Sudbury Social Justice News - October 5, 2014

EVENTS & MEETINGS:

1) Monday, October 6: Court Support for Sudbury Anti-Poverty Activists
2) Monday, October 6: Meeting of Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty
3) Monday, October 6: Raise the Rates Campaign Meeting
4) Thursday, October 9: Mayoral Town Hall on Seniors' Issues
5) Thursday, October 9: Screening of "I Am A Girl"
6) Wednesday, October 15 & Thursday, October 16: Showcase: A celebration of indigenous arts
7) Wednesday, October 15: Creating a Culture of Participation - Workshop & Presentation
8) Thursday, October 16: Meeting of Sudbury Working-group of The Media Co-op
9) Thursday, October 16: Sudbury "Raise the Rates!" Action

NEWS, ANALYSIS & CALLS TO ACTION:

None this time!

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Monday, October 6: Court Support for Sudbury Anti-Poverty Activists

Time: 9:30:am
Location: Either City Council Chambers or Room C-11 in Tom Davies Square (200 Brady Street, Sudbury)

On Monday, October 6th, the S-CAP 11 (now reduced to 9) will appear in court at 9:30am at Tom Davies Square (either in the City Council Chambers or C-11). The Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty (S-CAP) is calling on everyone who can to come out to show your support at this brief court appearance. It will immediately be followed by a media conference where the S-CAP 11 will release an important statement.

The S-CAP 11 were arrested in November of 2012 for converting the waiting area of the office of at that time Liberal Cabinet Minister and Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci into an emergency homeless shelter to dramatize what the impending cut to the vital Community Start-Up Benefit (CSUMB) would lead to.

The arrest of the S-CAP 11 was part of a wave of protest across the province against the cut to the CSUMB. While these protests were not successful in getting the CSUMB re-instated they did force the Liberal government to put an additional $42 million into the municipally administered Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI). This did allow for more of the needs of people living with poverty to be addressed but there are now a patchwork of different policies and funding levels across the province and people’s needs are not being met as they were under the CSUMB. There have been a number of problems in the Sudbury administration of CHPI that have created difficulties in the lives of people on social assistance that S-CAP continues to have to fight. This same $42 million had been put again into CHPI for this year but there is still a burning need to restore the provincial CSUMB. On October 16th S-CAP and the Raise the Rates campaign will be marching again to the Provincial Building to demand that the CSUMB be restored.

For further information contact S-CAP at 249-878-7227.

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Monday, October 6: Meeting of Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty

Time: 6:30pm
Location: Offices of the Sudbury and District Labour Council (Suite 209 upstairs in 109 Elm Street, which is across the street from the Native Friendship Centre)

The venue is wheelchair accessible. Children are welcome to attend, or childcare support is available upon request. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. If you arrive late and doors are locked, please call the S-CAP phone (249-878-7227).

Matters to be discussed include: municipal election intervention; access to Handi-Transit; the S-CAP 9; and our direct action support work.

S-CAP is a direct-action anti-poverty organization based in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. We provide direct-action support work assisting individuals in their struggles with welfare and ODSP, housing, employers, and others who deny people what they are entitled to in order to meet their needs. In addition, we mount campaigns against and support educational work about regressive government policies as they effect working people and people living in poverty. We believe in the power of people to organize themselves. We believe in the power of resistance!

La coalition contre la pauvreté de Sudbury (S-CAP) est un organisme d’action directe luttant contre la pauvreté. Elle se trouve à Sudbury en Ontario.

Le travail de la coalition se base dans l’action directe et consiste à apporter de l’aide aux individus dans leurs luttes pour l’assistance sociale, l’invalidité, le logement, l’emploi et à les aider à faire face aux gens qui leur refusent ce à quoi ils ont droit pour rencontrer leurs besoins. De plus, la coalition fait des compagnes de sensibilisation et de dénonciation par rapport aux politiques gouvernementales régressives quant à leurs effets sur les travailleurs et travailleuses et les personnes vivant dans la pauvreté.

La coalition croit au pouvoir des personnes de s’organiser elles-mêmes; elle croit au pouvoir de la résistance!

Please call us 249-878-7227

Email us at sudburyCAP@gmail.com

Website http://sudburycap.com/

S-CAP on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/257339454351403/

 
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Monday, October 6: Raise the Rates Campaign Meeting

Time: 7:30pm
Location: Offices of the Sudbury and District Labour Council (Suite 209 upstairs in 109 Elm Street, which is across the street from the Native Friendship Centre)

The venue is wheelchair accessible. Children are welcome to attend, or childcare support is available upon request. If  you arrive late and doors are locked, please call the S-CAP phone (249-878-7227).

The Raise the Rates campaign which is sponsored by the Canadian Union of Public Employees - Ontario and the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty is organizing a raise the rates week of anti-poverty action this coming Oct. 13-17th. The week is calling for the raising of social assistance rates by 55% to bring buying power back to what it was before the Harris government initiated the war on the poor; raising the minimum wage to $14 an hour indexed to the cost of inflation;  reinstating the vital provincal Community Start Up and Maintenance Benefit (CSUMB); and ending the reviews that are designed to push people off of ODSP.

The event in Sudbury is being organized for Thursday, October 16th, starting at 1:30pm with a free meal which will be followed by music, speakers, and a march to the Provincial Building. We are currently organizing meeting with MPPs France Gelinas and Joe Cimino to try to get them to support the Raise the Rates demands.

For these plans to happen we need more people to get involved. We need your ideas, skills and energy. We also need your organizations to endorse the event.

For updates visit raisetherates.ca or like Raise the Rates on facebook

If you want to be part of an action in your community during October or want to help build one, email raisetheratescampaign@gmail.com, oe call OCAP at 416 925 6939

 
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Thursday, October 9: Mayoral Town Hall on Seniors' Issues

Time: 1:30pm to 3pm
Location: Parkside Older Adult Centre (144 Durham Street, Sudbury)

All candidates for Mayor in the forthcoming municipal election on Oct. 27th have been invited to meet with interested citizens at a special event sponsored by Friendly to Seniors – Sudbury, the local chapter of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) in conjunction with the Older Adult Parkside Centre.

A similar event was held at the same location during the last election and was well attended, and will be moderated again by well know Sudburian Gerry Labelle.

Candidates will be given the opportunity to present their platforms and answer questions, particular to, but not necessarily related to seniors issues.  While the event which will take place from 1.30 p.m to 3.00 p.m. Thursday Oct. 9th will be of particular interest to older citizens those citizens of other ages available at this time are also invited to attend.

No other recent local election has raised as much interest as the current contest and is of such significant importance.  As Sudbury’s older adult population continues to grow there is considerable concern with respect to the direction our municipality is moving with regards to accommodating Seniors issues, particularly in the areas of increased taxation, affordable housing, maintaining infrastructure and quality of life matters including health care etc.

Those interested should be present at the Older Adult Parkside Centre in the Centre for Life 144 Durham Street prior to the 1.30 p.m. start of the meeting on Thursday Oct. 9th.  Refreshments will be available.

 
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Thursday, October 9: Screening of "I Am A Girl"

Time: 7pm to 9pm
Location: Sheridan Auditorium, Sudbury Secondary School (154 College Street, Sudbury)

LEAF Sudbury will celebrate Person’s Day 2014 with the documentary, "I am a Girl" on Thursday, October 9, 2014 in the Sheridan Auditorium at Sudbury Secondary School. The film presentation will start at 7:00 p.m. followed by a reception and refreshments.

I AM A GIRL, directed by Rebecca Barry, is an inspirational feature length documentary that paints a clear picture of the reality of what it means to be a girl in the 21st century. Feminism may have promised equality and sought a better and fairer world for women but the reality is that girls make up almost a quarter of the world’s population yet still face the greatest discrimination of any group in the world. Yet in spite of many obstacles, girls have found extraordinary ways to persevere and in this documentary we hear their stories of strength, hope, courage and a refusal to be second best.
Tickets will be sold at, The Apollo restaurant, Gloria’s, Laurentian University Bookstore and at the door. Tickets are $25. There will be free parking.

Contacts: Carol Stos. 705 675 1151, X 4273, Tannys Laughren 705-586-6915

This event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/669472923142033/

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Wednesday, October 15 & Thursday, October 16: Showcase: A celebration of indigenous arts

Time: 7pm (both nights)
Location: The Open Studio (93 Cedar Street, Sudbury)

A two-day showcase of indigenous films, poetry and storytelling. Doors open at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 15 and Thursday, Oct. 16. Admission is free both nights.

This event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/708626189214215/

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Wednesday, October 15: Creating a Culture of Participation - Workshop & Presentation

Time: Workshop -- 1pm to 4pm
      Presentation -- 7pm to 9pm
Location: Holiday Inn (1696 Regent Street, Sudbury)
Cost: Workshop -- $30
      Presentation -- $15

In celebration of our 25th Anniversary and to launch our Social Enterprise Division the Social Planning Council Sudbury is excited to invite you to join us on October 15th for what promises to be a fun, informative and entertaining event!

Dave Meslin will lead us in a participatory workshop in the afternoon practicing skills to Creating a Culture of Participation (More details to follow but geared to leaders and front line staff).

In the evening our very own Stef Paquette will set the tone and Dave Meslin will illustrate an optimistic picture of what's possible at City Hall, within the non-profit sector and in our communities.

Workshop: $30
Presentation: $15
Workshop + Presentation: $40
Sponsorship is available.  Please contact us for more information.
events@spcsudbury.ca
705-675-3894

Book on-line: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/creating-a-culture-of-participation-tickets-...

Call out for cool ideas to feature at this event!  Contact Annette at events@spcsudbury.ca, 705-675-8891, ext. 213, to book your free spot to promote YOUR ‘cool’ idea.

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Thursday, October 16: Meeting of Sudbury Working-group of The Media Co-op

Time: 10am to noon
Location: meeting room #1, Main Branch, Greater Sudbury Public Library (74 Mackenzie Street, Sudbury)

Along with our ongoing quest to find a wide-range of interesting and original local content to publish on our site, we have started plans for a big public event in early December. We encourage anyone and everyone who might be interested in making media themselves, or who recognize that a robust grassroots media infrastructure is essential for social change work being done across a broad range of issues, to come out to the meeting that we're having on October 16th at 10 am in meeting room #1 at the Mackenzie Street branch of the library. Please come out and share your ideas!

If you can't make it to the meeting but still think you might want to be involved somehow -- through organizing things, through participating in some of the editorial stuff, through writing or producing other content -- then be in touch with me at the email address above or send a note to grassrootssudburymedia@gmail.com.

Find our site at:
http://sudbury.mediacoop.ca/

Our callout for content, some of which we might even be able to pay for:
http://sudbury.mediacoop.ca/blog/grassrootssudburymedia/19108

Find us on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/GrassrootsMediaCollective

 
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Thursday, October 16: Sudbury "Raise the Rates!" Action

Time: 1:30pm
Location: Starting from Memorial Park in downtown Sudbury

As part of the province-wide week of action organized by the Raise the Rates campaign, the Sudbury Coalition Against Poverty and the local Raise the Rates organizing committee are organizing a free meal in Memorial Park followed by music, speakers, and a march to the Provincial Building. We hope you will join with us.