Friends, we are now entering the one-year point of the Covid-19 pandemic.  There is no question that this past year has been a trying time for all of us, but the ravages of Covid-19 have exposed many of the inequities and injustices that plague our society.  Routinely we hear that racialized communities are facing greater risks from the disease because of systemic racism in our public institutions. We also know from data produced by the Public Health Agency of Canada that  Indigenous communities in Saskatchewan and across Canada face similar risks due to a lack of government action to ensure people's safety.  

The lack of attention to these systemic racial and economic inequalities makes the work of our progressive partners and allies more important than ever.  At the Stand we will continue to support our community partners and sustainer donors, maintaining our mandate to be a community organizing hub for all people continuing to struggle for a more just and sustainable post-Covid future. 

As always, let us know if you are creating new online events for activists or are running a new campaign yourself. 

If you like the work we're doing, please consider these 5 ways to help The Stand grow so that we can continue supporting grassroots activism here in Saskatoon!

1. Become a member of The Stand.

2. Check out The Stand's Group Memberships

3. Become a Stand Sustainer Donor

4. Make a one time donation

5. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram

What's New at the Stand

ELECTIONS, WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR? Recording now available!

In December The Stand and Stop the Cuts co-hosted this panel featuring Tomilola Ojo (Black Lives Matter YXE), Jason Mercredi (Executive Director at Prairie Harm Reduction), Barb Cape (President of SEIU-West), and Tria Donaldson (Municipal Elections Organizer). 

Click here to hear what these incredible Saskatchewan change-makers have to say about how elections factor into their strategies. 

AGM Announcement! 

We have set a date for our 2021 AGM.  Please save a date in your calendars for May 1, 2021.  More details to come shortly. 

OUR COMMUNITY ZOOM ACCOUNT with WEBINAR features is now up and running and available for Stand members. 

With the move to online meetings and the suspension of The Stand's meeting room rentals during the pandemic, we created a zoom account to share with members of the stand - both individual members and member groups. Email [email protected] to book it.

You can also check out these Tips for Effective & Engaging Online Meetings from Amnesty International.

PPE for Protests still available
Winter usually means fewer rallies and events, but if you are organizing something and need PPE to help keep everyone safe, click here for more info about how we can help.

Call for new board members!
We still have a some open positions on the board! Email Karissa at [email protected] for details.

ON OUR RADAR - Community Events & Campaigns

How To Start An Organizing Drive

Tuesday, 2 March 2021, 6 pm-7 pm

Young Workers are hosting a series of 3 workshops going over a mock organizing drive. This is the first of three, which will go over the first steps of a campaign, how to begin organizing your coworkers, requirements according to the Labour Relations Act, and more.

More information can be found here. 

These past several months (while also helping to stop a coup) the team at Beautiful Trouble burned the midnight oil building an online toolbox that will better serve our global community. And it went live last week!

All the best tools from their books — sourced from 200+ frontline activists around the world — are now online, free, and available in five languages!

See it for yourself: www.Beautifultrouble.org

Friday, 5 March 2021, 12:30 pm 

Join Sharissa Hantke as she presents her research findings identifying how whiteness gets performed in a health education context. This session will take an antiracism/anti-oppression approach to accountability in our health care and health education systems. 

Read more here. 

Saturday, March 6 2021, 10 am- 2 pm

Métis Nation–Saskatchewan (MN–S) invites you to participate in a respectful exchange of knowledge on a virtual platform where dialogue and discussions are encouraged and embraced. Read more here. 

Register for this event here. 

Friday, March 12 2021, 7pm -March 13 2021, 10pm

The Q Factor is an all-ages digital talent competition produced by Saskatoon Pride. Taking place on Friday, March 12 and Saturday, March 13, 2021, Saskatchewan 2SLGBTQ+ community members will have the chance to show off their talents in a virtual show to win cash prizes - first prize is $1,000!

Read more about this exciting event here. 

Thursday, March 18 2021, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm 

A free workshop to celebrate World Water Day.  Register for this event here. 

Saturday, March 20 2021, 7 pm

In 2020 everything was cancelled. Weddings? Concerts? GLITTER? Everything was cancelled. But in 2021, it’s time to celebrate! We may still be stuck at home, but that doesn’t mean be absolutely fabulous. Join us, on Saturday, March 20, 2021, for the 2021 virtual GLITTER Gala: Home Sweet Homo presented by Nutrien. 

Read more here. 

Saturday, March 20 2021, 9:00 pm

Richard Falk's and Virginia Tilley's 2017 report for a major UN body aroused the fury of the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, and UN Secretary General Gutteres moved quickly to suppress the report.

Read more here. 

Friends, we cannot be happier to be entering a new year.  2020 represented one of the most complicated years that many of us have ever experienced.  In addition to the many friends and loved ones who may have come into contact with Covid19, the inequity in our communities has made the pandemic even more difficult for thousands of our friends, allies, and supporters. 

Recognizing the difficulties of 2020, we enter 2021 with a sense of optimism.  The news of vaccines against Covid19 comes as welcome relief and notwithstanding the slow distribution of the vaccine by many of our governments, the activism of workers, health professionals, prisoners, and everyday people is forcing governments to respond. Workers are leading demonstrations against unsafe work conditions, prisoners are staging hunger strikes against inhumane and unhealthy conditions in prisons, and everyday people are demanding governments and employers treat us all fairly.

We know that the end of the Covid19 threat will not mean an end to racism, violence against women, employer violence, or government injustice.

With the pandemic persisting, The Stand continues to adapt the ways we support grassroots organizing in Saskatoon. See below for What's New at The Stand and for Community Events & Campaigns on our radar.

If you like the work we're doing, please consider these 6 Ways to help The Stand grow so that we can continue supporting grassroots activism here in Saskatoon!

1. Become a member of The Stand.

2. Check out The Stand's Group Memberships

3. Become a Stand Sustainer Donor

4. Make a one time donation

5. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram

What's New at the Stand

NEW - Zoom account available for members
With the move to online meetings and the suspension of The Stand's meeting room rentals during the pandemic, we created a zoom account to share with members of the stand - both individual members and member groups. Email Bonnie at [email protected] to book it.

You can also check out these Tips for Effective & Engaging Online Meetings from Amnesty International.

PPE for Protests still available
Winter usually means fewer rallies and events, but if you are organizing something and need PPE to help keep everyone safe, click here for more info about how we can help.

Call for new board members!
We still have a couple open positions on the board! Email Karissa at [email protected] for details.

ON OUR RADAR - Community Events & Campaigns

Open Letter in Solidarity with Prisoners at the Saskatchewan Correctional Centres

The horrendous health and safety conditions in Saskatchewan's penetentries has become a province-wide crisis.  The Covid19 rates in these institutions have soared while the government has done very little to protect the health and safety of inmates and workers alike.   Please consider adding your name to this petition demanding government action to protect the health and safety of inmates and workers. 

You can view and sign the petition here. 

Thursday 28 January 2021, 1:00 pm

As part of the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre's virtual programming series, The SRSC is presenting a  webinar will be a discussion surrounding Racism and Colonial Violence in Archives.

Information about the event can be found here. 

Sunday 31 January 2021, 7pm-9pm CST

Please join the Knox Metropolitan United Church in Regina for this virtual event on the human rights crisis in Western Sahara.  Information about the event can be found here. 

5 February 2021, 12:30-1:30pm

This session will explore how health, social service, education, justice, and other systems can deepen and broaden their approach to - and ultimately be held accountable for - achieving health equity.

More information about the event can be found here. 

17 February 2021, 6:00pm

25 February 2021, 6:00pm 

Join a panel discussion organized by CSSDP Ryerson to explore the historical and present relationship between police and Queer people as an institution, the policing of Queer people and bodies that occurs in everyday lives, as well as the ways in which we can continue to resist these institutions and ideologies.

More information can be found here. 

26 February 2021, 2pm-4pm

To learn more visit the following link 

Resolving to Do Better in 2021?

Consider investing locally in renewable energy! 

Saskatchewan Environmental Society’s (SES) Solar Co-op Ltd. invites you or your group to become a member-owner by buying one or more shares.  The Solar Co-op's share offering is still open during RRSP season!  Buying Solar Co-op shares as RRSPs might interest you.  Also, existing self-directed RRSPs can be transferred into Solar Co-op shares, without attracting income tax. 

Learn more about the SES Solar Cooperative and how to buy shares here or contact Jeff at (306) 227-5732.