Funny Picture

On the anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan Rebellion a community gathered in #Toronto on Sunday, March 10 to commemorate the National Uprising Day. Members “express solidarity with ongoing struggle of human spirit against the brutal might of China in Tibet.” In a non-violent protest against Chinese rule, 24 Tibetans have killed themselves by self-immolation in China in the last year, three in the last three days".

Protesters gathered their signs and banners during the OPSEU local 540 smorgasbord of complaints against the #Toronto municipal government: "Bad Management. You're paying for it." Striking housing workers who work with low-income tenants were picketing from noon to 4 pm on Wednesday, February 20, 2013.
Members and supporters of the union brought the signs out that said "stop union bashing, stop policing the poor, dignity first at homes first, making a difference one person at a time and end the lockout now." Calling for the City funded First Homes Society to return to bargaining after contract talks broke down a few weeks ago.

"Homes First receives more than $6 million in annual funding from the City of Toronto. The workers, represented by Local 540 of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), are calling on city council to demand that management get back to the bargaining table and negotiate in good faith. The union has filed a bad faith bargaining application with the Ontario Labour Relations Board."

CityNEWS #Toronto reporter @CityCynthia reports from Carlton Street in front of Maple Leaf Gardens as thousands of demonstrators marched to Maple Leaf Gardens on Saturday, January 26, 2013. The Liberal leadership convention taking place inside becomes the focal point of teacher's anger over Bill 115 which set aside union negotiations and replaced them with imposed contracts. You can see more of the protest on my blog post here.
While delegates inside pick a new party leader and Provincial Premier, the unions and their supporters flood the area and the police closed down several streets within the downtown core.
Check out the various places we have seen the media personality work her broadcast magic as she keeps the city informed: http://torontogp.blogspot.ca/2011/10/television-news-reporters-and-anchors.html, http://torontogp.blogspot.ca/2009/12/cynthia-mulligan-reporting-for-citytv.html and http://torontogp.blogspot.ca/2012/08/cynthia-mulligan-at-aloha-toronto.html.

Ha, it wasn't a protest about the long NHL lockout, it was a protest against the Ontario Liberal Party and their Bill 115 as the delegate met to elect a new provincial leader at the Liberal leadership convention held inside the old home of the NHL Maple Leafs. Police brought their horses, protesters brought their flags and signs (and an elephant) while the media flew in some choppers for a birds eye view. Teachers schooled the politicians and asked them to write lines on the chalkboard after class - detention was served.

See CityNews reporter Cynthia Mulligan as she covers the event on my blog post here.

The 1:00 pm mass rally was organized by the Ontario Federation of Labour as part of a campaign to defend democratic and economic rights of workers and citizens. Long lines of buses,some of them even school buses, filled both sides of many nearby streets as many were bused in to participate in the event. The Saturday January 26, 2013 gathering outside the Liberal leadership convention quickly lost steam when the bell rang 3 pm.
See more signs after the jump.

Accusing the #Toronto Sun of racism the Idle No More members head from St James Park to the Sun's King Street East office where SUN News commentator Ezra Levant came out to interview the protesters. People chanted that he was a "racist" or a "douche" and many yelled to interrupt the interviews as he talked to the crowd.

Members of the Aboriginal community and their supporters began a demonstration in the lower level of the #Toronto Eaton Centre around the fountain. The December 30, 2012 flash mob started in the early afternoon and was in solidarity of Chief Theresa Spence and her request to meet with Prime Minister Harper.
The Chief has been on a hunger strike since early December and is currently living in a teepee along the Ottawa River. She did meet over the weekend with former Prime Minister Joe Clark.

"Idle No More is a peaceful organization that is working towards profound social, political, and economic change. Our goal is to use education to build consciousness and awareness in all Canadians on the resurgence of Indigenous sovereignty and environmental protections. We are working on building relationships within our communities as well as across Canada and globally. We also call out to each community to organize teach-ins and peaceful demonstrations – we believe an educated public is the best form of action. Each community has different needs, and we support the various actions that are taking place across Turtle Island, however because of the many decades of colonialism, some community members are seeking stronger forms of action such as blockades. While we need to protect the land from further damage, we hope that this will be used as a last resort to protect Mother Earth, and not as a symbolic act. We are working hard to maintain INM as a positive movement that includes all cultures in a vision for justice for all people and for our earth."