Yesterday was Canada Day.

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I have put up several pages of information to help people get involved in the activist scene in Edmonton. Check out the menu above to see a current list of resources and information (it is a work in progress).
The idea of the Activist Agenda is to be a central hub of information to help people access that information so that they can become involved. It is focused on activism and community in Edmonton and area.

Issues presently posted on this website. Easy access to groups and information to get involved – getting active (with more to come):

• Animal Rights/Welfare/Diet
• Climate Change
• Environment – General
• Food
• Media
• Peace
• Racism
• Social Justice
• Transportation/Mobility
• Waste/Littering/Plastic Pollution

Video of the Week

June 2023 was Bike Month in Edmonton – The Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues had a friendly competition among the leagues. Here are the results.

July 1st Edmonton’s Single-Use Item Reduction Bylaw – this has been a long time in the making and many of us have been waiting for this bylaw. BIG shout-out to Waste Free Edmonton for pushing this for several years. It is not perfect but is a good step in the right direction – a reduction of single-use disposable items. A win for the environment.
Check out the Activist Agenda page on Waste/Littering/Plastic Pollution

July 3rd, Monday Farm Animal Rescue & Rehoming Movement (FARRM) Tour – “Come visit FARRM and learn about each resident’s story. It’s a unique experience to connect with our crew and learn about the work we do.”
Location: just outside Wetaskiwin. Exact detail on registration
Register: Facebook
Cost: 21.99$ children under 12 are free

July 4th, Tuesday Loblaws Broken Promises Protest – “Loblaws promised to no longer sell Caged Birds Eggs on any of their shelves. They have since gone back on that promise and have not yet given a date when this would happen.”
Location: see Facebook

July 7th, Friday Plant and Pull Volunteering – “Looking for a fun and rewarding way to get involved in your community and make a positive impact on the environment? Join us for the City of Edmonton’s upcoming Plant & Pull events!
These events provide a great opportunity for volunteers of all ages and skill levels to come together and work towards a common goal: protecting and preserving our local environment. The events involve volunteers participating in both planting native trees and pulling invasive weeds in local parks and green spaces around Edmonton. These events are hands-on and educational, providing volunteers with the opportunity to learn about the impact of invasive species on our environment and the importance of responsible land stewardship. The events last two hours and all supplies are provided.”
Time: starts at 10 am
Location: 184th street (exact location provide upon registration)
Register: Free but register here

July 7th, Friday Tri Region Pay Forward Kindness (PFK Society) Fundraiser At The Trax!! – “What is P.F.K??
P.F.K also known as Tri Region Pay Forward Kindness (Society) are the ones “walking beside” people through the challenges faced being unsheltered and barriers preventing housing right here in our own Parkland County Community.
They stay current on supports and help direct individuals to appropriate solutions in order to help build them up to their best selves. They support health care visits to ensure visits are productive for both parties, keep things coordinated, liaison between resources to help create better relationships.
P.F.K also provides frequent mobile warmth on wheels meals and bagged lunches to support our community struggling with homelessness and poverty
P.F.K created a community table where we serve meals and direct people to community resources available in our Tri-Region including such thing as self care…providing hot showers or hair cuts.
PFK does not receive government funding of any sort and strictly rely on community kindness and donations.
In saying all of this we are really excited to host a fundraising night to support these wonderful humans running P.F.K.
On July 7th, please join us AT THE TRAX to enjoy a fun night! We will be having a silent auction, 50/50 tickets, and a meat draw. All the while, you may have an opportunity to see how well you can sing as it’s Karaoke night!! There might be a couple other surprises for the night?! Just get yer butt there!!”
Location: At the TRAX Public House 304 Westgrove Drive, Spruce Grove
More Information: Facebook

July 8th, Saturday What’s Next: Post-Election Community Summit from 10:00 am to 5 pm – Public Interest Alberta is putting on this event. “Whether you were working on a local election, put your name forward as a candidate, or cast a ballot, I know it’s been an intense election for everyone. Thank you for everything you did over the past weeks and months to make sure the public interest was on the radar in the election.
It’s clear this is not the outcome many of us were hoping for. Yet again, we’re facing a government whose regressive agenda of cuts, privatization, and chaos has made our lives worse.”
So, what’s next? What do we do now? 
Location: McDougall United Church, 10086 MacDonald Drive NW
Register: at this Public Interest Alberta website

July 8th, Saturday Calgary Stampede Protest – “We will once again join forces with Calgary and hit the sidewalks with our signs and megaphones! We will be protesting the events that are harming the animals at the Stampede. Go ahead and enjoy the rest of the event, but leave the damn animals alone.
Animals are not ours to use for entertainment. And we will tell them so.
Join us. If you need a ride please let us know in the discussion. or send me a message.” – Edmonton Animal Save
Location: Calgary Stampede – sign-up to get details of exact location

July 9th, Sunday We The Free (WTF) Diamond – “Join We The Free and the Edmonton Animal Rights community in exposing standard industry practices of the animal agriculture industry to the public. This event will be taking place during the Edmonton Street Performers Festival so it’s a great opportunity for heavy foot traffic.”
Location: Sir Winston Churchill Square 100th Street and 102a Avenue (exact location provided when you join the group and action)
URL: Facebook

July 10th, Monday The End of *This* World – YEG Book Launch – “Join us and the three local authors of the national bestseller “The End of This World: Climate Justice in So-Called Canada” for a discussion on how we can build a liveable future where Indigenous sovereignty and climate justice go hand in hand.”
Time: 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Location: CO*LAB Courtyard, 9641 102A Ave NW
Registration: The event is FREE but capacity is limited. Sign up here to save your spot and get a ‘rainy day’ notification email if we need to move to a rain location: https://bit.ly/44dzgRq
More information: Facebook

July 12th to August 23rd Workshop: Liberatory Methods for Investigating and Generating Non-Capitalist / Anti-Colonial Social Power – “This workshop will be provided by El Cambalache from its Department of Decolonial Economics.
El Cambalache is a moneyless economy project located in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas and is made by and for women and everyone who we know. In El Cambalache everything has the same value. Here people exchange things they no longer need for things, skills, knowledge and mutual help that people want to share. El Cambalache was founded in 2015 and is based on anti-systemic and anti-capitalist values for
local social movements.”
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM (CST)
Location: Virtual – online
For more information see our documentary: Inter-Change Value (2016) https://vimeo.com/159060233

July 15th, Saturday Farm Animal Rescue & Reh Tawa Parkoming Movement (FARRM) Tour – “Come visit FARRM and learn about each resident’s story. It’s a unique experience to connect with our crew and learn about the work we do.”
Location: just outside Wetaskiwin. Exact detail on registration
Register: Facebook
Cost: 21.99$ children under 12 are free

July 15th, Saturday Trees for Health – “Trees provide many mental and physical health benefits for us! In a joint effort, Trees for Life and Root for Trees are collaborating to plant native species of trees and shrubs in celebration of Edmonton’s healthcare workers. Join us for a public tree planting, and activities to show appreciation for both nature and our health care workers.”
Location: Tawa Park
Time: 10am-2pm
Website: Root for Trees

July 16th, Sunday Life Skills: Seed Saving – “Join gardener extraordinaire Suzanne Cook for an hour of Plant Support! This week, Suzanne will discuss Advanced Seed Saving: Beets to Squash and a lively group discussion will follow. You will make some friends with common interests, share your own garden wisdom and worries, and get help solve your puzzling plant problems. Feel free to bring along your questions, tips, and pictures to share. Plant Support runs every other Sunday until the end of September, and monthly thereafter. Attend each session, or drop in when you can.”
Location: Stanley A. Milner Library, TD Explore Room (second floor)
Time: 2 pm to 3 pm
Website: Edmonton Public Library

July 17th, Monday Edmonton: Outdoor Vegan Potluck – “Bring your own plates, cutlery, beverage and serving plus a vegan potluck dish to serve at least 6 people (per adult attending). Bring your friends. Everyone is welcome!
Cancelled if weather conditions are bad.
Potlucks are usually held on the 3rd Sunday of the month unless there is a long weekend or a booking conflict.
Location: Outdoors: Riverdale Community League Park. 9231 100 Ave
Time: 5:30 pm
Website: Facebook

July 26th, Wednesday Family Nature Night – “Join Root for Trees and Nature Kids by Nature Alberta to learn about the plants in your neighbourhoods and forests. The mission of Family Nature Night is to promote positive experiences for youth and their families with nature, science and urban wilderness. Programming is designed for families and children ages 4-12, but nature lovers of all ages are welcome!”
Location: Jackie Parker Park
Time: 6 pm – 8:30 pm
Website: Root for Trees

Pledge to Peace

Code Pink has initiated a Summer of Love campaign called “Pledge to Peace“.
“This summer, join CODEPINK and partners to educate, activate, inspire peace in your community and around the world. Sign our Pledge to do one action and engage 5 friends in the Summer of Peace. 
You can start by putting a peace flag in your window, wheatpaste peace messages in your area, put up CODEPINK stickers, hand out flyers supporting peace through diplomacy in Ukraine, and organize a peace walk at your local farmers market. You can upload your summer of peace actions and creativity here. Don’t forget to sign up for tools, ideas, inspiration and more throughout the summer.”

Political Survey

I am sure that most of you know we had an election just over a month ago. Out of curiosity, I did the Vote Compass assessment.
The company behind the Vote Compass (Vox Pop Labs) is doing a follow up survey. They say it takes between 15 to 20 minutes.
Here is the link if you are interested.

Information and Suggestions

If you are Facebook, check out the Edmonton Activist Calendar page.

Please share information with me so that I can populate this with more details and information. I intend to eventually get it so that it is emailed out to people and have a better site but for now, this is what I have to offer you.

Smoke filters and improved indoor air quality – Smoke inhalation is very bad for our health. You might want to build one or more of these filters for your home or office. They cost about 60-100$ to build (it depends on where you buy your filters and fans from and you have to make sure that they are MERV-13 rated – or better). I have built several of them over the years and they work well and are easy to put together. Pay attention to airflow with the orientation of your filters and fan.

Edmonton Tool Library – a great resource for sharing tools and resources within our community. Check them out. They are also looking for volunteers to join their team.

Investing in Solar?
Solar Power Investment Cooperative of Edmonton (SPICE) makes this easy at the grassroots and organic levels. Check out how you can invest in solar installations. Solar is a climate solution and when combined with demand-side management can have a significant impact.

Petitions/Letter writing – petitions can be an effective way to raise awareness of an issue and sometimes they even work. Here is a list of present ongoing petitions in Canada that I wish to highlight:

• 8 coal mining projects threaten the Rocky Mountains. If approved, open-pit mining will contaminate the source of water for millions of people across the Prairies. Click here to send a letter.
• Tax the Rich petition. A small increase in taxation of the rich (a wealth tax) could go far to address the shortfall we are facing in government revenue AND be earmarked for healthcare and climate change action. This could be ten of billions of dollars in Canada.
• Stop Canada’s Federal Ag Gag Bill – There’s a dangerous agricultural gag bill (also known as “ag-gag”) in Parliament that could jail undercover investigators and other animal advocates who expose animal cruelty behind the closed doors of farms.
• Let’s Get Indigenous Communities Safe, Clean Drinking Water Now. FFS.
• Designate Rapid Support Forces (Janjaweed) in Sudan as a Terrorist Organization – you might remember the documentary “The Devil Came on Horseback” (this is only a short video but you can see more on the internet. Last week I stood with a group of Sudanese calling for an end to the conflict in Darfur.
• Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty – Federal petition open until July 14th, 2023
• Plant Based Treaty – this portal will help you send a letter to your city councillors
• Ban on advertising – a comprehensive ban on advertising, sponsorship, and promotion of fossil fuel companies, products, and services (including gasoline, gas utilities, and internal combustion engine vehicles) to protect public health – Federal petition (e-4469). Open until September 28th, 2023
• End all fossil fuel subsidies – Federal petition open until July 27th, 2023
• stop open-pit gold mining in Nova Scotia and across Canada – Federal petition open until August 3rd, 2023
• Drug use and Harm Reduction – Federal Petition open until July 14th, 2023
• Tell These Airlines to Stop Shipping Endangered Monkeys to Their Deaths
• Make Mental Health Accessible To All Canadian’s Through Our Universal Health Care System
• Call Upon John Horgan to Check Every Indian Residential School in British Columbia – I think this should be a Federal petition since this jurisdiction falls under their mandate but it is a good start.
• No raises for public servants until the minimum wage is a living wage! – every segment of the workforce will tend to stand up for what they will benefit from taking action. We need a living wage/universal basic income right across our country.
• STOP BIG OIL FROM POLLUTING OUR CLIMATE –
• Tax Big Oil to Fund a Just Transition – Canada’s oil and gas sector tripled its profits in 2022. Our governments give Big Oil subsidies and allow them to make trillions of dollars in profit while they drive the climate crisis.
• WORKERS NEED A FAIR DEAL AS THEY BUILD OUR SUSTAINABLE FUTURE – TELL THE GOVERNMENT NOW
• Sink the fossil fuel industry’s plan!
• Email Trans Mountain’s insurers: Drop the pipeline now!
• Reject forest biomass as a false climate solution
• Stop toxic tailings pollution
• Stop Executions of Activists in Iran
• RESPECT INDIGENOUS RIGHTS ON WET’SUWET’EN TERRITORY

Volunteering

Casino Volunteering – most charities, non-profit groups (NGOs), and other organizations conduct casinos to help them out with their funding. I recently read this in a newsletter: “It was calculated that each volunteer hour generated $640 in funding to Argyll”. (This is a sizeable amount of money – I used to say that each volunteer shift provided the NGO with about 2,000$. Great return on time for the volunteer’s time.)What can you legally do that could bring in this kind of funds for a group that you support or what to see stay solvent?
Your community league, your child’s school/kindergarten, your church, community league, etc are always looking for volunteers. The local environmental group, the groups that feed people on the streets, etc also need your participation in casinos (if they do them).

Water Quality

Swim Drink Fish Edmonton – Want to help Swim Drink Fish with water quality testing in YEG this summer?
Click on this link to fill out the form.

Employment

If you are ooking to get a ‘green job’ you might wantto check the GoodWorks website

Please send things that should be on this list to michael.kalmanovitch@gmail.com

Disclaimer – the Activist Agenda tries to ensure that the information contained within it is accurate but mistakes do happen. Please double-check events and information that are relevant to you to make sure you have the correct date, time, location, and any other relevant information.

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