filter Cafe

On April 21st, in anticipation of Earth Day, we held a film screening of ‘Earth’s Greatest Enemy’ at filter Cafe. I gave some opening remarks before the film which you can read here, and then gave some after thoughts that were shared by folks who attended the film:

Hello and welcome to this screening of Earth’s Greatest Enemy, a new documentary by Abby Martin.

Thank you so much for coming.

Just before I started advertising for this film screening there was an article that came out in the London Free Press – As Canada increases military spending, London-area industry eyes major growth.

In it they boast

IMT Precision in Ingersol – making 155 mil artillery shells – 400 jobs

Colt Canada in Kitchener is making assault rifles – 70 new jobs

Roshel in Brampton – 383 new armoured trucks – armoured trucks that we saw attacking people in Minnesota this winter

And more Light Armoured vehicles being made here in London by GDLS

Overall around 20 businesses supporting 4000 workers.

The position that I hold, and I’m sure many of you share, of wanting to live in a peaceful society. Of wanting to live in an equitable society. Where the actions of my community build each other up – is one that we can create, but not at the expense of people who live in other parts of the world. This position can feel almost embarrassing when we have a Prime Minister who is pouring billions and billions of dollars into military spending while cutting public service jobs. It feels naive, when you have reporters glazing the industry growth telling us how good it is for workers in the area, as we build machines that kill workers abroad. And it can feel futile when the public sway towards militarism and resource extraction is at an all time high, and those who may have been against such actions in the past are cheering Carney on as though he is our great national hero.

I invited our local politicians, from city councillors to MPs, to come and watch this film with us. I invited executive from GDLS and members of their union Unifor 27. If any of you happen to be from that company or a part of another company currently employed in the manufacturing of military equipment, welcome. I am honoured that you came and I hope we can have a productive conversation. It is important for us all to be having these conversations. There are significant material realities that drive us to the work we perform. And it is beyond any one of us to change how our societies relates to this world. But coming together like this, learning about what is going on in the world at large, and deciding to move towards communities of care, we can and will make a difference.

Kurt Holman is the Member of Parliament for whom GDLS resides in. And while he couldn’t be here tonight, I have started a letter in the front room that folks can add to, and I have distributed pens and sticky notes for you to write your own messages there as well. It is my position that any city that is not actively developing towards a robust public transportation system and walkability is actively participating in the genocide in Congo. GDLS is actively creating vehicles that kill people in other nations. They could be leaders in high-speed rail and light rail transit options for cities making London a leader in Public transportation rather than war.

As you watch this film, what questions come up for you? How does the information depicted in the film translate to a London context? What can we do in our community to reduce our impact on climate disasters that we are seeing year after year? Write them down and we can include them on the letter that we will send to Kurt. His office did get back to me and asked where they could view the film. So perhaps he will take a look and perhaps he can start voicing our concerns in parliament.

In closing, I’d like to talk about the Two Row Wampum held between settlers and first nations. Over the past two decades we have made strides in learning the extent of harm cause by our colonial approach on this land. Through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and our adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, how are we able to continue supporting imperialist agendas throughout the world, both ours or those of other nations?

The core principle of the Two Row Wampum is one of non-interference between settlers and indigenous peoples. While that has historically been discarded, it is an important principle that we should come back to, it is an important principle for us to adopt with other nations. Additionally, the Dish With One Spoon Covenant Wampum notably held between the Anishinaabek and the Haudenosaunee and was a common understanding among other nations of this land including the Attawandaron and the Lenape, is a treaty that recognizes the shared relationship we all have to this land and that we cannot over extract and exhaust the resources. Especially in the context of reconciliation, we need to be holding our elected officials and the institutions that operate in our communities to the standard of respecting indigenous sovereignty and ensuring the Dish with One Spoon Wampum is honoured.

Now lets watch this film, and afterwards if folks feel like talking, feel free to get another drink or treat and we can chat after the film.