A last goodbye

On a stone grey day in my grey Toyota, we are figures in somber black. My husband drives and two of my three children and our daughter’s partner are with me, too. We are on our way to Renfrew, Ontario for a wake. I am in the back seat, music in my headphones and trying to lose myself to sleep for a few minutes.

Ed, also called Eddie and Eddie-Jo, was my long ago teenage love, my former husband and the father of my first-born son, Jeremiah. Jeremiah who, Ed and I frequently agreed, inherited only our best qualities to become the exceptional person he is. Jeremiah who could not have been a better son to his father. A son who called to tell me the crushing news that his Dad had been found dead on December 4th in his apartment in Calgary. He was 63 years old.

It is tempting to adjust the past when someone dies in order to turn away from heartbreaking sadness. We reach around the truth to soften the ache. We are masters of selective memories, but only in honesty comes the honour and respect that lives that leave us merit.

Drug addiction ruled much of Ed’s life. It robbed him of much he wanted but could not sustain, and of much he deserved. Many times his addictions obscured our vision of him, too. Societally and individually, we missed the complexities, the beauty, the trauma and, yes, the relief that addiction must have delivered. Many times his addictions revealed too much to those who cared about him. But Ed was, as all people are, more than his addictions. He was a son, a father, a grandfather, a brother, a partner, a friend, and a fellow human being with his own stories, aspirations, and spirit.

Ed Gillett was a kind and modest man. In the days I knew him well, he was always willing to help another. Always a dreamer. An idealist with plans often grander than the means to make them come true. Our life together was a struggle, but often happy. Ed was a romantic, smart and funny, quick with one-liners. He loved music and owned a record store at one time. Much later, he roasted coffee beans in his own coffee shop. He was a fan of James Brown, Little Feat, and many other bands including Audience, whose House on the Hill CD we played on the drive back from his wake. He lived on the edge as a bicycle courier for many years.

Most notably, Ed loved Jeremiah with all his heart. He was proud of his son beyond measure and though Ed and I had not kept in touch since Jeremiah’s teen years, this was ultimately the tie that bound us. That, and the innocence of youth.

Rest in peace Ed.
You were loved.
Link to official obituary.

 

Advertisement

Canada 150? Just No!

Many Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people reject celebrating Canada 150. Nonetheless, the dominant narrative continues as stores overflow with red maple leaf merchandise to build our nationalistic fervor.

Do people even know exactly what it is they’re being asked to celebrate?
Are we considering that we are here because colonizers came to these shores and stole the land? Do we give a second thought to Canada’s responsibility for the genocide of Indigenous people?
What we are being told to celebrate this Canada Day is, in fact, a political event that took place 150 years ago when a group of white men in power – men responsible for the colonization and largely the genocide of Indigenous people, by the way – organized the Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia and New Brunswick to form the Dominion of Canada. To celebrate this, government is now spending more than a half a billion tax dollars.
Still, there’s talk about reconciliation with Indigenous people, but we are nowhere near making reparations.

Government continues to deny native treaty claims and it operates on unceded territory. It ignores rampant systemic poverty, limits freedoms through the Indian Act, and violates the basic human rights of First Nation, Inuit and Métis people.

Let’s consider how many of us were worried in the Prince Edward County recently about possible contamination of our drinking water when a barge sank in Picton bay. Meanwhile, over 100 First Nations communities live every day with ongoing lack of access to safe drinking water. This is just one example of the numerous injustices perpetrated on people whose land we stole and from which we’ve benefited enormously, and on which we continue to live and exploit. So when people say, “Can’t you just move on and enjoy this big confederation Canada 150 birthday bash?” I shake my head.

If we are serious about restitution and transforming our relationships with Indigenous people, we need to engage in decolonization, not just reconciliation. We need to remove the existing power imbalance. Colonization isn’t over. As Anishinaabe filmmaker, writer, and comedian Ryan McMahon contends, “it’s an on-going system and structure that negatively affects Indigenous peoples and, in turn, Canadians.”
McMahon has produced an insightful podcast for CBC radio called 12 Steps to Decolonizing Canada. Gathering friends to hear it on July 1^st may be a good way to mark the day.

Lastly, I fully appreciate that by sheer luck in the lottery of birth, I’m living on this beautiful land and I’m thankful for that good fortune, but celebrate Canada 150? Not happening!
As Pamela Palmeter, Mi’kmaw citizen of Eel River Bar First Nation wrote, “No amount of token showcasing of Indigenous art, songs or dances in Canada’s 150th celebration will stop the intergenerational pain and suffering, suicides, police abuse, sub-standard health care, housing and water, or the extinction of the majority of Indigenous languages.”
With that in mind, I will get together with like-minded friends on July 1st and we’ll be thinking about these issues as we stand on the land that the Canadian government stole. I hope others might reflect on that, too.

Art below is by Jay Soule at Chippawar.com

When capitalism spills into public space

A questions was asked on a community page on facebook recently in our small town that got a lot of people talking online. I eventually ventured in, but soon found that my point got lost as the thread lengthened and the content got heated. So rather than continue there, I decided to put my thoughts here.

The issue in the facebook post had to do with a for-profit café leasing and enclosing a portion of the outdoor area out front of the Picton branch of the public library, reducing the commonly held library space by about half.
Before I begin, let me say that I think public libraries are one of the most important resources any community can hold in common, and we have an exceptional one. I believe in the power of libraries for positive change to the extent that I devoted 10 years of my working life to the library here in the County, and I continue to use and support it.
As the discussion grew on the facebook thread, though, I found myself wondering how many of the people commenting were actually library users. Those who use the library as a hang out space, to use the free wifi outside and inside, or to get printing done, are just as much legitimate library users, by the way, as those who check out books. Those who rarely set foot in the library or never use its outside space, might ask themselves how they are supporting the library. In my mind, this all figures into the weight of opinions.
If people are just happy about the new patio because they can now enjoy a cool new spot to eat and drink, then perhaps consideration should be given to the implications for other folks who aren’t able to do so. And yes, people can still sit on the other side of the stairs out front of the library – I get that – but it’s not the same thing as being able to afford to sit and be served food and drink, and everyone knows it.

Also, I will repeat here what I said in my original facebook post; The Vic Café, which is the establishment that was approached by the library, has only done what any other business would have done if offered such an opportunity.
All this aside, the original point of my objection has to do with two things: public input and transparency regarding commonly held resources in our community, and the loss of public space, held in common, to the private sector.

When major changes such as the one in question are planned, ones that involve bringing in commercial interests into the public library, then formal community input should be sought. And whether through public meetings and/or surveys, it should invite those who are library users to have a say, especially those impacted by the change. This did not happen.
As well, the library has multiple platforms for communication such as their weekly library column in the local papers, monthly newsletter, facebook, twitter, etc. The deal cut between the library and the café should have, at the very least, been communicated in an open and timely fashion through these channels so that people could have voiced their support or opposition before the shovels hit the ground. Why did that not happen?
If such an opportunity for dialogue had taken place, creative ideas and options would have undoubtedly come forth. For example, not enclosing the space with a fence (my understanding is this has been done because a liquor license is being sought and that is a requirement for serving alcohol outdoors) for one business’s benefit, and instead creating an open patio where people could get coffee from anywhere in town and enjoy it at tables there. They might have created a children’s play area with a sandbox (which was a brilliant idea the library implemented outside last year), or outlining a little stage area for local musicians and outdoor performances. I’m sure people could come up with many other, and better, ideas. Certainly if this opportunity to engage the community had been given, much of the hard feelings and division that came through on facebook would have been lessened, if not eliminated.
To my second point, common spaces such as library property that are free from the intrusion of the almighty dollar, are important to building thoughtful and caring communities that welcome everyone, including those who may not have money or who may already experience social exclusion.
Many voices on the facebook thread,  I think it’s worth noting, did welcome the café on library space. Most of them were people that come from a place of privilege. Some were people I know personally. Social status – and I don’t only mean from money though that often goes hand-in-hand – holds a lot of power. One way it manifests itself is to dismiss other people’s concerns because they don’t affect the privileged personally. And power reveals itself in myriad other ways, including people being confident enough to express themselves in writing in open forums. In that respect, I acknowledge my own privilege.
But back to the issue itself, and possible ways at this time that the situation might be addressed justly. One action would be an assurance from the library’s board that measures will be put in place so any major changes similar to this one regarding public library space will involve community input in the future. Additionally, that once those changes are about to happen, even after public consultation, there will be advance notice in media of what’s coming.
Secondly, that people can sit in this café space, under the tree that’s the only shade available right now out front, without having to spend money.  I’ve been told this may be allowed to happen. I’m curious to see how that will be put into practice…signs saying “Public seating, all welcome”?
Thirdly, that some type of shade is made possible on the non-café side, maybe by erecting a sun shelter of some sort.
Lastly, though the County is certainly a beautiful place to live with a lot of great things going for it, can we start to publicly acknowledge and do something about the economic and social divide that’s growing in our community? This is something many people don’t want to see, and definitely not on Main Street. Lack of affordable housing, food insecurity, limited well paying, year round jobs, are all things we should be addressing. Some may ask, “What does that have to do with this issue? Well, a lot actually if we start to look at the bigger picture.
I’ve now disengaged from the facebook thread, but if anyone wants to talk about how we might organize ourselves for a better community for all of us, the importance of the commons, equality, power, or any such fun topics, I’m up for that. Maybe we’ll run into each other at the library, or can meet up at the community gardens or at a Food Not Bombs free community meal in the park.

I’ve been profiled…on radio

Lynn Pickering at 99.3 county fm asked to interview me for their County Profiles and this is it.

Drifting on a Christmas Eve

This is a short story I wrote a few years ago about a time when I lived in Toronto. For the past three years, it’s been told on 99.3 County FM radio as part of their seasonal stories broadcast. I edited it slightly since then and thought I should put it down in writing somewhere to share.

Jwaye Nwel and/or warmest winter wishes,
Christine

Drifting on a Christmas Eve
The rooming house has expelled all of the familiar comings and goings, all the voices and footsteps of its inhabitants and their yuletide pursuits. The homesick college students, the old artist, and the part time bartender and sometime busker have all skipped town like thieves in the night. There is only me and the room breathing in time to the blinking of the Christmas lights in my window.

I have a small tree keeping me company. It is an evergreen that smells of the forest and defies the rule about real trees in the house. On the window ledge, I have reassuring holiday greetings in cards from far away family and friends. The room is otherwise stingy with its comfort. The heat has been intermittent today as so often happens. I put on extra socks and pad downstairs to the kitchen for tea. Our house cat, small and grey, sleeps on her favourite paint splattered chair.

Snow is falling outside, spotlighted by the yellow glow of the back porch bulb. As I stir my tea, I think that maybe I will go to my new city friend’s Christmas Eve party after all.

I take the subway and a streetcar to her place following detailed handwritten directions she’d given me at work. I bring a little something for her tree. It is a Christmas ball that I shaped from neatly cut strips of a recycled card. Glittery gold and red, and wrapped in tissue, it fits in my pocket where I cradle it like an egg in the warmth of my mitt.

My friend lives in a tall building. There is a doorman, also tall. The foyer is a replica of a  decorating magazine cover and smells faintly of perfume and leather from the sleek sofa. Towering in the corner, a majestic white Christmas tree stands sentry. The doorman walks to the glass topped reception desk and buzzes my friend’s apartment, announcing my arrival on the intercom. He smiles weakly at me and goes back to reading the open pages of his Toronto Sun newspaper.

Twelve floors up I find a peephole on #1204 that is partially concealed by a wreath made of pink feathers. It reminds me of a hat in an old Hollywood movie.

My friend greets me before I knock. She is all sparkles and smiles. I am introduced. Someone takes my coat. I venture tentatively into the festivities. I eat savory spreads on oblong crackers and kalamata olives. I drink wine the colour of the hostess’s dress while rootless conversations drift around the room. Words skim the breathtaking view of the city, black and glittering as a starlet’s sequined dress. The sentences weave and dip into the apartment’s arched alcoves, through to the dining room and into the gleaming kitchen where they meet voices and laughter that mingle with ice cubes clattering in half empty glasses.

There is a polished grand piano, but no one plays. Jazz standards and Christmas carols by crooners underlie conversations. A grey haired man drinks too much and an embarrassed woman steers him down the long hallway. A cocktail is spilled and my friend rushes with a tea towel and club soda to save the rug. There is a solitary young girl at the party. She looks about 6 years old and is wearing a lime green party dress with matching tights. Curled in a chair, she is already dreaming. An hour after I arrive, I leave.

Downstairs the doorman is wrapping a scarf around his neck preparing for the end of his shift. We leave at the same time and walk together to the streetcar stop, leaning into the unforgiving wind. After the usual exchange of banalities about the weather, he tells me that he is anxious to get home to his wife and daughter. His little girl has decorated their flat, and she has strung the longest green and red paper chain he’s ever seen he says, chuckling. It is an especially joyful night because his mother has just arrived from Haiti. A shared midnight supper is planned after decorating the tree.

The streetcar rattles on and squeals on the tracks as it makes its way. My stop is next. I withdraw my tissue wrapped decoration, still intact in my pocket, and give it to him. I wish I knew how to say Merry Christmas in Haitian Creole.

Back in my room, snow is falling outside my window. The cat walks on the window ledge and knocks over my cards. I reach out and lift the little ball of fur into my arms and we curl up for a sleep together. The room is still breathing. Tomorrow I go home.

 

Feeding Groups for Change – Workshop in Toronto

Laura Severinac is a great new friend thanks to an introduction from our mutual friend, Hri. It all started when Greenpeace held a strategising session in Prince Edward County this past summer and Laura, who worked with the NGO, needed local, vegan, gluten-free catering for the group. Hri connected us and I happily provided that! That led Laura to invite me to host a workshop on feeding large groups for Tools for Change, based on my catering and involvement with Food Not Bombs.

I was thrilled for the invitation! I love feeding people, cooking, and sharing my passion for food, especially in relation to social justice work and movement building. Laura and I share that passion.
Despite the fact that we chose November 1st, the day after Halloween to hold the workshop, and we had to “fall back” with the time change (note to self, check calendar carefully when choosing dates), people came out and we all had a great event at the United Steelworkers Hall in Toronto.
In addition to discussing the importance of food to our social movements, we talked about community building, sustenance, caring for each other and self care as we work. We came up with menus, talked about challenges, and we made and ate delicious food together.
In talking about the great donations our Food Not Bombs collective often receives, we touched on what to do with a ton of bread, and my recipe for savoury vegan bread pudding came up. People were interested and asked for it. It’s here.

We also had fun making fresh spring rolls – an excellent choice when feeding a crowd for a number of reasons: rice paper wrappers are inexpensive / you can make use of small donations that are not enough to feed a crowd but could be split up a bit in each roll / they can be filled with all types of fillings / gluten-free / you can make them ahead and keep fresh under a damp towel (or get people involved in making them) / and you don’t need plates or forks to eat them!
A Thai peanut sauce for dipping is essential with these, in my opinion. The group thought so, too, so I’ve included the dipping sauce recipe here. It’s also delicious in rice bowls.

Of course, I learned a lot at the workshop as well. My take-away was not about recipes or logistics of food preparation, though. It was the further evidence that we have a lot of work to do in relation to food justice. When, for example, a worker is expected to run an after school program to feed 40 children with $25, but the powers that control this assert that all the food has to come only from a specific grocery store chain and that no homemade food can be brought in, we need to organize to change that. When government social services don’t give people enough money to feed themselves properly, when food banks require people to justify their need for food and show ID and financial information to access food, and when children are going to school undernourished while grocery stores are full of food – not to mention throwing out perfectly good food – these are systemic problems that we need to organize around and change.

Food is a right, not a privilege. Feeding ourselves, feeding others, feeding our communities, both with food and with the caring intentions these acts bring – can be life changing. I look forward to more opportunities to share collective knowledge, experiences and, of course, delicious food!

A heartfelt thank you to Laura and Tools for Change for inviting me to do this, and to everyone who came out.

Yours in struggle for food justice,
Christine

Macdonald statue a gift?

The Sir John A. Macdonald statue being unveiled on Canada Day 2015 on Picton’s Main Street is said to be a gift to Prince Edward County. Whether one thinks so or not, we will see it everyday as we walk downtown. My only hope is that it will be a reminder of more than intended.
I hope it sheds light on Macdonald’s racism and colonialism, and provides an opportunity to reflect on the tragic truth. I hope it is a reminder of the inhumane treatment of indigenous people under Macdonald and his government, the results of which live on to this day.
Many say that John A. was simply a man of his time, when racism was common (as it tragically remains today), but I’m not willing to allow this excuse to gloss over the atrocities. While it’s important to examine both good and bad in the past, I reject venerating the man largely responsible for this darkest part of our history. History, in fact, that has been recognized by the recently released Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report as cultural genocide.
The TRC report provides horrific evidence that the legacy of residential schools, under Macdonald as Minister of Indian Affairs, was a key element in the government-led genocide.
In Clearing the Plains – Disease, Politics of Starvation and the loss of Aboriginal Life, the award-winning and meticulously researched book by Charles Daschuk, we learn that Macdonald was responsible for the systematic starving of indigenous people to advance his vision of Canada. “The strategy was cruel but effective,” writes Daschuk. “The government was unapologetic for its use of starvation to complete the occupation of reserves…”
When indigenous people of the Plains dared to resist, punishment by Macdonald’s government was swift. Hangings were made public and John A. “acknowledged the political importance of the executions, which,” Daschuk writes, quoting Macdonald, “ought to convince the Red Man that the White Man governs.” Residential school students were brought to witness the hangings to drive the point home.
Macdonald’s white supremacist stance extended to his exploitation of the over 17,000 Chinese people whose labour built the railways. Macdonald justified taking their right to vote from them or anyone “of Mongolian or Chinese race” in the Electoral Franchise Act, a move he later called “my greatest achievement.”
Prize winning historian and University of Ottawa professor Timothy J. Stanley wrote that Macdonald believed, “Chinese exclusion was necessary…” and that if they could vote, “they might enforce those Asiatic principles, those immoralities . . . the eccentricities which are abhorrent to the Aryan race and Aryan principles, on this House.” Yes, he said Aryan race.
For all the political successes credited to him, Macdonald remains far too flawed to be celebrated, much less honoured with a statue. Power and money rule, however, and a statue we will have. My hope is that we can at least use it to present and learn from historical realities as we strive to build a better world.

Dig New Ground to Uproot Hunger

So much good work and sincere effort goes into trying to alleviate food insecurity and other social conditions that result in living precarious lives, yet attacking the root of the problem seems lost in our unending efforts and good intentions.

Food banks, food drives, community suppers, temporary shelters, social assistance – these can be helpful and even lifesaving for people, but they are unfortunately bandaid solutions that will be permanent fixtures until we deal with why people are in need. For the most part, the answer is actually pretty simple. It’s because people do not have enough money.

This denial of financial security, and the resulting lack of access to healthy food and adequate housing, not to mention impeding one’s opportunities, will continue as surely as death if we allow the very economic system that creates poverty to prevail. This is why I believe we need to target the root of the problem.

And how might we do that?

First, let’s face facts. Unequal distribution of wealth is a created reality, not a natural one. There are, in fact, enough resources for everyone. When stores and restaurants are full of food, no one should be hungry. When properties are vacant, no one should be without a home or sleeping on the street.

Some solutions are maddeningly evident if the will were there to implement them. Within the existing system – as imperfect as it is – would be a guaranteed income for all. Realistically though, this could come and go, as do political promises and many government programs (as happened with Mincom, a successful GI program in the 1970s that ended with a change of government). Another solution would be to raise the minimum wage to a living one. Another would be raising Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support Payments, rates which we know are so low that they keep people in poverty.

I contend, however, that we need to expand our thinking beyond these and the current paradigm, including a shift of power to workers and creating different economic systems and relations. This is the only way long-term social change can happen – by organizing society differently.

Dismantling for-profit corporations and halting the increasing commodification of almost every need and interaction in our lives, as well as ending the financialization of the commons, would be good starting points. Creating worker managed and operated businesses, fostering cooperation rather than competition, focusing on providing needs-based products, free sharing of resources and exchange of services – these are all ideas that could help break the endless cycles of poverty and inequality. We could do that in our community.

Platitudes about equality, democracy, and justice are just that if we continue with what we are doing. If we are serious about creating a better world, we can’t accept working within systems of oppressive power and inequality just because we try to do it with as much decency as possible. Those systems need to be confronted and dismantled while we build alternatives.

New issue of Upfront Alternatives for November

Here’s the re-edited version of the November 2014 Upfront Alternatives upfront newsletter nov 3

Hope you enjoy it and please write if you have any comments.

Christine

Last meal in the Park….moving to the Picton Town Hall

 

Summer like weather was the backdrop for our last free Food Not Bombs Meal in Benson Park for this year, but never fear! The meals and other FNB community fun continues as we   move inside to the Picton Town Hall until it’s warm enough to get back outside.
Come celebrate the first free tasty meal at the hall, above the Picton Firehall on Wednesday, October 15 from 5:30 to 7p.m.  We should have some free food to take away, too.
And one week later, on Wednesday, October 22nd at the same time, it’s the first FNB Clothes Swap! Bring some stuff to swap or just come take some new-to-you clothes home. We’re hoping people with kids will bring stuff to share…winter’s just around the corner, so snowsuits and such would be great.

Until then, if you want to contact us, e-mail: pec.foodnotbombs@gmail.com or join the FNB group on facebook  https://www.facebook.com/groups/705361676201850/ and like the FNB community page  https://www.facebook.com/groups/705361676201850/

You can follow this blog, too, for photos of events and news, including an announcement for a fundraiser…stay tuned!