t allow Palestinians to enter or leave, and permits only a minimum of supplies to be let in under Israeli inspection. They believe that the Israelis have trapped the Palestinians in a veritable cage.

The two ships left the port of Turkey on Nov. 2 with $30,000 worth of medical aid for the people of Gaza. Two days later, they were intercepted by three Israeli Defense Force (IDF) war ships, 50 miles off shore in international waters.

Kit Kittredge, one of the activists on board the Tahrir, wrote about her experience in the Dissident Voice newsletter. Kittredge said the IDF told them to change their course to Ashdod, a port in Israel, to have the ships searched. They refused, saying that the blockade was illegal.

The IDF surrounded them and climbed on board after spraying them with water cannons. Kittredge wrote that the 25 commandos sat them down and tasered one of the people aboard the ship. The IDF searched them, took away all of their technological

devices and insisted that their hands be visible at all times.

They were held at gunpoint for three hours before reaching Ashdod, where they were strip-searched and handled by the Israeli Immigration and Deportation office. Kittredge was told that if she signed a paper stating that she entered Israel illegally, she would be deported the next day. She refused, spent three days in Givon Prison and was deported on Nov. 8.

This flotilla attempt to break Israel’s blockade was not the first. In May 2010, six ships on the same mission called the Gaza Freedom Flotilla were held captive by the IDF after refusing to follow the request to have the ships searched in Ashdod. Five of the six ships surrendered peacefully. On the sixth ship, called Mavi Marmara, havoc ensued when the IDF boarded it, leading to the deaths of nine activists and injuring nine soldiers. There is however, a dispute as to what exactly happened on the ship. A UN report stated that the IDF soldiers unjustly executed the passengers. A BBC documentary states that the soldiers acted in self-defense, when the activists began attacking them with knives, bars and sticks. This event caused a scandal that resulted in Israel easing the blockade.

Perhaps the aim of the activists who were responsible for the recent flotilla was to attract attention to themselves and their opinion of the blockade being illegal. If their main concern was to deliver medical aid, then they would have had their ship checked in Ashdod before proceeding to Gaza. The UN concluded that the blockade was legal in September 2011, so the activists should have taken a different route rather than once again engaging in another protest, the result of which should have been well known.

Instead, they should put pressure on the UN to work out a method of having Israel allowing aid to be let through into Gaza. If the people’s well-being is their number one concern then that is what they should worry about.

Sail to Gaza he Siege PHOTO: D-W-/FLICKR

Can I speak to you?

By Maria Assaf

Imagine being invited to a cocktail party and at the moment the host is saluting all attendees, he deliberately passes you by as if you were invisible.

News outlets such as the Toronto Star and NOW Magazine know the feeling. They have been snubbed by Mayor Rob Ford since even before he was elected.

Media organizations are politicians’ link to the public.

When it comes to city affairs, according to the Canadian constitution, every news organization has equal right to access information and ask politicians questions of behalf of the public.

Yet, some politicians are selecting which news outlets they speak to. At some instances, municipal politicians in Ontario have begun blasting local dailies for filling Freedom of Information requests.

Law graduate and former CBC reporter Lisa Taylor said, “These politicians seem to get hung up on the idea that they are not talking to the media, as if talking to the media, like an individual reporter is the entity.”

“They forget that the media is just the conduit for them to talk to the people. And the people are the ones who elected them and are the ones who pay their salaries. I am surprised there’s a public tolerance to it.”

The Toronto Star has not been silent about Ford’s approach to certain journalists.

The paper’s editor Michael Cooke said, “It’s a little shortsighted. I think it’s silly. [Ford] has a duty to speak to the citizens on the town and the best way to do that is to speak to the biggest newspaper of the town.”

Some news releases come from the mayor’s office. These arrive at news outlets on Ford’s list, but the Toronto Star, among others, is not included.

David Nickle, the City Hall Press Gallery’s president, stressed concern about this in a letter to the mayor reminding him that “boycotting, spurning or sidelining any media outlet or journalist by restricting the flow of official information is an abuse of power.”

The Toronto Star has had to rely on creative ways to acquire information Ford does not provide, said Robyn Doolittle, a City Hall reporter for the Star.

“This happens to every journalist, every day. Journalists are always trying to get information and we always have trouble finding it. Part of (finding it) is that we file a lot of FOI requests,” said Doolittle.

“I think it’s a joke and the only people that might suffer are readers who would be interested in knowing what goes on,” says Bert Bruser, the Star’s lawyer.

In general, Ford is not the most talkative host. He does not hold media scrums and when he rarely holds a news conference he limits questions to three. He doesn’t publish daily itineraries, though the Toronto Star has obtained them through filing a Freedom of Information request.

Doolittle uses alternative sources such as lawyers to tell Ford’s side of the story. “It’s just a different way of doing our job but it doesn’t stop us from doing it.”

Councilor Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother and one of his closest advisers, made news recently when he ripped the Toronto Star for filling what he thought were too many FOI requests.

Former Mayor David Miller didn’t speak to Sue-Ann Levy, the Toronto Sun’s City Hall columnist and a sharp critic of his.

“Now that it’s the Star and big-fat Rob Ford is mad at them then it’s pretty powerful. But when it’s David Miller, the darling of the liberal set in Toronto and he’s not speaking to a very harsh critic from the Sun, people say, ‘Oh that’s his way. Maybe he’s right,’ ” said National Post writer Christie Blatchford.

Ford shut out the Toronto Star after an article it published

last summer about him being forced out as a volunteer football coach at a Toronto high school. He sued the paper for libel but has not followed-up on it.

“We are not asking for him to talk to us. It’s his choice. We wish he would, and we think it would be good for everybody if he would,” said Graham Parley, the Toronto Star’s city editor.

“But we are not going to print a front-page apology for a story that is correct.”

There’s no easy way through the icy relationship between Ford and the media.

When Ford was called for comment on this article, Adrienne Batra, his chief spokesperson, said, “The mayor is not available for these issues. Ever.”

Batra has been hired to report on city hall by the Toronto Sun.

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Email ryersonfreepress@gmail.com 10 ryersonfreepress.ca

PHOTO: WEST ANNEX PRESS/FLICKR

CULTURE Halifax-based comedy troupe Picnicface is all over the map

By Adriana Rolston Brian Eldon Macquarrie and Andrew Bush, two members of the comedy group Picnicface, are performing a sketch on the stage of Toronto comedy club, Second City. It starts with a groom and his best man reminiscing before the wedding about the good times they’ve had. They act out flashbacks of playing catch and drinking beers as the nostalgic tune “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” by The Hollies plays in the background.

In the last memory, best man Macquarrie is passed out on a chair as Bush, who stands beside him, slowly undoes the buttons of his shirt (eliciting shocked bursts of laughter from the audience) and places Macquarrie’s mouth against his nipple.

“What was that?! You were breastfeeding me!” Macquarrie shouts, as Bush tries to calm him. “I’ve been breastfeeding you for years,” he reveals, and tries to force Macquarrie’s mouth onto his nipple again. The scene ends with Macquarrie on his knees wailing “No!” as The Hollies song plays.

Welcome to the absurd, twisted and sometimes dark style of Picnicface, a Halifaxbased comedy troupe who recently co-headlined the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival, which ran from November 8 to 13, alongside Kevin McDonald and Scott Thompson of Kids in the Hall.

The eight-person group includes Andrew Bush, Kyle Dooley, Cheryl Hann, Mark Little, Brian Eldon, Macquarrie, Evany Rosen, Scott Vrooman and Bill Wood. The troupe started to form in 2004 when Mark and Kyle met at improv camp, and other members eventually

connected through Halifax’s improv and stand-up scene.

With a strong fan base in Halifax, Picnicface has also gained an online following with their YouTube videos, especially their aggressive energy drink advertisement parody, “Powerthirst,” which received a nod from Will Ferrell on funnyordie.com. The video, which guarantees that you will become “uncomfortably energetic” and have 400 babies that can run like “KENYANS,” went viral and has received over 24 million views since 2007.

Shortly after they started putting up YouTube shorts, Picnicface was approached by Toronto production company Breakthrough Entertainment who then pitched a sketch show to a number of networks. The Comedy Network responded, and Picnicface teamed up with Mark McKinney of Kids in The Hall and Mad TV writer Garry Campbell to create a selftitled, 13-episode sketch comedy show that mixes Pythonesque photoshop techniques with absurd and contemporary humour that resonates with a younger audience.

“It seems like the people that like it, really like it, and there’s people that hate it. But that’s fine, I’d rather have some hardcore fans and some people who really hate it than a bunch of people who are like, ‘It’s ok,’” says Scott Vrooman, who hopes that there are enough hardcore fans for the network to sign them on for a second season.

The group also recently published a satirical book with Harper Collins called Picnicface’s Canada. It examines everything Canadian, with articles that range from favourite Canadian wizards to moments in bear-related news. “They were fantastic at letting us do whatever we wanted and so I’m kind of amazed at some of the stuff we got away with,” says Vrooman. The original version of the cover didn’t fly though. “It was the only part that they put their foot down about because it was a picture of a baby crying with a map of Canada being tattooed on its forehead. Tattooing babies is a common theme with us. Somehow, that’s upsetting. I don’t get it,” says Vrooman.

During development of their show with the Comedy Network, Picnicface was also working on Roller Town, a feature film co-written by Vrooman and Bush. In the film, a town’s popular roller-disco is converted into an arcade by thugs, which turns teens into mindless zombies. But the main character, Leo, played by Mark Little, saves the day. Every member of Picnicface plays at least two roles in the film, which was influenced by ’70s disco rollerskating films, like Skate Town USA, Roller Boogie, and Zanadu. After a great reception at the Atlantic Film Festival in September, Roller Town should be released in some Canadian theatres this spring.

Right now, the group is working on editing the final episodes of their Comedy Network series. One past episode entitled “Premium Membership” got a lot of attention when Picnicface tweeted that the first 100 people to retweet the message would get a free premium membership, complete with VIP footage and perks. The membership program was hammed up the entire episode. But fans were actually directed to a fake website with “under construction” graphics. Some didn’t take it well.

“It was hilarious,” says Vrooman. “One guy who emailed us was like, ‘Hey guys, if you’re going to have a premium membership program, at least make sure the site’s up on time.’

Like, did you watch the show?”

Second TEDx conference embraces innovation, hopes to set Ryerson apart

By Daniel Viola On November 20, more than 300 people arrived at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio to attend the second annual TEDxRyersonU conference. The event featured 15 speakers, all from the Ryerson community, who came together for the simple purpose of sharing ideas.

TEDx events are independently organized TED (Technology ,Entertainment and Design) conferences. This year’s speakers included a mix of faculty, students and alumni, including Ryerson president Sheldon Levy, ambassador Jeremy Kinsman, and graduate Gwen Elliot, creator and host of Rogers TV program Start Something Big. Harjas Dogra is the organizer of productions and logistics for the TEDx steering team. Speaking to the sold-out crowd, he said that technology and innovation has allowed us to work together in ways that were not possible in the past.

“However, it’s time to stop thinking with the rules of the past and start thinking outside the box,” Dogra said. “It is amazing what can be done by letting go of those rules and thinking differently, or as we like to call it, [thinking] forward.”

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The event was broken into four sections: The Perspective Change, In Other Worlds, Discover Grow Dare, and Re-Think.

Technology has always been an essential part of TED talks and played a key role in Ryerson’s event. The entire conference was streamed live to an online audience, and videos of the talks will be posted on the TEDx YouTube Channel. Throughout the day, members of the audience were also able to post questions on Twitter, and at the end of each talk, one question was selected and answered.

The speeches put forward ideas to challenge the audience and encourage critical thinking. “We wanted to force [the audience] to think of ideas, think about their own future, think about how they can make a difference,” said Parvinder Sachdeva, curator of TEDxRyersonU and third-year business management student.

The sold-out talk was not an exclusive Ryerson event. Attendees came from across the province and included entrepreneurs, students and organizers from TEDx events from as far away as Ottawa.

TED conferences are non-profit events held across the world that focus on the sharing of ideas and exploration of diverse topics such as philosophy, engineering and the arts. They first began in 1984 and have featured speakers such as former president Bill Clinton, actor and author John Hodgman, and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

A long-time fan of TED, Sachdeva started Ryerson’s event last year after feeling that his business faculty was disconnected from the rest of campus.

“I couldn’t find this one place where everybody connected together. And by everybody I mean not just students, but also professors from different faculties, or alumni,” he said.

Sachdeva said that by focusing on innovation and embracing TEDx, Ryerson will be able to promote itself not only in Canada, but across the world. “I think that’s the only way we can distinguish ourselves against all these established universities such as U of T that are so strong academically,” he said. “But I’ve never doubted that Ryerson is one of the most innovative universities that I’ve ever seen.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF PICNICFACE

Reviews

MUSIC Drake – Take Care

I

t isn’t easy being Drake. Since the days of his early mixtapes, Toronto’s favourite sweater-wearing rapper has had to answer to critics doubting his toughness, parody Twitter accounts (@DrakeDoinThings, among others) and oh yeah, the fact that he started his career playing a guy in a wheelchair on Degrassi. In the past year, he’s played award shows from the Grammy’s to the Junos, discovered and launched the career of fellow Toronto R&B act The Weeknd and become an honest-to-goodness Canadian rap superstar. So you perhaps can’t blame him for taking a moment to give the finger to haters. “I think I killed everybody in the last year,” boasts the rapper on “Over My Dead Body,” the opening track on his heavily anticipated sophomore album, Take Care. He acknowledges his newfound fame but also makes it clear he still has his demons, many of which are female. While he kept people guessing till the last minute about what songs would make the al-

Childish Gambino – Camp

F

or those of you who watch NBC’s comedy series Community, you know how funny Donald Glover can be. The actor plays Troy Barnes, a former high school quarterbackturned-nerd, who builds blanket forts, hosts a fictitious talk show called “Troy & Abed in the Morning” with partner-in-crime Abed Nadir (played by Danny Pudi) and idolizes former Star Trek actor and Reading Rainbow host Levar Burton. There’s plenty of punchlines on Camp, Glover’s first studio album under his rap alias Childish Gambino, however it isn’t exactly G-rated humour. If you haven’t listened to any of his previous free albums and EPs, which have seen the actor rapping over everything from Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks” to Sleigh Bell’s “Infinity Guitars,” Glover isn’t afraid of graphic descriptions of girls and sex. After signing on to Glassnote Records, a label that has handled releases by the likes of Mumford & Sons and Phoenix, this is the most ambitious Gambino release to date. But that’s not necessarily a good thing―

W

bum— “Club Paradise” and “Dreams Money Can Buy” are two noticeable omissions—he managed to get a who’s who list of guests to appear on Take Care. With the exception of the Rihanna-assisted “Take Care,” which shamelessly rips off the collaboration of the same name between Gil Scott-Heron and U.K. producer Jamie XX, the rapper manages to get the best out of them (I’m sure Chantal Kreviazuk was thrilled to get the call). After a slow start, the album finds its way halfway through. “The Real Her,” the best song on the album, sees Outkast’s Andre 3000 continue his streak of strong guest appearances. Meanwhile on the giddy “H.Y.F.R.,” Lil Wayne delivers one of his sharpest verses since being released from prison. If you’ve driven in or out of Toronto recently, you may have noticed the Take Care billboard over the Gardiner Expressway, with the CN Tower looming in the backyard. Who says you can never go home again? — Max Mertens

Camp suffers from being all over the place musically and lyrically. Having the luxury of a studio, Glover has piled on backup choruses, violin solos, layers of synth, acoustic guitars and electro beats. That’s not to say he can’t rap though. “Bonfire” is a worthy successor to last year’s “Freaks and Geeks,” with Glover in full-on braggadocio mode, over a beat that sounds like something a basketball team would play before taking the court. Meanwhile, “Heartbeat” packs references to bin Laden, Keyshia Cole and Super Smash Brothers in the same song. It’s when he talks about his childhood, insecurities and race relations in America― unsuccessfully trying to mirror Kanye West that the album starts to grow boring. It’s too bad that the future of Community is up in the air (NBC recently announced that the show would be pulled from their mid-season schedule, with the remainder of the season’s episodes being shown at an unconfirmed date), as Camp proves that Glover shouldn’t quit his day job. — MM

ASAP Rocky – LiveLoveA$AP

hile the majority of rappers making headlines this year were either luxury-celebrating veterans (Jay-Z, Kanye, Lil Wayne, Rick Ross), or social media-savvy, controversy-baiting up-and-comers (Kreayshawn, Lil B, Odd Future), there was another generation of underground talent coming out of New York. There’s recent SPIN cover boys and jokers Das Racist, Detroit import Danny Brown and several other left field names including Action Bronson, Despot and Mr. Muthaf--king Esquire. The most buzzed-about of this new wave of rappers, however, has been ASAP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, a 23-yearold Harlem emcee making gritty hip-hop that ranges from spaced-out ambient rap to Cam’ron streetwise

rhymes to Houston codeine syrupsipping screw music. Rocky’s not-sosecret weapon is New Jersey-based producer Clams Casino, who creates dreamy, new age pop soundscapes on the mixtape’s three best songs, “Palace,” “Bass” and “Wassup.” And while you won’t hear any of his songs on the radio any time soon, the rapper is no longer New York’s little secret. Not only did Rocky sign to Sony/RCA Records subdivision Polo Grounds Music for a hefty $3 million, he was also handpicked as the opening act by Drake for the Canadian rapper’s current tour. As one of Brooklyn’s finest, Biggie Smalls, once put it, “Mo money, mo problems.”

Here’s hoping major label attention doesn’t change him. — MM

Ryerson Free Press december 2011/January 2012 13

FOOD

FILM Miss Representation

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ppropriately presented by the Ryerson Women’s Centre, Miss Representation packs as much fervour as the cat fights it condemns. Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom challenges the demeaning representations of women in the media, holding it responsible for the self-doubt in females today. The documentary exposes the media as though it were run by oversexed teenage boys – with lots of boobs. (Boobs pushed up, boobs in bikinis and boobs with implants.)

With the similar in-your-face style as Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, Miss Representation takes examples from the media to argue against it. In combining shocking statistics with even more shocking instances of blatant sexism – from the everyday Barbie to the sexualization of Sarah Palin – it points to a capitalist media, not only exploiting the self-consciousness of girls and women, but creating it.

The actress-turned-filmmaker frames the documentary by recounting her dark experiences in the public eye, describing the menacing ideals of beauty. The real motivation, however, is her determination to protect her daughter from the brainwashing effects of the objectified women who are often seen on reality T.V., Disney movies and even the evening news.

Katie Couric, Jean Kilbourne, Nancy Pelosi, Condoleezza Rice and Lisa Ling are among the many feminist activists like Newsom. Through personal experiences, they share expert insights as well as stories in which they were discouraged from ambition and, despite their success, were discredited because of their appearance.

Margaret Cho, for example, relays a time when her producers for the show All American Girl pressured her to lose weight, which lead to her anorexia. While she lost the weight, the show was cancelled and replaced by Drew Carey of the Drew Carey Show, a man who’s much larger than her.

Not only has Miss Representation made its way to the Sundance Film Festival, but the documentary has also garnered the attention of one of the most powerful women in media, Oprah Winfrey. In fact, it’s been added to the Oprah Winfrey Network Documentary Club, a group gaining as much recognition and as many followers as her prestigious book club.

Miss Representation certainly drives the message home – again and again. Although it was made clear that the message is relevant and crucial to the understanding of media, it resonated the most during the first five minutes of the film, as the pounding music of Metric (a band most notable for its female lead) causes hearts to pound just as hard in anticipation.

However, it’s not to say that the latter majority of the documentary is boring, but it does lack the drive it evokes in the beginning, perhaps due to the repetitive blue writing of facts and figures or the unchanging white background. Regardless, it takes away from the energy that’s invested at the start.

As for the interviews, not all of them are humdrum. High school students, who are as articulate as graduate students and as wise as their professors, speak with profound brilliance, proving that there’s a hopeful generation for the future, which is where the documentary is truly successful.

Miss Representation doesn’t just point fingers; it points out where to go from here. With a passionate sense of urgency, the feminist documentary emphasizes the power of the voice for a full-out media makeover. — Meaghan Yuen

Keepin’ it Reel

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he Reel Asian International Film Festival took place at venues across Toronto from Nov. 8 to 13. Now in its fifteenth year, the festival continues to present works of contemporary Asian cinema and narratives from the Asian diaspora, making it Canada’s largest Asian film festival. Our own Samantha Lui was on hand to review two stand-out presentations from the festival.

Trailblazers Trailblazers is a programme of short films surrounding the injustices and hardships faced by elders. Quirky and eccentric, these shorts tell stories of seniors who bravely take different paths and continue to celebrate their unique identities.

In Totte Mitsu, Let’s Go to Russia, director Brian Lye follows two women who fight over a camera in a spontaneous film made with his Japanese host mother and her friend.

Granny’s Rock (Babah No Rock) is about a 68-year-old artist named Miya Yumemi who is often seen as a “crazy” person on the streets of Tokyo. The documentary-style film directed by Satoru Yasuda captures Yumemi’s unique marker drawings and unusual yet endearing personality.

Then there’s Grandpa’s Wet Dream. Directed by Chihiro Amemiya, it follows a 75-year-old Japanese man who has been acting in adult movies for 15 years without telling his family.

And lastly, there’s Sugar Bowl. Directed by Ryerson grad Shasha Nakhai, this film – winner of the 2010 Reel Asian So You Think You Can Pitch? Award – takes the audience through the rise and fall of the sugar cane industry in the Philippines.

The films in Trailblazers may seem low-budget, but the content and characters are what draws the audience in. Filled with charming seniors marching to the beat of their own drums, their lives and personalities shine through in the end.

Surrogate Valentine Those who take pleasure in simple things like good music and charming humour will enjoy Dave Boyle’s Surrogate Valentine.

The film follows musician Goh Nakamara (playing himself ) as he struggles to make a living playing live gigs and teaching guitar. But when a filmmaker friend asks him to give guitar lessons to TV star Danny Turner (Chadd Stoops) for an upcoming movie role, Goh reluctantly takes the job.

Because Danny will be playing a “burned out, sad sack musician,” the two end up going on tour together.

To the annoyance of Goh, Danny models his research on him, and as the two get to know one another better, it becomes clear that the character Danny is supposed to play rings a bit too true to Goh’s life.

Things get more complicated when Goh’s unrequited crush, Rachel (Lynn Chen), shows up at one of his shows. As Goh tours from his home in San Francisco to gigs in Seattle and Los Angeles, Rachel is always on his mind.

Shot in black and white, the characters and their charm shine through. While the introverted Goh wants nothing more than to sing and write songs, Danny is annoying but funny, often bragging about his former roles.

What’s also impressive is Goh’s performance as a musician. Penning the song that inspired the film’s title, his emotional and soulful tunes are what stand out.

Although the performances of each actor are justified, things are left too open-ended by film’s end. There’s no sense of growth for the lead, leaving the audience wanting more.

Nonetheless, Surrogate Valentine is a pleasure to watch. For once, it is nice to see an Asian lead playing a non-stereotypical role. — Samantha Lui

14 ryersonfreepress.ca

Gourmet Food and Wine Expo offers full-bodied treats for foodies

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f I’d known that an event dedicated to boozing and schmoozing held over a weekend would most definitely draw in a lot of people, I wouldn’t have chosen Saturday as the day to attend the seventeenth annual Gourmet Food and Wine Expo, held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Not unless I was in the mood to “excuse me, pardon me, I need to get by” through the hundreds of pink-cheeked 20- or 30-somethings drinking, eating and even dancing (an inevitable consequence of crowds and alcohol) in the name of Epicureanism.

With its nearly 400 exhibitors, the expo was entirely overwhelming, especially to a first-timer. The set-up: pay an admission fee and then buy “sample tickets” in exchange for food and wine samples (think of how a carnival operates).

I decided to go the adventurous route and limit myself to only international offerings/things I’ve never tried. With that, I marched on with confidence towards my first booth: Wines of South Africa. When I asked the exhibitor what she recommended, she answered, “Well, what do you like?” My first important lesson of the day: despite what I thought about connoisseurs who understand things about tannins, or the different bouquets, or how an oak barrel will affect the taste of a wine, at the end of the day, it really just boils down to preference. And as a complete wine newbie, that worked for me.

So I told her I liked reds, something full-bodied with a rounded flavour. She poured me a shiraz/cabernet sauvignon blend by The Pavillion (two tickets) and sent me merrily on my way. The sweet, fruity notes accompanied me as I glided along the merlot-coloured carpet, sampling the best the world had to offer. One of my favourites was Lenz Moser Prestige Trockenbeerenauslese, an Austrian dessert wine that was heavenly in combination with a chocolate praline macaron (I nearly melted onto the floor).

And in the centre of it all, an acoustic cover of R.E.M.’s “The One I Love” was being performed on stage; the singer crooned with his eyes closed, almost unaware of the massive crowds around him. Breathing into the microphone, his words dripped sensuality as he took a small step back and then seamlessly transitioned into U2’s “One Love.” And all around on the leather seats and cocktail tables, friends were laughing and couples were cuddling, rubies swirling in their glasses and sparkling under the lights.

For the next six hours, I drank and ate to my heart’s content, crossing a variety of things off my list. Bordeaux wine, Russian black caviar, Japanese sake and plum liqueur, to name a few. Despite the buzzing excitement and lack of breathing room, it was a very comfortable environment. Loveseats strategically placed around the exhibition hall slowed the pace down, if the heavy wine consumption didn’t.

After a dozen samples, when I decided I had had a thorough taste of the event, I left—completely and utterly satisfied. Slightly inebriated, but satisfied. ­— Theresa Do PHOTO: WILLIAMCHO/FLICKR

DANCE Mixed bag of styles at Ryerson Dances takes show to new limits

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n November 22, Ryerson Dances 2011 opened at the Ryerson Theatre, with four performance pieces created by well-known choreographers: Intricate Freedom by Valerie Calam, Arsenio Andrade Calderon’s Encounters, Allen Kaeja’s Axon, and Indigo Moods by Vicki St. Denys.

The program, which lacked any identifiable theme, was a mixed bag of styles, ranging from Calam’s wildly chaotic individual-focused performance to St. Denys’s sensual, jazzy piece.

Intricate Freedom, the first performance of the night, was described in Calam’s choreographer’s notes as a piece that “shows the dancers performing as themselves within a group.”

It certainly did that — it was incredibly rare to see the dancers moving in unison.

Though they may have danced at the same time, it was almost never the same choreography. The result was an almost stressful test for the audience: you could never truly see everything, and – using a technique reminiscent of Twyla Tharp’s In The Upper Room – it forced you to try to look everywhere at once.

However, when the dancers were brought together to perform the same choreography, the result was almost breathtaking.

Arseno Andrade Calderon’s Encounters, the second piece, was what stole the show for me. The very bold, unapologetic sensuality of it was impressive, demonstrated best by the two dancers who spent a good portion of the performance in the middle of the stage, on the verge of kissing.

The costumes — nude body suits — served to drive the audience to distraction, while heightening the attention to dancers’ extensions (more elaborate costumes can, occasionally,

detract from the cleanness of a dancer’s lines). The camera that filmed them from behind and projected the image onto the back screen only added to the somewhat taboo feeling of the entire piece — it was like looking in on something private and beautiful.

The best part of the performance may have been when the three male dancers leapt off the stage and sat down in the audience, and then managed to remain straight-faced while the little girl beside me kept sneaking sideways glances at them until they returned to the stage.

Axon stood out because of its interesting use of partnering. In the other three pieces, lifts and throws were generally relegated to the male dancers, whereas in Axon, female dancers were lifting and throwing each other; as well, the guys were being tossed and lifted by their female counterparts. It was quite impressive, and showcased the strength of each dancer. I also liked how fast-paced the routine was, and the techno music that Kaeja used.

Indigo Moods by Vicki St. Denys was actually choreographed at Ryerson in 1998 for a cast of nine dancers, and was performed again in 2003. Since then, the final section of the piece has been presented at the Banff Centre for the Arts by the Dance Program. Ballet Kelowna also featured the work as the closing piece to their 2006 and 2010 seasons, and it was re-worked this year for Ryerson Dances.

It was a piece that felt like it had been taken right from the New Orleans jazz scene.

They used props to make the stage look like a speakeasy, and the costumes — tailored pants, pencil skirts, corset tops and button-ups, in shades of blue — were very sophisticated. I loved the theatricality of the performance, and the obvious enjoyment the dancers brought to the stage. Pieces like Indigo Moods are a perfect illustration of why I love dance. — Kelsey Rolfe

DROP FEES! ONTARIO’S GOVERNMENT PROMISED TO

DROP TUITION FEES BY 30% BUT IT’S UP TO STUDENTS TO HOLD THEM TO THEIR PROMISE.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT.

Organizing Meetings

Every Thursday at 5pm starting November 10 Second Floor Lounge, Student Centre For more info email Melissa Palermo, RSU Vice-President Education: vp.education@rsuonline.ca

dropfees.ca Ryerson Free Press december 2011/January 2012 15

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WINTER WELCOME BACK 6 - 9 PM

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Wednesday, JANUARY 25

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