Tuesday April 28th from 6-8 pm.
Vancouver Public Library – Central Location (350 West Georgia Street)

FB RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/899719583412239/

Territorial Welcome by Audrey Siegl (ancestral name sχɬemtəna:t) from Musqueam nation.

Followed by Fantastic Speakers

• Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of Union of BC Indian Chiefs
• Reilly Yeo: co-creator of Groundswell Grassroots Economic Alternatives and a specialist at OpenMedia.
• Arielle dela Cruz Yip: Philippine Women Centre of BC
• Paul Finch: BC Government and Service Employees Union Treasurer
• Adrienne Montani: Provincial Coordinator of First Call BC
• and COMEDY by Sean Devlin of Shit Harper Did

* Why Unite Against Austerity *

All around the world – from Quebec to Greece to Chile to South Africa – tens of thousands of people are rising up against austerity.

Governments and the mainstream media say there is not enough money, and belts must be tightened. Cuts to social spending and wages ensue, while fossil fuel companies and other corporations receive subsidies. Unions are attacked. Indigenous nations are denied inherent land rights and resources from their lands are extracted. Environmental regulations are reduced. Migrant workers are forced into even more precarious working conditions. Vital public services including education, childcare, housing, women’s centers and healthcare are cut, but the prisons and military are expanding. And all of this is justified by a prevailing atmosphere of scarcity and fear.

Almost everyone is affected by austerity policies, but we are typically isolated in our struggles. Unite Against Austerity ( http://www.uniteagainstausterity.ca/ ) is a cross-country effort that looks beyond the next election and seeks to transform the political and economic landscape across communities and sectors. By building grassroots power and solidarity, we want to make it impossible for any government to implement austerity policies. Unite Against Austerity aims to build an understanding of austerity policies, and begin to generate a unity (that is attentive to specificity) across Indigenous, labour, feminist, migrant, environmentalist, student, anti-poverty and diverse community movements.

Come join the conversation and lets build our power!

Event sponsored by BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives, Changemakers Vancouver, Council of Canadians, Institute for the Humanities at Simon Fraser University, Rising Tide, No One Is Illegal, Social Housing Alliance, Smart Change, Streams of Justice

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There will be snacks and child-minders on site.
Accessibility information: http://www.vpl.ca/branches/generic/accessibility_at_the_central_library