CONTENTS
CALLS TO ACTION
Make $10 NSF fees a Reality!
ACORN members have been fighting for a lowered Non-Sufficient Fund Fees (NSF) for years. Big banks charge $48 NSF for a failed payment. This is predatory and hurts the poor most.But this is LIKELY changing – thanks to ACORN’s persistent and tireless efforts. The federal government announced in Budget 2023 that it will be cracking down on NSF fees. The government has now published the draft regulations which, if approved, will make this a reality.
acorncanada.org
Save the LINC Programs
LINC programs across Canada are being defunded by 20 to 30 percent by the federal government. For over 30 years, LINC programs have provided valuable language training programs and settlement services to tens of thousands of recent immigrants. Over 50,000 people use these supports every year.In Ontario alone, 70 to 75 CUPE members will lose their jobs, some as early as the end of March.
cupe.ca
EVENTS
Dilemmas and Crises in Labour
When: March 13th, 5pmWhere: Brock University, EA 101, St. Catharines
Sam Gindin is a activist and intellectual who has authored many books and is an expert on the labour movement. Join the BLSSA in spending an evening with Sam Gindin. Sam will be speaking on dilemmas and crises in labour, the nature of labour’s weakness and where a potential revival might come form. Pizza will be served!
brocku.ca | Facebook
Climate Crisis
When: March 13th, 5pmWhere: Hart House Music Room, UofT
We collaborate with Science For Peace, Climate Justice UofT, and Green Leading UofT for a panel, Q&A and mini workshop activities surrounding the climate crisis.
Science for Peace: Talk on future effects of climate change and nuclear weapons
– Q&A with Professors “Strategizing for a clean-energy transition, despite Trumpism” by Richard Sandbrook
– “The basis for hope on climate” by Danny Harvey
Militarization and Climate Justice in the Philippines
When: March 13th, 5:30pmWhere: OISE Rm 3311, 252 Bloor St W
The Canadian and Philippine governments want to sign a military agreement that will
– put environmental defenders at further risk of human rights violations
– increase global military demand for fossil fuels
– cause irreparable damage to sensitive ecosystems and biodiversity
instagram.com | docs.google.com
Ceasefires, the West Bank, and Political Theatre
When: Friday, March 14th, 5pmWhere: UofT, UTSU B100, 230 College St
A panel discussion between two experienced Palestinian organizers in Toronto. We will discuss recent developments within Gaza and the West Bank, the duplicitous nature of Western media discourse, and the state of the Palestine solidarity movement in Toronto.
instagram.com
Protest Wage Theft
When: March 16th, 12pmWhere: Dairymaid Park, Brampton
AR Logistics and AB Rawal Transport! Workers who are owed $33,000+ in unpaid wages are organizing a rally this Sunday.
If These Walls Could Talk…
When: March 16th, 7pmWhere: Winchevsky Centre, 585 Cranbrooke Ave
Dress code: Early 60s – Please dress up!
BYOB. Licensed Event. Light snacks and refreshments provided.
Celebration & Dance Party to say farewell to the Winchevsky Centre building!
Please join us to say farewell to our beloved building at 585 Cranbrooke. Built by the United Jewish People’s Order in 1960, it has housed our offices, our archives, a credit union, our art and books and sheet music, generations of Morris Winchevsky School students, year after year of holiday observances, as well as countless other cultural events and historical artifacts. For over 60 years it has been the hub for UJPO and MWS activities.
Canadian Foreign Policy Hour with Yves Engler
When: Mondays at 6pmJoin author Yves Engler on Mondays for a weekly news roundup and interactive discussion about Canada’s role abroad. This weekly session will delve into the latest developments on subjects ranging from military affairs and Canada’s role in Ukraine to its contribution to Palestinian dispossession, and the exploitation of African resources. Join Yves for a critical take on Canada’s foreign policy. Questions, comments, and criticisms are all welcome.
zoom.us
Direct Action Against Ford’s Lane Removal
When: March 18th, 7:30amWhere: Queen’s Park South Lawn
Ford still wants to rip out Toronto bike lanes despite the fact it tramples Toronto’s municipal powers, puts your life at risk, wastes your taxpayer dollars, and will make the traffic on your commute worse, all in the middle of a climate crisis.
Ford hasn’t responded to protest rallies, so it’s time to try other tactics. Meet at Queen’s Park South Lawn at 7:30am on March 18. Bring your own bike.
instagram.com
Film screening: Union
When: March 18th, 7pmWhere: OCAD University, 100 McCaul St
A special screening of the film UNION at OCAD University. This is the story of Amazon workers fighting for their labour rights! Take a look at some some behind-the-scenes footage of this ground-breaking campaign. The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) takes on one of the most anti-union employers in the United States.
eventbrite.ca
Coalition-building
When: March 19th, 1pmBased on activist ethnographic research on the $15 minimum wage coalition in Quebec, this presentation illustrates how participation in labour-community coalitions transforms the practices of community and workers’ organizations. Departing from a union-centred perspective, this presentation employs an interactional and cultural approach to coalitions inspired by Cefaï and Goffman’s framework.
FilmSocial: Kneecap
When: Wednesday, March 19th, 6:45pmWhere: Eyesore Cinema, 1176 Bloor St W.
The Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education is very pleased to present the award-winning movie KNEECAP as the latest installment in the ongoing FilmSocial series.
In keeping with the work of the Leo Panitch School, this film is a riveting political story of the fight for Indigenous language rights, for justice and against occupation. It is also a hilarious, satirical commentary on life today in the North of Ireland, which the movie captures quite brilliantly.
tickettailor.com
Ford More Years
When: March 20th, 2pmWhere: Kaneff Tower 519, York University, 4700 Keele St.
Join us on March 20at at York University to discuss the results of Ontario’s 2025 general election. The event will feature panelists from the newly released book Against the People: How Ford Nation is Dismantling Ontario. Light refreshments will be served.
yorku.ca
Teach-in: Palestinian Political Prisoners
When: March 20th, 6:30pmTeach-in on Palestinian Political Prisoners in collaboration with the Palestinian Solidarity Collective at York U and the Palestinian Youth Movement. Iftar provided!
None of us are free until every single Palestinian man, woman, and child being held hostage in “israeli” prisons is free in their own land.
instagram.com
Defend The Water!
When: Thursday, March 20th, 7pmThis year, we celebrate World Water Day with renewed collaboration between the Council of Canadians, Eau Secours, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees. With threats from Trump demanding Canada’s water and corporate giants vying to take control of our water, the attacks on Canada’s most precious natural resource are more present than ever.
This webinar will include Council of Canadians founder, Maude Barlow, Angela McEwen (CUPE), Gabrielle Roy-Gregoire (Eau Secours), and Gary John (St’at’imc Nation).
canadians.org
Online edition: Fighting to Win
Fighting to Win: Social Struggles, Containment, and Effective Resistance (online edition)Fighting to Win is a 12-week course with former OCAP organizer John Clarke, hosted by the Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education.
This edition of the course will be taking place exclusively online via Zoom. Those based in Toronto, Canada, are invited to join us for the next in-person edition of the course later in 2025.
The course will begin in April 2025 and will take place over 12 weeks on Saturdays at Noon (EST/EDT).
docs.google.com
Introduction to Socialism
When: April 6 to June 1Curious about socialism? Interested about if it is really possible and taking a sober look at the problems it will face? Want to discuss how to begin affecting change right now?
In these uncertain and dangerous times, The Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education is a space to listen, discuss and challenge the contemporary relevancy of socialism.
The School’s flagship course, Introduction to Socialism, is designed for both those experienced activists always looking to learn more, and those newer to socialist ideas and full of questions. It will not only provide a unique venue for collectively tackling important topics, but also a welcoming space where any question relevant to socialist organizing, no matter how basic or advanced, can be raised and discussed.
tickettailor.com
ARTICLES
Control at Work in the Age of AI /w Nicole Aschoff
This is the 2025 edition of the Leo Panitch School for Socialist Education’s annual winter lecture! We are overjoyed to be welcoming Nicole Aschoff to deliver this year’s lecture. This event marks the third edition of the school’s annual winter lecture, held in the memory of the late Leo Panitch.Artificial intelligence will bring the final destruction of good jobs. Soon all jobs will be subject to elimination or degradation! Or so we are told. This technologically determinist vision, while pervasive, ignores the power of working people to shape the future.
Source: LeftStreamed
Global Alignments in the Palestinian Issue
By Saeed RahnemaIt could be said that the Palestinian struggle is one of the most unequal confrontations in history because the Palestinians are not only facing the present ultra-right Israeli state and Jewish settlers but also an enormous array of official and unofficial, as well as open and hidden, alliances of powerful individuals and political, economic, cultural, and religious institutions around the world. This article addresses this alignment and confrontation.
Source: The Bullet No. 3105
Trump’s Auto-Tariffs: Form Formal Sovereignty to Substantive Sovereignty
By Sam GindinThe danger confronting Canadians is not President Trump’s on-and-off tariff toggle. That’s only a symptom. The more significant threat is our deep integration with, and hence dependence on, the US. This has compromised our formal sovereignty and will continue to block our substantive sovereignty – the democratic capacity to choose our own directions without external (i.e., US) pressures.
Source: The Bullet No. 3106