SURJ Toronto 2024 at a Glance
Reflecting on 2024
Part of SURJ Toronto logo. Squiggly lines in dark teal, bright teal, red, bright red, and goldenrod on a black background representing the intersecting lines of systems of oppression and liberation.
In 2024, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Toronto continued its commitment to dismantling oppressive systems, organizing for racial justice and building solidarity through actions, workshops, and community engagements. Another year of meaningful and collective action! Here are some of the highlights of our year.
Anti-Racism Series
SURJ Toronto's annual three-part Anti-Racism Series aided in understanding systemic oppression, offering participants essential tools and knowledge.
Part 1: Introduction to the Palestinian Liberation Struggle
As Israel’s genocide in Gaza entered its fourth month, this workshop introduced attendees to the background and root causes of the Palestinian struggle, explained the role of racism, antisemitism, and Islamophobia and provided insights into ways that people living in Canada can contribute effectively to the movement for social justice and liberation. It was facilitated by two Toronto based organizers from the Palestinian Youth Movement.
Graphic advertising “Introduction to the Palestinian Liberation Struggle” webinar in January, co-hosted with Palestinian Youth Movement.
Part 2: Healing Resistance: Racial Healing in a Time of Collapse
We are living in a time of upheaval. As social, ecological, economic and political systems are on the brink of collapse, we are presented with an incredible opportunity to shape a new future. In this workshop, Kazu Haga led a discussion on how these compounding crises impact our ability to engage in the work of racial healing.
Kazu Haga is a trainer and practitioner of nonviolence and restorative justice, a core member of Building Belonging, the Ahimsa Collective and the Fierce Vulnerability Network and author of Healing Resistance: A Radically Different Response to Harm. He works with incarcerated people, youth and activists from around the United States. He has over 20 years of experience in nonviolence and social change work, and has been an active trainer since 2000. He is a resident of the Canticle Farm community on Lisjan Ohlone land, Oakland, CA.
Graphic advertising “Healing Resistance” webinar in February.
Part 3: Indigenous Intersections in Disability and Climate Justice
Indigenous leaders from No More Silence, Audrey Huntley and Wanda Whitebird, shared the disability justice work they engaged in during the COVID lock down and how it culminated in the creation of the Hummingbird Healing Lodge. They showed two short films: a) New Worlds (new approaches to ceremony in COVID times) and b) Sunflower Solar Array (on how their partnership with Sacred Earth Solar led to the solarization of their healing lodge).
Audrey Huntley (she/her) is of European settler and Indigenous ancestry. She grew up an ‘army brat’ between Calgary, Alberta and Germany. As a young adult she lived in Europe for 16 years. She studied, worked and became part of anti-authoritarian social movements fighting racism, fascism and gender-based violence in Germany, France and Italy. She returned to Turtle Island in 1998 and has been involved in anti-colonial struggles in BC and Ontario ever since. Audrey is a licensed paralegal who works with survivors of violence at Aboriginal Legal Services. She is a filmmaker/storyteller and the co-founder of No More Silence, working with other Indigenous women, trans and two-spirit people to end gender based violence and colonization.
Wanda Whitebird of the Bear Clan, is a member of the Paqtnkek Mi’kmaw Mi’kmag Nation in Nova Scotia. Wanda passed away last year after being active with No More Silence for two decades. Wanda was known for her groundbreaking work bringing the drum and traditional Indigenous spirituality into prisons. She was also one of the first Elders to embrace a harm reduction approach to working with substance users. She was recently honoured with the Casey House award for Social Justice and recognized for her years of work with Indigenous people living with HIV/AIDS. You can see SURJ and No More Silence post about her passing here.
Graphic advertising “Indigenous Intersections in Disability and Climate Justice” webinar in March, co-hosted with No More Silence.
Solidarity with Palestine
Protests and Demonstrations
SURJ Toronto endorsed, moved money to and offered marshalling and police liaisoning support for several protests and demonstrations for Palestine over 2024, including the People’s Circle at the University of Toronto.
Graphic advertising “Procession for Palestine” march in January, with the tagline “Jews Say No to Genocide.”
Graphic advertising “Shut It Down for Palestine” march in March.
Graphic advertising SURJ Toronto’s endorsement of “One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance: Toronto Rally for Palestine” for the International Day of Action in October.
Phone and Email Zaps
SURJ Toronto partnered with Jews Say No to Genocide to host two phone and email zaps demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and two-way arms embargo between Canada and Israel.
Graphic advertising a phone and email zap in March demanding MPs vote for a ceasefire and arms embargo.
Graphic advertising a phone and email zap in August demanding MPs call for a full two-way arms embargo on Israel.
Toronto Community Justice Fund
Toronto Community Justice Fund logo, with an illustration of a slice of watermelon and the text “From Turtle Island to Palestine, Occupation is a Crime.”
SURJ Toronto members played an integral role in establishing and running the Toronto Community Justice Fund. The purpose of the Toronto Community Justice Fund is to raise and distribute resources for community members living in the Greater Toronto Area who are facing legal and other financial repercussions stemming from the criminalization of their Palestinian liberation and solidarity work. The fund has raised thousands of dollars to support those facing financial and legal barriers as a result of their solidarity with Palestine.
Witnessing and Resisting Occupation in the West Bank
Five SURJ Toronto members visited the West Bank to engage in protective presence. The presence of foreign nationals, like our SURJ Toronto members, can deter or minimize settler violence and support Palestinian families to continue their daily lives. In two public webinars, SURJ Toronto members shared about their experiences witnessing occupation and settler violence in the West Bank. They also raised funds to directly support community-run projects.
Photo of three SURJ Toronto members at a rally protesting the genocide in Gaza. One wears a “Jews Say No To Genocide” shirt, and the other two are holding signs that say “Land You Kill For Is Not Yours” and “Queer Parent For Palestine.”
Fundraising for Palestine
From dance parties to silent auctions, SURJ Toronto members have supported the coordination and hosting of several fundraisers for the Toronto Community Justice Fund, humanitarian aid in Gaza and settler resistance in the West Bank.
Land Back and Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
19th Annual Strawberry Ceremony
February’s 19th Annual Strawberry Ceremony, organized by No More Silence, saw SURJ Toronto engage in marshalling, greeting, poster-making and other support. This annual sacred ceremony honours the lives of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, Trans, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWGT2S), centring grief, resilience, and collective action.
Protesting RBC's AGM in Solidarity with Indigenous Land Defenders
In April, SURJ Toronto members joined forces with Indigenous activists to disrupt RBC’s Annual General Meeting. The protest highlighted the bank’s financing of destructive resource extraction projects, including the Coastal GasLink pipeline on Wet’suwet’en territory. This action amplified calls for accountability and divestment.
Healing Lodge at Six Nations
SURJ Toronto members flexed their muscles to help No More Silence clean up an old barn, in preparation for the build of their new healing lodge. SURJ Toronto members travelled to Six Nations several times to help shovel, clean and haul!
Photo of four SURJ Toronto members and one No More Silence member in work clothes standing outside a barn. They are smiling into the camera, and there are loose bricks and boards propped against the barn behind them.
2024 Grassy Narrows River Run
In collaboration with Grassy Narrows Solidarity Network, Decolonial Solidarity, the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, World Beyond War and many other organizations, September saw SURJ Toronto organizing the Grassy Narrows River Run Rally. We organized speakers, planned the route, ensured the audio was loud and clear, made art and banners, developed an accessibility guide, ensured access supports were readily available - not to mention snacks, water, and PPE! Over 7,000 people joined Grassy Narrows community members in the march, all demanding compensation for decades-long mercury poisoning and accountability from the provincial and federal governments. SURJ Toronto was tremendously honoured to be invited by Grassy Narrows community members to organize this important event.
A photo of a person in a floppy sunhat putting a River Run posted on a community notice board.
Photo of three SURJ Toronto members in River Run t-shirts smiling for the camera while setting up for River Run 2024.
Photo of the River Run march moving through downtown Toronto. At the front, several people hold a large blue banner with stylized white waves, with text reading “Justice for Grassy Narrows – Healthy River, Healthy People – freegrassy.net.” Behind them are thousands of people carrying “Justice for Grassy Narrows” signs.
Migrant Justice
Migrant Spring
At Migrant Spring, community members demanded justice for undocumented workers in Canada. In collaboration with Migrant Workers Alliance, SURJ Toronto showed up in solidarity, echoing our partners at the Migrants Rights Network to affirm that migrants are the backbone of this country, deserving of respect, dignity, and permanent status.
Graphic advertising Migrant Spring event at Christie Pits in March.
Supporting Regularization
SURJ Toronto supported Migrant Rights Network’s countrywide campaign to fight for a comprehensive and inclusive regularization campaign in Canada. We sent an organizational endorsement letter to Parliament, dropped off letters to our local Members of Parliament, hosted ‘May Day’ phone and email zaps and engaged in online social media campaigns.
Collage of photos of SURJ Toronto members holding up signs saying “someone I know is undocumented” or “someone I love is undocumented” and calling for regularization. Text across the top reads “SURJ Toronto members know, love, and support undocumented people!”
Photo of a SURJ Toronto member holding a letter in support of migrant rights and smiling for the camera, outside the office of Marci Ien, Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre.
Disability Justice
Cripped in Colour: A Webinar About Disability and Race
Organized by a SURJ Toronto placement student, this webinar brought together five powerful speakers – Sivert Das, Sydney Elaine Butler, Lil Gabi D, Yousef Kadoura, and Natasha 'Courage' Bacchus – to discuss their lived experiences as disabled racialized people, providing a much needed perspective on lateral ableism, racism in the disability community, and intersecting marginalization.
Graphic advertising “Cripped in Colour” webinar in April.
Keeping Supervised Consumption Sites Open
While the toxic drug crisis rages on, claiming a life in Ontario every 2.5 hours, the Ford government plans to close over half of the provincially-funded Supervised Consumption Services (SCS). This session encouraged participants to call on Doug Ford, Ontario ministers and our MPPs to reverse the deadly decision to close supervised consumption services.
Graphic advertising a phone and email zap in support of supervised consumption services in October, co-hosted with Toronto Overdose Prevention Society.
Embedding Disability Justice Principles in Organizing Culture
SURJ Toronto’s disability justice and access working group have led sessions on COVID safety and its connections to disability justice and encouraged SURJ Toronto to purchase and regularly use portable air purifiers, COVID tests and masks. They also host a regular ‘care drop-in’ to give and receive care in ways that aim to be consistent with disability justice.
Police Defunding and Abolition
Participating in Toronto Budget Deputations
SURJ Toronto hosted a workshop on how to intervene in Toronto’s budget process, sharing tips and tools to help participants prepare a budget deputation and discussing ways to bust common pro-policing myths.
Graphic advertising “Budget Deputation 101” workshop in January.
Emergency Phone and Email Zap
The Toronto budget vote included two motions that infringe on the right to protest and silence Palestinians. SURJ Toronto hosted an emergency phone and email zap to demand that Toronto city councillors repeal the motions, stop funding the Toronto Police Service and put forth a motion demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Image description: Graphic advertising phone and email zap opposing the Protest and Rally motion.
Know Your Rights Workshop
From increased police presence and violence at actions, to dozens of arrests in the city, it’s clear that the city of Toronto is using taxpayer money to crackdown on pro-Palestinian organizing and support. We know that we keep each other safe, and the state cannot intimidate us. This workshop, hosted in collaboration with Palestinian Youth Movement and Community Justice Collective, outlined protestor’s rights to ensure that everyone feels protected as they continue to organize for Palestine.
Graphic advertising “Know Your Rights” workshop in February.
Defunding Toronto Police Services
The Toronto Police want more officers, and that will mean more of the same: discrimination, violence and corruption, paid for by Torontonians. It’s time to hit the Cops Lock key — because more police officers will not make our city safer.
Ahead of the city budget process, SURJ Toronto encouraged people to submit online letters saying no to a bigger police force and yes to a safe and just Toronto.
Over 2,700 letters were sent!
Graphic resembling an activated caps lock key on a computer keyboard, but labelled “cops lock” instead. Text reads “It’s time to hit the cops lock key. Add your name to demand a cap on cops in Toronto!”
Alternatives to 911 Community Skill-Building Series
SURJ Toronto’s Alternatives to 911 community skill-building series aims to equip community members with the knowledge and skills needed to engage in crisis intervention, without relying on the police. It seeks to build community capacity while rejecting police intervention and other forms of crisis response which are violent, punitive and carceral. During 2024, there were two public webinars in the series.
We Keep Us Safe: Cultivating Community Safety and Care at Protests brought together community organizers with extensive experience in community care and safety at protests to learn from each other, share practical tips and build our capacity to keep each other safe.
Graphic advertising “We Keep Us Safe” webinar in February.
Supporting People in Crisis with Diana Chan McNally provided an understanding of how to work compassionately with street-involved people experiencing crisis or distress in public spaces, including on transit. Emphasis was placed on avoiding criminalization and minimizing risks and harms to the person experiencing crisis or distress.
Diana Chan McNally (Dipl. CW BFA MA MEd) is a community and crisis worker in Toronto’s downtown east side. As someone with lived experience of social services and of being unhoused, Diana’s work focuses on human rights and equity issues for people who are experiencing homelessness by advocating at the political level, while still maintaining an active frontline praxis. Diana is also an instructor in George Brown College’s Community Worker program and has served on the steering committees and boards of Justice for Children and Youth and Health Providers Against Poverty. She is an alumna of Maytree Policy School, a fellow of the McNally Project for Paramedicine Research, and a Board Director of the Chinese-Canadian Intercultural Association.
Graphic advertising “Supporting People in Crisis” webinar in May.
Reimagining Systems (Of Care) By Us For Us
Desmond Cole, Butterfly GoPaul, and Rebeena, moderated by Robyn Maynard, shared their hope for a future where care—not policing—is the foundation of public safety. Organized in collaboration with Resource Movement and Jane & Finch Action Against Poverty (JFAAP), the event highlighted how increasing police budgets and expanding surveillance undermine the potential for thriving communities.
Graphic advertising “Reimagining Systems (Of Care) By Us For Us” webinar in March. Co-hosted by Jane Finch Action Against Poverty and Resource Movement.
Abolitionist Pride
At Abolitionist Pride in June, SURJ Toronto members marshalled and sold awesome abolitionist shirts with all proceeds going to No Pride in Policing to help cover their annual pride planning costs.
Photo of two SURJ Toronto members staffing a merch table outdoors before Abolitionist Pride, holding up t-shirts that say “my pride is abolitionist.”
Resource Redistribution
Moving Money
SURJ Toronto raised $85,758.91 over 2024! We donated $47,392 from fundraisers that we helped to organize with movement partners and made $38,366 in solidarity donations to other organizations that originated from our generous monthly donations to SURJ. With these funds, we supported 32 organizations led by Black, Indigenous or racialized community organizers.
Please visit https://www.surjtoronto.com/donate to contribute a monthly donation! To continue our fight for collective liberation, it is imperative to pool our resources and take collective action whenever and wherever possible.
Childminding Collective
In 2024, we did a ‘soft’ relaunch of our Childminding Collective which supports community organizers by offering free childminding at regular meetings, events and small-scale actions. After taking a pause during COVID, offered childminding at several community events in 2024. Stay tuned for a bigger launch in 2025!
Political Education and Skill-Building
Marshaling Training
As more of our neighbours join the massive Palestine solidarity movement that is continuing to grow in our cities, many people are interested in stepping into marshaling for the first time. This training was geared towards those newer to marshaling to equip them with beginner level tips and strategies.
Graphic advertising virtual marshaling training in January.
Growing the White Anti-Racist Movement
We founded SURJ Toronto in the aftermath of Trump’s first election, when we were called upon to get our act together and do the necessary work to educate and organize white people. Following Trump’s election to a second term, we hosted a cross-Canada organizing call to encourage other white anti-racists across the country to join the movement and start their own SURJ chapters.
Image description: Graphic advertising cross-Canada organizing call for white folks organizing against rising fascism and rising hate in December.
Unpacking White Masculinity
The Unpacking White Masculinity workshop series provided white men with a dedicated space to reflect on their roles within systems of inequality. Participants explored the intersections of white supremacist, capitalist, cis-hetero-patriarchy, reflecting on their personal experiences of whiteness and manhood.
Internal Education
SURJ Toronto members shared skills and knowledge on facilitation and accountability, with conversations like “How Should We React When Called Out?” as well as email management and other tools to facilitate organizing. We engaged in reflective discussions on migrant justice, COVID safety and intersections with disability justice and ancestral connections to colonization. We also hosted a care circle grounded in Joanna Macy’s “Work That Reconnects.” During the circle sessions, participants were led through exercises and sharing circles that aimed to foster trust, solidarity and emotional-spiritual resilience. Many of these sessions were hosted by members of our new Basebuilding and Care team!
Photo of a group of SURJ members in a meeting room, with workshop notes on the wall behind them. They are wearing facemasks and nametags, and posing for the camera.
Supporting Student Success
Every year, SURJ Toronto welcomes our “activists-in-training”: incredible students who are completing higher-education degrees in the GTA with community placement requirements. In 2024, we welcomed six bright students across three terms. The students work through an anti-racist curriculum together, hone their skills in community organizing, and learn how to integrate these skills into their future careers and activist roles. It is a joy and a delight to support and mentor these students; we’re stronger for it!
Photo of two SURJ Toronto members holding up a sign reading “none of us are free until all of us are free.”
