London postal workers return to strike line to protect public mail services

On Thursday, the Liberal federal government instructed Canada Post to end home delivery and close some rural mail outlets. The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) responded with a nationwide strike. London workers with CUPW Local 566 joined the picket line Friday morning at the Oxford and Highbury processing plant. “The government keeps overreaching and not allowing for free and fair bargaining,” said Michael Coppins, CUPW 566 External Grievance Officer. “We feel like we’ve been left out in the cold.” The December national strike was ended by a back-to-work order of the Industrial Relations Board at the direction of Liberal…

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“Caring about humanity is the most punk rock thing of all”: Propagandhi, Thunder Queens & MVLL CRIMES at London Music Hall

What is there to do in London, Ontario, on a Thursday night in September as another school year is beginning? Quite a lot, actually, but on this particular night I made the choice to stop thinking so hard about Canada’s current neoliberal hellscape and to go to a punk show instead. Was this a total vacation from thinking about politics? Not at all, because this was a Propagandhi show. The Manitoba group formed in 1986, and by 1996 they had developed such a reputation for explaining their songs between sets that they joked about it in an album title. Less…

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OPSEU rally brings workers together in fight for public education

More than 100 community members and education workers joined Fanshawe support staff workers on their picket line in front of the college Friday, as the union’s strike ended its first week. Fanshawe College’s over 650 full-time support staff, who are represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 109 have been on strike since Sept. 11. The local joins more than 10,000 full-time college support staff across the province in striking for job security measures, an increase to provincial funding in the sector, and to ensure benefits cover things like dental and hearing services.  On Friday, the union…

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Can’t we all be free Under The Same Sun?

Historical fictions breathe the stories of the old world. The ability to tell a story of how something might have come to be, a story which likely has been told for centuries is a wonder to behold. We’ve been telling stories forever, we’ve been writing them for a blip in that time, and we’ve been filming them for the tiniest fraction of that blip — leaving an infinite amount of time to film stories we’ve never seen. Spanish writer/director Ulises Porra’s Under The Same Sun is one such historical fiction that tells a beautiful story of how something came to…

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Zain Duraie’s Sink is as honest as it is heartbreaking

Zain Duraie’s Sink is the right amount of devastating. One of my favourites of the festival, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last week. There is no shortage of films that cover mental illness in the modern context. Predominantly American or European, there are dozens if not hundreds of projects that show the sadness, the stigma, and the need for community support when dealing with mental health issues. Still, few films expertly portray an earnest perspective of the emotions involved outside of the melodrama frequently depicted. To truly succeed in portraying mental illness requires…

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Seemab Gul’s Ghost School is an outstanding debut feature

With gorgeous cinematography and keen direction from director Seemab Gul’s debut feature, Ghost School shows remarkable strength and film-making talent. The Urdu-language feature, which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, follows the journey of 10-year old Rabia (an outstanding performance from child actress Nazualiya Arsalan) who undertakes the journey of uncovering the mystery behind “ghost school” phenomenon in Pakistan after her school is abruptly shut down. The exploration takes place through the pure and curious lens of a young girl who above-all wants to go back to school. Ghost schools are institutions that exist on paper, or…

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