Have you ever returned from a canvass demoralised that you only ended up preaching to those already converted? Wish there was some way to build bridges to cross the chasms that are growing wider with every day in an increasingly fractured and polarised political landscape?The technique of deep canvassing was created to respond directly to these concerns. With its origins in the fight for marriage equality in California, practitioners of deep canvassing have employed radical empathy and listening in order to reach people and change minds on issues ranging from trans rights and health care to immigration and encampments. It may not be a silver bullet but, given the success it's had in the states, it's no surprise that Canadian organisers are beginning to pay attention. This week on the show, Rocky will get the straight dope on deep canvassing as they talk to Nicholas Schmidt, a deep canvasser with Down Home North Carolina: a group that has made the technique a corner stone of reaching out and building bridges with voters in the deeply conservative south.Nahum Mann will also return to the show to discuss the work of the Encampment Support Network which has helped pioneer the technique in Canada to change the conversation around the encampment in Dufferin Grove Park.

 

 

[LINKS]

Atlas of Resistance – TWITTER

Atlas of Resistance - FACEBOOK

Down Home North Carolina - WEBSITE

Down Home North Carolina - TWITTERDown Home North Carolina - FACEBOOKEncampment Support Network - WEBSITE

Encampment Support Network - TWITTER

 

[DEEP CANVASSING RESOURCES]

 

As Nicholas and Nahum made clear, effective Deep Canvassing is predecated on a lot of preparation. Those who wish to incorporate the technique into their own organising and coalition building would be wise to read up from the experiences of others who have gone first. Below is a selection of some resources to help you and your group get started.

 

Miami Report on Deep Canvassing on Trans Rights

Changing the Conversation - About Deep Canvassing (Great Starting Place)

Deep Canvassing to Change Hearts and MindsNPR - A New Way to Talk about Abortion...

From the coastal waters of Mi'kma'ki to the yintah, Indigenous folks have been leading some of the most and successful resistance movements across Turtle Island, despite often violent reprisals from the police and in the case of Mi'kmaq fisherfolk even some settlers. Despite this, these activists persist because the work they do is necessary to protect Indigenous lands and livelihoods.One does not have to go far from Toronto to find a successful example of front-line indigenous activism either. For over a year, 1492 Land Back Lane (led by Haudenosaunee activists) have resisted multiple violent police incursions In this episode, Rocky talks to Skylar Williams (Mohawk-Wolf Clan), the spokesperson for 1492 Land Back Lane and a veteran of countless front-line struggles about his work, the struggle and why it is vital that settlers begin show up to stand alongside himself and others to protect our Indigenous brothers and sisters and the lands they call home.

[LINKS]

1492 Land Back Lane -- TWITTER

Learn More About 1492 Land Back LaneAtlas of Resistance – TWITTER

Atlas of Resistance -- FACEBOOK[SOME MORE GOOD PEOPLE TO FOLLOW]

 

Eve Saint - TWITTER

Gidimten Checkpoint - TWITTER

Likhts’amisyu (Fireweed Clan) - TWITTER

Git'luuhl'um'hetxwit Media - TWITTER[MONEY TALKS]1492 Land Back Lane Legal FundDonate to Single Father Organasing at 1492 LBLDonate to Gitxsan Land Defenders' Legal FundDonate to Vanessa Gray's Legal Defence Fund

Sick of having the most modest proposals to address the climate emergency be celebrated as revolutionary? You are not alone... In a COP Conference Special, three interviews with climate activists whose perspectives have been either marginalised or missing from the negotiating floor in Glasgow. Featuring:

Jacob Crane (Tsuut’ina-Dene), Just Transition Lead with Indigenous Climate Action on his experience in Glasgow and how effective climate action requires the Indigenous leadership.

Ferrial Adam, Climate Justice and Energy Coordinator – Africa on her experience taking part in the Counter COP summit and the solutions activists from across the continent champion.

Nógha Fabian (K'atl'odeeche-Dene), Former Coordinator of K'atl'odeechee Indigenous Guardians Programme on the the impacts of the climate crisis on the lands and waterways around the Great Slave Lake, NWT

[LINKS]

 

Africa Counter COP Statement Nógha's Interview with Panoramic Outdoors Podcast - A Great ListenIndigenous Guardians Toolkit

Friends of the Earth - Africa - TWITTERFriends of the Earth - Africa - WEBSITEFriends of the Earth - Africa - FACEBOOK

Indigenous Climate Action - TWITTERIndigenous Climate Action - WEBSITEIndigenous Climate Action - FACEBOOKAtlas of Resistance – TWITTER

Atlas of Resistance -- FACEBOOK

Union Organiser and Gig Worker Jennifer Scott of Gig Workers United shares her experiences on the front lines fighting to unionise and win labour rights for her fellow gig workers. We explore the difficult coversations that gig workers must have with each other, the dehumanisation both the apps and our urban environments force couriers to experience AND why all eyes should be Ontario as the province sets out to re-define the future of work. [IMPORTANT] The consultations for the Ontario's Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee close on 31 July 2021. They can be emailed at [email protected] with written comments. More information contextualising the work of this comittee can be found in the links section below (or by listening to this podcast. teehee

[WEBSITE NOTE]

Due to our old podcast host (Podiant) being acquired by Castos, the Website is currently a mess. The same is true for the podcast feed which might have duplicate episodes and missing show notes. This will be resolved sometime within the next couple of weeks. Apologies on the less than professional web experience.

[MUSIC]

INTRO: Hot Corner – Katsumi Horii Project

OUTRO: Bread and Roses - Dawn Landes, Alana Amram & Abigail Chapin

[LINKS]

Ontario Workforce Advisory Comittee Toronto Star: A new committee is exploring the future of work — but critics say it lacks a crucial voice: workers

Jacobin: Uber’s Flexible Work+ Campaign Is a Scam to Evade Canada’s Labor Laws

Gig Workers United – WEBSITE

Gig Workers United – FACEBOOK

Gig Workers United – TWITTER

Gig Workers United – INSTAGRAM

Atlas of Resistance – TWITTER

Atlas of Resistance -- FACEBOO

Organisers Mercedes Ferrer and Linda Kwan of the North of Bloor Mutual Aid Network share with Rocky both the challenges and rewards in navigating the sometimes byzantine systems here in Ontario to connect neighbours to vaccines. In addition, we talk about the challenges of building trust with the community, a cornerstone of any mutual aid project.

If you're keen to learn more about the basic principles of mutual aid check out Episode Three where I interview Nahum Mann of the Davenport Mutual Aid Network. Link to the episode will be found in the links section of the show notes.

*If you or someone you know needs help accessing vaccines and need service you can call North of Bloor Mutual Aid's Hotline @ 647.945.4308 and you will be called back by someone in a language you are most comfortable with*

**[MORE INFO]**

More information on the North of Bloor Mutual Aid Network checkout the links section below!

**[MUSIC]**

*Intro:* Baby Talk - Himiko Kikuchi

*Outro:* Crusing Boy - Katsumi Horii Project

Plant genetics educator, researcher and Dr. Javad Mozafari shares with Rocky his experience partnering with the Flemingdon Health Centre to teach his neighbours how to cultivate fruits, herbs and vegetables right from their apartments and balconies. From there the conversation branches out to discussing the broader issues of food security, sovreignty and how regaining local and household control of our food production will be an integral part of building food systems resilient for the 21st century.

To see the fruit of the class' labour check out the links section below.

**[MUSIC]**

*Intro:* Plantasia - Mort Garson

*Outro:* You Don't Have to Walk a Begonia - Mort Garson

Activist, organiser and cyclist Danielle Griscti talks with Rocky about how to build out a cycling network that is accessable to all Torontonians and why it is *critical* that pressure must be kept on city council so that the momentum from record setting expansions in 2020 is not lost as we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. PLUS: Why it's important to celebrate victories in our activism *and* how to talk to that neighbour who millitantly opposes any new bike infrastructure.

**[MORE INFO]**

More information on the Toronto Community Bikeway Coalition and the DIY Bike Hubs can be found in the links section below.

**[MUSIC]**

*Intro:* Ping Pxng - Yin Yin

*Outro:* If I Could Ride a Bike - Chevy & Park Bird

Organiser Bruno Dobrusin of the York South-Weston Tenants' Union talks with Rocky about some of the recent victories as well as the long road ahead in the fight to protect tenants' rights and keep our neighbours, ourselves really in our homes.

***[IMPORTANT]***

For those facing an iminent threat of an eviction, it is strongly encouraged that you do not put off taking action. Resources in multiple languages explaining your rights and how you can begin to take action can be found on the Website of the Metro Tenants' Association Website. See the link down below.

**[MORE INFO]**

More information on the York South-Weston Tenants Union can be found in the links section below.

**[MUSIC]**

*Intro:* Pancake Ice - Himiko Kikuchi

*Outro:* Our House - Crosby Stills & Nash

Andrea Roman Alfaro and Jade Da Costa share with Rocky how they worked to help build an organisation that feeds about 400 people across the GTA every week. Food justice, BIPOC organising cultures and building a practice of mutual aid that is sustainable in the long term are all on the menu for this week's conversation.

***[IMPORTANT]***

For those living in Toronto, there are only limited slots available to sign up for meals each week. Sign ups open at *Sundays @ 12PM Noon* and go quick. Requests can be made on behalf of someone else so if you or someone you are close to suffer from food insecurity take note of the registration link in the section below.

**[MORE INFO]**

More information on The People's Pantry can be found in the links section below.

**[MUSIC]**

*Intro:* Mambo is Magic - Himiko Kikuchi

*Outro:* My Lost Pierce - Himiko Kikuchi

(Note: This is a longer version of the interview released as part of Episode 006 -- No One is Illegal)

This week on Atlas of Resistance, Sharmeen Khan of No One Is Illegal - Toronto (NOII) talks to Rocky the fight to secure status for all and how our current migration regime intersects with many other issues in our society from policing and prisions to public education and care work.

**[MORE INFO]**

For more information on No One Is Illegal look at the links section.

*Blog Post Forthcoming*

**[MUSIC]**

*Outro* - Hong Kong Night Sight - Masataka Matsutoya