The Art of Resistance

Foodsters UnitedWebsite | Facebook | TwitterOn this week’s show, we’re speaking with Ivan and Narada from the Justice for Foodora Couriers campaign. Couriers with Foodora aim to become the first app-based workforce in Canada to unionize and they’ve just cleared an important legal hurdle in their fight to create a collective bargaining agreement. On February 25th, the Ontario Labour Relations Board or OLRB ruled that Foodora couriers are dependent contractors that resemble employees of the company, not independent contractors. As dependent contractors, Foodora couriers now have the legal right to organize and certify a union. This decision sets an important precedent for other gig economy workers employed by companies like Uber, Doordash, and Grocery Gateway. Today, we’re Ivan and Narada to discuss what the decision made by the Ontario Labour Relations Board means for their efforts to join a union and for the future of gig workers across the country.

Elementary Teachers Federation of OntarioFacebook | Twitter | WebsiteOntario public school teachers have been without a contract since the end of August and contract talks with the provincial government have essentially stalled, with the last talk being held on December 19th, 2019. Key issues being disputed include class-size increases, mandatory online courses for high-school students, funding for special-education supports, a hiring regulation that gives supply teachers with more seniority an edge in getting hired for long-term teaching positions, and protection of the full-day kindergarten program and staffing.On February 21st, The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association and the Association of Franco-Ontarian Teachers, held a joint one-day strike where teachers walked off the job together and joined mass rallies across the province and here at Queen’s Park. This is the first time since 1997 that teachers and education workers from Ontario's main education unions were out of their classrooms on the same day.Today, we’re speaking with Julius, chairperson of the labour committee at the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario or ETFO.

Mining Injustice Solidarity Network Website | Facebook | TwitterFrom March 1st to 4th, Toronto will play host to the annual conference of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada- PDAC is a group representing Canada’s mining exploration and extraction industry. The convention is the largest of its kind in the world, attracting thousands of investors and 26,000 attendees from over 130 countries. It is considered the “superbowl” event of extractive industries, featuring award ceremonies, workshops, and keynote addresses by prominent mining moguls and political figures, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Toronto is considered the hub of the global mining industry.Though it promotes itself as an ethical industry upholding high environmental standards and labour practices, the Canadian mining industry is actually notorious for its ecological and human rights abuses around the world. In 2016, a report from Osgoode Hall’s Justice and Corporate Accountability Project found that between 2000-2015, 709 cases of criminal activity and 44 targeted deaths were related to Canadian mining projects in Latin America. Mining companies and the Canadian government, including under Prime Minister Trudeau, have so far failed to make any meaningful change to the violence of the extractive industry, and few Canadians are aware of these abuses. Today, we speak to Kate Klein, an organizer with the group Mining Injustice and Solidarity Network to learn more about the upcoming conference and the imperial violence of the Canadian mining industry.The Art of Resistance airs Tuesdays on CIUT89.5FM.Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Foodsters UnitedWebsite | Facebook | TwitterCouriers with Foodora aim to become the first app-based workforce in Canada to unionize, setting an important precedent for other delivery workers employed by companies like Uber, Doordash, and Grocery Gateway. On Wednesday, January 29th, the group Justice for Foodora Couriers held a Rally for Workers Rights in the Gig Economy. This rally was held immediately after the adjournment of the first section of the court case between Foodora and the couriers. Closing arguments began on January 29th, and the Ontario Labour Relations Board is expected to make a decision in the coming months on whether or not Foodora couriers can unionize. Today, we’re with Ivan, a courier with Foodora and an organizer with Justice for Foodora Couriers to discuss what the decision made by the Ontario Labour Relations Board could mean for the future of gig workers across the country.

1919 Mag x The Art of ResistanceFrom January 13th to February 14th, 1919 is holding a Book Drive for prison libraries in the Toronto/GTA area and across Canada. In 1996, the government of Ontario laid off all librarians in correctional institutions. As a result, library services in detention centres have been sporadic and dependent on volunteers. Although reading and access to information is a basic Canadian right guaranteed under the charter of rights and freedoms, for inmates, reading and access to information is woefully inadequate. Today, we’re with Caleb and Malaika from 1919 MAG to discuss why those who are incarcerated have trouble accessing books in Canadian prisons and the importance of ensuring that books are available to incarcerated persons.

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, along with a former prisoner and three other HIV organizations, is suing the federal government over its failure to provide prisoners with easy, confidential, and effective access to needle and syringe programs. For more than 25 years, needle and syringe programs have been available in prison systems around the world. Studies of these programs show that they:reduce needle-sharing and the risk of HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) infection;do not lead to increased drug use or injecting;reduce the risk of drug overdoses and other harms to prisoners’ health;facilitate referrals of users to drug treatment programs; andhave not resulted in needles or syringes being used as weapons against staff or other prisoners.Because of the scarcity of sterile injection equipment in prison, people who inject drugs behind bars are more likely to share and re-use injection equipment than people in the community. A prison needle and syringe program protects the health and lives of all Canadians. Simply put, prison health is public health.

As confirmed cases of coronavirus rise in China and around the world, Toronto has experienced a surge in anti-Chinese and anti-Asian racism. Many are pointing fingers at the Asian-Canadian community as the key carriers of the virus, a view that goes against both statements from public health officials and statistics on the outbreak. Local Chinese businesses have reported a decline in customers since the virus touched down in Toronto; others have noted increased anti-Asian epithets and other forms of racism and violence in public. This is similar to the public response to the SARS outbreak in 2003, during which hundreds of Canadians were hospitalized and 44 died. So far, only three cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Canada; experts say the Canadian health care system is well-equipped to handle any future outbreaks of the virus - which is not easily transmitted - and that the risk of infection for most Canadians is very low.   Today, we’re speaking with Justin Kong, executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, to hear more about the relationship between public health epidemics and anti-Chinese or anti-Asian racism. 

In mid-November residents of 235 Gosford Blvd were forced from their homes when a fire ripped through the 15-storey apartment building. The fire displaced nearly 700 people, killing one. Now tenants are being ignored by the building's property management company and organizing to demand emergency accommodations and supports.We're joined by Butterfly Gopaul and Sam Tecle to discuss how a coalition of tenants and community organizations are coming together to demand justice for residents!Donate to Tenant Solidarity Fund.Jane and Finch Action Against PovertyWebsite | Facebook | Twitter