Mike Palecek

@Mike_Palecek

must be stopped.

Joined March 2012

546 Following

943 Followers

631 Posts

Mike_Palecek retweeted

Avi Lewis

@avilewis

4 months ago

The President of the United States is openly threatening to commit genocide against 90 million people. Prime Minister Carney: if there was ever a moment to denounce this illegal war, withdraw your support, and call for accountability for war crimes—it’s now.

avilewis's tweet photo. The President of the United States is openly threatening to commit genocide against 90 million people.

Prime Minister Carney: if there was ever a moment to denounce this illegal war, withdraw your support, and call for accountability for war crimes—it’s now. https://t.co/YZHMC4eU3l

458

96K

Mike_Palecek retweeted

Bianca Mugyenyi @Bianca_Kabibi

6 months ago

ICE agents have just killed another individual in cold blood in Minneapolis. A day after a general strike in the city sparked by ICE’s assassination of Renee Nicole Good, Trump's goons have repeatedly shot another person. These killings reflect the growing danger of racist authoritarianism in the United States. This directly impacts Canadians. Around 100 Canadian citizens, including children, are reportedly in ICE detention. We’re seeing increased demonization of migrants in this country. Two weeks ago, the Canada First Movement organized “Stop Mass Immigration” rallies in Toronto and Ottawa. The protests called to “Start Mass deportations” and “Close our borders”. Right wing protesters have been calling to “Bring ICE to Canada”. Echoing this Trumpian sentiment, last month the government adopted Bill C-12 “Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act”. It restricts refugee claims and grants sweeping powers to cancel immigration papers without due process. I came to Canada from Uganda when I was five. When I was just six months old, a truck filled with soldiers came to the university in Kampala where my father lectured, searching for him. Fortunately, a friend passed him in a hallway and tipped him off about the danger. And he immediately fled across the border to Kenya where my mother and I soon joined him. The platform I'm campaigning on to lead the NDP calls for opposing Bill C-12 and withdrawing from the Safe Third Country Agreement. The US is anything but a “safe” place to automatically expel refugees and migrants. The platform also calls to upend the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. It calls “to end closed work permits tied to employers” and “ensure the application of Provincial/Territorial employment standard regulations to workers in TFWP.” Corporations use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to drive down wages and bolster their control over employees. This makes it harder for people living in Canada, often youth, to find work. Businesses also exploit undocumented people’s vulnerability to pay them less while overworking and abusing them as the threat of deportation hangs over their heads. Undercutting workers’ rights benefits the wealthy. Scapegoating immigrants for rising housing costs and other social ills also benefits financial elites. The rich in Canada have never been more powerful than today. Wealth inequality is at an all-time high. A single Canadian is worth $88 billion - equivalent to the lifetime earnings of over 50,000 average Canadians. As they accumulate ever more socially created wealth, billionaires often focus attention on others to explain away social problems. Leaders are conceding to xenophobia instead of dealing with the growing power of corporations and the ultra-wealthy. It doesn't have to be this way. We could tackle the housing crisis by building hundreds of thousands of units of social housing every year. In 2024 we only built half the number of homes required according to the federal government's housing corporation. And few of them were built publicly. In addition to huge numbers of new public and co-operative units, we’ve called to take the corporate speculators out of housing. Specifically, we want to convert the 200,000 units controlled by Real Estate Investment Trusts into democratically run co-op housing. We can have full healthcare, where medication, dental, mental health, vision care and pharmacare are social rights. There are impoverished children in this country in need of dental care who go to the ER for relief once it gets threatening enough to be serious. There are diabetic Canadians who buy cheaper pet insulin instead of getting it from a pharmacy. When half of Canadians cannot afford an unexpected expense of $200, it becomes harder to justify that new pair of glasses. All while harming day-to-day life. But, the government is unwilling to solve the crises working class Canadians face. It refuses to tax, let alone expropriate, billionaire wealth. It has acceded to Trump’s demands to massively increase military spending. Fascism feeds on the desperation we feel as the political system collapses around us. We cannot lie down and allow authoritarian forces to rise in Canada as well. The NDP should champion the pushback. In seeking to lead the party, I am advancing an approach that challenges power on all fronts - prioritizing working people, dismantling billionaire dominance, slashing military spending, and expanding universal basic services. We cannot back down as authoritarian winds surge. Find power in knowing that you are right, the system is broken. It's time to change this. Together.

Bianca_Kabibi's tweet photo. ICE agents have just killed another individual in cold blood in Minneapolis. A day after a general strike in the city sparked by ICE’s assassination of Renee Nicole Good, Trump's goons have repeatedly shot another person.

These killings reflect the growing danger of racist authoritarianism in the United States. This directly impacts Canadians. Around 100 Canadian citizens, including children, are reportedly in ICE detention.
We’re seeing increased demonization of migrants in this country. Two weeks ago, the Canada First Movement organized “Stop Mass Immigration” rallies in Toronto and Ottawa. The protests called to “Start Mass deportations” and “Close our borders”. Right wing protesters have been calling to “Bring ICE to Canada”.

Echoing this Trumpian sentiment, last month the government adopted Bill C-12 “Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act”. It restricts refugee claims and grants sweeping powers to cancel immigration papers without due process.

I came to Canada from Uganda when I was five. When I was just six months old, a truck filled with soldiers came to the university in Kampala where my father lectured, searching for him. Fortunately, a friend passed him in a hallway and tipped him off about the danger. And he immediately fled across the border to Kenya where my mother and I soon joined him.

The platform I'm campaigning on to lead the NDP calls for opposing Bill C-12 and withdrawing from the Safe Third Country Agreement. The US is anything but a “safe” place to automatically expel refugees and migrants.

The platform also calls to upend the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. It calls “to end closed work permits tied to employers” and “ensure the application of Provincial/Territorial employment standard regulations to workers in TFWP.”

Corporations use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to drive down wages and bolster their control over employees. This makes it harder for people living in Canada, often youth, to find work. Businesses also exploit undocumented people’s vulnerability to pay them less while overworking and abusing them as the threat of deportation hangs over their heads. Undercutting workers’ rights benefits the wealthy.

Scapegoating immigrants for rising housing costs and other social ills also benefits financial elites. The rich in Canada have never been more powerful than today. Wealth inequality is at an all-time high. A single Canadian is worth $88 billion - equivalent to the lifetime earnings of over 50,000 average Canadians.

As they accumulate ever more socially created wealth, billionaires often focus attention on others to explain away social problems.

Leaders are conceding to xenophobia instead of dealing with the growing power of corporations and the ultra-wealthy.

It doesn't have to be this way. We could tackle the housing crisis by building hundreds of thousands of units of social housing every year. In 2024 we only built half the number of homes required according to the federal government's housing corporation. And few of them were built publicly.

In addition to huge numbers of new public and co-operative units, we’ve called to take the corporate speculators out of housing. Specifically, we want to convert the 200,000 units controlled by Real Estate Investment Trusts into democratically run co-op housing.

We can have full healthcare, where medication, dental, mental health, vision care and pharmacare are social rights.

There are impoverished children in this country in need of dental care who go to the ER for relief once it gets threatening enough to be serious. There are diabetic Canadians who buy cheaper pet insulin instead of getting it from a pharmacy.

When half of Canadians cannot afford an unexpected expense of $200, it becomes harder to justify that new pair of glasses. All while harming day-to-day life.
But, the government is unwilling to solve the crises working class Canadians face. It refuses to tax, let alone expropriate, billionaire wealth. It has acceded to Trump’s demands to massively increase military spending.

Fascism feeds on the desperation we feel as the political system collapses around us.

We cannot lie down and allow authoritarian forces to rise in Canada as well. The NDP should champion the pushback. In seeking to lead the party, I am advancing an approach that challenges power on all fronts - prioritizing working people, dismantling billionaire dominance, slashing military spending, and expanding universal basic services.

We cannot back down as authoritarian winds surge.
Find power in knowing that you are right, the system is broken. It's time to change this.

Together.

Mike_Palecek retweeted

Yves Engler

@EnglerYves

6 months ago

BREAKING: SENDING AN EMAIL TO THE POLICE IS NOW A CRIME IN CANADA Today, a Quebec court decided that the "Send" button is a criminal weapon. Judge Karine Giguère found me guilty of harassment and obstruction of justice today. My crime? Promoting an Action Network email campaign where supporters asked the police to drop a ridiculous investigation. The Crown argument was that a detective was "intimidated" by receiving 1,500 emails. The court ruled that because these emails briefly "stopped her email from working," it constitutes criminal obstruction. Let that sink in. They didn't convict me for violence. They didn't convict me for threats. They convicted me because the public demand for accountability was too loud for their inbox to handle. This verdict is not just an attack on me — it is a declaration of war against every activist, every union member, and every citizen who dares to petition a public official. If you email your MP too many times, is that harassment? If a union floods a CEO’s inbox during a strike, is that obstruction? If 100,000 NDP members demand a leadership vote, is that a crime? This is the fragility of the police state on full display. They have guns, badges, and jails, but they crumble when the public sends them a letter. I spent five days in jail to fight their gag orders. I will appeal this conviction all the way to the top. Not just to clear my name, but to ensure that your right to speak to power doesn't end in handcuffs. They want silence. We are going to get louder. If you can assist with the legal appeal: https://t.co/IGGn5S4RIB

EnglerYves's tweet photo. BREAKING: SENDING AN EMAIL TO THE POLICE IS NOW A CRIME IN CANADA

Today, a Quebec court decided that the "Send" button is a criminal weapon.

Judge Karine Giguère found me guilty of harassment and obstruction of justice today. My crime? Promoting an Action Network email campaign where supporters asked the police to drop a ridiculous investigation.

The Crown argument was that a detective was "intimidated" by receiving 1,500 emails. The court ruled that because these emails briefly "stopped her email from working," it constitutes criminal obstruction.

Let that sink in.

They didn't convict me for violence. They didn't convict me for threats. They convicted me because the public demand for accountability was too loud for their inbox to handle.

This verdict is not just an attack on me — it is a declaration of war against every activist, every union member, and every citizen who dares to petition a public official.

If you email your MP too many times, is that harassment?

If a union floods a CEO’s inbox during a strike, is that obstruction?

If 100,000 NDP members demand a leadership vote, is that a crime?

This is the fragility of the police state on full display. They have guns, badges, and jails, but they crumble when the public sends them a letter.

I spent five days in jail to fight their gag orders. I will appeal this conviction all the way to the top. Not just to clear my name, but to ensure that your right to speak to power doesn't end in handcuffs.

They want silence. We are going to get louder.

If you can assist with the legal appeal: https://t.co/IGGn5S4RIB

136

873

165

59K

Mike_Palecek retweeted

Yves Engler

@EnglerYves

about 1 year ago

Fire Canada Post board, says NDP candidate Yves Engler blasts government interference in collective bargaining, vows to "fire the entire board of directors at Canada Post" Postal workers are beginning a forced contract vote as the Liberal government interferes for a second time in this round of bargaining. The Liberal government ordered an end to strike action last year, and now have ordered a vote. "We are in this mess because successive Liberal and Conservative governments have interfered in collective bargaining at Canada Post." said NDP Leadership Candidate Yves Engler, "Decades of government interference and poor management decisions have brought us to this point." When governments interfere in the collective bargaining process, it prevents workers and employers from coming to a real agreement. A fair contract is impossible when the government puts their finger on the scale. Unfair agreements lead only to more conflict. No matter what happens in the vote next week, the actions from the government have only set the stage for the next dispute. They have resolved nothing. "The first step to fixing this is to fire the entire board of directors at Canada Post" said Yves Engler, NDP leadership candidate, "We shouldn't keep rewarding failure. Management has refused to do what post offices around the world have done and expand services to keep the post office running. Postal banking is a simple solution that not only brings in revenue, but also promotes financial inclusion and makes sure that every citizen has the right to access a bank account. The solutions are there, but leadership isn't listening. Canada Post needs a leadership team that actually believes in public service, working under a government that actually believes in collective bargaining." For more information: [email protected]