Show Up Toronto - August 19, 2025
Hello friends and neighbours,
Happy Tuesday! After our protracted heat wave the last two weeks I hope you're enjoying the cooler winds. If you are joining the newsletter from this past weekend's Civic Spark conference: welcome! The newsletter is not normally this long, but I have to talk about the Air Canada strike. Feel free to skip to events listings below the preamble.
I was expecting to use today's newsletter to call out the emergency rallies and phone banking sessions being organized in support of the Air Canada strike, but I woke up this morning to the news that a tentative agreement had been reached by the union and Air Canada, and that the strike is off. If you haven't been following the story, the broad strokes are:
- The Air Canada union (part of CUPE) had been negotiating with management for literally months to come to a new collective bargaining agreement to end unpaid work. Flight attendants are only paid for the portion of the flight when the plane doors are closed, and all the work they do during boarding/deplaning, safety training, delays, and so on is unpaid, which adds up to an average of 35 hours of unpaid work a week. This meant flight attendants are often barely making minimum wage and have to take second or third jobs and use food banks to subsist.
- After negotiations broke down, the union voted overwhelmingly (99.7% in support with 96.4% participation) to strike, and walked off the job at 1am this past Saturday. Less than 12 hours later, the federal Labour Minister and the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) intervened to order the union back to work, with a fine of up to $1,000 a day per union member who defies the order. As the union points out: snow storms have delayed Air Canada flights longer than the union was allowed to strike.
- CUPE National president Mark Hancock tore up the order (literally) and said he'd rather go to jail than order his members back. Air Canada president Profit McProfitface went on American TV and said he hadn't made any preparations for alternate travel arrangements for stranded passengers, because he had expected the government to intervene to strike down labour power. In unrelated news, the current chair of the CIRB served as senior legal counsel at Air Canada for seven years.
- Despite previously having declared that they would refuse to negotiate until the union was back at work, Air Canada came back to the negotiating table late on Monday night, and both sides worked through the night and arrived at a tentative agreement at 4:30am this morning. This agreement now has to be ratified by the membership, but in the meantime, the strike is over.
I love this whole story so much. The union did what it was supposed to do, and fought for its members. Not only that, they also ran an incredibly effective public education campaign such that the strike had overwhelming support among Canadians despite the disruption. They exposed the anti-labour bias of the government and the cozy crony relationship between the state and industry. So many other labour unions - from nurses to steelworkers, firefighters to food workers, actors to public servants across the nation - stood behind CUPE in a show of solidarity. And they won.
More than anything, CUPE demonstrated the key point that labour power doesn't derive from legislation or the state, labour power derives from labour itself. And that's us.
Thanks for showing up.
Jenny
⭐️ = events updated since the last newsletter
Events this week
Tuesday, August 19, 2025
6-8PM — Housing Rights and Tenant Organizing: No Demovictions (The 519)
Hosted by The 519 - Join for a conversation with Lindsay Blackwell and Megan Kee from No Demovictions, a tenant collective that supports tenants through education and organization when landlords attempt to evict them to demolish and redevelop the buildings they live in.
7-9PM — Civic Hacknight – Open Tools for Transparent Government (Hybrid)
Hosted by Civic Tech Toronto - Civic Tech Toronto's weekly hacknights bring together Torontonians who want to improve the city through design, tech, and data. This week, Mathieu Hallé will speak about CivicPress , a new open-source platform that helps towns and cities publish meetings, bylaws, budgets, and civic records in a transparent, inspectable way without vendor lock-in. Breakout group to work on civic tech projects to follow.
7-8PM — Looking For Housing Workshop (Virtual)
Hosted by Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations - Are you on the hunt for a new apartment? Join FMTA for a free and interactive workshop to learn tips for housing and avoiding scams, what a landlord can ask for on a rental application, what to do if a landlord discriminates against you, and lots more.
⭐️ 7-8:30PM — Standing Up to Big Nickel Book Launch (315 Roncesvalles Ave)
Hosted by Another Story Bookshop - Join for the Toronto book launch of Elizabeth Quinlan's Standing Up to Big Nickel: The Story of the Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers Strike, 1958. Featuring retrospective accounts by surviving union members, leaders, family, and community members, Quinlan traces the events before, during, and after one of Canada’s greatest strikes in both magnitude and duration.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025
⭐️ 12-2PM — Reunification Ice Cream Truck (5343 Dundas St W)
Hosted by Gazan Canadians - Enjoy a free treat while learning about the efforts of the Gazan Canadian League to reunite Palestinians who have been separated from their loved ones. Stand in solidarity with families who are facing even greater danger ever day. We cannot be silent.
⭐️ 12:15-2:30PM — 4th Annual Undocumented Residents Day (Toronto City Hall)
Hosted by Access Alliance - Undocumented residents are part of our city. They are our neighbours, classmates, friends, and frontline workers who contribute to the cultural and economic fabric of our city. Undocumented Residents Day is an opportunity to acknowledge with gratitude, the important work taking place to ensure all Torontonians regardless of immigration status can feel safe and are treated with dignity and respect in Toronto.
3-5PM — Teach-In: Policing Through Technological Surveillance (Virtual)
Hosted by Policing-Free Schools - Join Policing-Free Schools for a back-to-school digital teach-in led by Assistant Professor Beyhan Farhadi, Educational Policy & Equity, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. This session will be going in-depth about how policing and carceral measures show up in schooling and educational through technological surveillance, and how Canadian news media have helped normalize school surveillance.
5:30-8PM — WAC Movie Night: A Bug’s Life (The Hub, 2660 Eglington Ave E)
Hosted by Workers Action Centre - Bring yourself and your kids to this screening of A Bug’s Life, a movie about collective power, organizing, and standing up to bullies! And let’s talk about building our worker power together.
⭐️ 5:45-8PM — Doorknocking for Palestine (Available upon RSVP)
Hosted by Davenport 4 Palestine - Davenport 4 Palestien is doorknocking in the neighbourhood to mobilize neighbours in support of a real arms embargo. No experience is necessary, you'll be paired up with a seasoned doorknocker. RSVP by emailing at davenport4palestine@gmail.com.
⭐️ 6-9PM — Decolonizing History and Personal Memory: a View From the Global South (31 Wellesley Street E)
Hosted by Asian Canadian Labor Alliance - ACLA is proud to host an insightful and timely presentation by Jojo Geronimo, Dr. Gyal Lo, Elizabeth Ha and Winnie Ng, who will share their experiences and realisations stemming from their engagement with their homelands, their adopted country and Indigenous peoples.
⭐️ 6:30-8:30PM — Draw The Line – Toronto Teach-In (720 Bathurst)
Hosted by Draw The Line - Carney’s early actions as Prime Minister are already threatening our rights and public services, the health of our climate, and the future we all deserve. Join 350 Canada Lead Amara Possian and Senior Organizer Johanna Lewis to learn what’s at stake for our communities at this moment – and how we can fight back.
7:30-9PM — Resource Movement Virtual Open House (Virtual)
Hosted by Resource Movement - Whether you're brand new to Resource Movement or reconnecting after some time away, this is a chance to hear about the work and how to plug in. There will be a series of 5-minute breakout sessions hosted by different team coordinators and space to ask questions, share ideas, and explore ways to get involved! Come meet the people redistributing wealth, building community, and organizing for justice.
Thursday, August 21, 2025
6-8PM — Health Worker Organizing Meeting (Virtual)
Hosted by Decent Work & Health Network - Increasing racism, xenophobia, and unaffordability are affecting patients across Ontario, especially those who are already marginalized. Join fellow health workers at our organizing meeting to brainstorm ways to advance upstream solutions to health inequity.
⭐️ 6-8PM — Talk to Voters in Scarborough—Rouge Park (Lawrence & Morningside)
Hosted by Progress Toronto - Scarborough—Rouge Park is having a by-election to choose their next city Councillor on September 29, and it’s an opportunity to change who holds power at City Hall. Join Progress Toronto in knocking on doors in the ward to learn what issues matter to them and share information about the upcoming by-election.
⭐️ 7-10PM — Renovictions By-Law Infosession (Virtual)
Hosted by Federal Metro Tenants’ Association - Join the Tenant Action Committee (TAC) and the Toronto Housing Secretariat for an infosession on your rights and legal responses when faced with a Renoviction, and hear about what changed with the new bylaw that passed city council on July 31st.
Friday, August 22, 2025
⭐️ 10AM-12PM — Justice For Jahvai Rally (100 Queen St W)
Hosted by ENAGB - Eight-year-old JahVai Roy was hit and killed while in his bed inside his North York apartment in the early morning of August 16th. The ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency is calling on the community to stand in solidarity to demand urgent action against the rise in gun violence affecting communities.
3-4PM — Teach-In: Policing Through Caring Professions & Carceral 'Care' (Virtual)
Hosted by Policing-Free Schools - Join Policing-Free Schools for a back-to-school digital teach-in led by Associate Professor Craig Fortier, Social development Studies, University of Waterloo. This session will be going in-depth about one of the multiple ways that policing and carceral measures show up in schooling and educational spaces beyond police presence, and how caring professions are increasingly made to perform carceral functions, and discuss what it means to practice and imagine abolitionist forms of social work.
Saturday, August 23, 2025
10AM-4PM — WAC Tamil Members Summer Picnic (5555 Steeles Ave E)
Hosted by Workers Action Centre - The Tamil contingent of Workers Action Centre are hosting a Tamil-language summer picnic, featuring great food, games, and connecting with fellow Tamil workers.
11AM-12:30PM — KMCLT Walking Tour: Counterculture Cartographies: Mapping Rebellion in the Market (Kensington Ave. and Dundas St)
Hosted by Kensington Market Community Land Trust - This walking tour uncovers the rebellious roots of the Market—exploring how queer venues, underground spaces, activist storefronts, and DIY art scenes have made Kensington a haven for creative rebellion. Participants will help build a collaborative “counter-map” of the neighbourhood as we go, using stickers and prompts to name places of resistance and memory.
12-3PM — Sprout Gathering for Food Sovereignty: Making Seed Balls (Regent Park)
Hosted by Sumudna Protest Choir - Learn the liberative roots of seed balls and learn how to make them using seeds native to this land to encourage biodiversity in our urban areas. Once completed we will gather to learn and talk about the role that food and agriculture has had in revolutionary movements from the Black Panther free breakfast program to free farms, we will be linking movements of the past to contemporary struggles here and internationally today. The day will end with a wild edible/medicinal plant identification walk throughout the neighbourhood to connect everything we’ve learned in our time together.
1-7PM — Gaza Is the Compass (Mississauga Valley Park)
Hosted by Palestinian Youth Movement - PYM invites you for a community gathering and fundraiser for Gaza. There will be food, local vendors, activities for children and families, and performances - all grounded in the theme: Gaza Is the Compass. Because Gaza doesn’t just symbolize our struggle - it directs it. All proceeds will go towards providing urgent medical aid in Gaza through Glia.
2-4:30PM — Building Power in the East (Scarborough Civic Centre)
Hosted by Progress Toronto - Progress Toronto and the Scarborough Environmental Association are teaming up to host a workshop in learning how to grow progressive power in Scarborough and help build on the work that's already been done. Learn strategies to mobilize local residents to ensure the city better supports racialized, working class, and new Canadian communities.
Sunday, August 24, 2025
10-11AM — Virtual Tech Worker’s Coalition Coffee (Virtual)
Hosted by Tech Worker’s Coalition - Drop by for a virtual coffee hour on Sunday mornings this August. A group of local tech workers are gauging interest in building and sustaining a TWC presence in Canada and this is a chance to connect, share ideas, and start imagining what organizing together could look like. Hope to see you there!
1-6PM — People’s Fair (31 Wellesley St E)
Hosted by A coalition of pro-Palestine organizations - Come together as a community. Learn about anti-capitalist struggles and anti-imperialist movements. Connect with local organizers and get organized! There will be free food, cultural performances, arts & crafts sold by organizations, and face painting for children.
⭐️ 6:30-8:30PM — The Big Power Grab Part 2: Municipalities, Agencies, and More Housing (Virtual)
Hosted by Disability Justice Network of Ontario - Ontario has passed new laws that impact so many parts of our lives—including how we keep Councils accountable, how landlords can discriminate against tenants, how social services are under threat. Come together and learn how these laws interact with disabled communities and beyond + learn from experts across fields. Part 2 will cover Bill 9, Bill 10, Bill 25 and more.
Monday, August 25, 2025
12-1PM — Basic Tenants Rights Workshop (Virtual)
Hosted by Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations - Join FMTA for a free and interactive workshop to learn about leases and illegal clauses, rules around tenant increases, how to ask for repairs, how evictions do and don't work, and lots more.
12-1PM — Weekly Kill Bill 5 Phone Zap (Virtual)
Hosted by Nagweyaab Ishkode - Nagweyaab Ishkode is collaborating with SURJ Toronto to run weekly phone zaps onlien via Zoom to help educate Ontarians and protest Bill 5. Bring your friends, share with your community, spread the word! Let's advocate and rally together to repeal bill 5 and protect land rights. Scripts and templates will be provided, though folk sare encouraged to bring their personal writings.
12:30-1:30PM — Weekly Phone Zap for Palestine (Virtual)
Hosted by Toronto Zaps For Palestine - Join with organizers from coast to coast in calling, emailing, and faxing demands to newly elected officials to stop Canada's complicity in the genocide.
3-5PM — Organizing Against Policing-In-Schools (Virtual)
Hosted by Policing-Free Schools - Join Policing-Free Schools for an Ontario Provincial Back-to-School Digital Teach-In, where you will be provided legal information on students’ rights and learn about the harms, risks and considerations when organizing against police and policing-in-schools on school grounds and beyond. The teach-in will focus on student rights in Ontario.
7-8:30PM — Lessons & Legacy: Venezuela's Bolivarian Revolution (Friends House, 60 Lowther St)
Hosted by Leo Panitch for Socialist Education - Given Venezuela's current challenging situation, what lessons can be drawn from the Bolivarian Revolution for future revolutionary projects? And what is the meaning of the Bolivarian project in the larger context of Latin American politics in the 21st century more generally? What do these lessons mean for socialist organizing and activism today? Join The Leo Panitch School to hear Gregory Wilpert, author and longtime journalist covering Venezuela, for a special talk and discussion.
Down the road
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
12-1PM — Rules About Rent Explained Workshop (Virtual)
⭐️ 3-5PM — Organizing Against Policing-In-Schools (Virtual)
5:30-7PM — Black & Indigenous Youth Share Circle (Virtual)
⭐️ 6-8PM — Talk to Voters in Scarborough—Rouge Park (Lawrence & Morningside)
⭐️ 6-7:30PM — Virtual lobby training: Learn how to make workers’ voices heard in Parliament! (Virtual)
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
7-9PM — Pan-Canadian Worker’s Organizing Meeting (Virtual)
7-9PM — Civic Hacknight – Toronto’s PayIT System (Hybrid)
7-9PM — Groundings in Little Xaymaca (1672 Eglington Ave W)
8-11PM — Pals 4 Palestine (CC’s, 1564 Danforth Ave)
11AM-2PM — Policing-Free Schools Teach-In & Rally (Queen’s Park South Lawn)
⭐️ 11:30AM-1:30PM — International Overdose Awareness Day Street Fair (339 George St)
6-8PM — Safer Together: Building Stronger Communities Through Connection (Unit 105 - 1911 Kennedy Road)
Thursday, August 28, 2025
⭐️ 7-9PM — Stop Bill C-2 Webinar (Virtual)
⭐️ 9-10:30PM — Virtual lobby training: Learn how to make workers’ voices heard in Parliament! (Virtual)
1:30-3:30PM — Better Transit, Better Streets (1911 Finch Ave W)
⭐️ 6-8PM — Talk to Voters in Scarborough—Rouge Park (Ellesmere & Meadowvale)
Saturday, August 30, 2025
⭐️ 1-3PM — Talk to Voters in Scarborough—Rouge Park (Lawrence & Centennial)
Monday, September 1, 2025
7-8PM — Mutual Aid Training (Virtual)
9:30AM-12:30PM — Labour Day Parade (Queen St W & University Ave)
12-1PM — Weekly Kill Bill 5 Phone Zap (Virtual)
Tuesday, September 2, 2025
7-8PM — Democratic Socialists of Canada Orientation (Virtual)
Sunday, September 7, 2025
2-4PM — History of Revolution Pt 4: The Arab spring and revolution in the 21st century (427 Bloor St W)
3-5PM — Jewish Musicians for Gaza (918 Bathurst)
Monday, September 8, 2025
6-8PM — Fighting To Win (Bloor-Yonge area (available upon registration))
For the full up-to-date event listing, visit the Show Up Toronto website. If you find this newsletter useful, I would love for you to:
- Forward it to a friend
- Tell me if you go to an event
- Send me other organizing events in the city I may have missed
You can reach me by replying directly, or by emailing organize@showuptoronto.ca.