Québec solidaire Volunteer Network

QSVN member Gale Pettus on Ricochet: "We need a Peoples’ Assembly to talk about sovereignty, not just for Quebec, but for Indigenous peoples. We need a new arrangement for people outside of the major power centres of Ottawa and Bay Street to ensure that Canadians can protect their drinking water without their access to health care being threatened."

A Peoples' Assembly could help First Nations assert their own sovereignty | Ricochet It is time for Quebec to be sovereign, and to respect the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples

On the campaign trail, Kathleen Gudmundsson meet the family of Thanina - a young girl who's had a life long struggle with a debilitating disease as well as healthcare bureaucracy. Tous pour Thanina. is organizing a fundraising bazaar this weekend. Why not go for a cup of mint tea and see how you can support?

Our social justice critique taking on racial profiling by Québec police.

Des Noirs n’en peuvent plus du profilage racial Contrôles d’identité injustifiés, arrestations, questions déplacées et filature: des résidents de Repentigny d’origine haïtienne sont exaspérés.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bpfhbhdh78g/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=kcoklvar647b

“My doctor Jerry Rabinowitz was among those killed in the Pittsburgh Synagogue shooting. He took care of me up until I left Pittsburgh for NYC in 2004.

In the old days for HIV patients in Pittsburgh, he was to one to go to. Basically before there was effective treatment for fighting HIV itself, he was known in the community for keeping us alive the longest. He often held our hands (without rubber gloves) and always always hugged us as we left his office.

We made a deal about my T cells, in that I didn’t want to know the numbers visit to visit, because I knew I would fret with every little fluctuation and I also knew that AZT was not working for my friends. The deal was that he would just let me know at some point when the T cell numbers meant I needed to start on medications. The numbers were his job and my job was to finish my masters thesis and get a job with insurance and try to not go crazy.

I got lucky beyond words — because when he gently told me around November 1995 that it was time to begin taking medications —there was an ACTG trial for two HIV medications that saved my life. One of which I still take today.

Thank you ACT UP for getting these drugs into a safe but effect expedited research protocol. You saved my life.

And THANK YOU Dr. Rabinowitiz for having always been there during the most terrifying and frightening time of my life. You will be remembered by me always. You are one of my heroes just like the early ACT UP warriors —- some of which I now call friends.” — by Michael Kerr

Many QS supporters and members feel our party's position on wearing of religious symbols compromises our standing as a party of social justice.

In the face of racist attacks on Québeckers in minority religious communities, QSVN members have voted to support a resolution from the Rosemont association calling on QS's leadership to re-evaluate our stance.

Here is the resolution in English:

1. Considering the declaration of principles which states that "it is essential to strengthen the fight against racism",

2. Considering that the program adopted at convention does not indicate occupations for which the wearing of religious symbols would be prohibited, and that it is therefore less restrictive than the recommendation of the Bouchard-Taylor report on the subject,

3. Considering that proposing the prohibition of the wearing of religious symbols for anyone only prolongs a false debate on secularism which aggravates an already tense situation,

4. Considering that the party's feminist positions are guided by an intersectional perspective of systemic discrimination experienced by racialized or marginalized girls and women,

5. Considering, finally, that a clearer anti-racist stance is needed in order to better root ourselves within racialized communities, which is particularly necessary to consolidate the gains made in the last elections,

It is requested that the CCN,

1. in accordance with our program, revises its position accordingly, and defends without compromise the right of all to express their religious convictions, as already guaranteed by the secularism of the State, the Charters of Rights and Freedoms of Quebec and Canada , the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

2. or failing that, put on the agenda of the National Council of December 2018 a debate at the end of which a new position could be democratically adopted in wait of a final debate at convention.

Are you a QS member who wants to make our position on religious symbols in the civil service anti-racist? A conference call is being organized to coordinate efforts across Qc, join in!

The conference call will take place in French, get in touch if you'd like to participate and need translation support.

Doodle: BT et QS Doodle radically simplifies the process of scheduling events, meetings, appointments, etc. Herding cats gets 2x faster with Doodle. For free!

Meet the new Québec Solidaire caucus

Vous pourrez compter sur la plus grosse équipe solidaire qu'on a jamais vue dans l'histoire du Québec.

Manon Massé, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, Christine Labrie QS, Sol Zanetti, Andrés Fontecilla, Ruba Ghazal, Vincent Marissal, Émilise Lessard-Therrien, Alexandre Leduc, Catherine Dorion QS Taschereau.

The highlights of Québec Solidaire's platform in English - share widely!

Québec Solidaire proposes a different path - Discover our political project Together, we can build another Quebec, one that works for everyone that works for everyone.

For too long, elections have been more of the same: more cuts for you, more money for the big corporations and the super-rich.

QS candidates are in solidarity with Syndicat APTS, a union of social workers, physiotherapists, lab techniciens and other health care professionals. They presented their employer with 26 non-salary related issues in February and not a single one has been settled since.

Rabah Moulla, Kathleen Gudmundsson, Eve Torres , Ekaterina Piskunova and Jean-Claude Aimé Kumuyange.