Basics Editorial
A small explosive device has caused minor damage to a military recruitment centre on New York City's world famous Times Square. Since it occurred very late at night, the centre was empty and no-one was injured, leaving only one window smashed
New York's Multi-Millionaire Mayor Michael Bloomberg was quick to tell everyone to continue shopping and sight seeing, and suggested the attack on the recruiting office was an insult to US forces currently stationed around the World.
While the White House has already stated that no terrorism was involved, media reports did seem to indicate that they were investigating this being an act of protest by individuals or groups against the US' governments War on Iraq.
This will probably scare supporters of the war who will probably be reminded of the sort of actions staged around the world in the 1960s to protest against the War in Vietnam, where U.S. Embassies and U.S. officials were targeted.
The pattern fits similar bombs tossed at the British Consulate in 2005 and the Mexican Consulate last year. US officials seem to be grasping at anything to explain what happened, including investigating some Canadians as possible suspects.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Ontario Gov’t Gives $10 Million to Kellogg's
Basics Editorial
Dalton McGuinty must have been eating his 'Wheaties' this past month, as his government decided to give $9.7-million to Kellogg's for their new plant in the Quinte region, which will produce ‘Mini-Wheats’ cereal. The amount represents 10% of the costs of the $97-million plant, which began construction in October 2006.
Kellogg's is far from your small business operation that needs government money in order to keep going. The company is on the New York Stock exchange and had Revenues of $10.906 Billion in 2006.
This isn't the first time that McGuinty has engaged in corporate welfarism. In 2007 McGuinty gave Ford Motor Company of Canada $55,061,011, despite Ford’s cutting of shifts in St. Thomas. McGuinty also loaned $29,096,192 to General Motors (GM) of Canada while they cut shifts in Oshawa. The chocolate maker Ferrero Rocher, received a $5.5 million interest free loan, while other firms like car parts manufacturer MAGNA received millions of dollars, while the big bosses took home millions in their own pockets.
McGuinty says that this blatant subsidizing of the rich is to improve the province's manufacturing industry, which has been decimated since the Conservatives and the Liberals signed Canada into and implemented the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the early 1990's.
McGuinty does this with no acknowledgement of two facts: 1 - the Liberals are hypocrits for giving millions to millionaires, while denying people on social assistance any meaningful increases; and 2 - manufacturing jobs will only be brought back through public investments that generate jobs and revenue for the people. Our tax dollars should be used to build things that we need, including factories that are owned by the people and not some rich jokers.
Dalton McGuinty must have been eating his 'Wheaties' this past month, as his government decided to give $9.7-million to Kellogg's for their new plant in the Quinte region, which will produce ‘Mini-Wheats’ cereal. The amount represents 10% of the costs of the $97-million plant, which began construction in October 2006.
Kellogg's is far from your small business operation that needs government money in order to keep going. The company is on the New York Stock exchange and had Revenues of $10.906 Billion in 2006.
This isn't the first time that McGuinty has engaged in corporate welfarism. In 2007 McGuinty gave Ford Motor Company of Canada $55,061,011, despite Ford’s cutting of shifts in St. Thomas. McGuinty also loaned $29,096,192 to General Motors (GM) of Canada while they cut shifts in Oshawa. The chocolate maker Ferrero Rocher, received a $5.5 million interest free loan, while other firms like car parts manufacturer MAGNA received millions of dollars, while the big bosses took home millions in their own pockets.
McGuinty says that this blatant subsidizing of the rich is to improve the province's manufacturing industry, which has been decimated since the Conservatives and the Liberals signed Canada into and implemented the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in the early 1990's.
McGuinty does this with no acknowledgement of two facts: 1 - the Liberals are hypocrits for giving millions to millionaires, while denying people on social assistance any meaningful increases; and 2 - manufacturing jobs will only be brought back through public investments that generate jobs and revenue for the people. Our tax dollars should be used to build things that we need, including factories that are owned by the people and not some rich jokers.
Enemies of the People: Three Federal 'Leaders'
Basics Editorial
This is going to be a special edition of ‘Enemy of the people’, for the title will not be handed over to one person, but several.
First off, let’s give it up for Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion. Their first names aren't the only thing that these guys share slight variations of - their policies and ideas are pretty damn close as well. Dion postured himself as the peaceful, gentler alternative to known war-monger and racist Michael Ignatieff when the two were running for the Liberal Leadership (don't worry Bob Rae, former NDP Premier turned Liberal party flunky, we haven't forgotten about your class-traitor, Palestinian-hating ass either). 'I will be a voice against the war in Afghanistan' gestured Mr. Dion. Now - surprise, surprise - he is making a deal to keep Canadian troops in Afghanistan until at least 2011. To be fair, you can’t really be the leader of the Liberal party and not completely abandon one of your principle election promises (like Chretien with his promise to drop the GST and do away with NAFTA in the 1990s).
Harper, a former lobbyist for right-wing organizations based in Alberta is of course also in favour of keeping Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Both him and Mr. Dion are lap dogs to the wealthy and the transnational companies like Quebec-based SNC Lavalin that are making BILLIONS off war through reconstruction and munitions contracts.
So for being shamelessly able to send of young people to die and kill innocent people in order to make others rich, Stephen and Stephane are ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE. Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff - you can join your colleagues as enemies of the people too for
reasons already mentioned.
Now the NDP almost got off on this one, as Jack Layton in opposing the War in Afghanistan. And then they went ahead and supported the Conservatives walking out on the Durban Conference against Racism in South Africa in protest of motions condemning the disgusting and brutal colonial treatment of the Palestinian people by Israel. For sticking up for the racist state of Israel that has been killing hundreds of Palestinian children, women and men every year for 60 years, you can join the Liberals and Conservatives as Enemies of the People.
This is going to be a special edition of ‘Enemy of the people’, for the title will not be handed over to one person, but several.
First off, let’s give it up for Stephen Harper and Stephane Dion. Their first names aren't the only thing that these guys share slight variations of - their policies and ideas are pretty damn close as well. Dion postured himself as the peaceful, gentler alternative to known war-monger and racist Michael Ignatieff when the two were running for the Liberal Leadership (don't worry Bob Rae, former NDP Premier turned Liberal party flunky, we haven't forgotten about your class-traitor, Palestinian-hating ass either). 'I will be a voice against the war in Afghanistan' gestured Mr. Dion. Now - surprise, surprise - he is making a deal to keep Canadian troops in Afghanistan until at least 2011. To be fair, you can’t really be the leader of the Liberal party and not completely abandon one of your principle election promises (like Chretien with his promise to drop the GST and do away with NAFTA in the 1990s).
Harper, a former lobbyist for right-wing organizations based in Alberta is of course also in favour of keeping Canadian troops in Afghanistan. Both him and Mr. Dion are lap dogs to the wealthy and the transnational companies like Quebec-based SNC Lavalin that are making BILLIONS off war through reconstruction and munitions contracts.
So for being shamelessly able to send of young people to die and kill innocent people in order to make others rich, Stephen and Stephane are ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE. Bob Rae and Michael Ignatieff - you can join your colleagues as enemies of the people too for
reasons already mentioned.
Now the NDP almost got off on this one, as Jack Layton in opposing the War in Afghanistan. And then they went ahead and supported the Conservatives walking out on the Durban Conference against Racism in South Africa in protest of motions condemning the disgusting and brutal colonial treatment of the Palestinian people by Israel. For sticking up for the racist state of Israel that has been killing hundreds of Palestinian children, women and men every year for 60 years, you can join the Liberals and Conservatives as Enemies of the People.
People's Organizing for Housing in Venezuela
by Hassan Reyes
Like many major cities in what North Americans and Europeans like to call the 'Third World', the streets in Caracas, Venezuela are busy and crowded people. However, Venezuela isn't your typical 'Third World' nation. There is a revolution going on and you can see it and feel it when you are there.
BASICS Community Newsletter and the Toronto-based Latino radio program Barrio Nuevo sent us to find out what’s really happening in Venezuela and link up with the movements and people that are advancing a people's program.
The corporate media in North America portrays the Venezuelan revolution as 'authoritarian' and 'violent', and it portrays the democratically-elected leader of the movement President Hugo Rafael Chavez as a 'dictator'. It’s not hard to understand why rich Americans and Canadians feel so threatened by what’s happening in Venezuela, with the nationalization of the oil sector and the support that the peoples’ movement is obtaining from its allies in government. Venezuelans have resurrected two words that the rich people of the world hoped they would never hear again - Revolution and Socialism.
On the streets the idea of revolution has become a tangible thing, with incredible murals and graffiti everywhere, everyone announcing support for Chavez, and actively organizing themselves at the local level.
We come to a building with a considerable amount of this sort of graffiti - the headquarters of the National Committee of the Homeless (Sin Techos). I walk in and ask for Layo Gascuez, a local leader who agreed to give BASICS an interview and tell us about their work. Layo takes us to the second floor of a 5-storey building being occupied by the movement. Once occupied, the residents (mostly single mothers, seniors and youth) are organized into committees to carry out the every aspect of living collectively, including communications and renovations. On this same floor, the movement is renovating a space that will be used as a free day care centre for the single mothers in the buildings.
"Currently, we have 75 occupied buildings in Caracas and 165 nationally" says Gascuez, pointing to other adjacent buildings also run through the collectives.
"The Sin Techos movement began 2003 when we in Venezuela really began to take on the oligarchy, who live off the misery of the people" explained Gascuez of how the movement started. "In our Bolivarian constitution, Article 103 prohibits all types of
monopolies and so we started doing occupations of buildings to break that monopoly."
So united and strong are the peoples’ collectives within the Sin Techos movement that Layo proudly brings us to another occupied 7 storey building - which has a McDonalds as the main tenant on the street level. "Whenever we need something done to the
building we go to their management and demand that they pay for it. They don't dare say no."
The Sin Techos form part of the Manifesto for People's Liberation (MLP) that brings together over 8000 collectives and mass organizations together in Venezuela and other parts of Latin American.
Layo also brings us to other collectives under the banner of the MLP - the Workers of Art Centre, and Soberana TV.
The Workers of Art also function within an occupied storefront that hadn't been in operation for years. The Centre offers quality space for poor artists to do
their trade (painting, sculptures etc.) that they can then sell in order to survive. The artists offer free classes to youth and people in the community.
Soberana TV is a media centre, where the Sin Techos produce a local newsletter and TV-quality media reports to offer to other local TV stations.
"Ultimately, the work we do stems from a necessity. There are families who are living on the streets. Just as our President Chavez has said we can’t keep on allowing a monopoly over land and to permit a situation where the most vulnerable and poor in our society are trampled on."
A political mural in Caracas that reads " Work amongst the people must be the first principle of any revolutionary".
Like many major cities in what North Americans and Europeans like to call the 'Third World', the streets in Caracas, Venezuela are busy and crowded people. However, Venezuela isn't your typical 'Third World' nation. There is a revolution going on and you can see it and feel it when you are there.
BASICS Community Newsletter and the Toronto-based Latino radio program Barrio Nuevo sent us to find out what’s really happening in Venezuela and link up with the movements and people that are advancing a people's program.
The corporate media in North America portrays the Venezuelan revolution as 'authoritarian' and 'violent', and it portrays the democratically-elected leader of the movement President Hugo Rafael Chavez as a 'dictator'. It’s not hard to understand why rich Americans and Canadians feel so threatened by what’s happening in Venezuela, with the nationalization of the oil sector and the support that the peoples’ movement is obtaining from its allies in government. Venezuelans have resurrected two words that the rich people of the world hoped they would never hear again - Revolution and Socialism.
On the streets the idea of revolution has become a tangible thing, with incredible murals and graffiti everywhere, everyone announcing support for Chavez, and actively organizing themselves at the local level.
We come to a building with a considerable amount of this sort of graffiti - the headquarters of the National Committee of the Homeless (Sin Techos). I walk in and ask for Layo Gascuez, a local leader who agreed to give BASICS an interview and tell us about their work. Layo takes us to the second floor of a 5-storey building being occupied by the movement. Once occupied, the residents (mostly single mothers, seniors and youth) are organized into committees to carry out the every aspect of living collectively, including communications and renovations. On this same floor, the movement is renovating a space that will be used as a free day care centre for the single mothers in the buildings.
"Currently, we have 75 occupied buildings in Caracas and 165 nationally" says Gascuez, pointing to other adjacent buildings also run through the collectives.
"The Sin Techos movement began 2003 when we in Venezuela really began to take on the oligarchy, who live off the misery of the people" explained Gascuez of how the movement started. "In our Bolivarian constitution, Article 103 prohibits all types of
monopolies and so we started doing occupations of buildings to break that monopoly."
So united and strong are the peoples’ collectives within the Sin Techos movement that Layo proudly brings us to another occupied 7 storey building - which has a McDonalds as the main tenant on the street level. "Whenever we need something done to the
building we go to their management and demand that they pay for it. They don't dare say no."
The Sin Techos form part of the Manifesto for People's Liberation (MLP) that brings together over 8000 collectives and mass organizations together in Venezuela and other parts of Latin American.
Layo also brings us to other collectives under the banner of the MLP - the Workers of Art Centre, and Soberana TV.
The Workers of Art also function within an occupied storefront that hadn't been in operation for years. The Centre offers quality space for poor artists to do
their trade (painting, sculptures etc.) that they can then sell in order to survive. The artists offer free classes to youth and people in the community.
Soberana TV is a media centre, where the Sin Techos produce a local newsletter and TV-quality media reports to offer to other local TV stations.
"Ultimately, the work we do stems from a necessity. There are families who are living on the streets. Just as our President Chavez has said we can’t keep on allowing a monopoly over land and to permit a situation where the most vulnerable and poor in our society are trampled on."
A political mural in Caracas that reads " Work amongst the people must be the first principle of any revolutionary".
Thursday, March 13, 2008
“The Faces Seemed Weary of Battle...”
An anonymously submitted poetic account of the March 1st Launch of the Justice for Alwy Campaign Against Police Brutality
Many helping hands sought to form a collective union for a revolutionary cause.
Some might have called the affair a lost cause: a voice muffled out in the sound proof booth that is censorship by the media; a candlelight dwindling in a breeze of ignorance on a topic that widely affects the general public.
But on Saturday, March 1st, in Regent Park, I saw a gathering of many determined people, wearing nothing but sheer dedication as their shield and sword. All the faces seemed weary from battle, baring many symbolic scars, etched and engraved within their facial expressions.
But the ambience was unnatural, as if everyone’s hearts were beating in unison for Alwy Al Nadhir. Many people tore out a piece of their hearts inscribed with a few heartfelt words to share with their fellow masses.
Many friends and family members enlightened us on the issue at hand. We peered into the looking glass of these people’s day-to-day lives, and how this specific controversial situation is affecting them and has them searching for a greater sense of justice. What is being sought is not an apology, not a thorough detailed inquiry on the topic, but to set a precedent for future cases, to assist and aid other such unfortunate cases.
The launch of the Justice for Alwy campaign on March 1st was not meant for us to just hear an all-star cast filtering a burden too big for us to bear alone. It was not meant for us to acknowledge and applaud those courageous enough to battle stage fright. It was meant for us to unify and form a movement that correlates with everyone’s one true aspiration: Justice for Alwy Al-Nadhir.
On March 15th, when we rally outside police headquarters, we will signify the unification and the mobilization of these people. Actions do speak louder than words.
I would like to give honorable mention to one of the speakers. Ali, Alwy’s cousin, had a few words to say, with each word he uttered coursing through our veins and bodies, entering the depths and corridors of our minds, with his deep concentration and thought given to each word.
I for one bore witness to a surge of commitment and passion amongst each individual that was lucky enough to take part in that affair. ∗
My Life: A Poem in the Loving Memory of Alwy Al Nadhir
by Fatma Al Nadhir (Age: 14)
Everyday’s a struggle,
When you’re not around.
I live up to my full potential,
Because I know you’re looking down.
I can’t concentrate, I feel like there’s no
point.
Why should I try?
Have you ever felt the pain I go through?
These days I don’t even know what I’m
going to do.
They killed my brother! What did he do?
Now I have to suffer, because of what he
went through.
I miss you Alwy!
What happened the other day?
We have no clue,
But don’t tell me my brother did wrong,
I know that’s not true!
I remember the day Alwy, Basma and I
stayed till about 5 in the morning
playing monopoly.
I will never forget you Alwy.
There’s not one day I go without
thinking about you.
You made us laugh, and cry.
Remember the day I started crying
because I got mad at you…
And then you started laughing, and
tried to make me smile,
You always wanted to see us happy.
Alwy, words can’t express
how much I miss you.
I want justice for you, Alwy… ∗
The spirit of the Justice for Alwy campaign: Salma, Besma, and Fatma Al Nadhir
TO Cops Kill Again: Native Man Byron Debassige Slain in Davisville Area
by Kabir Joshi-Vijayan
On the night of February 16th, in a convenience store near Davisville station, Byron Debassige stole two lemons. He had a pocket knife. A few minutes later, in nearby Oriole Park, he was shot in the chest by police and was later declared dead in hospital.
A witness recounts that Byron was obviously drunk at the time, and was singing and asking for change immediately before being killed. The passer-by heard the cops scream “drop the knife” moments before they fired four shots at Byron who “fell like a bag of hammers.” The police and media’s explanation of what happened is, unsurprisingly, sketchy to say the least. Some initial reports talk about two officers being hospitalized for minor injuries suggesting Byron had stabbed/assaulted the police. However, later articles and quoted police statements make no reference to any injured cops, and simply talk about a “confrontation” with police.
Whatever happened that night, one thing is clear: a 28-year old man was deliberately slain by the cops – for the initial crime of stealing lemons.
On March 5th, friends and family honored Byron in a packed room at the Native Canadian Centre. He was remembered as a kind person who always saw the best in everyone. He was a gifted DJ and graffiti artist, and despite having gone through difficult times, he had renewed a commitment to succeed. Attendees also expressed a deep frustration and anger at Police, with many acknowledging the violent targeting of the Native community. One friend mentioned that Byron was a schizophrenic, which, along with his intoxication, may have well meant he did not understand police when they told him to drop his knife.
While no one (except his killers) knows how Byron died, we DO know that Byron was Native, which in this country makes you a target for the Canadian state and its thugs (RCMP and Police). We also know that Cops in this city brutalize and execute racialized and impoverished youth on a regular basis. Byron’s death comes only 4 months after Alwy Al Nadhir was murdered in Riverdale.
While it is not certain that Byron threatened the police, because the police consistently lie to cover up their crimes, even if Byron had attempted to harm one of the officers, a group of well-armed, trained men could have easily restrained or talked down a single intoxicated man with a pocketknife. The firing of 4 shots was a brutally excessive use of force. We must demand a full investigation into Byron’s killing, not by the ex-cop stacked Specials Investigations Unit, but a fully independent civilian body.
Justice for Byron! Justice for Alwy! Justice for all victims of police terror! ∗
Saving Toronto Housing from the Condo Developers
by John Clarke
of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
Buildings owned by Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) are being run into the ground. A lack of repairs and maintenance has created a crisis for tenants. The neglect is so bad that housing stock will be lost for good if the situation is not turned around.
TCHC admits that they would have to spend some $300 million to get their properties up to a decent standard. The City of Toronto owns the housing but claims that Queen’s Park is to blame for the problems. Actually, both levels of Government want to see the housing deteriorate so that it can be given over to developers to build condos. The process of gentrification has already begun in Don Mount Court and Regent Park and they have planned to do it at Lawrence Heights and in many other places as well.
Tenants who lose their homes to condo developers are told that they will have the right to return once the rebuilding phase is over. However, in Regent Park, they are already reducing the rent-geared-to-income (RGI) portion of the new development. Middle class homeowners will want their property values increased. This means that RGI units will be eliminated over time, and the City knows it. The Regent Park model is a blueprint for destroying public housing.
Obviously, the more the City can run down TCHC communities, the easier it is to hand them over to the condo developers. Buildings pass the point where they can be fixed up and tenants give up on them.
Over the last months, having received many calls from angry TCHC tenants, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) has taken up the fight against their abusive landlord. We have taken action to demand repairs for families and communities. We’ve organized community meetings, petitions and delegations to TCHC offices. This work has led to some important successes. We have gone around the City photographing and documenting the shameful conditions that many TCH tenants have to endure and will use this to expose TCHC as a slum landlord. We realize, however, that the developers and their political friends at City Hall will not be stopped unless can find a very serious way to stand up to them.
Currently, OCAP is taking a letter into TCHC communities that tenants can sign. It includes a fill-in portion in which the tenant explains the problems with her/his unit and how long they have been going on. The letter then informs TCHC that they are expected to meet their responsibilities as a landlord and fix the unit to a decent standard. If this is not done, however, the tenant says that it may be necessary to use rent money to do those repairs.
If you would like to sign the ‘rent for repairs’ letter or help organize in your community to challenge the neglect and defend it from the developers, then call OCAP today. ∗
ONTARIO COALITION AGAINST POVERTY (OCAP)
416-925-6939 www.ocap.ca
of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
Buildings owned by Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) are being run into the ground. A lack of repairs and maintenance has created a crisis for tenants. The neglect is so bad that housing stock will be lost for good if the situation is not turned around.
TCHC admits that they would have to spend some $300 million to get their properties up to a decent standard. The City of Toronto owns the housing but claims that Queen’s Park is to blame for the problems. Actually, both levels of Government want to see the housing deteriorate so that it can be given over to developers to build condos. The process of gentrification has already begun in Don Mount Court and Regent Park and they have planned to do it at Lawrence Heights and in many other places as well.
Tenants who lose their homes to condo developers are told that they will have the right to return once the rebuilding phase is over. However, in Regent Park, they are already reducing the rent-geared-to-income (RGI) portion of the new development. Middle class homeowners will want their property values increased. This means that RGI units will be eliminated over time, and the City knows it. The Regent Park model is a blueprint for destroying public housing.
Obviously, the more the City can run down TCHC communities, the easier it is to hand them over to the condo developers. Buildings pass the point where they can be fixed up and tenants give up on them.
Over the last months, having received many calls from angry TCHC tenants, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) has taken up the fight against their abusive landlord. We have taken action to demand repairs for families and communities. We’ve organized community meetings, petitions and delegations to TCHC offices. This work has led to some important successes. We have gone around the City photographing and documenting the shameful conditions that many TCH tenants have to endure and will use this to expose TCHC as a slum landlord. We realize, however, that the developers and their political friends at City Hall will not be stopped unless can find a very serious way to stand up to them.
Currently, OCAP is taking a letter into TCHC communities that tenants can sign. It includes a fill-in portion in which the tenant explains the problems with her/his unit and how long they have been going on. The letter then informs TCHC that they are expected to meet their responsibilities as a landlord and fix the unit to a decent standard. If this is not done, however, the tenant says that it may be necessary to use rent money to do those repairs.If you would like to sign the ‘rent for repairs’ letter or help organize in your community to challenge the neglect and defend it from the developers, then call OCAP today. ∗
ONTARIO COALITION AGAINST POVERTY (OCAP)
416-925-6939 www.ocap.ca
A Short History of Police Brutality in T.O.
The History of the Black Action Defense Committeee and Community Resistance to Police Brutality,
by Wasun - March 2008
The Black Action Defense Committee (BADC) emerged in the late 1970s to become a powerful force in the struggle against police brutality. At the organization’s first meeting, BADC founder Dudley Laws affirmed: “Canada is a racist state. If you have a racist state, then you have racist police”. The murder of Buddy Evans August 9, 1978, and Albert Johnson August 26, 1979 marked the beginning of BADC’s mass demonstrations against police brutality. Evans was a 24 year-old Black man shot at a downtown bar, and no charges were laid against the officer who shot him. Johnson was a 35-year-old Black man shot by Constables William Inglis and Walter Cargnelli at a rooming house in the Vaughn/Oakwood area.
In response to the Johnson murder, BADC mobilized the Black community, and their efforts culminated in 2000 people marching from Vaughn/Oakwood to 13 Division headquarters to protest his death. When Johnson was killed Dudley Laws formed the Albert Johnson Defense Committee Against Police Brutality.
On October 14, 1979, 1000 people rallied at Nathan Phillips Square. The Albert Johnson Committee had three demands in their struggle for justice. One, that constables Inglis and Cargnelli become charged with murder instead of manslaughter. Two, they formed the Albert Johnson Family Fund and requested that Toronto police provide full compensation to his wife and four children. Three, they demanded the Province and Ontario Attorney-General Roy McMurty establish an independent civilian review board for complaints against the police.
On November 13, 1980, Cargnelli and Inglis were both acquitted of their manslaughter charge after a four-week trial, and this resulted in more protests organized by BADC’s organizers. The following week at Nathan Phillips Square, 300 demonstrators protested the Cargnelli and Inglis acquittal. As a result of BADC’s protests, Toronto police made a secret settlement in court in 1988 when the Johnson family filed a civil lawsuit against them.
The government responded to BADC’s mass mobilizations against the Evans and Johnson murders with the following institutional reform: In 1981 the Province enacted a three-year pilot project called the Office of the Public Complaints Commissioner (OPCC) under the Metro Toronto Police Force Complaints Project Act, 1981. The OPCC was a new and improved civilian complaints system to report incidents of police brutality and increase accountability. Under this act the Toronto Police Chief was required to set up a Public Complaints Board that would conduct case hearings referred by the chief or commissioner. The OPCC faced much criticism from the Black community because it was still biased in favor of police without community-control of the police complaints process.
Despite the militant protest of Dudley Laws and others dating back to the late 1970s, the Black Action Defense Committee (BADC) as a formal anti-racist organization was formed days after the shooting of Lester Donaldson on August 9, 1988. According to Metro Police, the shooting occurred when they responded to a call stating Donaldson was holding people hostage in his rooming house. However, Donaldson was shot dead while alone in his apartment in a confrontation with five police officers. On Saturday, August 13, 1000 people demonstrated in front of 13 Division where Constable Deviney worked. Although Deviny was arrested and charged with manslaughter on January 11, 1989; he was acquitted in November 1990.
A second police murder later that year enraged the Black community even further and increased racial tensions in the city. On December 8, 1988, 17 year-old, Michael Wade Lawson was shot in the back of the head by the Peel Constable Anthony Lelaragni, age 24, who was charged with manslaughter; and Constable Darren Longpre, age 27, who was charged with aggravated assault. Lawson was shot in the back of the head by an illegal 38-calibre slug known as a “hot bullet” which expands on contact, banned in Ontario by the Ontario Police Act.
Later that year, in October 1989, 23 year-old Sophia Cook was shot and paralyzed by police. The third Black person shot by Toronto police in 15 months, Cook was a Brampton resident and mother of a 2 ½ year-old son when she was shot in the back. The bullet narrowly missing her spine and paralyzing her from the waist down. Cook was in a reported stolen car with two men whom she accepted a ride from after missing a bus at Jane/Grandravine. During the investigation, police confirmed Cook had never been involved in any criminal activity.
After a decade of militant anti-racist mobilization, the province implemented its second major police reform. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was created in the 1990 Police Service Act to increase police accountability in the investigation of civilian murders. The SIU was set up to be the first organization staffed by civilians instead of police homicide investigators. However, it ended up being staffed by retired officers who were promoted by the force as the only “civilians” competent enough to investigate these incidents. Despite the limitations of the SIU, the reform was a victory for the Black community because it indicated the Canadian state admitted that anti-Black racism and police brutality was a systemic problem that required institutional reform.
In the early 1990s, racial tensions heated up again with the acquittal of Michael Wade Lawson’s killers. On April 7, 1992, Constables Melaragni and Longpre were acquitted of their charges in the Lawson murder by an all-white jury. In the upcoming month, race relations declined even further when 22 year-old Raymond Lawrence was shot by Constable Timothy Gallant on Saturday May 2, 1992, just days after the Rodney King riots erupted in Los Angeles on April 29, 1992.
On Monday, May 4, 1992 BADC organized its largest anti-racist demonstration in a decade to protest the murder of Raymond Lawrence. Dubbed the “Yonge St. Riots” by the media, 1000 people demonstrated in a peaceful march that began at the U.S. Consulate and ended with 30 arrests, 200 windows smashed on Yonge St. and City Hall, and a hundred thousand dollars in damages. Hundreds of Black youth and others vandalized the Yonge St. strip and fought with police in the streets.
The history of BADC’s struggles formed a legacy of militant protest and organizing against police brutality in Toronto that has continued into the 21st century. In response to the police murder of Jeffrey Reodica, the Filipino community and its allies mobilized for years and created the organization ‘Justice for Jeffrey’. And today, with the police murder of 18-year-old Alwy Al Nadhir, communities demanding an end to police brutality have come together to form the Justice for Alwy Campaign Against Police Brutality. Through learning the lessons that organizations like BADC and the Justice for Jeffrey campaign have to offer, we should expect that our movement in the 21st Century will be even stronger. ∗
by Wasun - March 2008
The Black Action Defense Committee (BADC) emerged in the late 1970s to become a powerful force in the struggle against police brutality. At the organization’s first meeting, BADC founder Dudley Laws affirmed: “Canada is a racist state. If you have a racist state, then you have racist police”. The murder of Buddy Evans August 9, 1978, and Albert Johnson August 26, 1979 marked the beginning of BADC’s mass demonstrations against police brutality. Evans was a 24 year-old Black man shot at a downtown bar, and no charges were laid against the officer who shot him. Johnson was a 35-year-old Black man shot by Constables William Inglis and Walter Cargnelli at a rooming house in the Vaughn/Oakwood area.
In response to the Johnson murder, BADC mobilized the Black community, and their efforts culminated in 2000 people marching from Vaughn/Oakwood to 13 Division headquarters to protest his death. When Johnson was killed Dudley Laws formed the Albert Johnson Defense Committee Against Police Brutality.
On October 14, 1979, 1000 people rallied at Nathan Phillips Square. The Albert Johnson Committee had three demands in their struggle for justice. One, that constables Inglis and Cargnelli become charged with murder instead of manslaughter. Two, they formed the Albert Johnson Family Fund and requested that Toronto police provide full compensation to his wife and four children. Three, they demanded the Province and Ontario Attorney-General Roy McMurty establish an independent civilian review board for complaints against the police.
On November 13, 1980, Cargnelli and Inglis were both acquitted of their manslaughter charge after a four-week trial, and this resulted in more protests organized by BADC’s organizers. The following week at Nathan Phillips Square, 300 demonstrators protested the Cargnelli and Inglis acquittal. As a result of BADC’s protests, Toronto police made a secret settlement in court in 1988 when the Johnson family filed a civil lawsuit against them.
The government responded to BADC’s mass mobilizations against the Evans and Johnson murders with the following institutional reform: In 1981 the Province enacted a three-year pilot project called the Office of the Public Complaints Commissioner (OPCC) under the Metro Toronto Police Force Complaints Project Act, 1981. The OPCC was a new and improved civilian complaints system to report incidents of police brutality and increase accountability. Under this act the Toronto Police Chief was required to set up a Public Complaints Board that would conduct case hearings referred by the chief or commissioner. The OPCC faced much criticism from the Black community because it was still biased in favor of police without community-control of the police complaints process.
Despite the militant protest of Dudley Laws and others dating back to the late 1970s, the Black Action Defense Committee (BADC) as a formal anti-racist organization was formed days after the shooting of Lester Donaldson on August 9, 1988. According to Metro Police, the shooting occurred when they responded to a call stating Donaldson was holding people hostage in his rooming house. However, Donaldson was shot dead while alone in his apartment in a confrontation with five police officers. On Saturday, August 13, 1000 people demonstrated in front of 13 Division where Constable Deviney worked. Although Deviny was arrested and charged with manslaughter on January 11, 1989; he was acquitted in November 1990.
A second police murder later that year enraged the Black community even further and increased racial tensions in the city. On December 8, 1988, 17 year-old, Michael Wade Lawson was shot in the back of the head by the Peel Constable Anthony Lelaragni, age 24, who was charged with manslaughter; and Constable Darren Longpre, age 27, who was charged with aggravated assault. Lawson was shot in the back of the head by an illegal 38-calibre slug known as a “hot bullet” which expands on contact, banned in Ontario by the Ontario Police Act.
Later that year, in October 1989, 23 year-old Sophia Cook was shot and paralyzed by police. The third Black person shot by Toronto police in 15 months, Cook was a Brampton resident and mother of a 2 ½ year-old son when she was shot in the back. The bullet narrowly missing her spine and paralyzing her from the waist down. Cook was in a reported stolen car with two men whom she accepted a ride from after missing a bus at Jane/Grandravine. During the investigation, police confirmed Cook had never been involved in any criminal activity.
After a decade of militant anti-racist mobilization, the province implemented its second major police reform. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) was created in the 1990 Police Service Act to increase police accountability in the investigation of civilian murders. The SIU was set up to be the first organization staffed by civilians instead of police homicide investigators. However, it ended up being staffed by retired officers who were promoted by the force as the only “civilians” competent enough to investigate these incidents. Despite the limitations of the SIU, the reform was a victory for the Black community because it indicated the Canadian state admitted that anti-Black racism and police brutality was a systemic problem that required institutional reform.
In the early 1990s, racial tensions heated up again with the acquittal of Michael Wade Lawson’s killers. On April 7, 1992, Constables Melaragni and Longpre were acquitted of their charges in the Lawson murder by an all-white jury. In the upcoming month, race relations declined even further when 22 year-old Raymond Lawrence was shot by Constable Timothy Gallant on Saturday May 2, 1992, just days after the Rodney King riots erupted in Los Angeles on April 29, 1992.
On Monday, May 4, 1992 BADC organized its largest anti-racist demonstration in a decade to protest the murder of Raymond Lawrence. Dubbed the “Yonge St. Riots” by the media, 1000 people demonstrated in a peaceful march that began at the U.S. Consulate and ended with 30 arrests, 200 windows smashed on Yonge St. and City Hall, and a hundred thousand dollars in damages. Hundreds of Black youth and others vandalized the Yonge St. strip and fought with police in the streets.
The history of BADC’s struggles formed a legacy of militant protest and organizing against police brutality in Toronto that has continued into the 21st century. In response to the police murder of Jeffrey Reodica, the Filipino community and its allies mobilized for years and created the organization ‘Justice for Jeffrey’. And today, with the police murder of 18-year-old Alwy Al Nadhir, communities demanding an end to police brutality have come together to form the Justice for Alwy Campaign Against Police Brutality. Through learning the lessons that organizations like BADC and the Justice for Jeffrey campaign have to offer, we should expect that our movement in the 21st Century will be even stronger. ∗
Friday, February 29, 2008
Pro-Cop Regent Park Community Centre Blocks J4A Campaign from having event...
Open Letter to the Regent Park South Community Centre
February 23, 2008
Regent Park South Community Centre
415 Gerrard St E
Toronto, ON
M5A 2H4 (416) 392-0753
To Whom It May Concern:
As members of the Justice for Alwy Campaign, we wish to express our dismay and condemnation at the decision of the manager(s) of Regent Park South Community Centre to block our organization from using the Community Centre to host our March 1 Justice for Alwy campaign launch.
Following the murder by Toronto Police of 18-year-old Alwy al-Nadhir, his family, friends and allies came together to organize a memorial for Alwy in the neighbourhood where he spent most of his time - that is, Regent Park. For us, the natural choice for a venue was the Regent Park South Community Centre, a place designated by the city as a gathering place for the neighbourhood, especially for its youth.
The initial reaction of certain Community Centre staff was positive and supportive. They said it would be no problem to have the event at the Community Centre. However, after this verbal confirmation, and after our organization had done much leaflet distribution in the neighbourhood with all the event’s information, our organization’s members were met with almost two weeks of utter silence by Community Centre staff. The staff would not return our calls, and when we did speak to them over the phone or in person, we were told that a decision had not yet been made.
Finally, about two weeks after our organization was given informal approval to use the facilities, an employee of the Community Centre told us that her boss, Lucky Booth, had denied our access to the space. When asked why, the employee responded that it was a “delicate situation” since the police was involved and that no one knew what really happened the night Alwy was murdered.
But we know very well what happened, and we know even better what’s happening now! An unarmed youth was shot and killed by police, the police are withholding details about the murder, and now the community is being stonewalled from organizing for truth and justice.
Upon further investigation, we discovered that Toronto City Councillor Pam McConnell of Ward 28 (in which the Regent Park Community Centre is located) is the Vice-Chair of the Toronto Police Services Board. We can only conclude then that the Community Centre refused to host the memorial for Alwy because Parks and Recreation officials would sooner work on behalf of the interests of the police over and against the interests of the community and of Alwy’s family.
Toronto Police Services and Parks and Recreation are supposed to be separate and distinct bodies in the City of Toronto, and the one should not influence, bully, or direct the other. The Justice for Alwy Campaign demands answers from the Regent Park South Community Centre staff as to why exactly we were refused space for our community event and who is to be held accountable for this decision. We can be contacted at info@justiceforalwy.ca, and we will be expecting your forthright response.
Despite our setback, the Campaign is moving forward with or without the help of the Regent Park South Community Centre.
Justice for Alwy Now!!!
Sincerely,
Organizers of the Justice for Alwy Campaign
Muna Bafagih, Mother of Alwy al-Nadhir
Salma al-Nadhir, Sister of Alwy al-Nadhir
Fatma al-Nadhir, Sister of Alwy al-Nadhir
Basma al-Nadhir, Sister of Alwy al-Nadhir
Sabrin Sagaaf , Cousin of Alwy al-Nadhir
Steve da Silva, Basics Community Newsletter
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