The new mayor could push for a cut in the police budget to make up for a big budget gap, but it’s unlikely that she will. In the spirit of Toronto’s long history of communities resisting the harms of policing, however, grassroots groups are campaigning for her to make that choice. In December, the Toronto …
Kate Welsh and Dev Ramsawakh are co-creators of the CRIP Collective, a small group of Toronto-based disabled educators and artists who do anti-ableism, anti-oppression, and disability justice-related workshops, and various other kinds of community building with disabled people, using an intersectional approach. Scott Neigh talks with them about disability, ableism, and the collective’s use of …
Craig Heron, Holly Kirkconnell, and David Kidd are active with the Toronto Workers’ History Project (TWHP), an initiative devoted to preserving and promoting the history of working people in Toronto. Scott Neigh interviews them about the enthusiasm they have found in the community for working-class history, the many facets of the project’s work, and the …
Hanen Nanaa works in research and policy development in the federal political context and as an outreach coordinator for the Syrian Canadian Foundation, but today Scott Neigh interviews her in her role as director of the BAM Collective. The acronym “BAM” stands for “Books Art Music,” and the group is a youth-led collective based in …
For more than 20 years, A.J. Withers was active with one of Ontario’s best known grassroots groups, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP). Recently, Withers released a new book telling stories of and drawing lessons from four of OCAP’s key campaigns over the years related to homelessness. Scott Neigh interviews them about OCAP and about …
Andrew Winchur is the director of the Parkdale Free School, a grassroots educational initiative for residents of the Parkdale neighbourhood in Toronto to share their knowledge and lived experience in a safe, inclusive, and anti-oppressive setting. Scott Neigh interviews Winchur about popular education, radical pedagogy, and the Parkdale Free School. Parkdale is a neighbourhood in …
Maya Adachi and Kota Kimura are members of the Toronto-based Japanese Canadians for Social Justice. Scott Neigh interviews them about the group’s origins, its expansive vision of solidarity, and its involvement in struggles on the ground. In 2018, famous Japanese-Canadian poet and novelist Joy Kogawa brought together a number of people that she knew in …
Sidrah Ahmad-Chan and N.A. are members of Rivers of Hope, an organization based in Toronto whose “mission is to dismantle Islamophobia, racism, and all related forms of oppression” in order “to create a safer and more equitable world for us all.” Scott Neigh interviews them about Islamophobia in Canada and about the work they are doing to address it. …
Justin Kong is the executive director of the Chinese Canadian National Council Toronto Chapter, and the lead organizer in their Chinese Grocery Store Worker Project. Scott Neigh interviews him about organizing with workers in Chinese grocery stores, restaurants, and other businesses in the community. In particular, given the upsurge in anti-Chinese racism and the importance …
Aadita Chaudhury is a graduate student at York University in Toronto. Mehak Sawhney is an international student doing her PhD at McGill University in Montreal. And Baj Mukhopadhyay is a physician also based in Montreal. Scott Neigh interviews them about the wave of protests in India against the National Register of Citizens, the Citizenship Amendment …