Ontario

On June 11, a crowd of approximately 50 welfare recipients, disability pensioners, homeless people, and concerned citizens from all walks of life (some in wheel chairs) gathered underneath the Terry Fox bridge in Ottawa for the "Raise the Rates" protest.

The number of homeless in Ontario is on the rise. So is the enforcement of the Safe Streets Act, which bans panhandling, and various other legislation designed to keep people off the streets.

- by John Dunn -

During a protest that I conducted on Rideau Street in the summer of 2002, I noticed some very disturbing things about the homeless population. The vast majority were youth, and almost all the long time street people that I had met over the years were nowhere to be seen. And despite the massive cuts to the welfare system, I noticed that the number of homeless persons had remained constant. This did not make any sense. I knew by experience that the vast majority of people who were cut off welfare would not have been capable of going to work because of the major barriers to employment.

- by Jane Scharf -

OCAP's John Clarke on the "Queen's Park Riot" and the changing rules of class warfare

[From a talk given by John Clarke in Halifax last December, at a public discussion on the criminalization of dissent.]

If we're talking about the criminalization of dissent, the first thing that must occur to us when we look at those kinds of examples is that we live in an insane world, where people who go out and challenge injustice are the ones who must defend themselves from the charge of being criminals.

When we marched on the Legislature, back in Toronto, we were aware that so far that year, 22 homeless people had died on the streets of Toronto. When it comes to the crimes of the G7, even the known ones would fill volumes. Those that we don't know about would probably fill volumes more.

To say that anyone who stands up against such acts of theft and murder and violence - and fights back against them - must defend themselves from the charge of being criminal is astounding, and insane. We should keep that in mind.

Every year, Toronto's High Park hosts the Canadian Stage's Dream in High Park. This year, they presented Twelfth Night or What You Will. This is one of my favourite plays (Shakespeare or other), so it was with extra enthusiasm that I joined all of the glowing friends, lovers and families this Canada Day before dusk. - by Erin Brubacher -