In the lead-up to the World Cup, Toronto police built up permanent surveillance infrastructure for a threat that never came. Its centrepiece is a counter-drone system that may be linked to an Israel Defense Forces’ intelligence unit. The latest Cops and the City column by @aliyapabani.bsky.social.

FIFA Fake Out

Toronto police used the spectre of terrorism to quietly build up permanent surveillance infrastructure for a threat that never came. Its centrepiece is a counter-drone system that may be linked to the...

thegrindmag.ca

There's lots more in the news section, including the first official Cops and the City column from @aliyapabani.bsky.social She looks back at the time when Olivia Chow was pressured to resign from the police board and its resonances to today.

Civilian Oversight, With Difficulty

Decades ago, Olivia Chow learned the hard way what happens when police board members criticize the police. She wouldn’t be the last. In her first official “Cops and the City” column…

thegrindmag.ca

There's a film screening of "Hogtown: The Politics of Policing" (2005) and a Q&A on this topic happening this Sunday at Hot Docs: boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/websales/pag...

The Grind@thegrindto.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Decades ago, Olivia Chow learned the hard way what happens when police board members criticize the cops. She wouldn’t be the last. This article is the first for @aliyapabani.bsky.social's new column, Cops and the City.

I have a new column about the Toronto police. In this one, I look at the cycles of scandals and budget increases since 2000, and try to figure out what it is the police board actually does

The Grind@thegrindto.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Decades ago, Olivia Chow learned the hard way what happens when police board members criticize the cops. She wouldn’t be the last. This article is the first for @aliyapabani.bsky.social's new column, Cops and the City.

"What $1.43 billion gets us?" "[I]n 627 Ontario court rulings between early 2015 and mid-2025, police were found to have violated the Charter 1,000 times." "[R]acial profiling, false testimony and a 20-year failure to bring accused to bail court within 24 hours." #Ontario #Canada #Courts #Policing

Why Does Toronto's Police Budget Keep Going Up?

The police service and police association have been pushing comms campaigns on the city, designed to secure funding increases whether crime goes up or down, organizer and researcher Aliya Pabani explains.

thegrindmag.ca

Tomorrow - we're doing a deep dive into the 2 year campaign across the arts that led to the Giller boycott and Scotia's Elbit divestment, with @hussansk.bsky.social. Join us: shorturl.at/1v3o2

Coming up on Sunday! A discussion on the legacy of social movement journalism in Toronto and the path ahead, featuring Eric Mills, @meganysta.bsky.social, @aliyapabani.bsky.social and @dgrdon.bsky.social. Tickets are PWYC: eventbrite.ca/e/1985960054...

This book is out TODAY

Michael DeForge@michaeldeforge.bsky.social · last yr.

Announced for D+Q's 2026 winter line-up: "All The Cameras In My Room" Collection of short comics about surveillance, horror movies, non-profits, and k-pop drawnandquarterly.com/books/all-th...

Project South has dominated headlines in 2026, but Toronto police have been embroiled in a series of high profile scandals since the start of the decade. Here are the key moments in the long struggle for police accountability. ✍️ @aliyapabani.bsky.social

A Timeline of the Toronto Police’s Long Argument with Accountability

Organizer and researcher Aliya Pabani takes us through key moments from the last six years of policing…

thegrindmag.ca

NEW: The Giller Prize boycott has ended. The embattled literary prize confirmed that it is no longer sponsored by groups with ties to Israeli occupation and genocide. I spoke to previous Giller winners and nominees about the news for @thegrindto.bsky.social. www.thegrindmag.ca/organizers-e...

Organizers End Giller Prize Boycott, Say Demands Have Been Met

The embattled literary organization is no longer sponsored by Scotiabank, Indigo or the Azrieli Foundation, organizers confirmed. The Grind spoke to several authors about what this means for the…

thegrindmag.ca

The boycott of the Giller Prize is over, as all three demands have successfully been met Reporting from @rdassaly.bsky.social for @thegrindto.bsky.social here: www.thegrindmag.ca/organizers-e... Campaign statement here: www.canlitresponds.ca/boycott-succ...

"We’re paying for the propaganda that’s defunding our essential city services. The least we can do is notice."

The Grind@thegrindto.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Why does the Toronto police budget keep rising, while other city services strain for funding? In our new cover story, @aliyapabani.bsky.social explains how a taxpayer-funded comms machine ensures that the police budget only goes up, even when crime goes down.

Why does the Toronto police budget keep rising, while other city services strain for funding? In our new cover story, @aliyapabani.bsky.social explains how a taxpayer-funded comms machine ensures that the police budget only goes up, even when crime goes down.

Why Does Toronto’s Police Budget Keep Going Up?

The police service and police association have been pushing comms campaigns on the city, designed to secure funding increases whether crime goes up or down, organizer and researcher Aliya Pabani…

thegrindmag.ca

For the latest issue of @thegrindto.bsky.social, I wrote about how Toronto's Police Service and Police Association built a taxpayer-funded comms machine to ensure their budget increases, whether crime goes up or down www.thegrindmag.ca/why-does-tor...

Why Does Toronto’s Police Budget Keep Going Up?

The police service and police association have been pushing comms campaigns on the city, designed to secure funding increases whether crime goes up or down, organizer and researcher Aliya Pabani…

thegrindmag.ca

On a new episode of 🍎THE ORCHARD🍎 @readtheorchard.org sits down with No Arms in the Arts' @aliyapabani.bsky.social to discuss a victory for Divestment as Scotiabank sells its remaining shares in Israeli weapons manufacturer Elbit systems. www.readtheorchard.org/p/scotiabank...

Scotiabank divests from Elbit Systems

Aliya Pabani played a role in pushing Scotiabank to cut ties with Israel's largest weapons manufacturer with No Arms in the Arts.

readtheorchard.org

More in this new piece by @rdassaly.bsky.social www.thegrindmag.ca/york-univers...

York University Censored Exhibition at Goldfarb Gallery then Fired the Curator

Artist Amy Ching-Yan Lam says York demanded changes to her exhibition critiquing university repression of pro-Palestine protest. Then the admin fired the curator, a decision dozens of faculty members…

thegrindmag.ca

Left your holiday shopping until the last minute? Don't panic, we've got a list of Toronto's best last-minute shops.

Last-Minute Shops

We’d all like to get our gift shopping done well in advance. But sometimes time flies and you find yourself in a rush. These spots can help you quickly cross a bunch of people off your list.

thegrindmag.ca

On Saturday, artist Amy Lam revealed that @yorkuniversity.bsky.social admin pressured them into removing the words "Free Palestine" from their work, and suggested that the gallery's eponymous donors, Joan & Martin Goldfarb, had a hand in director Jenifer Papararo's recent dismissal

A 70-year-old woman and her son were hunted down and killed by an Israeli quadcopter drone for crossing the unmarked “yellow line” in Gaza City. They were “left to bleed to death” as the drone hovered overhead, preventing anyone from reaching them.

Israeli drone chases and kills elderly woman in Gaza as attacks continue

At least seven Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks as military pushes deeper beyond truce demarcation line.

aljazeera.com

Despite fierce political opposition, cultural boycotts of Israel and institutions complicit in the occupation of Palestine have gone mainstream. I spoke to some organizers in the arts about how we got here, and what's next for the movement.

How Canadian Artists Brought Cultural Boycotts of Israel to the Mainstream

Boycotts of Israel and institutions supportive of the occupation of Palestine were a fringe activity just a couple years ago. But artists across the country have made them impossible to ignore.

thegrindmag.ca

NEW: No Arms In The Arts launches boycott of the Scotiabank Photo Award. 70 artists, curators and photographers, including many past winners and nominees, are withdrawing their work ahead of the 2025 nominations. boycottphotoaward.org

lithub.com/why-i-risked... I'm continuing to boycott the Giller and I'm grateful to folks like Rachelle Freisen who risked and endured state violence to ensure that we continue to hold the line.

Why I Risked Arrest to Protest the Giller Prize’s Blood Money

On November 13th 2023, a little over month into Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza, the Giller Prize held its annual televised gala to award Canada’s biggest fiction prize. The broadcast was di…

lithub.com

"Israel is the top yearly international recipient of Canadian charitable donations, from charities and foundations whose non-profit status facilitates their ability to send millions of dollars to Israel." #Canada #Gaza #Palestine #Israel #Genocide

Lessons from the cultural front

No Arms in the Arts organizers look back on over a year of confronting cultural institutions complicit in Palestinian genocide

briarpatchmagazine.com

Since I covered the announcement today and the subsequent press conference, I used this week's edition of The Catch to sum up the problems with Carney's NATO groveling today. Check it out. #cdnnews #cdnpoli

It's the Magical Military Tour

Carney touts expanded militarism and AI-hype as the right way to defend Canadians

readthecatch.ca

These principled artists have worked hard and put a lot on the line to protest Canadian wealth that funds both the arming of a genocide and feel-good prestige arts awards. Arts philanthropy looks good, bombing people does not. We are lucky to have these people. breachmedia.ca/scotiabank-i...

Inside the campaign that upended CanLit’s ties to Scotiabank and Israeli arms ⋆ The Breach

The grassroots campaign that took on the Giller for its ties to the genocide in Gaza forced a broader reckoning in the Canadian literary community

breachmedia.ca

In honour of Evan Solomon being proclaimed the Liberal candidate for Toronto Centre, here’s 40 minutes of him getting absolutely manhandled by Noam Chomsky. youtu.be/7lPnLK9z1fI?...

CBC Hot Type Evan Solomon interviews Noam Chomsky on his book 9/11

YouTube video by TheEthanwashere

youtu.be

Scotiabank is certainly a valid target for the anti-war movement. But @aliyapabani.bsky.social suggests that there are other economic targets that could yield more immediate, tangible results. Check out this clip from our latest Rabble Rants: www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBW1...

Aliya Pabani on Selecting Economic Targets in Canada #activism

YouTube video by Blueprints of Disruption

youtube.com

One down, two to go - the Canlit Responds response to the Giller Prize and Scotiabank severing ties

josh o'kane@joshokane.bsky.social · 2y ago

NEW: The Giller Prize is cutting ties with main sponsor Scotiabank today, months before their contract is set to end This comes after more than a year of pushback from CanLit and beyond over Scotia's ties to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/a...

I sent the Gastro Guru an email asking him to correct his false assertions that I was fired from the CBC and repeatedly sued for defamation. He said he would “consider holding back” if I stopped calling him a Nazi, “bad-mouthing” him on Reddit and “vandalizing” his Wikipedia page.