Interview on behalf of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association on Don Cherry's firing

Interview with Matt Holmes of CKTB 610 on Don Cherry's firing, I was speaking on behalf of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association  https://20313.mc.tritondigital.com/OMNY_NEWSTALK610_P/media-session/25f71bf9-5c3f-470b-8e83-87389a54e0aa/d/clips/4809bc8a-e41a-405c-93da-a8cf011df2f4/a9d6d364-a8cb-44f1-b837-aa14010af355/15e8087d-52fc-4910-92fd-ab020185ca5f/audio/direct/t1573515839/Don_Cherry_fired_from_Hockey_Night_in_Canada_-_Niagara_Anti_Racism_Coalition_Rea.mp3?t=1573515839

Speech to St. Catharines City Council Against Reconsideration of Millions in Tax Incentives for Condos for Millionaires

 Speech to St. Catharines City Council Against Reconsideration of Millions in Tax Incentives for Condos for Millionaires

I am Saleh Waziruddin and I am speaking against reconsidering the application for tax incentives.

There is a lot of misinformation by advocates of business who we've seen today are in a full court press to make you break down and repent because your initial decision wasn't according to the wishes of business. The tax incentive is not a prize for filling out the paperwork correctly or meeting the minimum criteria, the application is just a qualifier. If your role is to approve everyone who applies then there is no difference between you and a rubber stamp, which is what business interests want everyone to assume is your role. But we, the residents of St. Catharines, elected you to represent the interests of everyone in making every decision count and pushing your policies forward in our interest in every case.

We are being distracted with the circumstantial similarity in street addresses between this application and the condos next door, forgetting that there is a nearly 25% point difference in the evaluation scores of the applications, not to mention a 400% difference in incentive value. This is not comparing apples to apples.

You are a lucky council because you have a psychic among you. One of you predicted the exact situation you are in at your March 18 council meeting. This councillor asked if a developer fills out the paperwork correctly but is denied and says “well you gave it to the other guy,” would you be obligated to give the incentive? The answer from staff and legal was clear: it is council's decision, “council has no obligation.” The guidelines are only to get your foot in the door. So every developer knew back in March that they could be denied even if they met the qualifying criteria. No one should be acting surprised today.

Instead of threatening that developers will pull money out and housing will suffer, developers should learn a lesson here to stop treating council as a rubber stamp and to pay attention to your proper role and policy priorities, not dismiss them as unreasonable, arbitrary, “against your own rules,” and just “politics”.

If incentives are supposed to help create more affordable housing, which is not in the CIP (Community Improvement Plan - tax incentives) but what some business representatives are suggesting, then the answer is to use the tax money to build public and social housing, not to give it back to profit margins for developers of million dollar condos (not all the condos may be a million dollars but many are).

To paraphrase a Canadian politician from my childhood: you have an option, council. You can say, 'I am not going to do it. This is wrong for St. Catharines, and I am not going to ask residents to pay the price.' You have an option, council — to say 'no' — to the old attitudes. Saying you have no option is not good enough for St. Catharines. It is a confession of non-leadership. And this city needs your leadership. You have an option, council. You can do better than to reconsider.

Question from Councillor Miller: We've heard from the business community, we've been threatened with having a bad reputation among them if we don't reconsider this. As an average citizen what do you think the impact would be on the community if we do reconsider and we give in to these suggestions?

Answer: If you reconsider you will have a terrible reputation from the residents and beyond because it will look like you've just been beaten and you're just a rubber stamp and you're not looking out for the interests of the residents. That when a situation has come up for your vote, that we can't count on you to think of us and that you'll only be thinking of “well, did they fill the paperwork out right” and “what does the business community want.”

Interview with People's Voice radio (podcast) on Justin Trudeau Blackface Scandal

Interview with People's Voice radio (podcast of the newspaper) on Justin Trudeau's blackface scandal and the election https://soundcloud.com/user-158490137-25338398/blackface-and-beyond-interview-with-anti-racism-activist-saleh-waziruddin

Interviews on Justin Trudeau's blackface scandal with CKTB 610AM on behalf of Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association

Interviews on 610AM CKTB Talk Radio on Justin Trudeau's blackface scandal, representing the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, with Matt Holmes:

https://19733.mc.tritondigital.com/OMNY_NEWSTALK610_THEONEOCLOCKTALKWITHMATTHOLMES_P/media-session/a70cf1d3-e190-4928-aab5-d1fb33c311b1/d/clips/4809bc8a-e41a-405c-93da-a8cf011df2f4/a9d6d364-a8cb-44f1-b837-aa14010af355/ef47a922-9d34-49e5-9dbf-aacd014e4b4c/audio/direct/t1568924672/Justin_Trudeau_addressing_photos_that_show_him_in_brownface.mp3?t=1568924672&utm_source=Podcast

and Larry Fedoruk:

https://19733.mc.tritondigital.com/OMNY_NEWSTALK610_THELARRYFEDORUKSHOW_P/media-session/ce00700c-c35f-430d-8ee6-46de5636e46f/d/clips/4809bc8a-e41a-405c-93da-a8cf011df2f4/a9d6d364-a8cb-44f1-b837-aa14010af355/de2e4487-9834-476d-890f-aacd01634e47/audio/direct/t1568929328/Justin_Trudeau_Addresses_Third_Instance_Of_Blackface.mp3?t=1568929328&utm_source=Podcast

Saleh Waziruddin Remarks to Niagara Regional Council on Joining the Coalition of Inclusive Municipalities

My name is Saleh Waziruddin from St. Catharines and I am representing the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association. I am glad to see Regional government taking action to catch our region up in an area we should have been doing so much more in. To make our commitment translate into reality and to come up with a serious plan, we do need the spending commitment recommended by staff. We need a real commitment with funding to make the kind of plan that worth following-through and funding for real change.

If we don't have a real improvement in equity in this region, including employment equity starting right here with municipal governments, we'll continue seeing a brain drain of racialized and queer youth, including from Brock University, who don't see themselves represented in the few good jobs here. We need leadership from the Region and other governments so that the private sector can then follow.

Lastly I do need to express my disappointment for the Canadian Coalition of Municipalities Against Racism and Discrimination dropping the term “Against Racism” in favor of “Inclusive”, which I realize is something outside of your control. There is an elected official here who has pointed out very correctly that he is the first Polish-Canadian to be elected to his position. That may be “inclusive” but it is definitely not anti-Racism. St Catharines recently added dedicated advisory committees for Anti-Racism and 2SLGBTQ+ issues and I urge the Region to do the same when the time comes, as one over-arching committee cannot adequately address these issues when we look at what we need to do to catch up where we've fallen so far behind.

St. Catharines commemorates Emancipation Day

St. Catharines commemorates Emancipation Day

More to do but strides being made giving voice to ‘racialized’ residents

• The Standard (St. Catharines)
• 3 Aug 2019
• BETH AUDET NIAGARA THIS WEEK

BETH AUDET TORSTAR

Mayor Walter Sendzik, left, with Vicki-Lynn Smith, a member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association with the pan-African flag.

As the Pan-African flag was raised in front of St. Catharines City Hall Thursday afternoon, the message was clear. Observing Emancipation Day is merely one step on a long journey toward racial equality.

“Remembering Emancipation Day does not mean we remember slavery as something in the past,” said Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association member Vicki-Lynn Smith.

“(Slavery) lasted for so long and its legacy is still around today.”

The flag-raising ceremony commemorated the declaration of freedom for slaves of African descent in most British colonies Aug. 1, 1834.

Smith, a fifth-generation descendant of freedom seekers who settled in St. Catharines, said even though Emancipation Day is recognized in former colonies, many people have forgotten the lasting impacts of slavery.

“Things have gone even backwards in some ways in the last few years.”

She stressed the importance of working together as a community to call out inequality and fight to end it.

St. Catharines Mayor Walter Sendzik mirrored Smith’s sentiments, telling the small crowd the ceremony served not only to acknowledge the past but also where society is today and where it needs to head in the future.

“I’m a white male who doesn’t see the inequalities,” Sendzik admitted, crediting late advocate Renee Martin for calling out his blind spots to ever present racism and discrimination.

“I’ll be honest, I had some uncomfortable conversations with Renee about where St. Catharines is today … what she was able to articulate to me in very passionate ways is that we have a long way to go.”

Sendzik said he is committed to doubling down his resolve to make St. Catharines an inclusive community and asked the public to not only hold its leaders to account, but to join them at the table.

“It can’t just be about a flag that flies, it can’t just be about the history, it’s got to be about what we are succeeding at today and what we are setting for the kids that are here tomorrow.”

The Pan-African flag will continue to fly at City Hall every year to mark Emancipation Day, he said.

Saleh Waziruddin, a co-founding member of the Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association, said the flag raising was one of many initiatives Renee Martin fought for before she died.

She also had a leading role in the renaming of the Facer Street Festival (formerly the European Festival) and the creation of the city’s new anti-racism, LGBTQ+ and equity committees.

He said she would have been happy to see these initiatives come to fruition. “Although she wouldn’t be satisfied,” he added. “She would want to know where it’s going.”

For Jamal David, a 27-year-old St. Catharines resident whose parents were born in Trinidad, the flag-raising represented a significant step forward, one he was happy to witness.

“I never thought I’d see this day, to be honest.”

David feels positive about what strides have been made toward giving racialized residents equal voice, but admitted there’s much more that can be done.

Experience Cuba As a Volunteer Side-by-Side With Cubans on the Che Brigade (People's Voice)

Experience Cuba As a Volunteer Side-by-Side With Cubans on the Che Brigade

by Saleh Waziruddin

What better way to learn about Cuba and how its social system works than by volunteering side-by-side with Cubans from different organizations, or meeting with them face to face where you can have all your questions answered? You can do all this by joining the 27^th Che Guevara Volunteer Work Brigade, where volunteers from across Canada will be in Cuba May 23 to June 6 traveling through Havana, Pinar del Rio, and Matanzas provinces.

The volunteer work is on farms and alongside members of Cuban women's and youth/student organizations, as well as veterans of the Cuban revolution. The volunteer work is customized for all abilities, there is something for everyone.

The Brigade will also visit medical technology centres and clinics to see how Cuba is surviving the US blockade. There will also be meetings with a broad cross-section of Cuban organizations, including a visit to the parliament with information on Cuba's new constitution and the drafting process. There will also be a concert, dance lessons, free time, and of course a visit to the beach!

The Brigade will be staying at an international solidarity camp outside Havana but will be in Matanzas for four days at a hotel. Havana is celebrating its 500^th Anniversary. Matanzas is a centre of Afro-Cuban culture and had a key role in the Cuban independence movement. This part of the trip includes a trip to the Bay of Pigs. The Brigade will also visit the Vinales Valley in Pinar del Rio, a UN World Heritage Site of natural beauty.

The Brigade price is $1,100 including a $100 registration fee. The price includes all local travel, accommodation, meals, and tips for the Cuban staff. It does not include the flight to and from Cuba or extra/optional side-trips, snacks, or drinks. Even if you are not ready to pay for the Brigade yet it is best to book your flight now while seats are available and cheaper.

You can register online at https://goo.gl/MuYQtJ and more information is available at the Brigade's web page www.canadiannetworkoncuba.ca/brigade. The Brigade is also on Facebook.com/chevolbrigade or twitter @chevolbrigade. You can contact the coordinator, Saleh Waziruddin with any questions at chevolbrigade@gmail.com or 289 990 7683.

The Che Brigade is a non-profit project of the Canadian Network on Cuba, which represents 20 organizations across Canada involved in Cuba solidarity. The Brigade is in partnership with ICAP (Cuban Institute for Friendship of the Peoples), whose camp we will be staying at for most of the Brigade.