Author: Ed Dunsworth

Save the date for our annual general meeting: Tuesday, Dec. 4 at Steelworkers’ Hall. Stay tuned to our mailing list for the exact time and further details.

From our monthly meeting on 24 Sept. 2018.

Toronto has been home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years,
including the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and most recently the Mississaugas
of the New Credit First Nation. Today, it remains home to many
Indigenous people from across Turtle Island.

It goes without saying that most of Toronto’s Indigenous inhabitants –
like its other inhabitants – are, for a sizable portion of their lives,
workers. And many are aware that the processes that gave rise to Toronto
as a workers’ city – immigration, capitalist development, liberalization
– went hand in hand with the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. In
spite of this, we seldom bring together these two deeply intertwined
histories of Indigenous people and labour. This forum attempts to bridge
this gap.

Moderated by David Kidd. Presentations by:

* Zachary Smith (Anishinaabe), PhD Candidate in Indigenous history at
the University of Toronto.

* Margaret Sault, Director of Lands, Research and Membership,
Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.

Tuesday, October 9, 7:00 p.m.
Ralph Thornton Community Centre
765 Queen St E. (east of Broadview)

** Note change from our usual location **

The area of Toronto east of the Don River has always had a rich, distinctive history. Its industries, its neighbourhoods, and its community institutions have all sustained a large working-class population. Come out to hear fascinating reports on three projects that explore that history, focusing on industry, health care, and community journalism.

Camille Begin, The Industrial History of the Dundas-Carlaw Neighbourhood
Heritage Toronto conducted research into the rich history of this part of Leslieville. They reached out to thousands of people who lived, worked, and sometimes played in the Dundas and Carlaw area, and heard from couples who met while working at the Carlaw factories and from entire families who were employed in the neighbourhood. Earlier this year Heritage Toronto unveiled a heritage plaque and accompanying self-guided walking tour to honour this history.

Simon Vickers and Ulli Diemer, The Ward 7 News Project
Ward 7 News was a community newspaper that circulated in Ward 7 (roughly the east downtown and Riverdale) between 1970 and 1985. Reporting on the everyday triumphs, struggles and anxieties that concerned residents in a largely working-class area during a period of intense social and economic change, the staff at Ward 7 News captured a version of the 1970s and 1980s that was not visible from city-hall. The project is a digital teaching resource based on this paper. The presenters willl describe how local stories can inspire interest in history by connecting students with the social/built space around them.

Carol Anderson, The South Riverdale Community Health Centre
The South Riverdale Community Health Centre has been providing a wide range of accessible health care services to the area’s working-class residents since 1976. Since its creation, the Centre has played an important role in safeguarding the health of both residents and the community, from “Get the Lead Out” campaigns to the creation of one of the first safe injection sites in Toronto.

Monday, September 17, 7:00 p.m.
Steelworkers’ Hall, 25 Cecil St.

Toronto has been home to Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, including the Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and most recently the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. Today, it remains home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island.

It goes without saying that most of Toronto’s Indigenous inhabitants – like its other inhabitants – are, for a sizable portion of their lives, workers. And many are aware that the processes that gave rise to Toronto as a workers’ city – immigration, capitalist development, liberalization – went hand in hand with the dispossession of Indigenous peoples. In spite of this, we seldom bring together these two deeply intertwined histories of Indigenous people and labour. Please join us on Monday, September 17 for the TWHP’s initial efforts to bridge this gap. Our speakers for the evening are:

– Margaret Sault, Director of Lands, Research and Membership, Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation; and
– Zachary Smith (Anishinaabe), PhD Candidate in Indigenous history at the University of Toronto.

Facebook event here.

Please save the dates for the fall line-up of TWHP monthly meetings! Make sure to stay tuned to the website and/or mailing list for more information.

Sept. 17: The Toronto Purchase

Oct. 9: Workers in Toronto’s East End (note that we are looking into East End venues, so stay tuned for location)

Nov. 13: Remembering the Days of Action

We also invite you to attend the TWHP co-sponsored book launch for Christo Aivalis’ The Constant Liberal: Pierre Trudeau, Organized Labour, and the Canadian Social Democratic Left on Wed, Sept. 26 at 7pm at Steelworkers Hall. Full details here.

Join us for our next monthly meeting, “Challenging Child Labour.”

Wednesday June 13, 7:00 p.m.
Steelworkers’ Hall, 25 Cecil St.

Children in this country once started work for their families or their bosses at a young age. In some parts of the world they still do. June 12 is World Day Against Child Labour, and TWHP is holding a meeting the next day to explore child labour in the past and present.

Craig Heron, labour historian at York University, will discuss how children were used in industry in Canada and what campaigns emerged to eliminate the practice. (Note: the old Toronto Trades and Labour Council was a leader in those battles.)

Derek Blackadder, former CUPE national rep and Canadian correspondent for LabourStart, will discuss the issues of child labour in the global south today and the efforts to combat it.

PLUS

The Toronto Workers History Theatre Group

presents

The Labours of Little Ones

A short play about the struggle to root out child labour in Toronto in the 1880s and the important role of the Toronto labour movement.