2017 is over. Almost. Give yourselves a pat on the back everyone, we’ve somehow managed to make it through another year. And what a year it’s been. (You know what they say, no rest for the weary, so don’t forget to head over to our Activist Toolkit to figure out how you can continue to, ahem, not rest.) But for those of you who, like me, need a bit of a memory jog before we enter the new year and reflect, reassess, and resist… let’s recap.
January: The day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as U.S. President, millions of women took to the streets to protest misogyny, sexism, racism, and all intersecting forms of oppression and violence. Our very own Samaah Jaffer spoke at the Vancouver Women’s March. Read her remarks here. Read Tessa Vikander on how Black and trans folks were frustrated by lack of inclusivity in the Vancouver march here. And read my own thoughts from the Washington, D.C. march here.
February: (Well, the end of January really.) Six men were murdered by a white nationalist in a violent attack at the Islamic Centre in Quebec City. Read about how in the aftermath of the attack, Muslims across Quebec and Canada reported heightened levels of fear.
March: We at rabble didn’t hesitate to stand up to Islamophobic violence and racist organizing in Canada. In March, rabble launched the #stophateca campaign to document hateful acts and engage folks in the anti-racist organizing. Since then, rabble has published 36 stories with the hashtag. Read them here.
April: Earth Day certainly isn’t the only day you should care about the environment, as David Suzuki’s blog reminds us each week. This April, Suzuki marched for science and reaffirmed the importance of the struggle for environmental justice. Read about Washington, D.C.’s March on Science and how collective action can save the planet.
May: The question of whether activism and journalism can go together is one that rabble rousers don’t lose much sleep over. Not so for the mainstream media establishment. Read John Miller’s tale of two columnists, the story of Desmond Cole’s decision to leave the Toronto Star, here. And find out how all of us at rabble are doing our part to centre activist-invigorated journalism here.
Also in May, Sarah Miller reflected on the B.C. elections. Full disclosure, she voted for the NDP, read about why here.
June: Let us not forget about Canada’s foreign policy decisions. Foreign policy seems to be the realm where hypocrisy looms large, thanks to that good ol’ Liberal doublespeak. Read about how Justin Trudeau’s foreign policy is reminiscent of Stephen Harper, and why (and how) Canada needs to do more to help the global refugee crisis. (You can talk the talk while running in exactly the other direction, apparently).
July: This year was Canada’s 150th colonial birthday. But not everyone was celebrating.
Indigenous communities uncelebrated the country’s unbirthday with a focus on unsettling Canada. Read about how members of the Okanagan-Syilx Nation led the Rethink 150 collective to remind everyone of the country’s history of colonial oppression and violence.
Also in July, the Ontario government finally committed resources to the tune of $85 million to clean up the mercury in the Grassy Narrows river system, where the Grassy Narrows First Nation and the nearby Whitedog First Nation have been fighting for years against environmental racism, government negligence, and the intergenerational effects of Canada’s colonial legacies.
(Oh yeah, and Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature…)
August: In Charlottesville, Virginia, members of the far-right gathered for the “Unite the Right” protest. When a car ploughed into a crowd of anti-racist activists, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others, Nora Loreto reported that many were reminded of the rise of terrorist attacks involving vehicles. But the incident also reminded workers of the routine danger they face while walking a picket line. Read about the labour movement’s anti-fascist roots here, and access more of our Charlottesville coverage here.
September: The race for the leadership of the New Democratic Party was a hot topic across rabble this September. Why did it matter? Read Dennis Gruending’s take on the election.
October: In a big win for the tireless activists, Indigenous communities, and grassroots groups on the frontline of the fight for climate justice, the TransCanada Energy East pipeline was shut down. Hear voices from that fight here. Then head over to Andrea Harden-Donahue’s blog to read about how misogyny and anti-environmentalist campaigning go hand in hand.
And importantly, read about the watershed #metoo movement here.
November: The best blog headline this year (“The real pirates of the Caribbean”) is awarded to Ed Finn, who glares down the three thousand Canadian entities named in the “Paradise Papers,” the name given to a leak of documents revealing the extent of transnational tax evasion using offshore tax havens. It’s not pretty, but you should read about it here.
December: Despite the government’s release of its much anticipated National Housing Strategy, the country’s housing and homelessness crisis remains largely unaddressed. Especially in urban centres like Toronto, where all three levels of government continue to fail the city’s homeless population by ignoring requests to open the federal armouries and expanding inadequate, volunteer-run programs instead of instituting meaningful change. Read Cathy Crowe’s take on how the city is failing its homeless population.
Phewf! That’s all folks. Well, that’s not all. A whole lot of other stuff happened that somehow couldn’t make it in here, not for lack of significance or impact. Help us remember by commenting below. And Happy New Year, everyone! On to the next.
Sophia Reuss is rabble.ca’s assistant editor.
Image: Instagram/michelle_crowe
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