MAKING PEACE VIGIL Newsletter - August 21, 2025

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MAKING PEACE VIGIL Newsletter - August 21, 2025


SPECIAL MEETING:

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27, 1 pm: MEETING OF REGINA CITY COUNCIL—CITY OF REGINA ENCAMPMENT RESPONSE WILL BE ON THE AGENDA
We need lots of folks presenting at this meeting. A request to present has to be submitted by noon on Monday August 25. Follow the instructions found here: [ https://www.regina.ca/city-government/c ... y-Council/ ]

The document under discussion can be found here: [ https://reginask.iqm2.com//Citizens/Fil ... nline=True pp 15-20 ]

Here's the Citizens Encampment Strategy developed by a group of concerned Regina citizens:
We, a group of concerned Regina citizens, call on the City of Regina to adopt an encampment policy/response/strategy that includes the following:

Commit to not removing encampments established on City property unless all residents have been provided with permanent, adequate, appropriate housing. To do otherwise, is to violate the Canadian Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice.”

Provide support for such encampments. Support would include the provision of the following:

Bathrooms with handwashing capability
Potable water
Garbage disposal and collection
Easy access to public transportation

Repeal laws and policies criminalizing homelessness, including being in a City park after 11 pm and erecting tents and other such structures on public property without a permit or a license.

Continue to work to end houselessness in Regina so that encampments do not become a permanent feature of our city. Such work would include:

Commit to allocating $10 million annually, starting with the 2026 budget, to the construction of affordable rental units;

Work with other Saskatchewan municipalities to put pressure on the Government of Saskatchewan to make available for immediate occupation all empty Sask Housing units in Regina—and throughout the province;

Work with other Saskatchewan municipalities to put pressure on the Government of Saskatchewan to raise the rates of the province’s two income assistance programs above the poverty line—currently a person on the Saskatchewan Income Support program gets $1,025 a month, while a person on Saskatchewan Assured Income For Disability receives on average $1,382 a month—both well below the poverty line;

Work with municipalities across Canada to put pressure on the Government of Canada to restart the national affordable housing program, cancelled in 1993, which, for a period, starting in 1974, created up to 20,000 affordable housing units every year.


SPECIAL ACTION:

REGINA CITY COUNCIL IS CONSIDERING NOT PURCHASING ANY MORE ELECTRIC BUSES TO REPLCE DIESEL ONES
The replacement of diesel buses by electric ones is a policy recommended in the City’s Energy and Sustainability Framework. Now Council is considering reneging on this policy. Let Mayor Bachynski and your councillor know you want the City to continue purchasing electric buses as part of its effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
[ https://www.regina.ca/city-government/city-council/ ]


SPECIAL EVENT:

SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2 -4 pm: URBAN AGRICULTURAL FAIR, MALTY NATIONAL, 1130 15TH AVE
BRING YOUR PRODUCE! You can win a ribbon!!!
Major categories: Veggies~Fruits~Herbs~Flowers~Animal Partners' Produce~Baking~Weird & Big Veggies
$2 per entry (kids entries free)
KIDS ART CHALLENGE
Any kind of art made from things found in a garden
Your entry fee & food items will go to the FASTT meal program, delivering 800 delicious & nutritious meals a week to neighbours in need.
For more information: [ https://www.facebook.com/events/1517026205953127/ ]


SPECIAL LISTENING:
MASSEY AT 60: TANYA TALAGA ON WHAT CANADA CAN LEARN FROM THE STORIES OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
[ https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1- ... indigenous ]


GOOD READING & VIEWING & LISTENING

GRACEFUL EXITS FOR CONVICTED ELECTED OFFICIALS IS BUSINESS AS USUAL IN SASKATCHEWAN
[ https://tammyrobert.substack.com/p/grac ... ed-elected ]


QUESTIONS REMAIN AROUND RESIGNATION OF SASK MARSHAL AFTER REDACTED DOCUMENTS PROVIDED
[ https://www.ctvnews.ca/regina/article/q ... -provided/ ]


YORKTON, SASK., FAMILY TURNS HOMOPHOBIC GRAFFITI INTO RAINBOW ARTWORK
[ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoo ... -1.7611741 ]


'NOT ACCEPTABLE': PUKATAWAGAN DEPUTY CHIEF PANS MANITOBA HYDRO REPAIR PLAN AS FIRE EVACUEES REMAIN DISPLACED
[ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba ... -1.7607772 ]


IS YOUR PROVINCE WAITING FOR A PHARMACARE DEAL?
[ https://www.healthcoalition.ca/is-your- ... care-deal/ ]


HOW AN ACT OF DEFIANCE BY AIR CANADA'S FLIGHT ATTENDANTS WAS A WIN FOR LABOUR RIGHTS
[ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/air-cana ... -1.7613124 ]


FROM THE PLANT GATE TO THE AIRPORT GATE: BIG WIN FOR CANADIAN LABOUR
[ https://charlieangus.substack.com/p/fro ... he-airport ]


IS MARK CARNEY LIBERAL ENOUGH TO TAKE CONSERVATIVES UP ON A RARE REASONABLE RESPONSE TO THE SHORT-LIVED AIR CANADA FLIGHT ATTENDANTS’ STRIKE?
[ https://albertapolitics.substack.com/p/ ... -enough-to ]


HOW THE FOLK DEVILS OF THE 1980s HAUNT US TODAY, with Charlie Angus
[ https://charlieangus.substack.com/p/how ... -the-1980s ]


LATER IS TOO LATE: A PARTICIPATORY CLIMATE DOCUMENTARY BY NANCY NICOL & SENIORS FOR CLIMATE
[ https://seniorsforclimate.org/en/later- ... cumentary/ ]


“WHITEWASHING OF HISTORY”: HARVARD HISTORIAN ON TRUMP’S TARGETING OF SCHOOL CURRICULA, SMITHSONIAN
[ https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/18/ ... an_history ]


OLYMPIC RUNNER MOH AHMED JOINS CALL TO CANCEL CANADA'S DAVIS CUP TIE WITH ISRAEL
[ https://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/moh-ah ... -1.7611710 ]


CANADA SHIFTS ITS TONE ON GAZA BUT NOT ITS COMPLICITY, with El Jones and Desmond Cole
[ https://breachmedia.ca/canada-shifts-it ... omplicity/ ]


LIBERAL GOVERNMENT AUTHORIZED NEW EXPORTS FOR ISRAEL’S IRON DOME
[ https://www.readthemaple.com/liberal-go ... iron-dome/ ]


WOMEN IN BLACK TAKE THEIR PROTEST OVER ISRAEL’S ACTIONS IN GAZA TO THE STREETS
[ https://thecjn.ca/news/women-in-black-t ... e-streets/ ]


VIJAY PRASHAD REVEALS THE TRUTH ABOUT PALESTINE'S STRUGGLE
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smWwLTDvK2U ]


GLOBAL STRUCTURES DRIVING GENOCIDE AND STARVATION, with Doctors Against Genocide
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXsOstjghZU ]


'BETRAYAL OF HUMANITY': NEARLY HALF OF 383 AID WORKERS KILLED LAST YEAR WERE IN GAZA
[ https://www.commondreams.org/news/aid-w ... ed-in-gaza ]


'COLOSSAL LEVEL OF DESTRUCTION' AS ISRAEL ETHNICALLY CLEANSES GAZA CITY NEIGHBORHOODS
[ https://www.commondreams.org/news/ethni ... -gaza-city ]


IN LARGEST ISRAELI PROTEST TO DATE, 1 MILLION ISRAELIS DEMAND GAZA CEASEFIRE TO FREE HOSTAGES
[ https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/18/ ... r_protests ]


IS PEACE POSSIBLE? NATION PUBLISHER KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL ON TRUMP SUMMITS WITH PUTIN, ZELENSKY
[ https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/18/ ... aine_trump ]


WILL RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR END WITH DIPLOMACY OR ON BATTLEFIELD? JOHN MEARSHEIMER VS. DENYS PILASH
[ https://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/19/ ... kraine_war ]


GUANTÁNAMO ARTISTS SPEAK: MOATH AL-ALWI AND KHALID QASSIM, FREED IN JANUARY
[ https://www.closeguantanamo.org/Article ... in-January ]


WORLD LEADERS FAIL AGAIN TO SECURE A GLOBAL PLASTICS TREATY, BUT THE FIGHT FOR A STRONG TREATY GOES ON
[ https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/st ... cs-treaty/ ]


TREES, CLIMATE, MONEY
[ https://projectsavetheworld.substack.co ... mate-money ]


EVENTS, WEBINARS, TV PROGRAMS, & FILMS

THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 11 am – 1 pm: SCREENING OF RULE OF STONE, MACKENZIE ART GALLARY, 3475 ALBERT ST
If Jerusalem stone could speak, it would tell this story: from Imperial Britain to the Israeli occupation, buildings in Jerusalem have been clad in it. This is a story of how beauty and abuse go hand in hand.


THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 4 pm: “RUSSIANS AT WAR” -- DISCUSSION WITH FILMMAKERS & SPECIAL GUESTS
[ https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/registe ... gistration ]


THURSDAY AUGUST 21, 6 pm: RIDE YOUR BIKE WITH COUNCILLOR FLORES, MEET AT CITY HALL
[ https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=13 ... 6499353733 ]


FRIDAY AUGUST 22, 11 am – 1 pm: SCREENING OF TOROBORO: THE NAME OF THE PLANTS, MACKENZIE ART GALLERY, 3475 ALBERT ST
Twenty-five years after a renowned ethno-botanical study in the Ecuadorian Amazon region inhabited by the Waorani, the central figures involved reunite. Members of the community talk about the genocidal colonization of their people since the arrival of Christian missionaries. The main threats to their survival are now the oil and timber industries.
[ https://riffa.ca/movie/toroboro-the-name-of-the-plants/ ]


SATURDAY AUGUST 23, 2 -4 pm: URBAN AGRICULTURAL FAIR, MALTY NATIONAL, 1130 15TH AVE
BRING YOUR PRODUCE! You can win a ribbon!!!
Major categories: Veggies~Fruits~Herbs~Flowers~Animal Partners' Produce~Baking~Weird & Big Veggies
$2 per entry (kids entries free)
KIDS ART CHALLENGE
Any kind of art made from things found in a garden
Your entry fee & food items will go to the FASTT meal program, delivering 800 delicious & nutritious meals a week to neighbours in need.
For more information: [ https://www.facebook.com/events/1517026205953127/ ]


TUESDAY AUGUST 26, 5 pm: TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON VENEZUELA: BUILDING SOLIDARITY, COMMUNITY, & REVOLUTION TO FIGHT BACK!
[ https://www.venezuelasolidaritynetwork.org/082625 ]


WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27, 1 pm: MEETING OF REGINA CITY COUNCIL—CITY OF REGINA ENCAMPMENT RESPONSE WILL BE ON THE AGENDA
We need lots of folks presenting at this meeting. A request to present has to be submitted by noon on Monday August 25. Follow the instructions found here: [ https://www.regina.ca/city-government/c ... y-Council/ ]

The document under discussion can be found here: [ https://reginask.iqm2.com//Citizens/Fil ... nline=True pp 15-20 ]


WEDNESDAY AUGUST 27. 5 pm: THE ‘STRONG BORDERS’ ACT MAKES US ALL LESS SAFE
[ https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/registe ... QAA3pukrfQ ]


THURSDAY AUGUST 28, 7pm: REVISITING DOWNTOWN SAFETY AND COMMUNITY WELL-BEING, CENTRAL LIBRARY, 2311 12TH AVE
This panel is presented by Regina Public Library (RPL) and Regina Downtown Business Improvement District (RDBID). Panelists will include Dave Slater (City of Regina), Sgt Laurie Alexander and Sgt Ross Kauk (Regina Police Services), Katie Dockham (Cushman and Wakefield/Cornwall Mall), and Jason Knudsen and Rob Kraushaar (Regina Street Team). Judith Veresuk, Executive Director of RDBID will moderate the discussion.
The panelists will reflect on the past year's challenges and opportunities related to safety and wellbeing in the downtown core, as well as strategies and initiatives that the different organizations have taken or are undertaking to address these challenges.
[ https://www.facebook.com/events/733558552637704/ ]


WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 7 pm: QUEEN CITY URBANIST BOOK CLUB, CATHEDRAL COMMUNITY CENTRE, 2900 13TH AVE
The book that will be discussed is Reclaiming Indigenous Planning, by Ryan Walker et al.
[ https://www.facebook.com/events/1638879343488097/ ]


SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 10 am – 4 pm: REPAIR CAFÉ, GEORGE BOTHWELL LIBRARY, 2965 GORDON ROAD
[ https://www.envirocollective.ca/repair-cafe/ ]


STARTING MONDAY SEPTEMBER 8, FIGHTING TO WIN: A 10 WEEK COURSE WITH JOHN CLARK
[ https://www.tickettailor.com/events/pan ... ol/1782334 ]


TUESDAY SEPETEMBER 9, 4:30 pm: FIRE WEATHER: THE MAKING OF A BEAST, with John Vaillant
Presented by Seniors for Climate
[ https://seniorsforclimate.org/en/webina ... -vaillant/ ]


TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 16, 6 pm: GLOBAL NETWORK 33RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE—NATO-US PREPARE FOR WAR ON CHINA
[ https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/registe ... gistration ]


FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 19, 10 am: RAISING OF THE PEACE FLAG TO MARK INTERNATIONAL PEACE DAY, REGINA CITY HALL
Making Peace Vigil and Regina Peace Council


WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 1, 7 pm: QUEEN CITY URBANIST BOOK CLUB, CATHEDRAL COMMUNITY CENTRE, 2900 13TH AVE
The book that will be discussed is Better Buses, Better Cities, by Steven Higashide
[ https://www.facebook.com/events/2486789288326245/ ]


SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21, 4 pm: DISCUSSION OF ONE DAY EVERYONE WILL HAVE BEEN AGAINST THIS by Omar El Akkad, ABSTRACTIONS CAFÉ, 2161 ROSE ST
Sponsored by Palestine Solidarity Regina


THURSDAY OCTOBER 2, 4:30 – 11:30 pm: REGINA 2025 POINT-IN-TIME—PiT—COUNT OF HOMELESSNESS IN REGINA,
Volunteers are needed for Regina’s 2025 PiT Count, which will take place on October 2. Namerind Housing Corporation, as the Reaching Home Community Entity for Regina, will be leading the 2025 PiT Count of homelessness on October 2nd, and they need volunteers to make it happen.
To volunteer, go to: [ https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/call-for-vo ... tdtcreator ]


WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 22, 7 pm: DR. DEIDRE NUNAN, ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEON FROM SASKATOON, ON HER TIME AT NASSER HOSPITAL IN GAZA CITY, KNOX-MET, 2340 VICTORIA AVE
Sponsored by Palestine Solidarity Regina


NEW PETITIONS & OTHER ACTIONS

SASKATCHEWAN NEEDS RENT CONTROL NOW
[ https://www.saskndp.ca/rentcontrol ]


PROTECT GRASSY NARROWS: REJECT KINROSS GOLD’S MINE
[ https://leadnow.ca/campaigns/rejectkinross/ ]


GET TOXIC CHEMICALS OUT OF OUR PERIOD PRODUCTS
[ https://action.eko.org/a/get-toxic-chem ... d-products ]


DEMAND ETSY REMOVE ALLIGATOR ALCATRAZ MERCHANDISE FROM ITS WEBSITE NOW
[ https://actionnetwork.org/letters/etsy- ... raz-merch/ ]


WHY DID CANADA SUBSIDIZE AWDAH HATHALEEN’S MURDER? END CHARITABLE STATUS OF MISRACHI CANADA
[ https://actionnetwork.org/letters/why-d ... chi-canada ]


TARGETING CIVILIANS AND HEALTH FACILITIES IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE
[ https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/no ... ver-email/ ]


SECRETARY RUBIO MUST REVERSE THIS DANGEROUS AND INHUMANE DECISION IMMEDIATELY
[ https://act.winwithoutwar.org/act/medical-visas ]


TELL FILTHY FASHION TO DITCH COAL
[ https://act.stand.earth/page/10680/petition/1 ]


WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME TO LIMIT GLOBAL PLASTIC POLLUTION
[ https://www.thepetitionsite.com/271/366 ... 3506917231 ]


TELL WORLD LEADERS TO HELP END MALARIA
[ https://act.one.org/sign/malaria-vaccine/ ]


TELL CISCO TO SEVER TIES WITH GENOCIDE
[ https://action.eko.org/a/cisco-sever-ti ... e=fwd&t=10 ]


- Making Peace Vigil