SATURDAY, JANUARY 30
10h00-11h00
Light breakfast
11h00-13h00
Panel: A people’s history of police repression against social movements in Montreal
This panel will explore grassroots responses and lessons from the past 15 years (1995-2010) of police repression of social movements in Montreal. The panel will trace back the recent history of local anti-police brutality organizing, explore instances of police infiltration of social movements, and review examples of police repression against those of us fighting for social change – from anti-capitalist organizing to migrant justice work, from women’s self-determination struggles to anti-racist organizing, from Indigenous solidarity work to queer and trans liberation struggles. This panel will also seek to highlight tactics and strategies to resist police tactics that aim to marginalize our movements.
TO VIEW THIS PANEL, PLEASE CLICK HERE
12h00-13h00
Workshop: “Asserting our rights when dealing with the police” (in English)
The COBP presents its revamped « Know Your Rights » workshop. This workshop seeks to inform participants of their basic rights when dealing with police. The workshop covers topics such as identification, arrests, searches, interrogations and demonstrations and will also outline some basic tips on interacting with police. We hope that participants leave the workshop feeling empowered and informed, ready to defend their rights.
Facilitated by Marieke of the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality
13h00-14h00
Lunch break
14h00-16h00
Workshop-Discussion: “At Risk” Youth »: At risk from whom? Police profiling of street youth and youth of colour
This interactive workshop will explore the different ways in which youth are profiled and harassed by the Montreal Police. Youth, having less social power, are often an easy target for police harassment. This is especially true in public spaces such as parks, metros, and sidewalks, where they’re often subject to arbitrary ticketing, illegal searches, and violence. This workshop will bring together the realities of racial profiling faced by youth of colour and the social profiling of street youth. In this way we can look at the similarities and differences faced by these two communities and try to strategize about how to challenge the police profiling of youth. By examining the tactics employed by the police to repress youth with less social power, this workshop will aim to develop community-based solutions so that street youth and youth of colour can be safe from harassment and profiling in public spaces.
Though open to all participants, this workshop will prioritize the voices of youth.
TO VIEW THIS PANEL, PLEASE CLICK HERE
16h00-16h30
Break
16h30-17h30
“Rude Awakening”: Interactive theatre presentation about police violence against people who use drugs
Rude Awakening is an interactive theatre piece written and performed by people who use drugs. It forces us to address the realities of social profiling and accessing the (in)justice system for marginalized communities.
Presented by the Quebec Association for the Advocacy and Inclusion of Drug Users (ADDICQ)
16h30-17h30
Skillshare workshop: Writing our rhymes down
This skillshare will seek to create a safe and nurturing environment for its participants so that they may strengthen their critical thinking skills and increase their self-awareness. By using hip hop music and culture as curriculum, we aim to provide each participant with a variety of resources so that they may write, record and produce their own original hip hop song using assorted media in the future. Our interactive workshop will stimulate dialogue and reflection to prompt our participants to think critically about negative media messages and the ways in which they may or may not inform and/or reflect their lives. Last but not least, participants may be given the opportunity to showcase their work, if they wish, during the show that will be taking place at Il Motore on the evening of Sunday, January 31.
17h30-18h30
Dinner break
18h30-21h00
Panel: Never again! Families speak out against police killings and impunity
Families end up confronting all kinds of barriers in their search for the truth about what happened to a family member who has been killed by the police. This, on top of the enormous grief they are already dealing with in light of the immeasurable loss of a loved one. In the face of lies, impunity and aggression on many fronts – from the government to the police themselves – the families and their communities who have broken the silence and the isolation imposed upon them to fight back are an inspirational force in the campaign to end police brutality and impunity. This panel discussion will feature family members of those killed by the police, and will explore the campaigns that are being waged to demand accountability and justice, mostly led by the families themselves.
As well, the moderators will provide an overview of the history of police violence in Montreal and Quebec, and a timeline of police killings, from Anthony Griffin to Fredy Villaneuva. They will also speak to some of the challenges of community-based organizing against police violence.
TO VIEW THIS PANEL, PLEASE CLICK HERE
Forum contre la violence policière et l'impunité 
[…] society which tries to silence and forget this reality. On this topic, we have a panel entitled: “Never again! Families speak out against police killings and impunity”, featuring the families of some of those who have been killed by the police and the injustices they […]
Callout: Seeking Testimonials of Police Murders « Forum contre la violence policière et l'impunité said this on décembre 31, 2009 à 5:24