From the Black & Indigenous Solidarity Rally in Guelph, to the five biggest banks in Canada boycotting advertising on Facebook, here is what we saw in the news this week.
Guelph rally calls for defunding police
On July 1, around 275 people marched from Lyon Park to the Guelph Police station calling for the police to be defunded and disarmed.
According to guelphtoday.com, the Black & Indigenous Solidarity Rally: Disarm, Defund & Divest From The Police event had eight speakers who were all members of the BIPOC community. The speakers shared their own experiences with police brutality and spoke of the injustices BIPOC communities face when it comes to policing.
The event was held on Canada Day to protest colonialism and how it has harmed members of the Indigenous community.
The event, which ran for two and a half hours, began at Lyon Park. After words from the speakers, attendees marched on toward the downtown police station where they stopped to write messages in chalk and paint.
However, by the following morning, most messages had been washed off the pavement.
During his closing remarks, event emcee Xico said that there isn’t enough gun violence in Guelph to justify every officer carrying a lethal weapon.
“We are sending police officers armed to wellness checks and it is literally just a ticking time bomb until someone is dead,” Xico said.
During the event the police kept their distance, using cars to block off the march route and having officers in unmarked vehicles nearby.
Canada reaches new trade deal with Mexico and the U.S.
On July 1, the Canadian-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) came into effect.
The new trade agreement will affect the auto, dairy, digital trade and pharmaceutical industries, along with labour rights and dispute settlements.
“Nearly one in five Ontario jobs depend on trade, and approximately $400 billion CAD in two-way trade in goods travels across the U.S. and Canadian border in Ontario every year. We know that ensuring strong trade ties is vital to businesses and the communities they support on both sides of the border,” Minister of Economic Job Development, Job Creation and Trade Vic Fedeli said in a statement.
Fedeli also said that the government’s top priority during negotiations was to protect the jobs of Ontarians.
According to Global News, goods traded between the three countries totalled $1.2 trillion last year but hit a decade low in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The strength of our trading relationship will be integral for these industries over the coming months, and we will continue to take decisive action to put us in a position to reduce risks and provide the fiscal certainty that will see our economies recover faster,” Fedeli said.
“Strengthening our unique trading partnership will only ensure that everyday consumers, workers, and businesses can emerge from this period of economic uncertainty in a position of strength.”
Big banks boycott Facebook advertising
Earlier this week the top five major Canadian banks announced that they are boycotting advertising on Facebook following concerns around the social media site’s indifference and lack of action toward harmful misinformation and content which promotes hate and violence.
The banks will boycott Facebook advertisements as part of the StopHateForProfit campaign.
CIBC, RBC, Scotiabank, TD and BMO will not purchase ads on Facebook for the duration of July.
According to the campaign website, participating businesses include: Ben & Jerry’s, Lululemon, Epitaph Records, Eddie Bauer and Levi’s.
According to CBC, hundreds of Facebook employees staged a virtual walkout in early June after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to bring in military troops to shoot anti-racism protesters.
On the StopHateForProfit website, organizers outlined a few ways Facebook can make changes and be more inclusive to people of all races.
“Could they protect and support Black users? Could they call out Holocaust denial as hate? Could they help get out the vote?” asked StopHateForProfit.
“They absolutely could. But they are actively choosing not to do so.”
Cirque du Soleil to restructure amid pandemic
On Monday, Cirque du Soleil filed for bankruptcy protection due to financial losses associated with COVID-19.
“For the past 36 years, Cirque du Soleil has been a highly successful and profitable organization. However, with zero revenues since the forced closure of all of our shows due to COVID-19, management had to act decisively to protect the Company’s future,” said Daniel Lamarre, president and CEO of Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, in a press release.
According to CBC, there are 45 days for other bidders to put forth offers as potential investors in the company.
The global circus could be backed by existing investors, under the Quebec government’s investment wing, Investissement Québec, who will provide the company with $300 million USD on the condition the circus remains based out of Montreal.
The investors would also help nearly 3,500 laid-off employees by giving them financial support during the pandemic.
In March, the circus had placed the employees on furlough. As part of their restructuring plan, the circus has officially terminated said employees to ensure they receive the full benefits the government is providing to people whose work is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once the company resumes their operations, the intent is to rehire the majority of employees that were laid off.
Cirque du Soleil has asked bidders to specify their intent with their former employees – including compensation, maintaining operations in Quebec, and a clear vision to rebuild operations.
“I look forward to rebuilding our operations and coming together to once again create the magical spectacle that is Cirque du Soleil for our millions of fans worldwide,” Lamarre said.
Canadian artists celebrated in virtual Juno Awards
After being on hold since March, The Juno Awards were finally given out on Monday.
The online event, which was originally set to be hosted by Alessia Cara, instead began with Odario Williams, musician and host of CBC’s Afterdark, who made a statement addressing inequality towards members of the BIPOC community.
“Although it’s been a great year for Canadian music, I just want to take a moment to acknowledge that it’s been a long and difficult road for Black and Indigenous Canadian artists here at the Junos,” Williams said during the online stream.
“The very first ceremony took place back in the 1970s, and it took 15 years for soul artists and reggae artists to be included in the list of categories.”
An Indigenous land acknowledgement by Canadian singer-songwriter Damhnait Doyle followed, and then awards were given out across the 42 categories.
The event featured performances by Neon Dreams, iskwē and The Dead South.
Toronto-born artist Shawn Mendes won the song of the year award for “Señorita” featuring Camilla Cabello. Mendes is the first artist in history to win the award for three consecutive years.
Brampton native Alessia Cara brought home a total of five awards for her 2018 album “The Pains of Growing.” The album won album and pop album of the year, and Cara won songwriter of the year.
“It would have been so cool to be in Saskatoon this year,” Cara said in her remote presentation.
“But I’m happy we’re still able to acknowledge our peers for the amazing art they’ve made over the past year.”
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