Ottawa – At 9:30am today, supporters of locked out Postal Workers began an occupation of Conservative MP John Baird’s constituency office, located at 2249 Carling Avenue, Suite 418. The occupation aims to draw attention towards back-to-work legislation currently being debated in the House of Commons.

The individuals occupying the office are not members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. They are all residents of Ottawa who wanted to speak up in support of the 48 000 locked out CUPW members.

“The contract Harper wants to force on CUPW will short-change postal workers even more than Canada Post would have,” says James Meades. “By passing back-to-work legislation, the Harper government is attacking every worker in the country, both private and public, union and non-union. Harper is wants us all to feel we never have the right to demand better working conditions, fair wages, or job security. We won’t let Harper silence us.”

The community members occupying Minister Baird’s office are also concerned about the wider implications of cutbacks desired by the Harper government, particularly the two tier wage system central to both the current CUPW dispute and the recent Canadian Auto Workers strike at Air Canada.

“There isn’t a two tier system for grocery bills or rent,” says James Meades. “This is just one more sign that Harper wants to help the already wealthy at the expense of poor and working people.”

In the last few days there have been occupations of Conservative MP offices by Postal Workers in Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Fredericton.

Media Inquiries: James Meades – 613 784 9932

Tell the Dexter government that the people of Nova Scotia deserve affordable post-secondary education — for the future of the province and its people.

“The rights of assembly, association, and freedom of expression are vital for a healthy democracy,” said David Molenhuis, National Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. “The excessive use of force, pre-emptive detention, and unreasonable search and seizure carried out against peaceful protestors and innocent by-standers during the G20 undermined these fundamental rights.”

The letter stated that, “the only way for Canadians to understand exactly what transpired during this Summit is through an independent public inquiry into security during the 2010 Canadian G8 and G20 Summits, held jointly by the Ontario and Federal governments. Such an inquiry must include opportunities for public input and participation, and produce findings that are released to the public. The inquiry should consider the impact of security measures on the Charter rights of citizens to freedom of assembly, association, expression, and due process.”

“Although there have been wide-ranging reports of police abuses, Prime Minister Harper, Premier McGuinty, and Toronto Mayor David Miller have refused to hold the Toronto police and other members of the Integrated Security Unit accountable for their actions,” added Molenhuis. “Canadians are quickly losing faith in our governments. A public inquiry is the only way that we can get to the bottom of what happened at the G20 and restore public confidence in our government and police.”

The statement was endorsed by Canada’s national students’ union, the Canadian Federation of Students as well as a number of labour organisations including the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, CUPE-Ontario, and the Ontario Federation of Labour, and a wide range of civil society organisations and coalitions including Amnesty International Canada, Make Poverty History Canada, Greenpeace, the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality, the Indigenous Environmental Network, Alternatives, the Council of Canadians and many others.

The letter, along with a full list of signatories, is available for download at www.cfs-fcee.ca/g20police .

Founded in 1981, the Canadian Federation of Students is Canada’s oldest and largest students’ organisation, uniting over one-half million students from all ten provinces.

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The student movement has a long and honorable tradition of supporting legitimate constitutionally guaranteed rights and freedoms, including the right to free assembly, free speech and peaceful protest. The GSU appeals to all members of the Canadian public to help us protect those rights.

As a matter of course, the GSU has billeted individuals in the past for many events, as have other student unions and universities. The University of Toronto was aware of our plans to remain open.

In preparation for the G20 summit, our university collaborated with police and closed the campus, canceled academic events, obstructed access to basic services, and transferred students out of their dormitories. All three student unions and other campus and labor organizations at U of T condemned the administration’s decision to close, as should the public.

We believe that a key value of a university education is the right and obligation to criticize the accepted order. Academic freedom was trampled this weekend when two members of our executive were summarily arrested while carrying out their duties protecting our public right to dissent. The GSU categorically denies any involvement in any undemocratic activity and we call on university officials, the public and the media to support our collective freedoms and to release our innocent executive members with appropriate apologies.

For more information, please contact Anton Neschadim, GSU Executive member.

Adil Charkaoui, a Montreal teacher and father of three children, has been at the forefront of an important struggle for justice in Canada for over six years.

Don’t miss his story. Read more here.

We would like to make one final appeal before sending our donations to RAWA. We are extending the deadline for donations until Friday, May 15. We will be sending the donation on Monday, May 18.

The reason for extending the deadline stems from recent tragic news involving women in Afghanistan. Women of Afghanistan are under attack for courageously fighting the new rape law. Sitara Achazai, a women’s rights activist and politician in the Kandahar Provincial Council was murdered in a target assassination on Sunday, April 12. On March 8, 2009, International Women’s Day, Sitara led a nationwide sit-in of 11,000 Afghan women in seven provinces who gathered to pray for peace.

When RAWA formed in 1977, RAWA was focused on involving an increasing number of Afghan women in social and political activities aimed at acquiring women’s rights and contributing to the struggle for the establishment of a government based on democratic and secular values in Afghanistan. Despite the suffocating political atmosphere, RAWA very soon became involved in meeting the basic needs of Afghans. RAWA runs schools, literacy courses, orphanages and health clinics. They help prostitutes and refugees. They take part in reconstruction of villages and aid in food distribution and income generation. RAWA is featured in the film A View from a Grain of Sand. You can order a copy online or borrow a copy from the Fredericton Peace Coalition.

If you would like to send a donation before May 15, please reply to this email or send an email to info@frederictonpeace.org and we will let you know how to drop off/send your donation.

Blowback – A Canadian History of Agent Orange and the War at Home

When: Thursday, April 16, 7pm
Where: Renaissance College, 811 Charlotte Street, Fredericton, NB

Join author Chris Arsenault, the Conservation Council’s David Coon and the Fredericton Peace Coalition’s Gloria Paul to discuss the book Blowback.

Blowback is the story of a war coming home; a story of the military and economic currents that allowed Agent Orange to blow through trees and into rivers in New Brunswick. More than anything, it’s a story of soldiers, civilians and local residents who blew back against the government and companies who poisoned them.

* Book signing will also occur at Westminster Books on Thursday, April 16 at 2:00 pm. Check out the book display in their window today!

Presented by Fernwood Publishing, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick and the Fredericton Peace Coalition.

Fredericton – In anticipation of President Barack Obama’s visit to Canada
today, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick has written to the new
President to advocate for the rapid deployment of decentralized
community-based renewable energy projects. The Council hopes that forward
thinking policies from President Obama will influence energy policies on
this side of the border.

Recently, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Maine Governor John
Baldacci wrote to President Obama to promote the development of energy
megaprojects in the region. “Any advances that New Brunswick and Maine are
making on the renewable energy front are effectively being canceled out by
this stubbornness in pursuing old, inefficient methods of producing
electricity. Bigger is definitely not better.” said the Conservation
Council’s Climate Action Coordinator, Julie Michaud. “Smaller distributed
energy projects are far more efficient than big power plants which are only
about 30% efficient.”

In its letter, the Conservation Council applauds President Obama for his
insistence that sound climate policies make for sound economic policies.
“The President appears to understand that we actually have to convert our
economy to one that will lower our burden on the planet, and that opens up
many new opportunities as old ones disappear,” said Coon.

President Obama will be in Canada on Thursday. The Conservation Council
hopes that this visit will signal the beginning of a new era in which a
healthy environment and a healthy economy go hand in hand.

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To see a copy of the letter, click here
.

*Media contacts:*
David Coon
Executive Director, Conservation Council of New Brunswick
(506) 458-8747