Avi Lewis

Leader of Canada’s NDP / Le chef du NPD fédéral

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

To every volunteer, donor, organizer and NDP member who helped power this history-making movement: thank you.

We are building a new foundation for our party, and we are ready to come roaring back on the Canadian political stage. Let’s get to work!

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

Canada’s public infrastructure is not up for sale.

My address at the @NSNDP convention.

[NPD_QG @NPD_QG]

Alors que nous commémorons le 42e anniversaire de juin 1984 et de l'invasion du complexe du Temple d'Or, nous rendons hommage aux victimes et aux survivant·es en nous solidarisant avec les organisations de défense des droits humains du monde entier qui réclament justice.

Lire la déclaration complète du chef du NPD, Avi Lewis, ici: https://t.co/HPmXGWTLWh

[NDP @NDP]

As we mark the 42nd anniversary of June 1984 and the invasion of the Golden Temple complex, we honour the victims & survivors by standing in solidarity with human rights organizations around the world calling for justice.

Read the full statement from NDP Leader Avi Lewis here: https://t.co/8oRk9EZTL0

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

Community consultations are absolutely critical, but the choice facing the Prime Minister is clear. Premier Ford is in the middle of a land grab, and the federal government has both the power and the responsibility to stop this irresponsible and anti-democratic move.

The fact that Doug Ford seized the land from the City of Toronto in order to ram through a project owned and operated by American banking giant JP Morgan tells you all you need to know about who will benefit from his plan.

Prime Minister Carney ran on a promise to protect Canadians from Donald Trump and stand up for Canadian sovereignty. He cannot sit on the fence while Doug Ford hands more power to Wall Street.

Like Ontario Place, the Science Centre, and so much more, Doug Ford is acting as though Toronto is a playground for him and his CEO friends. It isn't. Toronto belongs to the people, and the people don't need or want the jets, noise, traffic, and pollution that this massive expansion would bring.

https://t.co/YAO8gMV5Ar

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

Le gouvernement libéral aurait tout aussi bien pu intituler sa stratégie « L'IA à fond ».

Ce document est empreint de promesses excessives, mais manque cruellement de garde-fous essentiels pour protéger la population et garantir que les avantages de cette technologie ne profitent pas uniquement à une poignée de géants de la tech et d'investisseurs.

Il propose une accélération massive de l'adoption de l'IA par les entreprises, sans se soucier des conséquences pour les travailleuses et travailleurs, en particulier les jeunes qui voient déjà leurs perspectives de carrière s'évaporer.

Ce gouvernement nous impose une technologie révolutionnaire sans aucun débat public. Au lieu de mettre en place une réglementation rigoureuse pour protéger les travailleuses et travailleurs, les jeunes, la vie privée et nos ressources en eau et en énergie, il préfère « faire vite et brasser de la cage », comme le dit la devise de la Silicon Valley.

C'est pourquoi, avant de foncer tête baissée, sans freins, nous avons besoin d'un cadre réglementaire solide. Tous les autres secteurs d’activité de ce pays, de la foresterie aux services bancaires, sont réglementés. Pourtant, curieusement, lorsqu’il s’agit d’intelligence artificielle générative contrôlée par des milliardaires proches de Trump, les règles habituelles ne s’appliquent pas.

Les néo-démocrates appuient le développement de technologies de pointe. Pour l’IA, cela se traduit par un apprentissage automatique responsable, avec des ensembles de données restreints et circonscrits, et des applications ciblées.

Nous réclamons une stratégie d’IA qui place l’humain au cœur de l’expérience. Une stratégie qui protège les emplois, les données et les ressources naturelles du Canada. Pas une stratégie qui imite les pires dérives des chatbots IA. Leur présenter des avantages illusoires et flatter les PDG des grandes entreprises technologiques en leur disant exactement ce qu’ils veulent entendre.

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

The Liberal government might as well have called its AI strategy “All in for AI”.

This is a document that is heavy on hype, but light on the right guardrails that we need to protect people – and to ensure that the benefits of the technology don’t just flow to a handful of tech giants and investors.

It proposes a massive boost to business adoption of AI, with no concern for the consequences this will have for workers, especially young workers who are already watching careers vanish before their eyes.

This government is imposing a world-changing technology on all of us without any public debate. Instead of putting in place strong regulations to safeguard workers, youth, privacy, and our water and energy supply, they prefer to “move fast and break things” as the Silicon Valley motto goes.

That’s why before rushing ahead, with no brakes, we need a robust regulatory framework. Every other industry in this country, from forestry to banking, is regulated. Yet somehow, when it comes to generative AI that is controlled by MAGA-aligned billionaires, the usual rules don’t apply.

New Democrats support the development of cutting edge technology. For AI, that looks like responsible machine learning with small, contained datasets and targeted applications.

We’re calling for a humans-first AI strategy. One that protects Canadian jobs, data and natural resources. Not a strategy that mimics the worst tendencies of AI chatbots: hallucinating benefits and flattering big tech CEOs by telling them exactly what they want to hear.

[Leah ProudLakota (she/her) @LeahGazan]

Today is the seventh anniversary of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) Final Report.

On this day we honour the heart work of the survivors, families, matriarchs and community members whose testimonies helped inform the Inquiry and generate the 231 Calls for Justice needed to end this ongoing genocide.

Read my full statement here:

https://t.co/smVJnVpexo

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

An incredible victory for @HamawyForNJ.

More proof that taking a principled stand on Israel's genocide is not a liability among the working class majority of this continent.

Moral clarity is popular.

#FreePalestine

[Justice Democrats @justicedems]

New Jersey just elected their first Justice Democrat @HamawyForNJ!

He outworked his opponents, out-organized the establishment, & built the progressive coalition needed to deliver his people-first vision to NJ working families.

AIPAC, Crypto & AI tried & failed to buy #NJ12.

[NPD_QG @NPD_QG]

Juin est un mois pour célébrer la communauté, la résilience et la fierté, mais aussi pour réaffirmer notre engagement dans la lutte continue pour la libération de toutes et tous.

Les droits ne sont jamais acquis. Ils se gagnent par la ténacité et la détermination, et peuvent nous être retirés si nous ne les défendons pas.

À l'heure où les droits des personnes 2SLGBTQQIA+ sont menacés par les gouvernements provinciaux conservateurs, cet engagement est plus important que jamais. Le NPD sera toujours aux côtés de la communauté 2SLGBTQQIA+, non seulement par des paroles, mais aussi par des actes.

[NDP @NDP]

June is a time to celebrate community, resilience, and pride—but also a time to recommit ourselves to the ongoing struggle for liberation for all.

Rights are never simply given. They are won through grit and determination, and they can be taken away if we fail to defend them.

At a time when 2SLGBTQQIA+ rights are under attack by conservative provincial governments, that commitment is more important now than ever. The NDP will always stand with the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community—not just in words, but through action.

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

Palantir is deeply embedded in the scariest activities of the Trump regime – enabling everything from mass deportations and lawless assassinations in international waters to ethnic cleansing, genocide, and war crimes.

CEO Alex Karp’s recent online manifesto is a truly disturbing, supremacist screed. One UK MP said it “sounds like the ramblings of a supervillain.”

The city of London, England recently canceled a contract with Palantir.

Why is Canada handing nearly $50 million in public money to this creepy company?

Doing business through a secretive contract with this MAGA-aligned tech giant is totally incompatible with the Prime Minister’s promise to defend Canadian sovereignty.

[Investigative Journalism Foundation @IJFMedia]

The Canadian government has spent more than $44 million on a secret contract with controversial American tech company Palantir.

https://t.co/ulYt7Dz35f

[Don Davies @DonDavies]

Carney is the first PM to ever cobble together a majority through floor crossing. Power was gained with backroom deals, not the ballot box. Today I introduced Bill C-278 to require MPs earn voter consent before switching parties. If your reasons are valid, defend them to voters.

[Leah ProudLakota (she/her) @LeahGazan]

The preliminary ruling of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal is a sobering reminder that the harms of colonialism are not confined to Canada’s past.

But at a time when international observers are affirming what we’ve known for so long – that genocide is ongoing against Indigenous Peoples across Canada – the Liberal government continues to cut supports for survivors, families and Indigenous communities.

That’s why I wrote to the Prime Minister and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations today demanding answers on how the Liberal government will reverse course and end this ongoing genocide.

Read my full statement here: https://t.co/zO8cNvjpOy

[Heather McPherson @HMcPhersonNDP]

Alberta belongs in Canada.
Danielle Smith is playing a dangerous game, giving oxygen and credibility to far right separatists.
Albertans deserve better.

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

Ce qui s’est déroulé à Shawinigan cette fin de semaine est inacceptable. La très grande majorité des Québécois.e.s rejette sans équivoque la vision réactionnaire, intolérante et délirante mise de l’avant par des militants d’extrême droite.

La société québécoise est belle, forte et résiliente précisément grâce à sa diversité, et non malgré elle. À une époque marquée par le repli, la peur et les discours de division, le Québec, ainsi que tout le Canada, doit demeurer un phare d’espoir, de progrès et d’inclusion. Un meilleur avenir pour toutes et tous.

https://t.co/qdM3vbdif1

[NPD_QG @NPD_QG]

En cette Journée nationale des agent·es de bord, nous rendons hommage aux travailleuses et travailleurs qui assurent la sécurité de millions de Canadiennes et Canadiens dans les airs chaque jour.

Les agent·es de bord nous ont toutes et tous montré ce que sont le courage et la détermination. Ils se sont attaqué·es à la plus grande compagnie aérienne du pays et ont défié le gouvernement fédéral – et ils ont gagné.

Confronté·es à du travail non rémunéré et à des salaires injustes, ils ont voté la grève avec une revendication claire : le travail non rémunéré est inacceptable. Puis, lorsque le gouvernement est intervenu pour les priver du droit de grève en invoquant l’article 107 du Code du travail, ils ont désobéi et ont débrayé. Et ils ont obtenu une meilleure entente.

Les néo-démocrates sont solidaires des agent·es de bord aujourd’hui et chaque jour. C’est pourquoi nous luttons pour abroger l’article 107 et protéger le droit de grève une fois pour toutes.

[NDP @NDP]

On National Flight Attendants' Day, we honour the workers who keep millions of Canadians safe in the skies every single day.

Flight attendants have shown us all what courage and determination look like. They took on the country’s biggest airline and defied the federal government — and won.

Faced with unpaid work and unfair wages, they voted to strike with a clear demand: unpaid work won't fly. Then, when the government intervened to strip them of the right to strike by invoking Section 107 of the Labour Code, they defied the order and walked off the job anyway. And they won a better deal.

New Democrats stand with flight attendants today and every day. That's why we're fighting to repeal Section 107 and protect the right to strike once and for all.

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

If only it were this easy.

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

Cuba is out of fuel, strangled by the US fuel chokehold.

People are dying, systems are breaking down.

This is collective punishment against a people who have done absolutely nothing except live their lives under hard conditions imposed by the US blockade for decades.

It’s a blatant violation of international law, a crime in progress.

Canadians are connected to Cuba: we’ve been welcomed, had great holidays, heard incredible music, done business and made friends.

We need to help Cuba right now, even if it bothers Trump: Canada should send immediate humanitarian fuel aid, in as much quantity as we can quickly assemble.

And we should be speaking out loudly on the international stage: US military action against Cuba is absolutely unacceptable!

It’s time for the countries of the world to rally and stop this impunity before it takes another sovereign country into chaos.

We have to come to Cuba's aid. What's happening is too cruel, too horrible.

[Scott Robertson @sarobertson_]

Avi Lewis: "Canada is now living a new chapter of the shock doctrine story. It's also known as the political strategy of flooding the zone. The Carney government right now is pursuing an agenda of shocking scale and speed."