Millions of people have taken to the streets in the recent period in what must be described as a global uprising against the neoliberal order. Contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s infamous proposition that ‘there is no alternative,’ they are making it abundantly clear that they will no longer tolerate the conditions of exploitation and misery imposed on their lives.
Toronto’s Downtown East is a neighbourhood that experiences very high levels of poverty and homelessness. It has long been contested territory, with the accelerating process of gentrification pitting upscale residents and businesses against the poor. This redevelopment has involved organized efforts to exclude and drive out services for homeless people.
The Doug Ford Tories in Ontario have spent a lot of time magically inflating the provincial deficit and vowing to tackle it with a pitiless austerity attack.
People have been telling me for a long time that I should start blogging and, now that I have stepped down as an OCAP organizer, I think it’s time to actually get to it. I intend to write on a fairly wide range of subjects. Some of it will still be related to anti-poverty struggles, including those of OCAP, but I also want to pay more attention to movement building and political initiatives at this vital time. The years since the Great Recession have seen a remarkable period of sluggish recovery, kept alive with zero interest rates and other such initiatives.