Centre for Social Justice -» Community

Feb 23, 2012 - Eroding Democracy

Free Trade Agreements, Corporate Rights and Resource Extraction in the Americas

DATE: Thursday February 23rd, 7:00PM
PLACE: Ryerson University - 78 Victoria Street, RM - POD 250

Public Forum with Guest Speakers:

* MANUEL PEREZ ROCHA, IPS Washington DC - Associate Fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington D.C. where he directs an advocacy and research project on "the Security and Prosperity Partnership and the NAFTA Plus Agenda." Manuel works in coordination with the Alliance for Responsible Trade in the United States and is a member of the Mexican Action Network on Free Trade (RMALC).

* ANNA ZALIK, York University - Anna Zalik researches oil and gas industry strategy in the Americas and resistance to it. Trade rules and government policy since NAFTA have increasingly acted to benefit private corporations. That said, in Mexico people's and democratic labour movements have resisted the denationalization of Pemex and demanded environmental protection. In Canada, opponents to Tar Sands expansion and pipeline projects now form part of a continent-wide struggle for popular sovereignty over natural resources.

* STUART TREW, Common Frontiers - Stuart Trew has a background in journalism and political economy. Has worked with the Council of Canadians for over five years as a researcher, organizer, and, now, trade campaigner. He is the author of several reports for the Council on Canada-U.S. relations, including “Behind Closed Doors: What they’re not telling us about the Security and Prosperity Partnership.”

Event Organized by LACSN as part of the Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Month
SPONSORS: Common Frontiers, Council of Canadians Toronto Chapter and CUPE Ontario.

Feb 24, 2012 - Portrait of Resistance

Friday, 24 February 2012
5:00 until 7:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox - 350 King Street West, Toronto

Please join us for the TIFF Lightbox screening of Portrait of Resistance: The Art & Activism of Carole Condé & Karl Beveridge — a featured selection in the REEL ARTISTS FILM FESTIVAL. Afterwards Condé and Beveridge will join filmmakers Roz Owen and Jim Miller for a Q&A.

Portrait of Resistance …like Condé and Beveridge’s art, is brimming with life (Rachel E. Beattie, OUR Times)
Portrait of Resistance is …visually arresting (Sarah E.K. Smith, Canadian Art)
Portrait of Resistance is …frank, incisive, and more than a little funny (Murray White, Toronto STAR)
Portrait of Resistance is …an absorbing portrait of two incredibly talented artists …an absolute joy to watch. It is inspirational to artists and activists alike. (Rachel E. Beattie, OUR Times)
Portrait of Resistance …is an inspiring film as much for its elegant execution, as for its subtext that lives lived for art, love, and revolution can be so fulfilling, and so normal. (Humberto DaSilva, RABBLE.ca)

Condé & Beveridge's exhibition SCENE OTHERWISE shows at the TORONTO FREE GALLERY until Feb 26th.
for the film see www.portraitofresistance.net
for the show see Facebook event
for Condé & Beveridge website see www.web.net/~condebev

Feb 24, 2012 - Toxic Trespass

WHAT: Toxic Trespass Film Screening
WHEN: Friday, February 24, 2012, 6:00 - 8:30 pm
WHERE: Centre for Social Innovation 215 Spadina Ave. Suite 120 (1st floor) Toronto, Ontario. Wheelchair accessible.
HOW MUCH: This is a PWYC (Pay What You Can) event.

WHEN is pleased to present a screening of the film, Toxic Trespass.

In this film, intrepid filmmaker Barri Cohen launches an investigation into the effects of the chemical soup around us. She starts with her 10-year-old daughter, whose blood carries carcinogens like benzene and the long-banned DDT. Then, Cohen heads out to Windsor and Sarnia: Canadian toxic hotspots, with startling clusters of deadly diseases.

The filmmaker journeys into toxic nightmares all too common in industrialized countries. She meets passionate activists working for positive change, along with doctors and scientists who see evidence of links between environmental pollution and health problems. And she learns how quickly barriers can go up sometimes, when authorities are questioned about the connection between toxins and serious health problems.

This film is essential viewing for anyone concerned about the effects of pollutants on our – and our children’s – very DNA.

Women's Healthy Environments Network (WHEN)
@ The Centre for Social Innovation
www.womenshealthyenvironments.ca