Weekly list of Toronto environmental and social justice events and issues.
Updated every Monday.
_______________________
Urge Toronto to declare climate change Emergency
We call on Toronto to join an increasing number of municipalities across Canada in recognizing the urgency for drastic and unprecedented action regarding climate change. Hamilton and Kingston have just followed the examples of Vancouver, Halifax, and Edmundston in declaring climate change emergencies, and we call on Toronto’s municipality to follow suit. We urge Toronto to recognize that climate change is today’s crisis, and not tomorrow’s.
https://www.change.org/p/john-tory-get-toronto-to-declare-climate-change-state-of-emergency
Ask City Council to make big polluters pay their fair share of climate change costs
Please support the motion has been put forward by Councillor Mike Layton asking Toronto City Council to consider joining New York, San Francisco and other cities by exploring legal action to hold oil companies accountable for their fair share of the city’s climate change costs. Sign the petition and/or write you Councillor.
https://act.greenpeace.org/page/40382/-/1
_______________________
_______________________
Federal Budget Creates New Revolving Fund for Municipal Climate Action
Incredibly great news for climate action in Canada: the federal budget included C$183 million for Low Carbon Cities Canada (LC3), a permanent revolving fund that will support local climate action plans in cities across the country.
Do you support a Green New Deal for Canada?
Canada needs a plan to tackle climate change that listens to both science and justice. That means ending our reliance on fossil fuels and ensuring that the shift to 100% renewables is fair for people and communities. What we need is a made-in-Canada “Green New Deal” – a vision for tackling climate change at the true scale of the crisis.
https://act.350.org/signup/GND-canada/
_______________________
_______________________
To World Leaders: Protect Half the Planet – petition
Scientists are offering a beautiful vision to defend humanity and nature — putting half the planet under protection. And right now, the UN, France, Germany, Canada and others are about to hold talks to consider the idea ahead of a global summit on extinction. We have to get them on board! Let’s call on these leaders to back protection for half the earth.
https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/protect_half_our_planet_loc_2019/
_______________________
_______________________
Cyclone Idai lays bare the fundamental injustice of climate change
A humanitarian catastrophe is underway in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe as the full scale of devastation from Cyclone Idai becomes more clear. Cyclone Idai is not a natural disaster; the storm was made worse by climate change, centuries of colonialism, and continuing international injustices.
https://grist.org/article/cyclone-idai-lays-bare-the-fundamental-injustice-of-climate-change/
_______________________
_______________________
Tell the federal gov’t to add white supremacist hate groups to the Terrorist Entities list – Petition
_______________________
_______________________
After Deadly 1996 Massacre, Australia Overhauled Its Gun Laws. New Zealand Now Plans to Do the Same
Ban Assault Weapons in Canada – Petition
https://north99.org/sign-the-petition-ban-assault-weapons-in-canada/
Christchurch happens every day in the war of terror
http://rabble.ca/columnists/2019/03/christchurch-happens-every-day-war-terror
_______________________
_______________________
Tell the Ontario gov’t to #BuyQuebecPower to replace the Darlington rebuild of 4 nuclear reactors
We’re leaflet blitzing around the province, and Etobicoke North in particular (Doug Ford’s riding). If you can help, let me know, thanks: angela@cleanairalliance.org And please sign the petition here.
Tell the Ontario government to reject the expansion of the Teedon Pit and order its closure to protect water
Dufferin Aggregates has asked the Ontario government to expand its Teedon Pit, a gravel pit that already threatens an aquifer containing the purest groundwater ever tested. The pit is located in the heart of the recharge area for this precious aquifer in Tiny Township, Ontario. Petition by Council of Canadians.
https://secure.canadians.org/page/40337/-/1
_______________________
_______________________
Doctrine of Discovery; Stolen lands, Strong Hearts
A 1-hour film about a devastating decision, made over 500 years ago, which continues to profoundly impact Indigenous and Settler people worldwide. Produced by the Anglican Church of Canada.
https://www.anglican.ca/primate/tfc/drj/doctrineofdiscovery
_______________________
_______________________
TreeMobile Supplies Non-Profit Food-Bearing Trees and Shrubs for your Garden
You can order food-bearing trees and shrubs for your yard, and TreeMobile will deliver. Build the local food base, mitigate climate change, and grow your own delicious apples, cherries, pears, etc. Order online for delivery on April 28th in Toronto and Richmond Hill, May 5th in Guelph and Hamilton. You can also volunteer to help distribute and plant. TreeMobile is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run project of Transition Toronto and Transition Guelph.
http://www.transitiontreemobile.org/
_______________________
_______________________
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
Mon. March 25, 8 p.m.
Bloor Hot Docs (Bloor and Bathurst)
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch captures the work of an international body of scientists who, for nearly ten years, have been documenting the massive impact humans have made on the planet. Taking us from the psychedelic potash mines in Russia’s Ural Mountains to the devastated Great Barrier Reef in Australia and the surreal lithium evaporation ponds in the Atacama desert, the award-winning directing trio of Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky weave together Burtynsky’s sprawling landscape photographs to capture the most spectacular evidence of human influence, reflecting on what these profound transformations signify for the future.
_______________________
_______________________
Power of Many: Take Back Ontario Conference
Mon. March 25, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, 255 Front St W, Exhibit Hall G
The Ontario Federation of Labour is hosting this province-wide conference that will bring together labour leaders, activists and community allies to build our base and our strategies of escalating actions. This one-day event will roll-out our full campaign plan designed to activate the Power of Many. It will feature engaging speakers and the launch of new organizing and educational tools.
_______________________
_______________________
Decolonizing Academia: Poverty, Oppression and Pain – Book Launch
Monday, March 25, 7 pm
A Different Booklist, 779 Bathurst Street
Clelia O. Rodríguez is releasing Decolonizing Academia: Poverty, Oppression and Pain and will be celebrating its publication with a Toronto Lit Up book launch. Poetic, confrontational and radical, Decolonizing Academia speaks to those who have been taught to doubt themselves because of the politics of censorship, violence and silence that sustain the Ivory Tower. Clelia O. Rodríguez illustrates how academia is a racialized structure that erases the voices of people of colour, particularly women. She offers readers a gleam of hope through the voice of an inquisitorial thinker and methods of decolonial expression, including poetry, art and reflections that encompass much more than theory.
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/toronto-lit-up-clelia-o-rodriguez-tickets-57630739092
_______________________
_______________________
Project Save the World Dinner Meeting
Tues. March 26, 7 p.m.
Her Father’s Cider Bar, 119 Harbord St.
This dinner meeting won’t have a specific topic — instead, it will be a “brainstorming session” to compare our top priorities for saving the world by 2031. (The IPCC says we have 12 years.) Prix fixe dinner is $29, including tax and tip. All are welcome. Bring a friend. Please email Metta if you’re coming: mspencer@web.net
_______________________
_______________________
Cycle Toronto Annual General Meeting
Tuesday, March 26, 6:30 p.m.
Cadillac Lounge, 1296 Queen St W
Cycle Toronto’s AGM is a members-only event. Our ongoing bicycle advocacy efforts are not possible without you! You can join us or renew your membership online beforehand, or at the door. Bonus: join or renew in March and you could win an Urbanite Lakeshore bike from Urbane Cyclist.
https://www.cycleto.ca/news/2019agm
_______________________
_______________________
Right to Walk T.O.: Justice, equity, and the Toronto walking experience
Tuesday, March 26, 7 – 9 p.m.
Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue, U of T
Walk Toronto invites you to celebrate our sixth anniversary with Right to Walk TO, a panel discussion that explores walking – the love of it, our need for it, and its meaning – through a justice and equity lens. This event is a love letter to walking, as well as a critical look at the walking experience our city creates, from different perspectives. We have a fantastic, dynamic group of speakers whom we’ve challenged to think about their work a little differently, and we’re excited to bring the conversation to you.
_______________________
_______________________
Governing Minerals for Renewable Energy
Tuesday, March 26, 9 a.m – noon
The Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, 1 Devonshire Place, U of T
Renewable energy is the best means of bringing global emissions within the required 1.5 degrees limit. While this is an imperative technical response to climate change, the full cost of renewables needs investigation. Specifically, the value chains of minerals used to produce renewable energy remains hidden. Join us for a keynote presentation from Dr. Stephen Lucas, Deputy Minister, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada followed by a discussion with Ms. Julie Gelfand, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Office of the Auditor General of Canada on the governance of the mineral supply chain for renewable energy.
https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/event/27306/
_______________________
_______________________
#OurSubway! Day of Action
Wed. March 27, a.m.
Join the city-wide day of action on March 27 to send a message to Premier Ford that this is #OurSubway! Join us at a subway stop near you at 7:30am or 8am to distribute flyers to transit riders. Organized by TTC Riders. Sign up here.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScbjXQeYysNPgXP3I6CpOTyw0Jl3iboHC-oOIiC6DoCcu08GQ/viewform
_______________________
_______________________
Education Town Hall
Wed. March 27, 7 – 9 pm
St. Lawrence Community Recreation Centre, 230 The Esplanade.
Topics covered include: potential cuts to education budget; class size increases; full-day kindergarten; lack of schools/daycares; changes to autism funding. Hosted by Chris Glover, NDP MPP, Spadina Fort-York
https://www.facebook.com/events/394439327773192/
_______________________
_______________________
Canada Out Of NATO!
No to the Military Alliance; Yes to Peace and Disarmament!
Wed. March 27, noon – 1 p.m.
Outside the Royal Canadian Military Institute, 462 University Avenue
This year is the 70th anniversary of this male-dominated military alliance and Cold War relic that threatens our security. NATO has been involved in illegal interventions in Serbia and Afghanistan and destabilizing operations in Libya, Ukraine, Latvia and Poland etc. NATO members are the world’s largest weapons manufacturers and arms companies like Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics fund the NATO Association of Canada. NATO puts intense pressure on Canada every year to increase military spending, which diverts public funding away from urgent social and environmental needs. NATO relies on a dangerous nuclear arsenal and refuses to disarm. VOW (Voice of Women for Peace) is calling for the Canadian government to withdraw from NATO and work through the United Nations on disarmament and the Sustainable Development Goals that will bring genuine human security. No to NATO; yes to peace, nonviolence and sustainability! Organized by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW)
https://www.facebook.com/events/843219112691625/
_______________________
_______________________
Climate Change and Migration
Thur. Mar 28, 7 p.m.
Join The Leap’s Maya Menezes and grassroots migrant justice organizers for a public webinar to learn more about the links between climate change and migration.
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JXwU29fCTXOb3r1HWXDkhw
_______________________
_______________________
Rethinking Refugee Support: Responding to the Crisis in South East Europe
Thur. March 28, 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Centre for Social Innovation Regent Park, 585 Dundas Street East
This evening seeks to bridge the report’s findings with photographs featured at the Tate Gallery, Liverpool that focuses on refugee journeys through the Balkan Route(s), Refugee Journeys Through the Balkan Route: A Crisis No More? It hopes to bring individuals together and, in conversation, discuss the nature of refugee provision opening the door to wider discussions of migration more broadly.
_______________________
_______________________
Toronto Yoga Conference and Show
March 28-31
Metro Toronto Convention Centre
https://www.theyogaconference.com/toronto/
_______________________
_______________________
Generation Wealth
Fri. March 29, 7 p.m.
OISE, 252 Bloor W, Rm C154 (on the concourse level, one floor below the OISE lobby entrance)
A documentary that investigates the pathologies that have created the richest society the world has ever seen. 2018 1hour, 46 min. Hosted by Rebel Films.
_______________________
_______________________
Tigerland
Fri. March 29, 6 p.m.
Bloor Hot Docs
Be among the first to catch this riveting doc on the majestical tiger—often the subject of myths and folktales, poetry and art—at this special screening after its Sundance Festival premiere. Half a century ago, in the jungles of India, a young forest officer rallied the world to save tigers from extinction. Today, the creed is carried on in Far East Russia by the guardians of the last Siberian tigers, who risk everything to save the species. Directed by Oscar-winner Ross Kauffman (Born Into Brothels) and produced by Fisher Stevens (The Cove), Tigerland follows these two activists who have made it their mission to save this beloved animal.
Contest: The first 4 people to respond with the correct answer will each win 2 free tix: Which tiger subspecies is the biggest? Bengal – Siberian – Indochinese – or Sumatran?
_______________________
_______________________
Redefining and Reframing Masculinity Workshop
Friday, March 29, 2019 at 5:30 PM – 8 PM
Ph.D. Student Association, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, 246 Bloor Street West
Join us for a workshop exploring the concept of masculinity as embodied by 2S/Trans/NB people. We will engage in knowledge sharing and dialogue around the ways in which 2S/Trans/NB people on the masculine spectrum embody masculinity outside the limits of the white colonial heteropatriarchal system.
https://www.facebook.com/events/877178302645795/
_______________________
_______________________
Yes to Peace, No to NATO! Rally
Sat. March 30, noon – 1:30 p.m.
US Consulate, 360 University Avenue, Toronto
Public rally timed to the big protest in Washington DC. Organized by the Toronto Association of Peace and Solidarity. Supported by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
https://www.facebook.com/events/355805235025648/
_______________________
_______________________
Earth Hour Walk
Sat. March 30, 8:30 – 9:30 pm
High Park Zoo
Earth Hour is a worldwide movement organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature. The event is held annually encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 pm on a specific day towards the end of March, as a symbol of commitment to the planet. Join Friends of High Park Zoo and Green 13 for an amazing walk through High Park Zoo. Meet at the Grenadier Restaurant for some hot chocolate before the start of the walk and please bring a lantern.
_______________________
_______________________
Bingo at The Common: a fundraiser for Groundswell Community Justice Trust Fund
Saturday, March 30, 8 -11 pm
The Common, 1028 Bloor Street West (Bloor and Ossington)
Come beat the winter (and neoliberal/Trump/Ford) blues with Bingo at the Common. Snacks and popcorn will be provided. Alcoholic drinks will be sold. Dance party to follow. All funds go to Groundswell Community Justice Trust Fund. Exciting prizes. Groundswell raises money for grassroots social justice initiatives that cannot easily access state or private funding. Some of the past groups have included Indigenous Land Defence Across Borders (ILDAB) and Members of Grassy Narrows Asubpeeschoseewagong Anishinabek (GNAA).
https://groundswellfund.ca/2018-grant-recipients and https://groundswellfund.ca/
Suggested donation is $20. Or PWYC or pay nothing and just come! (Give more $$ if you can.)
https://www.facebook.com/events/799676860378177/
_______________________
_______________________
Scarborough Seedy Saturday and Green Fair
Saturday, March 30, 2019 – 11 am – 4 pm
Blessed Cardinal Newman High School, 100 Brimley Rd South (south of Kingston Rd)
East End Toronto’s own Eco and gardening event with the always popular seed exchange, organic and heirloom seed vendors, Garden Associations, Nature and Eco booths, learning workshops and a Kids area.
https://www.facebook.com/SSSGFair/
_______________________
_______________________
Bike Minds Episode #7: Bikes+Community
Sun. March 31, 6 – 9:30 p.m.
Courtyard by Marriott Toronto Downtown, 475 Yonge Street
Bike Minds is Toronto’s bicycle-themed storytelling event, where guests share personal, positive, and inspiring stories related to cycling.
https://www.facebook.com/events/308881429813584/
_______________________
_______________________
Solutions to Global Warming: Diving into Action – 5 part series
Sessions 1 to 4: April 1, 8, 15, 22
Session 5: May 20 (Monday of long weekend – may be the 27 to be decided)
With Project Drawdown.
_______________________
_______________________
For the best Canadian climate and energy news, subscribe to the Energy Mix newsletter
_______________________
_______________________
Centre for Social Innovation Events
https://socialinnovation.org/community/events/
_______________________
_______________________
Hot Docs
Bloor Cinema (Bloor and Bathurst)
_______________________
_______________________
NOW magazine hosts a very comprehensive online events listing
https://nowtoronto.com/search/event/community-events/
_______________________
_______________________
Subscribes, unsubscribes and submissions: angela@cleanairalliance.org