Tireless labour rights activist Rabia Syed is third in our new online-only Social Justice All-Stars series. Know a social justice all-star who deserves recognition? Email editor Lauren McKeon at [email protected] Coworkers call Rabia Syed the “all star” of organizing. At 50 years old, Syed has spent more than half her life working tirelessly in union […] More »
Many a conversation regarding anything of a progressive nature leads to someone making a snide so-called “first-world problem” comment. For instance: who cares about women being raped here, because more women are being raped “there” (wherever “there” is—i.e., everywhere else—it is, apparently, run by barbarians). Not only are these conversations eye-roll inducing, they rely on […] More »
Award-winning photojournalist, author, and animal rights activist Jo-Anne McArthur is second in our new online-only Social Justice All-Stars series. Know a social justice all-star who deserves recognition? Email editor Lauren McKeon at [email protected] With a camera in hand, Jo-Anne McArthur travels across the globe with a mission: to advocate for the rights of non-human animals, […] More »
I decided I need to become better at public speaking so I’ve started subjecting myself to the horror of, well, public speaking. I started as a guest speaker at a Durham Rape Crisis Centre volunteer training session, my second and most recent attempt was a literary reading at Oshawa, Ont.’s The LivingRoom Community Art Studio. […] More »
Editor, designer and professor Sheila Sampath is a refreshing voice for intersectional, accessible feminism IT’S OCTOBER 2014 and I’m sitting on the floor in Sheila Sampath’s Toronto living room, discussing the progress of the newest issue of Shameless, an independent magazine for teen girls and trans youth. Surrounded by communal snacks, the team talks about […] More »
We know we missed many of the amazing Canadians who out there doing great social justice work in this issue, so we’ve decided to feature new all-stars online at this.org throughout January and February. In our first online-only profile, we introduce you to Courtney Cliff, a 23-year-old activist who is doing amazing social justice work […] More »
Dedicated anti-poverty activist and doctor Ryan Meili tackles the root causes of illness and addiction IN 2010, RYAN MEILI STOOD in the medical clinic where he worked, on the west side of Saskatoon. A girl named Maxine walked in. She was a 20-year-old from the streets who moved as if she were 91. She wanted […] More »
Documentarian Nayani Thiyagarajah uses curiousity and compassion to confront shadeism in racialized communities ON A GREY NOVEMBER DAY IN TORONTO, with the sun nowhere in sight and an irritating mix of rain and snow outside, Tamil-Canadian filmmaker and artist Nayani Thiyagarajah is in good spirits—despite being bogged down by a head cold. In between sniffles […] More »
Fierce feminist Julie Lalonde won’t let backlash stop her from fighting for women’s rights ATTENTION SEEKING FEMINIST. Extraordinary Franco-Ontarian. Award-winning feminist buzzkill. Both good and bad, Julie Lalonde has heard it all—this is how she knows her feminist action is effective. “The resistance we face to our work is real and palpable,” says Lalonde. “To […] More »
No matter what she does, anti-violence activist Farrah Khan is all about collaboration and women’s empowerment ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY IN 2008 there was a massive blizzard. Thinking the self-defense workshop she was scheduled to facilitate would be cancelled, Farrah Khan curled up in a blanket, hoping to pass the snowy night with some cartoon […] More »
A call for co-operative housing reform After spending the first 23 years of my life living in co-operative housing, I worry “co-operative” has become nothing more than a platitude used to paint a picture of true democracy. Even at the most local of levels, a functioning democracy needs supervision. Over a quarter of a million […] More »