February 6, 2016
Teach-In organize by CLAC-Montreal
Carrefour Parenfants, 4650 Ontario Est, Viau metro.
The current state of the social and anti-capitalist movements:
challenges and perspectives
A day of workshops, presentations, and discussions to foster reflection and cooperation
Doors open at noon
12 :30 to 2:15 : Workshops and documentary
2:30 to 4:30 : Panel with guests from various fields
5 to 7: Dinner and group discussions
**French/English translation available**
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12:30 to 2:15 – Three simultaneous workshops and presentations
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History and the story of capitalism : understanding austerity in a systemic and historical context
Aims to explain the rise and general story of capitalism, and to illustrate its inner workings based on accumulation of wealth and consumption. Essentially a system that thrives on social inequality. The workshop summarizes our current economic state in a cyclical historical context, as well as painting a general picture on the colonial reality and poverty epidemic in Quebec and Canada. Join in the discussion and let us face the challenges which are unfortunately all too real.
Conflict resolution in anti-authoritarian milieus
The world of activism is not without conflicts and challenges of its own. We struggle against mainstream propaganda, in which we are consistently portrayed as the enemy. Our society encourages values of: each for himself, mine is mine, with no accountability for one’s actions...In this context, the chances of successful conflict resolution are slim at best! How can we reach our goal of being anti-authoritarian?
We invite you to come and join the discussion, and share your own experiences.
The discussion will be followed by an improv session, where your mediative skills will be tested in role playing situations under the close supervision of our famous mascot, the Clacoon!
Produced and directed by CLAC&Câlins.
Please confirm your attendance to this workshop @ calins@clac-montreal.net
Screening of the documentary IN THE SHADOW OF BORDERS, 37min, followed
by a discussion on migrant struggles in Montreal with members of
Solidarity Across Borders
Is Canada as welcoming to migrants as it likes to believe? In the
Shadow of Borders challenges this myth. Through personal stories of
detention, denial of essential services, labour exploitation and
deportation, the documentary exposes the precarious lives of those
without status. By connecting histories—of indigenous sovereignty, of
Canada’s role in displacement, of its discriminatory policies—the
film portrays grassroots resistance to xenophobic government practices
and the struggle of migrants for freedom of movement.
http://shadowofborders.com/
2:30 to 4:30 - Panel with various guests addressing the challenges and perspectives of social groups and movements
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WITH:
Shannon Chief, of the Anishnabe Nation of the Ottawa River Watershed, is a committee member of ANORW's non-profit organization, in which volunteers put together a written format of their Nation's Traditional Governance, closely guided by their Elders. This approach stems from the desire to protect their ancestral grounds against unwanted mining, forestry and to restore a way of life rooted in the Nation's people, culture and language. The environmental challenges faced threaten their hunting grounds, medicines, cultural and sacred sites and leave no sanctuary for wildlife. Shannon is also a member of the Original People's Caucus, a national committee that moves and guides social forums for respective protocols, ceremony and shines light on the Indigenous people and environmental issues today.
Alain Marois, Vice-president of political affairs in the Fédération Autonome de l’Enseignement (FAE), which unites eight unions, representing some 34 000 French and English teachers and educators. The FAE is currently in negotiations with the government regarding collective agreements to obtain better working conditions as well as fighting to keep the public education system from imploding. Mr. Marois will share with us perspectives for this battle and union struggles in Québec.
Mostafa Henaway community organizer at the IWC (Immigrant Worker Centre)
Precarious worker’s struggles: The hopes for, and limits of an anti-capitalist movement.
Challenges and potential for the community movement
Fred Burrill, community organizer at the POPIR, the housing committee in the South West.
Trans and queer issues after 2015: New alliances against community disengagement, with RaphaëleFrigon, « Trans Pride - Gender Euphoria »
Challenges and perspectives for transformative justice, with Marie-Soleil Chrétien, masters student at UQAM in feminist studies, she has long been an anti-prison and radical feminist militant. She has been intensely involved in the fight against sexual violence since 2012.
On the road to May 1st 2016, with a member of the CLAC action committee.
17h à 19h – Dinner and group discussion
- Social movements and the economic context: how to unite struggles and work together
- Creating links between local environmental struggles and anti-capitalist movements
- And other discussion topics brought forth by participants!
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Since the liberal election, resistance appears to be growing against the Couillard government’s austerity program. A double discourse has again been revealed; although cuts are made, cronyism and a refusal to tax big businesses, banks, and the rich, continue to run rampant. In 2015, the student movement announced a heated spring, while unions held back until autumn…The mood intensified during collective union agreements and numerous strikes ensued throughout Community organizations as well. Before the holidays, an agreement seemed to have been reached with the Front Common. Faced with the threat of outrageous cuts, the voices of the people were heard louder than usual, and many were relieved to have weathered the worst. Many have announced the continuation of the battle this winter.
Make no mistake, the government’s agenda will go forward in 2016. Despite their efforts, social movements are faced with considerable fragmentation. We have yet to see a capacity for aggressive, joint action, including demands which go beyond individual sectors… But an awakening seems to have occurred. As the winds of oppression continue to strike the defenceless from all sides, we must hope that the winter will not cool these efforts.
We would like to invite you to participate in a day of workshops, exchange, discussion and reflection, of the state within social and anti-capitalist movements, as well our perspectives and challenges being faced.
On the Menu
12 :30 to 2 :15
« Capitalism, austerity and inequality » workshop.
« Conflict resolution in anti-authoritarian milieus» workshop.
« Dans l'ombre des frontières » documentary and discussion on migrant struggles.
2:30 to 4:30
Panel with various speakers addressing the challenges and perspectives of social groups and movements
5:00 to 7:00
Dinner and group discussions
Economic context and social movements: how to work together and unite movements
Establishing connections between environmental activism and the anti-capitalist movement
Context
60% of Canadian workers cannot afford to skip a paycheck. 14 million people are living paycheck to paycheck, earning less than $ 20 000 a year. Indeed, since the Harper government’s reforms, fewer unemployed workers have access to unemployment insurance. Not to mention welfare recipients, those without legal status and the jobless; groups regularly seen and treated as thieves. And what of the daily reality faced by indigenous peoples? They continue to face the colonial oppression of their territories, their identities, and their bodies; a true genocide over 500 years.
In Québec, we have been relentlessly served the same dogma of balanced budgets for 20 years, albeit under the guise of other names. We have gone from Lucien Bouchard’s zero-deficit, to Jean Charest’s sacred restructuring of the state, to Couillard’s current austerity program. Despite the fact that the government is operating with a sense of continuity, we are consistently surprised and acting on the defensive. We have long known that the cutbacks pushed by the economic elite—known as "structural adjustments" in the third world—aim to fulfill the laws of global capitalism, also known as "market globalization" or "neoliberalism". Through the "growth opportunities" offered by the system, the rich are guaranteed a plethora of options to get richer while the majority is increasingly impoverished.
It didn't start with neoliberalism and it won't stop with austerity, as these are the results of the capitalist system’s inevitable evolution towards the accumulation of wealth for a minority and repression. The public is increasingly forced to fight for survival, while a select few amass billions. The next generations face a dark future, in addition to inheriting a planet which is on its last legs, deteriorating little by little.
Our fight this autumn has been tepid… what lessons can we learn from the tactics used in our respective sectors? How can we better coordinate our efforts in order to challenge the capitalistic austerity agenda together?
Join us February 6 to discuss!
Noon to 7hpm at Carrefour Parenfants, 4650 Ontario Est, Viau metro.
CLAC is a QPIRG-Concordia working group.
The popular education committee is a QRIP-UQAM working group.
Thank you CKUT!
**Please note that the building is not easily wheelchair accessible. For all inquiries, please contact us @ info @ clac-montreal.net .
Two steps to the front entrance, three to reach the main hall, and seventeen steps to the second floor, where certain presentations will take place.
The washroom doors are easily accessible at 30 inches or 76 cm.
For inquiries regarding the teach-in, do not hesitate to reach us @ info @ clac-montreal.net