Building a Solidarity City Conference: Workshop Schedule and Descriptions

fb_lgSCHEDULE – SATURDAY, MAY 20, 2017
All events at 1455 de Maisonneuve West, 7th floor
[Full descriptions of all workshops are included below]
Conference info: http://bit.ly/SolidarityCityMay20
Pre-registration is encouraged (but not required): http://bit.ly/2pJO6OP

– 10am-10:45am: Opening Plenary: Building a Real Sanctuary/Solidarity City Together, with presentations – Room H-763

– 10:45am-12:30pm: 1st series of Workshops & Discussions (full descriptions below)

a) Education for All! (Collectif éducation sans frontières) – Room H-763

b) Between the individual and the collective: What are the actions and resources to act? (Health Care For All Committee) – Room H-767

c) Open the Borders: Cross-Border Solidarity from Canada-US to US-Mexico – Room H-769

– 12:30pm-1:30pm: Hot Free Lunch – Room H-765

– 1:30pm-3:15pm: 2nd series of Workshops & Discussions (full descriptions below)

d) Non-Collaboration with the CBSA – Room H-763

e) Access for All: Healthcare based on Need Not Status! (Friends of Marcia) – Room H-767

f) Hip Hop and Migrant Justice: Global rap across the political spectrum – Room H-769

– 3:30pm-5pm: Closing Plenary: Moving Forward Tangibly Towards a Solidarity City, with report-backs from Workshops & Discussions – Room H-763

[Full descriptions of all workshops are included below]

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Education For All! (Collectif Éducation Sans Frontières)
Saturday, May 20, 10:45am-12:30pm
Room H-763, 1455 de Maisonneuve West (métro Guy-Concordia)

Currently in Quebec, hundreds of children are deprived of one of their most essential rights: access to free education. Despite a media and political consensus on the issue, Quebec’s law on public education still links free education with migration status. We are against this state of affairs because it’s unacceptable that such a situation exists in Quebec society and especially because we consider that the right to education is fundamental that should never be put into doubt.

We are organizing this workshop to allow you to understand the realities of this shameful “Quebec exception” by providing background to the national and international context concerning access to education by non-status children. We will explain the struggles which has allowed the reality of children excluded from schooling to emerge from the shadows. We will also raise awareness about the discrimination beyond the law, including the practices of school boards that obstruct access to education. In the current context, certain political parties are proposing a change to the law so it’s more crucial than ever to continue to put pressure so this issue is resolved.

Facilitated by the Collectif Éducation Sans Frontières (CESF). The collective, active since the fall of 2011, is comprised of migrants and allies – parents, students, teachers, researchers, activists – who are concerned by the lack of access to free public education as a result of immigration status.

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Between the individual and the collective: What are the actions and resources to act? (Health Care For All!)
Saturday, May 20, 10:45am-12:30pm
Room H-767, 1455 de Maisonneuve West (métro Guy-Concordia)

This workshop on health care for all will focus on strategies to facilitate access to health care and social services and to existing resources. A resource guide will also be shared. It will also discuss current and future advocacy and activist efforts to facilitate access to care. The reflections will be based mainly on what is done in Montreal, but also on other Canadian provinces and on the experience in the United States. The discussions will be oriented towards the questions of the participants.

This workshop is intended for anyone accompanying persons without status, either individually or as a community worker or a CIUSSS. It also addresses anyone who is concerned with advocacy and activism for health for vulnerable groups, and more specifically for people without status.

Resource persons: Marianne Leaune-Welt, Olga Houde and Magalie Benoit.

Marianne Leaune-Welt is a social worker at the Médecins du Monde clinic for precarious migrants. Involved in the organization since 2013, his master’s project focused on the psychosocial needs of migrants with precarious status. It works in the training of health professionals in the health network on issues related to migration status and access to care. She was hired as a social worker to work directly with the clinic population in 2016.

Olga Houde has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from UQAM and a Master’s Degree in International Studies and International Law from UdeM. In 2015 she joined the Clinique des Solutions Justes team and is currently coordinating two legal clinics in this community organization that provides free legal and information services to people who are disadvantaged by Canadian immigration policies. She is also a volunteer at Médecins du Monde Canada and a research assistant at IRSPUM.

Magalie Benoit is an occupational therapist and has worked in mental health with immigrants and refugees in a CIUSSS (Transcultural Clinic). She is a member of Solidarity Across Borders, specifically the Health Care For All Committee since 2013. She also has experience in public health research with non-status people.

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Open the Borders: Cross-Border Solidarity from Canada-US to US-Mexico
Saturday, May 20, 10:45am-12:30pm
Room H-769, 1455 de Maisonneuve West (métro Guy-Concordia)

This multi-media presentation and discussion will explore together current struggles at the Canada-US and US-Mexico border, with a focus on resisting borders and supporting migrants who are crossing borders irregularly. The collective goal is to understand current dynamics at the border, within a “no border”  and “open borders” framework that understands border controls as fundamentally violent and racist. We will talk together about how to initiate and support anti-border efforts in North America, supporting cross-border struggles and organizing.

Presented by Jaggi Singh, co-host of No One Is Illegal Radio and an organizer with Solidarity Across Borders.

 

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Non-Collaboration with the Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA)
Saturday, May 20, 1:30pm-3:15pm
Room H-763, 1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest (métro Guy-Concordia)

A Solidarity City is more than a Sanctuary City, but one common denominator is that non-collaboration of police forces with federal enforcement agencies should be a non-negotiable condition. Recent events have highlighted that the supposed sanctuary cities in North America are not really so. Since sanctuary cities have failed for decades to create safe urban spaces for people without status, how can we achieve this as a Solidarity City? This workshop is intended for all those individuals, collectives and organizations who want to help disrupt the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) so that all people can live freely in our streets.

This workshop will be co-hosted by a lawyer practicing refugee law and humanitarian immigration law who is a member of the Solidarity City Committee of Solidarity Across Borders.

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Access for All: Healthcare based on Need Not Status!
Saturday, May 20, 1:30pm-3:15pm
Room H-767, 1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest (métro Guy-Concordia)

This workshop will be discussion of firsthand experiences with the healthcare system by non-status folks, and folks with disabilities, and a discussion on what change needs to be seen to render services more accessible. We will also discuss current strategies being used to push for access within the current campaign directed at MAB (Montreal Association for the Blind) Mackay in one case of support by “Friends of Marcia”, all with the goal of organizing towards wider networks of support towards a Solidarity City, and a more accessible city for all.

Facilitated by “Friends of Marcia”, a group of Solidarity Across Border members supporting an undocumented woman, Marcia, as she regains autonomy after a recent loss of vision, and throughout the lengthy process of applying for citizenship.

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Hip Hop and Migrant Justice: Global rap across the political spectrum
Saturday, May 20, 1:30pm-3:15pm
Room H-769, 1455 de Maisonneuve Ouest (métro Guy-Concordia)

Microphone Check 1,2 1,2. Join us for a discussion on the various stories and legends surrounding hip hop and its place in global migration. Probing into the narratives of oppression that migrants (and refugees) face every day, Hip Hop gives a “voice for the voiceless” as Iraqi-British rapper Lowkey once put it. All around the world, people participate in the celebration of their fluid culture and human universality. This workshop will attempt to analyze how the echoes of this participation place Hip Hop across the political spectrum. Is Hip Hop your racist uncle or your rad cousin? Come find out and help us explore and discuss the stories from around the world.

Facilitated by members of Rap Battles for Social Justice. Rap Battles for Social Justice is an educational entertainment platform that strives to propel the voices of POCs and marginalized communities. The organization uses its platform to raise funds for community groups around Montreal and Quebec, using art as an engine for social change. In the past we have tackled topics such as: Migrant Justice, Police Brutality, Austerity, Gender Justice and many more.

 

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Conference info: http://bit.ly/SolidarityCityMay20

Pre-registration is encouraged (but not required): http://bit.ly/2pJO6OP