Ryerson Free Press July 2009

JULY

2009

Canadian Charter of rights and freedoms

equality rights*

15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal beneďŹ t of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.

* exCept for all aBoriginal peoples, muslims, araBs, BlaCks, other raCialized people, immigrants and refugees, non-status people‌

NEWS

rsu passes 2009-10 Budget, health plan June meeting marked by former board members removed by Student Centre General managment; Abdul Snobar calls Board Chair ‘little cock sucker’

By Ronak Ghorbani tHe RyeRSOn StUdentS’ union (Rsu) turned a fresh page at their June board meeting by passing the 2009-2010 budget and apponting a health and dental plan provider. morneau sobeco was appointed as the insurance broker and green shield canada as the provider. over all costs have gone down by $15 and coverage is now $280 per full-time student and dental benefits have increased; full details of the new health and dental plan will be released on the Rsu website later this month. students will also get to opt out online and avoid large line ups that usually take-over the first floor of the student centre in september. “everyone is online right now,” said Toby whitfield Rsu vice-president of finance and services. however, motions were not passed seamlessly as former board members dana houssein and abdullah snobar were present to support the ratification of osman hamid as student group’s director. snobar has since been hired to be the general manager of the Ryerson commerce society, a student group that is responsible to Ryerson’s Board of governors. hamid’s position was not ratified. at one point during the meeting when it became clear that hamid would not be ratified, snobar began taking photos of those present. when the chair, ashkon hashemi informed him he was being disruptive, snobar made it clear he did not care. when a break was called, hashemi then approached snobar and asked him to leave, to which snobar responded, “go sit down and shut up,” and called hashemi a “little

cock sucker.” after security was called to escort snobar out of the meeting, the board went into an in-camera session to discuss the health and dental plan. osman was not impressed by the in-camera decision and said, “oh boy a decision of 3.5 million dollars in hiding.” in February, houssein, snobar and hamid ran for Rsu executive positions under the slate Ryechange and lost.

Their main campaign platform was making a more transparent Rsu. snobar alleged that the health and dental plan’s cash reserve was short $300,000 which led to an audit of the union costing $85,000 only to find that there was no mismanaged money. hamid’s position was not ratified because, “the board at the [June] meeting had decided this person had violated his responsibility,” said whitfield. whitfield is referring to an emergency Rsu board meeting on march 30 called by hamid and houssein where hamid tried to suspend Robert’s Rules of order – which the Rsu follows to guide their meetings – in order to pass a new health and dental plan when there was not quorum. once hamid and houssein left with snobar the board went on to pass next year’s operating budget near-unanimously, which saw a re-allocation of money to student rights campaigns which was cut last year. at the June meeting, hamid declined to talk with the Ryerson Free Press. a review of the budget will be done in the fall.

The RSU’s goal this year was to prioritize budget allocation to suit student needs. Here is a breakdown of how much money is going where.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

$9,250 up from $4,450 for advocacy campaigns like the educated voter campaign and education not occupation. $10,000 up from $9,150 for equity issues which includes staff wages and benefits, conferences and campaigns like anti-apartheid, no islamophobia and racism, women’s issues etc. $9,250 down from $10,550 for the Rsu board retreat covering accommodations, transportation and refreshments $80,000 for the parade and picnic, same as last year $7,197 down from $10,000 for the new anti-racism community service group $7,019 up from $5,650 for the community Food Room $7,197 down from $8,700 for Ryeaccess $7,597 down from $10,675 for RyePRide $6,597 down from $12,625 for the women’s centre $2,300 down from $10,000 for the working students’ centre $28,500 up from 26,5000 for course unions $56,000 up from $52,000 for student groups

How much is the executive making?

(Increase is indexed to the Consumer Price Index)

PhoTos oF The June Rsu BoaRd meeTing / dan Rios

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RyeRsonFReePRess.ca

• • • •

$27,000 up from 26,100 for president Jermaine Bagnall $27,000 up from 26,100 for vice-president of education liana salvador $27,000 up from 26,100 for vice-president of finance and services Toby whitfield $27,000 up from 26,100 for vice-president of student life and events lise de montbrun

Verse City inspires journalism hopefuls Ryerson

By Arti Patel

A dimly lit room in the Rogers Communication Centre is filled with more than 25 youth, eager to have their voices heard. A Q&A session with a guest speaker brightened some eyes, raised hands and ultimately answered one of the mission statements of the Verse City journalism camp—how minorities in the city are seen in media.

“I thought it was a rare opportunity for someone who works in the industry, to be so open and accessible to young people, even though I thought it should’ve been better facilitated,” said Vinita Srivastava, Verse City’s director and founder, who is also an assistant professor at Ryerson’s School of Journalism.

The Verse City multimedia camp, in partnership with the Violence Intervention Project at East Metro Youth Services in Scarborough, initially started in 2007 at Ryerson hosting journalism-related workshops throughout the year.

From June 26 to June 30 however, the School of Journalism hosted it’s first-ever journalism camp, intended to help students explore a career in the industry by creating a multimedia project.

“We wanted to open the doors to a university education, increase media literacy and civic participation, and increase this engagement among youth,” Srivastava said.

A heated Q&A with a CP24 anchor Omar Sachedina sparked many questions the camp tried to achieve through workshops and lectures. How did these youth feel about their communities and how did they feel they could change it?

As some criticized media for representing Scarborough as a crimeriddled community, some students felt Sachedina’s advice was just as important.

For 18-year-old Matthew Cox-Saunders, a camp participant who has a keen interest in graphic and fashion design, he agreed when Sachedina referred to the power of change through civic participation.

“If you don’t like something you can try to change it yourself. If you don’t like the way your community is portrayed, make a blog about your community or call the news station,” Cox-Saunders said.

For Lakshine Sathiyanathan a second-year journalism student who has lived in Scarborough all her life, the discussion about Scarborough’s media image hit close to home.

“I’ve heard the stereotypes,

which became especially prominent when I started university in the city. It was important for me to be a part of something that gave youth, who have been affected by these stereotypes, the power to change their opinion through journalism,” Sathiyanathan said.

Students assembled in groups of three or four and were told to pitch a story based on the theme, summer in the city. Their final multimedia project would consist of a written portion, an audio slideshow with photographs and a one-minute video clip of their most interesting interview.

The students, as well as the volunteers, also had the chance though the National Film Board of Canada’s CitizenShift blog to post reflections, articles and the experience of the hectic days ahead.

With the help from both reporting mentors made up of journalism students and graduates,

journalism faculty mentors and industry working mentors, camp participants began slowly putting together a showcase of talent and media awareness. At first, it was hard for some students to come out of their shells.

“It’s was gradual, at first they were not focused at all and were on YouTube or Facebook, but the more they got into it, they started arguing about what they were going to write, they started becoming critical,” said Julianna McDermott, a third-year journalism student and the Verse City student life coordinator.

Natalie Rollocks, an 18-yearold camp participant compared the hands-on portion of the camp to a co-op program she had done in previous years.

“I’ve never done something like this. I’ve learned that in journalism there are different streams,” she said.

The Verse City participants also had visits from industry profession-

arti patel

arti patel

TOP: Verse City participants are welcomed at the opening ceremony on June 26. BOTTOM: Matthew Cox-Saunders interviews a Pride Parade participant for his Verse City multimedia project.

als who took part in a mixer, where students had the chance to speak one-on-one with journalists for story advice. A movie night featured a film Invisible City by Vancouver’s Hubert Davis that followed two teenagers from Toronto’s Regent Park, followed by a Q&A period with the director.

Through their workshops and writing sessions, the students were guided by each different mentor, giving them advice on how to perfect and focus their stories.

“They set a good example to follow, the stones to follow in journalism,” Rollocks said.

Srivastava created the program in 2004, organizing multimedia workshops in various Canadian cities including Halifax, Winnipeg and Toronto.

“As a young person watching the media I felt left out myself, and I wanted to create an opportunity for others [through the program],” Srivastava said.

Kevin Young slouched on the couch and waited for his coffee and cigarette. The past four days had worn him down, more than he expected. He even thought he lost weight. Young, a 20-year-old thirdyear broadcast student at Ryerson, spent the last few days as reporting mentor and events coordinator.

“I felt like I was being brought back to my first day at Ryerson.

When I saw the students I saw myself in the kids and I felt I knew what they were going through,” Young said.

Young, who worked with a group of three students, followed a story about heterosexuals and their take on Toronto’s annual Pride Parade.

“I think as the students got to know me a bit more, they stepped out of their comfort zone and they warmed up after a few interviews.

After a while, they took initiative and did it on their own,” he said.

Verse City’s closing ceremonies took place on Tuesday June 30, as students felt nervous and eager to present their final product. Some learned the importance of two sides of news story while all stories had personal humour, style and edge.

For Srivastava, this is only the beginning. “[I want] to continue to capture the momentum we have created here and to have [Verse City] as a student group at Ryerson, to impact the greater Ryerson community.”

Pride is political

Free Press

The monthly newspaper for continuing education, distance education and part-time students at Ryerson Address Suite SCC-301 Ryerson Student Centre 55 Gould Street Toronto, ON CANADA M5B 1E9

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Features and Opinions Editor James Clark

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Culture Editor amanda connon-unda

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Contributors Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab

Geraldine Anderson Max Arambulo Stephen Carlick James Clark Amanda Connon-Unda Amanda Cupido Katia Dmitrieva Jessica Finch Kaitlin Fowlie Ronak Ghorbani Katie Hewitt Sandy Hudson Mariana Ionova Salmaan Abdul Hamid Khan Jann Lee Jon Lockyer Jesse McLaren Kate Mills Eric Newstadt Arti Patel Omair Quadri Adriana Rolston John Rose Takara Small Jorge Soberon Jessica Squires David Thurton Angela Walcott Simon Wallace

Cover Photo DAN RIOS ANDREA YEOMANS Publisher CESAR The opinions expressed in the Ryerson Free Press are not necessarily those of the editors or publisher.

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DAN RIOS

Jermaine Bagnall, president of the Ryerson Students Union, dances on the Ryerson float for Pride 2009.

Full page—$750 Half page—$375 Quarter page—$195 Eighth page—$95

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 3

Apologies are not enough

One year after Stephen Harper apologized for the Indian Residential School System, many are saying that the fight for justice for residential school survivors is far from over

By David Thurton How much do you compensate residential school survivors for taking them away from their families, for years of violence, neglect and physical and sexual abuse?

A year’s rent is what some former students are receiving, and others, revictimization by a legal process that isn’t healing the wounds of decades of abuse.

Speakers expressed varying degrees of this view at a panel discussion examining the Indian Residential School adjudication process held to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the government’s apology to residential school survivors on June 11.

Earlier in Ottawa, former residential school students, government officials and Aboriginal leaders attended events to commemorate the apology.

But come late afternoon the speakers took a critical view of the legal process that forms part of the government and church reconciliation and financial compensation package.

The panel, mostly of legal professionals, spoke about the many problems plaguing the financial compensation administered through the Independent Assessment Process.

“The Independent Assessment Process is too slow and that’s a problem,” said lawyer Craig Brown, “And I think there’s a role for the Aboriginal bar to protest and lobby that more hearings need to be scheduled and the process needs to be fast-forwarded.”

Brown, who in 2005 helped negotiate the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement between First Nations’ stakeholders and the government, said they’ve been at 1,500 hearings since September 2007. This falls well below the 2,500 hearings per year that were suppose to be processed. Aside from a case backlog, the lawyer also said that rulings and compensation awards took too long.

This was because the chief adjudicator’s office vetted all rulings and settlements.

“One of the hallmarks of a good justice system is that justice is deliv-

Reconciliation Timeline ered swiftly. And that isn’t happening.

We’re suffering tremendous delays. I think there’s a re-victimization that’s happening among the survivors of sexual abuse.” Brown said this caused emotional turmoil of residential school survivors.

Explaining his interpretation of re-victimization, Brown said survivors experienced immense relief in sharing traumatic residential school experiences only to wait an eternity for compensation for their pain. Panelist and National Residential School Survivor Society head Michael Cachagee criticized this delay as well.

“You just opened up all these wounds and gone in and you severed all this emotional support that this person should have. They rely on receiving that settlement because part of that settlement is that emotional support that would help them heal. It’s cruel.”

Cachagee also said courts lacked basic facilities that aging and disabled residential school survivors required. The head of the survivor society remembers one instance where an 81-year-old former student had to go to the bathroom, but his wheelchair could not access the

1831-1998

Residential Schools that forcibly took Aboriginal children were operated under the management of the Canadian Government and the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian and United Churches.

1986

The United Church of Canada makes its first apology to its Native Congregations: “In our zeal to tell you the good news of Jesus Christ we were closed to the value of your spirituality. We confused Western ways and culture with the depth and breadth and length and height of the gospel of Christ. We imposed our civilization as a condition of accepting the Gospel. We tried to make you like us and in doing so we helped to destroy the vision that made you what you were. As a result, you, and we, are poorer and the image of the Creator in us is twisted, blurred and we are not what we are meant by God to be.”

1991

The Roman Catholic Church apologizes to the First Nations of Canada and for its role in the residential schools: “We are sorry and deeply regret the pain, suffering and alienation that so many experienced. We have heard their cries of distress, feel their anguish and want to be part of the healing process.”

1993

The Anglican Church apologizes to its Native convocation: “I am sorry, more than I can say, that we were part of a system which took you and your children from home and family. I am sorry, more than I can say, that we tried to remake you in our image, taking from you your language and the signs of your identity. I am sorry, more than I can say, that in our schools so many were abused physically, sexually, culturally and emotionally. On behalf of the Anglican Church of Canada, I present our apology.”

1994

The Presbyterian Church apologizes: “We confess that The Presbyterian Church in Canada presumed to know better than Aboriginal peoples what was needed for life.

The Church said of our Aboriginal brothers and sisters, ‘If they could be like us, if they could think like us, talk like us, worship like us, sing like us, work like us, they would know God as we know God and therefore would have life abundant.’”

1998

David thurton

Speakers consisting mostly of law professionals at the Law Society of Upper Canada’s panel discussion on the Indian Residential Schools Adjudication process.

Darlene Ritchie, president of the Toronto Native Cultural Centre, in her own words...

“I’ve been sitting here all afternoon watching that promoting equity and diversity that’s up on the stage. And I know some individuals who have got their claims. And I’m also am aware of other cases in the province of Ontario where there’s allegations of sexual abuse against Catholic priests and members of the clergy. And those settlements have been made. There’s one in particular in London where they got $2.5 million each. There’s another situation where a priest was sexually abusing young women. And that case has also been settled. And I believe they got upwards of $1.5 million each. And that was some of the largest settlements in history. And then I look at your sign there about promoting equity and justice and I wonder if you can tell me what do you think is a large sum of money. Because some of the individuals that I know got $8,000 a year and $3,000 for every year they were there and they suffered horrific abuse. And what you just described to me and what Prime Minister Harper stood up and apologized for in my mind, and I’m not a lawyer, but to my mind that’s what you

4 ryersonfreepress.ca

court’s bathroom facilities. “The men in the room had to stand around him while he urinated in a water bottle.

That’s what happened. And this should never ever happen in this day and age,” Cachagee said.

They called for more Aboriginal adjudicators and lawyers to defend residential school survivors and help them find financial advisors to manage large sums of money.

But the lawyers’ comments prompted audience member Darlene Ritchie, president of Toronto Native Cultural Centre, to stand up and say that compensation paid to survivors was imbalanced and didn’t reflect the years of torture residential school survivors experienced.

“I’ve been sitting here all afternoon watching that promoting equity and diversity that’s up on the stage. And what Prime Minister Harper stood up and apologized for in my mind that’s what you call genocide. And I thought genocide was a crime against humanity. Well I don’t see any equity. Because these people suffered horrific abuse.

And what we’re offering them isn’t even a year’s rent,” she said.

call genocide. And I thought genocide was a crime against humanity. There was a deliberate assault on Aboriginal children. There was a strategy to remove and kill every Indian in this country. I hear in Rwanda and Bosnia and Africa.

I hear all around the world where they have been attacks on children and women. And women raped and what do they call that ethnic cleansing. What’s different about what happened here in Canada? And this is not an historical event we’re talking about. And we hear about the atrocious education our kids have been given, right from residential school to today, where our kids are expected to go to college and university on nothing. Where is the promoting equity and diversity in accepting this process that is disgusting and shameful, where children where taken and beaten and forced to have sex before their time, forced to have children, forced to have abortions. I’ve heard horrific stories and I’m sure you have too. Well I don’t see any equity. I still see us as being treated as Indians within the meaning of the Indian Act and there’s a reason for that. And I wish someone would stand up and tell me I am wrong. Because my reality is pretty stark. And it ain’t going to get any better. So you tell me what you think is a large sum of money? Because these people suffered horrific abuse. And what we’re offering them isn’t even a year’s rent.”

Canada issues a Statement of Reconciliation. A formal response to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples: “Sadly, our history with respect to the treatment of Aboriginal people is not something in which we can take pride. Attitudes of racial and cultural superiority led to the suppression of Aboriginal culture and values... We must recognize the impact of these actions on the once self-sustaining nations that were disaggregated, disrupted, limited or even destroyed by the dispossession of traditional territory, by the relocation of Aboriginal people, and by some provisions of the Indian Act.

2005

National Chief Phil Fontaine, the Canadian Government and the involved churches complete at a courtordered and court-supervised settlement called the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. The core package includes: A $10,000 base payment plus $3,000 for every year of residential school survivor, called the Common Experience Payment Establishment of the Independent Assessment Process for claims of physical and sexual abuse greater than the Common Experience Payment Creation of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation that aims to reinforce a sustainable healing process of the residential school legacy The creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

2008

Prime Minister Stephen Harper officially apologizes to residential school students for the role it played: “The burden of this experience has been on your shoulders for far too long. The burden is properly ours as a Government, and as a country. There is no place in Canada for the attitudes that inspired the Indian Residential Schools system to ever prevail again. You have been working on recovering from this experience for a long time and in a very real sense, we are now joining you on this journey. The Government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.”

Palestinian village seeks justice in Canada

By Omair Quadri Mohammad Khatib stood at the front of the chapel, his eyes squinted as the sunlight streamed in through the stainedglass windows.

“I have come to Canada to get justice for my village,” he said.

Khatib, secretary of the Bil’in Village Council, was one of the speakers at “Occupation on Trial,” an event held on June 13 at Trinity St. Paul’s United Church. The event in Toronto was the eighth stop in an eleven-city cross-Canada tour to advance the Palestinian village’s efforts at stopping the construction of Israeli settlements using Quebec’s courts.

The people of Bil’in, a village in the occupied Palestinian West Bank, filed a case last year alleging that two Canadian companies, Green Park International Inc. and Green Mount International Inc., are complicit in war crimes because they helped build Israeli settlements in the village. The construction of settlements on occupied land is illegal and the village’s Israeli and Canadian lawyers have based the case on international and Canadian law.

Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupying power is prohibited from transferring part of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, explained Mark Arnold, The Bil’in Village Council’s Canadian lawyer. An act such as this is a war crime under the Rome Statute of the Interna-

tional Criminal Court, as well as under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act of 2000.

Green Park International Inc. and Green Mount International Inc. have been involved in the construction, marketing and selling of residential units in the Israeli settlement of Modi’in Illit on the land of the village of Bil’in, said Arnold. The Canadian corporations are de facto agents of the State of Israel and “have violated international humanitarian and criminal law as well as Canadian law,” he argued.

The defendants’ lawyers will argue that the case should be dismissed on jurisdictional grounds and instead be heard in Israel, Arnold said. He argued that the case deserves to be heard in Quebec because both companies are registered in the province and that Israeli omair quadri courts have never ruled on the legality of settlements because they deem it a A crowd watches a video at Trinity St. Paul’s United Church as part of a presentation about a political issue, not a legal one. lawsuit initiated by the people of Bil’in, Palestine against two Canadian companies.

As early as the mid-1980s, Israel Israel practices,” said Schaeffer pointing out “Without olive farming, the people have declared Bil’in state land and began confisno means of livelihood,” she said. “The loss of that Israel routinely ignores not only internacating parts of the village. In 2005, a part tional law but also rulings handed down by this income adds to their struggle.” of the separation wall was built through the Israeli courts not in favour of the state while Since that time, the village’s resistance village appropriating 40 per cent of the land at the same time demanding that Palestinto the appropriation of its land has been and effectively cutting off the people of Bil’in ians must abide by these laws. marked by weekly non-violent demonstrafrom their olive trees, said Emily Schaeffer, A ten-minute film was screened showing tions. the Israeli lawyer representing the village.

The Israeli High Court of Justice handed the non-violent resistance of the people of Bil’in. Images of Israeli soldiers firing rubber down a decision in September 2007 statbullets at protestors as they ran for cover and ing that the route of the separation wall in wounded Palestinians being carried to ambuBil‘in was “designed not for genuine security lances forced some in the audience to shake purposes” and was causing unjustified harm their heads and others to look away. to the residents of Bil‘in. The Court ordered “I have learned from this that we need the Israeli authorities to propose an alternato treat each other as humans and work with tive route for the wall in the area. As of yet, each other as humans,” said Khatib. “This is nothing has happened. our message. We refuse to die in silence.”

“This is the kind of distorted logic that

Images of Israeli soldiers firing rubber bullets at protestors as they ran for cover and wounded Palestinians being carried to ambulances forced some in the audience to shake their heads and others to look away.

KRS-ONE shows ryerson some love The Hip Hop icon stopped by Ryerson to talk about violence and the importance of of the community to respond... and to perform.

By Adriana Rolston Rap activist and leader of the Stop The Violence Movement (STVM), KRS-ONE spoke to Ryerson students on Thursday, June 11 about the causes of violence and its implications in the Hip Hop community.

Organized by Learning Initiatives Fostering Elevation (L.I.F.E.), a Toronto collective of youth advocates who use Hip Hop culture as a positive tool to address aggression and poverty in the community, the free lecture was sponsored by the Ryerson Students’ Union and the Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson (CESAR.) “I’m here to lessen the aggressive behaviour. I’m hoping that my presence here inspires Torontonians to consider peace,” said KRSONE, also known as the Teacher, who started his lecture in the engineering building by announcing that he wanted to respond to the city’s rising crime rate.

The Stop The Violence Movement is a non-profit organization seeking to eradicate global violence through dialogue, workshops, and media awareness, in collaboration with politically and socially conscious artists of the Hip Hop community.

KRS-ONE started this movement in 1989 when he developed the legendary peace anthem, “SelfDestruction,” which condemned Black-on-Black violence and spurred a collective of artists and activists to become responsible role models by influencing nonviolent media and the arts. Today celebrities have grown to include Busta Rhymes, Chingy, 50 Cent, and Ludacris.

Cameras were rolling in the packed lecture hall as the Teacher described the three greatest causes of violence according to the United Nations. The most important being poverty because if people cannot get access to the basic needs of survival they will often resort to violence.

Illiteracy is the second largest source of violence according to KRS-ONE, who cited that approximately half the U.S. population is reading at a fifth-grade level, when an average newspaper is written at a sixth-grade reading level.

“When you can’t read, straight up read, you express yourself physically. Those who have a large vocabulary also see more than others. Whatever the brain does not have a word for, it cannot see,” he

said, repeating the latter sentence to emphasize. “So those with small vocabularies usually have small outlooks on life.”

As an Ontario citizen we are paying police officers to keep the peace, nothing else, said the Teacher, who pointed to law enforcement as the third cause of violence.

“You’re paying for peace, you’re not getting what you paid for,” he said, shaking his head.

During a press conference in the CESAR office, following the lecture, KRS ONE stated that despite his respect for decent police officers, the number one enemy of Hip Hop is the police.

“To build a nation somebody is going to die. One day we’re going to have to fight the police. Ain’t no way am I excited,” said KRS ONE, laughing with the audience.

He suggested putting a real peacekeeping force on the streets, which would reward citizens with tickets for good behaviour that could also be traded for mercy in instances of misconduct.

The Teacher believes that the solutions to violence are wealth, awareness, following the law and the capacity of Hip Hop as an

intelligent movement that solves conflict with artistic expression.

“If I can convince Hip Hop that it’s a community I can lesson violence in it. The point is the common spirit. I’m trying to spark

a nation and if I can do that I can die in peace. Even if I’m assassinated y’all should have a party,” said KRS-ONE who ended his Ryerson visit with a performance at the Ram in the Rye.

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 5

Ryerson President Becomes Chair of Council of ontario Universities

By Kate Mills

Ryerson President, Sheldon Levy became the Chair of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) on July 1. He will be serving as a representative of all Ontario universities for the next two years, working with mostly the provincial government, but also the federal government, advocating for the interests of university administrations across the province. The organization has been around since 1962 representing Ontario universities. Levy will be the leader of the organization, but all decisions are made by consensus.

When asked what in simple terms is the philosophy and mission of the COU Levy replied, “To build the highest quality postsecondary system possible for as many students as possible, and to be responsive to the communities we serve at the provincial and national level. So if more doctors are needed we want to provide the capacity to do that, if hydro needs more engineers, if society needs more social workers, we want to be able to be responsive to that.”

Levy plans to discuss three key issues with the government.

Those issues will be: “Postsecondary funding and design, including the operating (day by day) costs and capital money for things like new buildings. Accessibility: expanding the system in order to accommodate more students; as well as student mobility: having students move between college and university or vise-versa,” Levy said.

As for the issue surrounding the student burden of tuition fees, “You can be sure issues of tuition and financial aid are things that will be discussed,” Levy said.

Those are words that Jermaine Bagnall, President of the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) hopes materialize into real results.

“I hope he puts a bit more pressure on the government to get additional funding for grants and bursaries for students, alongside increasing funding for university to decrease tuition,” Bagnall said.

Paul Genest, president of the COU says its time for an extension of the province’s four-year Reaching Higher Plan. Within that plan one of their biggest missions will be what he calls a ‘renewed framework for student assistance.’ This includes an assessment of OSAP to make sure it is functioning as it should, and putting pressure on the government to increase funding for students that need it.

“Our mission is not that tuition fees need to be lower, but to increase funding for grants and loans,” Genest said.

Militia with KKK sympathies forms to fight Six Nations

By Jon Lockyer

The formation of a non-Aboriginal militia with KKK sympathies has generated concern by many residents of the Caledonia community, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal alike. The group, operating under the name Caledonia Peacekeepers, held their first meeting on June 23 in Cayuga, a small town 10 kilometers west of Caledonia in Haldimand County.

According to Doug Fleming, a primary organizer of the militia, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have failed to provide the non-First Nations community with adequate protection from what he sees as continued acts of “terrorism,” and are instead more willing to side with Native protestors on “occupied private property.”

He goes on to state that, “This has nothing to do with land claims, this is to do with law enforcement and is a reflection of the shortcomings of the OPP.” The militia advocates the use of reasonable force and citizen’s arrest on individuals or groups trespassing on private property to restore order in the community.

Shortly before the announcement of the

formation of the Caledonia Peacekeepers, Randy Fleming, brother of the militia’s founder, was detained by OPP officers following an altercation with Six Nations protestors in the vicinity of the disputed Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia.

It has been reported that Fleming was walking down Argyle Street, bordering the disputed land, carrying a Canadian flag. Fleming then crossed onto the disputed territory, standing with his back to Six Nations protestors.

This has become common practice for anti-First Nations protest in Caledonia, and has become a more regular practice by members of the organization, Canadian Advocates for Charter Equality, (CANACE). The group began as an informal collection of non-Aboriginal citizens from Caledonia and its surrounding towns, but has now achieved corporate status through some charitable donations.

The group’s primary founder, Gary McHale, has been an outspoken supporter of anti-First Nations activism in Caledonia, and has pledged CANACE’s support for Fleming’s militia. Both

the militia and CANACE’s mandate call for an end to “race-based policing” by the OPP, primarily focusing on the one-sided approach to policing the benefits the illegal actions of First Nations protestors. While both groups claim they support the equal rights of both Native and non-Native people, the intentions of Fleming and McHale remain questionable. CANACE newsletters and press releases often compare the actions of the OPP’s treatment of non-First Nations citizens to that of the KKK in the American south, and cite the systematic oppression of white Canadians by the Provincial government as the leading cause of violent conflict and lawlessness in Caledonia.

This all comes after more than three years of protests by the Six Nations of the Grand River where over 40 hectares of disputed land purchased by Henco Industries Limited, was to be developed into a subdivision, named the Douglas Creek Estates. The land itself is part of the 385, 000 hectare Halidimand Tract, which was granted to the Six Nations of the Grand River in 1784 by the British Crown as compensation for land that was lost when they sided with the British during the American Revolution.

Henco claimed the land was sold to the Crown in the 1840s, while the people of Six Nations refute this claim noting there is only proof that it was leased and then expropriated without compensation.

The government subsequently bought the property from Henco and negotiations between the government and Six Nations have since stalled. On February 28, 2006 members of the Six Nations community began an occupation of the disputed land after more than 10 years of legal battles. Since the occupation began there have been numerous altercations between First Nations activists, community members and the OPP.

Bike Renting Takes off in MTL

By Jessica Finch

With extensive cycling paths in and around the city as well as a number of annual biking festivals, Montreal is one of the most bike friendly cities in North America.

In the next few years, the city hopes to expand existing paths and implement a number of ambitious transportation measures. The goal of Montreal’s Transportation Plan is to improve quality of life through modernizing transport systems and promoting eco-safe travel. On May 12th, the latest step in the Plan was brought to the city, a cycling innovation called the Bixi bike.

Bixi bikes are Montreal’s alternative to bike sharing, a transportation craze that has become popular in Europe. ‘Bike sharing’ refers to the process of renting the bicycles. As the Bixis are available 24/7 and can be taken and returned to any station in the city they are, in effect, ‘shared’ by everyone.

According to Michel Philibert, the Marketing and Communications Director of the Bixi company, “There are 267 [Bixi] stations in Montreal.” These stations or docks each have approximately ten bikes that are for rent by credit card. The cyclist swipes their card and are given a code to unlock a bike from the sta-

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tion. The first 30 minutes of any Bixi trip are always free and for 24 hour access the fee is a mere $5. Each additional 30 minute stretch spent on the Bixi is added to the user’s card.

Once the cyclist is done with the bike they can lock it back into any dock with available spaces.

The bikes are becoming ever more popular within the city. As Philibert notes, “since the launch in May, 100,000 trips have already been [taken on the Bixis].” Many Montrealers are curious about the bikes and are willing to experiment with the new transportation ‘toy’.

After trying a Bixi for the first time, Montrealer Naiomi Badri exclaims, “it’s a lot of fun, I can’t wait ‘til there are Bixis closer to my house”. Despite their popularity and the extensive number of Bixi stations, the bikes still only exist in three boroughs of the city, and for Naiomi it might be a while before stations are up and running in her area.

The bikes themselves are easy to maneuver, they have three gears, a signaling bell and an easy to adjust seat. Unfortunately, however, the Bixis are not available to rent with helmets. At present, Quebec has no bylaws that absolutely require the use of helmets while cycling and as Philibert mentions, “It would be difficult to in-

troduce helmet rental with the bikes for a number of reasons, including hygiene and [helmet] sizes.” Still, Bixi is working in collaboration with the Societe d’Assurance Automobile de Quebec (SAAQ) to promote safe riding. Wearing a helmet is the safest practice, and whether riding a Bixi or regular bike the security of the individual cyclist is their own responsibility.

While the Bixis began in Montreal, the company itself is looking to expand into other Canadian markets. Recently, Bixi held a demonstration in Ottawa-Gatineau and the response was quite positive. Demonstrations include four stations with fifteen Bikes and the Bixi Squad: a number of representatives on hand to answer any questions. At this point, the city of Toronto has put out an RFI, Request For Information, on the bikes and Bixi hopes to one day hold a demonstration in the city.

The bikes are a unique addition to the city of Montreal. And if the idea takes off in other parts of the country these bikes could have a real influence on the way many Canadians commute and exercise.

For additional information on Bixis and bike sharing visit www.bixi.com.

General Moters restructured into Viability?

By Mariana Ionova After filing for bankruptcy protection in early June, General Motors went to work, implementing changes and restructuring itself into a leaner, more environmentally friendly company. And the automaker has already undergone several drastic transformations.

One major change is GM’s new structure of ownership, which reflects the heavy government support that the troubled company has received. The United States government holds a hefty 60 per cent of the new GM and 12.5 per cent is in the hands of the Canadian government. The United Auto Workers also received 17.5 per cent, while unsecured bondholders got the remaining 10 per cent.

As a first step to restructuring its operations, GM began ridding itself of unprofitable brands almost immediately. It dropped its Pontiac brand and reached a tentative deal to sell Hummer to Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. of China. GM also handed Saturn over to auto mogul Roger Penske and, shortly after, sold Saab to Koenigsegg, a Swedish manufacturer of high-end sports vehicles.

“That will enable us to focus on our four core brands—Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC and Buick—and to really focus our efforts on building award-winning products,” said Andria MacKenzie, spokesperson for GM Canada, in an interview with Ryerson Free Press. “It will be a significant step in the reinvention of GM and moving our business forward so we are a more viable, leaner, greener company.”

As a part of this vision, GM boasts a line-up of new models that emphasize fuel efficiency and hybrid production. Among these are the Chevrolet Volt and Chevrolet

Cruze, which are both set to hit US markets in 2010 and to be available in Canada at the beginning of 2011.

Since GM is required to keep 16 per cent of North American production in Canada, the company is bringing production of five of its new models to plants in Ontario. CAMI Automotive Inc. in Ingersoll, Ont., will be producing the new Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain, while hybrid vehicle production will be brought to GM’s Oshawa plant.

“We’ve been moving on with hybrid production for a number of years and now we are just bringing that production here to Canada,” said MacKenzie, adding that GM currently offers eight hybrid models and it plans to expand its selection with several new ones over the next two years.

Boosting hybrid production may be just what GM needs to stay afloat, according to John McClyment, spokesperson for the Canadian Auto Workers.

“Hopefully, that means that they’re building cars that people want to buy,” said McClyment. “The company makes a decision about their marketing, their production and what is going to sell. So, hopefully, the production of hybrids is good news for everybody.”

But the shrinking size of GM has had a hefty impact on auto workers. In the process of trimming down the company, GM will close three distribution warehouses and 14 assembly, powertrain and stamping plants across the U.S. within the next two years. This would translate into approximately 18 000 to 20

000 job losses in the U.S., according to GM estimates.

And Canadian workers are feeling the pinch too. GM Canada shut down its Oshawa truck plant in May and has announced that it plans to close its Windsor transmission plant in the second quarter of 2010, cutting approximately 1,400 jobs. By the end of GM’s restructuring, only a fraction of Canadian production will remain intact, in the form of car plants in Oshawa, Ingersoll, St. Catherines and Woodstock.

“The reality is that there are all kinds of layoffs,” said McClyment.

“There is continuing downsizing that will occur because of the restructuring.”

The CAW has also felt a pressure to agree to concessions in order for GM to survive. As a plan to cut cost and stabilize the company faster, GM plans to freeze pension payments until 2015 and cut the wages of future hires.

According to CUPE National president Paul Moist, workers should not have to bear the full weight of the automaker’s reces-

sion-induced troubles. Worker unions must fight hard to prevent further loss of pensions, wage rates and worker rights in the auto industry.

“I think, no matter what sector one works in, we need to resist employers using the recession as sort of a groundcover to roll back gains that previous generations of workers fought for,” said Moist. “It may not be a time to thrust for big huge wage increases or big new advancements, but we don’t want to roll the clock back. Most union members in Canada—be it in the private or public sector—don’t belong to a union to walk backwards.”

Although auto workers are being hit with job cuts and concession pressure, McClyment maintains that, in the end, workers may benefit from the restructuring.

“The hope of the whole thing is that the restructured company produces vehicles that sell, that people want, that meet the demands of consumers,” said McClyment. “Now, hopefully, it will come out in a way that will provide some security for workers and their families.”

NO CONCESSIONS! CUPE FIGHTS TO HOLD ON

By Simon Wallace

While the city maintains that the strike is mainly being fought over increased wages and an unpopular severance system previously negotiated by the city of offset wage demands (where workers can bank sick days) the union suggests that, in fact, the strike is about much more.

Union negotiators point to the over hundred pages of concessions demanded by the city that are targeted to strip workers of benefits, seniority and workplace control.

The union also alleges that the city is leveraging the economic crisis and an anti-union public sentiment to extract concessions from employees, noting that none of the six other unions (police, fire, hydro, EnWave, housing workers, etc.) that the city bargains with were asked to make concessions. Many of these deals were reached recently, including the housing authority workers, who reached a settlement nine weeks ago.

After being elected leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservatives, job number one for Tim Hudak was to go after striking Toronto city workers. The unions, he told the Toronto Star, need to “get a grip… in today’s environment in the depths of recession and a lot of middle-class families struggling to make ends meet, the notion of some of the unions of going out on strike with high demands won’t sit very well with taxpayers.”

As the strike passes its fourteenth day Hudak’s view seems ascendant: Jim Stanford, of the Canadian Autoworkers, observed “that public opinion runs at least 5-to-1 against the union.”

Indeed, the public relations battle seems to be one that the striking CUPE locals are refusing to engage in, leaving commentary to the business press, Mayor David Miller and, now, Hudak. CUPE’s website offers only six ways to support the union: four of which

relate to so-called e-activism (posting on the CBC comments board, sending out pro-union tweets, joining a facebook group, etc.). Only a brief comment on the national website offers any indication of why workers are striking, and then the explanation is paltry at best: “This city cannot treat their direct employees, our members, like second-class citizens.”

With the exception of a few revealing radio interviews, including the June 25 episode of CBC’s The Current featuring CUPE National president Paul Moist, economist Jim Stanford and Catherine Swift of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. Outside of these rare occasions, union leaders have kept a low profile avoiding public debate. The job of defending the strike has, however, been picked up by other advocacy groups and over the course of the strike a number of solidarity messages have emerged from activist groups across the city and province.

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) has been one of these organizations that has attempted to pick up the slack. OCAP has emphasized the connection between concessions and the creation of poverty, stating that, “none of the ‘solutions’ to the crisis involve meeting the basic needs of the unemployed and poor. For those who still have jobs and unions, the bankrupt corporations they work for will be bailed out at vast public expense while their rights as workers are destroyed and they are presented with massive concessionary demands.”

OCAP also notes that the rights of those who require these workers services is closely linked to union rights, noting “an attack on the workers who deliver public services can’t be separated from the attack on the services themselves and the rights of those who receive them. That is the context of this strike and we in OCAP know what side we’re on.”

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 7

OPINION Canadian Citizenship: what does it mean to you?

As Canada marks its 142nd birthday, the Ryerson free Press takes a look at Canadian citizenship, and asks if it means the same thing to all Canadians.

CAnAdiAnS OffiCiAlly KiCK off their summer holidays by celebrating canada day on July 1. This year, canada marked its 142nd birthday as a sovereign state and, to mark the occasion, thousands of people across the country will have taken their oaths as canadian citizens for the first time.

But what does canadian citizenship really mean today? does it mean the same thing for all citizens? does it mean they enjoy the same rights? are they equally protected by the canadian state? does the canadian charter of Rights and Freedoms apply equally to all citizens?

Recent (and not so recent) events would suggest the answer is no. as the public becomes increasingly aware of how the canadian government treats some of its citizens differently than others, a more obvious trend begins to emerge. why is that canadian citizens of the muslim faith and/or of arab descent have experienced of lower standard of citizenship than the rest? is it really fair to make such a claim? why would canada target these groups, and not others?

For its July issue, the Ryerson Free Press has assembled a series of articles, features and opinion pieces that attempt to document just a few examples of this phenomenon: omar khadr and abousfian abdelrazik join the ranks of ahmad el maati, abdullah almaki and muayyed nureddin—canadian citizens who were not only abandoned by their government while detained abroad, but also targeted by their government in ways that undermined their security and human rights as canadian citizens.

This phenomenon is nothing new. The targeting of muslims and arabs by canadian agencies like the canadian security and intelligence service (csis) and the Royal ca-

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nadian mounted Police (RcmP) began well before the events of september 11, 2001, although it accelerated rapidly afterwards. like most western states in search of a bogeyman after the collapse of communism in 1991, canada fixed its gaze on “islamism” and its apparent threat to western civilization. Today that “threat” serves to justify canada’s mission in afghanistan and its participation in the us-led “war on terror”—a war about controlling the resources of central asia and the middle east.

The yardstick against which canada measures the value of its citizenship should be applied to our treatment of non-citizens as much as citizens. The now infamous case of the “secret Trial Five” says a lot about what we think of civil liberties—and who deserves to enjoy them. Five muslim men—adil charkaoui, hassan almrei, mahmoud Jaballah, mohammad mahjoub and mohamed harkat—who have been detained in canada on so-called security certificates without a single charge being laid against them represent the emergence of a vastly different standard of treatment between citizens and noncitizens. years later, it should come as no surprise that there are now second- and third-class standards of citizenship. long before the end of the cold war and the targeting of muslim and arab communities in the west, other groups suffered a similar fate in canada: First nations people, eastern europeans, ukrainians, Poles, italians, germans, Jews, Japanese, Blacks and other racialized groups. in addition, trade unionists, communists, socialists, and gays and lesbians also suffered persecution by ca-

nadian security agencies—and for ostensibly the same reasons of “national security.”

But today the trend is becoming more recognizable and obvious, moving many people to speak out and take action to demand equal rights for everyone in canada—for citizens and non-citizens alike. we hope this issue of the Ryerson Free Press contributes to that movement, and accelerates the process of education among the broader public whose potential collective strength has the

capacity to reverse these injustices.

The small victories we have won in recent months and weeks are testimony to what those movements can achieve in the face of obstinate governments and unaccountable security agencies. and they represent the foundation of future struggles that will hopefully redefine what it means to be a canadian citizen, and in a way that gives real meaning to the concepts of equality and justice.

Will the NDP deliver in Nova Scotia?

Nova Scotia’s New Democratic Party made history on June 9 when it became the first ever social democratic party to form provincial government east of Ontario. Political economist Eric Newstadt examines the party platform and asks if it can meet voters’ expectations for a progressive alternative to the Liberals and Conservatives.

By Eric Newstadt As the Australian scholar of labour politics, Boris Frankel, said about the demise of socialist and progressive politics in that country, “The only dispute is whether death was due to murder, suicide, social neglect or old age.”

A similar such debate is about to emerge in Nova Scotia, where the newly minted New Democratic Party (NDP) government—the first ever in Atlantic Canada—gets set to roll out a right-of-centre fiscal program that will likely read like the gravestone of progressive politics in Canada’s East. Not coincidentally, that program—if it is at all similar to the platform on which the NDP campaigned and was elected—will be cousin to the efforts of successive Labor governments in Australia between 1983 and 1996. This was, as the quote above suggests, the era when the Australian Left met with an untimely end, and sister to that of successive and so-called “New” Labour governments in Britain, whose policies, between 1997 and the present day have done much to carry forward the legacy of Margaret Thatcher.

Led by Darrell Dexter, the Nova Scotia NDP advanced a platform comprised of seven commitments, two of which stand out: 1) a promised cut to the province’s tax on home energy consumption (which will carry a projected price-tag of $28 million); and 2) a promise to balance the budget within the first 24 months of the NDP’s election. The other commitments— which involve job growth, emergency room openings, the retention of university graduates, geriatric health care and road construction—are either relatively inexpensive and uninspiring band-aids or based around temporary tax rebates similar to federal programs implemented by the Harper Tories.

As such, only the proposed cut to the HST on home energy use and the plan to balance the Province’s Budget really demonstrate the logic driving the new NDP government. Even on the face of it, an eight per cent tax cut on home energy use is a harbinger of bad environmental economics. Though the NDP platform does call for the development of cleaner energy programs, Nova Scotia is presently the largest consumer of coal energy in the country (on a per capita basis) and new energy sources will not likely be operational anytime soon, particularly given the immense up-front cost of harnessing tidal energy.

What’s more, in permanently giving up an important revenue stream, the province is surrendering not only what some believe is a disincentive to over-use energy, but also an ability to pay for future program expenditures. Any new taxes will be all but impossible to introduce, particularly when the logic

of progressive taxation is something that the government has already abandoned.

The promise to balance the Budget is equally concerning.

First, the projected deficit is so large that projected growth in the province is unlikely to generate the kind of cash necessary to balance its books. Second, even though there are $73 million (or one per cent) of inefficiencies and patronage to be eliminated from the budget, this extra cash is too little to allow for new Government expenditures. In effect, the Nova Scotia New Democrats, like every other provincial government in the country, are about to lock themselves into a fiscal program in which visionary ideas become all but impossible to articulate—if they haven’t done so already.

In an environment where both the Left and the Right speak the same language of fiscal conservatism and restraint, even the idea of increasingly progressive taxes becomes untenable. And without increasing the Government’s revenue base, little can be done to meet raised expectations among voters for a progressive alternative to the Liberals and Conservatives.

As Augustus Haynes, the intrepid reporter put in during the fifth season of The Wire, “You don’t do more with less, you do less with less.”

It would appear that the Nova Scotia NDP has embraced the idea that the rate at which private corporations invest in (and thereby grow) the economy will increase in an environment of low taxes and fiscal conservatism. But what is amazing about the NDP’s continued faith in right-wing economics is its timing: at the very moment when such ideas are proving to be wholly bankrupt. Indeed, to presume the relative efficiency of private investment at a time when the global financial system has been largely nationalized—precisely because of the inefficiency of private investment—is nothing short of fantastic.

As Sam Gindin, the former Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) economist has noted time and again, Canada has lost literally tens of thousands of good, unionized jobs since accepting the logic of tax cuts and fiscal restraint—even in the midst of high rates of economic growth. The trade-off has been that Canada has “gained” tens of thousands of more precarious forms of employment: contract work, part-time service sector jobs and lots of call-centre-type jobs, particularly in the Atlantic Provinces.

It is also important to keep in mind that Nova Scotia spends less as a per cent of provincial GDP than six of the other 10 provinces; that tuition-fees, which the government has said

it is not going to reduce, are the highest in Canada; and that the NDP has vowed to do nothing to make it easier for unions to organize in Nova Scotia. Put another way: the Nova Scotia NDP has tied itself to a conservative fiscal agenda, even though there is room to increase expenditures without raising the eyebrows of the wealthy investors they are so anxious to attract; even though low tuition-fees are a well documented incentive to obtain a higher education; and even though good jobs have been lost en masse as the rate of unionization in Canada has fallen.

The Nova Scotia NDP has moved further to the Right than is necessary, even if we stick to the bankrupt fundamentals of supply-side economics.

Though we won’t know for some time yet (the new government is set to offer its first budget sometime in the fall), we should expect an early retreat from the 24-month balanced budget horizon. Instead, we can expect that the NDP government will announce that the deficit inherited from the Conservatives was larger than originally anticipated and that, as a result, the province will have to wait a little longer before Nova Scotia can “live within its means,” as the party describes it on its website.

Of course, this should not be interpreted as the government will suddenly become more accepting of deficit financing, which is key to an equitable and sustainable pattern of economic development. On the contrary, the longer that the NDP stretches out the timeline for resolving its fiscal deficit, the less likely we are to see the kind of initiatives that are so needed in Nova Scotia.

Things are likely to get worse before they get better.

Advocates of more traditionally left-wing politics have been apt to proclaim the importance of avoiding the mistakes that the Left made under the Bob Rae New Democrats in Ontario in the early 1990s. Accordingly, the Left is telling itself that it needs to place constant pressure on the Dexter New Democrats to live up to the promise of social democratic politics. It would appear, however, that forcing the New Democrats to change course would be a momentous, if not impossible, feat— particularly once the HST has been scrapped, which is likely before the winter.

Not that pressure is a bad idea—it is a fundamental necessity. Also necessary, however, is an acceptance of the cold reality that the Nova Scotia NDP is no longer a social democratic party, and that the political spectrum, if it is to be pushed back to the Left, will likely require some other form of party organization.

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 9

Solidarity, Class Conflict and Labour in Windsor

By John Rose

On Thursday May 27, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) held its annual Ontario Division convention, with 1,000 delegates attending from locals across the province. There was a collective feeling in the room that the labour movement must take action in order to respond to the economic crisis.

An admirable example of this was illustrated in a moving presentation about CUPE Locals 543 and 82 in Windsor.

These inside and outside city workers had been on strike for seven weeks at the time. After hearing about their story and struggles, a delegate approached the microphone and suggested that we arrange for buses to arrive at the convention the next day and take the whole Ontario delegation to Windsor to support the striking workers. There was an immediate and thunderous uproar of support.

The delegation did not leave for Windsor the next day, but this event was the seed that spawned the efforts to have workers converge in Windsor on June 12.

I was on a bus from Peterborough to Windsor in the early hours of June 12, which was one of many busloads of CUPE workers and supporters that arrived to support locals 543 and 82 from across Ontario. In the end, approximately 2,000 workers marched and rallied in the streets.

Windsor was a crucial location for this collective action with the highest unemployment rate in the country at 13.5 per cent in May. The national and Ontario unemployment rates for May were 8.7 per cent and 9.8 per cent respectively.

Ontario has lost more than 200,000 jobs since last October, and because of the high impact on the auto sector Windsor has been hit hard, and with CUPE Locals 543 and 82 well into their strikes things were heating up.

CUPE Ontario president Sid Ryan and other labour leaders pointed to the hypocrisies in the negotiations in Windsor.

City Council and Mayor Eddie Francis were refusing to negotiate with CUPE locals 543 and 82 and wanted to take away retirement benefits after the age of 65 for new members. Interestingly, council voted to approve increased benefits for themselves. Furthermore, a mayor serving four terms has access to lifetime benefits. But, a worker who labours 8 hours a day, five days a week for 35 years may now not have access to benefits that the membership has had in place for 50 years. The double standard was blatantly obvious.

Windsor Mayor and Council also had also refused to take bargaining to arbitration. Any reasonable negotiator (either for a union or an employer) knows that the ultimate compromise in a stalemate is to take the issues to independent arbitration.

National CUPE president Paul Moist pointed out that 67 per cent of Windsor residents prefer independent and binding arbitration if negotiations break down.

Further logic and tactics of the Mayor and Council were also curious. The retiree benefit cuts would only apply to new employees, so cutting benefits after the age of 65 would not save the city any money until the first new employee retired, which would not be for another 30 years. The cost of the retiree benefits is in the range of $3,000 per year per employee, which, according to Ryan is about the average for the province. So, why, in a time of economic crisis would the Mayor and Council risk a strike and instability over an issue that is of such little cost to the city, and would not save them a penny for 30 years?

Cutting benefits for new workers would also create a schism in the union, with some workers receiving the benefits and some not. This would surely force bargaining committees to put the issue back on the table every time negotiations were opened up to equalize the benefits with all workers. Why would the Mayor and Council risk future labour action and frustration over something the union locals have had in their agreements for 50 years?

The tactics and logic of Windsor Mayor and Council begs the question: is their dispute with the unions about the best interests of the community and coming to a compromise, or about council’s ideological opposition to organized labour. If these benefits are stripped, this would open the door for other municipalities and cities across the province and country to start taking away workers’ benefits, while using the economic crisis as an excuse.

The answer to all these questions might lie in reports that Mayor Francis told striking workers on the picket lines that he

was committed to “breaking the fucking union.”

At the rally, labour leaders repeatedly recalled the 1945 UAW strike by Ford workers in Windsor. This was a moment in time when many of the benefits that workers enjoy today were first being won and established. The Ford UAW Local 200 in Windsor was certified by vote in 1942, and there were a number of strikes from 1942 to1945. These labour actions fought to establish automatic dues check-off, vacation pay, compensation for holidays, veterans’ seniority, gender pay equity and layoff pay. These were trailblazing fights of post-war organized labour in Canada.

Sometimes we forget that the benefits we enjoy and deserve were not given to us by employers out of benevolence, but they were fought for. Now, we have to fight like hell to keep them because the managers, governors and wealthy elites are waging a war against workers and are committed to taking away benefits. In Windsor, the Mayor defends classist double standards between workers and themselves, and promotes unreasonable bargaining strategies that seek to disrupt negotiations and workers lives.

Workers did not create the economic crisis, but it is being used by the very entities that did create it to strip us of benefits that our predecessors fought for. This convergence in Windsor was about helping CUPE Locals 543 and 82 in their strikes, but it was also about a resurgence and reformation of the labour movement, and highlighting the clear class divisions that plague our economic structure.

Former Manitoba Premier Howard Pauley characterized the unreasonable conduct of Windsor Mayor and Council, and our current economic problems, as fallout from following the “ideology of the blind forces of the market.” We cannot forget that one of the many contradictions of our marketled capitalist economic system is that those who control the economy and manage it do so at the expense, and through the exploitation, of workers.

At a union meeting over 60 years ago, former Windsor Mayor Art Reaume praised the striking UAW workers and said: “Every member of my city council stands prepared to see that no man or woman is starved in this land of plenty.” How times have changed.

But now when economic and ideological forces have conspired to take away workers hard earned benefits, apathy and fence-sitting are not going to help anyone. The active, practical, and compassionate character of the labour movement was demonstrated at June’s successful rally in Windsor, and we must keep this momentum strong. With a lot of solidarity and courage, and with the labour struggles of the past in our memories, workers must not let anyone tear Windsor, this province, or the labour movement across the globe apart.

Unpacking Pakistan and the ‘war on terror’

By Salmaan Abdul Hamid Khan

Pakistan has been labelled the frontline state in the so-called “war on terror.” Its geographical location has put it at the heart of the conflict, and as such, it is suffering the consequences. The border that Pakistan shares with Afghanistan has become an area of great unrest and violence, particularly in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

The unrest in these regions has resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians, and has left over three million people displaced.

In recent news, up to 80 people were killed in the South Waziristan region after three unmanned US drones fired missiles into a funeral procession. These drone attacks carried out by the US have become all too common. This was just one of approximately 20 attacks this year, bringing the total number of drone attacks up to about 60 thus far.

Pakistani intelligence claims that these attacks have killed 14 militant suspects and over 700 civilians.

When questioned about the inefficiency of these attacks, as well as their disastrous outcomes, American officials claim that “there are no US military strike operations being conducted in Pakistan.”

In addition to being directly responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians, even if they deny it, American forces are largely responsible for the current unrest in Pakistan that threatens to destabilize the entire region.

Following the events of 9/11, the US initiated its now infamous “war on terror” by sending troops to Afghanistan.

Here they ostensibly fought to hunt down Osama Bin Laden and his band of 40 thieves, all the while “building democracy” and “liberating the Afghan people” from the Taliban.

Throughout this period, which many critics see as a US-led crusade to impose neo-liberalism on the region, Taliban fighters moved back-and-forth over the Afghan-Pakistani border. The practice continues to this day, as fighters seek safe shelter and supplies.

Consequently, US forces are unable to cross into Pakistan and pursue their combatants, since such a move would violate Pakistani sovereignty and would turn the current

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conflict into a regional one.

In exchange for billions of dollars of funding, the Pakistani government has agreed to provide a solution to the US predicament. In the coming years, Pakistan would wage its own war along the Afghan-Pakistan border, in an attempt to weed out Taliban and Al-Qaeda fighters. Initially, most of this fighting has been carried out by Pakistani paramilitary forces such as the frontier corps, or even the police, without the actual military getting directly involved. This ragtag military group, recruited mostly from people in neighbouring tribal areas, and commanded by officers of the Pakistani army, would receive training in counter-insurgency warfare

by US and British forces.

However, under increased pressure from the US government, the Pakistani military has begun sending many of its troops into the region—and with disastrous consequences.

Pakistan’s subsequent involvement in the conflict has created much tension within its borders. Prior to Pakistan’s participation in the “war on terror”, there were no suicide bombings or threats of terrorist attacks in its mainland. The government’s collaboration with the US and its disregard for civilian lives have contributed to the rapid increase in militancy, and the later phenomenon known as the “Pakistan Taliban”.

The Pakistan Taliban is gaining support in the tribal regions because local residents increasingly perceive it as the only means to oppose a government that cares little about them and can’t take care of their needs. It is important to note that the “Talibanization”, as some would call it, in the North-West region, should not be interpreted as ideological support for an extremist agenda, but rather as a desperate response to worsening conditions of poverty.

According to Imran Khan, Pakistani politician and Founder of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice), “The increased military activity which is constantly displacing individuals leaves them no other option of livelihood. Many of the people living in the tribal areas are subsistence farmers whose crops have been destroyed.”

Most of the combatants recruited to join the Taliban in Pakistan come from poor economic backgrounds that, as a result of increased military operation the region, have little or no means to make a living.

From an ideological standpoint, it is important to recognize that only the Taliban in the Swat region are demanding the imposition of Sharia law, or at least their narrow version of it. The Swat region, formally recognized as the centre of Taliban activity in Pakistan, has a long history that helps explain its current situation. The people of the region have for many decades practiced their own laws, being a mix of tribal and Sharia jurisprudence. Like many of the other areas along the border with Afghanistan, it was fairly autonomous and its people distant from the ruling Pakistani establishment.

However, during the 1970s, the Swat region would eventually come under the control of the central government, allowing it to impose its laws on the land. Consequently, this new system of society, one dominated by systems of hierarchy and class, created great hardships for the lower classes, which were much better off under the old system. Over the years, the lower class has attempted to regain control of the region, demanding the restoration of Sharia law. As violence and militancy have spread to the region as a result of the war in Afghanistan, the struggle has changed its face, and is now more determined than before.

To restore some order, treaties had been signed and deals were agreed between the central government and the Taliban to address the questions of Sharia law and local autonomy. But constant attacks on civilians by US drones, as well as the growing presence of the Pakistani military under pressure from the US, has seriously undermined the peace agreements. It has become impossible for Pakistan’s government to continue claiming it advocates for peace, on the one hand, while condoning the slaughter of its own ‘PAKISTAN’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

Canada goes AWOL on human rights As the US attempts to close down Guantánamo Bay, a number of countries around the world have offered to accept detainees. Not Canada. If you thought Canada supports human rights, think again.

By Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab Canada was once known as a world leader in humanitarianism, and prided itself on its commitment to human rights. Not anymore.

In early June, the Obama administration in the US asked Canada to accept 17 Chinese Uighur Muslims. The men have been held captive in Guantánamo Bay since 2001, despite the fact that they were cleared for release five years ago. The US is now trying to find a country where they can settle and rebuild their lives.

The Canadian government refused the request, stating that Canada is not willing to accept detainees from Guantánamo who have no ties to the country. But it’s hard to believe the government’s reasoning, since Prime Minister Stephen Harper has also made clear that Canada will not accept detainees who do have ties to the country, including Canadian citizens.

The Canadian government is currently appealing a Federal Court ruling that ordered Canada to demand the immediate repatriation of Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, arguing that the government’s refusal to do so violated Khadr’s Charter rights. Now 22, Khadr has been in detention since he was 15 years old. He has now spent over a third of his life in Guantánamo.

The Uighurs come from the Xingjian region of China, and were captured in Afghanistan in 2001. Although they were cleared of terror-related charges in 2004, the Uighur men have spent many years in prison because no country would offer them asylum.

China has requested their return, but the US government claims it fears the men will be tortured in China (even though the U.S. has its own recent history of torture). Many Uighurs want autonomy for the Xingjian region; the Chinese government has waged a

Organic Farming 101: Another way to save the planet Learning more about what we produce in agriculture, and how we produce it, could help human beings reduce their impact on the environment—and on themselves.

By Kaitlin Fowlie Every once in a while the need for environmental awareness manifests itself in the form of a new “green” initiative—whether a new alternative product or an ecofriendly service. The Toronto eco scene is good for business, but the revolving door of trendy small-scale initiatives will not heal the world.

We can’t expect to find a technical solution to a problem that requires our full attendance.

The destructive habits of human beings are a testament to our attitude that the solution is simply too foreboding to consider.

We want clean air, clean water and clean organs, but our actions betray the belief that the environment, in its magnitude, will simply absorb the chemicals we use on it. Similarly, our lifestyles reflect a faith that our bodies will absorb the toxins we consume, including the chemicals used in industrial farming. A “won’t hurt” mentality is costing us our health.

What can we do to ditch the small-scale approach and work to-

ward an effective solution? We can start by implementing a university degree for sustainable farming— agriculture that allows minimal damage to the environment and, in turn, to the human race. Instilling passion for the ecosystem in young people and cultivating knowledge of plant life, the harms of pesticides and the importance of nutrients are vital steps to ensuring a successful future on earth. While study of the soil may not spring to mind when thinking of higher education in a contemporary urban setting, Toronto’s green initiatives are the seeds of interest that could alter our urban landscape and improve our health.

An urban institution like Ryerson could take advantage of its city landscape to instruct hands– on urban farming, the practice of cultivating food within a city. By using a bio-intensive method that incorporates organic crop growth on a minimum amount of land, we can show that long-term sustainability is an achievable goal of

campaign against them for years.

But don’t be fooled by what appears to be US generosity toward the Uighurs. The US, like Canada, will not allow them to settle within their borders. In 2008, a U.S. federal judge ordered the Uighurs be allowed to resettle on U.S. soil, but the Bush administration appealed the ruling and managed to get it overturned. The Obama administration has also blocked their entry into the country.

Bermuda, however, was not afraid to offer asylum, and agreed to shelter four of the Uighur men. They arrived at the island country on June 11. The island nation of Palau has agreed to accept the 13 remaining men, but they fear moving there because they don’t believe its government can protect them from persecution by the Chinese state. Palau does not maintain its own army and relies on the United States for defence.

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court

urban agriculture.

The benefits are numerous: the addition of new vessels for composted urban waste and black water, an increase of local food, reduction of fossil fuel use, community growth and a lot more green space. The reduction in food travel time would allow the elimination of preservatives, and a restriction of chemical sprays would result in maximum nutrients reached in each plant. Farming in an urban environment would instil compassion, time management and appreciation for food, nature and life in its participants. Rooftop farms could be the new rooftop patio.

In 2004, Toronto passed a citywide bylaw that called for a limited use of pesticide and the adoption of more sustainable approaches to lawn and garden care. Within the first three years of implementation, the city saw a 60 per cent decrease in domestic pesticide use. More recently, in April 2009, Ontario pesticide regulation came into effect, restricting the sale and use of cosmetic pesticides across the province. The decision to regulate pesticide use began in Quebec in the early 1990s. It has since inspired some 154 Canadian municipalities in seven provinces to pass such bylaws.

Created in the interest of public health, these bylaws show how far we have come since the days of promoting DDT as a harmless material. Since the basic element of DDT is carbon, the building block of the living world, it was classed as an organic substance. But carbon can unite with an infinite possibility of other atoms. In the case of DDT, carbon unites with hydrogen and chlorine, creating a highly toxic chemical that will contaminate every life cycle it touches.

However, none of these municipal developments change the fact that farming on an industrial scale is oriented toward mass crop production with little regard for nutrient content or the environment.

In reality, there is an entire universe in the soil with its own

voted to delay until at least October a decision on whether the Uighurs can be released from the U.S., presumably so as not to disturb the current deal with Palau. Meanwhile, the European Union has agreed to work with the U.S. to resettle dozens of Guantánamo prisoners, in order to help President Obama meet his promise to close the jail by January 2010.

So far, Portugal has agreed to accept two or three detainees, while Italy has agreed to take three. Canada has remained on the sidelines, offering no help to the U.S. in resettling detainees who have no countries to call home, and refusing to accept Canadian citizen Omar Khadr, the only remaining Western national in Guantánamo.

For more information on Omar Khadr and the campaign to win his repatriation to Canada, please visit: http://www.bringomarhome.ca/en/home.htm

unique language. The main difference between organic farming and industrial farming is that the former focuses on the processes involved in food production. The soil itself is seen as a living organism. New materials are constantly being contributed to the earth in a cycle that is without beginning or end. Rocks crumble, organic matter decays and rain contributes a variety of natural gases from the atmosphere. At the same time, other materials are being taken away and used by living creatures. Chemical changes are constantly occurring in the soil, converting the natural elements from air and water into nutrients for plants. One teaspoon of soil contains billions of bacteria.

Around 1950, when the insecticidal properties in DDT were discovered, we altered the soil for the worse. In the interest of expedient crop growth, we poured synthetic pesticides over the soil and disturbed hundreds of millions of years of the balanced natural cycle. Dumping chemicals on crops is easier for producing mass quantities of crops, but bigger isn’t always better. These chemicals not only rob plants of their nutrients but also add complications to our health, ranging from nerve damage upon a single exposure to cell alteration after repeated contact. A

study conducted on mosquitoes in the early 1960s showed that several generations of exposure to DDT resulted in bizarre organisms that were part male and part female.

Such risks are a high price to pay for increased yields.

The University of Guelph boasts an extensive Department of Plant Agriculture and has recently opened a center for urban organic farming on one hectare of the school’s (165-hectare) arboretum.

The Organic Agriculture Program, offered at both the undergraduate and graduate level, strives toward the goal of a brighter future for food. Offering classes such as Organic Plant Production, Fertilization and Marketing, it is the only major of its kind offered in the country. The program sets students up for proficiency in organic profitability and sustainability, offering opportunities to work with organic entrepreneurs in the “real world” environment of the arboretum.

Hopefully, this unique initiative will pave the way for other institutions in the future. Sustainable farming as a university degree could produce a new kind of entrepreneur—one who sets out to make space for farms, not buildings and billboards, and paints a whole new landscape for the future. Could Ryerson be next?

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 11

FUCK flat

What do Bob fees! Rae and George Galloway have in common?

ANDREW LOUIS

Despite widespread opposition, the University of Toronto has rammed through a ‘flat fees’ payment scheme—meaning that students will pay the same fees if they take three, four or five courses each semester.

University of Toronto Students’ Union president Sandy Hudson explains why flat fees are unfair, and what’s behind the administration’s blatant cash grab.

By Sandy Hudson With the implementation of flat fees, the University of Toronto is shamefully proving, once again, that it is not an institution committed to “the principles of equal opportunity, equity and justice” (excerpt from the University of Toronto Statement of Purpose). It has instead taken a giant leap forward in its true agenda: to become an elite, private institution for the wealthiest and most privileged classes in society.

Despite the united voices of students, workers, faculty and alumni against flat fees, the University of Toronto’s Governing Council ratified on May 20 a flat tuition fee collection policy that will force students in the Faculty of Arts and Science to pay for five courses even if they only take three. This is a staggering 66 per cent increase in tuition fees! After losing $1.3 billion through risky investments, U of T has come up with a disgraceful solution that transfers its debt onto the backs of students.

This new policy is patently unfair, and will negatively affect access to the university. Students will inevitably feel pressured to take five courses in an effort to make the most of their money. For students with dependents, students with disabilities, student workers and students who cannot afford to pay the rising cost of tuition fees, taking five courses simply may not be an option. This policy unjustly penalizes the marginalized and disadvantaged majority, as over 50 per cent of students in the Faculty of Arts and

Science take fewer than five courses.

The bottom line is that the flat tuition fee plan is a shameful cash-grab. It is painfully obvious to everyone that the business tycoons who govern the University could care less about equity and access to education.

Also completely lacking from the University’s discussions around flat fees is the effect they will have on the University’s quality of education. In a flat fee structure, we can expect that students will be compelled to enroll in more classes than before. However, there are no plans to hire more faculty, teaching assistants or support staff to manage such potential course intensification. Students will undoubtedly experience further alienation from their education when class sizes balloon.

The University of Toronto Students’ Union has heard that the Department of History is considering cancelling all third-year tutorials, opting instead to concentrate on expanding tutorials for first- and second-year courses in order to cope with the expansion.

What is also not being considered is the marginalization of certain degree programs within the Faculty of Arts and Science. Due to severe underfunding in programs like Caribbean Studies and Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations, it is sometimes impossible to complete a desired program in the suggested four years. Students who wish to enroll in these programs will have to pay more than the average student. The very existence of these valuable programs

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will be threatened if the flat tuition fee policy negatively affects their enrollment numbers.

It is clear from U of T’s recent actions that it is primarily concerned with becoming an institution for the elite and privileged. With continued calls for increased corporatization, privatization, the complete deregulation of tuition fees, the removal of childcare subsidies for students, and the end to the Transitional Year Program—which was designed to increase access to U of T for marginalized groups; the introduction of the flat tuition fee program takes the University of Toronto one step further in its agenda to move toward a damaging, neoliberal, corporate model of education.

The administration has sent a clear message that the University of Toronto values money over research, innovation, academic freedom, social good and equity. In the face of such challenges: students, faculty and staff at the university continue to be united in opposition to this agenda and are determined to continue campaigns that fight against flat fees, privatization and financial barriers to postsecondary education.

[Ryerson’s School of Business ushered in a similar structural change in May. Students will no longer be able to take more than two courses if enrolled as a part-time student. Formerly part-time students will have to pay more should they take a ‘full-time’ load of three courses.]

Liberal MP Bob Rae’s recent ban from entering Sri Lanka puts him in the same league as British MP George Galloway, who was banned from Canada in March.

But before Canada points its finger at Sri Lanka, it should remember the precedent it set by doing the same thing to Galloway.

By James Clark

Features and Opinions Editor What do Bob Rae and George Galloway have in common?

Not a lot. But Liberal MP Bob Rae’s recent experience in being banned from entering Sri Lanka on June 9 has put him in the same category as British anti-war MP George Galloway who was banned from Canada in March.

The decision by the Sri Lankan government to keep Rae out of Sri Lanka was clearly motivated by a desire to prevent any outside observers from seeing firsthand the appalling treatment of Tamils who have been forced by their hundreds of thousands into internment camps following Sri Lanka’s brutal war. It is also about preventing any criticism of Sri Lanka’s war crimes that killed tens of thousands of Tamils.

Everyone should oppose the ban on Rae and all others who have been denied access to the camps: journalists, aid workers and other international observers.

At the same time, Rae’s ban is an occasion to expose Canada’s hypocrisy in criticizing the ban, since the Canadian government did the same thing to George Galloway, in advance of his visit to Canada for a speaking tour about the war in Gaza.

On March 20, the Canadian High Commission in London delivered a letter to Galloway pre-emptively declaring his inadmissibility to Canada— because he had delivered aid to Gaza after Israel’s war. Staffers for Minister of Immigration Jason Kenney repeatedly cited Galloway’s “odious views” as grounds for the ban.

The Tories were motivated by the same desire to limit any criticism of their support for a brutal war that generated widespread opposition among ordinary people. As usual, when it comes to foreign policy, Harper continues to follow the dictum: “Do as I say, not as I do.”

This opinions piece is based on an editorial that appeared in Socialist Worker 507 on June 10, 2009: http://www.socialist.ca/En/SW2009/ SocialistWorker507/08-Editorials.htm

‘PAKISTAN’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10 people by US and local forces, on the other.

So what is the solution for Pakistan? Is military intervention the only way to quell the Taliban?

How can peace be restored?

Military incursions by both the Pakistani military and US forces continue to act as a detriment to peace and stability in the border regions. Perhaps the most useful approach would be for the US to halt its military action in Afghanistan, which is a driving force for extremism across the border in Pakistan. Unfortunately, any halt in operations by the US seems unlikely as President Obama had already deployed an

additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan earlier this year. Taliban and Al-Qaeda officials are likely hiding out in the border regions of Pakistan, but no one is certain of their whereabouts.

The current US approach to Afghanistan—and by extension, Pakistan—seems likely to continue and intensify. But continued military operations in the region will only further disrupt the lives of locals, galvanizing anti-American sentiment and opposition to Pakistan’s central government.

Increased dialogue and communication are key ingredients to developing a meaningful, longterm solution that involves all players. Sadly, no governments in the region seem willing or ready to take that route.

On strike!

Why you should support city workers

Despite the spin from City Hall, city workers are fighting to maintain decent working conditions and to resist concessions that blame them for the economic crisis. Jesse McLaren explains why they deserve a fair deal.

The women and men whose work keeps Toronto clean, safe and fun are standing up for a fair contract. On June 22, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Locals 79 (representing 18,000 inside workers) and 416 (representing 6,200 outside workers) went on strike as a last resort to protect their rights.

Rather than address the lack of government funding and the global recession that is starving cities of cash, the City of Toronto is blaming workers. Faced with 100 pages of concessions including attacks on health benefits, CUPE members had no choice but to take strike action.

According to Ann Dembinsky, president of CUPE 79: “The city cannot treat their direct employees, our members, like second-class citizens. We had two choices—roll over and play dead or stand up and fight for our rights.”

CUPE members took a stand, and everyone should support them.

Wanted: a fair deal According to Mayor David Miller: “The world has changed. The city has extremely serious budget challenges. The city is not in a position to be generous.”

Mainstream media is repeating this line: that workers’ demands are excessive, and they must tighten their belts during the recession.

But other unions—representing police, fire, hydro and TTC workers—have managed to get wage hikes of three per cent without giving up concessions on benefits. City Councilors gave themselves a 2.5 per cent pay increase this year, and receive many months severance pay on retirement.

Why should city workers be treated differently from others?

Health benefits under attack City Hall refuses to negotiate until CUPE members give up their sick leave bank, which is presented by the mainstream media as a luxury. Under the current contract, workers can pool their unused sick days over the course of employment, to a maximum of six months. Should they not have to use these days, they are entitled to a payout of 50 per cent of banked sick days, or three months.

Firstly, this is hardly exorbitant. City Councilors get a much more generous compensation package, even if they’re voted out of office. CEOs routinely get multimillion dollar golden parachutes, often after running companies into the ground. The sick day bank is a small amount of money earned over the course of decades of hard work maintaining the city for everyone else, and is the least the City can offer its workers at the end of their jobs.

Secondly, sick leave banks are not uncommon. As Councillor Howard Moscoe explained, “most municipalities have it and most school boards have it. When I retired as a school teacher, I got it. I’ve been in politics for 31 years, and it has always been part of the landscape.”

Thirdly, sick days are not bonuses—like the massive payouts CEOs get all the time— but are part of a negotiated contract. Workers should not feel guilty about having these days, as they are the result of collective bargaining.

Fourthly, the sick day bank itself is the result of past compromises on wage negotiations. As even the right-wing National Post admits, “the City’s benefits package grew

over the years as politicians sought to placate labour while making it appear they were keeping wages in check.”

While CEOs’ salaries have skyrocketed, workers’ wages have been kept down for a generation, partly by promising benefits such as sick leave banks. Now workers are expected to surrender these, at the same time as many of their wages are frozen. This is a conscious strategy to undermine working conditions.

In the National Post, Etobicoke Councilor Doug Holyday explained how revoking sick days went hand-in-hand with attacking unions by contracting out: “First we contracted out the garbage. Then we used a pension fund windfall to buy out the sick plan from our employees, which was easier to do when they didn’t have a garbage strike to hold over our heads.”

Six months after their contract expired, city workers faced an attack on their health benefits, saw no sign of wage increases, and turned to strike action as the only way to fight back. It’s no wonder 90 per cent of CUPE workers voted to strike!

Finally, gutting benefits of city workers won’t help others, because wages and benefits are not the problem. Workers didn’t underfund cities or create the global recession, so they shouldn’t have to pay for it.

Government underfunding As Dembinsky explains: “The real travesty is that so few people in Toronto are eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, even though they have been paying into the fund for years, and that provincial and federal governments have refused to properly fund municipalities, forcing them to nickel-anddime frontline workers.”

The attack on Toronto city workers is the latest in a long line of such attacks, which threaten both those who provide services and those who use them. Rather than address decades of education cut backs, York University and University of Toronto tried to balance their budget on the backs of Teaching Assistants (TAs), and tried to pit striking workers

against students.

Now the University of Toronto plans on introducing Flat Fees—a money-grab that punishes part-time students. During the transit strike, the TTC claimed budgetary constraints were the fault of greedy workers, and tried to pit workers against those who use public transit.

Recently, Torontonians received a rude awakening to the real source of transit underfunding. When Mayor Miller applied for $1.2 billion to update transit, Federal Minister of Transportation John Baird told Toronto to “fuck off ”—and this from a government that plans on spending $490 billion on war over the next 20 years!

Global recession For decades, we’ve been told that cuts, concessions, privatization and corporate tax cuts would protect jobs and grow the economy.

Now that this profit-driven corporate greed and financial mismanagement have created a global recession, workers are again being asked to pay for it. Any so-called “bailouts” transfer billions of public dollars to banks and CEOs, while more concessions are demanded from workers.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is spending billions on a war that a clear majority of Canadians reject, and his failed budget in November tried to freeze pay equity and ban strikes for government workers. Even “progressive” politicians are not able to resist the market pressures. People in Ontario still recoil at the memory of Bob Rae’s New Democratic Party (NDP) government, which tried to balance the budget on the backs of ordinary people, and paved the way for the brutal Mike Harris government.

Many cheered the election of David Miller, but he has adopted the same strategy of seeing workers as the enemy of public services. The opposite is true. It is the labour movement—through strikes and demonstrations—that has won all the public services and benefits Canadians enjoy, from the weekend to the minimum wage to Medicare.

Global resistance Facing a new recession and the cuts that flow from it, the labour movement is again starting to rise up. From 75,000 New York trade unionists who marched against budget cuts, to millions of workers striking across Europe, to the growth of the Good Jobs for All Coalition in Toronto—workers are standing up and standing together for a better world.

In such a context, revoking health benefits from one group of workers threatens everyone else.

Companies and governments are pushing to see how much of this crisis can be dumped on the shoulders of workers. This is a race to the bottom. That is why we need to build solidarity with city workers and to build rankand-file networks to strengthen our unions.

Students can play a role in building and supporting such networks.

What you can do 1) Join the picket lines: Etobicoke Civic Centre, City Hall, North York Civic Centre, Scarborough Civic Centre. Let city workers know that students support them.

2) Join solidarity rallies. Check the union website for regular updates: http://www. cupelocal79.org/.

3) Join the facebook group, “I support CUPE 79 and 416 workers on strike.”

4) Contact Mayor David Miller and ask him to give CUPE workers a fair contract: phone 416397-2489 or e-mail mayor_miller@toronto. ca.

5) Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining why you support city workers.

This opinions piece was originally published as a Labour Supplement for Socialist Worker on June 22, 2009. It has been edited for publication in the Ryerson Free Press.

Charlotte Ireland

Striking City of Toronto workers gather at a solidarity rally at Nathan Phillips Square on June 24.

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 13

FEATURES Jewish group embraces boycott, makes history In a feature interview, Jewish community activist Diana Ralph talks about the creation of Independent Jewish Voices, a network of progressive Jewish activists who made history by becoming the first Jewish organization in Canada to endorse the boycott campaign of Israel.

Interview by James Clark, Features and Opinions Editor James Clark: What is Independent Jewish Voices (IJV)?

Diana Ralph: Independent Jewish Voices – Canada (IJV) is an organization of Canadian Jews who share a strong commitment to social justice and universal human rights. We welcome a healthy diversity of alternative Jewish perspectives on many issues, such as supporting civil liberties for Omar Khadr, Abousfian Abdelrazik and the Canadian Arab Federation; challenging false allegations of anti-Semitism against the Durban Review of the World Conference Against Racism; and opposing Canadian complicity in the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, and in threats of war against Iran.

We especially focus on promoting justice and humanity in the Middle East, and challenging the Canadian government’s uncritical support of Israeli war crimes and violations of international law.

JC: What principles unite IJV? DR: We are guided by the following principles, which form our basis of unity: 1) Human rights are universal and indivisible and should be upheld without exception. This is as applicable in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories as it is elsewhere. 2) Palestinians and Israelis alike have the right to peaceful and secure lives. 3) Peace and stability require the willingness of all parties to the conflict to comply with international law. 4) There is no justification for any form of racism, including anti-Semitism, anti-Arab racism or Islamophobia, in any circumstance. 5) The battle against anti-Semitism is vital and is threatened whenever opposition to Israeli government policies is automatically branded as anti-Semitic.

We believe these principles are contradicted when those who claim to speak on behalf of Jews in Canada and other countries consistently put support for the policies of

an occupying power—Israel—above the human rights of an occupied people—Palestinians.

JC: Where is IJV active in Canada?

DR: There are now active IJV chapters in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.

JC: What kind of work does IJV do?

DR: IJV has been very active this past year, with events or actions virtually every week. We focused on activities that did three things: 1) raised popular awareness about the role of Israel lobby organizations and Canadian government complicity in injustices against Palestinians and Muslims; 2) supported students, unions, churches, First Nations people and people of African descent who were under attack by the Israel lobby; and 3) developed working relationships with other progressive groups, political leaders and policy-makers to promote justice.

fear, Iran). For example, Judaism emphasizes serving God and acting ethically; Israel emphasizes serving its nationalistic interests and puts its security above ethics. Judaism emphasizes “shalom” (peace) and humility; Israeli policy has always emphasized war and power.

In the face of the growing list of Israeli atrocities and war crimes, which are damaging our own country, many Canadian Jews have become “NION-ists” (as opposed to Zionists), who say “Not In Our Name.” We feel a deep ethical obligation to organize to oppose the Israel lobby and to support the just demands of Palestinians.

JC: How did Independent Jewish Voices come together?

DR: In 2006, there were about 25 progressive Canadian Jewish groups. They were small, marginal, financially and politically weak, and disconnected from the mainstream Jewish community. Their tactics tended to be reactive and symbolic,

rather than realistic attempts to influence any particular group to do anything specific.

By contrast, the Israel lobby is enormously powerful, both financially and politically. It is deeply integrated into and supported by the mainstream Jewish community and the Canadian, U.S. and Israeli governments. Its several wings operate in unison as a coherent, streamlined machine to promote the legitimacy and power of Israel.

However, I was confident that progressive Jews in alliance with other pro-justice groups had the potential to build a movement powerful enough to expose, weaken and eventually defeat the Canadian Israel lobby. In spite of heavy pro-Israel propaganda, most Jews are far more progressive than the Israel lobby which claims to speak for them.

Because Canadian Jews tend to value human rights and to vote for the Liberals or the New Democratic Party (NDP), many are uncomfortable with brutal Israeli actions and the allegiance between the Harper government and the Canadian Israel lobby. Many other Jews who uncritically support Israel do so out of misinformation and fear promoted by the Israel lobby. Working together in campaigns targeting mainstream Jewish communities, we have the potential to correct these myths.

Our first priorities, therefore, were to unite Canada’s progressive Jews, to encourage other Jews to join us, and to link with progressive non-Jews. Rather than allowing our differences to divide us, we welcomed a healthy diversity of opinions about Zionism, Israel, and possible solutions. Our approach is clearly very different than the monolithic Israel lobby.

In March 2008 in Toronto, we organized a national conference of Canadian Jews who were already promoting a just peace in Israel/ Palestine. We also invited unions, churches, peace and student groups, and Palestinian, Muslim and Arab groups to send delegates.

It was the largest gathering of progressive Jews and allies Canada has

ever seen. We came from all across Canada. About three quarters of us were Jews ranging from secular to Orthodox, from young adults to seniors, representing 18 Jewish organizations. We unanimously adopted a statement of unity and launched Independent Jewish Voices – Canada (IJV).

JC: What has IJV accomplished since its founding conference?

DR: Since then, IJV has played a major role in a broad range of campaigns and tours to promote justice for Palestinians. During Israel’s Gaza massacre last January, we co-sponsored demonstrations and press conferences with Palestinians from coast to coast, which helped to show that this was a united demand for justice, not a conflict between Muslims and Jews.

We also organized a crossCanada tour by Jeff Halper, Director of the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions and a tour by Al-Haq, an organization which is challenging the legality of Canada Park, built with Canadian funds in the Occupied Territories where three Palestinian villages once stood. We also co-sponsored performances of the play My Name is Rachel Corrie across Canada and Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) activities on several Canadian campuses.

We have also taken an active advocacy role in supporting the Canadian Union of Public Employees – Ontario Division (CUPE Ontario), the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) and the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF).

All of these organizations have come under attack for criticizing Israel’s policies and treatment of the Palestinians.

We helped to organize progressive Jews internationally to support the Durban Review of the World Conference Against Racism. Our tiny delegation made a major difference in challenging the claim that the Durban Review was anti‘BOYCOTT’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

JC: Why is it important that progressive Jews support justice for Palestinians?

DR: The State of Israel claims to represent Jews worldwide. That is even more ridiculous than claiming that the Harper government represents the views of all Canadians. It has never been true. Before 1948 [the year that Israel became a state], most Jews worldwide rejected Zionism [the political movement for the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine], including the leading Orthodox, Reform and secular Jewish organizations.

Many Jews now believe that Israel’s behaviour violates core Jewish values. Many are even saying the current form of Zionism is “Israelworship,” a new fascistic religion which is destroying Judaism (along with many of the people of Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon and soon, we

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Members of Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) participated in the pan-Canadian mobilizations against Israel’s war on Gaza in January. Here IJV member Fabienne Presentey speaks to the media in Montreal.

Justice HARRY LAFORME Reflects on Canada “This is where you can live in true equality,” said the Superior Court Judge in his first interview sincce his resignation from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

By David Thurton Justice Harry LaForme is a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. A member of the Mississaugas of New Credit First Nation (the nation that holds claim over the land on which Ryerson University is situated), Justice LaForme won the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the area of Law and Justice in 1997 and appointed to the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, from which he resigned in late 2008.

In a conversation with David Thurton, Justice LaForme talks about his thoughts on Canada, the attitudes of its people and why he believes that Canada is where everyone can live with true equality, eventually.

Given the chance to decide his son’s birth place, say anywhere from the United States to Thailand, Justice Harry LaForme would choose Canada. That’s because Canada never stops looking for ways to make its society more just and equal, he said.

“Nothing’s perfect with Canada and Aboriginal people.

But we never cease to look for the answers. And that’s great.”

“I know the laws of the United States. I know their jurisprudence. I know their court system. I know all of it. I’ve seen it first hand. And in my view I prefer my son to grow up in Canada. Not that there’s anything wrong with the United States, but I would choose Canada,” the Ontario Superior Court judge said.

Canada’s acceptance of same-sex marriage, which LaForme wrote on as an Ontario Appeal Court Judge, confirms that Canada as a nation that is constantly searching for answers to issues of human rights and inequality, LaForme said.

He remembers listening to arguments from both sides of the same-sex marriage argument, and, “Clearly thinking in my mind that Canada is a country that will embrace this.

This is where you can live true equality. You just don’t say it, you just don’t tolerate it, but you can permanently live it and embrace it. And I was right.”

LaForme said Canada is a liberal country in every sense

of the word and likewise willing to look at new ways of living.

Naturally, LaForme said Canada needs to look closely at its relationship between itself and Aboriginal people as it gets older. He hopes the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that he resigned chairmanship from, would examine this relationship.

“We still have to look at that very objectively and be prepared for some real answers to those questions.”

In what is LaForme’s first interview after resigning chairmanship from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he told the Ryerson Free Press that he had nothing further to say about the commission where alleged reports of in-fighting and political interference surfaced.

“Other than I wish it nothing than the best. We had our issues and I responded the only way that I could at least in my view. And now its other people and they need my support. I want them to be as successful as they can. It’s too important not to,” LaForme said.

Housepaint tackles poverty and homelessness The Royal Ontario Museum recently wrapped up a months-long exhibit that featured street art as social commentary on poverty, homelessness and the homeless.

By Adriana Rolston The image of a man is painted on the trunk of a tree. Its limbs rise above the man’s head and hold a small house perched atop its branches. The tree stands inside the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Behind the tree, tiny 3D shacks are painted on clouds of orange smoke that extend up onto the wall.

Better known as the “Hug me tree,” it became a landmark on Queen Street West, and was transplanted to the Institute of Contemporary Culture as part of Housepaint, Phase 2: Shelter, the first exhibit to fuse street art and commentary on homelessness in the ROM. Housepaint, which ran from December 2008 until July 5, brought together 12 of Canada’s internationally recognized street artists to paint in memory of Tent City and all those who have died on the streets.

The “Hug me tree” stood on Queen Street West until it was knocked down by a car. Neighbourhood residents rescued the tree from being tossed into the trash.

Toronto artist Elicser Elliot was able to infuse a new reincarnation of the tree with the same values as the exhibit.

“I thought the tree brings the community together. Everybody gets around it and love is passed through the tree somehow. I was like it’s a community and from a community comes home,” said Elicser.

Tent City became home for an entire homeless population that began growing on an empty lot at the base of Parliament Street as early as 1996. For many, the shantytown represented an act of solidarity and civil disobedience, as residents utilized society’s garbage to construct an independent way of life—until they were evicted in September 2002.

Housepaint’s curator, Devon Ostrom, and co-founder of them.ca, was commissioned by Luminato Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity in June 2008 to do live painting on the site where Tent City once stood, in collaboration with Manifesto Community Projects.

On the packed gravel where up to 200 people lived an alternatively housed existence, he invited Canadian street artists,

Case, Evoke, Lease, Dixon/ Royal, Cant4, Elicser, Starship, EGR, and Other to each paint canvas houses in homage to former residents. The sizes of the structures were representational of Torontonian’s incomes, with two low, two high and six middle class houses.

While painting on the site, Toronto artist Erica Gosich Rose (EGR) felt an undertone of reality.

“Since it was such a sensitive topic I had a hard time thinking of what to do. I wanted to react and comment in a way that wasn’t just going to make me cry while painting and totally break down.

Because the whole situation and struggle that these people have faced is so immense I wanted to bring an element of hope,” she said.

She was inspired by Gustav Klimt’s painting “Hope II” at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and wanted to capture the unity of that feminine family. A pregnant woman was sprayed on the roof of the tall house that she painted. The woman’s head was bent down, breasts bare, a golden mosaic of patterned cloth hanging down over her stomach and onto the wall. The other walls were filled with the images of three women draped over one another, eyes closed, hands raised in prayer.

When the ROM invited Ostrom to bring the street art into the gallery setting, he wanted the show to retain some of the fluid spontaneity that is part of graffiti culture.

“I didn’t really want to sort of plunk down a bunch of street art in the gallery. I wanted to bring in a chance for the public to get to meet street artists and see their work evolve. I think people have gotten the opportunity to look into a world they don’t normally get that much access to,” said Ostrom, who oversaw artists adding new pieces to the exhibit roughly every month and-a-half, like an organic game of telephone messages

which each interprets differently.

One of those additions was “Evoke/Contraction” by Patrick Thompson (Evoke). The large façade of a suburban house and garage were affixed to a slanted wall of the exhibit with the words “Bomb the suburbs” scrawled under the roof. Multicoloured paint splatters exploded across it, representing homelessness and the lack of housing as a national disaster.

Elicser believes that graffiti is an appropriate medium to comment on homelessness because both cultures are often misunderstood and share the same space, which he realized while he was painting a wall one day and a woman urinated beside some nearby dumpsters.

“I was just like, ‘Why are you peeing right there?’ And it just clicked to me that that was her home and I was sort of painting in her living room. So after that I didn’t get that mad about her peeing in front of my wall, because I sort of realized that it was her wall as well,” said Elicser.

Accessibility was the biggest drawback of exhibiting in the ROM for those who couldn’t afford the $22 admission fee.

Ostrom tried to address this issue by giving free tours to different youth and homeless

groups, as well as advertising free visitor nights. He also wanted to address the larger themes of homelessness and street art by using Housepaint as a platform for the voices of activists, artists and city councillors.

Eric Weissman has been following the lives of Tent City residents on film since May 2002 in his documentary, Subtext: real stories, and was invited to screen his film at the ROM, which was available for visitors to view in the exhibit.

He began filming when there were only six houses on the lot, as members of the community struggled with addictions, scavenged and built shelters, cooked together and shared their lives with him on camera.

“The only difference between Tent City and a small little neighbourhood is they don’t have driveways and garages. They weren’t borrowing their friend’s boat or their friend’s driver to go to the golf course but they would borrow his hammer or they would borrow cigarettes,” said Weissman.

He also witnessed residents’ forcible removal by the city and land owner, Home Depot, who claimed that fire risk and ground ‘HOUSEPAINT’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

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very year, hundreds of independent and unsigned bands from Canada, the United States and beyond converge in Toronto for four of the most concert-packed days possible. Nearly every concert venue in Toronto, from intimate fifty-person capacity art galleries to the Kool Haus, where upwards of twenty-five hundred attendees can crowd around the stage, hosts several acts a night. North-by-North-East (NXNE) isn’t just music, though; the film festival is a major part of the event, as are the various art exhibits and other cultural happenings throughout the cinemas, galleries, nightclubs and public squares of Toronto.

For four days, the city is abuzz with rumours of which bands might be playing where, which films simply can’t be missed and which showcases promise the most bang for one’s buck. We tried to fit in a little of each: some films, some shows and all the misdeeds in between, only a fraction of which could be captured on camera. Here is the Ryerson Free Press’ account of one of North America’s most frenzied music and arts festivals, in hopes that next year we might just see you there.

At a festival as vast as NXNE, I felt it prudent to pick one night that felt particularly musically promising rather than to try hopping from venue to venue, missing potentially-exhilarating acts in between. I picked Friday, June 19 at Lee’s Palace, one of Toronto’s most intimate and acoustically-sound venues in Toronto, where headliners California noise-duo No Age were being preceded by a trio of acts that sounded both promising and sonically varied. Thus, I sat down at 8:30 to enjoy a typical night of independent music at one of the biggest music showcases in Canada.

MUSIC 9pm – Bobby Conn & Monica Boubou Going first on any bill that features three or more bands is tough: the crowd is thin and their interest is likely in one of the other bands. Unless the band is face-meltingly engaging or doing something completely new (and sometimes even if they are), the band is not going to get much of a reaction. That didn’t stop Conn, the leisure-suited, guitar-wielding hybrid of Alex from A Clockwork Orange and some middle-aged Italian gigolo, and Boubou, his kid sister dressed in polka-dot leggings and pigtails, from doing everything in their power to get the crowd going. They employed rock-star swagger even in the absence of a real crowd. Their music was explosive, becoming its most cacophonous and musically captivating when Boubou let loose on her violin. When she sang she demonstrated that it was her name, not Bobby’s, which deserved to be first on the bill.

Their stage-presence was overwhelming, but the duo was sorely missing a drummer, whose position was filled by prerecorded rhythm mp3s from Boubou’s laptop. Ultimately this resulted in parts of their show feeling just a little tacked together. However, despite their few limitations, the two put on a good show, energizing the growing crowd.

10pm – Mika Miko “Thanks for letting us play this show, it’s a real honour” mumbled singer Victor Fandgore (nee Jennifer Clavin) after Mika Miko’s first song, the sarcasm seemingly dripping off of every word. However, upon reflection, it seemed that maybe she was being sincere; there was, it seemed from then on, no pretense to Mika Miko’s live show. They were punks, to be sure, but there was no abundance of black clothing, no contrived attitude that made it seem as if they didn’t want to be playing and actually – they seemed to be having fun! Their music was raucous and powerful, full of the kind of female swagger that is legitimate and intimidating without having to rely on the oppressive tool of sexuality. Mika Miko played a reverb-drenched melange of punk influenced by genres such as pop, surf, two-tone, and the California punk sound of the early 80s. They bended the genres to suit their straightforward approach to a cynical style of music that hardly masks the true love the band feels for their craft. However, that isn’t to say that Mika Miko aren’t still filled to the brim with teenage ‘tude and rebellion. In response to a fan’s request that Mika Miko play a certain song, Fandgore responded, “we’re not gonna do that...we’re gonna do something else.”

11pm – The Dead Science Mika Miko left the audience squirming about, their attention rapt and their ears ready for another sonic battering.

Unfortunately, the Dead Science was never going to provide

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it. They provided, from beginning to end, dreamy, atmospheric waves that failed to invigorate the audience both physically or mentally. The former they can be forgiven for. It’s always difficult for a slow melancholy band to follow a barn storming performance, but their music should entice the audience to take part in the music with their minds, if not their bodies. The Dead Science don’t make the kind of music worthy of quiet contemplation, but nor do they make music worthy of physical participation (beyond cringing, perhaps). Watching their performance was akin to witnessing an interpretive dance at a high-school talent show.

The kid wants so badly to be taken seriously that it’s hard not to laugh at the simultaneous lack of craftsmanship and self-awareness. The tall and fey singer of the Dead Science has a vibrato so overpowering that he’s actually going out of tune. It’s not only grating, but makes for a performance so excessively overwrought (redundancy intended) that, when matched with the singer’s incapacity for melody, makes their music almost unlistenable. Only the complex clatter of the drums provided the Dead Science with some ounce of saving grace, and that’s scraping the barrel.

12am – No Age Seeing a band live, even a good one, can be fickle. The musical intricacies made possible by the studio allow artists to create sounds so complex that they can be nearly impossible to recreate onstage. Oppositely and rarely, a band’s simplicity or live inventiveness can breathe new life into their recorded music. No Age find themselves in the latter category, as their ‘wall-of-sound’ recording style translates nicely into venues that allow the appropriate amount of sonic reverberation to make their ambient and (perhaps oxymoronically) pounding music resonate with an audience. No Age create epic, fuzzy thrash rock that is as subtly melodic as it is energetic. They could be groovy, dreamy and anthemic, or taut and propulsive with equal success, and their frenetic energy made the duo sound like a quartet. They filled the venue to the brim with psychedelic reverb. The audience was, for the second time during the evening, entirely captivated. The audience no doubt sensed the earnestness and enjoyment pouring out from No Age as they reciprocated enough enthusiasm to keep the audience-performer connection tight and intimate until the very end of their exuberant set.

1am – King Khan & BBQ (Secret Performer) By the end of the night the audience were energized enough by music and beer that the last act couldn’t possibly fail. Then, as if hearing their call, onto the stage stepped King Khan. He was wearing nothing but a gold chain-link poncho, black trousers and a cape, his brown skin painted gold from forehead to beer-belly.

His classic, “Rolling Stones-esque” rocking was accentuated by his intense, seemingly inborn sense of showmanship. The swarthy King Khan never stopped grotesquely and hilariously shimmying and shaking around the stage. His contagious swagger and swarthiness stimulated the crowd, imbibing us with the sense that we were participating in something both scandalous and impossible, like some modern speakeasy where Mo-town and garage-punk had crashed together. The audience was notably loose, unencumbered by rules, pride and even sobriety, thereby creating a kinetic, passionate energy that permeated the entire venue. For the audience that had been at the showcase from 9:00, it was a fitting way to end a night of (mostly) energetic rock and roll. It somehow felt both incredibly brief and curiously timeless, perhaps not unlike rock and roll itself. —Stephen Carlick

FILM City Sonic: Cancer Bats at the Adrift Clubhouse (2009) Director: Bruce McDonald Band info: myspace.com/cancerbats.

Toronto locals the Cancer Bats graced the screen for about five minutes in this short documentary exploring their hardcorepunk roots and how they became a band. Filmed in black and white, the doc had a DIY (do it yourself) feel with jumpy cuts and layered voice overs. While hanging out at the new Adrift Clubhouse – an indoor skate park and concert venue – the four-piece band talked about how exciting it was to be in high school, putting on your own show and making a hundred bucks.

Although the doc is brief, viewers get a sense of how dedicated these boys are to their music. Full of pictures from past shows, the Cancer Bats’ energetic vibe comes through. In one photo, vocalist Liam Cormier is screaming into the faces of a sea of fans with sweat dripping from the tip of his hair. The band discusses

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how they prefer to play house shows rather than big venues and argue that seeing a band in a bar is nothing compared to going to a show in a tiny packed venue.

Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison (2008) Director: Bestor Cram It was his infamous live recording at Folsom Prison that set Johnny Cash on a mission to bring prison reform to America. In this documentary director Bestor Cram interviews Cash’s children, former band mates and former inmates that attended the Folsom performance to get an inside look as to why Cash picked up this cause. Interviews were blended with photos of Cash’s Folsom gig and unique animations were created to match his songs.

During the song “25 Minutes to Go” a cartoon version of Cash is seen singing into a mic, strumming his guitar only to be taken to the gallows but is miraculously saved by a black bird.

The documentary also included snippets of an interview Cash did with actor Tim Robbins in 2000. In regards to executions Cash told Robbins, “I thought, ‘what a horrible thing – we have to kill our own. Elephants don’t even do that.”

The documentary also highlights Cash’s relationship with inmate Glen Sherley, a musician. The night before Cash’s Folsom performance, he learned a song Sherley wrote called “Grey Stone Chapel.” To Sherley’s surprise when Cash went on stage and said “I hope we do your song justice” the opening chords were from his song. Cash lobbied to get Sherley out of prison, succeeded, and took him on tour. Together, they began advocating for prison reform.

When the Folsom performance was recorded, Cash was coming out of his drug addiction. The film showed how although Cash had everything (fame, success, money) he would still make himself suffer, it seems as though to keep some humanity. Cash’s live recording at Folsom Prison was his way of reaching out to prisoners and letting them know that there are people who care about them. If anything, this documentary is about how isolation can break a person’s spirit and how as society forgets about prisoners.

Low: You May Need A Murder (2009) Director: David Kleijwegt

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Ben Spurr of Toronto band The Coast at the Dakota Tavern. Photo by Dan Rios.

Standing in the middle of a forest, a barefooted man wearing jeans and a brown t-shirt is singing. The sunlight seeping through tree tops reflects on his curly blonde hair and emphasizes the dark bags under his eyes. “All the poets and all the liars and all you pretty people, you’re all gunna die,” he belts in an off key voice. In this opening, director David Kleijwegt introduces the viewer to Alan Sparhawk, one part of the Mormon husband-wife band called Low. The film follows Sparhawk and his wife Mimi Parker on tour across America with their two children. Their music has a folksyambient sound with an emphasis on percussion that is pleasing. The song “Murderer” (which the doc is titled after) is about Sparhawk’s confusion with God’s actions. He sings, “One more thing I’ll ask you Lord. You may need a murderer; someone to do your dirty work. Don’t act so innocent I’ve seen you pound your fists into the earth.” Sparhawk confesses that he has a paradoxical life as he is a drug addict and a devout Mormon, “church isn’t to gather all the good people. It’s for people that are struggling and want hope,” he said.

Surprisingly, Sparhawk makes some anti-George W. Bush remarks and predicts the state of the American economy. “I really believe the American economy is in a state of collapse just like the glaciers,” he said when the film was made in 2007.

This is a good watch for anyone who wants to get a taste of what some Americans really think about their country and an interesting look at how religion, politics and music can mix.

Finding the Groove: A Vinyl Documentary (2008) Director: Michael Jasen http://findingthegroove.ca/ Filmed, directed and edited entirely by Humber College students, this film takes a Canadian approach to the re-emergence of vinyl’s popularity. By interviewing Edge 102 radio Host Alan Cross and Jeff Barker, owner of Sonic Boom CD, the viewer gets to hear expert Canadian opinions about why vinyl has lasted and why it will never die.

“When you cracked open the shrink wrap you could smell the factory,” said Cross, describing the intimate sensual feelings vinyl can evoke.

The documentary is divided into three parts: the past, pres-

ent and future of vinyl. It is a great film for any music lover and its use of old vinyl factory stock footage gives the film a vintage feel.

I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store (2008) Director: Brendan Toller www.ineedthatrecord.com The biggest music retailer in America is Wal-Mart. With big box stories on the rise, independent record stores are getting crushed. In this documentary director Brendan Toller tells the story of his favourite indie record shop Express Vinyl and how it was a community gathering space in his hometown Middletown, Connecticut. Toller shows that these stores were more than just a place to shop but a place to meet friends, hangout and see a band play. In short, independent record stores help build communities.

With an all-star interviewee line up ranging from punk legend Mike Watt to Noam Chomsky, many different voices are heard in this doc. In his interview, Chomsky compared the death of indie record stores to the death of local grocers when super markets moved into communities. “You can be an isolated atom of consumption,” he said, “Or a human.”

The effects of the digital revolution have weighed its toll on the record industry but the film also focuses on how corporate interests attempt to homogenize the musical taste of listeners. As Toller explains, the 1996 U.S. Telecommunications Act allowed corporations to gobble up local radio stations which resulted in clone-like playlists and the total loss of regional music. It exposes how corporate interest and revenue surpasses the needs of music lovers.

As Ian MacKaye, former vocalist of Minor Threat and creator of Dischord Records, put it during his interview, “There very well may be people who work in the record industry who like music and they might even care about music but I can assure you, the people who own the labels do not. All they care about is money.”

The film hits an emotional peak when Toller interviews shoppers at Trash Records in Danbury, Connecticut, only days before the store closed. Full of funny segments and dialogue, this film is a must see for anyone who cares about music.

—Ronak Ghorbani

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 17

summer loVin’ and unpaid summer joBs

By Jann Lee

fidgeting and yearning for the same sort of excitement i experienced that first day. The best times were when i did get to go out with the cameramen and collect soundbites for stories. i remembered my first “story” was about a woman who kept about 20 birds in her home.

The assignment editor passed it on to me - i think she just wanted to give me something to do. i took myself too seriously and asked the bird lady many questions. after about 15 minutes of grilling the lady like she was on 20/20, the cameraman got fed up and told me “we’re not making a documentary. hurry up!” i was hurt by his criticism, and yet he did have a point. That along with my many days out taught me a lot about how people interacted in my field. i realized that the journalism industry is not full of jerks, but that there is no time for people to try and sidestep hurt feeling while acting sweet and sugary. criticisms, while they may hurt, will only make you a better journalist if you choose to learn from them. i learned to not take critical feedback too personally, and just improve my abilities with every remark. needless to say, there would be many more times in the internship that i had to step back and see the areas i could improve in. after about a month of interning, i was starting to get restless and even a bit depressed. it wasn’t that i hated the job; it was just that i missed the past lazy summers when i would be free to do whatever i pleased! it was then that i vowed not to do an internship the next summer. things for you to do everyday. and here i am this summer, interning at a different digital news station called ichannel. it turns out Be on Time you’d be surthat my vow never worked out. you see, when i came prised how many people think back to school the past year, i found so many benefits that showing up 5 minutes late of undergoing that painful experience. People took is no big deal. it’s an internyou more seriously when you do a job interview and ship and they’re not paying your resume now includes relevant experience. Before you right? wrong! show up the internship, my only accreditations were workon time and your boss will see ing at The gap, dominion and wendy’s. Right after you’re a dependable person. the Global News internship, i was able to get a cBc gig and with each step i found that i gained more Talk To eveRyone confidence. network! a lot of people hate Fear of the unknown is the greatest barrier for that word but like it or not, people to reaching their dreams and internships it’s essential to success. so use eliminate the fogginess. when you do one, you see your internship as an opportueverything! The workplace culture, the type of people nity to talk to people and ask you will be working with, what is expected of you and them about their roles within most importantly personal development. it sounds the company. you never know, cliché, but by doing internships, your skin starts to that person might help you thicken, slowly but surely. my internship experiences land your next opportunity. have also shown me how much character and chance determines ones’ success. if it weren’t for internships, have goals you don’t want i would probably still live in a cocoon of assumpyour hard work to be meantion and still think that obtaining a university degree ingless. goals don’t have to guarantees a job. now, after hearing stories of people necessarily point to a paid job, who got a job through luck or experience, i know that but setting them is still importhrowing those graduation hats in the air does not tant. it could be anything from necessarily mean the start of a fulfilling career. in learning specific skills to getshort, it made me less naive. ting a recommendation letter. now as i write this article, i’m supposed to be providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse of an internBe PosiTive! it’s hard to ship, which means that the not-so-pretty parts of instay positive all the time, but terning should be exposed. although every experience try to be optimistic about your is different, i’ve heard many horror stories from my internship. Believe it or not, friends about the difficulties they’ve endured. one of people can detect your mood my good friends spent the majority of his summer doand you want to send a good ing all the coffee runs for a video production compavibe not be known as the sour ny. he would also file papers, and do random chores spot in the office. for the other employees. Just hearing his vivid stories

tHiS mORning wHen i woke up, it was pouring outside.

Thunderstorms rang and the rain thundered on my rooftop. my first thought was… “Thank god today is my day off!” you see, my summer has not meant lazy days at home, or lolling around the beach as the summer days pass. it has meant getting up everyday at 8 a.m. and then driving for an hour to get to work. But unlike adults who get paid to do this for a living, my job is more like a work experiment, otherwise known as an internship. it’s not my first one, but it doesn’t change the experience. no matter how many internships you have done, it will always be a painful but ultimately beneficial experience. i still remember my first year in Ryerson’s journalism school. i, along with many eager first-years, tried to take any advice we could from industry professionals during special visits. and whenever journalists alluded to their beginnings, they always mention internships. you cannot graduate and expect to become a reporter without years of experience. so, i jumped right in during my first semester and interned at ckln radio station. it was fairly easy interning, more like a baby internship. i would come in about once a week and learn about community news and radio. and at the end of it, i got to host the news along with the other interns. i thought… not too bad.

The year after that was when reality hit. after many calls and emails, i got the opportunity to intern for Global News for the summer. i remember coming in my first day dressed as a professional and feeling anything but. it was like diving into a minefield. i stepped into the newsroom and there were reporters scrambling everywhere and editors shouting instructions. Before i knew it, i was riding in the backseat of a news van with a reporter in pursuit of the day’s breaking news story. i was shy and did not utter a word the whole ride to the location. The reporter, darryl konynenbelt, tried to be friendly and although i was polite, nerves were still getting to me the entire day. while it was overwhelming for me to experience that bustle on my first day, it was also a rush. and it was then that i could see myself becoming part of this chaotic industry.

The rest of the internship though did not reflect my first day. There were times when i would spend the whole day going through Perez hilton. There were also days spent

Tips for successful internships The inTeRview is The FiRsT huRdle Treat the interview like you’re applying for a real job. Prepare as much as you can. do the research, ask intelligent questions and stress your strengths. even if you have no prior experience, talk about the skills you’ve developed from elsewhere. keeP an oPen mind There’s nothing worse than an intern who’s stiff and reluctant to do any task. Be up for anything and let your employer know that you’re not some pansy who’s afraid of hard work. mainTain a Balance oF conFidence it’s okay to be nervous, but try to project confidence and self-assurance. like it or not, people will judge you on first impressions. dress smart and be assertive. however, don’t cross over to cockiness, as that will just piss people off.

Take iniTiaTive This is a common mistake. most interns expect their tasks to be handed over. But remember, that people who ask for tasks show passion. so be assertive, as most employers probably do not have time to think of

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made me feel bad. it sounded like such a horrible internship because not only were his tasks totally irrelevant to the type of experience he needed, the people he worked with were very rude. at the end of it, the only tangible thing he seemed to receive was a pizza party and hmv certificate.

But when i spoke to him after the whole ordeal, he seemed stronger. it was like he had just gone to the worst place one could go, and then emerged ready to face anything. now, he’s a videographer for Eye Weekly Tv and it was all because after facing the worst, he knew there was no other place to go but a better one. hearing other people’s internship stories makes me more grateful for my experiences. i’m now chase-producing for ichannel. my first day was not as chaotic as the previous summer because a smaller company means a more laid-back culture. my boss introduced me to employees and i found out what my tasks would be. after hearing the details, boy was i surprised! in short, i have to find celebrities who are championing causes for us to interview. it was a daunting task and i wondered how the heck i would find a star who would be willing to talk to us for half an hour about his or her charity. i knew how the PR machine worked and that it was basically their job to keep us out. needless to say, i felt dejected. This was definitely one of the most challenging things i’ve had to face as an intern.

But, with nothing to lose, i still tried because if anything my past experiences have taught me that perseverance always pays off. and after many ‘no’s’, someone finally said ‘yes!’ i couldn’t believe it when a member of the Black eyed Peas, apl de ap, agreed to do an interview with us the day after his performance on the muchmusic video awards. after countless emails with his manager, i finally secured us an interview with him at the soho metropolitan hotel.

The day of the shoot was like taking an exam for me. i spent the whole morning running through the details in my brain. There were many things that popped up unexpectedly and i almost lost my cool several times. First, the interview was delayed. Then, it was almost cancelled because of the Perez hilton/will.i.am scandal. and to top it all off, our makeup artist didn’t show up! i was scrambling to find a replacement; calling anyone i could think of – even a cousin who i haven’t spoken with for about a year! however, in the end everything worked out and at the end of the day, my boss’s smile was not the only clue that i had done a good job, but that the work was done. we now had one more episode to add to our show line-up.

The next day, i assembled a cabinet for the makeup room. The day after that, i reached new heights by plastering window gels in the studio for an upcoming shoot.

This all goes to show that an internship is unpredictable. you can expect good times and also bad times. But once you get through it and look back, you’ll realize that you only came out better and more prepared to face the working world.

My life as an intern

Wanna be an intern? Read this first: A moment-by-moment memoir of what it’s like to volunteer, gain experience and make friends along the way.

By Amanda Cupido Getting in: After promising myself to get more volunteer experience in the radio world, I decided to start submitting my résumé to stations over the winter break. After countless applications, attached portfolios and specific cover letters, I was satisfied with my efforts. And then I waited.

The interview: After literally five months, I received a call from one of my favourite radio stations. Forgetting that I had even applied, my first instinct when I saw the caller ID was that I had won a prize. But, not to my dismay, I was being interviewed over the phone. After a quick conversation, I was called in for a face-to-face interview the following week.

After researching the station a bit and tuning in more often, I felt prepared for the interview. I was asked the usual questions: Why do you want to volunteer with us? What previous experience have you had with radio? What three words would you use to describe yourself? I hate that question. Really, does anyone ever screw that one up? As long as you can think of words with a positive or even neutral connotation, then you pass. Don’t waste time asking this... It means nothing other than “look at my brilliant use of adjectives!”

Anyway, the interview ended with opening up the floor to any of my questions. I have learned a cardinal rule: when they ask you if you have any questions, always ask a question. Anything. I don’t know why this is so important, but it is. So I asked about availability requirements and boom, I was done.

Starting day: After finding out I got one of the five coveted intern positions, I was made aware of the training date and the first shift. I was stoked. I was scheduled to attend an event at Canada’s Wonderland where a lot of higher staff would be present. I was ready to leave them in awe and live up to being “energetic”—one of the words that I had used to describe myself.

The shift was 6:00 p.m. until... what ended up being 1:00a.m.! It was a cold day in May, and we “interns” were busy handing out free giveaways and promoting the station. We approached strangers, told them about the station, quizzed them and even helped start a dance-off. We were jumping and joking, and wore smiles on our faces.

But, by the end of the shift, we were all cold, tired and sore.

Limping and breathing heavily. Handing out prizes is harder than it looks, my friend. One of the intern’s lips was actually purple and her skin was pale. Another was speaking in a jumble of words that barely made sense. Another had backed into a corner and was calling for help.

I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to go through an entire term of being “the intern.”

My life as an intern: My second, third and fourth shifts were nothing like the first. Clearly, if you can make it through the first day, you’re good to go.

I became close with the other interns, and I laughed until tears almost every shift. As interns, we were in charge of promoting the station and the station’s sponsors. We attended

events around the city, including concerts and movie premières.

The best part was that I got to rock the t-shirt that represented the intern team and the station.

All the while I was able to network, meet many talented people and establish a new group of friends.

Most memorable moment: The day we were handing out wolverine foam claws to promote the movie was great. The location had a lot of business workers on break, so clearly the wolverine claws were not a hit... but we had tons: boxes upon boxes of these huge foam hands with three long foam claws. A total length of approximately half a meter!

Our plan was to lure people with our other giveaways, and then slip in the claw with the hope that they would not turn it down. Unfortunately, our plan wasn’t working, and as the end of our shift approached, we knew something else must be done.

We decided to branch from our location and run down the streets with them, giving claws to any person willing to take one. When one person took it, others would follow and soon they were going like hotcakes! A man who had previously received another giveaway (a soap sample) actually came back and handed me the soap: “I won’t use this, so you might as well give it to someone else,” he said. “But can I have a wolverine claw?”

Really? What exactly was he going to use this claw for?

Overall: I thought it was great to be an intern but I definitely wouldn’t be able to do it forever.

The ultimate challenge: Running to be your best Running in Toronto’s recent 5k challenge is not just about raising money. It’s about raising expectations, and pushing yourself to the limit—and beyond.

By Angela Walcott It all began on Wellington Street at Metro Hall. Hundreds of men, women, boys and girls of all ages crammed the start line. I am feeling good, it is a beautiful warm sunny day, and nothing is standing in my way except 3.1 miles (5 km) of hard pavement before I reach the finish line.

The buzzer sounds and we’re off!

It has been a long time coming. Months of preparation involving healthy eating, strength training and general deprivation is over in minutes—15 minutes and 39 seconds for top runner, Nick Croker, or it can stretch out for 31 minutes and 18 seconds like it did for me.

On Sunday, June 14, the 18th annual Toronto Challenge presented in part by MonsterMortgage.ca held a 5k-run, a 5k-walk and 1k-fun walk to raise funds for seniors across Toronto who live in long-term care facilities, and for community agencies that provide services to seniors. During those 31 minutes and 18 seconds, a lot of things went through my mind, and I quickly realized that you can sum up a person simply by the way they run.

It was almost like a speed dating session. You only have a few minutes to get to know people based on what they say, only this time you sum up their character by what they don’t say: not just by the straight back and long stride of expert runners compared to the wobbly gait and stiff arms of amateurs, but how runners interact or don’t interact with one another. You begin to learn if this person is courteous, optimistic, aggressive, independent or stagnant.

You also learn a lot about yourself.

You question who you are and why you are running. Are you running with the pack or against it? Is this about teamwork or isolation? Are you a leader or a follower? Are you running the race solely to raise funds or does it symbolize something else?

A woman runs by with headphones, trapped in a world of iPod tunes that cheer

her on. She must be independent. Three runners, close on my heels, joke loudly about cake with creamy frosting. Oh, they are cruel!

Strangers give words of encouragement, while others must wonder “what are you trying to prove?” Why punish your bodies in the blazing sun at the risk of heatstroke, sunburn or dehydration? It’s for the cause.

We all have our own causes. Some want to get into shape, proving to themselves or

others that they can do it. Others simply want to raise money for a cure for heart disease, diabetes, cancer—one that is deeply personal—touching the lives of friends, family or even themselves.

Policemen block intersections with barricades and, as we the runners hold up traffic, weary drivers look on. I imagine they would say, “What are you doing?” I pass a group of high school cheerleaders chanting “L-E-T-S

G-O!” while enthusiastic volunteers hand out bottles of lukewarm water. With the finish line in sight and my body drenched in sweat, a woman sprints past and I now know what running says about me. It says I have not come this far without giving it my all.

I coast in, and as the 365th person to cross the finish line, I feel as if I have just won the biggest race of my life. I know I’ll be feeling the burn tomorrow.

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 19

Abousfian Abdelrazik: One Canadian’s long journey home

Canadian citizen Abousfian Abdelrazik endured years of torture and detention abroad—while the Canadian government did nothing to help him.

By Mariana Ionova When Abousfian Abdelrazik came to Canada as a Sudanese refugee nearly 19 years ago, he thought he had stepped into a different world, where the perils he had fled seemed light-years away. For Abdelrazik, Canada was the embodiment of democracy, freedom and the protection of human rights. It was a country that respected and cared for its citizens. Here, Abdelrazik made a home and started a family, with the firm belief that he had left injustice and inhumanity behind for good.

But his idealism was soon shaken to the core. In August 2003, while visiting his ailing mother in Sudan, Abdelrazik, 47, was seized and imprisoned by local officials in Khartoum at the request of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

He was accused of having al-Qaeda

ties and supporting Ahmed Ressam, the Montreal-based “Millennium Bomber.”

During his imprisonment, Abdelrazik was allegedly tortured by Sudanese officials and questioned by CSIS agents until his July 2004 release. But by that time, his Canadian passport had expired, and the Canadian government refused his request for a new one. He was a free man, yet he could not leave Sudan.

Fifteen months later, Abdelrazik was arrested again and remained in custody until he was finally cleared and freed in July 2006. But upon his release, he was placed on the United Nations (UN) no-fly list, which made it illegal for any commercial airline to transport Abdelrazik home. The Canadian government played along by refusing to fly him back to Canada

and by sticking by the UN’s decision to keep Abdelrazik on its list of alQaeda supporters. So he was forced to spend the last 13 months living in Canada’s embassy in Khartoum, fearing for his life.

“The refusal [to bring him home] was on the grounds that he was a national security threat to Canada or another country,” said Yavar Hameed, Abdelrazik’s Canadian lawyer. But national security does not justify treading on the human rights of Canadian citizens, according to Amnesty International (AI).

“It is something that we have challenged in many ways,” said Elizabeth Berton-Hunter, a media spokesperson for AI. “Canadians abroad should not be faced with this kind of concern. It is an example of the issue of using national security as

a cause without having any real reason to do so.”

Not all Canadians are subjected to inhumane treatment in the name of national security, according to Kerry Pither, human rights activist and author of Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror. Some are targeted while others are protected.

“I think what is so disturbing is that the Harper government seems to want to uphold the notion that we have two-tiered citizenship in this country and that some citizens can’t expect to have the same rights as

other citizens,” Pither said.

Pither argues that Canadian government agencies most often apply differential treatment—for the worse—to individuals from the ‘ABDELRAZIK’ CONTINUED ON PAGE 21

Food sovereignty in Cuba How does Cuban society organize to produce food to feed its entire population and to protect and preserve its urban environment?

By Jorge Soberon

Consul General of Cuba, Toronto As a sovereign country, Cuba is working to develop its food industry and reduce dependence on food imports.

Cuba is working to ensure an adequate level of food to more than 11 million inhabitants. In Cuba, no one is helpless or dying of hunger. There are special programs to ensure food for the most vulnerable segments of the population.

To achieve this goal, Cuba faces high world market prices and the growing negative effects of climate change and the policy of the United States.

Food imports from the United States continue to be affected by insecurity. They are subject to strict supervision and licensing for export and transportation of agricultural products to our country. Moreover, Cuba has no access to the technologies available in the United States or to credit from that country.

The Cuban government has identified food production as a major task and a matter of utmost national security.

More than half of the agricultural land in Cuba is held by non-governmental organizations.

Due to the demise of the Soviet Union and the strength-

20 ryersonfreepress.ca

ening of the blockade of the United States during the 1990s, Cuba faced an economic crisis that forced us to seek solutions to our national food production.

That’s why urban agriculture is so important in Cuba, a country where 75 per cent of its population lives in urban areas. But an important part comes from the countryside and has farming culture.

Urban agriculture is carried out throughout the country and is planned taking into account the number of inhabitants of each town or city. The organic matter that is used and the biological controls in place make it possible to preserve the fertility of the soil. The available area is used to produce food in an intensive manner. Science and technology are applied, maintaining a supply of fresh products, all with the goal of obtaining a balanced production of agricultural products.

Urban agriculture is an important source of income, due to the demand of the popular market, the workplaces, and special places that exist to take care of vulnerable populations. The high educational level of the people facilitates the rapid assimilation of new techniques and technologies. Urban agriculture constitutes a major source of urban nutrition, contributes to the elimination of urban rubbish dumps and constitutes an important source of employment. Hundreds of thousands of Cubans have jobs in urban agriculture. In Cuba, urban agriculture is supported by seed houses and agricultural centres of production of organic matter.

Foods obtained through urban agriculture constitute an important amount of the total

consumed by the population in cities, in addition to other options like imported food or food guaranteed by the state.

The system of urban agriculture in Cuba produced more than 1.4 million tons of food in 2008, in more than nine thousand hectares located in all municipalities. In 10 years, vegetable production increased six times over.

Three factors have been crucial to their advancement: 1) Training of the workforce; 2) The system of payment to workers by the end results of labour; and 3) Systematic evaluation of the results.

Urban agriculture is one of the best alternatives for the restoration of food production after the passage of hurricanes, allowing the recovery of agricultural production in few months.

Among the recent steps taken to further develop agricultural production is the distribution of vacant land for its use, for those that can produce food. At present, Cuba is modernizing its food industry to increase the ability to process and preserve agricultural products.

The development of agriculture in Cuba receives strong support from the state. The actions taken contribute to food security and adequate nutrition. The goal is not only to produce food, but also to make it affordable and accessible to the population. The habit of consuming vegetables has grown and generates jobs and income, product prices are competitive and urban agriculture has improved hygiene and sanitation of the cities by developing agriculture in areas that are abandoned.

In addition, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA: Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela) is a tool for agricultural and rural development of nations of the region and aims to ensure access to fair and stable prices of basic foods through cooperation on food sovereignty and security.

Cuba will continue to work and cooperate with other countries to ensure the solution of dietary and nutritional needs for all its people, protecting and enhancing thereby the living standards of the Cuban people and other peoples and promoting national initiatives to ensure our sovereignty and independence in food production and distribution.

The Ryerson Free Press thanks the Consul General of Cuba in Toronto, Jorge Soberon, for allowing us to republish his address in our newspaper.

‘BOYCOTT’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 14 Semitic.

We have sent several IJV representatives to Palestine, Gaza and Israel to build solidarity relationships with progressive movements there, to challenge the siege of Gaza by bringing in urgently needed medical supplies, and to document the injustice for future tours in Canada. We’ll be sending IJV participants across Canada to speak about their experiences.

And we’re helping to support progressive Members of Parliament, Senators, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) to encourage them to take a principled stand for a more just Canadian policy in the Middle East.

We now have active chapters in seven cities from Halifax to Vancouver. We have built cooperative working relationships with our allies, Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, unions, churches, students and peace groups.

JC: What kinds of debates exist within the Jewish community in Canada about Israel and Palestine?

What kind of contribution does IJV attempt to make to those debates?

DR: Canadian Jews hold widely divergent views about Israel and Palestine. Traditionally, Jews have tended to be progressive and strong supporters of social justice and human rights. I believe that all Jews world-wide are struggling with the contradiction between the ethical obligations of our religion and culture versus the oppressive policies

being carried out in our name by Israel. This is especially true since Israel’s 2006 assault on Lebanon, since its brutal siege of Gaza, and especially since the recent Israeli massacre of over 1,400 civilians in Gaza.

Some otherwise progressive Jews adopt an “Israel-right-orwrong” approach. We call them PEPs (Progressive Except for Palestine). But many others feel increasingly uncomfortable with Israeli oppression of Palestinian people and the uncritical allegiance between mainstream Jewish organizations with the Conservative government and right-wing Christian Zionists.

Over the past few years, the right-wing Israel lobby has mobilized a successful campaign to control mainstream Jewish organizations, Jewish media organizations, Jewish community centres and synagogues (as well as to influence non-Jewish politicians, media, police, teachers, etc.).

In 2004, a group of influential, conservative Jews—including Izzy Asper, Gerry Schwartz, Heather Reisman and Sylvain Abitbol— formed the Canadian Council of Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA), a lobby group which has effectively taken control of the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC). The Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) was created in late 2005, just in time for the federal election in January 2006. In collaboration with right-wing Christian Zionists, Frank Dimant led a take-over of B’nai Brith, converting it from a human rights organization into one that rabidly attacks anti-racist and immigrant groups, and smears

‘ABDELRAZIK’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

Muslim community. These Canadians, like Abdelrazik, are frequently the target of terrorism inquiries because of their cultural background and association with others in their communities.

“Mr. Abdelrazik has readily admitted that he knows people, but you can’t just find someone guilty by association,” said Pither.

“Imagine if, by shopping in the same grocery store as someone or attending the same church service as someone, you were labelled a terrorist because someone else who goes to that church service has been accused of terrorist links. This is the sort of pattern that has been in place, unfortunately, in Canada since 9/11.”

This double standard and prejudiced profiling of Canadian citizens was a central part of Abdelrazik’s ordeal, maintains Hameed.

“If he was not a Muslim man, if he was not someone who was active in the Muslim community, if he was not a dual national, I wonder whether there would have been such great pain to try to mount this prosecution on him and to try to detain him in a foreign country,” said Hameed.

“What we have seen in this case has been because of a certain bias.”

Politics may have also played a role in Abdelrazik’s six-year exile. According to Hameed, there is evidence of significant pressure on the part of the US to place Abdelrazik on the UN no-fly list and to keep him in Sudan. And, under that pressure, Canada caved and obliged.

“In my view, what we have is the Canadian government acting in a complicit and illegal fashion to forward the foreign policy interests of the United States and, in so doing, violat-

‘HOUSEPAINT’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

contamination on the former garbage dump site justified eviction. Weissman believes that negative media coverage pressured then-mayor Mel Lastman to remove the growing community.

According to Cathy Crowe, co-founder of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC), the silver lining in the death of Tent City was the launch of rent supplements for

progressive Jews as “anti-Semitic.”

IJV offers Canadian Jews an effective alternative to express their concerns.

JC: What happened at your recent conference in Ottawa? Who attended? What did you decide?

DR: IJV held its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Ottawa from June 12 to 14. IJV members attended exciting workshops to develop recommendations on key issues facing the movement: the Palestinian Right of Return; Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) strategies, Gaza solidarity, Canadian complicity in the Israeli arms trade, Zionism, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia. Our members also developed solidarity strategies to support First Nations people, Canadian Arabs and Muslims, unions, churches and peace groups.

Rachel Corrie’s parents, Cindy and Craig Corrie, and Judy Rebick presented keynote addresses, strongly emphasizing the importance of IJV in offering a challenge to the mainstream Jewish organizations. All members of an allies panel reiterated that point.

They included Bob Lovelace of the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation, Margaret Parsons of the AfricanCanadian Legal Clinic, Mohamed Boudjenane of the Canadian Arab Federation, Chris Jones from the Canadian Peace Alliance and Marion Pollack from CUPW. The AGM also featured readings of Caryl Churchill’s play, Seven Jewish Children, and of Arthur Milner’s new play about the Occupied Territories, The Facts.

Our members also passed

a strong BDS resolution almost unanimously, making IJV the first national Jewish organization in Canada to pass a BDS resolution.

They also passed resolutions for IJV to send a delegation of highprofile Canadians to Israel/Palestine, to follow-through with solidarity projects, to develop training kits, to approve the IJV infrastructure, and to support SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) funding of York University’s conference on solutions to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Over 70 people attended the AGM from across Canada, representing all of the IJV chapters. All agreed it was a ground-breaking experience.

JC: What are your key tasks in the coming year? What challenges do you face? What have you achieved so far?

DR: In the coming year, IJV will focus on implementing the BDS resolution and on cultivating solidarity relationships with both Palestinian and Israeli peace activists, as well as with Canadian union, church, peace, student, diplomatic, First Nations, Black, Palestinian and Arab groups which promote peace and justice in the Middle East and here in Canada. We will also continue to educate political leaders, the media and Jewish groups through speaking tours, solidarity projects, co-sponsoring events and creative productions.

We will be sending a delegation to the upcoming conference of the United Church of Canada to support BDS resolutions it is considering.

As we have become more vis-

ing the rights of one of its citizens,” said Hameed. “Foreign relations—or domestic relations—should never be a factor which trumps human rights.”

Pither believes that disregarding the rights of Canadians in order to remain neighbourly is not a new occurrence. In her view, this is what happened to the subjects of her book—Maher Arar, Ahmad El Maati, Abdullah Almaki and Muayyed Nureddin— and it had happened again in Abdelrazik’s case.

“We were so eager to appease the United States that we forgot who we are as Canadians,” said Pither. “Most Canadians, and I am one of those, like to look abroad in a very proud way and think about what sets us apart from the United States, [that we are] somehow different or better on the issues of human rights.

And, unfortunately, as things played out in cases after 9/11, that certainly wasn’t the case. We played along, and we played along with our eyes open.”

But although this isn’t the first time the government has failed to come to the rescue of troubled Canadians abroad, there is a key difference, according to Hameed.

“In this case, we see that added step where the Canadian government was implicated in the decision to detain a Canadian citizen,” said Hameed. “And I think that’s the thing that’s so deplorable about it.”

Yet, while the Canadian government turned its back on Abdelrazik, the public did not. There was a continuous outpouring of support for him from human rights organizations, civil liberties campaigners and the Canadian public: they all demanded that Abdelrazik be returned home.

“He has received hundreds of letters from just average Canadians who have spoken to the values of Canada and Canadian citizens and who have really pledged their support to him,” said

105 of the former residents to obtain housing, a program which has been implemented in various provinces. The street nurse who once worked in Tent City deemed this solution a band-aid measure until the federal government funds a national affordable housing program.

Housepaint canvas houses will be auctioned online (bidding started on June 29) with all proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity Toronto (H4H), which constructs housing for families living in substandard

ible and effective, the Israel lobby has started to attack us. We regularly get hate mail and threatening phone calls. The National Post, the Ottawa Citizen and the Canadian Jewish Tribune have published attacks on us. B’nai Brith publishes press releases against us. Carleton University obliquely threatened to expel students organizing Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW).

However, we’re quickly discovering that, as in dealing with other bullies, when we stand up to the Israel lobby, there is little it can do to stop us. Its attempts to shut down our events just give us free publicity, which usually results in overflowing crowds. When we respectfully offer to debate their representatives, they tend to slink away. A few of them have even joined us. These experiences prove to us that the movement for justice for Palestinians is growing rapidly—both in size and legitimacy.

And the Israel lobby is increasingly running scared. For example, the numbers attending the Walk for Israel in Toronto have dropped steadily over the past few years.

This year’s Walk attracted far fewer participants than three years ago. The lobby is now publicly admitting that its legitimacy is in jeopardy.

Diana Ralph is a co-chair and founder of Independent Jewish Voices – Canada (IJV). She has been an activist for social justice on a broad range of issues.

On leave as associate professor of social work at Carleton University, she has written two books: Open for Business/Closed for People and Work and Madness.

Hameed.

And when Federal Court Justice Russell Zinn ordered the Canadian government to bring Abdelrazik home, the public pressure seemed finally to crack Harper’s determination. After six years, the government finally yielded and complied with the court order, promising to return Abdelrazik home by July 7.

“The power in this country really rests with the people, the public and with public opinion,” said Pither. “Certainly the public support and public opinion around his case has made a world of difference.”

On June 27, Abdelrazik arrived in Toronto at Pearson Airport where he was welcomed back to Canada by a large crowd of supporters. Later that day, he drove to Montreal where he was reunited with his family and friends.

Before Abdelrazik’s return, his lawyer wondered if his identity as a Canadian would ever be the same.

“I still think that Mr. Abdelrazik carries with him some of that idealism but the present circumstances and what he has lived through for the last six years have left it undoubtedly tainted,” said Hameed.

But upon his arrival in Toronto, Abdelrazik was generous in heaping praise on the country whose government abandoned him for years.

“I just flew from Sudan to Canada. I am very tired. I want to say to my supporters from coast to coast, in every town, in every city, in every village, thank you very much for your supporting me and for your effort… Now I am here. Thank you very much and I am glad to be a citizen of this famous nation.”

For more information about Abdelrazik’s case, please visit http:// peoplescommission.org/en/abdelrazik/

conditions. Crowe believes that because H4H does not build for the homeless, there is still a frustrating disconnect, even though she thinks it is a wonderful organization.

Ostrom believes that homelessness and affordable housing are part of the same continuum.

“The lack of affordable housing creates the conditions for homelessness. Housepaint, Phase 2: Shelter is about not only homelessness, but also shelter in general, hence the title,” said Ostrom, who has re-

ceived a majority of positive feedback from members of the homeless community in Toronto who visited the exhibit.

At the tunnel entrance of Housepaint, the words of Nancy Baker, the first resident of Tent City who is featured in Crowe’s book, Dying for a Home: Homeless Activists Speak Out, ran along both walls.

“We all shared stuff down there, even food. It was home. Better than a park bench…Someday I’d like a balcony. After living at Tent City, I hate being closed in.”

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 21

Secret trials in Canada

Five Muslim men have been held in prison for years. None of them have committed a crime, and not a single charge has been laid against them. Is this supposed to make us feel more secure?

By Jessica Squires On December 21, 2002—International Human Rights Day—Mohamed Harkat, a convention refugee and a Muslim, was arrested by the RCMP and Ottawa police at his home.

He has been detained ever since. Harkat has never been charged, and neither he nor his lawyers has been able to review any evidence against him. The hearings against him are held in secret.

Welcome to the world of secret trials, Canada’s dirty little secret.

Harkat has been in Canada since 1995.

Working as a gas attendant and pizza delivery man, he worked an average of 18 hours a day.

In 1997, he was given refugee status. Since his arrest, he has been held on a “Security Certificate,” a legal document that allows the government to arrest non-citizens and detain them indefinitely—without ever charging them or allowing them to see any evidence held against them. If his Security Certificate is deemed “reasonable” (by a judge approved by CSIS, the

Canadian Security and Intelligence Service), Harkat may be deported to Algeria, his country of origin. Harkat fled Algeria because of political persecution. If he is returned, he will likely be tortured or killed.

Security Certificate proceedings use the lowest standard of proof of any judicial proceeding in Canada. Crown lawyers may table anything as “evidence,” including newspaper articles and online reports. There is no ban on hearsay, as is typical in criminal proceedings, but because Harkat is not a citizen, his rights to fundamental justice are curtailed. Most of the Crown’s so-called “evidence” is heard in secret proceedings behind closed doors, without the presence of Harkat or his counsel.

Harkat is one of Canada’s “Secret Trial Five,” a group of five Muslim men who have been detained for years on Security Certificates.

Like Harkat, these men’s lives have been torn apart by accusations that they cannot challenge in a fair and independent trial: Hassan Almrei,

a refugee who has been facing deportation to Syria since October 2001; Mahmoud Jaballah, a refugee from Egypt who was arrested in August 2001; Mohammad Mahjoub, a refugee from Eygpt who was first detained in June 2000. The fifth man, Montreal resident Adil Charkaoui, was detained on May 21, 2003. All five men were arrested under Security Certificates, a provision of the so-called Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

After years of legal challenges and public campaigning against Security Certificates, all five men have won release from prison, but under extremely harsh bail conditions. These conditions were so intrusive for Mohammad Mahjoub and his family that he voluntarily returned to jail in March 2009.

The Security Certificate process violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the United Nations (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on Refugees, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention on Torture.

The Security Certificate also runs contrary to the Canadian justice system. Thus the Security Certificate, which dates back to 1991 and was strengthened in 2002, is a one of the most obvious symbols of a government-led attack on civil liberties since September 11, 2001.

“National security” is the argument used to justify these detentions—with no further explanation or evidence. Under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), similar violations of rights are extended to all citizens.

In February 2007, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Security Certificates unconstitutional because of the use of secret evidence and because of differential treatment of refugees and permanent residents under the Act. The Court gave the government one year to fix the process or scrap it. In late 2007, the Harper government rammed through cosmetic changes that introduced the use of so-called “Special Advocates,” lawyers who are present during secret proceedings, ostensibly to defend the interests of the detainee, but who are not permitted to talk to the detainee or his lawyers once they have seen the secret evidence. Because the lawyer of the accused cannot review the evidence against him, mounting a proper defence remains impossible.

Despite these restrictions, the detainees and their supporters—trade unions, student unions, human rights groups, peace organizations, civil liberties campaigners and many others—have managed to prevent the deportation of any of the men, and have played a role in winning their release from detention, even though the conditions remain draconian.

Recent revelations that CSIS lied to the Courts about the results of lie detector tests used on informants in the Hakrat and Almrei cases have once again highlighted the completely unreliable nature of secret evidence.

Civil liberties campaigners who have long criticized the use of Security Certificates have been increasingly vindicated as the public learns more about CSIS deception and manipulation.

The detainees and their supporters have vowed to continue the struggle for justice and the chance to clear their names. In the words of Harkat at a rally in Ottawa on May 9: “I will continue to fight until justice prevails… I have been persecuted for some things I have never done… I have nothing left to lose. I have already lost everything. I’m trying to get my dignity back. I’m trying to clear my name.”

For more information about Mohamed Harkat and the campaign against security certificates, please visit: http://www.justiceforharkat.com/ news.php

Peace conference rebuffs critics

York University was in the spotlight again as an academic conference attracted criticism for attempting to discuss the Israel/Palestine conflict.

By Takara Small Organizers of a peace conference at York University have successfully rebuffed critics who leveled accusations of anti-Semitism in an attempt to ban the conference.

Entitled “Israel/Palestine: Mapping models of statehood and paths to peace,” the conference aimed “to explore which state models offer promising paths to resolving the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, respecting the rights to self-determination of both Israelis/Jews and Palestinians” (http://www.yorku. ca/ipconf/index.html). The conference took place from June 22 to 24 at York University in Toronto, and was organized by academics from York and Queen’s universities.

Most criticism was directed at the topic of the “one-state solution,” a widely discussed proposal among academics, activists and commentators—even within Israel itself—for a single, democratic state in which Israeli Jews and Palestinians would live side-by-side as equal citizens with equal rights. But the mere suggestion of the topic has attracted more attention than many of the high profile speakers and guests, eliciting accusations of anti-Semitism by opponents who have attempted to ban the conference.

Members of the Jewish Defence League, an extremist

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organization that is listed as a terror group in the U.S. and Israel, picketed the conference, and lobbied the federal government to revoke its funding. In a widely condemned move, Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, publicly criticized the conference and called for a peer review.

The conference received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), which is administered by Goodyear’s department.

Goodyear’s comments were interpreted as an attack on academic freedom. James Turk, the executive director of the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), condemned the government’s interference, emphasizing that it sets a dangerous precedent: “The worry in this case is how the Harper government will intervene in the next conference if it doesn’t like the way things are going.”

Turk also dismissed accusations of anti-Semitism, saying that the conference addresses a broad range of views and opinions.

“These are very hard days for universities that are supposed to welcome diversity and discuss controversial issues…

People haven’t even taken the time to look at the conference and see that a majority are professors from Israel universities.”

Over 50 speakers from around the world, including many from Israel, participated in the conference, bringing together many Jewish and Arab scholars.

Similar attempts to silence discussion of the Israel/Palestine conflict have attracted widespread criticism. University administrations at several campuses in Ontario recently banned posters for Israel Apartheid Week (IAW), an annual educational event that addresses Palestinian rights. The federal government also prevented British Member of Parliament George Galloway from entering Canada to participate in a pan-Canadian speaking tour about the wars in Gaza and Afghanistan.

But rather than silencing debate, these moves have served to draw more attention to the issues, sparking even more discussion and among wider audiences. Controversies such as these, however, are not expected to subside, as discussion of the Israel/Palestine conflict becomes more widespread, and as more people seek to participate in debates about meaningful solutions to war and occupation in the Middle East.

CULTURE Aboriginal Fusion Cuisine gets Ready for 2010 Aboriginal fusion cuisine with chef Andrew George

By Amanda Connon-Unda Culture Editor

Canadian readers of the Globe and Mail may have learned in May 2009 that Aboriginal foods are going to be highlighted at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver. In ‘Aboriginal cuisine preps for the world stage’ Alexandra Gill wrote about what will take place. All eyes and taste-buds are likely to be rapt by the new Aboriginal fusion cuisine showcased in the Aboriginal Pavilion at the games. In fact it’s reasonable to deduce that wherever Aboriginal fusion cuisine appears in Canada, it exists as much more than a traditional style of cooking paired with a refined modern style.

In a recent phone conversation with one prolific 45-year old aboriginal chef from British Colombia, Andrew George shared his wisdom about what Aboriginal fusion cuisine is and where he sees it heading across the country.

Aboriginal fusion cuisine is demonstrated as more than just a way to make a living, it’s a way to give reverence to Aboriginal cultural traditions and a way to inspire Canadian chefs from many different walks of life. Recently with these goals in mind, George created a training and development program in partnership with the Kla-how-eya Aboriginal Centre of the Surrey Aboriginal Cultural Society. There he offers disadvantaged youth the opportunity to upgrade their

education and obtain a hands-on cooking experience.

Last month from Vancouver, George explained what differentiates Aboriginal fusion cuisine from other kinds of cooking. He said, “It’s described as fresh, organic and very health-conscious cuisine. It’s lean and healthy. We have hardly any fat on the meat. We advocate for local products used in our culinary school. In a way we’re going back to the basics of cooking. It’s all made from scratch, it’s organic and local. We look to local nations, as well, for our suppliers.”

George explained enthusiastically, “Why is it fusion cuisine?... (Because) In most cases we can’t use our traditionally produced foods. But we can use other products. In restaurants we have to make it food safe – and it has to be prepared in an industrial kitchen. So, we duplicate our traditional dishes in a modern version, which can be difficult. We take authentic concepts and we move them forward.”

A member of the Wet’suwe’en nation, George grew up on reserve. He said, “We grew up poor and on reserve and walked the trails as our fore-fathers did. I learned as a young person how to cook on an open-fire and how they preserved and cooked food.” Then in junior high school, with his six siblings and his parents both working, George said, “Someone had to cook. I took up the challenge. I didn’t like doing dishes. I liked open camp fire and we only had a wood stove.” George said he learned from his mother who was an excellent cook how to cook well, and he enjoyed it.

In Grade 11, George said his career counsellor thought he would make a good professional chef. So, after taking summer jobs in restaurant kitchens and finishing high school he went to college. After only visiting the ‘big city’ – Vancouver – once before in grade seven, George decided to move there in 1983 for college. He said he was late for the first day of class because he got lost. He said, “It was risky for me. A big culture shock, but it paid off. It was a huge decision for me. I noticed there were only two aboriginals in the school. A lot of people approached us about aboriginal cuisine to ask us how to cook in that style. They wanted to know – I realized it was a niche that we had.”

The first job George got in the city was in 1985 in one of Vancouver’s first Aboriginal restaurants where he learned how to cook on a wood burning barbeque.

In 1992 as one of the most-renowned Aboriginal chefs and community leaders, George participated in the Native Canadian Haute Cuisine Team at the International Culinary Olympics in Germany. Then in 1997, along with a writer who he met there, Robert Gairns, he co-authored a book entitled FEAST—Canadian Native Cuisine for All Seasons, which

was published by Doubleday. The book outlined how to cook game meats like bison and moose, inspiring home cooks and restaurants alike.

From that point onward, George continued to expand his cuisine repertoire and gained business knowledge. Now he’s an expert in his field.

Today, George shares his version of fusion cuisine through the consulting with other chefs at restaurants such as the Four Seasons in Whistler and he ensures Aboriginal inspired menus are prepared. He wants to educate the public on how his people traditionally prepared food. He said, “I want to give them a whole new experience. I create a whole new dish.

I do a combination of French, Italian and Aboriginal. I think cuisine has a key role to play today because the world is very universal. In Canadian cities we have many diverse people and ethnic backgrounds coming together with their own cuisine.

We’re fortunate to have many cultural cuisines in Canada.”

Furthermore, George explained why he wants to incorporate his own traditions into the cuisine he puts into menus and educational syllabi. He said he sees fusion cuisine as, “promoting our culture – taking Aboriginal products from all parts of Canada.” Before the Olympics George says he’ll be going to remote regions, talking to elders about the traditional ways of harvesting and looking at modern technologies to move Aboriginal cuisine further into contemporary forms.

He said, “I’m trying to modernize it. Highlight it and make it mainstream.”

George says his goals for Aboriginal Canadian cuisine are to have it be recognized internationally like other cuisines are.

He explained, “The more people we educate and motivate – it will be better for all. The more people we get involved – the further it goes. Not only Aboriginal chefs are interested in this cuisine. Aboriginal fusion cuisine is getting more of a presence in the restaurant market.” George said he wants to train as many people as he can in Aboriginal cuisine.

George said that because the country is so vast there is a big range in the Aboriginal cuisine found.

George said “It’s critical to move forward as a people that we show we understand who we are. We are able to produce haute Aboriginal cuisine. That’s my goal and vision.”

Although George says he only knows of a few restaurants specializing in Aboriginal cuisine he said he wants to create his own log house restaurant with a theater to promote Aboriginal culture, with dancers and a dinner theatre. He said, “There is room for restaurant like that in Vancouver.”

Indeed there is plenty of room for restaurants like that all over Canada and in Toronto too.

Food Inc. makes me afraid to eat, just a little bit

By Maximillian Arambulo Remember how An Inconvenient Truth made people scared of the weather? The new documentary Food Inc. makes me afraid to eat, just a little bit. Personally, there’s always been this huge cloud of confusing information surrounding my diet. Watch fats or watch carbs? Eat local or support farmers in developing countries? Even last week, when I suggested a trip for a frosty milkshake, my office mate went on the Wendy’s website to check the calorie calculator first. “With and without whipped cream,” she read. She then said “no.”

Food Inc. argues that there are dangers inherent in the multi-nationally controlled food production system in North America. Efficiency and giant profits are the priorities, but health and quality be damned. Three problems with the food system are: 1) only the worst foods are cheapest, so especially poor people eat unhealthily; 2) many laborers in food production plants are unfairly treated minorities and non-status people; and 3) diseases are popping up because of unnatural production processes.

Like a good essay, Food Inc. presents a compelling and seemingly airtight argument. Two of the films talking heads (and producers) are Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation. Their explanations of the history and structure of the food production system

in the United States are pretty accessible.

Schlosser explains that, for instance, the initial success of McDonalds in the mid-20th century meant that beef needed to be produced in huge amounts by huge companies. Meanwhile Pollan explains the related notion that this demand for cows meant that they needed to be fed cheaply. Since they are now mostly fed easily-grown corn instead of their natural diet of grass, their bodies produce so much more bacteria which leads to E. coli outbreaks.

The filmmakers vividly illustrate the dangers by selecting particularly sad and relatable case-studies. There is the family who can’t afford to buy healthy foods, yet their more affordable junk food diet means health problems like diabetes, and therefore money spent on treatment and medication. Healthylooking and well-spoken, this Mexican-American family is pretty representative of the people most affected by these economics of food. Then there’s Barbara Kowalcyk, a food

advocate fighting for stronger quality control laws, because her 2-year-old son had died from eating E. coli tainted beef.

The multi-nationals like Tyson Foods and Monsanto, we’re told in periodic captions, refused to comment. It would have been nice to actually know how hard the filmmakers strove for balance. These types of social documentaries have a lot of persuasive power, and seem to often lean towards propaganda. Some transparency would have been nice, but that might be asking too much from this genre of film.

Schlosser optimistically cites the cultural shift in the attitude towards tobacco as a model for this food-production movement.

The giant tobacco companies weren’t unbeatable, and neither are the multi-national food producers. There’s work being done on the policy level and consumers need to be more mindful of their food choices. Wal-Mart, the film explains, stopped buying dairy products produced with growth hormones because consumers insisted.

The film ends with a number of tips to stay mindful about food production. Sure, in my pretty privileged situation, and the situations of others who can afford the $15 cinema admission, buying locally and eating healthier is possible. But the film didn’t convince me that those poorer than I, those most affected, could do the same. And honestly, it also didn’t stop me from blindly ordering the mixed grill at the Argentinean BBQ restaurant right after I’d finished the movie.

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JAzz Pianist Thompson Egbo-Egbo From Regent Park to Boston, Egbo-Egbo works to bring music to kids in the community where he grew up.

By Angela Walcott Playing in front of an audience has never fazed 26-year-old Thompson Egbo-Egbo.

Even Egbo-Egbo’s performance for His Royal Highness, Prince Charles at the Celebration of Canadian Artists in an elegant dinner setting proved to be no exception and he performed as confidently as usual. He explained, “When I am behind the piano is when I am most comfortable.” Egbo-Egbo is the recipient of the 1998 inaugural Hagood Hardy Protégé award and the silver and bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. This past month he performed at the TD Toronto Jazz Festival.

Originally from Nigeria, Egbo-Egbo came to Canada when he was four years old. By the time he was six, his mother put her son and his sisters into music classes at Dixon Hall School of Music. Egbo-Egbo showed a natural talent for music and he went on to take lessons at the Regent Park School of Music, a non-profit community music school which provides a safe and secure environment where inner-city youth participate in affordable after-school music programs.

The Regent Park neighbourhood, where Egbo-Egbo attended music school, has one of the highest immigrant populations in Toronto. As such it represents a true melting pot of varying ethnicities, cultures and languages. For years, the community was in search of a facelift and putting a music school there seemed to be a logical way to encourage growth and change in the area. The music school served to remind Regent Park residents that music was a universal form of communication and the school became a place to celebrate the differences of Toronto’s ethnicities through the language of sound.

In Nigeria, where Egbo-Egbo was born, there are over 520 dialects spoken, and the country has some of the most unique and varied instruments. The traditional instruments include the goje fiddle, kakaki trumpet, tambura drum, 1-stringed lute and udu vessel drum and agidigbo thumb piano. Three of the most famous African composers who have followed in the western classical tradition include Fela Sowande, Joshua Usoigwe and Akin Euba. Egbo-Egbo gravitated towards classical music at first and continued music throughout his high school years where he developed an interest in jazz while attending Danforth Technical High School.

Through his exploration of jazz music Egbo-Egbo was revisiting his cultural routes musically. Jazz has roots in traditional African rhythms that focus on the “off-beat” as well as an improvisational format, a “call and response” pattern and complex jazz cross rhythms.

With this continued interest, Egbo-Egbo received a Minstrel Foundation scholarship which allowed him to pursue and complete a three year jazz program at Humber College.

As a multicultural artist who is Nigerian-born but Canadian-raised, Egbo-Egbo brings an understanding and innate appreciation for fusion music. The pianist attributes his musical success to hard work and knowing how where to access opportunities through community resources.

A camp director at Regent Park School of Music, Egbo-Egbo doesn’t feel like he is going back or experiencing a full circle moment, but rather he says he feels, “it is a natural progression as a musician.” It is a continuation of the same chapter or as he puts it, “anoth-

er stage of life.”

His commitment to music does not stop there. He created the Thompson Egbo Foundation to help disadvantaged kids as well. Egbo-Egbo felt that he benefited from resources that were available to him so he wanted to provide a similar resource for other kids in return.

Egbo-Egbo says he feels that there should be more opportunities available in the arts for disadvantaged youth. With funding from Arts in the Hood, Egbo-Egbo has taught two classes of 15 students at the Firgrove Public School. In his class students learn how to communicate their thoughts through music while learning the fundamentals of musical composition.

The innovative program has drawn the attention of TVO and Bravo that are filming a documentary about his foundation.

His future plans include attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston to study musical composition. Egbo-Egbo has committed himself to music and he will continue his musical growth as he furthers his training. Listening to him play the piano is a joy and his performance this year at the Jazz Festival was no exception. He is in his element, looking completely relaxed and extremely comfortable. Watching his fingers slip over the keys effortlessly – one can tell he is enjoying every moment.

140 : possibly the First film inspired by twitter

By Amanda Connon-Unda Culture Editor

“ACTION!!!”

11:59 AM, June 21st from mobile web “this is it!”

11:59 AM June 21st from mobile web “at location, here we go, 140 of use get ready, 5 minutes till Action!!!”

11:57 AM June 21st from mobile web What happens when a large number of people from around the world participate in a social experiment? How does knowing that we share similar experiences of using online technology shape our identities?

In the making of a new film entitled 140, 140 independent amateur and professional filmmakers from around the world synchronized their actions around twitter in order to explore themes of home and questions about how people are connected. Directed by Frank Kelly in London, UK, the yet-to-be created film promises to examine how twitter can be used as a positive tool rather than as a distraction.

The film is timely in its inception, with the rise of the micro-blogging site twitter.com and when it is completed by 2010 it will likely be the first film inspired by twitter to surface.

In conversation in May from London by phone, Frank Kelly said with his film he plans to reveal from a distance, with a birds’ eye view, how we can look at social patterns and specifically how humans construct their connections to home.

Kelly explained he got the idea for his film through using twitter. He said he first signed up in January 2009 after hearing of it

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through actor, Stephen Frye, who he wanted to ‘follow.’ He said he first thought twitter would be yet another distraction, but soon he found himself wanting to follow more people.

He said, “I wanted to know if it can help me and if I can use it as a tool.” Kelly explained what still strikes him most is that, “It’s all about instant connection and immediacy with other people. It’s fast too. People all around the world can see what everyone else is doing, at once.”

Kelly said, “I thought it would be neat to use twitter to… synchronize a hundred and forty filmmakers... So they all film at the same time.” He said, “All a hundred and forty filmmakers will shoot on the same day and time for approximately a hundred and forty seconds.”

In May, Kelly said his plan was to “send a message out for free on twitter and everyone will see it at the same time on their phones or the net. That will be the ‘Go’ signal to start shooting simultaneously around the world...

I’d like some filmmakers from Africa and Alaska to get on board to broaden the geographic scope of footage we get.”

So, that’s just what Kelly orchestrated.

On June 21 via twitter, Kelly sent the ‘Action’ message to the recruited volunteering filmmakers and they all shot for approximately 140 seconds.

Now the filmmakers are finished shooting, and they’re sending their footage to Kelly from countries all around the world, including Brazil, Costa Rica, China, Mexico, Germany, London, Scotland, New Zealand,

Portugal and Australia.

Once Kelly receives all 140 clips of submitted footage he says he’ll edit them and incorporate music.

Kelly said he first pitched his film idea to friends who liked it and then he sent out press releases to media outlets. He got personal contacts on board, and soon the project had snowballed. To date the project has been written up about in the popular Paste Magazine (online), Metro Newspaper (UK), The Salt Lake Tribute (USA), The Irish Film and Television Network and Wired.com.

On Kelly’s website (frankkelly.blogspot. com), the names of the 140 filmmakers are listed. On the list are several Toronto area residents: 134. Paul Gitschner; 126. Simone Fried; 99. Stephen Clark; and 22. Jill Carter.

Kelly said he’d like to promote the film by the end of the year and have the feature length film ready for festivals, broadcast and online sometime after January. As an experienced filmmaker Kelly is confident of landing a distribution deal and having a DVD release as well. The film will be produced by Kelly’s own company: Pale Stone Productions Ltd. which he co-founded with Thomas A. Kennedy in 2005 while producing their debut short film called Emily’s Song. That film went on to screen at 25 festivals and on television and it won the Crystal Heart and Unicef awards.

As for 140, Kelly thinks the film will encompass a very broad range of footage from the filmmakers. He said, “I might cut it chronologically – From time zones, starting in China, around the world, and back. Or I

might splice into continents or around the themes that come out. I think I’m going to see a lot of landscapes and cityscapes.”

When asked in May how he was going to choose the filmmakers for the project he explained, “I don’t want to say ‘No’ to anybody.

I wanted to give anyone who’s interested a chance. I have 17-year-old students and professionals involved. We have two professional feature filmmakers working with us: Adam Abel & Ryan Little, who co-directed Forever Strong last year.”

Kelly explained, “I think it’s a really wide concept and what people’s connection is to home can have so many manifestations. I think it’s a lot for people to grasp: ‘How do I connect to my home?’”

Kelly expects the footage to come to him in many formats. He said, “Some people were concerned they didn’t have professional equipment. I said they can shoot on their phones or digital cameras if they don’t have video cameras. Others are using professional high definition cameras and 16 mm film.” He continued, “Another filmmaker in Australia reminded me it will be night time when he has to film and he asked about taking lights to shoot with. I think other people are going to head out into the wilderness and drive out to somewhere special. So, people are putting a lot of thought into it.”

To follow the filmmaking process and learn more about Frank Kelly’s 140, check out: http://www.frankkelly.blogspot.com/ or on twitter @frankwkelly.

finding connection online and how our societal values may be changing A Q&A with the author of Lost in Cyburbia, James Harkin

By Amanda Connon-Unda Culture Editor

Hal Niedzviecki’s new book The Peep Diaries boldly proclaims, “In the age of peep, core values and rights we once took for granted are rapidly being renegotiated, often without our even noticing.”

Here are two cautionary tales about the erosion of social values on the internet. Both authors warn us that social networking may be eroding privacy and this could very well have a detrimental effect on us.

Instead of the promised freedom it was intended for, it may instead bring citizens the exact opposite.

Peep culture consists of reality television, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, over-the-counter spy gear, and blogs that many of us consume daily. The Peep Diaries is a book that looks into what Niedzciecki writes is the “tell-all, show-all, know-all digital phenomenon that is dramatically altering notions of privacy, individuality, security, and even humanity.”

While, Niedzviecki delves into the identities and behaviours that are being produced through modern internet socializing and interactivity, James Harkin constructs the notion of a place called ‘Cyburbia’, akin to 1950s Suburbia where conformism abounds. He writes about it as a place where people go, sometimes to search out information, other times to browse

material in a hyperactive manner, or other times to waste time. With his exploration of Cyburbia, Harkin reveals the often over-looked history of this place and its cultural and social evolution.

Both authors do a nice job of revealing something more about our society and about the ways we’re changing our values - for better or for worse.

From TV to Cyburbia: Both authors readily admit how reality television and the voyeuristic qualities of television viewing readily made way for ‘peeping’ online.

Niedzviecki contemplates the surge of videos and online sharing sites that capture everything from sex scandals to the most mundane of everyday occurrences. And he asks, “Do people do crazy things just so they can upload their antics to YouTube?”

Meanwhile, Harkin remarks on Marshall McLuhan’s theory that television would unify the masses in a kind of communal psychic understanding. And Harkin wonders whether this communal connection has now been made possible with the electronic media that we know today.

The Need for Connection: Harkin reminds us of McLuhan’s spiritual convictions, and later the similarly utopian ideals

of cyber punks, that we would connect to one another online in a wider global community. Harkin writes convincingly that it was out of a conviction of our common humanity that the internet’s social networking capacity grew.

Niedzviecki argues that the practices he sees online today reveal how lonely we are and how little we seem to value privacy because we would seemingly trade it up, in the desperate search for community and connection with strangers, our neighbours or even those we know.

Harken warned that by creating profiles and tagging ourselves, this information could be used against us in future. In fact, according to Harkin, electronic tagging was being floated as a controversial way of profiling potential terrorists.

Niedzvieski also warned about the negative aspect of weakening social ties in online interaction.

He wrote, “There’s no cohesive social network to say ‘that’s not the way you conduct yourself on a date, young man’ … We are many different people living in many different milieus. As a result, we are responsible to almost no one… The arrival of Peep as a primary cultural past-time suggests how much we long for the kind of cohesion and recognition we used to be able to get from the tribe.”

The desire to perform:

Alter Ego is a Lesson in Tolerance

By Angela Walcott

Nadir and Ester meet in person for the first time since hitting it off on the internet. A young Arab football fan and a cultured older woman seem to have absolutely nothing in common, at least at first glance. This is the synopsis of screenwriter Cedric Prevost’s film Alter Ego which premiered at the World Wide Short Film Festival (WWSFF) in Toronto last week.

Relationships are complex and in the age of technology where the power of the internet has encroached on our daily existence, love becomes more complicated. The Internet, meant to be a convenience, puts everyone to the test.

Acting teacher-turned-writer Cedric Prevost examines the influence the information highway has on our lives and does so cleverly within a relationship. Prevost was also drawn to tell a story about social status and racial tension between ethnic groups within France.

Escalating racial tension led the screenwriter to dissect the inner workings of how people from different backgrounds prejudge one another.

Stereotypes, expectations, fears and preconceived notions are all brought to the table.

Harkin notes that many of us are skilled when we find ourselves in front of a camera – we know how to behave because years of television watching have taught us how.

Niedzviecki agrees, writing that when we market or promote a production of ourselves online, we do so in a fragmentary way.

In 2006 information from AOL searches was leaked and privacy was turned upside down.

Twenty million searches surfaced and AOL tried to get it back, but by then many people had seen it.”

Q & A with James Harkin, the author of Lost in Cyburbia

JH: “Many predictions haven’t materialized as we thought they would... If people invest too much in technology…. I think that’s dangerous. They thought that a new global harmony would become of the net, but our world problems still exist. Technology can’t solve all of our ills.”

Amanda Connon-Unda: Are there any downfalls of the increasing time people spend in cyburbia?

JAMES HARKIN: “People don’t necessarily make the right decisions in Cyburbia. For example, on March 26 with Obama’s open web-forum, they tried to transfer democracy online and they asked people to send in questions online.

But the majority of questions had to do with the question: “Can you legalize cannabis?” And essentially the meeting agenda was hijacked by small group of people around only one issue. I think what we have online is not necessarily authentically democratic.…For the most part, online portals are conformist places. So, a closed information loop is not always better.”

ACU: Can you think of recent developments in legislation, new software or procedures which threaten to further erode citizen’s privacy rights online?

JH: “Google Inform is a company that attempts to make money out of the information we type into search boxes. It’s behavioural targeting.

Google gets a hold of all of the information typed into search boxes and it targets people with precise advertisements. Advertising agencies are also thinking of making money this way. It will explode.

People forget that the Google search box is a sophisticated database and they type all of their desires there. They may sell this information. They (people’s search key words) tell the stories of peoples’ lives.

ACU: What’s the moral of the story in your book?

ACU: The author of The Peep Diaries, argues that online socialization reveals how little we value privacy in an age where we are desperate for community. Would you agree with him?

JH: “I think that’s true. Young people have different ideas about what privacy is. People in their 20s don’t care as much. It is not the end of the world for them to be posting their photos up… But… We get caught up. We spend time there… rather than as a tool to meet someone new.”

ACU: How will cyburbia evolve?

JH: “The big question is ‘Will we move from a world where we stare at each other?’ Or ‘Will we start to consume professional content on the web?’ New films by professional storytellers will be found online I think, using the new multi-platform media that we have online.

There are dangers to the way things are now. We are not that entertaining. It will be better if people of a new generation tell more sophisticated stories, instead of as it is now, where people spend large amounts of time staring at each other on social networking sites and zoning out. It is not that gripping to me, to stare at Facebook. I’m confident that these new forms of more engaging storytelling will emerge.”

A father and daughter share an incredibly tight bond in the must-see film, Sand

By Angela Walcott

Just as Ester and Nadir deal with their personal prejudices, so too must viewers tackle their own. The confrontation between the two characters is 20 minutes of non-stop electric tension as we feel the passion, anger and desperation portrayed effortlessly by actors Christine Farenc and Jeremy Azencott. Their anger is our anger and their frustration is our frustration as secrets and feelings are painfully revealed.

While at the WWSFF, Prevost talked candidly after a screening of Alter Ego about audience response to his short by French viewers. Women in the audience automatically felt fear because of how he looked and his regional accent suggesting he was a foreigner. Not so evident to us, the accent was a subtle hint that Nadir was not your run-of-the-mill French guy – but instead he is the outsider.

Alter Ego is a lesson in looking beyond the obvious and getting to the heart of the matter which is never to judge a book by its cover. Alter Ego doesn’t leave us asking whether love will save the day but rather if the search for love from people we think we know, will ruin it.

A divorced father watches protectively over his little girl as she helps to steer the wheel of the sand truck. Always by his side, she spends time with her father during his transports. She is happy, he is happy, they are happy together.

Producer Joost Van Ginkel took home Honourable Mention at the World Wide Short Film Festival’s awards ceremony for his film, losing out to Nicholas Sihol’s psychological drama My Name is Dominic. But all is not lost as best male performance was awarded to Sand’s lead actor Jack Wouterse for his brilliant portrayal of a devoted working class father and the relationship he shares with his daughter.

This is a beautifully simplistic and poignant film, the story of a father’s undying love for his daughter, the gentle giant versus the graceful swan. The unlikely pairing of the two actors works masterfully on screen. An imaginary dance recital

between father and daughter illustrates the physical differences; the heavy adult awkwardness versus the petite graceful frame of a child – strength versus vulnerability.

Vulnerability is a common theme that runs throughout the story not just from the perspective of a child’s innocence but adult innocence as well as the ugliness of divorce.

Categorized under the tech-neurological section of the more than 290 films screened at the WWSFF, the impact of modern gizmos and technological gadgets (a cell phone) is woven within its narrative.

Typically there is no bond that is stronger than that which exists between a mother and her child so it is unusual to see the bond between father and daughter in this Dutch film. Sand epitomizes the lengths that this working class father will go to, in order to protect his daughter.

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 25

BOOK REVIEWS 397 Ways to Save Money: Spend Smarter & Live Well on Less

By Kerry K. Taylor Harper Collins, May 2009.

ISBN: 9781554685837 Pages: 288; $14.99 In these tough economic times Kerry K. Taylor couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate time to release her new book, 397 Ways to Save Money. The book is chalk full of little ways to save big bucks.

Although there are sections that don’t apply to your average

student — like how to save on your home and kids room, there is still plenty relevant for students. For instance, learn how Taylor paid off her student loan of $17,000 in just six months in no extraordinary circumstances.

Taylor also reminds us to review our banking arrangements to save money — Do you have a no-fee chequing account? Do you negotiate lower bank fees? Do you have a high-interest savings account?

(Think ING Direct or President’s Choice Financial). These are just some of the questions you should be asking yourself in order to make the best banking decisions Taylor says.

The book even comes with free

recipes like how to make your own Sangria.

But Taylor isn’t just all about pinching pennies. She also encourages readers to dish out $250 for a quality office chair for the dividends it will pay on the quality of work you produce and your personal comfort.

Being frugal, you may come to realize after reading the book, benefits not just your wallet, but other factors such as the environment too.

Examples include: use re-usable bags, instead of plastic; hang dry your clothing and hand-wash your delicates to postpone wear-andtear.

Another benefit to being frugal

besides the money you are saving can also be your health. To help you make your own all-natural health products Taylor doles out recipes for avocado and lemon hair-conditioning treatment, egg white face masks, cucumber eye compress and olive oil skin moisturizer. Got a sore throat? Gargle with salt.

And speaking of health, if you want to be sure there are no pesticides on your food, and that your food tastes like it’s supposed to you can grow your own plants. Taylor calculates that if you buy a $3 tomato plant you are saving more than $35 of store-bought tomatoes, and she says they’ll be tastier.

The book is written in a

straight-forward style and can be read in whichever order you please.

After each blurb about a new saving tip is the ‘Bottom Line’ which in a sentence or two sums up the tip in bold font. I thought the inside of the covers were cleverly designed as they have one-liner financial tips like on those found on the Lululemon bags everyone carries around. “Switch to a no-fee credit card.” “Learn to love leftovers.” “Get your food free by watching the price scanner.” “Make your own coffee”… and the list goes on.

If you want to learn some other frugal ideas you can check out Taylors’ website dedicated to frugal living: Squawkfox.com. —Kate Mills

les stroud Survive! The Ultimate Edition Les Stroud has been dropped

By Les Stroud HARPERCOLLINS. 2009. off in the middle of nowhere on many occasions and must rely on his supreme survival skills. In Survive, he refers to real-life situations to point out examples of how people either used their survival skills wisely or not.

The example of Jennifer and James Stolpa who were stranded in a blizzard in Nevada with their five-

month-old baby is a perfect example of how things could have been done differently. Stroud points out that the couple could have avoided frostbite, which resulted in the loss of their toes, by literally taking their car apart. Makeshift boots could have been constructed from the car’s interior, using the foam seats and seatbelt straps to secure them.

In a happier ending story Stroud tells us about 13 year-old Jonathan Clement who remained calm after his father was injured during a bow-hunting trip. Clement secured the wound site by using his father’s socks to make a tourniquet

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and carefully guided him back to help. He acted quickly, assessed the situation and used what was available.

Survive is structured in a way that is very cut and dry. The book shows by example and it includes several plain photographs that further illustrate Stoud’s point – There is nothing fancy about survival.

Topics such as how to build a fire, overcoming fear, signaling techniques, navigation and clothing are also discussed.

There are ingenious tips on how to get water from unknown sources like a rock, by studying the

clouds, by using vegetation and how to collect substantial amounts of water from morning dew. Stroud even reveals a water purification technique by using solar energy.

One of the most valuable parts in the manual includes instructions on preparing your own survival kit.

Key items include a solar blanket, pocket knife, Ziploc bag, a large orange garbage bag, mirror, flint, and safety pins. The possibility of being stranded in a desert in Canada is nil, but we do have pretty harsh winter storms. These items can and should be stored in our cars even if we should be stuck in a

blizzard. But it is not blizzards alone or camping mishaps that we should be aware of—everyday situations can turn into a potential survival moment.

Les Stroud appears to be 2009’s version of the 1980s television character MacGyver who made anything from nothing. Stroud’s simple advice is made appealing to most of us. It gives us a sense of hope knowing that if the possibility of rescue is small, our chances of survival are great. Essentially, it is a mind game – we need to always be thinking one step ahead.

—Angela Walcott

having her cake and eating it too Domestixxx a blends old-style craftswith erotic art, on display at Come As Your Are

By Adriana Rolston Sugar buttons adorned the orange and turquoise frosted cupcakes in front of artist Nicole Dawkins. Meanwhile, across the room on the wall, nipples made of buttons jutted out from her mixed media piece entitled “Stitch’d Bitches.” During the opening night of her art show, Domestixxx at Come As You Are (CAYA), a woman approached her and pointed down at the plate of colourful baked goods.

“How did you make them?” the woman asked.

Dawkins, a 22-year-old pixie-sized crafter then explained how she whipped them up from scratch, pouring sugar into button shape moulds. Dawkins prefers to be hands-on in her art and baking and has always noticed a link between the pornographic and domestic realms.

“To me it always seemed like a natural association but I realize that maybe that’s just me being a little bit strange,” said the bob-cut brunette in red pumps and white fishnets, with a peal of laughter.

Inspired by a Betty Crocker cookbook she found at a yard sale a couple years ago, Dawkins began stitching images of vintage porn scenes over painted images from recipe cards. The result was food and fetish intermingled on canvas, which will be featured at CAYA until July 31.

On Thursday, June 18, CAYA customers had to peer closely at stitched figures to interpret kinky scenes. For example, an iconic Betty Paige appeared with red stitched lips and Elvis also appeared, spanking a woman over his knee, from a scene in the film Blue Hawaii, which was layered atop the image of “Chicken liver and scrambled eggs.”

Dawkins wanted to explore how burlesque and yellowed old recipe pictures both have elements of nostalgic humour and evoke similar emotions. She felt that off-colour snapshots of old-fashioned comfort food or gelatin and canned meat can be appetizing and repulsing in the same way that some raunchy pornographic scenes are.

“There’s something sexy and attractive about it but at the same time there is something off and a little bit disturbing ... I always wonder who these women are, why they doing what they’re doing,” she said, with a thick clump of bangs hanging over her violet-lined eyelids.

A visitor perusing silicone goodies on the shelves also got a face full of pie while observing a small canvas featuring an embroidered woman laying on her back, legs spread, hands parting bush and pink folds.

A man holding a silver fork is bent over her dish and both figures are sewn over painted slices of the blueberry dessert in “Eating Pie.” Dawkins has always loved domestic hobbies like knitting and baking. The self proclaimed control freak likes that crafting and sewing keeps her busy and allows her to be conscious of what she wears, the gifts she gives and the types of purchase she makes. Sewing was also an act of rebellion in high school when everyone else was frequenting the mall and she chose to alter second-hand clothes instead.

“There’s something pleasing about (being productive),

stereotype of the conservative grandmother knitting booties. Instead they’re making sex toys or knitting lingerie and dildo cosies.

For Dawkins, her foray into erotic art began when she gave a sock monkey with nipples and panties to her boyfriend for Christmas. Two years ago she decided to bring the magnetic-genitalia enhanced chimps to CAYA’s Erotic Arts and Crafts Fair. She’ll also be creating a website to sell them in the near future.

When co-owner of CAYA and organizer of the fair, Sarah Forbes-Roberts, invited her to exhibit a solo show at the store Dawkins was excited to be part of such a sex positive space.

“Doing artwork was always something private, something that I did for amusement - the same way that I knit

“Doing artwork was always something private, something that I did for amusement—the same way that I knit—so it is interesting to have my artwork taken out of its element (my bedroom wall) and put into a public space.” how even if you are watching TV …at least you are knitting a scarf and you’ve got something to show for it,” she said.

Having studied the social and political meanings behind food and craft trends in cultural anthropology at the University of Toronto, she has always been critical of the indie movement resurgence.

“Crafts shows and much of the new craft culture really like to use the term, ‘This ain’t your grandma’s…embroidery, knitting party’. So I was really interested in looking at how this might exclude older women,” said Dawkins, who also found that the craft scene is relatively white.

She believes that youth have always been “reclaiming” craft by trying to radically differentiate themselves from the

- so it is interesting to have my artwork taken out of its element (my bedroom wall) and put into a public space,” she said.

Dawkins doesn’t have to worry about waiting with a martini in hand for a husband to return home from work, but performs domestic activities for her own pleasure. She believes that reclaiming traditional examples of “femininity” means that she can be attracted to the hyper-stereotype of the housewife in her art but bake on her own terms.

Standing beside a basket of erotic sock monkeys, wearing a bell-shaped skirt and golden dragonfly wing earrings she said, “It’s kind of like having your cake and eating it too.”

A Hard Path is a unique look at the result of 50 years of occupation of Tibet

By Katia Dmitrieva Ryan Gauvin doesn’t like preconceived notions about Eastern countries. He wants his audience to know the truth. Tibet is not a peaceful paradise, and his documentary work, A Hard Path, proves it. His collection of black and white photos, shot in Beijing, Tibet, and North India, was touted as a search for “answers to the seeming failure of the Tibetan struggle for independence” by one of his professors. The finished product of 15 photos and commentary stood out at Ryerson’s MFA Thesis Festival, Doc Now. His investigative work was showcased along with other students’ final projects, under the umbrella theme of (Dis)Placements.

His work is unique amongst his classmates, and he readily admits it: “My girlfriend and I are probably the most political in the class. ” He said, “I wouldn’t make a documentary about myself or something intangible…I’m more of a humanitarian.” His aforementioned partner is fellow MFA graduate, Lara Rosenoff, the creator of Her Name is Beatrice, My Name is Lara, which addresses the internal displacement of people in Northern Uganda.

Gauvin is amongst the first batch of graduates from Ryerson’s newly-created MFA program.

He moved to Toronto from Vancouver solely for this degree, and his desire to tell “little-known and hidden stories, and make them known.”

Documentary work is not just a passion for him- it’s a commitment, something he discovered over time. When he was younger, extreme activities and Tibet excited him. “I used to read

rock-climbing journals instead of studying,” he admitted. He has devoured “Seven Years in Tibet” more than a handful of times; he even said that the novel set him on the path of traveling to the troubled country.

Paolo Pellegrin, an award-winning photojournalist, stands amongst Gauvin’s inspirations from the documentary field. Another well-know photographer mentioned is Eugene Smith, best known for his raw and unflinching photo-books (one chronicles his wife’s struggle with breast cancer). Both influential documentarians kept Gauvin motivated and excited about his own career.

These vagabonding humanists influenced him profoundly when he began traveling. Before stepping foot in his dream country, he blazed through Asia, Africa, North America and Europe.

Although experiencing a minor setback about three years ago, when his Tibet travel plan was detoured to Nepal, his dream remained tangible. His initial impression of Kathmandu, Nepal’s largest metropolitan city, was shocking but would prepare him for Tibet. “People in the street were ripping down buildings for fire and I was being grabbed at by taxi drivers,” he recalled, “I thought, ‘if this is Nepal, what is Tibet?’”

This year’s thesis requirement was a perfect opportunity for Gauvin to finally discover the answer. He was able to combine what he loves most about doc work: humanitarianism, investigation, story-telling, and exploration. “I want to use this academic social science research method from

university to make information accessible to the general public. I want to bring awareness,” he said decidedly.

News media often get caught up in the story du jour and neglect human rights abuses still occurring in many parts of the world. Tibet may be in the media, but as Gauvin pointed out, “not in the right way.” He explained that “no one takes Tibet seriously” precisely because of the mass marketing of Western misconceptions.

He explains that there are actually two Tibets: the vision that Western tourists perpetuate, and the reality. “There’s this full-colour, glossy image of monks everywhere, rainbows in the mountains, children laughing,” he insisted, “maybe it used to be [like this], but now that’s all gone.”

In place of this idyllic haven is a Tibet of welcoming but cautious citizens, inescapable poverty, and the overbearing Chinese authorities on every street corner. And the monks? Most are in exile in Northern India.

After spending almost a month in Tibet, he noticed some disturbing trends. People wouldn’t give him their full names and most avoided voicing an opinion to “this six-foot white guy with a camera.” They had ample reason to fear repercussion: it’s common to see Chinese guards and snipers stationed on rooftops. But there was a pool hall where the younger generation of locals was less afraid of being overheard talking to a reporter.

It was through candid conversations with

these people that the truth came out: the “real” Tibet is being swept under the rug. In its place, the Chinese government has created a touristdriven façade. “The Tibet of 50 or 60 years ago was bulldozed and paved over,” said Gauvin, “it’s just so sad.”

As for the apparent failure of the Tibetan freedom fight, Gauvin had a revelation: it isn’t really a fight right now. China currently has such a firm grasp on Tibet, that any future for the people looks bleak. Gauvin witnessed this tightening control first-hand when he visited the ubiquitousand now ironic- monasteries. “All of the temples were bombed, and in their place are these candycolored ones- which monks don’t even use,” he explained. “All of the original historic temples that monks have been praying at for years are crumbling and in ruins,” he said sadly.

Despite the stress associated with travel to a developing country, Gauvin is anxious to return to Tibet. “It’s the perfect place for me to work.” He said, “there are so many more stories to be found.

Especially in the exiled Tibetan communities.”

For now, he aspires to publish the completed book of his Tibet experience. Laden with photos, first-hand experiences and historical research, it’s a veritable trove of information and art.

“I know this is a coffee table book, but [the contents] are a reality,” said Gauvin, running his hand over the slate gray-cover of his bound and printed tome, “I want this book to stand in place of a biased history- the Tibetan history that is being re-written right now by the wrong people.”

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 27

Tasleem Thawar’s Gothic Toronto literature

Tasleem Thawar is proof that creative writing can be worthwhile—that it can get you on billings with some big names. The emerging Toronto writer talks about her international travels and the haunted hotel that inspired a story she’ll read in the presence of living legends.

By Katie Hewitt If you met 32-year-old author Tasleem Thawar, she’d probably tell you that her creative writing career is a fluke; and she is genuinely humbled by its happening.

It must have been some fluke that has her reading a story she penned, amidst pages by Margaret Atwood and Ann-Marie MacDonald, at a small church in Toronto’s west end.

Thawar is one of the writers featured at Gothic Toronto: Writing the City Macabre, an event for this year’s Luminato arts festival.

She’s to read her haunted tale to an audience in about an hour — along with a foreword written by Atwood and a story by MacDonald.

Visibly nervous, the business graduate tells me about her chance encounters with the arts.

“I had big dreams of being a CEO or a stock broker, or something silly like that,” she says, laughing.

“I always thought [arts] would be a hobby. I thought, ‘this isn’t a real job,’ so I never took it seriously.’”

Thawar and I are holed up in a predictable Starbucks franchise, arm-to-arm with strangers at adjacent tables. She uses the phrase “stroke of luck” repeatedly, over the Queen West customer requests for soymilk and the hissing espresso machine.

Born and raised in Toronto, Thawar has family roots in India and Africa. But she didn’t think of traveling until she was taken abroad as part of her commerce degree.

She found herself in Japan, though her heart was set on Europe; India, only because her trip to the Philippines was cancelled; and Africa, a place she’d “never dreamed of going,” despite her familial connections.

In Kenya, Thawar recalls waking at five a.m. to make homecooked meals for career couples with little time to cook, only to be met with complaints or sudden disagreements over payment.

Thawar says this informal

economy is common practice among many immigrant enclaves, and one that traveled with her family to Toronto.

It was the social aspect of this small economy that intrigued her. And Thawar says she began to think of her life in terms of its impact on others.

“What is the life that someone else needs to be living in order for me to live the way I do?” she says of her thoughts that often carry over to literary themes.

She started to write so these thoughts could escape.

While most liberal arts majors were seeking job security in MBAs, Thawar was re-thinking her business career. A frantic fiveday writing binge resulted in her first short story.

In 2006, Thawar submitted Packaging Parathas to Diaspora Dialogues, doubting that she’d be accepted into the program that supports and mentors emerging artists with the first piece of fiction she’d ever written. She considers her acceptance “very lucky.”

Helen Walsh published Thawar’s first story in a selection for Diaspora Dialogues, and thought of the young author when she commissioned works for Gothic Toronto.

Walsh was looking for writers whose literary fiction showed “expansive imagination” to pen stories set in Toronto’s various neighbourhoods. The stories were published in a limited edition chapbook of the kind sold in 18th century London—an ode to Edgar Allen Poe. When Thawar accepted, she had no idea the chapbook’s roster included Atwood and MacDonald, as well as established Canadian fiction writers Andrew Pyper and Nalo Hopkinson. She first read about it on the Internet.

“My friend called me at seven o’clock in the morning on a Thursday, I even remember the day, and said, ‘Oh my God, I saw your name in the paper and it’s next to Margaret Atwood!’

I said, ‘Are you on drugs!?

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There’s no way!’”

Thawar got out of bed and ran to her computer; everything her friend had said was true.

Admittedly, says Thawar, a panic attack ensued. But she soon got over it and settled into the idea, counting on low expectations. Naturally, she says, no one will expect her story to be as good as the others, “so it won’t be a total disaster.”

She’s nothing if not extremely modest.

I’m standing outside St. George the Martyr Church on John Street — me and about three-dozen others. We’re early for the reading. Volunteers in costumes reminiscent of teenage goths are slackening the theme of Victorian gothic; and they’re turning people away. The small church is at capacity, and at risk of fire code violations.

On-site copies of the limited edition chapbook soon sell out.

A sympathetic Thawar emails me her story entitled Her Hands, along with hints of the genuine bewilderment that seems to serve as a default reaction to her own achievements: “I heard they were

turning people away — crazy!”

When I finally read it, her subtly scary tale about a migrant worker form Bombay and his encounter with a ghost that reminds him of his mother — it’s rife with symbolism, history, themes of isolation and urban decay. It carries slightly Oedipal undertones.

Any lit major will tell you that there’s no better formula for gothic. It’s hard to believe Thawar’s claim that she’d no previous connection to a dark world, or for that matter, a gothic Toronto.

Her tale takes place in Scarborough, of all places. The choice of location happened by default, after Thawar learned that “most of the little ideas” she had were spoken for—Queen West and St. Andrew’s Church, for instance. She picked Scarborough at random, and only later thought, “where am I going to find something gothic in Scarborough?”

She found the historic Guild Inn, an abandoned hotel overlooking the Scarborough Bluffs that serves as haunting grounds for a local group of paranormal researchers. It was here that her character encountered a guest that

only he could see.

Toronto has been granted an unusual amount of literary attention recently, with the Lit City series at Open Doors, the Luminato Festival and the Harbourfront’s weekly reading series and annual author’s festival.

Thawar attributes this to the city “shedding its adolescence.”

She says this new artistic vision of Toronto is our way of defining it through expressive means that reflect its growing cultural diversity.

When I ask her if Toronto is a gothic city, she thinks hard before answering.

“I think it can be. I’m sure there’s lots of dark stories here, maybe we just need to start writing them.”

Her own story, for instance, “just got creepier and creepier.”

And the ending, once it came to her, just had to be written.

“It couldn’t have been anything else,” she says.

In gothic fiction, nothing happens by chance. The end is written into the beginning and the characters are generally plagued by powers beyond them. Everything is fate; nothing is fluke.

Honey Jam in Bitter Times

This showcase differs from other festivals because there is a mentoring and educational component. They want more than just push woman in the music industry but also want to teach them how to survive in it. “There are no winners or losers in Honey Jam – it’s not a competition,” Rowe said from the stage of last year’s festival. “Every artist has already won by being a part of this showcase,” she said.

Rowe, a tall modelesque beauty who runs the organization looks nothing like a CEO but has an undeniable reserve of strength that helps her persevere through many obstacles and challenges. With the help of a dedicated staff of volunteers she often spends months on end planning the one night performance held every year on August 15th. It’s a task that doesn’t pay much – or to be honest anything at all monetarily — but something she does because of how many people depend on it. Thus far her pay has been the currency of fulfillment and the satisfaction of having made a tangible contribution.

“Believe me I don’t do this for the money” she says with a laugh, “because there is none!”

It’s a job that has become even harder to accomplish in these challenging times. The recession has lightened the pockets of numerous sponsors and donors, and the hand-outs from the federal government have also been reduced, making the Honey Jam show harder to produce.

The funding crunch that Honey Jam feels is not unlike many other non-profit agencies’ experiences during the recession. Marcel Lauziere, the president of Imagine Canada, a registered charity which promotes policies that benefit non-profit agencies across the country, blames the federal government for deserting non-profits like Honey Jam in less than ideal circumstances.

In an open letter in 2008 Lauziere stated his anger about the lack of funding to deserving groups and programs across Canada. He wrote, “We [as a non-profit] are extremely disappointed that the government was silent on the issue of federal funding to Canada’s charities and non-profits.”

As the recession takes its more obvious toll

Ebonnie Rowe is determined to continue promoting women artists, even during the recession

By Takara Small For almost 15 years Ebonnie Rowe has acted as the chief executive officer of the self-created showcase called Honey Jam. The Torontonian also runs PhemPhat Entertainment Group, a non-profit organization that has become the “it” place for female musicians in the Canadian music scene to make their mark.

“We’ve grown so much over the years,” Rowe says “It was never planned to keep going on so long – originally it was just a one-off showcase - but everyone kept asking when’s the next show, so I realized we were filling an important niche for women and decided to form PhemPhat and continue the show by popular demand!”

Honey Jam, an annual summer showcase, has grown by leaps and bounds, particularly in the level of talent that is featured. In the early days it was much more R’n’B and Hip Hop focused, but after the first few years, and especially after Nelly Furtado’s performance, many more diverse artists started to audition. Now the summer showcase features artists in rock, country, pop, gospel, jazz, R’n’B and hip hop genres.

Each year women from across the country audition to be part of Honey Jam in order to sing and dance for soldout crowds. It is an amazing opportunity for new artists since the Honey Jam audiences include record label executives and industry professionals from some of Canada’s most successful labels and management groups.

In the audience there are also established artists looking for opening acts, producers and others looking for artists to be on film soundtracks. It’s something that Rowe is apt to mention when expressing why the showcase is so important.

Performers like Jully Black, Nelly and Anjulie are a few notable artists who have launched successful recording careers after appearing at the showcase.

However, it’s not only performers who are getting something from the show. MuchMusic host Sarah Taylor, who hosted last year’s festivities and will be hosting again this year, said she gained just as much as the performers.

She said, “I’ve met some amazing women, some who have become friends and mentors and whose music, talent and dedication continue to inspire me.”

on the manufacturing industry another unforeseen victim is the Canadian music business, which has for so long been over-shadowed by its American counterparts. As Honey Jam’s alumni go on to carve out successful careers for themselves, the organization that gave them their first break struggles to survive in this harsh economic climate.

“Honey Jam is an essential part of the industry because it’s a supportive and welcoming place where artists can receive valuable training and exposure” says Rowe. After watching last year’s showcase where country, blues and R’n’B musical acts all shared the same stage I agree and applaud Rowe and the organization for promoting an identity in the male dominated field of Canadian music. It’s great to know a place exists where women can sing without having to take their clothes off or pretending to be something that the Top-40 world would churn out.

Honey Jam’s show host, Taylor, agreed as well. “There are so many amazing moments” Taylor reminisced. “Watching the amazing line up of women proudly parading onto the stage and pouring out their hearts and souls and sharing their artistic vision and dreams is just awesome,” she said.

As the saying goes “the show must go on” and go on it will. The recession may have put a damper on some of the festivities, but it won’t keep Rowe from doing what she does best.

“We never raise enough money” Rowe says “[but] I always supplement any sponsorship shortfall by putting my own money in to ensure its survival. This year that wasn’t an option, so we’re reaching out to alumni and the public for support through a raffle.

We’re determined not to become recession road kill - Honey Jam will go on.”

photos by DAN RIOS

The popularity of Secrets Therapy is revealed at PostSecret.com

By Katia Dmitrieva

Psst. Do you want to know a secret? What about thousands of secrets, unburdened by the telling of them, from people from all around the world?

You can hear people’s secrets or share your own on a website called PostSecret.com. It’s a blog that invites people to mail in their deepest secrets anonymously on a self-designed postcard. Contributors can write whatever they like, as long as it’s true and they haven’t revealed it before. The results are a mix of the horrific, hilarious, and honest, with a lot of human interest in the mix.

More than just gossip and indulgence, these secrets can connect us to the people who wrote them. Like the person who wrote “I don’t know what I want, but I don’t want this,” or, the person who wrote on a hand-sketched image of a smiling young woman, “I will never stop loving her.”

Who were the people who wrote these? Who are they writing about? Sometimes what is best is to realize with a shock that you have an eerily similar secret.

PostSecret.com was first devised as a community art project by Frank Warren five years ago. And it wasn’t always online. In 2004, Warren handed out blank postcards, sometimes leaving them in public places, with instructions about how the project worked: “write down your secret, decorate the card however you want, and send it in.”

In just two years, he received over 50,000 secrets – all artistic and brutally honest and he knew they were worth sharing. Now, with over three million visitors to Postsecret. com each month, the small-time art project has exploded into a veritable phenomenon. It even nabbed this year’s “Bloggies” award for best art, craft, or design weblog, for the second year in a row.

If the blog leaves you curious to see more personal expositions, you can find four PostSecret.com books that are cur-

rently available in stores. Another book will be due out this fall, titled Confessions on Life, Death and God. Internet communication has gone from impersonal Facebook and MSN (and- God forbid- Twitter) to a place for people to feel accepted and, at the very least, less burdened.

The idea of anonymously divulging secrets to the world as the modern therapy is not new. Warren himself wrote that “sometimes, when we believe we are keeping a secret, that secret is actually keeping us.” The widespread popularity of PostSecret.com is proof enough of this belief.

In her introduction to one of Warren’s coffee table tomes, Anne C. Fischer commented that the post card project is akin to a healing process. Because everyone is invited to participate, art is brought together with spirituality and healing on a global level. It isn’t just the act of writing something like “I envy the willpower of anorexics” which may signal the writer-cum-artist to seek self-help. Sometimes, just the act of reading the deeply personal statements online can trigger a life-changing reaction.

PostSecret is a reaffirmation, especially in an unsympathetic work-centred jungle like Toronto, that everyone is, in fact, the same. We all have insecurities. We all have quirky habits. And we all have secrets. When you finally solidify them into words, and release your postcard into a mailbox, maybe that secret will finally let you go.

Ryerson Free Press juLY 2009 29

RECORD REVIEWS

Wilco settle for the basics, sound content not having to push the envelope

By Stephen Carlick

Wilco is the kind of band whose fans have enjoyed a long and fruitful ride, following a band who continued to progress and challenge their listeners with Wilco – Wilco each new (The Album) album. The band began as a simple “twangy” alt-country group with their debut A.M. before moving through an increasingly experimental phase that arguably culminated with 2002’s brilliant Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. That album was cerebral, catchy, spacious and emotionally resonant and it effectively tested the boundaries of what a “folk” album could sound like. Since then, Wilco’s albums have become increasingly divisive. They followed Yankee Hotel Foxtrot with the jammy and sometimes-meandering A Ghost is Born before releasing the mature-sounding and conventional Sky Blue Sky in 2006. To say that Wilco (The Album) was aptly titled and that it nicely captured what Wilco was “about” would be reductionist and neglectful of the expansiveness of the bands’ musical career so far.

However this much can be said: Wilco (The Album) is the sound of a band that is comfortable doing what they do best, a band that perhaps finally feel as though they no longer have to push the envelope. Instead, they’ve settled for creating a set of tuneful stompers and ballads punctuated by Jeff Tweedy’s dry plaintive tenor and melodic instrumental nuances, two of Wilco’s most significant assets. There may not be anything surprising or sonically challenging here as was present in their best work, but there is also little to complain about, rendering the album likeable if not a little bland.

Knowing that Wilco are capable of so much more makes the album feel half-baked, even though the songs sound fleshed-out and for the first time, maybe even fun.

That might be a high enough standard for other bands to hit, but for Wilco? It just isn’t quite good enough.

Rating: B-

A great album by a band so influential that the sound they created may seem overplayed Can a band as long-lived and influential as Sonic Youth still be relevant and enjoyable after more than a dozen studio albums? The answer, in this case, is a resounding ‘yes’. A band that is content can often sound its best, and on The Eternal, Sonic Youth sound positively at ease. Here, Sonic Youth have traded the squalls of guitar noise and the heaving,

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vitriolic moments of outrage for rolling, almost groovy guitar lines and rhythms. Easy-going tracks like “Leaky Lifeboat (for Gregory Corso),” “What we Know,” “Malibu Gas Station” and “Walkin’ Blue” are all beacons that Sonic Youth are happy to lay back and do what they do best. They ooze DIY-cool like nobody else in indie rock can.

The Eternal is a summer album through and through. It revels in the relaxed aura of California and the grunge-y sound of Seattle, despite the band’s New York City roots. Indeed, even this far into their career, the sheer breadth of influence that the band had on indie rock around North America can be felt immensely. From the eccentric guitarbased rock of Pavement to the effortless groove of Spoon, from genres as disparate as Sonic Youth – noise-rock and Eternal indie pop. For somebody unfamiliar with Sonic Youth’s catalogue, the album is a revelation, a realization that almost every band under the “indie” umbrella has, in one way or another, been influenced by this band. However, for many, the album is simply a great indie-rock album, blending subtle melody, tricky guitar work, and simple, understated groove to create a classic sound. It only very rarely sounds forced or jams for too long. Ultimately, The Eternal is a fantastic and effortless-sounding fifteenth studio album which proves both Sonic Youth’s tremendous influence on independent music and their continued relevance to the world thereof.

Rating: A-

Not enough passion, fervour from the unfairly reviled band that are known for it Alexisonfire were perhaps unfairly maligned by Toronto’s musical underground early on, already being called “sell-outs” by the time their second album (2004’s excellently epic Watch Out!) was released.

However, stuck in a scene where mere “indie” posturing (see: wearing a hounds-tooth handkerchief ) earns more cred than actually releasing passionate and engaging music, Alexisonfire had proven over and over that they care more about Alexisonfire creating – Old Crows, Young Cardinals music than about their hardcore image. Dallas Green’s City and Colour side-project may be annoying, but each of the members of the band have contributed to a richer musical landscape in Toronto. They were featured on Fucked Up’s 2008 hardcore masterpiece The Chemistry of Common Life and they raised the profile of scene mainstays Cancer Bats through sheer camaraderie and support.

All this being said, it might seem hypocritical to malign them now, but here goes: Old Crows, Young

Cardinals just isn’t that great. It could be because they’ve stopped screaming entirely, which as a former hardcore band sort of make them sound too close to the kind of fodder you’d hear on late-1990’s Edge 102.1 Radio. More likely, though, is that Dallas Green just doesn’t seem to be pushing his razor-sharp tenor to the manic point that he once used to. His voice used to lend Alexisonfire another chaotic element to mix into their musical recipe, but the rub is that his voice is only special when he’s running himself ragged (evidenced by his somehow bland and overwrought solo project). Standout tracks “Sons of Privilege” and “Midnight Regulations” succeed because of their chorus and end climax respectively, largely thanks to Green’s soaring angst. The rest of the album (and even most of those two songs) is bogged down by a never-ending onslaught of trite lyricism that undoes some of the more impressive moments the band produces. Old Crows, Young Cardinals may not be great, but Alexisonfire remains a relevant and relatively credible part of the Canadian music scene, deserving of the same amount of respect shown to somehow-credible “indie” teeny-boppers like Stars, Metric and the like.

Rating: C+

Mos Def delivers his first classic in ten years!

Finally, there is a genuine classic hip hop album for 2009 and Mos Def delivers on the sonic promise of his early work by demonstrating a genuine love for music again. Mos Def has never had problems with lyrics or musical ideas; the man is full of them. His Achilles heel, however, has always been his commitment and drive, both of which have been lacking since 2004’s The New Danger.

Even then his ambition to record a “Black” rock album was greater than his ability to musically merge the Mos Def – The two tasteEcstatic fully. With The Ecstatic, Mos’ ambition was matched perfectly by his choice of producers and, as always, by his lyrical output. After three years in the works, The Ecstatic is an arguable classic, matching (if not surpassing) his 1999 classic Black on Both Sides in terms of apparent enjoyment and sincerity on Mos Def ’s part. Mos Def ’s sheer musical quality and scope shine on this album. Here, Mos Def puts his recent globetrotting and political involvement to use.

He showcases more than a few continents’ influences. “Auditorium” features a crackly Indian string loop, “No Hay Nada Mas” has Mos spitting rhymes in Spanish over plucked Latin guitar, and the first single “Casa Bey” is built on a sample from “Casa Forte” by Brazilian funk band Banda Black Rio. There is also the alreadypresent influence of African music on Mos’ hip-hop repertoire.

While the album’s success seems to stem from his ability to pile on influences, Mos’ triumph can be

largely chalked up to his restraint this time around. The Ecstatic is all about Mos and his lyrics, so to finally hear beats that remain captivating without drowning him out or forcing him out of the spotlight is refreshing, especially on album highlight “Quiet Dog Bite Hard.”

Here more than anywhere else on the album, Mos Def is free to have fun over simple timpani and handclaps that emphasize his musicality and rhythmic grace without overwhelming the listener. All this and a track that features Mos and Talib Kweli rhyming over one of Dilla’s most understatedly beautiful beats?! This is top-ten material, to be sure.

Rating: A

Up-and-comer shows promise but refuses to compromise on debut LP Slim Twig has to be Canada’s most compelling up-and-coming musical figure right now. He is something of an enigma, having made all sorts of appearances in Canadian press even before having released a proper LP. Before Contempt!, Twig had released around six EPs that had divided critics, who called him a genius and a weirdo in equal measure. He Slim Twig – had never Contempt! been in a proper band, not to mention one signed to a record label. However, perhaps most peculiar about Slim Twig is that he is, at the time that this is published, only twenty years old. In this context, it’s tempting to call Contempt! a masterpiece, given that nobody in Canada has even come close to creating an album so reluctant to be beautiful in any sense of the word. Contempt!, though, is not a masterpiece: it’s too grating, too dissonant and too hesitant to fully embrace melody to qualify as such. Despite this, Contempt! remains undeniably intriguing, and includes many signs that Slim Twig has a successful future ahead. “Young Hussies” is the standout track here, a jerky, glassshattering (literally) version of “The Twist,” where Twig spits and screams along to a melodic keyboard surrounded by sputtering low-end synthesizers and crashing drums. It’s a barnstormer of an album opener, to be sure, but Contempt! never showcases this perfect marriage of melody and discord again, showing Twig settling instead for slower and sometimes unlistenable sound experiments such as “Alley Spying” and the patience-trying “Phantasm Inquest.”

Contempt! may be flawed, but it’s an artist statement, declaring that Slim Twig has qualities rarely seen in Canadian bands. He has the fearlessness and the willingness to truly experiment without falling back on ornate instrumentation and production. Slim Twig’s next LP could be his masterpiece, if only he can refine both his experimental instincts and his sense of melody.

Rating: B

Theatre Reviews

By Geraldine Anderson

Awake and Sing!: An apt reflection of messy West Side Story: The cast and complicated family life breathes new life into Awake and Sing!, Written by Clifford Odets, Directed by Miles archetypal characters Potter. On stage at the Yonge Centre for the Performing Arts until July 31, 2009.

If God is in the details, then Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing! is a divine experience.

Set in Depression Era New York in 1935, the play tells you the story of three generations of a Jewish family struggling to cope with the worsening financial situation, amidst complicated familial relationships. The attention to detail, from the set, to the costuming, to the dialect, is incredible.

The wrought iron daybed, the chandelier over the dining table, the two-foot radio in the corner of the room, the wallpaper and drapery, the teapot and teacups, right down to the old-fashioned tin of hand lotion reflect the period perfectly. The costumes, not only adhere to the 1930s, but specifically to a family struggling to maintain a certain status while struggling to stay afloat financially. For instance, when we first see Hennie, the daughter, played by Soulpepper Academy graduate, Sarah Wilson, she is conservative, but well attired in a form fitting red belted dress. After she marries a man she can hardly stand and has a child that isn’t his, we see her in a lose yellow A-lined frock, with a shabby red cardigan- a reflection of her financial and emotional plight.

Awake and Sing! has its own musicality and it comes directly from the dialogue and accent. The characters’ dialects transport you instantaneously to the time and place.

Nancy Palk, who plays the strong, unyielding and morally questionable matriarch of the family, Bessie, is absolutely astounding. On one hand Bessie is a fighter and a survivor, capable of doing anything it takes to keep a roof over her family, including orchestrating her pregnant daughter’s wedding to someone she does not love to save the family’s reputation. On the other hand, since work hours are cut, and hardly any money comes into

the household from her husband and son, you cannot help but appreciate her strength and resilience, as she claims to be both mother and father of the household.

When asked how this role is different from her many Shakespearean roles she says, “One just desperately tries to be real.” She admits you have more props and “stuff ” around that you may not in a Shakespearean role, but she says, “it’s the same muscles.” Her every action and reaction is executed with the precision of a blade.

Directed by Miles Potter, the play tackles the balance between hope and survival, in a manner that teaches, yet leaves matters open for interpretation. For instance, William Webster who plays the grandfather, Jacob, is a prime example of a character full of contradictions and questions. He says he has studied books all his life, but upon his death the audience discovers the pages in his precious books are still uncut. His death is perhaps one of the most ambiguous elements in the play.

Was it a slip or a suicide? That question is never answered, but the lesson he leaves for his grandson, Ralph, played by Jonathan Gould, to stand up for himself and to seize life, is finally well-received.

Ralph, a restless, yearning character who wants to get out of the house, be free of his mother and family, finally learns he can change the world. He can be the change he wants to see without going anywhere. He can stay and he can survive. He understands that his grandfather wanted him to.

The other looming question posed in the play is Hennie’s decision to leave her child and husband for a chance at happiness with a family friend, Moe, played by Ari Cohen. Many will think this decision unsympathetic and unfitting especially given the era, yet it’s the beautifully ambiguous moments such as these, that realize a certain realistic quality in the play.

The Burning Bush: Salvation comes from the strangest of places The Burning Bush, Written and performed by Tracey Erin Smith The Young Centre for the Performing Arts through June 2009.

People want to laugh more than they want to be saved, we are told throughout the show. Yet, at the end of this 90 minute, one-woman show, The Burning Bush, you can’t help but feel you’ve experienced comedy and a little salvation.

The Burning Bush is written and performed by Tracey Erin Smith, who plays a Rabbinical school reject turned stripper Rabbi named Barbara Baumawitz.

In the play, the main character, Baumawitz, proclaims “The only sermon you can preach is your own story.” So, that’s just what she does. Baumawitz preaches about her journey of mysticism, Madonna (the singer not the saint), stripping and salvation.

When she is told that she is far too serious to be a rabbi, she goes in search of her ‘lighter’ side and finds herself teaching Kabala to strippers, through Madonna lyrics, at the Tit for Tat strip joint. Eventually she and her new stripper friends take their show called The Burning Bush, on the road in a car they call their ‘Bush Mobile’.

Just like Moses and most every spiritual leader is plagued with doubt, Baumawitz is no exception.

She doubts her ability to be a good rabbi. She almost succumbs to her fear of stripping. She even has to fight the temptation of Hollywood knocking, but she doesn’t have to do it alone, because she has her very own Fairy God Mother slash Jiminy Cricket, and it’s none other than 73 year-old comedian Jackie Mason.

“Hello, hello this is Jackie Mason,” he introduces himself each time in his famous New York grumbling accent to offer Baumawitz council. And if you’re wondering why on God’s green earth, Mason of all people.

Consider that he was a rabbi for three years before he went into comedy, and he is currently helping Smith turn The Burning Bush play into a Hollywood movie.

Other character’s leave their mark too. For instance, Christie, a stripper at the Tit for Tat club and Baumawitz’s best friend and first pupil who wants to learn Kabala to bring her closer to her idol, Madonna.

We get a glimpse of Christie when the show first opens. Smith as Baumawitz walks onto stage wearing a black and red polka dot dress, black satin gloves to her elbows and a wig of red ringlets. She walks on to stage veiled in black lace, humming Madonna’s song Like a Prayer.

In her high-pitched, Jewish valley-girl accent she gives the audience a striptease lesson. She asks the audience to stand up with their legs apart, as if their standing over a “caldron.” Then she asks them to pretend they have a big wooden spoon stuck in their “you know what,” and says, “Now, stir the caldron.”

Laughter and embarrassed murmurs spread through the audience and suddenly everyone is united in the experience.

And the experience is a hilarious one, but also has moments that resonate with sincerity and teach some unexpected lessons. Like the moment Christie fashions a makeshift wailing wall so that the senior citizen can put their most sacred prayers into it. The prayers offered are read out and we hear everything from a woman thanking God for the cleaning staff because they are the only people that talk to her, to requests for more DVDs with more boobs to watch, to a man asking God to let his wife go first so she doesn’t have to suffer through his passing. In moments like this you cannot help but feel part of something almost sacred.

The writing is sharp, witty and precise and the acting draws you in almost unconsciously. The lessons are large and small. The comedy is profane and sacred.

Salvation comes from the strangest places.

West Side Story, Directed by Gary Griffin, and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo. At Stratford’s Festival Theatre until October 31 2009.

The Jets and Sharks may fight over turf, but the cast can rest assured they conquered the audiences’ hearts and imaginations.

West Side Story first debuted on Broadway in 1957, taking a topical spin on the Shakespeare classic, Romeo and Juliet. The topic of the time happened to be gang warfare between the Puerto Ricans (Sharks) and the Americans (Jets) - not the most compelling subject matter for a Broadway show - but it proved skeptics wrong and has since become a classic in its own right. Stratford’s production of the famous West Side Story is a rare theatre treat that keeps you entertained from the first toe-tapping fight sequence to the final emotional end.

It is easy to fall in love with the characters, Maria and Tony. Both of the actors capture the innocence of the young lovers perfectly and give seamless performances. Chilina Kennedy, who made her debut at Stratford this season, plays Maria with vivaciousness, innocence and depth. From the moment the audience is introduced to her - pleading to lower the neckline of her dress just one inch, to the final scene, where she points a gun at Chino telling him that she too can kill now because she too hates - Kennedy delivers a superb performance.

Maria is a demanding role to say the least, requiring vocal and emotional range, and the capacity to do it all while dancing. Kennedy makes it seem effortless, and accredits part of the ease to working with her co-star. In an interview in The Beacon Herald, she says, “Doing any scene with Paul Nolan is spectacular.”

In fact, Nolan himself is rather spectacular. His charm is unmis-

takable from the moment we see on stage, but he really captures Maria’s and the audiences’ hearts in the iconic balcony scene, where he scales the railing with the ease of walking through a garden. The sheer athleticism and spontaneity of the moment led to loud applause from the audience. In that moment, Nolan proves not only his physical strength, but brings his character to life. The audience sees all the naivety and innocence of someone in love. Nolan truly breathes new life into the archetypal character.

West Side Story has one of the shortest musical books in Broadway history, but it speaks volumes.

You don’t have to know about gangs to appreciate the exquisitely choreographed fight scenes. You don’t have to know the history of immigration to understand the universal themes of racism and hatred.

And you certainly don’t have to be versed in Shakespeare to realize the economy and brilliance of the script and lyrics. You just have to let yourself fall in love with the beauty on stage - And with this cast that is not at all difficult to do.

Staged on a Shakespearean thrust stage, the musical also pays further homage to Shakespeare, and invites the audience closer than ever before. No orchestra pit divides the action on the stage and the audience. In fact, the audience is as close to the performers as possible allowing the production to really come alive.

Musical numbers such as “America,” and “Officer Krupke,” are executed with precision that would do the show’s creators proud. Not only is the singing and dancing blended seamlessly, but the lyrics remind you why West Side Story stands the test of time.

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