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MONTREAL COUNTER-INFORMATION
‘ANOTHER END OF THE WORLD IS POSSIBLE.’ ISSUE 4 FALL 2017 MTLCOUNTER-INFO.ORG
PIPELINES & EXPLOITATION OF THE EARTH
Nocturnal visit to the home of Jean-Yves Lavoie, president of Junex
T he night of November
16, we went to visit the
suburbs of Quebec City, or
bine our efforts with the
powerful ongoing struggle,
which is taking place on
order to stop companies like
Junex from carrying out their
destructive plans.
WHATS INSIDE
Anti-Colonialism.....................2-3
more precisely 1205 rue Im- multiple fronts, that seeks to It is in this spirit, and with
Graffiti, Statue Vandalism
periale, so as to leave a mes- make the dream of Mr. Lavoie our own objective of dismant-
sage for Mr. Jean-Yves Lavoie. impossible. In other words, ling the oil and gas industry
Anti-Fascism...........................4-10
For those who aren’t familiar rather than allowing colonial in “Quebec”, that we have
La Meute Member’s Store
with him, Mr. Lavoie is the extractivist industry and com- smashed the windows of his
Vandalized Twice, Analysis of
president of Junex, a com- panies like Junex to conti- cars, without forgetting to
Anti-Fascism in 2017
pany that generates its pro- nue to threaten the soil and slash the tires. We also cove-
fits (or, at least, tries to) from the water of Gaspesie or any red his house in paint.
Pipelines & Exploitation of the
exploiting the territory of other region of Turtle Island, We also left him a voice
Earth.........................................14-18
so-called “Quebec”, meaning we have chosen to heed the message, which you can
Pipeline Sabotage in Hamilton,
among other things fracking call of the Mi’kmaq and other listen to here. [available on
Line 9 Valve-Turners Sentenced
projects in “Gaspesie”. water and land protectors. We MTLCOUNTER-INFO.ORG].
We have decided to com- will do what is necessary in His dream of becoming
Police & Prisons.......................19
rich through the destruction
Police Supply Store Attacked
of territory will not come
to pass. Collective efforts of
Comic...........................................20
earth defense – blockades,
How To Fill Fire-Extinguishers
support camps, demos, edu-
With Paint!
cation campaigns – as well as
all the autonomous initiatives
put forward by a multitude
of indigenous and non-indi- Disclaimer: Montreal Counter-info publi-
genous groups will be much shes original work, anonymous submis-
sions, and material from other websites
more powerful than the work for educational purposes only. We do not
of Mr. Lavoie and Junex can condone or promote illegal, violent, and
accomplish in one life. unlawful behavior or actions, or acts of
intimidation against individuals or groups.
Quebecers against Quebec!
ANTI-FASCISM
The Anti-Fascist Movement in 2017
1) Anti-fascism, like any
social movement, is a
constant. This is to say, it is
we don’t need to start there
to put the present moment in
proper perspective. It should
a social movement with a suffice to think only of Nor-
long history – not a fad, but th America, and to start from
something that some people the 1980s or ‘90s. During
have been doing for a long this entire time, there have
time. Obviously there was an been people concerned about
anti-fascism of a sort even in fascists and fascism – which is
the days before Mussolini was
invited into government, but PAGE 7
2 Anti-Colonialism
“Fascism is imperialist repression turned inward”: Decolonize Graffiti
“…fascism is imperialist repression white power’”. […] Far away as Montreal’s canal walls mi-
turned inward” “The principal threat then of fas- ght seem from this discussion, there are
-Cope (2015) as quoted in Kesīqnaeh cism to colonized peoples is not one that real connections to be made here. “DE-
we would move from a state of having COLONIZE” is a piece done by folks
F ollowing Saturday’s “Open The Bor-
ders” demo at the Lacolle Border, the
message “DECOLONIZE” appeared
not been subjected to violence from eve-
ry angle to one where we would face that,
but rather that the pacing [of ] the elimi-
involved in anti-fascist organizing and
action. Kesīqnaeh states, “if you want to
fight fascism, you have to decolonize.”
along a canal wall in an affluent sou- native and accumulative logics of settler The people behind the canal’s message
thwest Montreal neighborhood. This pie- colonialism would be accelerated.” want this political analysis to be on eve-
ce provides an opportunity to explicitly Contray to the optics of “good ci- ryone’s mind who takes up this struggle
outline some links between the ongoing tizen/ good patriot” that right-wing against far-right groups across Turtle Is-
struggle of decolonization across Turtle Quebec groups construct in the news land.
Island and anti-fascist action. In Fascism and social media–for example, throwing “DECOLONIZE” performs aesthe-
& Anti-Fascism: A Decolonial Perspec- up peace signs or copying an anti-fascist tically to disrupt the infrastructures that
tive, Kesīqnaeh makes some insightful demo chant, “toute le monde deteste les invisibilize the violent colonial processes
links to these struggles while questioning racistes”– they are racist, chauvinistic, that have made it possible for condo de-
the significance of fascism to Indigenous anti-migrant and ultra-nationalist. These velopments and affluent entrepreneurial
peoples already combatting colonial vio- groups’ hierarchal organizational struc- shops to emerge while bringing with
lence. For the sake of brevity, a few direct tures, their leaders and members disguise them residents and patrons who have
quotations are provided below: white supremacist values as outrage for little regard for the violent structural
Kesīqnaeh states: the Trudeau government. But, if it’s the arrangements they belong to. These in-
“Fascism is when the violence that liberals they’re after, why mobilize at the frastructures organize society according
the imperialist nations have visited upon Lacolle border? Their inconsistent messa- to white supremacist aspirations that
the world over the course of the develop- ging betrays their true beliefs. We need to deploy anti-Indigenous and anti-Black
ment of the modern, parasitic capitalist pay attention to how they construct their narratives. While fascism may not neces-
world-system comes back home to visit.” messages (what, how, when they say so- sarily appeal to the white wealthy elite,
“In the settler colonial context this mething, in relation to what other ideas, it’s ideological values sustain the privile-
violence is one that was perfected within and the contexts that these messages are ge and impunity of those who compete
the exceptional state of the expansion of communicated in). It’s not only wor- for power in this current socio-political
the frontier, the clearing and civilizing of thwhile to pick apart the extreme right’s and economic climate. These right-wing
Indigenous People to make the land ripe arguments to see the ill-informed and groups view the state, it’s policing au-
for settlement, and the carceral conti- porous political analysis they subscribe thorities (yup, they clapped when the
nuum that has marked Black existence too, but also, to think deeply about what riot police showed up at Lacolle), and
on this land from chattel slavery to the is assumed and implied because of these it’s borders as a kind of legitimate power.
hyperghetto.” […] views. However, borders are an apparatus of a
“To quote the African People’s So- “They all thirst for a new frontier, settler colonial state founded on stolen
cialist Party, ‘our liberation—and that’s for recolonization, for territories, for a land, slavery and genocidal politics. This
what we must win—will only come white homeland. In other words, they makes borders illegitimate and this is a
about by an all-out struggle to overturn thirst for the fulfilment of the settler call to comrades to take action accor-
the colonial relationship we have with dream…”(Kesīqnaeh, 2017). dingly.
3 Fall 2017
You Go No Further, Canada
O ctober 11th, 1869: A hundred
and forty-eight years ago to this
date, Louis Riel led a group of Métis
to fight against and survive the spread of
colonialism and its genocidal violence
across the continent.
the state trying to position Indigenous
peoples within this distorted narrative
of nation-building founded upon stolen
to confront land surveyors sent by the We are non-Indigenous anarchists land, attempted genocide and assimila-
newly confederated Canadian state. The who chose to commemorate this im- tion. In the face of this ongoing colonial
surveyors came to define new property portant day in the history of anti-colo- nightmare we see only one way forward:
lines as a first step in Canada’s control nial resistance by vandalizing the John decolonization and the end of canada.
over the Red River territory. This group A. MacDonald monument in Place du Long live the Indigenous peoples of
of Métis physically stopped their work Canada, Montreal. We spray painted (A) Turtle Island!
while Riel informed them, “you go no FUCK 150 DÉCOLONISONS Ni frontière, ni état, ni québec, ni ca-
further.” So began the Red River rebel- The year 2017 marks canada’s at- nada!
lion, an inspiring moment in the long, tempts to celebrate the past 150 years None are free until we all are free!
ongoing history of Indigenous initiatives of its existence. These efforts include
Colonial and Racist John A. Macdonald Monument defaced
T he action today is inspired in part
by movements in the USA to tar-
get public symbols of white supremacy
by the Elementary Teachers’ Federation
of Ontario who denounced Macdonald
as the ‘architect of genocide against In-
to destroy native cultures and traditions.
He was racist and hostile towards non-
white minority groups in Canada, open-
for removal, such as Confederate sta- digenous people.’ The defacing of the ly promoting the preservation of a so-
tues. It’s also motivated by decolonial Macdonald Monument is also appro- called “Aryan” Canada. He passed laws
protests, like the “Rhodes Must Fall” priate in the context of the whitewashing to exclude people of Chinese origin. He
movement in South Africa. As well, we of Canadian history this year during the was responsible for the hanging of Métis
are directly inspired by protests by an- “Canada 150” celebrations, and various martyr Louis Riel. Macdonald’s statue
ti-colonial activists – both Indigenous calls to action, including the ‘375+150 = belongs in a museum, not as a monu-
and non-Indigenous – against John. A. Bullshit’ graffiti action this summer. ment taking up public space in Montreal.
Macdonald, particularly in Kingston, John A. Macdonald was a white su- Ni patrie, ni état, ni Québec, ni Ca-
Ontario, Macdonald’s hometown. We premacist. He directly contributed to the nada!
also note efforts elsewhere in the Cana- genocide of Indigenous peoples with the - Some local anti-colonial anti-racists.
dian state to rename the schools named creation of the brutal residential schools
after Macdonald, including a resolution system, as well as other measures meant
4 Anti-Fascism
Interview with Montreal anti-fascist organizer:
The stakes are high, and we don’t intend to sit idly by as things get worse.
C an you tell me about antifascist or-
ganizing in Montreal and what it’s
role is, especially now?
cism now?
Since six people were murdered and
nineteen seriously injured by a racist
What are common misconceptions of
Antifa?
The politically ignorant believe we
Antifascist activism has a long history gunman in Quebec City earlier this year, are the reason behind the rise of the far
in Montreal, going back to the 1980s. the far right has stepped out of the sha- right. A quick look at what happened
Prior to 2017, though, things had been dows and is trying to gain legitimacy as a first should set the record straight on that
relatively quiet for a number of years, political force in Quebec society. This is one.
most activity not occurring in the public part of a broader trend that reached a mi- The far right believes we are secretly
eye. lestone when Donald Trump was elected, paid by George Soros or by the govern-
Following the racist massacre in Que- and that we see playing out throughout ment. While most people will find this
bec City on January 27, the far right the historically racist countries in Europe ludicrous, it lines up with how they have
has been emboldened. They have been and North America, as the economic always explained things, i.e. shadowy
taking to the streets and organizing in crisis is provoking an avalanche of white forces or some foreign Jewish millionaire
an unprecedented fashion. As a result of racism. being behind anything they don’t like.
which, many of us have begun organi- The thing is, the answers the fascists People on the left sometimes believe
zing along explicitly antifascist lines. provide — scapegoating immigrants, that we are just into violence, or that
The role of antifascism is to expose Jews, people of color — simply divert bashing nazis is all we care about. This
and neutralize the threat posed by the far attention away from the real cause of the is another misconception, as in fact we’re
right. It is to support communities and problems people are facing, namely an often people who are also involved in
individuals targeted by the far right. Ulti- unfair economic system and increasing less sensational work against government
mately, it is to join with and support those austerity. cutbacks, police brutality, racism, and
fighting against the root causes of the far History shows that if we don’t fight other aspects of life under capitalism.
right, which in the Canadian context are effectively against the far right, people Many people are confused, and think
racism, patriarchy, colonialism, and ca- end up dying. The stakes are high, and there is some organization called “an-
pitalism. we don’t intend to sit idly by as things tifa”. In fact, “antifa” is just the media
Why is it important to be fighting fas- get worse. buzzword of the day, a German contrac-
5 Fall 2017
tion of the word “antifascist”. Since Meute take to the streets less than seven plaining about: In a large and chaotic
the election of Donald Trump, there months later? Refugees at the Olympic confrontation it is always difficult to
has been a proliferation of antifascist Stadium are being subjected to intimi- know the context behind every photo-
groups across North America; this is a dation by the neo-nazi group Atalante. graph or soundbyte. That said, random
good thing, but for better or for worse People cross the border are having to face people minding their own business were
there is no unitary organization or even the possibility that two-bit outfits like not attacked. If somebody showed up
single network encompassing all of these the Storm Alliance will be there to bul- hoping to attend a racist demonstration,
groups, or even any one single ideology ly them as they do. All of these are exa- to us that is the real scandal. And as to
we all agree upon. This is a mass move- mples of the violence that we are fighting media who complain about how they
ment, and like all mass movements, it against. were treated, the solution might be to
can’t be reduced to just one entity. What is your role in countering them, listen when someone tells you politely to
Another point of confusion worth specifically in Montreal and the province not take their photo.
noting, is why some of us wear masks at of Quebec? Do you see a difference in how to fight
demonstrations. This is not a uniform, We intend to expose and neutralize fascism and how to fight racism?
it’s a simple precaution, both against ar- this threat. We will document and reveal The fight against fascism is mea-
rest and against retaliation from our op- the ties between organizations, including ningless without the fight against racism.
ponents. Not all antifascists wear masks, the links they would rather be kept out of And, for that matter, against sexism, ho-
and not everyone who wears a mask the public eye. For instance, the neo-nazi mophobia, and transphobia, and also
identifies primarily as an antifascist. Shawn Beauvais-MacDonald, who was against colonialism and capitalism itself.
What threat do you see in the anti-im- an official in La Meute who attended the What are your views on the use of
migrant groups which appear to be gai- resent hatefest in Charlottesville. Or the force?
ning steam in Quebec (and elsewhere)? involvement of racists behind the fake Systemic racism is violent. Transpho-
These groups pose a threat, but we news scandal about Muslims at a popu- bia, homophobia and sexism are violent.
need to be clear: they only exist in any lar zoo a couple of months back. Or the Centuries of colonialism are violent, as
significant numbers because for years avowed white supremacists who were attested to by the recent murders of two
“mainstream” politicians and media per- behind the attempted anti-refugee pro- Inuit women in Montreal, not to men-
sonalities have been laying the ground- test at the Olympic Stadium that people tion living conditions for Indigenous
work for their racist rabblerousing. It is stopped on August 6. people across Canada. The situation of
no coincidence that La Meute was foun- On the ground, when racists attempt people on welfare or getting by with no-
ded by men who had been sent by the to act, we aim to be physically present thing but an old age pension to live on
government to wage war in Afghanistan. to do whatever needs to be done to stop are violent. But in all these cases this vio-
It is no coincidence that this organiza- them. lence remains invisible to those who are
tion has grown to be so large in the pro- If you’d like to learn more about what not subjected to it on a daily basis.
vince where an Islamophobic “Charter of we are doing, we encourage you to keep For La Meute to march through the
Values” was proposed by the government tuned to the Montreal Antifasciste web- streets of Quebec City, for the Storm Al-
and almost became law. These groups do site. liance to intimidate refugees at the bor-
not come out of nowhere, and taking What do you think of the demonstra- der, for Atalante to drop their pathetic
them seriously requires taking the broa- tion in Quebec city on August 20, and banners … all of this is violent to those
der context into account. the mainstream media narrative that made to feel unsafe and insecure. The an-
Far right organizations create politi- counter protestor’s actions could have an ti-Muslim hatefest that accompanied the
cal space for racist and exclusionary ideas adverse affect on the cause? PQ’s proposed racist Charter in 2013
throughout the political spectrum. By La Meute’s march in Quebec City was violent. And let’s not forget the hor-
comparison, the racism of mainstream was the largest far right demonstration rific and heartbreaking context of Janua-
politicians suddenly seems “moderate”. to have occurred in Canada since the ry 27.
All the while, within their midst, they 1930s. Let that sink in. We intend to struggle against the
act like incubation chambers for more Our job was to prevent La Meute above forms of violence, or to prevent
extreme individuals and groups. from taking to the streets. They hid them from reoccurring, but sadly there
On a basic and concrete human le- behind police in a garage all day long, can be no serious struggle without vio-
vel, the costs can be high. Six people had and waited until we had left to quickly lence, actual or implied. And we intend
their lives stolen from them in Quebec march around the block. Obviously, next to struggle seriously.
City in January; what message is being time we’ll have to stick around longer.
sent when hundreds of members of La As for the actions everyone is com-
6 Anti-Fascism
Vandalism of the store of Robert Proulx, member of La Meute
I n the early morning of September
30, with the help of a fire extinguisher
filled with paint, we repainted brown the
members are inspired by figures advoca-
ting for racist murder and the return of
slavery, such as the KKK or Adolf Hitler.
another far-right group. Interestingly,
Robert Proulx was present. It appears
that, on Facebook, he accuses Jaggi Sin-
exterior façade of JS RP Tech Informa- Against the re-emergence of the far- gh as responsible for the vandalism. Well,
tique, owned by Robert Proulx, located right, there is no mercy. We will do we don’t know Jaggi Singh. We self-orga-
at 6117 Bélanger. Robert Proulx is an ac- anything to discourage them. We are ex- nize, autonomously and informally. Eve-
tive member of La Meute, involved with tremely aware that these ideas have the rybody hates racists and Robert Proulx.
security. capacity to wreak havoc, especially in the We won’t let a racist discourse take
Contrary to what they chant in the current context, while every day the me- more space. We hope that the message
media, La Meute is an Islamophobic and dia propagandizes against Islam, awake- is clear.
racist group, using a media strategy to ning the Western patriotism that justifies Welcome to all immigrants, refugees,
spread far-right, anti-immigrant, conser- the war against the Islamic State and the and people without status. Fuck the bor-
vative ideologies, and which promotes military occupation of the Middle East. ders. Fuck Quebec, fuck Canada, fuck
white supremacy. Almost all public per- The spreading of racist ideas contributes white supremacy. Solidarity with indi-
sonalities of the right-wing in Quebec to reinforcing the national identity and genous people in struggle for their auto-
are members. Its idols being politicians maintaining an exploited class of proud nomy and dignity.
like Marine le Pen and, Donald Trump. whites. Here’s a poster to put on the walls [see
La Meute, with populist discourses that We chose to vandalize this store the MTLCOUNTER-INFO.ORG].
democratically demand the “freedom of morning of a right-wing anti-immigra- Some anarchists
expression”, revives the currents of the tion demonstration at the border post
far-right in a frightening way. Several of Lacolle, organized by Storm Alliance,
Robert Proulx’s Store Targeted For a Second Time
H ey Robert Proulx, We broke the
windows of your storefront. We
guess you don’t have to clean any more
broke your windows. We were happy to
see that someone else had spray-painted
“RACISTE” in red on the sidewalk di-
businesses on the street.
Solidarity with refugees and all those
targeted by “La Meute”.
paint or posters off of them now. We’ve rectly in the front of your store. Appa- Solidarity with everyone who fight
hated you and your involvement in “La rently, lots of people hate you, Proulx. fascists – whether in the streets or at their
Meute” for a while, and thanks for the We want to make sure your neighbors home or jobs.
communique from when your store was understood that this wasn’t random van- Nowhere in Montreal is safe for racist
attacked on the 30th of September, we dalism, so we hand-delivered 40 flyers scum.
finally got your address. (from the 30th September attack) explai- See you next time Proulx.
On October 16th, we rolled up to ning your racist and xenophobic bullshit, -The “Fuck Robert Proulx Committee”
your store at 6117 rue Belanger and to the mailboxes of all the surrounding
7 Fall 2017
FROM PAGE 1
The Anti-Fascist Movement in 2017
to say, for the purposes of this text, duced to that either. Suffice it to say, chist aims. More elaborate articulations
> some combination of:
- small organizations with specifically
though, that the incoherent conceptual
category of fascism feels more relevant to
of this goal by those with agendas that go
beyond the aims of the movement, such
racist or otherwise oppressive politics; people, and more people are saying it, in- as Maoists or liberal democrats, will pro-
- larger movements with politics that cluding those with the largest capacity to bably not be consistent with anarchist
are less defined but generally amenable broadcast their thoughts. This creates a aims – but these other tendencies do not
to these organizations’ agendas; and feedback loop of sorts, which might not define anti-fascism as a whole anymore
- not infrequently, but particularly necessarily correlate to higher rates of than anarchists do.
during Republican administrations, the participation in anti-fascism, but which Trying to perfectly define the baseline
executive branch of the United States go- has certainly done so in this case. The objective of the movement is an exercise
vernment (the governments of Québec, demos are bigger, and more frequent. in futility. That said, I would consider it
Arizona, and a few other U.S. states mi- More people are involving themselves in a broad effort to do away with the forces
ght occasionally be identified as fascist as anti-fascism, either for good reasons or itemized in point #1.
well) bad, and this makes it “bigger”. 5) Engagement with the anti-fas-
During this entire time, there have Accepting this elaboration, a comparison cist movement can serve to satisfy both
been discussions of this “fascist threat” can be made between anti-fascism in 2017 the emotional and practical needs of
(its composition, its activities, its ca- and anti-austerity in 2012 – that is, in the anarchists. Like many others in society,
pacities, etc.) and a consistent trend of Montréal context, the time of “the student we find the activities of fascists to be
people taking action against it. strike” or “le Printemps érable” or whatever monstrous and abhorrent, and we may
2) Anti-fascism, like any social mo- other historonym we might prefer. The an- find ourselves with a desire to “do so-
vement, is a space. Meetings, public ti-austerity movement – or more narrowly, mething” about it; this is true even for
demonstrations, and gnarlier actions the so-called “student movement” aiming the most rhetorically nihilist among us,
comprise the bulk of this space, which for free tuition at Québécois public uni- who present as very aloof but who may
is broadly non-fixed in geographic terms versities – had a long history before 2012, nevertheless find themselves beset with
and non-subcultural with regards to the and its history did not end there, either. The righteous fury when an acquaintance
people present – i.e. it does not corres- fourth article in the “After the Crest” series gets stabbed, a mosque gets shot up, or a
pond to where certain people (in the from CrimethInc., reflecting on Montréal family member starts promoting reactio-
Montréal context, the stereotype would anarchists’ experience in 2012, concerns nary ideas on Facebook. These emotions
be francophone skinheads who like to itself primarily with what led anarchists can be rationalized away, or they can be
drink and talk about the working class) of various backgrounds and persuasions to used. Regarding the practical, there is
decide to spend their Saturday nights. engage with the movement in 2012 and too much to say. There are new friends
Like any space that exists in the real wor- the years immediately adjacent; this articles to be met, plenty of opportunities to
ld, a concept of purity simply does not also imagines forms of disengagement and practice new skills, and social energy that
apply. The range of ideas present within distancing that might have been, at times, might be harnessed towards any number
anti-fascism is extremely diverse, and more empowering than straightforward of interesting avenues. Even if your goal
made all the more so in any moment participation as agitators and bodies on the is just to shit-talk leftists, some level of
when participation spikes. ground. The remaining points aim at an engagement will provide your critiques a
3) In 2017, anti-fascism is expe- analysis of anti-fascism in 2017 with the touch of authenticity.
riencing greater visibility and a higher same priorities at the fore. The above two points are fairly banal,
level of participation than normal. This 4) The baseline objective of the an- I think, but they probably need to be said.
obviously has something to do with the ti-fascist movement, while obviously The remaining points should challenge
electoral campaign of Donald Trump limited from a critical anarchist pers- many participants in the anti-fascist mo-
and its success, though it cannot be re- pective, is entirely consistent with anar- vement, and perhaps actively antagonize
8 Anti-Fascism
a few of them, so I want to make it clear gently threatening than, for instance, the and this is actually fine; it is important
right now that these points are offered in passive and virtue signaling public acti- for us to have spaces of encounter with
solidarity, and that I am mostly contemp- vity of La Meute. those whom we do not like, rather than
tuous of the purist rhetoric from certain 7) Under Canadian law, the state simply become more isolated from one
anarchists (largely the issue of certain ten- guarantees the right of citizens to peace- another than we already are. But when
dencies, though I won’t name names) that ful assembly and peaceful expression of we left the square, the Maoists did what
reject engagement with anti-fascism out of political opinion. Thus, any attack on they always do, which was to hoist their
hand. If you’re one of those purists, cut it such rights is simultaneously an attack banners and hammer-and-sickle flags
the fuck out. on the state itself. It is absolutely pos- in the air, and thereby very effectively
6) Petitioning the government is sible to attack the state and succeed, but mark the demonstration as theirs as far
useless; direct action gets the goods. it is a difficult operation, and one that as any spectator would be able to tell.
For years, Solidarity Across Borders has demands a great deal of resources – of This didn’t need to happen. Anarchists
organized an annual demo in Montréal which, it is quite likely, the attackers do could have marched out of the square in
under the slogan of first STATUS FOR not have an abundance. It takes many a different direction. We talk a lot of shit
ALL! and then, more recently, OPEN fewer resources for the other side to pull about Maoists, and other tendencies, in
THE BORDERS! These slogans articu- off some kind of passive event. If one our living rooms – but on the streets that
late as demands, necessarily directed at demo is blocked, they will call another day, we reflexively actualized left unity,
the Canadian government, which is ar- on another day. Or they will hide in a rather than do something to develop our
biter of status and maintainer of borders parking garage for awhile, then emerge own autonomous capacities, and visi-
in this territory. These demands, even if once the attackers have gone home. bilize the ideas we presumably think to
we imagined them voiced or embodied The above two points comprise the core be superior to those of Maoism in terms
by a hundred times more participants of my disagreement with the strategic impe- of strategic, ethical, and even aesthetic
in a SAB demo, will not directly affect rative that goes by the name “no platform”, thinking. Besides, our mutual distaste
government policy. This truth is well-un- currently in vogue among many influential would have had practical benefit today,
derstood by anarchists, both those who participants in anti-fascism, and which namely by making the anti-fascist mo-
participate in SAB demos and those who provides an undesirable negative affect to vement less intelligible, less centralized,
do not. But when it comes to fascists the anti-fascist movement as a whole. No less repressible. Let’s give kudos where
doing essentially the same thing, arti- platform, as a project, is comparable to the it is due, and say that PCR-RCP cadre
culating a demand for mass deportation project of policing as articulated by Tom are ready and willing to fight cops and
or the like, these same anarchists can get Nomad in The Master’s Tools. The exigency destroy property in pursuit of their aims.
very worried – namely, by imagining a is to be everywhere at once, to prevent any It is always better to have two potential-
clear causal relationship between the pe- instance of violation of non-situational pla- ly rowdy crowds wandering downtown
titioning action and a dreaded govern- cidity, a project which is necessarily impos- Montréal than one. A chaotic movement
ment policy outcome. It is fine to be sible. For the state, the effort to realize this is a stronger one.
disgusted by racist petitioners standing impossibility is, at least, productive. For 9) Anarchists should deviate from
in front of the National Assembly or anarchists in the anti-fascist movement, it easy narratives that frequently fail to
gathering at some other visible or sym- is probable that we have better things to do, compete with the narratives propagated
bolically important site (the Quartier either inside or outside of the movement, in by fascists. As soon as anarchist discourse
des spectacles, Montréal City Hall, the lieu of devoting all our time and energy to a becomes populist, it loses what makes it
Lacolle border crossing), and it is per- project that will inevitably fail, and which distinctly more valuable than the dis-
fectly fine to attack them (in strategical- will likely leave us feeling weak because of course of liberals, who have – through
ly sound ways, of course). At the same that failure. television and thinkpieces, podcasts and
time, it is problematic to understand any 8) Anarchists should not feel okay blog posts – propagated a powerful idea
manifestation of civil discourse as an ur- about marching behind Maoist ban- of what it means to be a good and ethical
gent threat and attendance-obligatory. A ners. This is meant literally as well as person in affluent, urban, and secular so-
call for a demo in a residential neighbou- figuratively. After the death of Heather cieties. Broadly speaking, The Guardian
rhood with a visibly Muslim character, or Heyer, there was a memorial demons- and your average Netflix sitcom actually
to march on the Olympic Stadium at the tration in Montréal, which began with have it quite right vis-à-vis their vision
moment of its usage by refugees, indi- a rally at Square Phillips. PCR-RCP for compassion, empathy, and solidarity
cates a risk of a pogrom – in other words, cadre were there in force, as well as many amongst people who are just struggling
direct action.A proper threat assessment anarchists. We found ourselves in the to survive in this world, same as anyone
would understand such calls as more ur- same place, largely for the same reasons, else. Alas, it is not enough to be right; the
9 Fall 2017
populist rhetoric of many fascists, which of some particularly dedicated members words, they are never entirely honest.
appeals to different emotions, is often of the anti-fascist movement, who inves- In intellectualizing fascism (and its rela-
more successful in shaping the collective tigate incidents of fascist activity, iden- tives: crypto-fascism, proto-fascism, qua-
action of the masses. Given that anar- tify who is responsible, and take action si-fascism, Nazism, etc.), the intellectual
chists acting populist today will not pro- against them. This project is entirely is typically unable to separate personal
vide an outcome of popularity tomorrow laudable, especially to the extent that bias and agenda from the work at hand.
(such is the power of authoritarians ins- it is motivated by genuinely altruistic This is why many anarchists call Leni-
titutions’ ideological conditioning), we sentiment – unlike the vast majority of nists “red fascists”, why Leninists might
should embrace our outsider status and, activities pursued by actual cops, i.e. the say anarchists are “fascists in effect”, why
with it, the freedom to call things as we state employees of whom every last one the enemies of the anti-fascist movement
see them. This is, in some ways, a terrible is a bastard. But the volunteer efforts of proclaim that “antifa are the real fascists”.
freedom, because oftentimes the way we flawed and underresourced people who None of us are actually wrong, because
see things will be absolutely misinfor- have bills to pay, addictions to nurse, all wrongness can only be measured against
med, and provide no immediately posi- the rest of it, will never prevent atrocities the definition being used. Occasionally, a
tive outcome. Regarding anarchists’ in- like the Québec City mosque shooting clinical definition emerges, usually in an
volvement in the anti-fascist movement, from reoccurring. Rather than indulge academic tone or an overconceived blog
perhaps the most relevant topic here is in honeyed talk of how this problem will post, which takes out all the moralizing
Islam, which many anarchists broadly disappear in the context of total anarchist and provides a rigorous and well-rea-
oppose (usually along with all religion). triumph, it should be acknowledged soned diagnostic framework – but such
The nature of this opposition, of course, that what will prevent such atrocities rarefied definitions never catch on in
is extremely varied, and it is certain that is better surveillance, better regimes of common discourse, because the pragma-
many espousing such a position are also punishment and reward for bad and tic function of the word “fascist” is to ral-
woefully ignorant of even basic concepts good behaviour, better algorithms to ly groups of people to destroy an enemy
relevant to the subject matter. In this, preemptively identify the person about that deserves no ethical consideration;
many anarchists are the same as white to shoot someone. Obviously the me- people will continue to identify things
Québecois who have concerns about at dicine is worse than the disease, even if they don’t like as fascist, never mind
least some aspects of Muslims’ beliefs that’s easier for some of us to say than what any expert says. Without imagi-
and practices. Anarchism needs to be a others. There is a place for hunting down ning that we can delete the word from
space where it is possible to voice those individual fascists and making their li- English or French, or even from our own
concerns, which might begin a dialogue ves more difficult, which will remain the speech (for our emotions will sometimes
that corrects some misconceptions, and main activity of some people and which demand that we denounce a thing in
maybe suggests that there are bigger others should try to celebrate, but it is the strongest possible terms), anarchists
things to worry about than what some problematic for this to become a marke- should use different terms, preferably
imam said one time. Fascists claim to be dly favoured tactic of the movement, ne- more precise, to identify the enemies
the only ones in society who will speak ver mind a strategic-ethical imperative. of the anti-fascist movement wherever
matter-of-factly about Islam-associated Not because the anti-fascist movement possible. When we choose to use the
problems, while in fact routinely pro- would have become “a state in waiting” word “fascism”, we should be clear that
pagating conspiracy theories and other or an arm of the extant state, but be- our choice is informed by convenience
false information. There is no serious cause making the world a safe place for and, to some degree, arbitrariness – not
possibility that either liberals or Leni- everyone is a project beyond our capaci- truth (for if we do think that our choice
nists will ever demonstrate by example ties. The degree to which we can respond of words is “true”, we have a bigger pro-
that the fascists’ claim to this effect are effectively to things is largely limited by blem, which is that we have constructed
wrong, so the task is up to anarchists cultural and geographic distances, and if a semantic reality for ourselves that satis-
who are willing to take responsibility we decide that we have our own lives to fies our own desire to always be right). In
for saying things that other people (in- live, too, which will not be well-served this move away from theories of fascism,
cluding people who can make credible by developing the mentality akin to that which are typically too large in scope to
claims of being more oppressed) may not of a heroic but tortured cop, then the be practical, we can:
want to hear. burden of that personal choice is that we - encourage a less alienated rela-
10) The only way to stop random will be more limited in our capacity to tionship to people’s very reasonable
and autonomously planned violence is effect social change. hatreds, which do not need to be justi-
better policing. Such better policing is, 11) Theories of fascism are political- fied with historical narratives or political
in fact, more or less the projectual aim ly and emotionally motivated. In other ontologies;
10 Anti-Fascism
- build a cultural resilience against souche – namely, that La Meute lacks a and “Class Combat” in the second, from
the immanent threat of anarchists being revolutionary and anti-systemic core, this year. Both of these take a decidedly
identified as “fascists” by authoritarians that it is in fact perfectly willing to work less intellectual approach than either my-
who want to control everything, a pre- within the general framework of the self in this text – I promise I am less aloof
dictable outcome of the contemporary Canadian state. Thinking to the United from the matters I like to discuss if you
and largely Leninist-animated anti-fas- States, it seems that many defenders of hang out with me in real life – or the col-
cist movement achieving broad success the Confederate flag would probably lectively written, democratically appro-
in its goals; and fit this description as well. Common ved text produced by Common Cause.
- continue to use the word “fascist” Cause’s argument is that these people Finally, I recently had the opportu-
in much the same way as we have been require a different response than fascists nity to see a few well-preserved magazine
doing, but perhaps with fewer frustra- do, and I think I buy that, though I don’t issued out of Toronto in the late 1990s,
tions with ourselves and others as to think there will ever be much hope of antifa forum. The first thing to say is
whether the word is being used correctly establishing a clear vision of who, preci- that, rather than it being some brand-
12) Participation and engagement sely, is or is not a “reactionary liberal”, as new phenomenon, the North American
will produce better knowledge of the opposed to those who come from a ge- anarchist scene has been fascinated with
anti-fascist movement than intellectual nuinely revolutionary and anti-systemic terminology issued from the German
approaches ever will. Don’t trust anyone perspective, albeit a pessimistic natio- radical scene for well over two decades
who has a pretense to superior knowledge nalist one. It is clear enough that many (and of course, this is where we get some
of history, metaphysics, and how to live people with one foot in the anarchist other terms, such as “black bloc”). Se-
your life. That includes yourself. Walk scene have another foot in the social-de- condly, I think a lot of people would
with the anti-fascist movement for a bit, mocratic scene, but it is harder to speak benefit simply from being aware of the
or don’t, as you like – but do it as anar- of actual individuals with any certainty. existence of older materials like these,
chist. Our capacity to tell the difference will even if they have no particular interest in
be even more difficult when assessing the content. I found many of the theo-
I have one reading recommendation to the anti-fascist movement’s street-level retical questions and tensions of today
conclude with, which is “Combating enemies, but Common Cause has made coming out in these older texts. I suspect
the Reactionary Forces of Liberalism” by the best effort I’ve yet seen at realizing a that for younger radicals, like myself and
Common Cause Anarchist Organization, practical taxonomy. those born even later, these older printed
published in Mortar #3 in 2015. It is an Peter Gelderloos and Seattle Ultras, materials will provide a historical sense
imperfect article, but it does a very good respectively, provide two decidedly more of the issues that we otherwise just aren’t
job at identifying the difference between lively texts that I think warrant some going to get anywhere else.
La Meute and a smaller outfits like Ade- attention: “Fascists are the Tools of the – shadowsmoke, October 2017
lante or the Fédération des Québécois de State” in the first case, dating from 2007,
DMS Doxed
G uillaume Beauchamp and Maxime
Morin (aka “DMS”) publicly de-
clared war on antifascists in Quebec, and
by how fast you ran away from us, we
thought you had understood our war-
ning the first time.
some neo-fascist rats.
This was your second and last war-
ning. If you don’t learn to shut up and
in Montreal. On the night of December 8th we paid behave yourself, it’s going to cost you.
These far-right fanboys have threate- you a visit at your home, 2440 Chambly Feel free to spread the word to your fashy
ned to find us and destroy us. Big mis- street, apartment #1, in Hochelaga. We chums: y’all are never, ever safe in this
take. had the pleasure of putting up a few pos- city.
On December 5th, we had a friendly ters around your place, just to let your AFC (Antifa af Collective)
run-in with you in the streets. Judging neighbours know that they live next to11 Pipelines & Exploitation of the Earth
In the Trenches: Pipeline Sabotage against Enbridge in Hamilton
P ipelines are war; one built from
the insatiable greed of corporations
which have normalized violence against
sives inside others.
We do this in solidarity with the In-
digenous peoples of this area. A people
A How-To from the heart
You’ll need 1 a decent cordless drill, 2 a
the land and its living. Our resolve wit- who have been displaced, threatened and good smaller-gauge cobalt or titanium
hin this struggle intensifies with each murdered since early colonial arrivals – drill bit – preferably with a pilot point,
audacious assault Enbridge launches; who still continue to face this violence. and 3cutting oil. [Oh, the irony!]
each time they dismiss the concerns and Who suffer the consequences of this co- With a righteous sense of adventure,
requests of Indigenous Nations. Every lonial capitalist society and the industries prove your stealth ninja skills by get-
court proceeding. Every act of intimida- which drive it. ting into the right-of-way. Once you’re
tion. Every lie or false claim of safety or So – to Enbridge: You’re gonna want in there you’re pretty invisible from the
necessity. We’ve had enough. to replace every last section of line 10 road so long as you’re not fluorescent,
So back when Enbridge started ship- that’s been laid out so far. We say this be- adorned in glitter of fucking around with
ping in pipeline segments for their line cause we care for the environment, and a headlamp too much. Take a breath,
10 expansion, we started sabotaging don’t care about you – so take it seriously. take a look, and then find your way to
them. And for every dollar you pursue from In- an empty pipeline and start drilling! Go
There are vast networks of pipeline digenous Nations or individuals for de- slow [so there’s less noise, reverberation,
infrastructure throughout Turtle Island. fending their territories, we aim to cost and friction] and apply enough pressure
They are indefensible; perfect oppor- you ten. #sorrynotsorry so that you see metal shavings coming
tunities for effective direct action that To the public: It’s up to you to hold up – and then keep at it for 10 to 15
harms nothing but an oil company’s bot- Enbridge accountable – in everything minutes. Cutting oil will help the process
tom line. It’s in this spirit that we found they do. Don’t let them risk your lives by along by keeping the drill tip cool and
ourselves going for long moonlit strolls installing pipelines they now know to be effective.
through the trenches of the freshly dug compromised. Don’t let them risk lives Have fun. Stay safe.
line10 right-of-way. Wherever we felt the by installing pipelines, period. And get the fuck out there!
urge, we drilled various sized holes into And lastly, but not least, to our
pipeline segments while spilling corro- comrades and co-conspirators:12 Pipelines & Exploitation of the Earth
Decolonize Turtle Island!
F or the last 10 days, an encampment
has been blocking the train tracks
that lead out of the Port of Olympia, pre-
Wedzin Kwah on Unist’ot’en Territory,
to the walls of the Tiny House Warriors
of Secwepemc Territory, to the Mi’kmaq
Halliburton severed ties with the Port of
Olympia. While we do not wish to see
the Port of Olympia transition to some
venting fracking proppants from being struggle on the Gaspesie Peninsula, we sort of greenwashed “progressive” capita-
sent to North Dakota and Wyoming. In wish to acknowledge and honor those lism – merely polishing that giant turd of
addition to standing in the way of capi- whose land we currently fight on and colonization – we celebrate the sheer le-
talism and environmental destruction, those who fight against the industrial vel of chaos and impact on Halliburton.
the blockade has created an opening in mega-machine alongside us, near and Sometimes it feels as though no attack
which we can interact in new, liberated far. Our fight against fracking proppants on capitalism or the state will ever be
ways. We have made many new friends, is also a fight against LNG pipelines, enough to cause any real damage, but it’s
deepened existing relationships, and ex- Keystone Oil, and many more; but more moments like these that remind us that
perienced the joy in sharing our lives wi- broadly the struggle against extractivist the death machine is more vulnerable
thout regard for profit. industry is a struggle against coloniza- than we might think.
We wish to send greetings and express tion. Warm greetings to everyone searching
solidarity with Indigenous resistance A Freedom of Information Act re- for the cracks in leviathan’s armor-
to capitalist expansion across Turtle Is- quest revealed that last year’s week-long For total freedom,
land. From the lands of the Nisqually rail blockade cost oil giant Halliburton -some guests on the southern tip of the
and Squaxin tribes, to the shores of the two fracking operations, and in turn Salish Sea
Fuck you, Fuck your Court, Fuck the Crown and the Queen you serve:
Response to Sentencing of Line 9 Valve Turners
O n December 18th, 2017, two
anarchist comrades were sentenced
for their role in a 2015 direct action in
complished this by physically closing a
manual valve, thus proving that it was
possible to safely shut down pipelines.
in which 5 pipelines in 4 different states
were shut down simultaneously.
At the sentencing of Fred and Will,
which a Enbridge’s Line 9 was physical- This action, the first of its kind, inspired the judge found it suiting to give the de-
ly shut down. Their affinity group ac- a wave of similar actions, including one fendants a lecture. “You were convinced”,13 Fall 2017
he said, “that it was correct”. He went on in have clearly proven their inability to ring the October Crisis. Or they who
to compare the activists action, in which address the planetary crisis. Would you demanded that Chinese migrant workers
no physical entity was harmed, with ter- rather that we shrug and say “Fuck it”? pay a head tax or be deported. Or they
rorist attacks such as Boston Marathon Or waste our lives pursuing state-sanc- who ordered that people of Japanese des-
bombing and the Bataclan massacre in tioned “solutions” that are sure to fail? cent be interned in concentration camps
Paris. The commonality between these How dare you claim the moral high during World War Two. Each of these
actions was the fact that they were all ground, you who lives in luxury while men, we can suppose, believed that what
ideologically motivated. The judge went the sixth mass extinction rapidly accele- he was doing was right. But this was not
on to reference a man in Germany in rates? What have you done to reverse the the case.
the 1930s who believed that he had a damage that this civilization, year after We believe that there will come a day
righteous cause. year, inflicts on the Earth? when the actions of water protectors
Well, two can play at this game. If the Fuck you, you old fuck. We are trying will be seen in the same light as those
condemnation that follows seems overly to repair the damage that your genera- who fought against slavery and imperial
scathing, keep in mind that this fucking tion has done. We are trying to staunch conquest in earlier generations. Moreo-
judge compared our comrade to Adolf the world’s wounds before it is too late. ver, although we are grateful that our
fucking Hilter. How dare you reproach us for our ac- activism has enjoyed popular support,
This judge is a representative of the tions? In your inane lecture, you com- we do not need the approval of mains-
very same Crown that has been res- pared Frederick Brabant to Hitler, for tream society. We acknowledge no au-
ponsible for atrocities much worse than the reason that they both believed in a thority higher than ourselves, and we
the Boston Marathon bombing or the cause. It insults my intelligence to even will continue to act in accordance with
acts of the Bataclan shooters. The genoci- dignify this with a response, but since I the aspirations of our spirits for freedom
dal residential school system was presided must stoop to your level, here goes: The and dignity. We will continue to fight in
over by many judges, and the human cost election of Hitler was legal, the actions defense of Mother Earth, on behalf of
of this system was much greater than the of those who protected Jews and other future generations and all our relations,
terrorist acts the judge cites. How dare undesirables from the Holocaust was consequences be damned.
you chastise our comrades, as if they were illegal. The actions of slave-owners whip- And make no mistake – our move-
errant children, for disobeying your Law, ping slaves was legal, the Underground ment is growing. Those with their fingers
when much greater atrocities have been Railroad was outlaw shit. The residential on the pulse already know this – the rest
committed by people using the Law as school system was legal, traditional in- of you will soon enough.
their weapon? It is your moral code, not digenous ceremonies were forbidden. It May the sun set on all you represent,
ours, which is ill-conceived and naive. is an idiotic abasement of the human fa- and as your generation dies, may the asi-
You are old, and will not live to see culty for reasoning to equate lawful with nine ideology you have so shamelessly
the full extent of the coming cataclysm right, and unlawful with wrong. The law, espoused die along with you. Fuck you,
wrought by climate change and the eco- in every country, is created by the ruling fuck your court, fuck the Crown and
nomic and political crises it will precipi- class of that country, according to the in- the Queen you serve. May the day soon
tate. For those of us who must live with terests and inclinations of that class. That come where all belief in their sanctity
the consequences of your generations you cannot see this obvious fact demons- fades from memory, and human beings
failure to address the ecological crisis, trates a poverty of imagination that you once again honour what is living instead
we cannot tolerate the rape of Mother should be ashamed to display in public. of your dead abstractions. Only then will
Earth that Enbridge and their malignant What you are saying is, in effect, Might we as a people to be able to speak mea-
ilk daily engage in. How dare you scold makes Right, and in doing so you place ningfully of justice.
us for taking action in defence of our yourself in the spiritual company of the In the name of our fallen comrade,
future? It is our future that state-sanc- judges of countless oppressive regimes, the praiseworthy and beloved Jean Leger,
tioned ecocide has been systemically who have legitimized terror and torture we declare: ON LACHE RIEN – we are
impoverishing for centuries. Would you by upholding the Law. So I say unto you: not giving up.
chastise us for desiring to pass along a in condemning our comrades, you were for the wild,
liveable world to those who come after convinced that you were right, but so was the Pukulatamuj brigade of the Ima-
us? Would you rather that we wallow ho- the judge that condemned the Tsilqotin ginary Anarchist Federation
pelessly and helplessly, watching the web chiefs to death. Or the state toadies who
of life upon which our survival depends ordered the eviction of Africville and the
deteriorate further and further? The poli- deportation of the Acadians. Or they
tical channels you would have us believe who enacted the War Measures Act du-You can also read
