The wealthy bought up the neighbourhood like their own personal game of Monopoly. Now they want to tear down some of the only affordable units in Ottawa - places where some of called home for 40 years.

Demovictions, like renovictions are eating away at the bottom of the housing market, targeting low cost rentals and turning them into places most people can not afford. Even with new renoviction bylaws in place, there is seemingly no help coming from City Hall for the tenants on Bank Street.

We interview Ben Emond from Bank Street Tenants and ask about their beginnings; how they came together after all receiving N13s (eviction notices). We hear about the resistance they've faced from their landlord, the rubberstamping approvals process at City Hall and the tactics the these tenants are using to push back against it all.

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Resources:

• Bank Street Tenants Confront Smart Living Properties to say No to Mass Eviction - The Leveller
• Learn More – Bank Block Tenants

Support Systems Amid State Suppression with Dalia Awwad and Rachelle Friesen, both members of the Toronto Legal Support Committee.

Toronto Police have escalated their harassment and surveillance of Palestinian solidarity activists across the City, with arrests nearing 100. Our guests provide firsthand accounts of the oppressive tactics being used and the impact they are having on individuals and the larger movement. But not to worry...

Just as the tactics used by Police, the Crown, the media and politicians have been multi-faceted, so has been the response of these activists. Rather than go underground, stay quiet and 'out of trouble', they have risen up and created a community around the arrestees that goes way beyond legal support.

CALL TO ACTION

Donate to the Toronto Community Justice Fund

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon

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Resources:

• Unlawful Assembly While Masked - Blueprints of Disruption | Podfollow
• Blockades and Bail Conditions - Blueprints of Disruption | Podfollow
• Donate to the Toronto Community Justice Fund

Journalist and human rights lawyer, Dimitri Lascaris on Lebanon, the resistance and bringing down an apartheid state.

After returning from his fourth trip to Beirut in the past year, Lascaris describes the changes he's seen in Lebanon, laments on the depravity of our politicians and the need to reassert the right to armed resistance for the Palestinian people.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon

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Resources:

• Disrupting Politics with Dimitri Lascaris - Blueprints of Disruption
• Lebanon Palestine and Resisting Colonialism - Blueprints of Disruption

Unverified: The Grind Uncovers New Lows in Canadian Media

Journalist Dave Gray-Donald from the GrindTO spent months analyzing Canadian media reports and attempting to hold his follow journalists accountable for repeatedly printing unverified claims about October 7th, 2023. His piece, Global News and Postmedia Refuse to Correct Oct. 7 Falsehoods exposes some of the most horrific failures of our legacy media - but its not getting the exposure it needs...

...so we also discuss how to combat the impacts of shoddy, even malicious reporting by supporting independent media and good reporting when we see it.

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All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon

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Resources:

• Global News and Postmedia Refuse to Correct Oct. 7 Falsehoods - The Grind Magazine

Decades of climate organizing hasn't really produced many victories to feed off of. Why?

Climate Justice Toronto took a hard look at the environmentalist movement, studied Labour organizing models and decided to undertake a major shift in their work. One that focused on actually challenging points of power while building their own.

Hear how they went from a class-based climate organization to one that is almost entirely dedicated to tenant organizing, without compromising the end goal of defending the planet.

CALL TO ACTION: Sign up for Climate Justice Toronto October 2024 Orientation - Action Network

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All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon

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Resources:

• Referenced Episode with York-South Weston Tenants Union
• National Observer (Seth Klein) The climate movement must shift gears or it's done
• Instagram: CJTO
• Climate Justice Toronto –Homepage

Harm reduction advocates have their work cut out for them in this current political climate that has Provincial governments targeting their services using dehumanization language and legislation. Ola Skudlarska, of the Leslieville Harm Reduction Coalition helps myth bust some of the commonly used narratives to criminalize and displace people who use drugs.

Safe consumption facilities have been the focal point of moral panic that is playing out in harmful legislation aiming to shut them down. Hear how people are coming together to defend these sites in their communities that provide support, connection, and a pathway to recovery for individuals who use drugs.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon

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Resources:

• Other Harm Reduction Resources
• Toronto Life: Safe Consumption Site Kensington Market
• Toronto Star: Supervised Consumption Site What its Really Like
• Leslieville Harm Reduction Coalition

230 Fightback has been battling over a crucial piece of real estate in downtown Toronto for a very long time. A real estate investment company, Kingsett Capital is who owns the building, but their fight has been just as hampered by Toronto City Hall.

Hear how the campaign persisted through organizational changes, set backs and discouragement from their own City Councilor.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon

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CALL TO ACTION:

• Contact KingSett Capital and Toronto City Councilor Chris Moise to protest against the redevelopment of 214-230 Sherbourne.

• History - 230 Fightback
• Rabble: Questions remain about eviction of 150 Toronto seniors 2019
• Tenant Power - a Podcast Playlist

Our hosts get personal with their lived experiences with ADHD.

Its a very candid discussion on how ADHD impacts their lives, the accommodations that help them thrive and the politics behind preventing us from realizing more inclusive spaces for neurodivergent folks.

The episode was largely left uncut to better demonstrate some of the very characteristics people associate with ADHD, but also to challenge the misconceptions that are out there.

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All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support us: Patreon

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Resources:

• Referenced video: How to ADHD's Wall of Awful Part 1
• Related Episode: Autistic Resistance: The Foundations - Blueprints of Disruption