Events (Toronto)

Weekly list of Toronto environmental and social justice events and issues.

Updated every Monday.

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Pickering Nuclear emergency – Next time it could be real

On Sunday Jan. 12th, the Ontario Emergency Measures Office issued and then withdrew an emergency alert for the Pickering Nuclear Station. This alert was a reminder that the Pickering Nuclear Station has a long history of serious accidents.

https://www.cleanairalliance.org/emergency/

The BWXT facility at 1025 Lansdowne in the city’s west end produces the uranium pellets that supply half of all nuclear fuel used in Canada’s reactors, including at Pickering and Darlington. Since 2012, residents in the area have been pushing for the plant’s closure over public health concerns about the release of uranium dust into the atmosphere.

https://nowtoronto.com/news/pickering-nuclear-reactors-emergency-toronto/

Good Neighbours Don’t Make Radioactive Pellets

Does manufacturing fuel pellets from uranium in an urban area using huge quantities of explosive hydrogen gas constitute unreasonable risk?

https://www.nopellets.ca/unreasonable-risk

Say NO to BWXT Uranium Pelleting

28 min. video, Dec. 2019 — expert panel discussion of BWXT’s Toronto fuel fabrication factory and plans to duplicate and bring the process to Peterborough

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzxwDjTMzbk&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1JJcpQWKlOpnOdIaulfHAEU-oBZF4e3w8UajZLjlL9NXkKTeEqqT-tUXo

(See Community Event on Tuesday below)

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Govern for a Green New Deal

Call on MPs from across the political spectrum to make a Green New Deal their top priority in 2020. Instead of building massive climate-wrecking projects like the Teck Frontier Mine and TransMountain and Coastal Gas Link pipelines, Canada needs to get to work building the solutions we truly need. We need mass investments to address growing inequality and create millions of good jobs in a renewable energy economy. Sign the petition.

https://act.350.org/sign/govern-green-new-deal-2020/

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Linda McQuaig on how privatization is impoverishing the public in Canada

34 min. CBC interview

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/linda-mcquaig-on-how-privatization-is-impoverishing-the-public-in-canada-1.5429224

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When the Storm Fades

Mon. Jan. 20, 7 – 9 p.m.

VIP Lounge Cineplex – Yonge & Dundas

Several years after the strongest storm in history, the Pablos have rebuilt their seaside home in Tacloban, one of the Philippines’ poorest neighbourhoods. Their slow recovery is shaken up by two awkward Canadian volunteers planting trees in the community. This white couple is learning the difference between helping and actually being helpful. Part comedic fiction, part documentary re-enactment – the result is a satirical examination of the white saviour complex and a quiet meditation on grief in the era of climate change. Award-winning film.

https://www.facebook.com/events/470845740230219/

Pre-Tix: https://tickets.demand.film/event/9430/purchase

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Sweat

January 20 to February 2

Berkeley Street Theatre, 26 Berkeley Street

For twenty years, a group of friends working at a steel mill decompress at the local bar. When rumours surface that the company is considering layoffs and flyers are hung to recruit non-union workers for less money, the war between community and capitalism begins and tensions start destroying not only jobs, but also relationships. Filled with heart and humour, Sweat is a searing examination of industrial decline, race, politics and friendship by one of the US’s most decorated playwrights.

https://www.canadianstage.com/

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Community Meeting to Stop BWXT’s uranium plant license renewal

Tues. Jan. 21, 7 p.m.

Davenport Perth Community Centre, 1900 Davenport

Come learn about the BWXT Uranium Plant at Dupont and Lansdowne which causes a radiation threat to all of us. The company is requesting a 10-year license extension, and we’re organizing to oppose this. Join us in a discussion to learn more about why we should be concerned and how to make our voices heard at the upcoming Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission hearing on March 2-3. Together we can protect the health of our community!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1008584796192338/

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No to NATO No to WAR!

Tuesday, January 21, 3:30 PM

48 Yonge St.

Every month this year, the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW) will be holding a peace vigil outside the NATO Association of Canada headquarters in downtown Toronto (48 Yonge St. corner with Wellington St.). Now after the 70th anniversary of this male-dominated military alliance and Cold War relic that threatens our security with weapons and war, is time to stand up! NATO puts intense pressure on the Canadian government to increase military spending and is preventing Canada from joining the UN Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons. VOW 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 No to War; yes to peace, nonviolence and sustainability! Organized by the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW: www.vowpeace.org Afterward join us for Dinner, and Pints for Peace)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1558586880948137/

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Pints for Peace

Tuesday, January 21, 5 p.m.

District Eatery

Want an opportunity to get out and network with other women in the peace industry, while having a conscience meal and drink? Well join us the third Tuesday of almost every month for this great chance to meet inspiring women, and influence others. Women need community, especially when times are tough and our jobs are hard! We will meet at District Eatery for some amazing vegan dinner, drinks and conversations. No cover fee, but please email with any accommodations or conversation requests. ontario@vowpeace.org

https://www.facebook.com/events/503472786955193/

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Funding the Grassroots: A Groundswell Fundraiser

Tues. Jan. 21, 6 – 8 pm

Glad Day Bookshop, 499 Church Street

Join us to celebrate Groundswell Fund, a Toronto-based project that invests in social movement groups across the country. This evening offers an opportunity to learn about Groundswell Fund and their approach to resourcing social justice movements. Join us for a discussion of Groundswell’s work, an inspiring panel on the benefits and challenges of grassroots organizing, and some delicious snacks provided by Glad Day, the world’s oldest LGBTQ+ bookshop. Ticket options include: $25 per ticket, Pay What You Can by donation, or Contribute over $25+ to Groundswell Fund by donation.

https://bit.ly/36twV7a

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The Whale and the Raven — Free screening

Tues. Jan. 21, 6:15 – 8:15 p.m.

Annette Public Library. 145 Annette St.

Director Mirjam Leuze’s The Whale and the Raven illuminates the many issues that have drawn whale researchers, the Gitga’at First Nation, and the Government of British Columbia into a complex conflict. As the people in the Great Bear Rainforest struggle to protect their territory against the pressure and promise of the gas industry, caught in between are the countless beings that call this place home.

https://green13toronto.org/event/whale-and-raven-free-screening

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Is Privacy Possible in the proposed Sidewalk Toronto or any “Smart City”?

Wed. Jan. 22, 7 – 9 pm

Ryerson University, Room 103, Rogers Communications Centre, 80 Gould Street

Google-affiliate Sidewalk Labs is selling a vision of a “smart city” future for a section of Toronto’s port lands. It would use the area as a testing ground for new technologies – in homes, businesses, and public spaces. What will that mean for those who will live or work there? What data will be collected? Who will have access to it? How will it be governed? How will basic human rights and civil liberties be protected? We will start our discussion of these larger issues by looking at how they relate to a key technology that is part of the Sidewalk Toronto proposal – the home and office building management systems. Join a panel of experts who have looked carefully at these questions and will share options for our future.

https://cfe.ryerson.ca/events/privacy-possible-proposed-sidewalk-toronto-or-any-%E2%80%9Csmart-city%E2%80%9D

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Ten Years After EcoJustice’s Report on one of Canada’s Most Polluted Communities: Return to Chemical Valley 2019

Wed. Jan. 22, 4:10 pm – 7:10 pm

Room SS1071, Sydney Smith Building, 100 St. George Street

With speaker Dr. Elaine Macdonald, Ecojustice Canada

https://environment.utoronto.ca/events/all/environment-health-seminar-chemical-valley-using-national-pollutant-release-inventory-data-to-assess-exposures-in-sarnia-ontario-tentative-title/

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Stop corporate capture at the City’s Executive Committee! Make sure Sidewalk Labs’ proposal is judged according to new rules!

Thur. Jan. 23, 9:30 a.m.

City Hall, Queen and Bay

The City of Toronto is doing the hard work to develop comprehensive policies around data-gathering tech in our public spaces. This work was prompted, in part, by the fact that Sidewalk Labs was proposing a sensor-laden test bed neighbourhood on our waterfront in a regulatory vacuum. Now politicians are saying that they expect a vote on Sidewalk Labs’ proposals to happen before this new policy – designed to protect the public interest – is in place. This is how companies “capture” governments, and we shouldn’t let it happen. Come have your say. You can sign up to depute (make in person comments) or submit a letter by following this link. Then, click “Sign up to speak” or “submit comments” at the top of the page.

https://www.blocksidewalk.ca/events

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“Bland-scape” to Landscape: Start Depaving Your Community!

Thur. Jan. 23, 2 – 3 p.m.

Webinar

Tear up pavement! Create greenspace! Get engaged. Get noticed. Bring Depave Paradise to your community! Learn how your municipality, school, community group, or business can get involved and support this exciting trend which is making waves across Canada.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/webinar-bland-scape-to-landscape-start-depaving-your-community-tickets-86821985897

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Eco-Parenting Workshop (Annex)

Thur. Jan. 23, 6 – 8 p.m.

Centre for Social Innovation – Annex, 720 Bathurst St

Join us for a humorous and inspirational event full of tips and tricks to minimize (or eliminate!) waste and save thousands of dollars with your new baby or toddler.

https://www.diaperdad.ca/

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The Revolt Against Psychiatry: A Counterhegemonic Dialogue

Book Launch – Author Bonnie Burstow passed away earlier this month

Fri. Jan. 24, 5:30 – 7:30 pm

OISE, 252 Bloor Street West, Nexus Lounge, 12th Floor, U of T

A real eye-opener, this riveting anti/critical psychiatry book is comprised of original cutting-edge dialogues between Burstow (an antipsychiatry theorist and activist) and other leaders in the “revolt against psychiatry,” including radical practitioners, lawyers, reporters, activists, psychiatric survivors, academics, family members, and artists. People in dialogue with the author include Indigenous leader Roland Chrisjohn, psychiatrist Peter Breggin, survivor Lauren Tenney, and scholar China Mills. The single biggest focus/tension in the book is a psychiatry abolition position versus a critical psychiatry (or reformist) position. In the scope of this project, Burstow considers the ways racism, genocide, Indigeneity, sexism, media bias, madness, neurodiversity, and strategic activism are intertwined with critical and antipsychiatry (Goodreads.com). The launch will be complete with dramatic readings (or re-enactments) from this highly interactive dialogical book, speeches by scholars and activists across the world, and updates on the latest antipsychiatry news. Copies of this book and others will be available for purchase.

RIP Bonnie Burstow

https://nowtoronto.com/news/in-memoriam-bonnie-burstow-antipsychiatry/

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International Vegan Film Festival

Fri. Jan. 24, 8:30 p.m.

Bloor Hot Docs (Bloor and Bathurst)

The International Vegan Film Festival is a trailblazing event dedicated to celebrating the vegan ideal: a healthier, compassionate, environmentally friendly lifestyle that can be achieved through the consumption of plants and animal-free alternatives. The event will showcase a collection of the vegan themed short films. $5

https://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/websales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=111774%7Efff311b7-cdad-4e14-9ae4-a9905e1b9cb0&epguid=a1a41036-cbe1-4f35-bc34-1ed13d4bd525&&fbclid=IwAR0UzEFmWAVcICU5cWFNELkrwIcgL3rt-ghlwmhxnwEZwB8svgkmZjzoeyM

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Global Day of Protest: No War with Iran, End the Sanctions

Sat. January 25, noon

Outside the US Consulate Office, 360 University Ave (north of Queen)

https://www.codepink.org/01252020

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Fashion For Future

Sat. Jan. 25, 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

The Richmond, 477 Richmond W, #104

Fashion for Futures is hosting a pop up gallery that will focus on the life-cycle of clothing and the impact of the garment industry on climate change. Learn about sustainable brands and see art pieces collected and created by Toronto youth. Free.

instagram.com/fashionforfutures.to

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How to be an Active Bystander to Address Gender-Based Harassment & Violence

Sat. Jan. 25, 9:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Steelworkers’ Hall, 25 Cecil Street

The Toronto & York Region Labour Council’s Women’s Committee warmly invites comrades of all genders to attend this workshop. Learn about: Understanding and preventing workplace harassment, sexual harassment and violence; The important role active bystanders can take to address sexual and other forms of harassment and violence in our communities. Free.

https://www.labourcouncil.ca/active_bystander_workshop

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Push: Screening and Affordable Housing Panel

Sat. Jan 25, 5 p.m.

St. Bede’s Anglican Church, 79 Westbourne

Screening of the documentary by Fredrik Gertten that investigates why we can’t afford to live in our own cities anymore. Followed by a panel discussion. Free.

https://nowtoronto.com/events/push-screening-affordable-housing-panel-discussion/

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Inorganic Market – Electronic Waste Collection

Sat Jan 25, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Annette Street public library, 145 Annette Street

Bring your old TVs, computers, phones and other unused electronics for safe disposal. For more information visit inorganicmarket.ca or Facebook event page @inorganicmarket. A free community event provided by ADL Process Electronics Recycling.

https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT431001&R=EVT431001

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Upcoming Tenant School – Empowering Tenants Through Education

Sat. Jan. 25 & Feb. 1, 10 a.m. 4:30 p.m.

Bloor & Spadina

Are you a tenant living in Toronto? Are you struggling to get basic repairs done? Ever felt nervous about your privacy, rent increases or evictions? Do you have questions about your rights under the law? Have you ever thought about working with your neighbours to improve conditions in your building? In collaboration with MPP Jessica Bell, the FMTA is pleased to provide in-depth and intensive training on housing and tenancy law, by offering free legal training in a two-day tenant school which covers issues of tenant rights, repairs, advocacy and civic engagement. These workshops are designed to empower and educate tenants. It’s a great opportunity to learn about your rights, whether you are a tenant, a long-time tenant leader, a head of a tenant association or a FMTA member.

For more info: call 416-413-9442 or write to totenantschool@torontotenants.org

Or sign up here:

https://goo.gl/forms/DcgNHzFE0F0yZIJm1

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Decolonizing the Heart 2-DAY Workshop

Sat. Jan 25 and Feb 15

Toronto United Mennonite Church, 1774 Queen Street East

Reconciliation requires building relationships. Building relationships requires more than coming together over issues. Where do we begin?

https://www.eventbrite.ca/o/decolonizing-the-heart-workshops-19977084519

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