There are only 21 women’s bookstores worldwide, just three in Canada, and now, one is at risk of closing its doors for good. The Toronto Women’s Bookstore announced yesterday that it is so cash strapped, it may join the list of Toronto independent bookstores like Pages, that have been forced to close because of low sales and high rent. It’s not the first time the 36-year old Harbord Street landmark has had to overcome financial hurdles — among other challenges in the store’s rich past.

TWB started as a cooperative in 1973, and was accidentally destroyed by being in the crossfires of an anti-abortion terrorist firebomb that was meant for Henry Morgentaler’s abortion clinic formerly located beneath the non-profit store. TWB relocated,but was unable to balance its financial books, facing a possible closure on its twentieth birthday. Volunteer efforts made it possible to stay open.

The feminist institution is hoping the same thing will happen this time around. They are asking for donations and hope to raise $40,000 by January.

Donations can be made via their website, and a Facebook group has been created to support the cause.

“On December 17th 2009, sex workers and their allies across Canada will mark the 7th International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. This day draws attention to acts of violence that continue to be committed against sex workers worldwide, and to the stigma and discrimination perpetuated by prohibitionist laws against sex work, which endanger our lives and work.” - Rabble.ca

Check out more information at

Rabble.ca
SWOP (American, but with lots of good information)

and learn more about sex workers and sex workers’ rights in general at

Maggie’s (Toronto)
SWAN (American)

Today is December 6th, the anniversary of the murder of 14 young women at Montreal’s Ecole Polytechnique, by a man acting out of hatred of women and feminism. A lot has been said and written in the past week about the event; I have to admit at the moment I don’t feel up to a clear-headed and incisive journalistic analysis of violence against women, the importance of feminism, or the need to remember this day in history. Instead I want to offer two things: the names of the women killed. And Choeur Maha, the Montreal women’s choir, singing Warrior by the Wyrd Sisters. Sometimes a little peace and a little hope are all you can ask for.

Geneviève Bergeron
Hélène Colgan
Nathalie Croteau
Barbara Daigneault
Anne-Marie Edward
Maud Haviernick
Maryse Laganière
Maryse Leclair
Anne-Marie Lemay
Sonia Pelletier
Michèle Richard
Annie St-Arneault
Annie Turcotte
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz

For lyrics to the song, go here.

One more thing to get excited about for the upcoming weekend: Angela Davis, activist, writer and professor, is speaking at McGill University this Thursday about the case of Oscar Grant, a young black man who was shot and killed by transit police in California on New Year’s Day 2009.

Aaaaand… Davis is going to be interviewed on my radio show earlier that day! Tune into Venus on CKUT 90.3 FM (you can listen online as well, just follow the directions on the website) around 1:30 this Thursday the 1st. This is a great opportunity to hear an activist icon being interviewed in a non-mainstream- media setting. You can bet you’ll hear questions and answers you wouldn’t get anywhere else.

An activist poster of Davis from the 1970s(?)

From the Media@McGill press release:

“Oscar Grant was a young Black man returning home by way of the Fruitvale BART station after celebrating the New Year. This was the only excuse the cop needed to end Grant’s life execution-style. Maybe Oscar was too loud, too proud, too Black. Maybe he was too calm during the taunts of the police. Or maybe it was for nothing at all.”

Coming only days before the inauguration of Barack Obama – as the world’s media was proclaiming the dawn of a new “post-racial America” – the case of Oscar Grant demonstrated the depth and complexity of the relationship between media, race and power.

Renowned human rights activist Angela Davis will reflect on this issue in a Media@McGill / Beaverbrook public lecture entitled “Media, Race and Power: The Case of Oscar Grant”.

Angela Davis is an American political activist and university professor who was associated with the Black Panther Party for Self Defense and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Today, Davis continues to work for racial and gender equality, gay rights, and prison abolition and is a popular public speaker, nationally and internationally.

Thursday, October 1, 2009 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Room 132, Leacock Building, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec

There are few jobs in North America where exploitation of gender, race, and class intersect so sharply as in domestic work, where immigrant women from around the world labour in the homes of wealthy families in what are often dismal conditions: low wages, no security, fear of violence and deportation, and overwork. The situation of live-in caregivers (as they’re officially called by the state, erasing the fact that these women work, hard) in Canada briefly made headlines when MP Ruby Dhalla was accused of mistreating Magdalene Gordo and Richelyn Tongso. There has been a lot of academic and activist attention to the struggles of domestic workers in Canada, with groups calling for the elimination of the government program that capitalizes on historically undervalued work and the desperate economic situations of women around the world.

And so it is inspiring to read Lizzy Ratner’s article “The New Domestic Order,” a piece that describes the courage domestic workers in New York City have mustered to fight back against abuses and call for a Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights, which could be the first of its kind. Women are calling for “severance and overtime pay, advance notice of termination, one day off a week, holidays, healthcare and annual cost of living increases, among other fundamental rights.” Seems pretty basic, huh? Ratner’s article looks at the history of domestic workers’ struggles for rights in the US and outlines the global political economic conditions that compel so many women around the world to migrate to work in other women’s homes. The story is heartbreaking and exhilarating; well worth a read.

Federal election talk has settled down, and while many were grumbling about going back to the ballots, the right to vote on even a local level is not something everyone has access to.

In just Toronto, there are a quarter of a million people who can play, work, contribute to their communities and pay taxes — but cannot vote in municipal elections. These are permanent residents.

Meanwhile, Canadian citizens who own property but do not live in the city can vote, but permanent residents who do live in the city cannot.

The process of becoming a citizen takes a minimum of three years, but it usually takes much longer.

I Vote Toronto is a grassroots organization that was created in hopes of making community politics more inclusive, and is campaigning to extend municipal voting rights to permanent residents.

This isn’t a new idea. Thirty countries, including the U.S allow non-citizens to vote at a municipal level.

This brings new perspectives into considering whose issues election results reflect. This can soon be especially important in Hamilton, where some city councilors agree that entities who pay taxes and contribute to the community should have the right to vote — but they aren’t talking about permanent residents — they’re talking about corporations.

Those who are in favour of corporate voting think it would give businesses a more positive image to investors. And supporters argue that since businesses pay taxes, they should be entitled to vote.

What kind of message do you think this sends to newcomers? And what do you think about corporate voting versus voting rights for permanent residents?

Here’s something you Toronto readers may want to check out. It’s an art opening and also a screening of a film made by Jessica Yee, activist, community organizer, and Shameless blogger and contributor.

The Centre for Women’s Studies in Education and The Native Youth Sexual Health Network present:

Youth Resisting Colonialism and Rebuilding Pathways to Hope - A Film Screening and Art Exhibition

Monday, September 21st, 2009
OISE Building, 252 Bloor St. W., Room 2-212
6 pm to 9 pm (film @ 7 pm)

This event exhibits the work of youth reflecting their resistance to violence and colonialism through artistic expression.

The exhibit will be followed by a screening of Building a Highway of Hope, a documentary filmed and directed by Indigenous feminist activist Jessica Yee about the numerous disappearances and murders of Aboriginal women along Highway 16 in British Columbia, followed by a panel discussion featuring Jessica Yee of the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, Charlene Catchpole, Executive Director of the North York Women’s Shelter, and Tannis Nielsen, Artist and Youth Program Coordinator, Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

The exhibition will continue until October 2, 2009.

Light refreshments will be served. Venue is wheelchair accessible.
For more information contact the Centre for Women’s Studies in Education at: 416-978-2080 or cwse@oise.utoronto.ca

From the good folks at T.E.A.C.H.:

LOOKING FOR A GREAT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY? Be an Anti-Homophobia Warrior! Meet new people, learn new skills and fight homophobia.

VOLUNTEER WITH T.E.A.C.H. AT PLANNED PARENTHOOD TORONTO!

T.E.A.C.H. is recruiting youth volunteers ages 16-23 from diverse backgrounds who are lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer and straight to fight against discrimination and hate.

Teens Educating and Confronting Homophobia (T.E.A.C.H.) is a dynamic group of youth who facilitate anti-homophobia workshops in schools, community centres, shelters and group homes to challenge the myth and attitudes that lead to homophobia and discrimination.

(more inside…)

Check out this rad retreat happening in Manitoba this summer!

The Youth Activist Retreat is a free, five-day overnight camp that brings together activists aged 16-20. YAR is a great place to meet other young folks who are interested in social change and to learn new skills and ideas.

YAR 2009 is being held August 10th to 14th in Clearwater, Manitoba.

During the week of the retreat, participants will take part in workshops and other events to learn from other experienced activists about different political struggles and issues.

The retreat offers a variety of workshops to accommodate all levels of experience. Whether you just want to sit back and listen, or work with others to develop strategies for organizing, YAR is a great place to meet other youth who care about similar issues.

Workshops are taught by people who have experience working for social change, including organizers, activists, and artists.

Some of this year’s workshops will include Worker’s Rights and Unions, Anti-Racism, Colonization in Canada, Ecological Justice, Gender Oppression and Heterosexism, Direct Action, and many others. There will also be creative workshops offered on silk-screening, radio, puppet-making, and zines!

The retreat is completely free; all that is asked for is your time and commitment. Some travel subsidies are available for people who live outside of Winnipeg.

YAR is an anti-racist, LGBT*-positive event, and is wheelchair accessible.

Register early, because spots are filling up fast!

VISIT YAR’S WEBSITE FOR MORE INFO: http://youthactivistretreat.ca