By Tammy Lee

On the early evening of January 28th protestors gathered outside of the Grand Valley Institution for Women (GVI), a federal prison in Kitchener, ON. Approximately 30 people came out to show their support for the women inside, and to draw attention to the ongoing abuse at the institution, which in recent months has garnered substantial media attention in the wake of a drugs-for-sex scandal.

On the weekend of February 8th, London, Ontario is hosting a Prisoners Justice Film Festival. The wide ranging festival features short films and presentations on topics that are problematic with how humans are treated when they are forced into government detention.

On Friday, February 8th, the focus is on Queer, Trans, and 2 Spirit perspectives. This evening will have 5 films shown, and also will contain presentations from speakers who work with people who face discrimination within the Prison Industrial Complex. The event will be held at the Central Library (251 Dundas) starting at 7pm.

On Saturday, February 9th, the location shifts to Old East Studios (755 Dundas), and will begin at 1pm. There will be 3 different series presented on this day, starting with films based on Immigration and Indigenous people, and the state violence that is perpetuated against them. 5 films will be shown in this segment, which is hosted by No One Is Illegal London.

By Kelly Pflug-Back

Editor's Note: On July 19, Kelly Pflug-Back was sentenced to 11 months, plus time served, for her participation in the Toronto G20 counter-summit demonstrations. Kelly is an amazing organizer, writer, poet, musician and comrade.

Please write to Kelly at:

Kelly Pflug-Back
Vanier Centre for Women
P.O. Box 1040
655 Martin Street
Milton, Ontario
L9T 5E6 Canada

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June 27, 2010, was uncharacteristically overcast for mid-summer Toronto. My head pounded from the humidity as I walked alone down Queen Street, through a cityscape teeming with riot police, and still dusted with shards of broken glass from the day before. Construction crews had already set to work repairing the trail of wreckage, attempting to get everything back to normal before anyone noticed.

Republished from Ideas and Action:

Julio Rodriguez, a stalwart comrade of ours from Los Angeles, has been held in prison since Saturday under threat of immediate deportation. We will not let another one of our brothers be kidnapped from us by the racist state!

Julio is an anarchist youth organizer with the Youth Justice Coalition and RiseUp LA, radical groups that run out of Chuco’s Justice Center in Inglewood, CA. He is a student at Free LA High School at Chuco’s where he is studying to get his GED. Julio is prominent in the LA punk scene, organizing and promoting DIY shows, and encouraging the politicization and education of kids in the scene.

23 year old filmmaking student Nadim Fateh was born in Cairo,Egypt and moved to Toronto in his early life. After making it onto the Toronto Police's top 40 'wanted' list for his alleged role in the fiery G20 protests, he spent the last spring and summer in Cairo, Athens, and Madrid, participating and documenting the revolutionary movements there before becoming a part of Occupy Toronto.

When did you go back to Egypt?

I went back May of 2011 so everything had pretty much died down there but it wasn't really focused much on the actual revolution but the things that not many people were focusing on which is the post-revolution, that liquid state, that liquid area we don't usually talk about.

Was there much of an occupation when you went to Tahrir?

34 year old architect ALI MIKKAWA was an active participant in the Egyptian uprising. He helped organize demonstrations and to establish the initial sit-in in Tahrir square. In December 2010, Linchpin conducted the following interview with Ali.

What were the first protests or meetings that you got involved with in Egypt?

I got involved with the Kefaya protests that started seven years ago. This movement was the first to take to the streets to protest against the long rule of Mubarak and it stands for “Enough”. The movement started to gain momentum slowly but surely... and I really got engaged later when [former IAEA head] Mohammed El Baradei returned to Egypt. From that point onwards I was more active campaigning for his One Million Signature campaign to change the constitution.

How did you and others build these protests under such intense police repression?

23 year old filmmaking student NADIM FATEH was born in Cairo, Egypt and moved to Toronto in his early life. After making it onto the Toronto Police’s “top 40 wanted list” for his alleged role in the fiery G20 protests, he spent the last spring and summer in Cairo, Athens, and Madrid, participating and documenting the revolutionary movements there before becoming a part of Occupy Toronto.

34 year old architect ALI MIKKAWA was an active participant in the Egyptian uprising. He helped organize demonstrations and to establish the initial sit-in in Tahrir square.

Both Nadim and Ali spoke with Linchpin separately.

Read Nadim's full interview
Read Ali's full interview

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What were the first protests or meetings that got you involved with events in Egypt?

Following the June 2010 G20 summit in Toronto, a wave of repression came down on anarchists and anti-authoritarians in Southern Ontario. Ryan Rainville was one of those arrested and held in jail for three months before being released into house arrest at a Native men's residence in Toronto called Sagatay.

Throughout his court proceedings, Ryan proudly proclaimed his anarchist values and defended the use of property destruction during anti-capitalist protests that weekend to disrupt the economy.

Ryan eventually plead guilty to three counts of Mischief Over $5000 and Breach of Peace. On October 31st, 2011 with at least a dozen supporters present, Ryan made the following statement to the court.

- Guelph Anarchist Black Cross (http://guelphprisonersolidarity.wordpress.com)

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Article and videos from the Rally Against Police Violence, and the Forum on Police Violence, Incarceration and Alternatives, held in Ottawa in mid-March 2011.

Videos produced by M-Media for Common Cause Ottawa

Ottawa Rally Against Police Violence - March 15, 2011

by Krishna Bera, Tara Lyons & Greg Macdougall

On 15 March 2011, about 75 people demonstrated against police violence in downtown Ottawa, marking the International Day Against Police Brutality. This was the first year an event was held in Ottawa, taking the lead from the annual march in Montreal that started in 1997. Toronto and Halifax also saw marches commemorating the day this year, while Winnipeg held one the following Saturday.

By Devin K.

Hamilton Police Services and the Police Service board are currently attempting to force the city to approve a near 5% ($6.2 million) budget increase. The current process began after city council initially refused the proposed police budget and requested that it be scaled back and re-worked, with budget increases limited to inflation - a call made to all city boards and agencies, but ignored by the cops.

Year after year the police’s cut has consistently gotten fatter, despite a falling crime rate and with little deliberation at city hall. The primary motive behind this year’s increase is simply the cops giving themselves a raise – salary and benefit increases make up 4.41% of the 5%. This is particularly heinous within the context of a province wide wage freeze for public sector workers and the cost cutting other city agencies like hospitals have been forced to undertake.