Cherise Seucharan

Deputy editor, @torontotodayca. Formerly @CANADALAND, @globeandmail, @starvancouver; also in @guardian @CBC. Just trying to tell better stories.

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

@JennJefferys Thank you, Jenn!

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

Seeing this piece being shared so I’d just like to correct an error: the interview with Oweida was not with Jesse but with me, as part of an audio doc I reported in the field and voiced. It’s actually one of the pieces I’m most proud of doing.

https://t.co/XmSjc4zYHO

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

New from me: The TSDB cancelled a permit for an anti-Palestinian racism workshop due to ‘divisiveness,’ hours after receiving a petition alleging the event was ‘improper.’

https://t.co/fKJlm8KeoD

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

For posterity. My story starts at around the 6:35 mark: https://t.co/ErhX90Ya1F

[Aidan Chamandy @AidanChamandy]

We tried to get access to all briefing notes, emails and text messages in the Premier's office regarding the Billy Bishop expansion and expropriation plans, but the new FOI restrictions made that impossible. Read it for free here ⬇️

https://t.co/eE1x38u0Rj

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

RIP to a Canadian who always reminded us of our common humanity.

[Avi Lewis @avilewis]

My father Stephen Lewis is spectacularly uninterested in social media, so I’m posting this myself (though he has read it and is prepared to suffer the indignity of all I'm about to reveal).

When he was Canada’s ambassador to the UN from 1984-88, Dad was truly shocked by the regularity of open, vitriolic antisemitism in the cocktail parties and ambassadorial receptions that surround that crucial but flawed institution.

For this reason (among others) he’s always been the one in our family with the deepest atavistic fear of antisemitism. He was sympathetic to the idea of Israel as a refuge longer than the rest of us.

This is no longer the case. Like so many Jews who for decades adopted the dominant narratives of Zionism, he can no longer defend the current actions of the state of Israel.

He now regards Israel as a rogue state, committing genocide and other crimes against humankind, which ought to be opposed by every tool and tactic in Canada's diplomatic arsenal.

To return to the personal, seven years ago my Dad was diagnosed with a vicious cancer and was given as little as 3 months to live. It’s a sublime understatement to say that he’s a fighter - but he has persevered in life with a tenacity familiar from his political, diplomatic and humanitarian pursuits.

Which brings us to this morning, when at 87 years old, he spent an hour standing at the side of the road in his old riding of Scarborough West. Standing up as a Jew against genocide. Standing up for justice for Palestine. Standing up on the right side of history, where the vast majority of humanity currently stands.

I’ve never been prouder, never more humble before the stubborn principle and insistent moral clarity of the guy I’m so lucky to call Dad.

People of Canada: don’t stop talking about Palestine.
Starvation as collective punishment can never be forgiven.
Burning and burying children alive can never be defended.
Stand up against genocide until we make it stop!

Thanks Dad.

And special thanks to @CharlieAngusNDP for shining his spotlight on Ted Schmidt and the other excellent folks who gather every Thursday at 8 am at the corner of Victoria Park and Kingston Road in Scarborough.

[Shree Paradkar//श्री पराडकर 🍁 @ShreeParadkar]

Stephen Lewis didn’t coin the term but he was the first to officially name anti-Black racism in a Canadian government report. His landmark 1992 Report on Race Relations was foundational to understanding how systemic discrimination worked. #RIP

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

Unclear exactly how much this has cost in total, but the wage cap battle alone was over 4.3M. If anyone wants to try to find out, here’s a handy a list of lost court battles to start with:

https://t.co/pA7l5jXwhG

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

Good time to note that the Ford government has spent public funds to fight — and lose — legal battles over the following:

- Stopping Al-Quds Day (in Toronto)
- Bike lane removals (in Toronto)
- Public sector salary caps
- Third-party election spending limits
- Gas pump stickers

[Doug Ford @fordnation]

I am extremely disappointed that the court has refused to put a stop to Al-Quds Day, which has long been a venue for antisemitism, hatred, intimidation and the glorification of terrorism.

While the judge cited Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, when we talk about rights we need to be clear that every person has the right to safety and security. We need to be clear that no one in Canada has the right to incite violence or free licence to intimidate and hate. The judge also said that Toronto Police Service do not need an injunction to preserve the peace. That's unbelievable! If that's the case, I fully expect that the police will immediately intervene at the first sign of hate, violence or glorification of terrorist organizations.

I won't stop working to put an end to the hatred and division that runs too rampant on Canada's streets. I won't stop working to protect the greatest province in the greatest country in the world.

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

Just a reminder: the government works for the people. We hire them (by voting), pay them (through taxes), and have the right to know what they do at work.

[Colin D'Mello | Global News @ColinDMello]

Global News has been engaged in a years-long transparency battle with Premier Doug Ford's office over his cell phone records.

The government has lost a battle in court.

The government is now changing the rules to neutralize the FOI.

#onpoli

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

@cathyacrowe @cityoftoronto @SHJNetwork Hello, I'm an editor at TorontoToday. Can you DM me?

[Brian Stelter @brianstelter]

Yes, this is real. Yes, it's astonishing. Global TV, which airs 60 Minutes in Canada, uploaded the original version of Sunday's episode, including the Sharyn Alfonsi segment that Bari Weiss shelved. And now people all across the internet are watching the segment.

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

Man selling a product says he totally uses it all the time

[More Perfect Union @MorePerfectUS]

Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"

Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."

[Simone Zimmerman @simonerzim]

This deeply intimate report on how Israeli surveillance technology has reshaped Palestinian life by @mrmhawish is absolutely gutting https://t.co/e3qpfOd0Fp

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

@leaannmallett Thank you!

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

A year ago, I quit my job at Canadaland. After many attempts to communicate with leadership, both as a reporter and president of the union, I no longer believed we agreed on what was responsible journalistic practice.

I’ve now listened to this series and remain concerned.

[Jesse Brown @JesseBrown]

There exists a furious effort to deny that this is happening at all.

[Emma McIntosh @EmmaMci]

gut-wrenching and important story by @ShreeParadkar https://t.co/kylGMZeqfD

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

@TorontoCen4Pal Appreciate the share!

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

@nlsil Thank you, I really appreciate this.

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

The public deserves to come away with a clear understanding of facts and context. That's what journalism does. I have to believe it still means something.

[Cherise Seucharan @cseucharan]

Further, this surge happened before the protests started. To what extent can the protests be blamed? Where did the earlier increase come from? I'd love to know.