Making the Move from Ally to Accomplice – June 22nd!

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Public Library (or online live stream) for the first talk in our monthly series, Titillating Talks: Everything you were told was not polite to talk about!

Wednesday, June 22nd at 7:30pm, in-person at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library & online

Making the Move from Ally to Accomplice: Trans Inclusion

Featuring:

Celeste Turner (they/them) – LGBTQ2+ Support Coordinator, Niagara Falls Community Health Centre

Stephanie Vail (she/her) – Community Health Worker from Rainbow Niagara 2SLGBTQ+ Services at Quest Community Health Centre

Doors for the in-person option open at 7pm at the NOTL Public Library (10 Anderson Ln, Niagara-on-the-Lake).

Can’t make it in person? Join us online! The event will be livestreamed NOTL Public Library Facebook Page & NOTL Public Library Youtube Channel. Online comments will be monitored so virtual guests have the opportunity to have their questions answered by presenters.

Accessibility & Questions

  • If you have questions or need any additional support to attend or watch this event, please email dkrause@notlpl.org.

  • This event will be video recorded, and live transcription/ subtitles will be available.

  • If you want to attend in-person, and need to take transit, find information about NRT OnDemand transit here.

Titillating Talks is part of the Niagara Skills Network Community Toolbox Series, and is organized by the following community partners:

Aging & Attention Study Looking for Participants

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Aging & the Control of Attention

Unit 1 member, Emily Davis is a Ph.D. student in the psychology department and is working on some interesting research!

Working with Principle Investigator, Dr. Karen Campbell, Emily is running an in-person experiment in the Neurocognitive Aging Lab here on campus. They are looking to recruit students aged 18-28 for a two-hour session. During the session, students are asked to complete some computer tasks that measure their ability to control their attention.

Class credit (if an option) or a $10 honorarium is offered as compensation for your time.

If you are interested, please contact: Ron 905-688-5550 ext 4996 or email brockcnalab@brocku.ca with “ATTENTION STUDY” in the subject line.

Summer School for Activists Workshop Series

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Coming in summer 2022! The goal of this summer school workshop series is for community members in Niagara to come together to co-facilitate and learn together. At no cost community members can participate in as many as they want, drop into a single session, or volunteer to facilitate a workshop on a skill they want to share.

Email Kate at k8sp@proton.me to chat about getting involved, to share an idea, or with any questions!

Workshop Ideas Form PDF: workshop idea form

About the series PDF: Get involved in summer school for activists!

Upcoming Committee Meetings

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Bylaw Committee Meeting

Tues, June 21st 2022 at 5:30pm

We will be holding a hybrid  Bylaw Committee meeting to begin the process of working through the bylaws.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0td-CgrzMtHdzFbjrg02bXNxxLNvEvySkn

 

Mobilizing and Organizing Committee Meeting

Wed, June 22nd 2022 at 4pm

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwod-mtpzkiHNd3LxupkR7xhTjpG5OPf-Wb

 

Environmental Justice Committee Meeting

Thurs, Jun 23rd, 2022 at 5:30pm

The Environmental Justice Committee will be having its first meeting of the term. We will be electing co-chairs and a member-at-large, and engage in a strategic planning session to identify the goals that we want to accomplish for the term. Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUodeCgqjMjHtGrdVUE45X7KD9khJV-mtE0

 

After registering, you receive a confirmation email with additional information about the meeting you’re registering for.

 

 

Abortion is Healthcare

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Message from Tracy Kennedy – Health, Safety, & Wellness Officer 

Good Morning 4207 Members,

I am sharing the media release that the CUPE Ontario Executive Committee released yesterday.

As Co-Chair of the CUPE Ontario Women’s Committee and CUPE 4207 Health, Safety, & Wellness Officer, I want you to know that there have been discussions about the implications of what is going on in the United States with Roe vs Wade. Indeed, this information leak has created quite the ripple & wave across North America.

We support women’s right to choose, and if they choose to do so, they have the right to safe abortions. The Ford government has demonstrated their standpoint about women, their rights, and their bodies – it’s problematic.

We can’t continue to let this happen to women’s bodies and to women’s rights….We aren’t going to let this happen…

Call upon the Ford government to put healthcare funding and resources for women where it’s needed, rather than support patriarchal laws that disempower women and put them at risk of duress, harm and death. Let’s call upon the Ontario government to do better – and to lead by example.

Tracy

CUPE Ontario Media Release:

“Abortion is healthcare”: CUPE Ontario’s statement on Roe v. Wade and the fight for reproductive justice everywhere

In the face of news out of the United States that Roe v. Wade could be overturned, CUPE Ontario sends a message of solidarity to outraged and frightened allies south of the border.

We know that such a decision will unnecessarily endanger the lives of so many, with one recent analysis warning that a total abortion ban in the United States would increase pregnancy-related deaths by 21%. We know that would disproportionately impact Black, Indigenous, racialized, and low-income people most of all. We know that this is the time to loudly say that “abortion is healthcare” and that “you can’t ban abortion – you can only ban safe abortion.”

And we also know that our solidarity is rooted in a shared struggle – the struggle over reproductive justice that crosses borders, however different we might think things are here.

Though abortion has been legal in Canada since 1988, it has never been equally nor fully accessible. Most abortion services are concentrated in cities, with Ontario having only four rural clinics offering these critical services. Some clinics or hospitals have limits on how far into the pregnancy they’ll perform an abortion at, forcing people, especially in rural areas, to secure lengthy and costly transportation to urban clinics.

In some parts of the country, you have to pay out of pocket for an abortion, a violation of the Canada Health Act. And in others, due to stigma and underfunding, abortion pills will not be prescribed.

Today, it’s not lost on us that in this provincial election, now in full swing, the Ford Conservatives include eight anti-choice candidates.

Instead of assuring us that Ontario won’t follow the lead of provinces which do not fund abortions in private clinics, forcing many between impossible choices, the Ford Conservatives have avoided important questions.

Instead of committing to ensuring access to safe abortions in rural regions, Doug Ford has said: “We’re not changing anything in Ontario. We’re keeping it exactly the same.”

The status quo isn’t good enough. It’s not good enough because full access to a safe abortion has never been the reality here in Canada. And it’s not good enough because, with the rapid erosion of reproductive rights in the United States, standing still on either side of the border could mean losing ground.

OPIRG Brock’s 2022 Updates!

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Hi friends of OPIRG Brock! This email has important info around 2022 Memberships, our Annual Feedback Survey + Raffle, and updating your email preferences with us- please read to the end!

 

Renew or sign up for your OPIRG Brock membership for 2022-2023!

For all current OPIRG Brock members, your 2021-2022 Membership has been extended until now! As we have changed our membership duration period, going forward, memberships must be renewed on May 1st of each year and will run until April 30th of the next year.

To renew your OPIRG Brock membership OR to become a new member for the 2022-2023 year, please fill out the 2022 Membership Form. More details about membership period, membership types, and perks can be found on this form!

*NEW!* OPIRG Brock members now have the option to automatically renew their membership each year! If you choose this option on the application, you will be automatically opted in to an OPIRG Brock membership, and you will be sent a request for payment on the May 1st renewal date, based on the payment option you selected on the form.

Annual Feedback Survey + Raffle!

Fill out our Annual Feedback Survey with your suggestions and feedback! If you complete the survey by June 1st @ 5pm, you qualify for an OPIRG Brock raffle prize. To be entered for the draw, we will need an email to reach you at – this email can be anonymous and does not have to be linked to any identifying information.

Update Your Email Preferences!

To make sure you are only getting the emails from us you are interested in, please update your email preferences here!

Steps to update:
1. Click the link above or at the footer of this email.
2. This will take you to a page where you will confirm that you want to update your email preferences with us.
3. Click “Email me a link” and you will be sent an email with the link to update!

Here you can choose whether you want to receive emails (or not) around our General Newsletter, volunteer opportunities, the Niagara Free Store, special events, and more!

Mark our emails as safe/not spam!

Due to recent security updates across multiple email platforms, our team has noticed that our emails may be going to spam folders or flagged as unsafe. To address this issue please add info@opirgbrock.com and communication@opirgbrock.com to your contacts under the name “OPIRG Brock”. As a backup, please check your spam folders regularly! 

Thanks!
The team at OPIRG Brock

Asian Heritage Month & Jewish Heritage Month

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Today is the start of Asian Heritage Month.

This month is an opportunity for all Canadians to learn more about the many achievements and contributions of Canadians of Asian descent who, throughout our history, have done so much to make Canada the amazing country we share today….

 

 

May is Jewish Heritage Month in Canada. National Jewish Heritage Month is a great opportunity to learn about the impact of Jewish heritage in communities across the country, and to appreciate the significant contributions made by Jewish Canadians Jewish Federations of Canada.

via CUPE 7575

International Solidarity Virtual Forum

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International Solidarity Virtual Forum

Tuesday, April 26, 2022
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

All Welcome to attend!

Russia-Ukraine war: What labour and progressive movement must do against war and militarization?

Refugee rights: How to organize against racist and xenophobic double standards towards asylum seekers and refugees

Speakers:

  • Sakura Saunders, Member of the Board of Directors of World BEYOND War, co-founder of the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, Environmental justice organizer and Indigenous solidarity activist.
  • Yves Engler, Political Activist, Author of twelve books; Fellow and a founder of Canadian Foreign Policy Institute
  • Farid C. Partovi, Chair, CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee

Moderator: Lisa Skeete, President, CUPE Toronto District Council, CUPE 4400, CUPE Ontario Executive Board and International Solidarity Committee Member

Register here: https://bit.ly/3MeXscQ

Organized by CUPE Ontario International Solidarity Committee