dan kellar Kitchener, ON – On September 20th, the 2nd annual #1MiillionMarchForChildren will be at Kitchener city hall for a planned day-long rally. Uniting under the banner Hands Off Our Kids, the rally organizers say they are concerned about parental rights and how sexual orientation and gender identity are being taught in public schools.
Also planning to be at city hall is the group Queer Youth Defense, who have organised a 2nd annual counter demonstration to “drown out hate with a little bit of light”.
This show features an interview with Acer Bonaparte of Queer Youth Defense along with statements CKMS News received from trustee Cindy Watson of the Waterloo Region District School Board, from jeewan chanicka, the Director of Education at the WRDSB, and from Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic. CKMS News tried to contact local organizers from Hands off Our Kids, but did not receive a response, however, material from the group’s website is referenced.
dan kellar
Kitchener, ON – In the evening on September 19th, the Waterloo Region Friends of Palestine are hosting a screening of the documentary film Where Olive Trees Weep, which is described as offering “a window into the struggles and resilience of the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation. It explores themes of loss, trauma, and the quest for justice.” The film’s website continues “We follow, among others, Palestinian journalist and therapist Ashira Darwish, grassroots activist Ahed Tamimi, and Israeli journalist Amira Hass. We also witness Dr. Gabor Maté offer trauma-healing work to a group of women who were tortured in Israeli prisons”.
Before the screening, CKMS News spoke with Robert Massoud of Waterloo Region Friends for Palestine. Massoud spoke about the new documentary, the ongoing Palestinian solidarity actions from several local organizations, how injustice in Palestine is decades old, and how Canada is still “active and complicit in arming Israel” after a year of “genocidal” violence.
As Canada continues supplying military equipment and components to the Israeli government amidst the attacks on Palestinians, the federal government is coming under increased scrutiny. On February 1st, the Nicaraguan government announced they were initiating action against Canada, Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands at the International Court of Justice for supporting the Israeli aggression in Palestine.
This show features Rachel Small of World Beyond War discussing the groups activities, and the new online map which highlights locations and production details of weapons companies involved in arming the Israeli military, including 8 locations in Waterloo Region. CKMS News also discussed accountability and transparency in the Canadian weapons industry with Kitchener-Centre Green Party MP Mike Morrice.
CKMS News asked the ministry of International Development to confirm that the government has received letter from the Nicaraguan government regarding the initiating of actions against Canada at the ICJ for arming Israel. John Babcock, a spokesperson for the ministry told CKMS News that “Global Affairs Canada has seen the Nicaraguan press release.” He concluded “We are not in a position to comment further on this matter”.
Waterloo – On Oct 30th ACORN, the grassroots social and economic justice organisation with chapters across the country, delivered over 400 tenant testimonials to federal liberal MPs including Waterloo’s Bardish Chagger. This action coincided with ACORN’s national housing spokesperson Tanya Bukart giving testimony to the National Housing Council’s review panel on the financialisation of purpose built rental housing. Bukart’s testimony highlighted the effects on renters created by the stress of living in a precarious housing market, which has been transformed over the past decades, into an investment industry with profit seeking constantly driving up housing and rental prices.
Today’s show features interviews with Acer Bonapart, the chair of the Waterloo Region chapter of ACORN, and Mike Morrice, the Green Party MP for Kitchener Centre, who has been pressuring the government over the ongoing crisis in the affordability of housing in Canada since being elected in 2021. Additionally, Geordie Dent of The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA), which advocates for better rights for tenants, adds comments on the financialisation of housing.
For the purposes of this review, the National Housing Council is using the Federal Housing Advocate’s definition of the financialization of housing which is “the growing dominance of financial actors in the housing sector, which is transforming the main function of housing from a place to live into a financial asset and a tool for investor profits.” The definition continues “These may include asset management companies, hedge funds, pension funds, private equity funds, real estate investment trusts (REITs), real estate operating companies and sovereign wealth funds.”
The National Housing Council, which refers to reports commissioned by The Federal Housing Advocate adds “The financialization of purpose-built rental housing has been linked to a range of negative impacts for renters, such as evictions, rising rents and reduced building services and maintenance.” On this point the National Right to Housing Network, a grassroots tenants rights organisation also focusing on the national panel explains “Financialization of housing refers to the treatment of housing primarily as a financial asset and tool for maximizing investor profit at the expense of human rights among tenants and tenancy-seeking individuals.”
The show focuses on the financialisation of the housing market, immediate steps which could be taken to start addressing the affordability crisis, and the longer term role of government in creating and maintaining an affordable and quality housing supply to meet the needs of growing populations.
