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A snap decision by frontline police officers in Washington, D.C. on Inauguration Day led to an altercation between supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump and masked protesters. The riots culminated in the breaking of windows and burning of a limousine which became a symbol for resistance to the reactionary agenda of the incoming administration.

‎If over 3,000 people sign a petition to a mayor asking him to save homeless lives, does he hear? If hundreds of intelligent and passionate citizens plead to their city councillor to do the same, do they hear? Apparently not. That's been the experience in Toronto. The petition in question asked Mayor John Tory to open one or both of the federal armouries for emergency shelter.

Mark January 21 on your calendar as the first global women's march, because it probably won't be the last. Women who once used the PTA phone tree to become city councillors now can use social media to mobilize millions in only two or three months -- with staggering results."I expected maybe 200 people," said the guy with the big DSLR camera next to me balanced on the concrete planter beside the stairs to Calgary's City Hall. Our cameras were picking out our favourite signs among the sea of pink-capped people rolling towards us, 10 abreast, wave after wave rising along the pedestrian mall, farther back than the eye could see.

"Faced with the end of their party, PCs ponder kicking out Jason Kenney," the Calgary Herald blared yesterday. The author of this scoop -- and if his story is right, it's undeniably a major scoop -- is Don Braid, the Herald's political columnist for many years. Braid's claim in a nutshell is that now with it looking increasingly as if Kenney will win the race to lead the Alberta Tories with relative ease -- thanks to what the columnist called "his organization, money and bloodthirsty will to prevail" -- Tory insiders on the party's board may give him the bum's rush for planning to destroy the party.

On January 11, 2017, the world lost one of its fiercest warriors against colonialism when Art Manuel passed away. This article, published last year in the First Nations Strategic Bulletin, is characteristic of his clarity, honesty and vision. It is reprinted here with permission. 2017 marks the fact that we have been officially colonized by Canada for 150 years. This is an important milestone and it is time for us to decide if we want to continue to be colonized peoples or if we want to seek self-determination.

OTTAWA "Funny," Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan observed in a tweet yesterday: "I don't remember Kenney or Jean hyperventilating when their boss agreed to decarbonization by 2100." McGowan was referring to the nearly complete meltdown on the right in Alberta after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's remark last Friday in Peterborough, Ont., that "we can't shut down the oilsands tomorrow. We need to phase them out."

In June 2015, the Conservative government passed the Anti-Terrorism Act, which is also known as Bill C-51. It gave sweeping new powers to Canada’s spy and security agencies. For example, the legislation broadened the definition of "security" in a way which could criminalize peaceful protests. It also permitted agents of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service to disrupt events preemptively rather than being limited to monitoring them. Other countries, including the U.S., have at least some semblance of oversight on their spy agencies. In Canada MPs and Senators are mostly kept in the dark.  As well, the existing Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) is supposed to provide oversight but it is a tame agency which lacks investigative powers and is under-staffed.