At the Heart of Resistance 2011 by QPIRG Concordia

CONTENTS SOME BRIEF TRUTHS ABOUT THE LIFE SENTENCE IN CANADA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 contributed by Recon COMMUNICATE TO EDUCATE. EDUCATE TO LIBERATE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 contributed by Certain Days Political Prisoner Calendar Committee LES QUEERS SORTENT EN SOLIDARITÉ AVEC LA PALESTINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 contribution de Qteam WHY WE SUPPORT SECURE TECHNOLOGIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 contributed by Anarchist Tech Support INTERVIEW WITH LAURA WHITEHORN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 contributed by The Prisoner Correspondence Project THE STORY OF THE STE-ÉMILIE SKILLSHARE / PHOTOESSAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 contributed by the Ste-Émilie Skillshare A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 contributed by TAPThirst QPIRG CONCORDIA WORKING GROUPS DIRECTORY (2010-11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ANSWERS FOR THOSE WHO QUESTION AUTHORITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 contributed by Radical Reference BASIC SOUND SYSTEM TERMINOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 contributed by Montreal Sound Team STOP NIOCAN: NO MINING ON STOLEN LAND! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 contributed by the Indigenous Solidarity Committee STATUS FOR ALL! SOLIDARITY CITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 contributed by Solidarity Across Borders STOP THE DEPORTATION OF DANY VILLANUEVA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 contributed by the Dany Villenueva Support Committee• WE REMEMBER, WE SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 contributed by Justice for the Victims of Police Killings REFUSE TO BE ABUSED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 contributed by Project X COMMENTAIRE SUR LA SOLIDARITÉ POLICIÈRE ET SUR LES CRIMES QUI EN DÉCOULENT . . . . . . . .28 contribution du Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière A COMMUNITY ADVISORY: IF CSIS COMES KNOCKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 contributed by The People’s Commission Network MONTREAL’S SECURITY INDUSTRIES MAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 contributed by The People’s Commission Network MONTREAL ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR POSTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Welcome to QPIRG Concordiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inaugural issue of At the Heart of Resistance We describe our working groups as the heart of QPIRG Concordia; they are close to thirty groups, collectives, networks, projects, and campaigns that organize together in the Montreal community, and beyond, on a wide variety of issues directly related to social and environmental justice. Together, these groups represent collective struggles and organizing for self-determination and liberation. We highlight some of those struggles in this journal. Together, our working groups share skills and knowledge, engage in popular education and art, organize events and protests, provide direct support and solidarity, publish alternative research and analysis, and, in general, contribute, encourage, and maintain resistance in diverse and creative ways. At the Heart of Resistance shows the multifold ways in which our working groups make links between different struggles against oppression and exploitation. The amazing day-to-day organizing of our working groups is a reflection of solidarity in practice. At the Heart of Resistance reflects just one small part of what our working groups do, and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s far from comprehensive or exhaustive. We encourage you in particular to consult the Working Groups Directory in the centre-spread to learn more about our working groups and to contact the groups directly. Consider At the Heart of Resistance a starting point: a means to learn more, to challenge your own thinking, and to get involved. Importantly, At the Heart of Resistance reflects community organizing work, a spirit of resistance that happens day-to-day, year-round, building on the work of those that have gone before us, and hopefully providing contributions for the future. Our working groups are a heart the size of a fist, a muscle that we strengthen together, as we journey in our collective struggle for justice and dignity. Thank you to everyone from our working groups who contributed! -- Ashley Fortier (editing and production) -- Jaggi Singh (editing and production) -- Tasha Zamudio (design and production)

on behalf of QPIRG Concordia

At the Heart of Resistance

SOME BRIEF TRUTHS ABOUT THE LIFE SENTENCE IN CANADA

contributed by Recon recon.ftc@yahoo.com

TRUTH: A life sentence in Canada never ends. The only possible change does not involve time, but location. A life sentence can be served in a federal penitentiary or on parole in the community. During the partial ban on capital punishment throughout the 1960s, the average life sentence meant serving 7-10 years in prison. Now, life sentences carry mandatory minimums of 10-25 years in prison and the rest of the sentence is served outside on parole until you die. The average time spent inside on a conviction of first degree murder is 28.4 years. Convictions that can result in a life sentence include first and second degree murder, manslaughter, treason, bank robbery, certain drug offences, and multiple escapes. However, a life sentence can also be incurred through institutional charges, consecutive sentences, and indefinite sentences. Finally, if we consider how many people die inside before their sentence is completed, a life sentence can mean that you are in prison for the rest of your natural life.

must spend in prison unless one applies for a Judicial Review, the most hotly-contested section of the Criminal Code since the abolition of the death penalty. This review, if applied for and if successful, can reduce one’s parole eligibility date for those with mandatory minimums of over 15 years. Few apply and even fewer receive reduced eligibility dates thus it has been dubbed the “faint hope” clause. Make no mistake, being eligible for parole does not mean being granted parole. The National Parole Board (recently renamed the Parole Board of Canada) is the gatekeeper to the outside world for prisoners and has absolute power over who is granted parole, as well as how and where it will be served. This means parole could happen much later than one’s eligibility date. TRUTH: A parole violation does not mean a crime has been committed. A lifer can be sent back to prison for breaching a standard or individual parole condition. A parole violation could mean anything from drinking alcohol to a “lack of transparency” (i.e., not informing a parole officer about a change in finances or a new relationship). A parole officer’s mere suspicion that a parolee will likely breach or has breached a condition is grounds for revocation and thus re-incarceration. Parole officers overuse this ambiguous open-ended “lack of transparency” condition.This discretionary power on the part of parole officers leads to the recycling of prisoners without any tangible evidence.

TRUTH: A prisoner serving a life sentence in the community is under the conditions of parole. A parolee is subject to extensive surveillance and expected to reveal every aspect of their life to a parole officer. Parole is like a prison outside a prison because the conditions imposed are extremely strict and rigid. In fact, parole requirements that are often unrealistic, and violations of these unrealistic conditions, most often lead to re-incarceration. Conditions include: not entering an establishment that serves alcohol, remaining within a predetermined geographic area, providing receipts of all purchases and bank statements, providing random urine samples, and the “non-association” clause which forbids any contact (even for just a few minutes) with anyone who has a criminal record, whether or not the parolee is aware of it.

Prisoners’ families are not only subject to societal stigma, but also to the psychological burden of a loved one’s long-term imprisonment.

TRUTH: A life sentence is not only served by a convicted individual but by all persons in their lives. Prisoners’ families are not only subject to societal stigma, but also to the psychological burden of a loved one’s long-term imprisonment. Furthermore, families and friends are subject to invasive security checks upon visiting prison, increasingly restrictive visiting hour schedules and conditions, and often extremely costly travelling expenses. They are also scrutinized to determine whether they qualify as “a good support system” when determining parole conditions. This assessment includes whether or not they attest to turning the lifer into the police should something that can

TRUTH: An eligibility date on a life sentence (10-25 years) represents the minimum amount of time a prisoner must serve before even applying for parole. Every life sentence carries a minimum number of years a person 2

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups Journal - April 2011

be deemed a violation of conditions occur. The Correctional Services of Canada can and does routinely question, visit, and surveil anyone in a parolee’s life – at work, home, and play.

or erased. Morally superior prison staff look down on lifers who they assume are “bad” and expect “perfect” or ultra super-human compliant behaviour which is often unachievable. This disrespect and contempt for prisoners opens a gateway to routine violence on the part of those in positions of authority.

TRUTH: Incarceration is the harshest and most dehumanizing experience a society can legally impose upon an individual. In Canada, suicide rates for prisoners are nearly 8 times those on the outside, HIV transmission rates are 10 times higher, and Hepatitis C prevalence is 25 times higher in prison than on the outside. Parole release rates are at their lowest in a decade and the threat and use of solitary confinement and involuntary transfers are prevalent, especially for those who fail to toe the line, who resist, or who demonstrate discontent on the inside. Considering the severely limited access to resources on the inside, it is not surprising that concerns around health care make up most of the official complaints from prisoners. Inside prison walls, a person becomes a non-citizen that the state can actively let die.

TRUTH:Total control over prisoners’ bodies by prison policies, prison guards, and prison administration are what cause danger inside prisons. Lifers spend an extensive amount of time inside a system that is defined by heavy regulation, control, and punishment. The dangers lie in the destructive and restrictive environment of the prison, not in the prisoners themselves. According to the office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario, between 1986 and 1995, only 9% of all the deaths in custody in that province were attributed to homicide. This statistic also does not distinguish between homicides committed by guards and those committed by other prisoners. According to the same stats, prisoners were 4 times more likely to commit suicide than to be murdered. By concentrating on the “inherent” danger of prisoners sentenced to life, the focus of public discussion often veers away from the systemic brutality and violence of the prison regime and its personnel.

This discretionary power on the part of parole officers leads to the recycling of prisoners without any tangible evidence.

TRUTH: Those who kill in the name of the state, the economy, and the social order do not end up in prison on a life sentence. Our society condones – even honours – many different kinds of killing. From the military to the police; murders are often justified as necessary. States and corporations are also commonly responsible for less visible violence that can result in death (for example, poor labour conditions in Westray Mines, or denying migrants entry to Canada) – but are not stigmatized the same way as those who commit murder through interpersonal violence.

TRUTH: An individual serving a life sentence on parole is not a danger to society. A person sentenced to life will be routinely categorized by the Canadian state as a “risk to public safety” necessitating overly rigid parole conditions. A lifer is assumed to be a threat to society and parole conditions expect them to be perfect: a kind of supercitizen. According to Statistics Canada, lifers on parole accounted for only 0.5 percent of the reported homicide deaths in Canada during the past 31 years. In contrast, in Montreal over the past 23 years, over 60 people have been killed at the hands of the police. Yet, who are we still encouraged to trust, and who are we led to stigmatize and outcast? v

TRUTH: A person serving a life sentence is forever seen and portrayed as a criminal and potential danger to society in the eyes of the state. Being sentenced to life does not automatically mean that everything a person has done in the past is now worthless or that they have no potential to successfully contribute to the community in the future. One act should not necessarily determine the rest of one’s life. Being a son, daughter, parent, or friend cannot be disregarded 3

At the Heart of Resistance

COMMUNICATE TO EDUCATE. EDUCATE TO LIBERATE. contributed by Certain Days Political Prisoner Calendar Committee www.certaindays.org This article was written by political prisoner Jaan Laaman and first appeared in Certain Days: the 2011 Freedom for Political Prisoners Calendar.

with our years and decades of survival and struggles behind prison walls, should be available, and hopefully useful, to the overall freedom struggle.

Freedom fighters and revolutionary activists are imprisoned by the state for three main reasons. They are thrown into captivity in order to stop their work for liberation, to intimidate other activists still outside, and to silence their revolutionary voices. Political prisoners therefore, must and do, reach out, write, and communicate with people outside as widely as possible.

Prison bars, walls, and isolated locations are designed to silence revolutionary voices. All communications, letters, phones, and restricted email messages, which some prisons now have, are monitored, censored, and copied. While this is a reality, it does not mean political prisoners can’t and don’t extend their voices and ideas outside. It means we have to be somewhat circumspect, be aware of time delays, and sometimes find creative methods to get our words out to publications and the people. This is all part of struggle behind the walls.

Reaching out and communicating beyond the prison walls is one significant way that political prisoners remain connected to – and part of – the ongoing and everdeveloping struggles. Writing for zines, newspapers, magazines, online sites and blogs, and authoring books or parts of books, are things that all political prisoners try to do. As years and decades of captivity pile up, it is important that imprisoned activists continue to contribute to the struggles outside. It is likewise important and necessary that outside organizations and publications facilitate and reach out to these activists, to help them put their thoughts, analyses, and information out to the people.

As years and decades of captivity pile up, it is important that imprisoned activists continue to contribute to the struggles outside. It is likewise important and necessary that outside organizations and publications facilitate and reach out to these activists, to help them put their thoughts, analyses and information out to the people.

Recently the U.S. federal prison system has created special highly-monitored and censored prisons and units within prisons, labeled CMUs (communication management units). These are specifically designed to control, monitor and restrict contact and communication between revolutionary prisoners and outside publications and activist organizations. Political prisoner Daniel McGowan has a welldetailed expose of the CMU in Marion prison, which can be found in issue 13 of 4strugglemag (visit 4strugglemag.org).

Prison struggle, conditions, and resistance are one part of the overall freedom struggle and political prisoners can and do write about this. Just as significantly though, imprisoned activists can and do provide historical and political analysis and personal insight to the larger struggles and issues, both national and international, going on around the world.

Outside awareness of these openly fascistic methods and institutions is very important for the general public, and even more so for the men and women held in these prisons. Despite control units, segregation, isolation, and repression, political prisoners have continued to reach out and share their views and struggles, and to learn from the struggles and views of others. More of this can only benefit the prisoners, as well as new and old activists and organizations outside. v

Political prisoners and POWs have no innate insight into events, but all of us have had years of experience as activists or leaders of public and/or clandestine organizations. This experience, along 4

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups Journal - April 2011 Jaan Laaman is a long held anti-imperialist political prisoner. He is one of the original Ohio-7 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; United Freedom Front case â&#x20AC;&#x201C; defendants, who have been in federal and (Massachusetts) state prisons since 1984. Jaan has been a public activist and organizer, and underground militant since the 1960s. Despite decades in captivity, Jaan remains a concerned father, uncle, and family member. He also continues to offer relief and treatments in Chinese medicine and Shiatsu to his fellow prisoners. He is recognized and listed as a political prisoner by several Human Rights and legal defense associations. Jaan Laaman remains committed to and active in the freedom struggle for the revolutionary socialist future the people and this planet so clearly need.

Molly Fair is a New York-based artist, activist, and soon-to-be librarian. She works in various mediums including screenprinting and video, and is interested in the intersections of art, social movements, and popular education. She is a member of the Justseeds Artistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Cooperative, a decentralized network of artists committed to making print and design work that reflects a radical social, environmental, and political stance. More of her work can be seen at: justseeds.org/artists/molly_fair

Jaan K. Laaman 10372-016, P.O. Box 24550 Tucson, AZ USA

This image was designed by Molly Fair and first appeared in the 2011 Certain Days Calendar for the month of June. 5

At the Heart of Resistance

LES QUEERS SORTENT EN SOLIDARITÉ AVEC LA PALESTINE contribution de Qteam www.qteam.org

NE TOMBEZ PAS DANS LE PANNEAU DE L’EXCEPTIONNALISME Les politiques des queers radicaux en solidarité avec la Palestine proviennent d’une opposition à tout état colonial violent et oppresseur qui s’approprient les droits des gais pour étendre son agenda expansionniste. Nous voyons comment cet état et ses institutions sont présentés comme progressistes, libéraux, et démocratiques alors qu’ils continuent de déposséder, dominer, et contrôler les parties de la population qu’il considère un danger pour sa propre existence.

TOURISME GAI En faisant la promotion du tourisme en Israël, l’état occupant est représenté comme « un oasis occidental libéral au MoyenOrient » où « les hommes gais libérés peuvent apprécier le nightlife à un des bars gais de Tel Aviv » (citation librement traduite de The Advocate, 2007), Les politiques radicales queers veulent davantage que des bars gais - et elles ne sont pas libérales. Par des commentaires racistes du genre « les politiques progressistes d’Israël continuent de briller comme un bijou gai dans le rude Moyen-Orient » (encore une fois librement traduit

Une politique queer sans frontière doit dénoncer l’occupation, les agressions militaires et la citoyenneté accordé sur des principes raciaux. Et plus que tout, le mur de l’apartheid!

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups Journal - April 2011

de leurs droits humains, des détentions, des contrôles, et des campagnes de bombardement. EN SOLIDARITÉ AVEC LA PALESTINE Nous supportons l’appel au Boycott, Désinvestissement, et aux Sanctions (BDS) parce que la vibrante culture gaie d’Israël ne détourne pas notre attention de l’occupation, au contraire, cela la normalise. Comme Judith Butler l’explique: « tout événement, pratique ou institution qui présuppose que la vie culturelle peut continuer sans opposition explicite à l’occupation elle-même est complice de l’occupation. » La communauté queer globale ne sera pas complice. de The Advocate, 2008), les agressions militaires, et l’occupation du territoire trouvent de nouvelles avenues pour se justifier: celle de la libération des gais. Nous rejetons les droits des gais comme propagande d’état.

Il y a une communauté dynamique et organisée de queer Palestiniens avec laquelle nous pouvons être solidaire, de la même façon que nous sommes solidaires des luttes anti-coloniales partout ailleurs. Nous reconnaissons que l’homophobie existe en Israël, en Palestine, et au-delà de toute frontières. Les queers palestiniens vivent le défi additionnel de vivre sous l’occupation, sujets à la violence étatique, et au contrôle d’Israël. Le système de l’apartheid israëlien étend les droits des gais à quelques élus, basé sur la race. v

DÉFILÉ DE LA FIERTÉ MONDIALE (WORLD PRIDE) La World Pride (Marche mondiale de la fierté) devait avoir lieu à Jérusalem en août 2006; toutefois, l’évènement fut annulé du fait que le gouvernement d’Israël ne pouvait pas fournir le personnel de sécurité – l’armée étant occupée à mener une guerre au Liban. L’événement allait être utilisé par le Ministre israëlien des Affaires Étrangères pour camoufler derrière un drapeau arc-enciel les crimes de guerre de son gouvernement. Le slogan du défilé était « l’amour sans frontières. » Une politique queer sans frontière doit dénoncer l’occupation, les agressions militaires, et la citoyenneté accordé sur des principes raciaux. Et plus que tout, le mur de l’apartheid!

IL N’Y A PAS DE FIERTÉ DANS L’APARTHEID!

LES DROITS DES GAIS VERSUS LES DROITS HUMAINS Jusqu’à un certain point, Israël reconnait légalement les droits des gais, mais il ne reconnait que certains droits que pour certains types de gais. Les Palestiniens qui vivent en Israël - peu importe leur orientation sexuelle - font face à des sanctions de l’état, de la discrimination quotidienne, et du profilage racial dans tous les aspects de leurs vies, des tribunaux aux hospitaux, des universités aux rues de Tel-Aviv avec ses clubs gais branchés. Des centaines de palestiniens queers vivent illégalement en Israël sans accès au travail ou au système de santé, sous la menace constante de la déportation. Pour les Palestiniens de Gaza et de la Cisjordanie, leurs droits légaux protégés par l’état d’Israël incluent des restrictions de leurs libertés de mouvement, des abus routiniers 7

At the Heart of Resistance

WHY WE SUPPORT SECURE TECHNOLOGIES contributed by Anarchist Tech Support www.ats-mtl.net

of browsing. We work on installing and using specific programs, understanding how they work, and troubleshooting problems that arise. At the beginning of each workshop we explain why we are doing the workshop, and discuss why we think secure technologies are important. We organize this discussion into the following four main categories: 1) NECESSITY. Some people need to communicate securely; if they can’t do so, then they may not be able to communicate at all without putting themselves at risk. We have in mind those who are targeted by the state for particular repression or harassment, either due to their political beliefs, their activism, or for having a Muslim name. It is ultimately up to each person or community, of course, to assess their situation and determine their needs. But situations can change quickly. It’s better to know how to communicate securely beforehand, to be familiar with the technology, and to use it frequently. We think that if you only ever need to send one secure email, that’s reason enough to learn. Also, encrypting only the emails “that really need to be secure” partially defeats the purpose, since it highlights which emails should be of particular interest. 2) SOLIDARITY. Even if you don’t consider secure communication necessary in your own life, using it he lps those who do.There have been recent attempts to criminalize encryption, and government agencies often associate its use with illegal activity. But if encryption becomes normal, such that people can honestly say that they’ve been using it for years and so does everyone else they know, it becomes harder for the state to single out its users as criminals or terrorists. It’s also true that an increased volume of encrypted traffic on the internet makes it more difficult for the state to determine which communications are of particular interest and should therefore be targeted for attempted decryption. Finally, it is only possible to communicate securely if both sides are using the same encryption system. Spreading these systems around to as many people as possible is necessary in order to make them useful. If only the people who really needed to encrypt their

ATS (Anarchist Tech Support / Anarchistes pour des technologies solidaires) is, first and foremost, an evolving social project, not primarily a technical one. We believe that computers occupy an integral place in our culture, whether we like it or not, and we take on projects because we hope to engage with computers in new and critical ways. We want computers to be tools in struggle, not distractions from it. We want to use computers in ways that make them weapons for liberation, and not have them used against us.

We want to use computers in ways that make them weapons for liberation, and not have them used against us.

To this end, in the months since we formed, we have been organizing workshops and more informal gatherings on basic tech security in Montreal and other cities. The main part of each workshop focuses on encrypted communications, encrypted data storage, and anonymization 8

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups Journal - April 2011

communications were set up to do it then they wouldn’t have many other people with whom to communicate.

Information does not need to be incriminating to be used against people – in the ongoing G20 conspiracy case, for example, character information has been used by the Crown to justify outlandish bail conditions. For all these reasons, we seek to interfere with corporate information collection, which is in its effects one and the same as government surveillance.

3) COUNTERINSURGENCY. Our promotion of secure technologies is specifically oriented towards the obstruction of surveillance and counterinsurgency efforts by state agencies. We understand counterinsurgency to be a model of social and political control that is roughly based on responding to three expected stages of a movement that could threaten the state: preparation, non-violent disruption, and armed insurgency. At each stage, police and intelligence agencies are trying to gather intelligence on, repress, and infiltrate the movement to proactively prevent its growth to the next stage. The ultimate goal is to prevent an insurgency that could threaten state power. Even if you are a participant in a broadbased movement and don’t see yourself as a threat to the state and therefore a target for surveillance, it is still very possible that the state sees you as a potential threat and is keeping track of you just in case. We seek to spread secure technologies as widely as possible in order to partially interfere with these pre-emptive counterinsurgency efforts, and to contribute to the resilience and effectiveness of our networks and movements.

Even if you don’t consider secure communication necessary in your own life, using it helps those who do.

Discussing the extent of surveillance in our society is bound to induce fear and paranoia among some people who are trying to make the world a better place. Unlike agents of the state, this is never our intention. Our goal in talking about these strategies of repression is not to perpetuate negative emotions and scare people off, but instead to be as honest as possible about what we’re up against so that we can formulate our own strategies and struggle better – more intelligently, more effectively – for liberation. These workshops, and this article, constitute concrete efforts to generalize familiarity with, and practice of, good tech security – something that fits into our own larger strategy for struggle. We want to reduce the power of the state and to increase the autonomy of people; in these conditions, we believe revolutionary change isn’t inevitable, but at least possible. So this isn’t charity or schooling. We often learn as much as we teach in these workshops, and we expect others to continue learning afterwards, and to spread what they’ve learned to others in their regions and communities.

4) CORPORATE DATA MINING. The automated collection of detailed information on individual people is currently a major growth sector for the capitalist economy. This is a core part of the business strategy of companies like Google, Facebook Inc., and many others.These kinds of companies are conducting more detailed surveillance than could ever be undertaken by the state, but for purposes of profit rather than repression.They aim to tailor marketing to each consumer, thereby selling more products. We use the term data mining to describe the automated processes of recording IP addresses, Google search terms, the items you “like” on Facebook, etc. This information is also available to the state; profit-driven corporations will always hand over the data they have collected when issued a subpoena or (more often) simply when asked.

And if you’re still interested in some of the more technical stuff, as we hope you are, please check out our website, ats-mtl.net, or email us at ats-mtl@riseup.net. v

At the Heart of Resistance

INTERVIEW WITH LAURA WHITEHORN contributed by The Prisoner Correspondence Project www.prisonercorrespondenceproject.com I was organizing around Attica and the New York state system twenty years before I went to prison.

Since the 1960s, Laura Whitehorn has been active in anti-racist and anti-imperialist political struggles. Laura joined the Weather Underground Organization and later spent over fourteen years in prison for a series of property bombings that protested racism and the imperial policies of the U.S. government. She’s been an out lesbian most of her life and, since 1999, she’s been out of prison. Laura now works at POZ, a magazine for HIV-positive people, and is the editor of a new book, The War Before: The True Life Story of Becoming a Black Panther, Keeping the Faith in Prison, & Fighting for those Left Behind.

The divide gets created I think because of a need to focus and allocate resources. And I think it’s just a matter of people opening up their minds to what it means to be a prisoner and what it means to be a political prisoner. It’s really not that different, except that in some cases when you’re a political prisoner you have it harder because you’re singled out for certain kinds of security treatment, and in some ways you actually have it easier because very often if you represent a political community you have the support of those people.

The Prisoner Correspondence Project (PCP) spoke with Laura on the phone to discuss her experiences of political organizing while in prison and her thoughts on prisoner solidarity work today. The following is an excerpt from a longer interview. Visit our website at prisonercorrespondenceproject.com to read the rest!

I always say that in my analysis you cannot talk about political prisoners and social prisoners separately, because for example in the United States, social prisoners, now, represent the government’s response to the struggles of the 1960s. Because that was when you saw a huge rise in the number of people incarcerated in this country and the reason was to terrorize communities. Communities were flooded with drugs, which was largely done by the police and the government, and then locked up in huge numbers so they can’t be on the streets going against conditions in their communities. Then you lock up the people who are ideologically trying to deal with those social issues, or are leaders of the struggles, and you take away the leadership and so therefore you leave communities that are incapable of struggling for their rights because their brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers are in prison, and the leaders of the political organizations are in prison.One other thing though is that I think it’s really important for people to get to know each other and for people not to use these categories as abstractions, but to think about who we’re talking about. Because when you’re doing queer work it’s important to recognize that there are queer political prisoners as well. Also, Julia Sudbury who’s a professor now in California at Mills College wrote a really interesting paper about how the cutting edge political issue in terms of prisons right now is about transgender prisoners of colour and I really recommend that article. It’s called “Maroon Abolitionists: Black

PCP: In doing prison justice work, we’ve noticed that there can be a divide between political prisoner and “social” or “non-political prisoner” support work. For instance, our group focuses on supporting queer and trans folks on the inside, and our mandate does not specifically include a political prisoner focus. What are your thoughts on this divide, and how prison justice or prison abolition groups have been organizing within this framework? LW: That’s a thorny issue. My own position is that if you talk about political prisoners in a way that makes it sound as if we experience things that social prisoners don’t, “we get our mail separate,” that kind of thing, which I have seen leftists do when they talk about political prisoners, then if I were a social prisoner or a social prisoner organizing group I wouldn’t want anything to do with that because it is elitist bull. All prisoners are subject to all kinds of security procedures that make life inside unpleasant. There are many similarities between people’s situations, firstly if you look at how people became prisoners in the first place and how much, for example, the people who are political prisoners began our organizing in many cases organizing around prison conditions - before we were in prison. You know

Queer communities have the same stake in prison abolition that anyone interested in social justice does.

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups Journal - April 2011 that art and wall posters and things like that are so critically important. Because the internet is everyone’s billboard instead of something on the street. So I think it’s time to revive the street art and street posters as a way of educating.

Gender-oppressed Activists in the Anti-Prison Movement in the U.S. and Canada.” The language is a little academic, but the whole concept is the fact that the queer community has changed, and that one of the most threatening things to the system right now might not be lesbians or gay men it might be transgender queers. And so a lot of those people I think who are transgender can be active against the projects on the outside and then end up going to prison and play a political role.

The last thing I would say is that you guys, and other people who do this kind of work, who don’t let the people inside be left behind, are the main way that I think all of our communities are going to start to care about prisoners, about changing the prison system, telling the stories of queers who have been locked up is really important for getting those stories out and letting people see what life is like for their sisters and brothers.

PCP: Given the invisibilities of members of our communities who are locked up in prisons, what strategies are at our disposal to make queers invested in justice and prison issues? What stake do queer communities have in abolition? LW: Queer communities have the same stake in prison abolition that anyone interested in social justice does. And when I talk about abolition I don’t mean abolishing any system of control and punishment of, for example, people who assault other citizens, things like that. I just don’t think that with the kind of system of government the United States has at this point that I trust them to be the ones to do that, I think those should be communitybased. I think that for all of us to live a decent life means moving away from hatred and permanent punishment and moving into rehabilitation and justice and communities taking control of what we consider crimes. And I certainly think that for queers that’s true, I mean in the U.S., it still is illegal for queers to marry. In some states it’s not but in the federal system, you just don’t get the same protection as a gay couple that you do as a straight couple. And so what stake do we have in maintaining a system of “justice” that reflects that system? There’s not much. Plus the U.S. criminal system upholds the broader goals of society, and those goals are not about human rights, equality, creativity – they’re about amassing more wealth for the ruling class, and about maintaining an imbalance of power in favor of white people. So that system is not one that we really have a stake in, if we want a different and better kind of society.

PCP: As you know, we’re planning on sharing this interview with folks on the inside that we’re in touch with. Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share with these folks? LW: Just that they’re not forgotten, that there are people who think about them every day, all the time. And that, you know, I think every day about my own experience in prison, it just never leaves you. But I also remember with great love the people who reached into the bars, to touch me, to visit me, to write to me, to send me something. You never forget those people and similarly I don’t forget any of the women I was with in prison and I don’t think any of us ever forget each other. So at the point when you feel you’re the most alone, just know that someone, somewhere is thinking of you. And just one other thing I want to say to people who do the work: it’s what I said before about knowing the conditions that are unique to prison. I just know that for me one of the most frustrating things would be when I tried to tell people on the outside, if you want to write to me this is how you have to do it or if you want to send me a book this is how you have to do it. And they would just ignore it because it didn’t make sense to them. And then I wouldn’t get the book. There were so many examples like that. People on the outside have to understand that what they’re dealing with is not a rational system, it’s a system that’s determined to destroy personalities. […] So I think it’s really important for activists on the outside to know the conditions on the inside [. . .] when you’re inside you sort of want to know that people on the outside see what you’re up against and recognize it. v

The first part of the question about making queers invested in prison issues, I think is mostly about putting faces on who goes to prison. And that’s the constant challenge. In the United States there’s 7.3 million people involved in either prisons, jails, parole, or probation. So putting faces on those people is very challenging – because people see a sea of criminals, that’s all they see. But to try to familiarize each community with the people from their community who are inside, I think can really help. And I also think

At the Heart of Resistance

A SUSTAINABLE CAMPUS? contributed by TAPThirst tapthirst@gmail.com Concordia University has been referred to as a sustainable university, but is this true? We have a university-financed organization, Sustainable Concordia, that alludes to this claim, but have it and other campus groups made a real impact? Last October, we saw people take to the streets protesting PepsiCo’s new five-year exclusivity contract.This was a strong act of student solidarity. Students were dissatisfied with the lack of sustainability of the new university contract, but also with the issue of bottled water on campus. The Environmental Advisory Committee (EAC), a multi-stakeholder group mandated by the VicePresident Services’ office at Concordia, stipulated in May 2010 that future beverage contracts made by the University should be more open, transparent, clear, and democratic. Furthermore, this recommendation stated that bottled water should be removed from vending machines and beverage outlets, and that these distribution outlets should include more environmentally and socially sustainable beverages. Shoulda, coulda, woulda is what the administration might have been thinking, but more likely, they did not even consider the EAC’s recommendations. This is where Concordia comes up short in terms of sustainability. Ten universities across Canada have already committed to banning bottled water. Why should Concordia be next?

sales for reusable drinking bottles and it is clear that the trend towards taking back the tap is on the rise. Therefore, it is now that we need to take action. Concordia has left the issue of bottled water open in terms of whether it stays on the PepsiCo beverage contract or not. Being part of a “sustainable” university places emphasis on the students to cause change for the better of the University, the nation, and worldwide. A referendum question at the end of March asked students whether or not they wanted bottled water on campus. Undergraduate students voted 70% in favour of a ban on its sales on the Concordia campus. According to the current Concordia University Environmental Policy (page 2, paragraph 5):

The University needs to own up to its own mandate and make its campuses more sustainable. The tokenism that comes along with their bureaucratic jargon and no real push for action cannot be tolerated any longer.

“Wherever feasible in terms of financing, sourcing, and availability, the University shall attempt to purchase goods that are ecologically benign, including items that are energy efficient, locally-produced, made from post-consumer recycled and/or renewable materials, are recyclable, non-toxic and/ or organic, should they meet or exceed the requirements as specified by the departmental end users. The University shall also work to consider life cycle costs and impacts when assessing products and equipment for procurement and, when possible, will tender to suppliers that are local and/or committed to environmental sustainability.”

The answer lies hidden behind flashy corporate advertisements that promote bottled water’s faulty benefits. This July, after more than fifteen years of debate, the United Nations General Assembly formally recognized access to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right. This is a gigantic step forward in the battle to halt the privatization of water – water, the essence of all life. Indeed, the recognition that water is a necessity to life and should not be commodified (as bottled water, for example) like so many other natural resources, represents a pivotal shift towards global sustainability. This shift in ideology is reflected in bottled water sales across North America – a 1.0% decrease in 2008 and a 2.5% decrease in 2009. Add to this the increase in

Working Groups Directory

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups (2010-11) Working Groups are the heart of the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) at Concordia in Montreal. Working groups are small groups of volunteers who want to organize around a specific issue, idea, project, or campaign. Groups usually organize around ongoing or long-term issues, though some focus on a particular time-sensitive theme or topic. Many of our working groups contributed material to our inaugural issue of this journal. If you would like to reach any of them or find out more information, check out the directory below: Anarchist Tech Support/ Anarchistes pour des technologies solidaires ats-mtl@riseup.net www.ats-mtl.net

ATS (Anarchist Tech Support, Anarchistes pour des technologies solidaires) is a collective seeking to make the use of technology in our communities more secure and resistant to state surveillance and repression.We do this by researching, distributing tools, skill sharing, and doing popular education on secure technology.

Centre Sociale Autogéré/ Autonomous Social Center info@centresocialautogere.org 514-848-7583 www.centresocialautogere.org

Le projet de centre social autogéré vise à occuper un espace dans le quartier Pointe-St-Charles afin d’en faire un lieu d’activités sociales, culturelles, et politiques autogéré. Différents comités et projets autonomes déjà actifs composent ce projet : bar/spectacles, centre de médias indépendant, atelier vélo-libre, « tube digestif », cinéma itinérant, éducation populaire, etc.

Certain Days Political Prisoner Calendar Committee info@certaindays.org www.certaindays.org

The Certain Days Political Prisoner Calendar Committee works to support, educate about, and fundraise

for political prisoners through the production of a yearly calendar. The calendar is a project produced by organizers in Montreal and Toronto, with the support of three political prisoners in upstate New York. We work with an anti-imperialist, antiracist, feminist, queer and trans positive perspective to help free our movement’s political prisoners.

Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (COBP) cobp@hotmail.com 514-395-9691

The Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COBP) is an autonomous group that includes victims, witnesses, and others who are concerned about police brutality and all abuses perpetuated by the police. The COBP’s goal is not just to denounce harassment, violence, intimidation, arrests, and abuse by the police, but also to raise awareness about our rights, and to support victims of police violence.

Comité soutien Dany Villanueva/Dany Villanueva support committee

solidaritesansfrontieres@gmail.com We are a group of individuals from the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality, the Coalition Against Police Abuse and Repression, No One Is Illegal Montreal, and Solidarity Across Borders, working in solidarity with the Villaneuva family to stop the unjust deportation of Dany Villanueva, and to call for an end to the double punishment of all (im)migrants.

Dignidad Migrante dignidadmigrante@gmail.com 514-848-7583

Colectivo Dignidad Migrante is made up of Spanish-speaking immigrant workers and their allies. Our goals are to: 1) bring together people of this community in Montreal who face injustice and exploitation in their workplaces, whether they have legal working papers or not; 2) create a space where people of this community feel safe to express their anger, frustration, or any feelings at all about their situation; and 3) work together to think of ways to fight the exploitation and injustice faced by immigrant workers, while making sure that everyone in the group feels safe and comfortable with the actions we take (given the fact that many group members have a precarious immigration status).

L’ecole libre radicale/rad school

montreal@ecolelibre-freeschool.org

www.ecolelibre-freeschool.org

The Rad School provides a space for children to pursue their own interests, explore at their own pace, and participate in a democratic community. They are encouraged to learn what they are passionate about, to explore, question, discover, and grow! This working group is focused on making student-centered learning available to everyone, freedom in education for all! If you are interested in getting involved with this project, please visit our website.

Working Groups Directory

End Exploitation cti.iwc@gmail.com 514-342-2111 www.iwc-cti.ca

END EXPLOITATION: Temporary Agency Workers Association is a workers collective actively engaged in connecting foreign and temporary agency workers to unite against workplace injustice. END EXPLOITATION works to end unfair temporary agency practices and ensure quality workplace standards that foster respect, equality, and security for foreign / temporary agency worker communities.

Ethnoculture contact@ethnoculture.org 514-992-5488 www.ethnoculture.org

from an anti-colonial and anticapitalist perspective. We have organized efforts in opposition to the 2010 Olympics, supporting Indigenous-led efforts in particular. We are also active in support of other Indigenous self-determination efforts, including direct solidarity work with communities in Kanesatake, Akwesasne, Tyendinaga, Kahnawake, Six Nations, Grassy Narrows, as well as Churchill Falls, Labrador.

Justice for the Victims of Police Killings 22oct.mtl@gmail.com 514-848-7583 www.22octobre.wordpress.com

Ethnoculture is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run organization whose sole mandate is to organize events addressing social, political, cultural, and economic issues of concern to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) ethnic and racialized minorities and Two-Spirited people living in Montreal and beyond.

Justice for the Victims of Police Killings is a coalition of family and friends of victims of police killings in Montreal that are demanding justice for their loved ones. The coalition plans an annual march, a vigil, and popular education against police violence and killings in Montreal. The march is family-led and familyfriendly, demanding truth and justice for those who have lost loved ones to police violence.

Haiti Action Montreal nikbarryshaw@yahoo.ca 514-679-0061 www.canadahaitiaction.ca

Montreal Anarchist Bookfair info@salonanarchiste.ca 514-679-5800 www.anarchistbookfair.ca

Haiti Action Montreal was founded in 2005 to shed light on Canada’s role in Haiti’s 2004 coup d’etat and the grave human rights abuses that followed.We work to oppose Canadian government policy in Haiti, as well as the destructive actions of many corporations, NGOs, and the UN occupation while building links of solidarity between ordinary Haitians and Canadians.

Indigenous Solidarity Committee indigenoussolidaritymontreal@gmail.com

514-848-7583

www.indigenoussolidaritymontreal.net

The Montreal Indigenous Solidarity Committee of the People’s Global Action (PGA) Bloc works in direct solidarity with Indigenous organizers and communities fighting for land, freedom, and self-determination,

The Montreal Anarchist Bookfair and month-long Festival of Anarchy (May 2010) - bring together anarchist ideas and practice, through words, images, music, theatre, and day-today struggles for justice, dignity, and collective liberation. The Bookfair and Festival are as much for people who don’t necessarily consider themselves anarchists, but are curious about anarchism, as they are spaces for anarchists to meet, network, and share in a spirit of respect and solidarity. All are welcome. Curious about anarchism? Come check us out! “No gods, no masters; no bosses, no borders!” 16

Montreal Childcare Collective childcarecollective@riseup.net 514-848-7583

.www.childcarecollective.blogspot.com

The Childcare Collective offers strategic childcare in response to the fact that childcare is frequently overlooked and underappreciated. We aim to assist parents, caregivers, youth, and children, including but not limited to low-income communities, non-status and immigrant communities of colour, and queer and trans communities.

Montreal Sound Team/ Équipe Sonore equipesonore@riseup.net 514-848-7583

www.equipesonore.wordpress.com É q u i p e S o n o r e / Soundteam provides s o u n d services for Montreal-area community groups that cannot afford to pay professional rates. We build, maintain, and operate PA systems for community events, rallies, conferences, and performances. We also strive to disseminate and democratize the technical knowledge of audio production systems. Our purpose is to support people’s grassroots initiatives and act in the interests of communities and their struggles for economic and political justice.

Not in Our Name - Concordia

notinournameconcordia@gmail.com

514-848-7583

Not In Our Name - Concordia is a group formed to actively support antiapartheid organizing on our campus. Through the group, we strive to counter the often-expressed notions that equate all Jews with Zionism, and that understand an Israeli Apartheid analysis or Palestinian solidarity organizing as anti-Semitism. As Jews and as activists, as students and as community members, we are committed to fighting oppression in all its forms. With this in mind,

Working Groups Directory

we oppose anti-Semitism while at the same time recognizing the nature of Israel as an apartheid system that oppresses Palestinians. In our struggles against oppression we find it most important to decry oppression perpetrated in our name. Thus, as Jews, we organize against Israeli Apartheid. Not in our name.

Open Door Books bookstoprisoners@gmail.com 514-848-7583

www.opendoorbooks.wordpress.com The Open Door Books ( O D B ) collective is part of an informal network of Books to Prisoners programs throughout North America. ODB seeks to support and work in solidarity with imprisoned communities. We believe that prisons and the (in)justice system act as institutions of social control and oppression, further targeting marginalized communities as a result of patriarchy, racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ableism, and an ongoing history of colonization.

Parc X Citizens’ Committee parcext@gmail.com 514-209-1279 www.parc-ex.wikispot.org

The Committee is a group of residents of Park-Extension who are working, in a friendly spirit, to improve the place they live in and the community they belong to and to highlight its diversity. The Citizens’ Committee sets up action groups to deal with different issues and is interested in debates about the neighbourhood and will mobilize the population to defend its best interests.

People’s Commission Network commissionpopulaire@gmail.com 514-848-7583 www.peoplescommission.org

The People’s Commission Network is a Montreal network monitoring and opposing the “national security agenda.” The network is a space for individuals and groups who face oppression in the name of “national security” - such as indigenous people, immigrants, racialized communities, radical political organizations, labour unions, and their allies, to form alliances, share information, and coordinate strategies to defend their full rights and dignity.

Prisoner Correspondence Project info@prisonercorrespondenceproject.com

514-848-7583

www.prisonercorrespondenceproject.com

The Prisoner Correspondence Project is a collectively-run initiative based out of Montreal, Quebec. It coordinates a direct-correspondence program for gay, lesbian, transsexual, transgender, gendervariant, twospirit, intersex, bisexual and queer inmates in Canada and the United States, linking these inmates with people who are part of these same communities outside of prison. In addition, it coordinates a resource library of information regarding harm reduction practice, HIV and HEPC prevention, homophobia, transphobia, coming out, etc. The project also aims to make prisoner justice and prisoner solidarity a priority within queer movements on the outside.

Project X info@theprojectx.ca 514-848-7583 www.theprojectx.ca

Project X is a community-based group that’s mission is to give all of those affected by racial profiling from ‘authorities’ a chance to speak their minds. We already know that racial profiling in Montreal (and across the world) is a big problem and a lot of authority figures are abusing their powers. We’re collecting testimonials to see how you feel about the police in Montreal, and gather information on how they’re treating people in our neighborhoods. We also have a workshop put together on knowing your rights AND on knowing what to do when your rights aren’t respected (which we know they often aren’t). CONTACT US if you have any testimonials you want to share, or if you want us to give a workshop at your community centre or schools.

Qteam qteam@riseup.net 514-848-7583 www.qteam.org

Qteam is a radical queer collective that organizes around the intersections of oppressions and strives to consciously unsubscribe from the corporate versions of queerness that devalue our realities. Qteam has been a working group of QPIRG Mcgill and QPIRG Concordia for the past four years. Qteam began in 2007 and was originally an initiative of members of the Anti-Capitalist Ass Pirates. Qteam does queer, anti-racist, anti-oppressive programming and solidarity work with other struggles throughout Montreal and beyond.

Working Groups Directory

Radical Reference radrefmtl@riseup.net www.radrefmtl.wordpress.com

Radical Reference is a collective that supports activist communities, progressive organizations, and independent journalists by providing experienced research, support, education, and access to information. Services include online reference, workshops and training, and street reference.

Recon recon.ftc@gmail.com 514-848-7583

Re-Con is a prisoner-initiated working group created in 1999 by lifers, long-term prisoners, and volunteers at the Federal Training Centre penitentiary in Laval, Quebec. Re-Con aims at establishing positive links with various communities and attempts to diminish the effects of long term incarceration.An additional goal of Re-Con is to counter the negative perceptions that are often held toward those incarcerated.

Résovélo velovelo@qpirgconcordia.org 514-848-7583 www.velovelo.org

RésoVélo is an umbrella group that provides resources and assistance to bicycle collectives and community bicycle shops on the Island of Montreal. Our main event is the yearly Vélo! Vélo! bicycle collective conference. Current members of Vélo! Vélo! include representatives of Vélogik, Right to Move/La voie libre, and Caravane.

Right to Move/La Voie Libre righttomove@gmail.com 514-999-4885 www.rtm-lvl.org

Right to M o v e ( R T M ) operates a publicaccess, drop-in, volunteer-staffed, DIY bicycle maintenance workshop providing materials, guidance, and the instruction needed to encourage as many people as possible to cycle. RTM can be found on the Concordia Campus (SGW).

Solidarity Across Borders

solidaritesansfrontieres@gmail.com

514-848-7583 www.solidarityacrossborders.org

Solidarity Across Borders is a Montrealb a s e d network engaged in the struggle for justice and dignity of immigrants and refugees. We are comprised of migrants, immigrants, refugees, and allies, and come together in support of our main demands: the regularization of all non-status people (Status for All!), an end to deportations and detentions, an end to double punishment, and the abolition of security certificates. We organize not on the basis of pity or charity, but rather solidarity and mutual aid.

Ste-Emilie Skillshare mtlskillshare@gmail.com 514-848-7583 www.steemilieskillshare.org

Based in M o n t r e a l ’s Southwest, the Ste-Émilie Skillshare is a politicized community art space run by a collective of trans people, queers, and people of colour. We are artists and activists, working together within an anti-oppression framework and moving towards social transformation. As historically marginalized people, sharing our art and skills are revolutionary acts as the art we produce can be used as a tool for political change. Functionally, the Skillshare hosts a paper and fabric silkscreen studio, a black and white darkroom, sewing machines, and a multi-functional space that plays host to meetings, vernissages, and parties. Everyone is welcome.

TAPthirst tapthirst@gmail.com 514-848-7583 www.tapthirst.blogspot.com

TAPthirst (Tap drinkers against privatization) is an initiative dedicated to promoting awareness of the social, environmental, and monetary costs of the bottled water industry, as well as issues of water privatization on a global scale. We aim to empower people at a grassroots level by supplying them with the information and tools necessary to question the commodification of water and its effect on our communities as well as the world at large. In doing this we hope to bring people one step closer to ethical water consumption and help to avoid the privatization of a natural resource.

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups Journal - April 2011

ANSWERS FOR THOSE WHO QUESTION AUTHORITY contributed by Radical Reference www.radrefmtl.wordpress.com a growing group of concerned librarians, students, and volunteers. On October 23, 2010 we joined in solidarity and support for a commemorative march for justice for the victims of police violence (see http://22octobre.wordpress.com/). We took to the streets and made our first attempts at providing street reference to those participating in the march. Soon after, we collaborated with another collective to provide a workshop for a group that normally lacks access to computers and the internet. The services we seek to provide include online reference, workshops and training, and street reference. Our main concern, however, is finding out what questions are being asked or what needs are left unsatisfied among activists. We work in a collaborative setting and are dedicated to information activism to foster a more egalitarian society. RadRef Montreal is the first Canadian chapter of the Radical Reference collective. The umbrella group has a number of US-based local collectives that span from Massachusetts to California. Radical Reference originated as a service provided by volunteer library workers to assist demonstrators at the convergence surrounding the Republican National Convention in New York City in 2004. It is very exciting to bring this group across the border, and we look forward to both aiding Radical Reference groups to start in other Canadian cities and to collaborating with our American counterparts.

Information activism. It is the best phrase to describe the work that the Montreal chapter of Radical Reference (RadRef Montreal) seeks to provide. Many individuals are working towards creating a just, egalitarian society. Unfortunately, lack of time to complete research, limited access to resources and expertise, and lack of knowledge and access to similar work being done, all act as hurdles to social justice work.

We seek to connect and support activist communities, progressive organizations, and independent journalists by providing experienced research, support, education, and access to information - particularly resources in Montreal that are otherwise rarely used.

RadRef Montreal seeks to aid activists, independent journalists, and those who lack access to information due to social inequity to overcome these challenges. RadRef Montreal’s focus is on social justice and equality in our own community. We seek to connect and support activist communities, progressive organizations, and independent journalists by providing experienced research, support, education, and access to information - particularly resources in Montreal that are otherwise rarely used. The idea to start the first Canadian collective of Radical Reference came about in early 2010. By the fall we had formed

For winter 2011, we are putting together workshops to support students involved with CURE (Community-University Research Exchange), as well as workshops to support QPIRG McGill’s Social Justice Days. We will also be tabling at the Salon de la Marginalité and the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair, and answering all of your questions! Please check out our website where you can view our on-going projects and submit any questions you might have: http://radrefmtl.wordpress.com/. v 19

At the Heart of Resistance

BASIC SOUND SYSTEM TERMINOLOGY contributed by Montreal Sound Team www.equipesonore.wordpress.com

The basic job of a sound system (AKA a public address, or PA system) is to take a quiet sound in at one end and turn it into a louder sound at the other end. In between, the sound signal passes through a few devices. Sound systems vary in complexity, but the basic components are usually about the same.

XLR (aka mic cable): In sound systems, XLR refers to cables with three-pin connectors. This connector type is used widely in microphones, as well as in some speakers and other devices. By convention, XLR connectors are gendered male and female. A typical XLR cable will have a male connector on one end and a female connector on the other. In the Soundteam PA, XLR is mostly used to hook up mics to the mixer and to connect the mixer to the speakers.

INPUT SOURCES: This is where the sound played through the PA system comes from.Typical sources include microphones (or mics), which capture sound waves from the world and transform them into electronic signals, as well as playback devices (mp3 players, computers, tape decks, etc). MIXER: The “main control panel” of the sound system. Sound sources (e.g. microphones, music players, computers) are connected to the mixer, where their signals are combined. A number of aspects of these signals can be adjusted on the mixer, including volume.The sound is then sent out to the speakers.

RCA (aka phono cable, AV cable): Typically used to hook up consumer audiovisual devices (TVs, DVD players, CD and tape decks, record players, etc). RCA cables are colour coded. By convention, white is the left audio channel, red is right audio, and yellow is video. In the Soundteam PA, RCA is mostly used to hook up things like mp3 players to the mixer. 1/4” (aka instrument cable): These have a cylindrical connector on the end. They are sometimes also referred to as TS (TipSleeve) or TRS (Tip-Ring-Sleeve). The abbreviations refer to the conductive parts of the connectors. In the Soundteam PA, 1/4” is mostly used to hook up the mixer to the speakers.

SPEAKERS: Also known as loudspeakers or, in the case of the type Soundteam has, mids (referring to the sound frequencies they cover). These turn the electronic signal from the mixer back into sound. In order for the signal to be strong enough to produce loud sound from the speakers, it has to be boosted by being run through an amplifier (or amp). Speakers which have an amp built into their enclosure are called active speakers. A common example of this all-in-one-box design is desktop computer speakers. There are also passive speakers; in this case, the amp is in a separate box. An example of this type of system is a component home stereo system. Soundteam’s PA system has a pair of active speakers.

1/8” (aka headphone cable): Most commonly seen on headphones. Looks like a miniature version of 1/4” cable. In the Soundteam PA, 1/8” is mostly used to hook up mp3 players and computers to the mixer. AC power: Used to get electrical power from an outlet to a device. Our sound system has three parts that need power: the mixer and the two speakers. v

CABLES: There are a few different types of cables that are used to hook up sound system components. Each cable type is mostly associated with a particular type of device, but there’s some overlap, too. 20

QPIRG Concordia Working Groups Journal - April 2011

STOP NIOCAN: NO MINING ON STOLEN LAND! contributed by the Indigenous Solidarity Committee www.indigenoussolidaritymontreal.net planed by Niocan Inc. Niocan Inc. is a Quebec-owned and operated company that has, since 1994, invested money in an attempt to develop a mining operation on disputed land in the territory of Kanehsatake. The people of Kanehsatake and their non-native neighbours are very concerned about the possible dangerous health consequences and environmental damage this operation will have.

Niocan Inc., a Montreal-based mining corporation, is at the final stages of approval for their “Oka Project,” a toxic niobium mine to be developed within traditional Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) territories. Community members in Kanehsatake and Oka have taken a clear stance on this issue – they say the destructive project will not be tolerated! The mine has serious environmental risks – contamination of the air, soil, and water – which threaten the health of local residents as well as the agricultural livelihood of the many farmers in the area.

Particularly Kanehsatake is concerned for the destruction of both the water table and the possible hazardous runoff into the Lake of Two Mountains and its associated wetlands. The Kanien’kehá:ka of Kanehsatake are concerned with the lack of information on the impact that such a mining operation will have on the ecosystem. Although Niocan has submitted impact studies to the Government of Quebec, they have not looked beyond their proposed period of operation into the future once they are done pillaging these resources from Kanehsatake’s land.

Waste from the operation will be released into the local water system; the water table will also be used to supply the project. The far-reaching effects of all of these disturbances to the local agriculture and way of life cannot be understated. Furthermore, the materials left behind in slags and tailings after the projected seventeen-year operation will continue to negatively impact the environment and future generations. In April 2000, 62% of the Parish of Oka voted against Niocan’s project.

The Canadian Government has once again failed the people of Kanehsatake by not taking proper action to deal fairly with Kanehsatake and its current struggle with Niocan. Furthermore the Canadian Government is negligent in its responsibility to resolve the outstanding land issue in Kanehsatake that includes the area Niocan Inc. wants to develop. The Canadian Government has readily acknowledged that they have been negligent in allowing the theft and selling of our lands to non-natives. However, the Canadian Government has recently changed it policy and has forced compensation in lieu of returning land to Indigenous people. Both the Kanehsatake’s Traditional People and the Band Council are not in favor of monetary compensation.v

Approval of this project would be a serious encroachment on Kanien’kehá:ka traditional territory, a threat to the vibrant agricultural economy of the region, and a violation of the rights of all local residents to health and security. Therefore, in alliance with the communities of Kanehsatake and Oka, we commit ourselves to opposing Niocan Inc.’s Oka Project by all means at our disposal. We demand that the proposal be rejected by the governments of Quebec and Canada, and specifically the Quebec Ministry of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Parks. Furthermore, we call on all investors in Niocan Inc. to divest their holdings in the company.

The Kanienkehaka (Mohawk) of Kanehsatake are steadfast in their resistance and refusal to the proposed mining operation planed by Niocan Inc.

We include below the text of a pamphlet produced by members of the Kanehstake Mohawk community in opposition to the Niocan mine.

NO MINING ON STOLEN LAND! KANIENKEHAKA (MOHAWKS) OF KANEHSATAKE SAY NO TO NIOCAN INC. The Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) of Kanehsatake are steadfast in their resistance and refusal to the proposed mining operation

KANEHSATAKE LAND HAS NO PRICE AND IS NOT FOR SALE! NO TO NIOCAN! NO TO DESTRUCTIVE MINING!

At the Heart of Resistance

STATUS FOR ALL! SOLIDARITY CITY contributed by Solidarity Across Borders www.solidarityacrossborders.org By demanding Status for All we want to break the fear and isolation associated with the reality of being a non-status person. A Status for All demand rejects the divide-and-rule tactics used by the state to classify migrants as “deserving” versus “undeserving,” or “good” versus “bad” immigrants. We aim to create genuine solidarity and support between all migrants, whether they are new immigrants, undocumented workers, refugees, or temporary workers.

The following text is an excerpt from a longer pamphlet produced by Solidarity Across Borders, a migrant justice network based in Montreal, active since 2003. STATUS FOR ALL! Status for All means that we demand a full, comprehensive, and ongoing regularization program for all people living in Montreal, Quebec, and Canada who do not have full status (ie. permanent residence or citizenship). “Regularization” programs have been called “amnesties” in other countries, but we prefer not to use that term, since migrants don’t need to be excused or pardoned for exercising completely legitimate and understandable choices to migrate to another part of the world, whether for economic or political reasons.

Simply put, Status for All means that all residents of Canada will get the documentation they need (to be permanent residents and citizens) so they can access all services and have recourse to all the same rights as anyone else. Essentially, Status for All means we struggle and organize so that all residents, regardless of their origins, can have full dignity as human beings.

Undocumented migrants and temporary workers are the most exploited in the workplace and in society. Their existence creates a fundamentally unjust reality within our communities, whereby some people are able to access basic rights and services – like education, health care and workers’ protections - and others cannot. An individual who is nonstatus, or who does not have full status as a resident, can be more easily exploited because they live in fear of being deported or removed. They often live their lives within our communities in fear and isolation.

“SOLIDARITY CITY” For thousands of undocumented immigrants across the country, cities such as Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver are sweatshops. Immigrants and refugees work the most precarious and dangerous jobs. The Canadian economy cannot survive without this work force that is exploited due to the lack of permanent status and the threat of forced removal.

Everyone living here should be able to attend school free of charge, regardless of their immigration status. We are in favor of universal education for all, from kindergarten to university, and defend accessible education at all levels and for all people.

These undocumented people are our neighbours, our colleagues, our classmates, and our friends. They are people whose only “crime” was to migrate in the search for a better life for themselves and their family. Too often non-status migrants do not have access to essential services such as health care, education, or social services. Or, they might never dare enter a hospital, clinic, or food bank for fear that their status be revealed to the authorities.

In the past, providing rights and services to some people, while systematically denying those rights and services to others, was justified by appeals to racism, or false ideas of cultural superiority or exclusivity. But, in the twenty-first century, providing rights and services to some but not others is a hallmark of apartheid. Individuals and families migrate for completely understandable reasons. By demanding Status for All we reject global apartheid and internal apartheid, and instead stand in solidarity with migrants.

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We demand that:

•

everyone living here should have access to free health care in clinics, CLSCs, and hospitals. Medical facilities should never ask for information on immigration status. Instead, they should work to provide appropriate and respectful treatments. We want health care to be accessible to all and support efforts to defend the public health care system. everyone living here should be able to attend school free of charge, regardless of their - or their parents - immigration status. We are in favor of universal education for all, from kindergarten to university, and defend accessible education at all levels and for all people. the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) should not have any right to enter and arrest migrants in hospitals, clinics, shelters, schools, or any space providing essential services; ultimately, the CBSA should not be welcome anywhere in our communitites. any person living here should have access to social housing, food banks, unemployment benefits, and any other social welfare regardless of immigration status.

•

building the capacity of our mutual aid and support networks over the long-term; holding decision-makers directly accountable for their actions and policies; using direct action to achieve justice.v

Join us! 514 848 7583 - solidaritesansfrontieres@gmail.com

A Solidarity City is the creation of a community that rejects a system that engenders poverty and anguish, not solely for immigrants and refugees, but also for other Montrealers confronting these same realities. We are opposing fear, isolation, precarity, and division. We strike back with solidarity, mutual aid, support work, and direct action. The “Solidarity City” campaign is an attempt to generalize and broaden some key organizing principles that have been applied in migrant justice work in Montreal: •

• •

breaking isolation and fear; attempting to network and unify around common, direct, and straightforward demands (ie. status for all, as well as opposition to deportations and detentions); practicing tangible mutual aid and solidarity (support work) in opposition to charity or “service” approaches; organizing campaigns arising from on-the-ground realities;

image by Emy Storey

At the Heart of Resistance

STOP THE DEPORTATION OF DANY VILLANUEVA contributed by the Dany Villenueva Support Committee www.solidarityacrossborders.org/dany witnessed in the shooting death of his younger brother. In Spring 2010, Immigration and Refugee Board Commissioner, Louis Dubé, ordered Dany’s removal from Canada. Dany is appealing his removal order on April 4th and 5th, 2011.

“They have already taken the life of my youngest son...now they want to take away my other son!” -Lillian Villanueva, January 2010 In August of 2008, Dany Villanueva was a key witness in the police killing of his unarmed younger brother, Fredy Villanueva. Two others were shot and survived; all three were unarmed youth of colour. The shootings led to a massive public outcry in the community and across the city, decrying the violence of racial profiling faced by immigrant communities and communities of colour. The Villanueva family has led an uphill struggle against the police and the city ever since in an attempt to reveal the truth of these events, and to secure a coroner’s inquest, which is still ongoing.

The removal proceedings against Dany place an unbearable burden on the entire Villanueva family. They must not only remain vigilant in seeking justice for the death of their son and brother Fredy, but they must now, at the same time, struggle against the deportation of another son and brother. The loss of life of one son and a life in exile of another will do irreparable damage to the well-being of the Villanueva family. The deportation order against Dany means that he faces forcible separation from his family and loved ones; it means being ripped from his life in Montreal, and destroying the aspirations and dreams that he has cultivated here. Dany should not be deported to Honduras, a country that he barely knows, having lived in Canada with his family since age twelve. Dany has been a Permanent Resident of Canada since 1998. He is a Montrealer.

The deportation order against Dany means that he faces forcible separation from his family and loved ones; it means being ripped from his life in Montreal, and destroying the aspirations and dreams that he has cultivated here.

The strength of the Villanuevas in their struggle for justice has not gone unpunished. Just as the family was in the final stages of securing the inquest in August 2009, Dany received a letter informing him of his pending deportation from Canada for a crime for which he had already served time in 2006. In Rue Frontenac in October 2010, it was revealed through use of the Access to Information Act, that a new immigration file on Dany was opened as a direct result of the family’s fight to secure the coroner’s inquest. This demonstrates that if there was no inquest there would be no deportation hearings for Dany.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO DEPORT DANY VILLANUEVA? DOUBLE PUNISHMENT, TWO-TIERED JUSTICE AND RACIAL PROFILING Dany Villanueva has paid his debt to society. Dany has already been punished by the criminal justice system for his previous criminal conviction, having served a sentence in 2006. Under Canadian law however, people without Canadian citizenship are continually faced with the threat of double punishment - which punishes someone a second time for the same charge by forcing them to leave their life here by deportation. In most cases, you may not return unless you have written permission from the Government of Canada.This order is usually issued for serious matters, such as a security threat or a serious violation of Canada’s immigration law.” “Double punishment” means that poor and at-risk migrant and immigrant youth who have spent the majority of their lives in Canada are deported back to countries they left as children. The

In January 2010, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) began their attempt to remove Dany’s Permanent Resident status in order to deport him to Honduras where he has not resided since he was a child. This timing was highly suspicious since the dates corresponded very closely to Dany’s upcoming eye witness testimonial at the coroner’s inquest into his brother Fredy’s death. Due to this timing, as Dany’s testimony was taking place, the city lawyers as well as the mainstream media were engaged in a largescale character attack, focusing on his supposed “criminality” and his pending deportation, rather than on the events that he had 24

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penal system touts the principle of “rehabilitation,” yet it seems to be reserved only for Canadian citizens. The justice system is two-tiered depending on someone’s status.

Additionally, Canada’s refugee acceptance rates have dropped to half of what they were two decades ago. The obstruction of asylum seekers has been accompanied by a persistent media relations campaign that targets refugees as bogus, as liars, and as criminals who are conniving to get the riches of the North. Yet, Canada has a major role in creating refugees in many countries around the world.

DOUBLE PUNISHMENT IS RACIAL PROFILING. Recent documentation, including a leaked study conducted internally by the Service de Police de la ville de Montreal (SPVM), demonstrates that racial profiling is endemic in Montreal. The neighbourhoods with the highest concentration of people of colour, such as Montreal Nord, St-Michel, Parc-Extension, and Côte-des-Neiges, are overly-policed and criminalized. These are also the neighbourhoods with the highest concentrations of migrants. This means that the racist targeting of these communities not only forces a disproportionate amount of poor people of colour into the criminal justice system, but also into immigration proceedings. Youth of colour are both over-policed and over-jailed, but also threatened with removal from the country if they do not have Canadian citizenship. We’ve already seen the brutal face of racial profiling in the shooting of Dany Villanueva’s unarmed brother Fredy, and the deportation facing Dany Villanueva is merely another side of Canadian state racism.

Under the Safe-Third Country Agreement, signed by Canada and the US in 2002, the government has also barred people from applying for refugee status in Canada if they have gone to the United States first, in order to fortify borders and justify the socalled “War on Terror” agenda. But refugees and migrants often don’t have a choice of the route they take to flee. The CanadianUS border is being increasingly militarized with drone planes, infrared radar, and, since 2009, armed border guards. Ottawa has adopted the role of the northern sector of the US Border Patrol in the so-called national security agenda of Fortress North America that maintains the walls of global apartheid. Over the last 10 years, deportations have doubled in Canada, with approximately 13,000 deportations annually. Thousands of families who have lived here for years face the threat of detention, being uprooted from their home in Canada, dispossessed, and forced into displacement once again.

WHY WE FIGHT THE IMMIGRATION SYSTEM The Canadian government makes migration serve the needs of Canadian business, and it is moving away from promoting citizenship, family reunification, and the universal right of asylum. Immigrants have historically been the shock absorbers for the capitalist economy, and migrants are seen and used as labourers to help the Canadian economy, not people with the right to live and work with dignity and without fear.

A deportation order hides the policies that force people to migrate in the first place – the western-manufactured armed conflicts; the wars of aggression in pursuit of oil and other natural resources; the repressive regimes backed by first world “democracy-loving” governments; climate change, destructive mining projects, and land grabs. These atrocities can be traced back to our capitalist economies, consumerist lifestyles, and imperial interests.

The Canadian immigration regime is based on a point system to select new immigrants (skilled workers) who are rated on their level of education, their profession, language proficiency, and financial status. The list of professions under which people can apply for permanent residency has been reduced to from 351 to 38 professions in the last year.This effectively bars thousands from applying for immigration. It is also a system that systematically excludes the poor.

We don’t have to accept business as usual. Defending Dany’s right to stay here is defending everyone’s rights to decide to live in dignity. Solidarity in struggle is our power! v INFO: www.solidarityacrossborders.org/dany 25

At the Heart of Resistance

WE REMEMBER, WE SUPPORT contributed by Justice for the Victims of Police Killings www.22octobre.net The Justice for the Victims of Police Killings Coalition in Montreal brings together directly-affected families and friends of the victims of police killings, as well as their allies. Our main goals and purpose as a coalition are to REMEMBER the victims who lost their lives due to police violence, impunity, and abuse; and to SUPPORT their families and friends in any way we can. This initiative came out of the Forum Against Police Violence and Impunity in January of 2010, during which the families expressed their desire to come together to remember their loved ones and strengthen their respective struggles for dignity, justice, and the truth. The symbolic date of October 22nd was subsequently chosen for a family-friendly march to commemorate the victims of police killings to coincide with the National Day of Protest in the United States organized by the October 22nd Coalition to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation, which has been mobilizing every year since 1996.

Top (l-r): BEN MATSON, 49, killed by Vancouver police in 2002; CLAUDIO CASTAGNETTA, 32, died while in detention after an arrest by Quebec City police in 2007; FREDY VILLANUEVA, 18, killed by Montreal police in 2008.

Sixty-three people have been killed in Montreal alone by the police between 1987 and 2010. Three hundred people were killed or seriously wounded by police since 1999 in the province of Quebec. Out of these cases only two cops were charged, but subsequently acquitted. v

Bottom (l-r): QUILEM REGISTRE, 39, died as a result of a Montreal police taser attack in 2007; GLADYS TOLLEY, 61, was killed in 2001 after being struck by a SQ police cruiser on the Kitigan Zibi reserve; ANAS BENNIS, 25, killed by the Montreal police in 2005.

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At the Heart of Resistance

COMMENTAIRE SUR LA SOLIDARITÉ POLICIÈRE ET SUR LES CRIMES QUI EN DÉCOULENT contribution du Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (COBP) www.cobp.resist.ca

Mais voilà qu’il semble que cette protection mutuelle brouille la relation que les policiers entretiennent avec la loi, testant ses limites, fermant les yeux sur des illégalités quand c’est dans leur intérêt, et même en étant à sa source (nous n’avons qu’à penser aux agents provocateurs du sommet de Montebello en 2007). La solidarité et l’entraide, alors qu’elles devraient être des aspects positifs d’une société, deviennent dangereuses lorsqu’elles s’appliquent entre policiers, et menace quiconque ne se plie pas à leurs règles non-dites.

Lorsqu’il est question du sentiment d’appartenance au sein des forces policières, multiples sociologues et criminologues s’entendent pour faire état de l’existence d’une véritable culture policière au sein des services d’ordre. Celle-ci découle du milieu fermé de la profession, ce qui se traduit par une haute notion de solidarité policière, un resserrement du cercle des fréquentations ou du taux élevé de mariages internes (en 1996, 80% des 495 policières du SPCUM avaient choisi un policier pour conjoint). Cette culture est probablement à la base de la loi du silence qui règne chez les policiers et qui les encourage à se protéger entre eux, coûte que coûte et elle est accompagnée, entre autres, de valeurs qui tolèrent des préjugés racistes, sexistes, homophobes, ou conservateurs. Le problème, c’est aussi que les critiques qui surviennent face aux comportements encouragés par ces préjugés se heurtent à un profond déni («Nous, les policiers, on est honnêtes») et perpétuent le repli sur soi de la police.

Ainsi, l’apothéose de la solidarité policière réside dans le fait qu’un policier peut, par une erreur de jugement, une peur injustifiée, un geste haineux, ou un abus de force, en arriver à tuer un innocent non armé, falsifier son rapport, bénéficier d’un congé payé par la CSST, et retourner à son poste habituel et porter son arme sans jamais n’avoir eu affaire aux accusations criminelles qu’il aurait été légitime de lui porter.

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dirigés par un civil. Nous voulons un vrai chef. Un chef, ça doit nous équiper, nous former contre tous les ‘’dénigrants’’ de notre fonction et de notre profession ». En s’évertuant à fortifier son rôle d’agente de l’impunité policière, en tentant avec zèle de faire annuler des enquêtes publiques et des condamnations, la Fraternité va beaucoup plus loin que la simple représentation syndicale : elle rend les policiers audessus des lois et de leur propre code déontologique. Quand des policiers commettent des crimes, c’est toute un arsenal qui s’enclenche derrière eux afin de leur éviter le moindre blâme, sous prétexte que d’entacher l’image d’un policier nuit à la perception que l’opinion publique a du travail policier, et constituerait donc en soi un obstacle à la sécurité publique. Mais est-ce que ces mesures sont bénéfiques pour la société ? Doit-on traiter les policiers comme une classe à part qui peut se poser en dehors de toute question légale ?

Pourquoi? Parce que l’enquête, qui doit déterminer si le policier a agit en légitime défense ou s’il doit être accusé pour ensuite être jugé convenablement, est laissée à la discrétion de d’autres policiers. Et, il faut savoir que ce n’est que depuis 1987, suite à la mort injuste d’Anthony Griffin, que les enquêtes menées sur les décès survenus lors d’intervention policière doivent être faite par un autre service policier que celui impliqué. Mais cette politique est-elle suffisante pour évacuer le conflit d’intérêt qui sous-tend ces enquêtes? Non, surtout quand on sait que le concept de la solidarité policière transcende les corps policiers et maintient une partialité dans les enquêtes policières.

La solidarité et l’entraide, alors qu’elles devraient être des aspects positifs d’une société, deviennent dangereuses lorsqu’elles s’appliquent entre policiers, et menace quiconque ne se plie pas à leurs règles non-dites.

Comme si ce n’était pas assez, il existe toute un dispositif qui s’empresse de défendre et développer les «intérêts économiques, sociaux, et moraux de ces membres», agissant à titre de lobby et donnant une toute autre perspective au syndicalisme : c’est la Fraternité des Policiers et Policières de Montréal qui depuis quelques décennies déjà a décidé que son rôle ne se restreignait plus à prodiguer des services à ses membres. Elle est, en fait, devenue une véritable machine de guerre qui se déploie contre quiconque s’attaque à l’image de ses policiers et leur procure des avocats pour les défendre en toutes circonstances. La Fraternité semble aussi détenir un pouvoir démesuré sur la direction du SPVM. À titre d’exemple, en 1991, Marcellus François mourrait d’une balle dans la tête tiré par l’agent Michel Tremblay, mais c’était une erreur sur la personne, la victime et le suspect recherché n’ayant de commun que la couleur noire de leur peau. Devant ce crime que plusieurs considère à caractère raciste, le directeur du SPVM de l’époque, Alain St-Germain, avait critiqué l’opération policière et avait muté le policier dans un autre service pour «erreur de jugement», ce qui, en soit, n’est certainement pas une punition à la hauteur de la faute commise, mais outrée, la Fraternité fit descendre plus de 2000 policiers dans les rue de Montréal, exigeant la démission du directeur qu’elle obtenue par la suite. Les discours prononcés s’en prenaient à lui d’une manière inquiétante : « Ce n’est pas une police, il n’a pas de sang de police dans les veines. Nous sommes

Depuis 1987 à Montréal, plus de soixante personnes sont mortes lors d’une intervention policière, et il est juste de se demander si le sentiment d’impunité qui règne à cause de cette culture ne serait pas à la base de ces meurtres. Pour en faire la démonstration, le COBP sortira prochainement un document de recherche sur cette soixantaine de cas où, plus souvent qu’autrement, des accusations policières auraient dû être portées contre les policiers impliqués afin qu’ils ne soient plus exempts de la justice et ne serait-ce que pour faire ressortir la vérité parmi les irrégularités, les preuves cachées, et les témoignages contradictoires qui ponctuent les enquêtes de la police sur la police. v

At the Heart of Resistance

A COMMUNITY ADVISORY: IF CSIS COMES KNOCKING contributed by The People’s Commission Network www.peoplescommission.org Since the fall of 2009 there have been ongoing visits by members of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) to various local social justice organizers and activists. These visits are in addition to CSIS’ ongoing harassment of targeted communities. This community advisory from the People’s Commission Network is in response to those visits.

Insist they provide their names, and don’t say, or listen to, anything else. You are under no legal obligation, ever, to confirm your identity with CSIS. Sometimes CSIS agents might begin speaking to you and only later identify themselves. In that case, if you are taken by surprise, we encourage you to refuse to continue speaking with CSIS. You can always default back to being silent. In dealing with security services, silence is the golden rule.

Visits by CSIS and the RCMP to activists are nothing new; they have taken place before around specific events or projects. In general, these visits can have different purposes: they are not only about information-gathering but can also be attempts to create or exploit divisions between activists, plant misinformation, intimidate, develop psychological profiles, and recruit informers.

In all cases, you are encouraged to tell CSIS to leave your home or workplace or cease following you. Tell CSIS clearly to leave, in whatever fashion you feel is appropriate. You can insist they leave, to the point of closing doors in their face.

If CSIS comes knocking, we strongly encourage total and complete non-cooperation. A CSIS visit to your home or workplace will be a surprise, but we encourage you to be ready to not cooperate with them in any way, which means not speaking with them or listening to them.

Remember, although CSIS can act in very ugly ways, it has no arrest or policing powers. We encourage you to get in touch with the People’s Commission Network to report any CSIS visits or related incidents.These visits can be de-stabilizing and stressful. That’s why it is important to not remain isolated in this situation; and the People’s Commission Network wants to offer concrete support to overcome the feeling of isolation these visits can create. Your correspondence with the People’s Commission Network will be considered confidential. Consider any unannounced CSIS visit to be harassment against you. If possible, we encourage you to write down your experience so that you have the facts clearly

If you are in a precarious position – due to your immigration status, pending criminal charges, probation, parole, or any other reason – we strongly encourage you to NEVER EVER talk to CSIS alone. Instead, tell them to contact a trusted lawyer that you have chosen, and then refuse to say anything else. You can contact the People’s Commission Network for references to lawyers who can act diligently against CSIS intimidation tactics. If you are comfortable doing so, ask for the names, telephone numbers, and cards of the CSIS agents who want to talk to you.

CSIS’ actions, which show clear evidence of gross incompetence, racism, as well as complicity in torture, are all the more reason why they deserve no cooperation whatsoever by anyone involved in movements for social justice.

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noted. The People’s Commission Network can support you in documenting this harassment with the aid of a lawyer.

well as keeping our focus on our important day-to-day organizing and activism.

CSIS’ job is to gather information for the state and to disrupt movements of social justice.Their broad mandate includes monitoring any activities they deem to threaten the current political and economic order. Their intimidation focuses on indigenous peoples, immigrants, racialized communities, radical political organizations, labour unions, as well as the allies of these groups. CSIS’ actions, which show clear evidence of gross incompetence, racism, as well as complicity in torture, are all the more reason why they deserve no cooperation whatsoever by anyone involved in movements for social justice. Total non-cooperation with CSIS and other security agencies by the entire social justice community - broadly and inclusively defined - is our best way of maintaining unity and solidarity, as

To recap: Do not talk to CSIS or share any information with them, no matter how harmless you think it is. Do not listen to CSIS agents. Do consider reporting the visit to the People’s Commission Network.

Total non-cooperation with CSIS and other security agencies by the entire social justice community broadly and inclusively defined - is our best way of maintaining unity and solidarity, as well as keeping our focus on our important day-to-day organizing and activism.

Please share this community advisory within your networks, and with members of your organizations and groups, so we can encourage collective noncooperation with CSIS.

We encourage community groups to ENDORSE this advisory, as a way of building collective solidarity against CSIS harassment. An endorsement means your group agrees with the following statement: “We support and endorse the People’s Commission Network’s Community Advisory concerning the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS).” We encourage everyone to share this advisory widely, in your networks and within your community. The People’s Commission Network offers workshops to inform community members about our legal rights when interacting with CSIS. If you would like to organize a workshop for your group or community organization, please contact us at abolissons@gmail.com. v In solidarity, The People’s Commission Network (Montreal)