Quick analysis of the anti-fascist counter demo Montreal April 23

Print PDF

Following the explicitly anti-Muslim demonstration held on March 4, on April 23 some of the same far right forces tried a different approach, calling for a demonstration against the governing provincial Liberal Party, taking care to not include anything about race or Islam in any of their materials, and telling people not to bring any racist signs or wear anything identifying them as members of their orgs (Soldiers of Odin, La Meute, etc.). On the 23rd between 200 and 300 people attended this demonstration that had been called for and organized by the far right. There was a smaller counter-demonstration, which quickly became fragmented. Below is a contribution from two people who attended, and some suggestions for what needs to be done as we move forward.

Quick analysis of the anti-fascist counter demo Montreal April 23

There were not many anti-fascists this time. Maybe 75, despite it being (or because it was) a beautiful, warm, sunny day. (It was hard to tell exactly how many were there, because most of them dispersed in an attempt to get around the police blockades, but were unsuccessful.)

There were about 300 right-wingers and fascists. They were told not to and did not bring any racist or Islamophobic signs. They had no signs, shirts, or obvious identification that any of them were members La Muete or Soldiers of Odin, for example. The speakers/organizers were not those who addressed the previous demo. There were a lot of Quebec fleurs des lys flags.

The initial fascist ‘security’ group, which showed up an hour early, were mostly masked, helmeted, and carrying clubs to hold their flags. They were respectful to the police, and the police were in turn friendly to them. At one point, a number of cops huddled for about five to ten minutes with the putative leadership of their group. None of them were disarmed by the police, who usually take sticks away from anti-capitalist demonstrators. Several police told us, when asked, that their clubs were not illegal “as long as they didn’t hit people with them.”

Several times throughout the demo, the fascists chanted “Merci à a police!” However, at the end, outside of the Premier’s Montreal office on McGill College, the police quickly and firmly surrounded them on three sides, effectively bringing their demo to an end—possibly not taking any chances with these guys.

For a couple of years, we anti-fascist counter-demonstrators won by vastly outnumbering the fascists, and so we didn’t have to plan to do anything at the counter-demo, other than show up.

But March 4th in front of City Hall, our weakness in not planning was evident, as the larger number of rightists and fascists, with their police escort, simply marched east, while almost all of the anti-fascists present gathered behind a police line west of them. And they were blocked at that point.

Sunday, most of the anti-fascists again!, gathered behind a police line on Ste-Catherine and were blocked, while the fascists who first assembled in the Place de Spectacles, marched freely south in front of them, and made a semi-circle to the Premier’s Montreal office on rue McGill College. A few of us stayed with the fascists to the end of their 45-minute march. Only then did we see twenty or so anti-fascists who briefly showed up again (and were then blocked and run off by the riot police).

At this point, it is clear that simply asking people to show up to counter-demonstrate the fascists is inadequate.

It is time for the anti-fascists to practice more effective street tactics, for instance:

– arriving with clear shared objectives and a good understanding of the geographical terrain the face-off will occur on;

– making plans to evade police blockades;

– forming small mobile groups;

– better internal communication: e.g., having scouts who roam around and can report what is going on out of sight to provide said small mobile groups with some guidance;

– not everyone can or should engage directly with the fascists and the police in the street—well-organized non-violent direct action, blockades, disruptions, or street propaganda, and other ways to counter/embarrass the fascists are also vital—a coordinated combination of tactics will facilitate both the growth of a movement and its effectiveness;

– providing medical and legal support, and making sure that the anti-fascists know how to access either a medic or legal support, if worse comes to worse;

– providing jail support for those who get arrested (when any of us are arrested, some people should mobilize to maintain a presence wherever they are being held; this should be part of the preplanning), and emotional support for those who could use some care;

– providing a debrief session to analyze what happened, what did and didn’t go well, how people feel about it, how were decisions made, and what could be done better the next time.

–Two People Who Attended the March 4 and April 23 Anti-Fascist Counterprotests

on the main Kersplebedeb website: http://ift.tt/2pboJW2

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Islamophobic Attacks in Montreal: The Need for a Militant Movement Against Racism

Print PDF

On April 8, two Islamophobic attacks were carried out in Montreal. In the first case, in the early morning hours, an axe was thrown through a window the Centre communautaire islamique Assahaba with the words “Fuck Liberals” and “we will exterminate Muslims” written on it. Then, later that day, someone rode up on their bicycle, took out a baseball bat, and smashed the windows of three cars in front of the Madani mosque as their owners were inside saying their evening prayers.

The April 8 attacks came the day after the right-wing Liberal Party had defeated the equally right-wing incumbent Parti Quebecois in a provincial election. The PQ’s election campaign was built on racism and xenophobia, specifically targeting Muslim women, a bogus “Charter of Quebec Values” having been central to its failed attempt to win a majority government.

In the context of the “Charter debate”, which began in the summer of 2013 and snowballed as autumn turned to winter, countless acts of violence and harassment were directed at “foreign” groups in Quebec, identified by their adherence to specific “foreign” religions. (The proposed legislation actually made this explicit, exempting religious symbols and names that form part of Quebec’s “heritage.”) The primary targets throughout were Muslims, especially Muslim women, who were accosted while taking the metro or walking down the street, insulted, told to “go home”, and physically assaulted, often by people trying to forcibly remove any head covering they might be wearing. (An informal online survey of Muslim women in the province in December found that of 338 respondents, 300 said they had suffered verbal abuse since the charter controversy began.) Muslim women daycare workers in Montreal’s St-Henri neighbourhood received death threats and threats of rape after a photograph of them wearing niqab went viral on facebook; halal butcher shops were vandalized, as were mosques (with spraypaint and pig’s blood). Pro-Charter forces held demonstrations of tens of thousands of people mixing secularist, feminist, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant concerns. For many people in Montreal, our longest winter in years was a season of constant racist aggression and harassment.

Meanwhile, the internet, mass media, and government public hearings all provided a bully pulpit for racist conspiracy theories and hatemongering; i.e. the idea that there is a secret “Kosher tax” imposed by Jews, or that Saudi Arabia and Iran are funding feminist organizations that opposed the Charter, or that religiously-mandated circumcision is somehow the equivalent of rape – and the list just goes on. In one particularly horrendous case, when 47-year old Montrealer Naima Rharouity fell and died in a freak accident in the city’s metro system (her winter clothing got caught in an escalator and she was strangled to death), the Quebecor media machine reported for days that she was in fact killed by her hijab.

For all the pain and suffering that they caused with their racist ploy, the PQ’s gambit failed, and the Liberals won last week’s election.

In some quarters, the election results are viewed as a shift “back” to the right, the Liberals having been the proud architects of austerity measures and repression for years. Others see this as an “anti-racist” vote against the Charter, the Liberals having been the only political party to take a strong position against the racist legislation. (On the “left”, Quebec Solidaire completely failed in the most basic way to show solidarity with the targets of racism in Quebec, opportunistically criticizing the PQ’s charter while reassuring Islamophobic voters that it would pass a charter of its own if elected. Those comrades who are still enthusiastic about this Frankenstein’s monster clearly understand the concept of “anti-racist solidarity” in a very creative way.)

But explanations reading the PQ’s defeat in such clear-cut terms are overly simplistic, and ignore the fact that many different people voted for many very different reasons. More than that, such “all or nothing” analyses ignore several inconvenient facts, for instance that it was the Liberals who from 2006 to 2008 presided over a similar racist crisis with their “Reasonable Accommodations” hearings; that a majority of those polled just before the election (including many who did not vote for the PQ) still supported the idea of legislating discrimination against specific religious minorities; or that there was no effective opposition to neoliberalism during the 18 months that the PQ held power, while austerity measures continued to be introduced without pause.

There is a tendency – understandable and perhaps inevitable in movements where a small number of activists are trying to respond to a large number of pressing issues – to speak out and organize public opposition to oppressive projects when they are on the table and being discussed by the government or other social actors, but when they are seemingly defeated (as is the case now with the Charter) we redirect our meagre energies to other areas. Broadly speaking, this makes sense.

However, as evidenced by the April 8 attacks, it would be dangerous to assume that the explosion of racism that accompanied the Charter “debate” has run its course. This will depend on how various parties – our side, the far right, the PQ, the Liberals, and the targeted communities themselves – all choose to respond to the changes in the political terrain.

Even if the level of racist aggression and propaganda does temporarily subside, we should also remember a certain Prussian general’s military observation that “the most decisive losses on the side of the vanquished only commence with the retreat.”¹ In a society where racist, patriarchal, and capitalist ideas are hegemonic, in and of itself the “retreat” of the Charter as the result of an election campaign will do nothing to weaken the social and cultural context from which this racist offensive sprang. In order for the Charter’s “retreat” to translate into an antiracist victory, it needs to be capitalized upon by ongoing antiracist organizing, propaganda, and analysis. Those of us who don’t vote should know: like all other struggles the fight against racism will be won or lost in in struggle between people – in our streets, neighbourhoods, communities, schools and workplaces, and even in our families. Now is the time in which we have to inflict those “decisive losses” on the enemy – or in which we fail to do so, and as such play our part in preparing the stage for the next racist upsurge.

It would be nice if someone had issued a public statement of solidarity with the people who attend and work at the Assahaba community centre and Madani mosque. Maybe someone will. i hope so. Now more than ever, i think we have to prioritize being loud about our intention to fight for a world in which all forms of colonial, capitalist, and patriarchal violence and oppression finally come to an end – and about the fact that to be effective, this is a fight that has to be waged without police or politicians, outside of and against their governments and rival capitalist agendas.

1. Carl von Clausewitz, On War: “Now it is known by experience, that the losses in physical forces in the course of a battle seldom represent a great difference between victor and vanquished respectively, often none at all, sometimes even one bearing an inverse relation to the result, and that the most decisive losses on the side of the vanquished only commence with the retreat, that is, those which the conqueror does not share [page] with him.”

on the main Kersplebedeb website: http://ift.tt/1qKejFg

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Random Thoughts on PQ Victory

Print PDF

so yesterday were the quebec elections. the pq won a minority government (although i guess in theory the liberals and the more right-wing caq could form a coalition) but not enough seats for a majority, which means it will be difficult to push through any controversial legislation. which is probably a good thing.

the pq historically was founded as a social democratic party, much similar to today's quebec solidaire (which won 2 seats, doubling), but back 40 years ago at a time when there was real (if not extreme) national oppression of québecois.

though others might take issue with this, i would argue that there is no more actual national oppression of québecois (though this could change in the unlikely but not impossible scenario of occupation following a referendum to secede) and as such any progressive content to this nationalism is gone. Over the years the PQ has been in and out of government, has held referendums on sovereignty, and has slowly expelled and alienated much of its left-wing (at first this was done with the help of the rcmp, who had a highly placed mole Claude Morin in the pq in the 70s who helped work with the federal police to isolate leftists).

while the pq has flirted with racism for a long time (it is difficult to not ever flirt with racism if you are a mass-based nationalist movement), over the past ten years this has become more brazen, as the effects of immigration from third world countries have begun to be seen in quebec (canada had a white's-first immigration policy until the late 60s, jettisoned as part of the overall world neocolonial changes) and there has been a need to replace yesterday's social democracy with another selling point. in 2007 the new head of the pq, party insider Pauline Marois, tried to jump on broader racist tensions by proposing a various restrictions on women who wear the islamic headscarf, and french fluency tests as a requirement for standing for office. i wrote about this back in 2007 (the adq referred to in the post has since become the caq, which came in third in yesterday's election)

in the 1990s, the pq was able to use its contacts in the left (esp. the trade unions and community groups) to sabotage fightback against various cutbacks; here are a couple of paragraphs i wrote about this previously (part of a much longer piece):

Here in Quebec, for instance, in the 1970s and 1980s many progressive activists joined the State, both via the Parti Québecois and also through non-party channels, in unofficial capacities as professional paid organizers with various “popular organizations” which were financially and politically tied to the PQ. (From what i understand, a similar phenomenon occurs at times in places in English Canada, though with the NDP.) Of course, at its “best” the PQ (like the NDP) was only ever social democratic, not communist or anti-imperialist, but my point is that some of these activists who fell under its sway were not soc-dems, were in fact socialists or self-styled “revolutionaries” who felt that there were making a mature strategic decision.

And then... when the PQ came to power in 1994... many of these activists – despite, or perhaps even because of their subjective good intentions – ended up sabotaging and hindering any resistance to the PQ’s cutbacks. People who had been outspoken in denouncing the previous Liberal government clammed up as they got jobs as anti-poverty “government consultants.” One of the first battles radical working class activists had to fight was actually against these false “allies,” who were doing more to sabotage the movement than the State could have ever managed had it relied on naked repression alone. Which is why anarchists, Maoists and some who would become left communists played a disproportional role in what resistance did occur… not because they had any kind of real base amongst the oppressed, but because they were the only ones who were not hindered by their own ties to the State.

in the context of coming social conflicts, it is unclear to what extent the pq will be able to count on such allies in our ranks. the past 20 years have pretty much burnt many of those bridges, and even some of the montreal trade union locals were calling on people to vote QS in this election. On the other hand, the PQ does retain the most contacts in the trade unions, and both of the less-radical student organizations are essentially training grounds for the party (in fact, Léo Bureau-Blouin who was one of the student leaders with the FECQ during the student strike's first months just won a seat as a PQ mla)

as for QS, 2 seats was really a minimum that they could win given their very prominent position as the only party to be clearly behind the demands of the student strike, so despite the fact that they doubled their number of mlas i find it difficult to see this as a big leap forward. of course had the strike not happened, i would be much more impressed. and it is true that there are other neighbourhoods (all in montreal i believe) where they came in second and not third.

if the national question comes to the forefront now, that's a bit of a drag. as some of you know, i am pretty sympathetic to national liberation movements, but these movements take on a different character based on the position of the nation in question within the world imperialist system, and also the classes demanding national independence. from past experience, to put it pretty unscientifically and unideologically, i find when the question comes to the fore here what it means is more unpleasant conversations and more stupidity throughout quebec and canada. from different kinds of people, pro- and anti-nationalist, english and french.

i consider this increase in stupidity to be a direct consequence of the lack of a coherent left analysis of colonialism or capitalism in the canadian context. rather than analyzing colonialism as an ongoing process, i.e. one that exists because of what is happening now, many leftists seem unable to transcend the liberal idea of colonialism being measured by how long the colonized had been here. According to this logic, Indigenous people are the "most" colonized (which is self-evident) but not because of current conditions of nationhood and national oppression, but because of some kind of colonial-seniority system. Québecois are 'less colonized' again not because of anything going on today, but because they were not here 'first'. This analysis has nothing to do with anti-imperialism or anti-capitalism, it has to do with looking in history books for who-was-where-when. And it locks people into either completely discounting Quebec nationalism throughout all points in history (as the nationalism of colonizers, who cannot be oppressed nationally because they were not the first ones here) or else refusing to see that Quebec is no longer colonized (because despite acting as an imperialist nation without a state, New France was conquered by England).

The key to understanding the world is to understand that things change. Classes change. Nations change. Dynamics between classes and nations change. The left often trains people to be conservative, missing the boat on these facts.

one of the consequences of this polarization-along-stupid-lines is a gutless attempt to "understand" quebec nationalism as a potential "progressive" force. this is due in part to a soft spot many leftists and anarchists still have for social democracy. such rose-colored glasses can even lead some people on the left to make excuses for racism, in a way that does not normally happen in "polite left company" elsewhere. the society may be no more racist than other settler imperialist societies, but the left is torn between not wanting to deal with this, or else framing this in a sensationalistic way. as i once joked, liberal opinion about Quebec separation varies between those who think it would be a Cuba of the north, and those who would expect concentration camps to start popping up along the St-Lawrence.

another form of stupidity is a macho recasting of everyone who is not french (whether someone living in poverty and dealing with ongoing colonization on Native land, or a wealthy anglo living in the suburbs) as part of some oppressed group who should get ready to resist "the separatists" - this latter category is mainly the purview of the right, but it's a confused amalgam. last time there was a surge in nationalism here this current found expression in a partitionist movement that demanded neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood referenda if Quebec separates, which would essentially have created enclave-states like West Berlin (or Northern Ireland) in Montreal. While this movement was largely the purview of the right, given that similar arguments and logic is dominant in many Indigenous nations (with much more basis in political and historical reality) it can make odd bedfellows.

In this context, this guy may be crazy, but is worth noting - yesterday shortly after the PQ won he entered the victory party and let off shots, killing someone. Shouting about "anglos not going to take it" or some such gibberish.

spree shooters and attempted assassinations are not nearly as common in canada as in the u.s., so this is pretty unexpected and difficult for me to wrap my head around, but worth noting at least. whether or not he is a part of some political group, it is sure that this attack opens up the possibility for a more rapid polarization along these useless lines.

weird...

the above is really just a pretty random and fragmented rehashing of observations i have made before, perhaps something more coherent will be written soon...

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

This Weekend in Quebec City

Print PDF

This weekend is the St-Jean, which i would guess probably resembles other nationalist holidays in nations-without-a-state: massive crowds, lots of partying, confused politics, often fights with cops or just between people. For that section of the left here that considers Quebec independence a worthy goal, the St-Jean has all the allure of a progressive celebration. Other people feel differently. But almost everyone who is Quebecois (and a lot of others too) celebrates the St-Jean.

This year is special, though, as today is the 22nd, which for the past months has meant it is the day of a monster demonstration in Montreal (the previous ones on March, April and May 22nd have been in the hundreds of thousands) in the context of the student strike and now Law 78. This month, however, there is a call for a major demonstration in Montreal and one in Quebec City, and in Quebec City it is supposed to be an 81-hour demo/occupation of the grounds of the national assembly...

In a context where the police in Quebec City are already far more aggressive that the Montreal police in terms of arresting people at "illegal" demonstrations, earlier this week the Quebec City municipal government held a special session to rush through a bylaw banning all demonstrations which police are not informed of beforehand, as well as setting an 11pm curfew for all demos. (The bylaw in question was apparently in the works since last year, a reaction to Occupy, however the timing of it being rushed through is due to this weekend's events.)

As detailed below, there is another element at play. The possibility of non-state actors using the weekend as an opportunity to "settle scores" with those on the left, in the student movement, or simply people in working-class neighbourhoods who are more sympathetic to the strike.  The Quebec City suburbs tend to be right-wing, with a populist twist. Recently, talk radio hosts have been going on about the strike, about Quebec Solidaire, about "Montreal", going so far in one case as to call on people to do violence to the most well known student representative of the CLASSE.

The following is by Nicolas Phebus, a comrade who lives in Quebec City, about his personal relationship to the St-Jean, and about this specific St-Jean in particular:

When I was little, I liked the St-Jean, even if I was afraid of the drunks singing in the metro (my childhood memories always have a bunch of people singing Plume in the metro...)

I remember that I was also a bit embarrassed by my godmother who did crazy things like going to see Paul Piché  back stage or convincing the security guards to let her dance between the stage and the security barriers (all of this is pretty vague, but the memory of being embarrassed, and the associated feeling of being jealous of my sister, who was not embarrassed and who would follow her, is definitely there.)

I became uncomfortable with the St-Jean during adolescence. When I realized that the St-Jean was not for everyone. That they didn't let a man march because he was wearing African-style clothing. When I realized that not everyone was a nationalist (or francophone)...

I began to hate the St-Jean when I realized, also during adolescence, that not all adults were on the left or activists. That the adults I knew were the exception, that most people were more like my fascist school principal. The drunken nationalism which came out of nowhere seemed like hypocrisy, the cocky bravado of one night in a daily life of doing without and submitting. For a few years I hated crowds, at the St-Jean and at all the festivals. Not dependable. Rats.

I got into it again briefly at that point between adolescence and adulthood, when the St-Jean started going along with riots in my adopted city. But it didn't last. In any case, it was fake. I shared the anger but not the nationalist basis, so the discomfort was palpable.

Ever since, I have run away, going to the St-Jean parties that were alternative, reggae, punk, etc.

Since then I have moved to uptown. Today, the St-Jean is a vigil. A long night to watch the neighbourhood we call home. To try to calm things down and to get people who have come from the suburbs to party to go elsewhere.

This year I have something else to worry about. Quebec City is a funny place. The heart of the city, the neighbnourhood where the celebrations are taking place, is red. But the suburbs are green. And for months they have been fired up by the trash media til they've become white hot. [The term "red" refers to the color of the student strike; the "greens" are those who oppose the strike.]

I admit that this year I am a bit freaked out. I try to reason with myself, but the thing is that I know that our territory, our neighbourhood, will be invaded. The power ratio could be about three to one against us. With the help of alcohol, it really could blow up. And the city could become a battlefield once again.

The only unknown factor is the police. Depending on what they do (or don't do), they could succeed in bringing the reds and greens together. We will see.

So far, so good.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Paint Bombs in Quebec Student Strike

Print PDF

From the pro-police media:

Vandals armed with suspected Molotov cocktails and red paint hit several buildings in Montreal overnight, in an hour-long spree that left windows damaged and buildings defaced.

Montreal police say there were at least four attempted firebomb attacks at buildings containing provincial government offices after 3 a.m. ET Monday.

The buildings hit include:

750 Marcel-Laurin Bvld.
3269 Saint-Jacques Blvd.
7077 Beaubien St. E.
7171 Beaubien St. E.
"Once police arrived on scene, they found bottles [containing] liquid," said Montreal police Const. Yannick Ouimet, adding that the bottles were tossed through smashed windows.

Police haven't confirmed what was inside the bottles, but they believe they were meant to be incendiary devices.

None of them ignited, however, and no one was hurt.

At some of the scenes, police found red squares painted on buildings or sidewalks. The red square has become the symbol of the student movement opposing the province's tuition hikes.

Two weeks ago, a similar attack coated the Montreal offices of Quebec's Education Ministry in red paint.

Wrong building likely hit
Police believe that one of Monday's attacks, on a building at 7171 Beaubien, was made in error since it was on an apartment building.

The building "had nothing to do with the Quebec government," Ouimet said. Police believe the vandals realized their error and moved down the street a short time later, where they hit the office of Quebec Labour Minister Lise Thériault.

A fifth attack was also reported at 5456 Côte-des-Neiges Rd., but it involved only paint. No incendiary device was found.

Police are still investigating and haven't identified any suspects.

The attacks come one day after Quebec Education Minister Line Beauchamp said she's ready to discuss university governance with student groups opposed to the planned tuition hikes.

Many of the province's post-secondary students have been on strike for more than two months in protest of a tuition increase that will see them paying $1,625 more in fees over five years.

Students have been staging near-daily demonstrations in Montreal and across the province since March.

Beauchamp said at a news conference Sunday she is ready to meet with students to discuss the creation of an independent committee to oversee university spending.

But tuition increases, scheduled to take effect in September, aren't up for discussion, Beauchamp said.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Army Recruitment Center Bombed in Quebec

Print PDF

Around 3am on July 2nd, a bomb exploded just outside a Canadian Army Recruitment Center in Trois Rivieres, a small city roughly half-way between Montreal and Quebec City. The building was empty at the time, and nobody was hurt. While one man was arrested at the scene of the attack, police claim that he was not involved but is simply being charged with obstruction (wtf?).

The bomb attack was claimed by Résistance internationaliste ("Internationalist Resistance"). Several years ago, other low-level attacks in the province of Quebec were also claimed by this group, operating under the name "Initiative de résistance internationaliste". (See "Radical Anti-Imperialists Carry Out Second Armed Attack in Quebec" from back in 2006 on this blog.)

As of yesterday, it has been publicly acknowledged that the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team - formerly the RCMP's NSIS, with a counterinsurgency mandate - is on the job, but as of yet no arrests have been made. (And hopefully, none will be!)

What follows is and english translation of the IRI's communique (translated by yours truly)

July 2nd 2010
Last night an unimprovised explosive device was detonated at the Canadian Army Recruitment Center in Trois-Rivières (2 calls were made for it to be evacuated). Résistance internationaliste* is emerging from the shadows once again, to join with the historic popular opposition to the military practices and ideals of the Canadian State, to makes sure that the political, economic and military powers cannot carry out their indoctrination justifying their imperialist adventures with impunity.

The Canadian government is not satisfied submitting us to the mercantile oligarchy and handing over our resources, it demands that we go and enslave other peoples. It is not enough that we are subjected to the effects and dangers of natural gas exportation, we have to go and secure its pipeline (TAPI) on Afghan soil.

It is not enough that we are the docile hostages of oil and gas devastation, we have to join the Canadian navy to protect their looting in the Niger Delta. It is not enough that we serve as profitable guinea pigs for the pharmaceutical industry’s schemes, we have to go and protect the global opium supply provided the Karzai narco-government.

Because it opposes the jingoism being drummed up by Washington, the population is targeted by non-stop miserable propaganda framing the foreign occupation of Afghanistan as a civilizing mission. The apostles of “democratic values” and the “saviours” of Afghan women are soldiers in an army that contracts out torture and which covers up sexual crimes throughout its hierarchy, ostensibly in order to keep the sexual aggressors active abroad (bill S-3). “Our soldiers” are the same ones who, just yesterday, crushed the Métis people, who have suppressed workers’ mobilizations time and time again, who machine-gunned the Québecois opposition against conscription, who imposed the War Measures Act, who besieged an Amerindian community for the sake of a golf course, who overthrew the democratically elected Haitian government, and who, tomorrow, will impose on us the dictates of the market and fiscal submission.

The directors of the banks and the multinationals can pocket fortunes in their tax shelters, but we are the ones who are made to finance imperialist expansion. Five-billion-dollar tanks, eight-billion-dollar planes, fifty-billion-dollar warships and soldiers for five hundred thousand dollars a year, this means a majority of workers denied unemployment insurance, one in four households who have difficulty keeping a roof over their head, old-age with a miserable pension, a ton of children who are still not properly fed.

This operation against the recruiting center is our resistance against the army’s brainwashing, against the intensive solicitation of a younger generation that is facing the void of a demeaning society. We cannot surrender the monopoly of violence or the stage to the State (an orgy of repression at the G-20, supplying “explosives” to manipulated young people in Toronto, “fundamentalist” threats of officer Gilles Breault).
As for the soldiers in the Canadian Army, just to be clear, they are in no way “ours”, they belong to the one to whom they pledge allegiance like idiots, Her Majesty Elizabeth II.

AGAINST IMPERIALIST WAR
RÉSISTANCE INTERNATIONALISTE (RI)

* Formerly IRI (Initiative de résistance internationaliste)

The above is a translation of a text on the La Presse website, which claims to be from the IRI. The French version of this text is also being included here:

2 juillet 2010

La nuit dernière, une charge explosive non improvisée a été activée au Centre de recrutement de l'Armée canadienne à Trois-Rivière (2 appels d'évacuation ont été logés). Résistance internationaliste* sort à nouveau de l'ombre pour joindre l'historique opposition populaire aux pratiques et aux idéaux militaristes de l'État canadien et pour s'assurer que les pouvoirs politique, économique et militaire ne poursuivent impunément l'entreprise d'endoctrinement justifiant leur aventure impérialiste.

Le gouvernement canadien ne se contente pas de nous soumettre à l'oligarchie marchande et de lui livrer nos ressources, il réclame qu'on aille lui asservir d'autres peuples. Subir les effets et les dangers de l'exportation gazière ne suffit pas, il faudrait qu'on aille sécuriser un trajet de pipeline (TAPI) en territoire afghan.

Être les otages dociles des sinistres pétrolières n'est pas satisfaisant, il faudrait joindre la marine canadienne pour aller couvrir leur pillage au Delta du Niger. Demeurer les lucratifs cobayes des machinations de l'industrie pharmaceutique n'est pas assez, il faudrait aller protéger l'approvisionnement mondial d'opium que garantit le narco-régime de Karzaï.

Hostile aux prétentions militaires insufflées par Washinton, la population est la cible permanente d'une propagande abjecte où l'occupation étrangère de l'Afghanistan est travestie en mission civilisatrice. Les apôtres des «valeurs démocratiques» et les «sauveurs» des femmes afghanes sont les soldats d'une armée qui donne la torture en sous-traitance et qui cache les crimes sexuels endémiques à tous les échelons de sa hiérarchie, vraisemblablement dans le but de garder les agresseurs sexuels en opération à l'étranger (projet de loi S-3). «Nos soldats» sont les mêmes qui, hier, ont écrasé le peuple métis, maté à mainte reprises des mobilisations ouvrières, mitraillé l'opposition québécoise opposée à la conscription, imposé la Loi des mesures de guerre, assiégé une communauté amérindienne pour un terrain de golf, renversé un gouvernement haïtien démocratiquement élu, et qui demain, nous imposeront les diktats du marché et la soumission fiscale.

Les dirigeants des banques et des multinationales peuvent empocher des fortunes à l'abri du fisc, mais c'est à nous qu'on impose le financement de l'expansion impérialiste. Des blindés à 5 milliards de dollars, des avions à 8 milliards, des navires de guerre à 50 milliards et des soldats à 500 milles par année, c'est une majorité de travailleurs et travailleuses privés d'assurance chômage, c'est le quart des ménages qui peine à se payer un toit, c'est la vieillesse avec des rentes de misère, c'est une multitude d'enfants qui souffre toujours d'insécurité alimentaire.

Cette opération contre le centres d'enrôlement est notre résistance au bourrage de crâne et au racolage intensif par l'armée d'une jeunesse confrontée au vide d'une société avilissante. Nous ne pouvons pas laisser à l'État le monopole de la violence et de sa mise en scène (orgie répressive au G-20, fourniture d'«explosifs» aux jeunes manipulés de Toronto, menaces «fondamentalistes» de l'agent Gilles Breault).

Quant aux soldats de l'Armée canadienne, que ce soit bien clair, ce ne sont aucunement «les nôtres», ils appartiennent à celle à qui ils prêtent bêtement allégeance, sa Majesté Élisabeth II.

CONTRE LA GUERRE IMPÉRIALISTE:

RÉSISTANCE INTERNATIONALISTE (RI)

*Anciennement IRI (Initiative de résistance internationaliste)

Remember everyone: don't talk to cops, don't guess at who might be doing what, don't ask questions which none of us need to know the answers to. Sometimes some folks play for real.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

CBC News - Montreal - Natives want PM to screen northern Quebec projects

Print PDF

CBC News - Montreal - Natives want PM to screen northern Quebec projects

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Trashing Police Cars in Quebec: In Praise of Fog

Print PDF

Check out the following nice tidbit from the Journal de Montreal, translated by yours truly.

Funny how they fail to mention the most high profile attacks over the past two years, the police cars torched in Montreal's East End by the allegedly anarchist Ton Pere Collective in March of this year.

You also HAVE to be trying to leave people confused and ignorant to talk about attacks on police without mentioning the anti-police riot after cops killed the teenager Fredy Villanueva and shot two of his friends in Montreal North earlier this year.

Yeah, these are "senseless acts", no one has any reason to hate the cops, just plain "mischief"...

Also not mentioned is the fact that someone planted a nail bomb just outside of Quebec Provincial Police headquarters in Sherbrooke two weeks ago - according to the cops, it has "points in common" with a bomb that blew up a police car in Sherbrooke almost two years ago. While there too the cops say they are "following leads", they also specifically have ruled out the bombs being the work of the Hells Angels, the reactionary biker outfit which is firmly based in Sherbrooke.

Hmmm... makes you wonder...

Here's the article from today's Journal de Montreal:

Vandals Damage Three Police Cars

Jean-Michel Nahas
16/11/2008

Vandals took advantage of the dark and fog Friday night to break the windows of three police cars in Repentigny.

The mischief has shaken the municipal safety in this city in Lanaudiere which already had to deal with similar crimes in the winter of 2007.

"For us, it is an attack against a symbol," stated Lieutenant François-Steve Sauvé.

Attacks on vehicles belonging to the forces of law and order have been occurring with much greater frequency these past months. Police cars in Sherbrooke and Montreal were recently targeted by troublemakers.

Fog

In Repentigny, it was morning when officers noticed their vehicles had been damaged, when the thick fog began to thin and lift.

The suspects hit in the middle of the night. They broke the windows of three different vehicles, probably with a snow shovel found of the roof of one of the damaged cars.

A fourth police car was also attacked, but its windows resisted being hit repeatedly.

Those responsible are still at large.

"We already have some very important leads," stated Lieutenant Sauvé, refusing to say any more in order to not hamper the investigation.

In January 2007, five young people aged between 16 and 19 were arrested after having set several police cars on fire in Repentigny.

Elsewhere in Quebec

Elsewhere, in Sherbrooke, last July two thirteen year olds were caught after trashing 21 police cars belonging the Quebec Provincial Police.

Last May, a Montreal scientist who had a grudge against the authorities, set an SPVM police car on fire.

Also remember that many Montreal police cars were vandalized during a violent riot that followed the victory of the Montreal Canadiens hockey team last April.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

[NOII] 12 Reasons to take to the streets of Montreal-Nord this Saturday

Print PDF

The following excellent text is from the No One Is Illegal Montreal blog:

This coming Saturday at 2pm at Parc Pilon in Montreal-Nord, a diverse cross-section of Montreal groups and individuals are coming together to denounce police brutality as part of a child-friendly demonstration. This is a crucial protest for all those who oppose poverty, racism and police brutality, as well as support autonomous, grassroots organizing for real justice and dignity.

It comes just two months after the killing of Fredy Villaneuva in Montreal-Nord, one year after the tasering death of Quilem Registre in St-Michel, and more than two years after the unexplained shooting death of Anas Bennis in Côte-des-neiges. It comes in a context where 43 people have been killed by the bullets or electric shocks of the Montreal police in just 21 years.

There are three main demands for this Saturday’s demonstration: 1) a public and independent inquiry into the death of Fredy Villaneuva; 2) an end to racial profiling and to police abuses and impunity; 3) the recognition of the principle that as long as there is economic inequality there will be social insecurity.

Below are 12 more reasons to get out and demonstrate this Saturday. Please post and forward widely, and do make a final effort TODAY (Friday) to encourage your networks and contacts to attend this Saturday.

Police partout, justice nulle part! No justice, no peace!


12 Reasons to take to the streets of Montréal-Nord this Saturday

1) Breaking down fear and isolation; 2) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 1; 3) Oppose police investigating other police; 4) Oppose police attempts to shut down public transparency; 5) Oppose police and media smears of police killing victims; 6) The 43 Reasons; 7) The Montreal-Nord riots were justified; 8) Accommodate This!; 9) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 2: 10) Oppose sellout "community" gatekeepers: 11) Support grassroots community organizing; 12) For People Power



1) Breaking down fear and isolation

It's not easy to confront police brutality and impunity. The police have tremendous power, as the armed force of the state. Individuals experience police abuses, brutality, and racial profiling on a daily basis, but are often too afraid to speak out. When we do speak out, we lack the resources to effectively take on the cops and government, and are marginalized by both mainstream groups as well as government-paid community hacks. This Saturday's demonstration is one clear way that we can all, collectively, come together to break down the fear and isolation we so often feel, and instead stand united behind clear demands for justice.


2) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 1

This past Thursday's cover story in Le Journal -- "Les Agitateurs s'en mêlent" -- is a transparent attempt by the police and their media allies to create divisions between the diverse groups that have come together to denounce police brutality. The police and government officials fear the emerging unity between grassroots, on-the-ground social justice groups and movements that have converged in support of the clear and powerful demands of this Saturday's demonstration. Let's show the hacks at Le Journal, and their cop friends, that we refuse to be divided.


3) Oppose police investigating other police

Mayor Tremblay and all kinds of other politicians and so-called community leaders have constantly urged the public to refrain from judgment in the killing of Fredy Villanueva until the "investigation" has been completed. But, all the so-called investigations into police killings involve one squad of police investigating another. We are now supposed to trust the Surête de Québec (SQ) to fairly investigate the Montreal police. This is the same SQ that has it own corrupt and deceitful past and present – from the "Matticks Affair" where police officers were involved in illegal activities, to the recent Montebello protests where SQ officers acted as agent-provocateurs and tried to lie about it afterwards. Most recently, this past Monday, the SQ riot squad attacked members of the Lac Barrière Algonquin Community, using tear gas and pepper spray even against children. There is a mafia-like "brotherhood" between cops that prevents them from ever honestly bringing any of their members to true justice, and gives them an incentive to cover-up each other’s abuses.


4) Oppose police attempts to shut down public transparency

When there are quasi-independent inquiries into police killings, the cops try to shut them down. More than two years after the police killing of Anas Bennis, and after a long public campaign led by the Bennis family, a corner's inquest was called to investigate the reasons for Anas' death. However, as they've done in other cases, the Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal have gone to court and sued the coroner and the Bennis family themselves, to try to shut the inquiry down. The police and their expensive lawyers have consistently tried to shut down even the most modest efforts at accountability.


5) Oppose police and media smears of police killing victims

Recently, the lawyer for Montreal police officer Giovanni Stante, who was involved in the killing of homeless man Jean-Pierre Lizotte in 1999, wrote in both the Montreal Gazette and La Presse, claiming that Lizotte was not a victim of police brutality, and proceeding to smear Jean-Pierre Lizotte's reputation. Lizotte is not around defend himself, but that doesn't stop cop lawyers (and the media) from smearing the people killed by the cops. Innuendo and rumours have been used against other victims of police brutality. This Saturday's demonstration is occasion to stand in solidarity with, and give voice to, all those who have been shot down and smeared by the cops.


6) The 43 Reasons

Anthony Griffin, Jose Carlos Garcia, Yvon Lafrance, Leslie Presley, Paul McKinnon, Jorge Chavarria-Reyes, Fabien Quienty, Yvan Dugas, Marcellus François, Armand Fernandez, Osmond Fletcher, Trevor Kelly, Yvon Asselin, Richard Barnabé, Paolo Romanelli, Martin Suazo, Philippe Ferraro, Nelson Perreault, Daniel Bélair, Michel Mathurin, Richard Whaley, Yvan Fond-Rouge, Jean-Pierre Lizotte, Luc Aubert, Sébastien McNicoll, Michael Kibbe, Michel Morin, Michel Berniquez, Rohan Wilson, Benoît Richer, Mohamed Anas Bennis, Quilem Registre, Fredy Villaneuva ... and 10 more individuals, women and men, whose names remain unknown. Together, they represent the 43 people killed by the Montreal cops in the last 21 years. Saturday's march is for all victims and survivors of police brutality.


7) The Montreal-Nord riots were justified

This Saturday's demonstration is child-friendly. It will allow for all kinds of folks to come together in opposition to police brutality. But, that does not mean we should shy away from defending the justified community uprising that took place in the aftermath of Fredy Villaneuva's death in August. Politicians and media have worked overtime to attempt to divide "good" protesters (the community gatekeepers who stay docile and harmless) from the "bad" protesters" (those who are willing to take direct action). Saturday's demonstration is one way to clearly show solidarity with Montreal-Nord, including the riots that were a justified expression of our collective anger and rage against police brutality.


8) Accommodate This!

During the xenophobic "debates" around reasonable accommodation in Quebec, immigrants were essentially being asked to justify their presence in Quebec. A Montreal cop even recorded a song – played on youtube – telling people from minority groups to "crisser vos camps" and "retournez chez toi". The reasonable accommodation debate clouded and confused the unity and solidarity we share -- as workers, poor, women, queer and trans people, migrants, and others -- fighting together to achieve real justice. It distracted from our unity together in confronting poverty, precarity, racism and racial profiling. This Saturday's protest is another occasion to tell the xenophobic and racist elements of Quebec society – most embodied by the cops – to accommodate this! (ie. "go fuck yourselves").


9) Oppose "divide and rule" – Part 2

As part of their divide and rule tactics, the cops have also been visiting community organizations, asking about their involvement in the demonstration this coming Saturday. Many community groups have taken a clear stance against police abuses, and the police response has been to intimidate behind the scenes, as well as to start a whispering campaign to denounce so-called radical protesters. We must refuse these police tactics to marginalize the groups and individuals that have taken principled stances against police impunity.


10) Oppose sellout "community" gatekeepers

Various levels of government provide substantial money to so-called "community" organizations to provide basic services. One of the primary "services" of these groups is to act as "gatekeepers" preventing and sabotaging grassroots organizing for justice. The so-called "tables de concertation" in various neighborhoods (funded by the City of Montreal), or fake coalitions like "Solidarité Montreal-Nord" (also set-up by the City) basically exist to dilute clear demands that speak to the reality of our communities. These gatekeepers refuse to clearly denounce racism, racial profiling and police brutality, and have taken on a prominent role after the death of Fredy Villaneuva, by denouncing "violence" without ever clearly denouncing police violence. They are groups comfortable marching with politicians like Marcel Parent, Gerard Tremblay and Denis Coderre. These groups are basically breeding grounds for the politicians from all political parties that will go on to screw us over in other ways. This Saturday's demonstration is beyond the grasp of the compliant gatekeepers, which is why it annoys the cops and government so much. Let's annoy them even more with a huge turnout!


11) Support grassroots community organizing

In contrast to the fake community organizations (who are paid by government money) and their politician friends, diverse individuals and groups have engaged in autonomous, grassroots organizing, based on demands that come from our lived realities in poor and marginalized communities. This kind of organizing is not easy. We lack resources, and it's hard to find time to mobilize with our day-to-day grind for survival. But still, various on-the-ground networks, most notably Montréal-Nord Républik and Mères et Grandmères pour la vie et la justice, have courageously spoken out clearly and openly against police impunity.


12) For People Power

Our real power lies in our ability to unify, to break through fear and isolation, to name our enemy, and to confront it, united in our principles for social justice and dignity. This Saturday's protest is truly autonomous, beyond the sway of government-paid community hacks and politicians. It responds to the demands we know and feel daily. This Saturday's protest is one model for how we should continue to organize together, within our communities, and united between communities. Ce n'est qu'un début ...


written and distributed by jbswire@gmail.com
traduction par patcad. merci sofia. a guru collaboration

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Working Class Struggle in Quebec: 1970-

Print PDF

There was an excellent talk yesterday by Richard St-Pierre, about his own personal experience of working class struggles in Quebec since his politicization as a teenager in 1970.

This was probably one of the best talks i have ever heard in Montreal, and it is a real shame that it was not recorded. St-Pierre's itinerary is like many of his generation: a working class teenager, he was initially attracted by the "social gospel" of Roman Catholicism and the idea of armed struggle to win an independent and socialist Quebec. He then quickly became one of the tens of thousands of people who rejected these ideas to plunge into the Maoist movement that was so active in 70s Quebec.

Where St-Pierre differs from most of his comrades is that he has not only remained politically active but after a few twists and turns his commitment to working class revolution led him to left communism, specifically the tiny International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party. Despite his current adherence to the IBPR, St-Pierre did us all the service of recounting the groups and struggles he had been involved in as he saw them at the time, while not being shy to point out, and take responsibility for, specific errors.

The talk was organized in a non-sectarian, comradely manner, by the Montreal local of the North East Federation of Anarchist-Communists (NEFAC), and perhaps forty people attended. While he spoke for over two hours, St-Pierre had time to get through less than half of what he had prepared, and particularly frustrating to me, the section he had to skip was the section on "consciuosness", which i'm guessing would have been the most provocative and interesting bit.

If he speaks again, i strongly encourage you all to attend. In the meantime, with a bit of luck and time over the next few days, i'll try and write up a more detailed report from the notes i took.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Montreal Police Seize Computers in Hunt for Your Father, Your Uncle and Your Dog

Print PDF

La Presse and the Montreal Gazette each carried articles today about the three low-level actions carried out in Montreal's working class Hochelaga Maisonneuve neighbourhood over the past week.

Remember everyone: Play safe. Don't talk to the cops. Don't guess who is doing what. Don't ask questions none of us need to know the answers to.

And please, don't send me any communiques, i'm fine finding them online myself.

To read the communiques from the past weeks action:

• night of March 13/March 14: Six police cars torched by Collectif Ton Pere (Your Father collective)
• night of March 15/March 16: National Bank ATMs torched by Collectif Ton Oncle (Your Uncle Collective)
• night of March 17/March 18: two Bell Canada vans have their tire slashed, as do cars at a Mazda dealership, by Your Dog
  

Here is the La Presse article, translated by yours truly. Below one can find the Gazette article.

Anarchist Groups: a web host's computers are seized

Caroline Touzin
La Presse

Montreal police raided a web host in Montreal on Tuesday night to identify who was behind the recent crimes claimed by anarchist groups in the Hochelaga-Maisoneeuve neighbourhoud, Le Presse has learned.

Four police officers arrived, with a search warrant, at Koumbit, a non-profit organization which offers computer services to forty or so Quebec community associations and organizations. Koumbit hosts the Centre des médias alternatifs du Québec (CMAQ). This group distributed messages from the Your father, Your Uncle and YOUr Dog collectives, which claims reponsibility for (respectively) the setting on fire of six police cars, of automatic tellers as well as vandalism at a car sales lot.

The warrant authorized police to seize all computers on the premises and also stipulated that the organization hand over its "logs" to investigators, as well as as much information as possible about the four articles published on CMAQ. "Koumbit believes that such a warrant is problematic. The normal course of justice should not cause undue damage to businesses and organizations which are heavily dependent on the means of communication that we offer them, nor should it silence online media such as blogs or public forums," emphasized the organization in a press release it issued last night. Koumbit also provided three lines of its "logs", which are records of events which document visits to websites. A log normally contains the visitors address, the time they visited, the page visited as well as the kind of browser used.

The police, for its part, refused to comment on this information. "Those who commit crimes do not need added publicity. We refuse to discuss our investigation strategy," said sergeant Ian Lafrenière, of the Montreal police.

A member of the CMAQ collective, Martin Deshaies, feels that the police are "exaggerating." The CMAQ defines itself as a response to the mainstream media inspired by the international independent media network Indymedia. The site agreed to publish the communiqués as it has a principle of free publication, specified Mr Deshaies. "In the 1970s, the Front de libération du Québec send its communiqués to the mass media. The media reprinted them without necessarily agreeing with their message. It is the same thing with us today," explained Mr Deshaies.

A Worrisome Sentence

The CMAQ has an editorial policy that a message's contents cannot be defamatory. For this reason the CMAQ had removed a sentence from the Your Father Collective about the burnt police cars. "One sentence went too far," explained another member of CMAQ, Michaël Lessard. This censored sentence was inviting people to burn "the hotels and houses of capitalists." Mr Lessard also warned people not to be too hasty in assuming who was behind these messafes. "Watch out before you conclude that they are anarchists. These kinds of arguments can also be made by many far left groups or by young people who are angry about injustice." In the past CMAQ has received other requests from the police and even a court order to remove certain claims about the police from its site. Requests that the CMAQ did not answer.

The Montreal Gazette similarly had an article today about the police investigation:

Anarchists suspected in vandal attacks

MAX HARROLD, The Gazette

Montreal police are blaming local anarchists for three recent acts of vandalism, but some familiar with the multi-faceted movement say: "Not so fast."

The incidents - all in the east end - include the slashing of 43 tires on cars at a Mazda dealership Tuesday, fires in three National Bank ATMs on Ontario St. on Sunday and the firebombing of six patrol cars at police Station 23 last Friday.

Total damage is estimated to be about $50,000, police said.

The Collectif Ton Oncle, Collectif Ton Père and someone called Ton Chien posted claims of responsibility on an alternative media website, Montreal police Sgt. Ian Lafrenière said yesterday.

"They're not just attacking the police," Lafrenière said. "They're attacking our way of life here in Montreal."

Francis Dupuis-Déry, a political science professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, said it might be hasty for the police to blame anyone simply based on the Internet postings.

"One person could have committed these acts," Dupuis-Déry said, and anyone could have posted the claims online.

And anarchists, despite the disorganization that is implied, actually do a lot together, he said.

One of the postings said those targeted at the car dealership were "not citizens. They're not living with recurring debt (and) with rents increasing because of real estate developments and gentrification. They're not living under constant threat of eviction, or with having to make the choice of feeding their children or paying their bills."

Stefan Christoff, 25, a community organizer and anarchist, said: "I have no clue who did those (acts of vandalism). What's more important is social injustice and poverty. That's violence."

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Montreal Mazda dealership and Bell Canada vans attacked

Print PDF

The latest communique from Montreal's East End - the original in english and french can be read on Infoshop here. Once again, if i see these on the net i'll post them here, if they're in french i'll translate them, but please nobody send me one of these - i'm ok at finding stuff myself.

This communique from the "Your Dog" ("ton chien") comes within days of ATMs being torched by a "Your Uncle Collective" ("collectif ton oncle") and six police cars being torched by a "Your Father Collective" ("collectif ton pere").

Remember: Don't talk to the cops. Don't guess who is doing what. Don't ask questions none of us need to know the answers to.

i see no need to comment on this all any more, you can all read for yourselves:

Mazda dealership and Bell Canada vans attacked

Night of march 17-18 2008

Around 23 cars at a Mazda dealership in Prefontaine had their tires slashed, along with 2 Bell Canada vans sitting in the neighborhood.

We act in solidarity with the inspiring actions taken a few days earlier against police cars and a bank.

The police are scared, the capitalists are scared, but no one else seems to mind the fires breaking out in their neighborhoods.

The media tell us that the police are worried for their "citizens," but the ones who are targeted are not citizens.

They do not live with re-occurring debt, with an escalating rent caused by condo development and gentrification, they do not live under the constant threat of eviction or with the choice of either feeding their kids or paying the bills...

They are the ones bringing us the eviction notices, they are the ones arriving in uniform to force us from our homes, they are the ones who harass us when we can't pay the bills or the debt or the grocery bill...

As our comrades stated before, WE ARE THIS CITY and these capitalist and power driven pieces of shit are not welcome here!

Tomorrow 23 less cars will have a chance to drive around the super-highways that expand capital onto native territory and into undeveloped space: serving nothing but this system that threatens our lives every day.

We hope that the two Bell vans we disabled might keep your cable offline long enough to get the media, mouth-piece of this social order, out of your lives for a day.

In solidarity with every prisoner, native and rebel alike.
The real criminals have yet to taste our collective rage!

Your Dog

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

More Political Playing with Matches: Attack Against the National Bank in Montreal

Print PDF

It would seem that there was a second anti-capitalist bonfire in Montreal carried out over the weekend by a second collective - the Collectif Ton Oncle (Your Uncle Collective). This comes just after the torching fo six police cars last Friday morning.

The communique is posted on the Anarkhia site, i have translated it here.

i would suggest that everyone repost these communiques.

Gotta say i like the smiley face at the end...

Attack Against the National Bank in Montreal
corner of Ontario and Valois, the night of March 15-16 2008

The three automatic tellers of this branch were smashed before being set on fire.

This action was not mentioned in the big media and the National Bank attempted to hide the damage as quickly as possible. We suspect the authorities are trying to cover up the facts so as not to create panic amongst the citizens.

We acted following the torching of the parking lot of neighbourhood station 23. Like the Collectif Ton Pere [translators note: Your Father Collective], we are acting against the State, Capital and private property, which perpetuate oppression, destruction and alienation. We are also in solidarity with Native struggles, specifically in the context of the 2010 Olympics.

Even if the National Bank is not an official partner (as is the case with the Royal Bank), a bank is still a bank!

Let's not forget that the police and the banks support each other.

Collectif Ton Oncle ;-)

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Six Montreal Police Cars Torched: Anti-Capitalist Collective Claims Responsibility

Print PDF

What follows is a news item from CMAQ, the Quebec Indymedia, with quotes from a communique claiming responsibility for an attack on empty police cars belonging to the SPVM, the Montreal Police Department, on the morning of March 14th. The news item was translated by yours truly, the original can be read in French here.

Ruling class media news reports on the torching of the cop cars can be seen at:

• Police cars set on fire in east end
  The Gazette, Friday, March 14.
  
  
• Des autos-patrouille du SPVM détruites par le feu
  Le Soleil, vendredi 14 mars 2008.

CMAQ did not publish the communique claiming responsibility for this in its entirety, clearly fearing police repression, though perhaps also feeling liberal squeamishness. Their claim that they are not publishing the call to torch police cars and the homes of the rich for "legal and ethical" reasons is confusing, to say the least. If their only fear is repression, that is acceptable and respectable, but they should say so straight out. If they have moral qualms about reprinting such a communique one must wonder what they're doing running an Indymedia node.

(Note: To be clear, if anyone ever has such a thing to post, don't send it to me. Find some place safe and untraceable where it will be posted in its entirety and send it there, and once we find out about it many of us on the net will be happy to repost it.)

The Mercier/Hochelaga Maisonneuve neighbourhood is a predominantly working class Quebecois neighbourhood. To see such an act in such a neighbourhood should not be surprising, but it sure does warm the heart.

The CMAQ news piece is reprinted as follows:

*******************

On Friday March 14, at 5:50am, a "group" sent a message to Indymedia-Quebec (http://www.cmaq.net) claiming responsibility for setting six SPVM (Montreal Police Department) police cars on fire. The message was signed "Collectif Ton père" (Your Father Collective) and explains that this was an "Action against the greater and greater levels of oppression in the neighbourhood and everywhere where exploitation exists and reproduces itself."

This act, if you recall, was carried out in the rear parking lot of neighbourhood police station number 23 on Hochelaga street, in the Mercier/Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhod, around 3am according to the SPVM. The six police cars were totally destroyed.

The aforementioned communique declares:

We are acting in solidarity with Native political prisoners in America who are still struggling for their freedom and their autonomy.

We are calling on all populations to take back their time, space, the street, the city, and to torch every representative of authority.

The city is us, it is not a prison belonging to capitalism.

We are not slaves, and yet we build their houses, their banks. their roads, we look after their children and serve them their coffee every morning, we pick the fruit and vegetables that they eat........*

The communique ends by calling on people to burn not only police cars, but also the capitalists' houses and hotels. For both legal and ethical reasons, the volunteer Indymedia-Quebec collective cannot directly publish the original communique.

The Centre des médias alternatifs du Québec (CMAQ) has never heard of the "Your Father collective". The message was sent via an online form, and was anonymous, with no email address, and the connection came via France, Germany and the United States.

- collectif Centre des médias alternatifs du Québec (CMAQ)

info [at] cmaq.net

Note: The Centre des médias alternatifs du Québec (CMAQ), a volunteer collective responsible for Indymedia-Quebec, is sharing this information as a journalistic article which could interest the public, and obviously does not support acts which could put people's lives in danger.

* Editors note: the text as reproduced here was neither corrected not altered. It is only missing two or three sentences, which we have summarized at the end of our article.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

[Le Drapeau Rouge] At Last the PQ Shows Its True Colours!

Print PDF

The below article in Le Drapeau Rouge; i felt it was well worth translating and sharing with you all.

At least in its newspaper, the Revolutionary Communist Party (the canadian one, not the Avakian outfit in the u.s.) is providing welcome leadership in opposing the rise of racism in Quebec, without ambiguity or compromise. While on the ground in Montreal most of the anti-racist organizing against the "reasonable accommodation" bullshit has come from groups like No One Is Illegal, the RCP benefits from greater organic ties to the Québécois revolutionary tradition, witness the forthright analysis of Pauline Marois' agenda in the Parti Québécois which follows:

Pauline Marois Demands a Makeover

At Last the PQ Shows Its True Colours!

With her proposed Québécois Identity Bill, the new Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois has shown that there is no limit to how low she will stoop to get back in power – even hunting for support on the ADQ’s terrain and leaping into racist and xenophobic manure. After several days of debate in which she did her best to defend her infamous Bill, the Lady of Île Bizard[1] once again tried to justify herself during the November 4 PQ commemoration of the 20^th anniversary of the death of its former leader René Lévesque.

Sharing the stage with a follower of the Church of Scientology (the popular singer France D’Amour), Pauline Marois first denounced her Liberal and ADQist adversaries “who are using a populist and demagogic approach but have no concrete proposals” as to how to affirm Québécois identity. “Well I do!” she added proudly. It is true that on top of joining the others in adopting a populist and demagogic approach, the new deputy from Charlevoix had done them one better, shamelessly proposing that certain civil rights be withdrawn from immigrants who, having already obtained Canadian citizenship, fail to show an “appropriate knowledge” of the French language.

It is obvious that this initiative from the PQ’s leader is simply politics, as she is sure to have known that her Bill had no chance of being adopted, and even if it was passed it would have likely been struck down by the courts. Ever since the last elections, the Parti Quebecois has been worried that the conservative section of its traditional supporters might leave it permanently for the ADQ. So, under the influence of political strategist Jean-Francois Lisée (the king of all gimmicks, who has himself just written a pamphlet in defense of cultural nationalism[2]), Pauline Marois decided to outflank Mario Dumont on his right and do her part in feeding the climate of fear and xenophobia which has polluted public debate in Quebec for over a year now, all in the hopes of leading her troops back into the fold.

In the end, it doesn’t matter if her Bill becomes a dead letter: public opinion will remember that Marois wants to put “the others” in their place (the others being all those who are not like us) and oblige them to conform to the dominant bourgeois ideology in Quebec. The PQ is betting that this rhetoric will pay off in terms of votes. And what does it matter if the verbal attacks, mainly against the Arab and Muslim communities, end up also leading to physical attacks: this would just be “collateral damage” in this PQist march back to power.

When she delivered her first speech to the National Assembly on October 16, Pauline Marois devoted most of it to defending cultural nationalism and stigmatizing the “foreigners,” going so far as to beseech Québécois, “don’t give up your place to others.” She joined the chorus insisting that everyone must submit to the famous “common values” imposed by the Québécois ruling class, which boil down to speaking French, complete secularism and that famous “equality between men and women,” which apparently constitutes one of the most important elements of Quebec society. Need we remind Pauline Marois that Quebec was the last Canadian province to grant women the right to vote in 1940? That it was only in 1980 (quite a bit less than a century ago!) that women in Quebec won the right to sign a mortgage? That not so long ago the dominant model was still the woman in the home, submissive to her husband, whose main role was to bear children and perpetuate the “French Canadian race” (remember Lionel Groulx?).

The PQ leader – and all those others who are condemning, in the name of gender equality, the fact that Muslim women “dare” to wear the Islamic headscarf – would do better to worry about the fact that the song of the year which was crowned at the last ADISQ[3] gala (a demagogic hymn entitled Dégéneration, from the reactionary group Mes Aïeux[4]) sings the praises of “the good old times when our grand mothers had fourteen children,” and when, of course, we did not have that awful right to an abortion… we think that things like that are much more worrisome than the purely hypothetical possibility that one day a woman wearing a niqab might ask to vote without showing her face.

The silence emanating from the “PQ left” regarding this racism and xenophobia is deplorable, but not at all surprising. The leaders of SPQ libre[5], Marc Laviolette and Pierre Dubuc (or as we have called them, the Laurel and Hardy of left nationalism), narrowly avoided the new leader’s cutting block, as Marois apparently wanted to dismantle their “political club.” Marois finally agreed to leave them their toy, but not before she grilled them and seems to have received the promise that they would stay in their place and not criticize her in any way. In any case, these two representatives of the alleged “left” of the PQ are 100% in agreement with the turn towards identity being carried out by Marois, as they were already attacking the “civic nationalism” promoted by her predecessor, Andre Boisclair.

The only criticism from within the ranks of the PQ has come from the Groupe d’action politique des Québecois et Québecoises issus de l’immigration, which is the body responsible for questions of immigration within the party. In an open letter published on October 18 in the newspaper le Devoir, the group’s spokesperson Kerlande Mibel protested against the emergence of a “populist cultural nationalism” within the PQ, “which demands that everyone share the same values and way of life.” “If tomorrow everyone must share the same values as white francophone Catholics, that isn’t progress,” notes Mibel, adding that every Quebecker should have “the same rights and responsibilities” – a position which is clearly not in step with the rest of the PQ!

One is forced to admit that Pauline Marois is at least consistent: her right turn on questions of identity is perfectly in step with her social and economic positions. Remember that when she was crowned in June, Pauline Number One came with certain conditions, “take it or leave it”: amongst these was the “rejuvenation” of the PQ’s social-democratic rhetoric, in the style of Tony Blair’s British Labour Party.

Under her leadership the PQ will adopt the line of the “lucides”[6] (which is not at all surprising when you note that the “lucides” included many well known PQists). From now on the emphasis will be on “creating wealth before we redistribute it.” Amongst other things, Pauline Marois has come out in favour of the university tuition hikes proposed by the Charest government. Loyal members of the Lady’s Praetorian Guard that they are, over the past few weeks the young PQists within the student movement carefully maneuvered to sabotage the campaign for a general student strike which had been initiated by the Association pour une solidarite syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ), and which as we know ended in failure.

The fact that the PQ is a reactionary bourgeois party is nothing new to Quebec workers, who have been subjected to its policies for 17 of the past 30 years. That the party is finally getting rid of its “progressive” window-dressing may have some noteworthy consequences. The PQ seems to be trying to compete with the ADQ to claim the political space traditionally held by the bleus[7] (i.e. the conservative right) in Quebec. As to the army of “followers” and civil servants which the party has generated within the civil society organizations, the question is how far are they willing to go down this path? There is a question which it is still too early to answer.

As workers, perhaps we should take advantage of this “political recomposition” within the Quebecois bourgeoisie to get rid of this scum once and for all; without a doubt, that would be the best result we could hope for.

Serge Gélinas, Le Drapeau Rouge Nov.-Déc 2007 translated by Kersplebedeb

all footnotes by the translator

---

[1] Marois, who was elected to represent the riding of Charlevoix, actually resides in a three million dollar mansion on a 41 acre estate in the suburb of Île Bizard.

[2] i have translated the term “nationalisme identitaire” (literally, “nationalism having to do with identity”) as “cultural nationalism.” Whereas the terms may not be a perfect fit, it strikes me as a more accurate translation than “ethnic nationalism.”

[3] Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vidéo : the Quebec Association of the Recording, Festival and Video Industry.

[4] My Ancestors.

[5] A social democratic ginger group within the PQ.

[6] In 2005 the debate about which way forward for Quebec became characterized by two public manifestos, “For a Lucid Quebec” representing the economic right-wing and “For a Quebec in Solidarity” representing the social democratic position.

[7] Traditional party colours in Quebec have the liberals being the reds (!) and the conservatives being the blues.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST

Trade Unions Line Up for a "Neutral" Racist Quebec

Print PDF

Well, you know what i think: this is a white stain on the Quebec trade union movement, certainly not the first and certainly not the last.

In the present context it is clear that arguing for a "ban on religious symbols" is at best riding the wave of racism for one's own purposes, and we know that in politics, to ride a wave is to contribute to it. (At worst, well, at worst such a position is just a chickenshit way to promote one's own racism.)

Never mind the fact that "neutral State" is an oxymoron. It is always someone's State, meant to serve someone's interests. This is not about keeping the State "neutral," it's about establishing (once again) whose State it is, whose interests it will serve. For people on both sides, the hijab is becoming a powerful symbol, and women's bodies are once again metaphors , stand-ins for social conflicts. And in Quebec, when we talk about men forcing women how to dress, we are talking about men forcing women to reveal their faces as an ersatz pledge of allegiance to "our" nation.

Of course, a certain abstract class analysis pretends that the State only belongs to a few thousand of the wealthiest citizens, that everyone else is equally oppressed. Those who like this fairy tale then see no issue with trade unions asking the State to enforce "neutrality", because as far as they are concerned their interests, their culture, their heritage is indeed neutral. If the State's decision is not clearly biased in favour of Westmount (or perhaps Ste-Foy) well then it's not really biased, is it? Or at least, not in a bad way...

That there is hypocrisy and open racism amongst those who wish for the State to be simply anti-Muslim, or post-Catholic, like the ADQ argues, should not obscure the fact that there is also racism, and there is also hypocrisy, in the "progressive" option of riding the racist wave to suddenly pass a "Charter of Secularism," one which we all know would never come into existence without the current Islamophobic brouhaha and which in practice will be enforced primarily against Muslim women who wish to work in the public sector.

(As a corollary to all this, let it be noted that the public sector remains one of the most highly unionized work sectors, that the public sector already discriminates overwhelmingly against people of color and immigrants, and that exclusion from unionized sectors has been identified as a key factor pushing immigrant communities into the poorest layers of the Quebec proletariat, separate from and oppressed by the greater national class structure.)

To be clear: a State does not become a theocracy, or "religious," because a schoolteacher or a secretary or a bureaucrat or a politician does or does not wear a hijab, yarmulke or crucifix. That is not what constitutes a religious state, any more than a revolutionary State is one where some public sector employee wears a Che Guevara t-shirt. (joke: i guess an anarchist State would be one where a civil servant goes to work naked?)

Here's the article from today's newspaper. Now excuse me while i go and puke.

Unions against religious symbols
WANT THEM BANNED IN CIVIL SERVICE This would ‘ ensure the secular character of the state,’ SFPQ vice- president says

JEFF HEINRICH THE GAZETTE

No public servant – including Muslim teachers and judges – should be allowed to wear anything at work that shows what religion they belong to, leaders of Quebec’s two biggest trade union federations and a civil-servants union told the BouchardTaylor commission yesterday.

“We think that teachers shouldn’t wear any religious symbols – same thing for a judge in court, or a minister in the National Assembly, or a policeman – certainly not,” said René Roy, secretary-general of the 500,000-member Quebec Federation of Labour.

“The wearing of any religious symbol should be forbidden in the workplace of the civil service ... in order to ensure the secular character of the state,” said Lucie Grandmont, vice-president of the 40,000-member Syndicat de la fonction publique du Québec.

Dress codes that ban religious expression should be part of a new “charter of secularism” – akin to the Charter of the French Language – that the Quebec government should adopt, said Claudette Carbonneau, president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux.

Such a charter is needed “to avoid anarchy, to avoid treating ( reasonable- accommodation) cases one by one,” Carbonneau said yesterday, presenting a brief on behalf of the federation’s 300,000 members at the commission’s hearing at the Palais des congrès.

Same point of view at the 150,000-member Centrale des syndicats du Québec, which includes 100,000 who work in the school system, the commission heard.

Quebec needs a “fundamental law” akin to the Charter of Rights that sets out clearly that public institutions, laws and the state are all neutral when it comes to religion, said Centrale president Réjean Parent. The new law would also “define (people’s) rights and duties ... in other words, the rules of living together.”

Under a secular charter, employers would understand that they don’t have to agree to accommodate religious employees if, for example, they ask to be segregated from people of the opposite sex, Carbonneau said.

Similarly, religious students in public schools would understand they can dress as they like, but not if it means wearing restrictive clothing like burqas, niqabs and chadors, which make communication difficult, she told commissioners Gérard Bouchard and Charles Taylor.

And in the courts, “there are cases that are clear – I wouldn’t want to see a judge in a veil,” she said. Judges need to appear “neutral” so as to inspire confidence in their judgment, she added.

The unions’ anti-religious attitude – especially the CSN’s idea to ban hijabs on teachers – got a cold reception from groups as disparate as a Muslim women’s aid organization and the nationalist Société St. Jean Baptiste of Montreal.

“What that would do is close the door to Muslim women who want to teach,” said Samaa Elibyari, a Montreal community radio host who spoke for the Canadian Council of Muslim Women. “It goes against religious freedoms that are guaranteed in the (Quebec) Charter of Rights.”

Elibyari said Muslim women routinely face discrimination in the workplace. They don’t need unions on their back, too.

“When a young teacher calls a school to see if she can do an internship, and is asked on the phone straight out: ‘Do you wear the veil?’; when a cashier at a supermarket is fired and her boss tells her: ‘The customers don’t want to see that,’ referring to the veil; when a secretary gets passed over for promotion even if she succeeds in all her French exams, and is told: ‘Take off that tablecloth’ – is that not discrimination?” Elibyari asked.

The commission is holding its final week of hearings this week in Montreal, bringing to an end a cross-Quebec tour that began in early September.

CLICK HERE TO READ ENTIRE POST

COLLAPSE POST