Perspectives from Londoners

PERSPECTIVES: Bill C-22 poses a very serious risk to privacy rights

In an unprecedented move, the Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney is in the process of passing a controversial bill that’s garnered concern both at home and abroad. Bill C-22, the “Lawful Access Act” is currently in committee consideration and awaiting third reading in Parliament this coming Tuesday. This legislation, in its current form, is looking to provide law enforcement with the power to force service providers, including secure VPNs, to provide users’ personal information and metadata. It also requires said information to be stored for up to a year.  Although federal authorities defending the bill have stated…

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Three Community Living London workers belonging to OPSEU Local 166 take a photo in front of sign for MPP Rob Flack's office.

PERSPECTIVES: Worth fighting for: Community Living London workers ready to strike

Community Living London workers are preparing to walk off the job on Monday, joining thousands of workers across Ontario in a growing labour dispute driven by chronic underfunding, low wages, and worsening working conditions.  This action is a part of the “Worth Fighting For” campaign, a coordinated, province-wide community and labour action in Ontario led by frontline workers in the community and social services sectors, including members of OPSEU/SEFPO and CUPE. Workers are demanding retroactive pay to compensate for wage increases being unfairly capped at 1 percent in 2019 by the Ontario government’s Bill 124, which was ruled unconstitutional in…

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PERSPECTIVES: Stevenson for Mayor? Thanks, Josh Morgan

In this increasingly polarized political climate that we find ourselves in today, Londoners don’t seem to agree on much. But if there’s one sentiment that’s almost unanimous across all 14 wards, it’s that our city is headed in the wrong direction. The genuine anger and frustration at the state of our city is palpable, much of it justifiable and righteous within itself. But it is commonly misdirected towards our unhoused neighbours, immigrants, or the “other” – whoever that may be at any given moment. No one has better capitalized upon this smouldering rage than current Ward 4 councillor – now…

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PERSPECTIVES: It’s About Time We Take Our City Back From Corporate Interests 

On March 28, I had the pleasure of participating in the province-wide Fight Ford protests right here in London, Ontario at Victoria Park. I was incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to speak to an issue that Londoners across this city know all too well— our city being an increasingly unaffordable rental market with working-class Londoners priced out of housing by corporate developers and predatory landlords.   Now, with the news that our city has officially earned the unfortunate distinction of having the highest unemployment rate in the country at 9.1%, this housing emergency has become all the more dire.   As…

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PERSPECTIVES: Recollections and Reflections on the 2026 NDP Convention

There was much speculation going into convention that the NDP was a spent force in Canada’s political scene. I and many attending the 2026 bi-annual convention in Winnipeg were not of this view. That said, I venture to guess that many of the over 2000 delegates believed that, beyond electing a new leader, the organization must change to meet the moment.  Overall, I felt that the mood at this convention was hopeful. London was well represented by new and long-time members of all four London area ridings, including active union members, disability and education activists, and all four 2025 federal…

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PERSPECTIVES: We Must Fight Ford’s Policies that Hurt the Working Class  

On March 28, in cities across Ontario, thousands of people gathered in protests to ‘Fight Ford’ including London. Doug Ford and his Conservative government have spent years attacking the very things that make our communities strong—our schools, our healthcare system, our workers, our environment—all while handing public wealth over to private corporate interests. We must be clear about something right from the start: this government does not have a real mandate. In the 2025 provincial election, they won a majority with just 43% of the vote—on only 45% turnout. That’s less than 20% of eligible voters. Twenty percent is not…

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PERSPECTIVES: Iran and the Contradictions of “Humanitarian Intervention”: A Philosophical Perspective

The following is an edited version of a speech delivered by an Iranian community member at a recent teach-in on Iran. The teach-in emphasized popular struggle against clerical tyranny in Iran while resisting the right-wing, monarchist call for imperialist intervention.   From a fringe far-right position, Iranian monarchism has grown in its relative popularity over the past two decades. It has become one of the main ideological forces shaping the political mentality of the Iranian diaspora in North America, especially after the recent round of street protests starting in Tehran and brutal repression in January 2026. Exclusivity and impulsive hostility toward…

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The Rise of Anti-Immigrant Racism Led to Violent Attacks and Silence in London Community

On January 18, a group of South Asian youth from the Malayali community were targeted and attacked in Victoria Park. This racist violence seriously injured four of them, including one suffering a critical eye injury. They are workers in the London community, having recently graduated as international students from local post-secondary education.   The London Police didn’t release a media statement for public safety.  Only days after the attacks, upon seeing statements by London Malayali cultural groups raising community safety concerns, did anyone from the wider community respond.  Both the racist attacks and the following silence are symptoms of anti-immigrant racism.  …

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A poster displayed with London, ON City Hall in the background. The poster reads: "This city is an open grave filled to overflowing with the present absence of all my dead friends. This city is a slaughterhouse and nobody is criminally responsible just fiscally responsible. This city is a ghostland, hey there’s Nikki I think to myself. Hey there’s Cam I say before remembering they’re all dead. This city rewards the greedy and destroys the kind. This city is in other words a secure investment. Rejoice you bankers. Take heart you real estate investors. All your properties will appreciate in value and all your enemies will be dead. XOXO"

PERSPECTIVES: On Being Good Neighbours

[CONTEXT: On Monday, January 26, 2026, the Committee and Protective Services Committee (CPSC) is meeting at City Hall to discuss a proposal that, if passed, would cause serious harm to some of the most oppressed and vulnerable Londoners, as well as those who do what they can to provide care to said Londoners. This proposal was added at the last minute to the meeting agenda, so that the deadline to apply to speak to the CPSC passed before most people were aware that it had been added. Since that time, numerous people have asked the CPSC Chair, Elizabeth Peloza, to…

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PERSPECTIVES: Nightmares and Dreams of Iranian Republicanism: The Responsibility of Intellectuals

The following is an account of an Iranian student at Western University reflecting on the current protests in Iran and its promises and dangers. The situation in Iran is so dark and stark that it leaves anyone too overwhelmed for sober and comprehensive analysis.  It is important, however, not to fall for a simplifying framing that distorts the picture into a mere battle between the so-called brutal medieval mindset of political Islam against the secular mentality of modern Iranians. This framing is based on Orientalism, cultural essentialism, and dissociating cultural and political conflicts from the history of class and economic development…

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