Issue 94 September 2008 Subscription: A Donation Towards our Work

• 19th Annual Golf Tournament • Exploring Native Canadian Film • Walking Through Memories • The Republic of Eldonia • In a Democracy Citizenship Means More than Voting • Diploma in Local Democracy: Guest Speaker Series • Marty Schreiter, October 29th • Jutta Mason, November 19th

Alternatives to the Overdeveloped Tokyo, Japan

Society Scandanavia By Joe Mancini There is unprecedented melting of the Artic Ice Politicians, fearing political Shield. The desperate backlash, would never question the destruction of forests overdeveloped, bloated infrastruc- Leuven, Belgium and natural areas for ture of North American society. It paper, minerals and ur- is not considered polite to identify the waste and questionable work ban sprawl continues practices that result in what Leo- unabated. In much of pold Kohr described as The Over- North America, over- developed Nations. In 1959, he consumption is obvious. warned that bureaucracies of both The cause of the growing Amsterdam, Netherlands the private and public sector have a ecological crisis has be- fierce appetite, that like an addict, come institutionalized in are dependant on ever growing in- our way of living. As Wendell Berry says, jections of resources and money. For Niigata, Japan example, witness the recent actions “We will keep on consum- of the U.S. Federal Reserve. ing, spending, wasting and As the election begins there is driving, as before, at any little real concern about the en- cost to anything and every- vironment. Will anyone mention body but ourselves. This be- that the era of cheap fossil fuel is lief was always indefensible ending? Meanwhile, the realities of – the real names of global global warming are written all over warming are Waste and Greed – and If They the growing stress levels on Mother by now it is manifestly foolish.” Earth. The people of Haiti have There is a cultural divide in Can Do It, been bashed by hurricane force North American society. On one Why Can’t We? winds and rain at least three times hand are those large institutions who this year, while Americans spend are either overwhelmed by debt or The photos above show bicycle lots at train stations around the world. Even more than the Haitian GNP on those who benefit fantastically from the snow does not deter Scandanavian cyclists! protecting one city – New Orleans. the uneconomical growth – think of the banks, car manu- not have champions in the public decent local jobs when the techno- facturers and high arena. logical wonder world that we have tech companies who The public imagination has no been served up is accessible to at come up with ever concept of reduced consumption least 80% of our population? ingenious methods of of manufactured goods and servic- Politicians will never propose keeping production es because, let’s face it, cheap fos- job destroying policies aimed at expanding. On the sil fuel has made travel, shipping reducing economic consumption, other hand, there are and materials so inexpensive that especially in the name of green- those who yearn for the majority have been well served house gas reductions. Reducing our a more peaceful soci- by the endless parade of consumer ecological footprint within our con- ety, one where people items. When inflation threatened sumerist-job-driven society needs can work at satisfying to undermine cheap production, a public voice. Below are three jobs that productively globalization was conveniently ways of understanding why a reduc- contribute to a local embraced to export production to tion would help our overdeveloped economy. This latter low wage countries. This trick of economy. We would do well to real- group is almost silent. economic specialization replaced ize how much extra equipment we carry around, recognize how grow- They have no political North American labour with the ing bureaucracy strangles useful ac- voice. As far as I can cost of cheap transportation, closing tivity, and learn how much wasted see, outside of David factory after factory, while relocat- consumption is built into our trans- Suzuki, the idea of ing production in Mexico, China, an absolute reduction South Korea etc. Who really cares in consumption does about the abstract environment or continued on page 4 September 2008 Good Work News Page 2

Twenty-Third Year Exploring Native Issue 94 September 2008 Canadian Film Good Work News Good Work News was first produced in September 1984. It is published Come see and four times a year by The Working Centre and St. John’s Kitchen as a discuss films made by forum of opinions and ideas on work and unemployment. There is a cir- culation of 9,500 copies. Subscription: a donation towards our work. and about Native Editors: Joe Mancini, Stephanie Mancini, Jennifer Mains, Canadians... FREE! John R. Smith Contributors: Joe Johnson, Rebecca Mancini, Leslie Morgenson, October 15th - October 19th Dave Thomas, Jim Lotz, and Ken Westhues at 7:00pm daily at Editorial comments, changes of address and new subscriptions should be directed to: Kitchener City Hall, Council Chamber

The Working Centre th 58 Queen Street South Wednesday, October 15 Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 1V6  Life Givers: Honouring Our  Two Spirited (6min, 47sec) Phone: (519) 743-1151, Fax: (519) 743-3840 Elders and Children  Walking Alone (Censored) [email protected] (5min, 17sec) (6min, 43sec) www.theworkingcentre.org  Oh Mother, Where Art Thou?  Apples and Indians (5min, 6sec) Canada Post Bulk #05306256 (5min, 13sec)  My Indian Name (6min, 29sec) Charitable Registration #13092 9607 RR0001  The Power of a Horse  Nganawendaanan Nde’ing (I (4min, 43sec) Keep Them in My Heart)  His Guidance (Okiskinota- (6min, 20sec) hewewin) (6min, 37sec)  Patrick Ross (5min, 44sec) KOOL FM provided opportu-  Hooked Up NDNs Online  ati-wîcahsin (It’s Getting Easier) th nities to win $10,000 for a (6min, 15sec) (6min, 25sec) 19 Golf hole-in-one (but alas no Annual one won). Other popu- th Tournament lar competitions includ- Thursday, October 16 ed “closest to the keg” courtesy of Brick Brewing, Club Native a 50/50 contest, and chances Director: Tracey Deer to win hot air balloon rides from Length: 78 min. CTV and CHYM. A new compe- Released: 2008 tition this year was the chipping Rating: R By Dave Thomas contest, with contestants entering Club Native looks into the history and present-day reality of Aboriginal It was a fine sunny day when a draw for a 42” plasma TV, cour- identity. Moving stories from a range of characters from the Kahnawake 170 golfers hit the links at Foxwood tesy of Christie Digital Systems and Reserve reveal the divisive legacy of more than a hundred years of dis- Golf Course on August 20, raising Edcom Multimedia Products. The criminatory and sexist government policy. more than $18,000 in support of raffle prizes included, luggage from The Working Centre and St. John’s TLC Travel and Terri Lynne Woods, Friday, October 17th Kitchen. a bomber jacket from Union Benefit For the past 19 years, the CAW Plan Services, mitre saw courtesy Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance has been a major supporter of The of UA 527, a rolling tool bag from Canadian Tire. Director: Alanis Obomsawin Working Centre’s Golf Tourna- Length: 119 min. This year’s MC was Tammy ment. They are always ready to Released: 1993 contribute the time of committee Heller, a long-time CAW staffer and Rating: R members, many prizes and most of member of the tournament organiz- ing committee. Tammy took on This documentary about a confrontation in Kanehsatake and the village all, encouraging golfers. With all the of Oka, Québec takes you into the action of an age-old aboriginal struggle. challenges facing the auto and auto this job with great vigour and kept the evening on track and the mood The result is a portrait of the people behind the barricades, providing in- parts industry this year, our friends sight into the Mohawks’ unyielding determination to protect their land. were undeterred and showed a deep light as people enjoyed their dinner which was catered by Bingemans. commitment to making this fund- th raising event happen. Once again, The success of our tournament Saturday, October 18 we had excellent participation from is largely due to the dedication of CAW Locals from across Ontario our committee members. Special Atanarjuat the Fast Runner who showed their dedication to thanks to Tim Mitchell, Rob Pyne, Director: Zacharias Kunuk community based support for un- Paul Roeder (CAW Local 1524); Length: 161 min. employed workers. Tammy Heller and Jim Woods Released: 2000 There was a good spirit of cama- (CAW National Office); Steve Rating: R raderie that filled the day and the Longeway and Vladimir Malid- This adapted Inuit legend tells the story of a small community of nomadic golfers enjoyed the chance to be zanovic (Bell); Frank Curnew and Inuit whose lives are disrupted when an unknown shaman creates rival- outside in the sun. The top four- Steve Sachs (Labour Program of ries between families. Two brothers emerge to challenge the evil order: some prize went to Brad Livings- Waterloo Region); Chris Riehl Amaqjuaq, the Strong One, and Atanarjuat, the Fast Runner. ton, Peter DeRuiter, Dave Leitch and Russ Jessop (UA 527); Mike and Jamie Smith. The top women’s Thibodeau and Fred Murovec th quartet consisted of Janis Turenne, (Lear Kitchener); and Fred Walker Sunday, October 19 Kim Carter, Cheryl Mederios and (Bingemans). Tkaronto Jill Turenne. The top mixed team We are also grateful for the con- of Jay Traynor, Pete Antaya, Brad tinuing support of sponsors Lear Director: Shane Belcourt Hanke and Mary Lou MacDonald Corporation, CAW National Office Length: 105 min. Released: 2007 also received trophies. and Bell, as well as patron MTD Rating: R Support from generous com- Products Limited. munity donors meant there were With another successful year of TKaronto is an exploration of two people caught in the urban crossroads. prizes for every golfer, and a num- the Golf Tournament, we extend The two discover a connection when their paths’ cross in Tkaronto (the ber of special prize opportunities. a deep thank you to all those who original Mohawk word for “Toronto”). An attraction develops as both are H.L Staebler Company Limited and continue to support our work. drawn together by a mutual search for meaning in their urban existence. Page 3 Good Work News September 2008 Walking Through Memories

By Leslie Morgenson I was joyfully spurred on to be- The bustle of people, in and gin walking to work for many rea- out filling the streets with sons including my need for exercise, their camaraderie; a down- but mostly I was feeling as if there town alive with industry; a was something I was missing by not noon hour and quitting time walking. Everyone at St. John’s Kitchen is a walker and I’ve recent- whistle for everyone in the ly been reading Rebecca Solnit, Iain neighbourhood to set their The first draft of Sinclair and Henry David Thoreau lives by; and of course, my Schneider, Nahrgang, Ahrens, & Bricker who all speak as if walking were the grandfather. last frontier. The stories of walkers Hotels, Fires, Newspapers & Liquor are vibrant as if they were engaged in life while those of us in cars and converted into condominiums. I feel A Queen Street South Timeline buses were mere spectators. as though I should be happy that I too, am now engaged with my they haven’t razed the old building, can now be read at Queen Street Commons Café 35 minute brisk walk. And I’ve but somehow I’m not. There’s too 43 Queen Street South, Kitchener met some old friends along the way. much that’s missing. The bustle of Memories of a life lived in these twin people, in and out, filling the streets cities. As I walk down King St., I with their camaraderie; a downtown pass the construction of the new alive with industry; a noon hour and always stopped at Kitchener Dairy Record on the honour system from University of Waterloo Pharmacy quitting time whistle for everyone in for a grilled cheese sandwich. An- the open metal stand at the bottom the neighbourhood to other gentleman couldn’t quite put of our street. We didn’t lock our A 1929 Postcard view of King Street West set their lives by; and of his finger on what he missed, but he car, we didn’t wear seatbelts or hel- course, my grandfather. knew he sure did miss it. “It’s just mets and we felt freer. Maybe this I ask some of the the old ways I miss,” he says. “There is what makes walking so appealing. other walkers, also was more of everything, more hon- It is incorruptible. It continues to long time residents in esty, more community.” be as freeing today as it always was. these cities what they For certain, the streets were once It opens doors to the memories of miss in the downtown. filled with more, making us feel the past, the street conversations Memories are not usu- as if we had more. Like the fellow or quiet meditations of the pres- ally just about buildings, missing the “old ways” what I re- ent, and the unknown future, just although everyone I ally miss is the climate of the times. around the corner. spoke with unanimously As young children we took the bus building. Early in the construction laments the passing of the old Kitch- downtown, caught a movie, went they added a beautiful sea foam ener City Hall and lunches at Goud- to the Woolworth’s counter after- First Draft of green panel of glass with some nod- ies. But the real losses involve peo- wards for french fries and a coke, ding flowers. As the weeks went by ple. One walker remembers coming strolled downtown and got home A Queen Street more floral windows have appeared downtown with his mother. They sometime later. We bought the KW South Timeline but my favourite is still the first in- stallation with a single poppy bud. We have prepared this timeline The other day I stopped for a mo- using newspapers, written sources ment to take it all in and suddenly I and books, advertisements, and pho- remembered standing in that same Giving Computers tographs to document a history of our spot maybe 11 years ago. We all were small block of Queen Street South. invited, that day in my memory, to a Second Life! This project contributes to our watch the old smoke stack come knowledge of local history. It dem- down at the Epton factory, formerly onstrates how one small stretch on B.F. Goodrich. I had told my family The Working Centre’s Computer Recycling Queen Street South can contribute I would meet them there but once to the vitality of a growing town. The I’d arrived I realized I’d never find Shop offers affordable used computers, builders of these heritage buildings them in the crowd of maybe 1,000 components, and accessories. were small proprietors who risked people, when out of the blue I heard their savings to expand their busi- the voice of my three year old son. Recycling Old Equipment Volunteering and nesses. What can we learn about their I’d found them. efforts and stories? How can such ef- For a small fee we will recycle Skill Building Just before I get to those windows forts inform heritage and downtown your old computers and acces- I pass the location years ago of H. Volunteers are always renewal? According to the Vernon sories (i.e. computers slower Salt Fish and Chips. It was such a welcome to help refurbish Directory of 1911 this small stretch than Pentium III, CRT huge hit when it arrived in town, old computers. Computer had over 40 business establishments. monitors) that can no lon- maybe 40 years ago, bringing us Recycling is a perfect What does this say about the inde- ger be used in an environ- something new- malt vinegar. Today environment for learning pendent action of small producers mentally friendly manner. we are fortunate to have food from about computers. compared to the situation today? many foreign lands available to us This project is dependant on but in my childhood there were few Donations people in Kitchener and Waterloo, and malt vinegar was a big deal. We accept donations of Pentium III and IV PCs, especially those whose families op- I then come to the old Kauffman DDR memory sticks, video, sound, and network erated businesses on Queen Street. footwear factory on the corner of cards, LCD monitors, mice, hard drives We would like to hear passed down King and Victoria. This was where over 10GB, etc. stories, see pictures that have been my grandfather worked as a leather tucked away, and hear suggestions cutter for most of his life. It was one 66 Queen St. S. (Entrance on Charles Street) on individuals to interview. of the few factories in town that Tuesday - Friday: 10:00am - 6:00pm Come down to the Queen Street never had a union. For reasons I Saturdays: 10:00am - 4:00pm Commons Café to view our new could never understand, my grand- posters on Queen Street history and father was proud of this fact. The old Call 519-743-1151 ext. 225 to flip through The Queen Street factory still remains, presently being South Timeline 1819 – 1980. September 2008 Good Work News Page 4

it infiltrates the way workers think. adornments, stately inns, engaging streetscapes, and other indispens- Alternatives to How Much Wasted able accessories of a civilized stan- Consumption is Built Into dard of living.” Rather that central- Overdevelopment Transportation izing income in large conglomerates A significant reduction in green- with huge transportation networks, them, but with them the economic a local bakery which reduces scale, continued from page 1 house gases is possible if North cost just keeps growing. Leopold Americans wasted less time com- controls expenses, and produces portation model. The final section Kohr summarizes this argument by muting and reduced the movement close to its market, turns upside considers practical options for indi- stating that, “swimming with all this of goods by truck and airplane. How down how we think about the na- viduals acting outside of our collec- equipment in deeper waters is inef- efficient is it to use a three thousand ture of work. Local production re- tive inaction. ficient”. pound car that can reach speeds of duces waste and creates a different model of employment. The Extra Equipment We Growing Bureaucracy 250 kilometres an hour, to move Carry Around Strangles Useful Activity the vast majority of commuters Rethinking the Nature who travel at most 25-50 kilome- of Work John Kenneth Galbraith, in the The so-called complexity of our tres a day? This same vehicle will be late 1950s, concluded The Affluent society is increasingly held together lucky to last seven years on the road This essay is proposing a differ- Society with a prescient reminder, by bureaucrats in the public and pri- and is very likely to be involved in ent way of thinking about an impor- “To furnish a barren room vate sector. A mode of production an accident. Accidents boost eco- tant political issue - how to reduce is one thing. To continue to that can only be called wasteful has nomic growth, but are bad for the overdevelopment and consequently, crowd in furniture until the crept into how we conceive of pro- car owner, especially if the accident consumerism. Greenhouse gas re- foundation buckles is quite duction and services. Western soci- causes any kind of serious damage. another. To have failed to eties have such significant surplus The cost of gasoline, parking, main- solve the problem of produc- dollars that no one cares to calcu- tenance, taxes and lease payments late. According to Kohr in Develop- ing goods would have been on a car can add up to a fifth of an ment Without Aid, to continue man in his oldest average wage earner’s income. This “the astronomical cost of and most grievous misfor- does not account for all the time modern techno-bureaucracy tune. But to fail to see that wasted in traffic. The commuter car resulting from the double drag we have solved it and to fail culture wins the award for the most of the high remuneration be- to proceed thence to the next unproductive activity that the ma- cause of its long preparation, task would be fully tragic.” jority of workers have no choice but and the stifling red tape to participate in everyday. effect it exerts because Clive Doucet, an Ottawa city of the notorious inverse duction would be a side benefit. councillor and author of Ur- relationship between the Reducing the vicious consumption ban Meltdown, Cities, Climate need for its services and spiral would be the main advantage. Change and Politics as Usual, the efficiency of its per- Excessive economic development is documents how the just-in-time formance.” adding burdensome equipment, bu- truck delivery has played havoc The Canadian economy reaucracy, and inefficient transpor- with Ottawa city streets. Overall has gone from primarily a tation. It is drawing negatively from in Canada, he reports that during goods producing economy to our cultural reserves. 1995 - 2000 there was a 44% in- a service economy. In the lat- In some respects, it all comes crease in truck traffic. In Ottawa, est employment figures there down to jobs. Our Gross National just the downtown core takes 3,000 were only 3.4 million work- Product is a barometer for how trucks everyday. He shows how this All evidence undeniably points ers who produced goods while 12.8 many jobs are created. But this is strategy of warehouses on wheels to a crowded room where indeed million workers produced services. not where our attention should be. has successfully downloaded on to the foundation is buckling. By the The economy is dependant on ser- We need to search under the surface municipalities the cost of bridges, 1950s, Western societies had learned vice jobs, the vast majority of which to understand how local economies road maintenance and the fastest how to solve the problem of produc- add very little value to the economy. work best. possible route. An economy that tion, that is, how to ensure that all The proliferation of media, finance, There are many ways to live produces very little and imports al- had access to food, clothing and advertising, retail, health care, edu- outside of the dictates of economic shelter. Now, job creation continues cation, and administration, are all most everything is truck dependant. growth. We can learn from those apace, with all efforts dedicated to costs to the economy carried by a Goods are shipped into the city who live simply. Why is it that in a problem that in reality needed a continously shrinking manufactur- and government offers investment most North American communi- different solution. ing sector. credits and subsidized research to ties, those with the fewest resources, There is a constant fear that our Who can calculate the growing the petroleum industry to ensure those with mental health or physi- standard of living is declining and environmental cost that comes with access to oil. Our cities are made cal burdens are able to live with in- thus this unending effort to create the time and money committed to poorer with such arrangements. comes far below the average? They jobs. Food, clothing and housing consultations, committees, office Meanwhile big box stores continue walk, bus, bike, to get around and are abundant. The main problem is space, human resource training, and to expand as do their warehouses they shop at used furniture and not that we have a declining stan- collaborative management process- on wheels, continually speeding up clothing shops. There are no gran- dard of living as much as we have es? These costs can all be justified. and down the provincial and mu- diose plans here. There are others an economy that is eating into our Every budget leaves plenty of room nicipal road system. who choose to work part-time, who wealth. We have lost the flexibility for such goings on. Khrushchev, ex- Leopold Kohr in Development refuse the expense of a car and use to learn how to creatively share the asperated at the over-managed So- Without Aid looks at the question a bicycle instead, who believe that abundance we have. Increasingly, viet system, described the situation of how many miles in a loaf of bread. work must reflect their commitment the way we make economic deci- as “supervisors supervising supervi- He is not impressed by the economy to conserve the natural world. Yes, sions leads to diminishing returns sors”. At some point, overdeveloped of scale that comes with long range these are examples of true environ- no matter how hard we work. systems implode in on themselves tractors and trailers criss-crossing mentalists, but really, they are just In reality, it is our level of sub- as workers refuse to take serious the over long distances first to procure citizens who make common sense sistence that keeps rising. pleadings of manage- ingredients and then to distribute decisions to live more sanely, to live Our subsistence is better ment for determi- product. It is not just high quality within their means. described not as a ris- nation, straight- carbon that fuels this process, what It is not necessary to think of ing tide that lifts all forward action of all the marketing, management, economic development from the boats, but rather and responsibility. and human resources. All this ef- top down. Economic units are most as more and more It becomes easier fort generated by the transportation viable, when they are numerous and water that makes to socialize the economy can be easily contrasted small, physically struggling to create swimming in- risk by propos- with a different method of devel- independent economic develop- creasingly diffi- ing one more meet- opment. Kohr thinks of the Euro- ment mixing culture and poetry – a cult. The consum- ing, fudging numbers, pean city states of the 1700s which shared understanding of the work er junk, gadgets, demonstrating results produced better quality bread in and creativity necessary for inde- and cars all weigh us without substance. abundance without a transportation pendent action. down. We think that we The bureaucratic network. Small shop bakers con- cannot survive without way is deceptive and tributed to “spacious houses, urban continued on page 6 Page 5 Good Work News September 2008

me: ‘We’ll be in touch.’ Shortly af- ter this, we learned that our housing The Republic of Eldonia association would have £15 million ($30 million) available to it.” By Jim Lotz standing up to the Militant Tendency. George Evans, the association’s housing manager, takes up the story: Last year I returned to Liver- It had wiped out our co-op, but the Liverpool, home town of the Bea- Eldonians kept together and stayed “We recognized that Phase Two pool, my home town, to meet tles, became the cultural capital of the course. We were determined to was more than about housing. It Europe in 2008. The city’s history Tony McCann, the founder of have a stake in our own lives and we was about education, crime, health, has been marked more by poverty, this republic, an urban village weren’t going to be stopped by any- jobs and making the community a unemployment, industrial decay, re- run by the residents. Liver- one. safe place. We developed a number ligious tensions and racial discrimi- pudlians — scousers — have a “In the 1980s, no one would in- of enterprises including the Village nation in the past than by concern reputation in Britain as tough, vest a penny in Liverpool. When Hall, a Business Centre, the Nurs- for the arts. tenacious, articulate individu- Tate and Lyle closed its In the 1970s and 1980s, the Brit- als with a subversive sense of factory, throwing hundreds ish economy went sour. Factories humour. out of work, I said: ‘We’ll in Liverpool closed, thousands of build houses on that land.’ workers lost their jobs, riots erupted I’d been threatened lots of and the city’s population dropped. the new housing was demolished for times. Now people laughed The Vauxhall area, near the docks, the entrance to a new tunnel under at me. We contacted Eng- housed large factories owned by the Mersey River. Old people died lish Estates, a semi-govern- Tate and Lyle and the British Tobac- of a broken heart as urban renewal mental body. With their co Company. They have vanished, proceeded through the l97Os and help we secured an option and in the place of a sugar factory industry left the Vauxhall plan- on the Tate and Lyle land stands the Republic of Eldonia, as it ners and that to keep area. When in 1989. Local residents, ordinary ery, the Old People’s Home and a is known locally. we objected, the politicians told us people, did a survey to determine land bank. Profit used to be a dirty Last year I returned to Liverpool, that we had to broaden our hori- housing needs. They were surprised word. Profit means sustainability - it zons - they knew that they were not being told what goes back into the project. Break what the people to do. We came up with an innova- even is too fine for us. wanted. We had tive scheme for a mixed population “Tony is the ideas man and we fol- to fight our com- of owners, renters and seniors. low in his wake. munity together. “I commuted to London and met “You have to give people hope, In 1978, a group Patrick Johnson, Secretary of the En- of us decided to give them an alternative, and then vironment. He backed our scheme you need 100% effort to be the best develop our own and we became friends. We origi- and have to sustain high levels of community and nally had 150 families in the proj- competence. We’re a family-orient- build our own ect, but that number had dwindled ed community and crime free.” houses. We became known as the to 27, making our original scheme “We recognized that Phase Shareholders in the housing as- Eldonians from the street on which unviable. In 1991 we created the El- Two was more than about many of us lived. donian Community Based Housing sociation pay £l ($2) a year. A third housing. It was about educa- “I had been active in the Catholic Association to carry out our project, of the board resigns each year. Tony tion, crime, health, jobs and Men’s Society at the local church and and looked for money. A govern- still chairs the board: “I put myself making the community a safe was shoved into leading the housing ment task force set up to revitalize up for election and tell members place. We developed a num- group. No one else wanted the job Merseyside provided a grant of £7.5 they can vote me out if I’m not do- ber of enterprises including the We brought in a housing association, million ($15 million). About a third ing my job.” The Eldonians have Village Hall, a Business Centre, experienced people, to help us to de- of this went for decontaminating won many awards: a sign greets you the Nursery, the Old People’s sign housing and the sort of commu- the Tate and Lyle land. as you approach their community: Home and a land bank. Profit nity we wanted. “When we went to city council for “Welcome to Eldonia Village...It’s a “We took our plans to city coun- used to be a dirty word. Profit planning permission, its members World Habitat Award Winner.” cil. It was dominated by members tried every dirty trick in the book Tony McGann sums up the es- means sustainability - it goes of the Liberal Party who supported to stop us. We got a top barrister for sence of this unique venture in self- back into the project. Break community development. It agreed our presentation, support from the help and community development: even is too fine for us.” that half the housing scheme would Catholic and Anglican archbishops “It grows on you. You find you be owned by the munici- can make things happen. You’ve got pality and half by a co- to be passionate about it. You have my home town, to meet Tony Mc- operative. We redrew our Cann, the founder of this republic, to have a vision of a better life for plans, formed the Portland all. Our people did not have a clue an urban village run by the residents. Gardens Housing Co- about how to create a community Liverpudlians — scousers — have a op and built 130 houses. they could run themselves. Neither reputation in Britain as tough, tena- Things were going great did I. You have to do it yourself, set cious, articulate individuals with a - until the Liberals lost up ways through which people can subversive sense of humour. Tony control of the council in demonstrates all these qualities. At 1983. The Militant Ten- educate themselves in their own 70, he retains the visionary zeal of dency, a hard-left Marxist way and enjoy doing so. You can’t a social entrepreneur and the hard group, put organizers in wait for the professionals - the ex- common sense of a community or- the wards and took over the coun- and won planning permission for perts learn from us. You have to stop ganizer. He worked for 22 years as cil. We were told that our housing Phase One of our venture. feeling sorry for yourself, get off your a forklift operator, lost his job and co-op would be taken over by the “The central government cre- backside and make things happen.” found himself overwhelmed by the city. We tried to work with the new ated the Merseyside Development Liverpool University Press will massive changes sweeping over his council, stressing that our approach Corporation to revitalize the docks. publish The Rebirth of Liverpool: community and the city: to housing formed the backbone of We asked it to include the Vaux- The Eldonian Way this year. More “I’d always lived in the Vauxhall socialism. When we took our pro- hall area in its boundaries and the information on the Republic of El- area. People lived in slums, in houses posal for building more co-op hous- corporation did so, taking us out of donia can be found at www.eldo- without running water and worked nians.org.uk. in poorly-paid jobs. But we were ing to council, the members tore it the claws of the Militant Tendency. happy and had a great sense of com- up and threw it into the wastepaper We set about looking for funds for Jim Lotz is a freelance writer, teach- munity. In the early l960s, city coun- basket. If you want anything for the Phases Two and Three of our proj- er at the Coady Institute, consultant, cil pulled down homes, re-housed Vauxhall area, we were told, you ect. We were told that a govern- and independent researcher who has some of the residents in tenements have to go through the ward. ment minister would visit Vauxhall. garnered wisdom watching and de- and council houses, and sent others “I had no interest in politics. I This turned out to be Prime Minis- scribing how community development, to new developments in the suburbs. copied the tactics of the Militant ter Margaret Thatcher. I was invited governments, and individuals can work They did not consult with the local Tendency, joined the Labour Party, to dinner at No. 10 Downing Street, together to create better societies. Jim people as they tore the heart out of signed up 150 Eldonians and we took and told: ‘Don’t ask the PM for Lotz will give a talk at The Working the community. In 1968, some of over the ward. We were the only ones money.’ As I left, someone assured Centre in April 2009. September 2008 Good Work News Page 6

est project – Waterloo Region AS- our. Just consider the one example Rethinking the Nature SETS (A Service for Self Employ- of building a different food system, ment and Training Supports – in not by decree but by personal ac- cooperation with the local MEDA tion. This includes digging up park- of Work chapter) provides practical home land and backyards, the nurturing business training. All together, of soil, the complexity of organic continued from page 4 ing, and where the pace of these closely packed services build change is regulated...by the off each other while operating as gardening, the science of compost- The hard working producerist day-to-day needs of small- distinct cultures based on the tools ing, the preservation of heritage can provide useful goods and ser- scale human communities.” and services they provide. seeds, learning how to grow food vices that are uneconomical for This idealism of compact living On Queen Street, the Cafe is year round and relearning food the formal system. It is requisite flourishes everyday at The Working like the restful enclosure of the lo- preservation techniques. This work that such action be done for love Centre. Productive amenities on cal square, a place to meet and hang builds community. Amartya Sen of concept, more than the riches a pedestrian scale thrive in down- out. The building renovations have shows how people can free them- that it will bring. This is where eco- town Kitchener. In the pages of accentuated the attention to detail selves from poverty when they can nomic development thinking must Good Work News, we often docu- and the commitment to revital- control the means and ability to be turned on its head. Work is not ment the many successes of these ized use. The dense array of proj- for becoming rich, but for providing produce the things they need such projects. Consider the community ects combined with an adherence satisfactory goods and services in a as food, energy, and housing. The services generated by Recycle Cy- to multiple levels of elegant design way that enhances the community. work of securing these tools gener- cles – the community bike shop, gives all involved recognition that Useful work generates revenue. ates dignity and self esteem. That the Computer Recycling shop, their commitment enhances the One’s standard of living must be in itself generates community. public access computers, the Job community. commensurate with revenue. The Search Resource Centre, Worth A The challenge of reducing con- beauty one’s work creates and the Second Look – Kitchener’s largest sumption cannot be solved by in- lessons of commitment and artisan- furniture and housewares re- voking a law. It is complex and can ship, are the true rewards, and they cycling centre, Queen Street only be approached through choice, will most likely be matched over Commons Cafe with its wide good will and a personal commit- time by revenue. The revenue is not selection of locally produced ment to find satisfying work. A guaranteed to afford a high standard natural foods and baking, starting point is freeing oneself of living by the means of money, but and St. John’s Kitchen, are from overdeveloped work and find- will do so by means of the accom- just a selection of practi- ing peace through work that con- plishment of genuine work. cal projects most of which serves resources. Investigate and The common sense lesson, for operate primarily with the understand examples of human those who have a double income, enthusiasm and commitment communities that offer work op- but who are frustrated by the of over 200 volunteers. Visit any portunities that are not a disrupt- wastefulness of their work, is to fig- one of these operations at anytime There is so much work to do. ing force on this earth. Thankfully ure out how those who already live of the day and you will find each a The Russian prince, humanist and enjoying the beauty of nature, tak- with less are able to somehow make hub of purpose filled activity. anarchist, Peter Kropotkin wrote ends meet with far fewer resources. Forty individuals live in our with vigour and commitment about ing the time to tend to the soils It is possible over time to conserve various affordable and transitional how all can cooperate to build and flowers around us, seeing the income, reduce expenses and slow- housing units that are all within a a better society. His best known diversity of those that dwell on the ly develop a line of craft that revi- kilometre of each other. Many of works, Mutual Aid, The Conquest earth, these are reasons enough to talizes one’s spirit. Jane Jacobs in our volunteers walk to their proj- of Bread and Fields, Factories and truly celebrate the wonders around her final book, Dark Age Ahead, ect of choice. How rich can you be Workshops describe how mutual us, reason enough to create work suggests that the only hope for to be able to walk to your place of cooperation can make a difference that moves counter to present day suburbia is to transform the sprawl work? BarterWorks and our new- in many areas of human endeav- political opinion. with renovations and densification, through an import replacement strategy that would see more and Diploma in Local Democracy: Guest Speaker Series more services provided in suburban neighbourhoods. One person con- dom comes from 25 different jobs of the Centre’s verts his garage into a car repair op- continued from page 8 and volunteer assignments in com- projects and eration, another creates a daycare, munity development in Slovakia, approach. In devastation of the environment,” another creates a three bedroom Nain, Egypt and Lesotho. Jim, who his book, Ken Baum writes, “Karl Polanyi was the rooming house, another attempts lives in Halifax has been a friend of was particularly prophetic theoretician of the eco- shoe production and repair, and an- interested in logical movement.” The Working Centre for almost 25 other creates a greenhouse. There The Working We have invited Gregory Baum years and has provided ideas, guid- is no lack of ideas or creativity that Centre’s link to to present his important work on ance and support. His book, The Li- is possible for those committed to social action as Karl Polanyi as a complement to chen Factor, The Quest for Com- getting off the path of spiralling an organization The Working Centre’s dedication munity Development in Canada is economic insanity. that “is relatively free of sectarian, to the building of grass roots social highly recommended as an excellent Decent, compact living in guide to non bureaucratic practice partisan or specialized interests”. Southern Ontario, once the norm, solidarity that assists people and and is especially recommended as This founding ethos allowed the is now barely understood, the result communities to find way to produce an antidote for projects and govern- Centre to “serve the goal of com- of a forty-year-never-ending sprawl things for themselves. ment initiatives that are often no munity development in an ad- event. Nonetheless, such living is April (TBA) more than an excuse for further bu- mirably dialogic, democratic and still available in the core area of reaucratization. Jim will present his holistic way.” 14 years later, where most municipalities. The Working 97 Victoria Street North, Kitchener concept of community development does The Working Centre stand in Centre has always been influenced Jim Lotz presents his people- and tell stories of effective commu- its development as an organization by a British journal, Resurgence dedicated to serving the common centred community development nity work. that we make available at the Queen ideas and experience good in Kitchener-Waterloo. Writ- Street Commons Cafe. Some of our April (TBA) ers and social activists such as E.F favourite thinkers like E.F Schum- Jim Lotz is a freelance writer, Schumacher, Wendell Berry, Ivan acher, Leopold Kohr and Ivan Illich teacher at the Coady Institute, con- 97 Victoria Street North, Kitchener Illich and Dorothy Day have all developed their ideas in articles in sultant and independent researcher Ken Westhues presents on the influenced the projects and spirit the 1960s in this publication. John who has garnered wisdom watching philosophical roots of The behind The Working Centre. What Papworth, one of the founders, en- and describing is the method behind The Working Working Centre visioned, how community Centre’s ability to integrate con- “economics under genuine d e v e l o p m e n t , Ken Westhues is the author of ceptual ideals of cooperation into human control because the governments and the 1995 book, The Working Cen- the practical day-to-day work of size of such units are small, individuals can tre: Experiment in Social Change. the Centre? sensible, and human scale, work together As a Working Centre board mem- where there is a maximum of to create better ber since 1988, Ken has been an Dates in March and April to be decentralized decision mak- societies. His wis- integral part of the development announced. Page 7 Good Work News September 2008 Alternative Work Catalog

Deep Economy Reinventing Collapse The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future The Soviet Example and American Prospects Bill McKibben Dmitry Orlov McKibben offers the greatest challenge in a generation to the prevailing In the waning days of the American Empire the US administration finds view of our economy. He makes a compelling case for moving beyond itself mired in political crisis; foreign policy has come under sharp criti- “growth” as the primary economic ideal and instead pursuing prosperity in cism; and the economy is in steep decline. These trends mirror the ex- a more local direction, with more locally produced food and energy, and perience of the Soviet Union in the early 1980’s. Reinventing Collapse even culture and entertainment. Our purchases need not be at odds with examines the circumstances of the demise of the Soviet superpower and those things we truly value, and the more we nurture the basic humanity offers clear insights into how we might prepare for coming events. It sug- of the economy, the more we may preserve our own. gests that there is room for optimism if we focus our efforts on personal 272 pages $15.50 softcover and cultural transformation. Divorce Your Car! 164 pages $17.95 softcover Ending the Love Affair with the Automobile Katie Alvord Urban Meltdown Society’s love of cars began enthusiastically more than 100 years ago, and has since become a very troubled relationship. Today, the automo- Cities, Climate Change, and Politics as Usual Clive Doucet bile inflicts upon us pollution, noise, congestion, sprawl, big expenses, Eighty percent of the planet’s greenhouse gases are created by energy-in- injury, and even death. Yet we ignore the growing costs to ourselves and tensive urban centers. Thus, the key to creating climate change solutions the environment. Alvord explores the many practical ways in which resides with cities. Author and Ottawa city councillor Doucet provides an people can reduce their dependancy on cars and address the many prob- insider’s perspective, stating his central theme: “It’s not about planning. lems they create. It’s about politics.” Climate change is proceeding so quickly not for lack of 320 pages $22.95 softcover knowledge, but because politicians who deviate from the car-based sprawl model cannot get elected. Urban Meltdown describes how we got here, why we got here, and Eating Fossil Fuels what can be done about it. Oil, Food, and the Coming Crisis in Agriculture 251 pages $20.95 softcover Dale Allen Pfeiffer The miracle of modern agriculture is made possible by cheap fossil fuels to supply crops with artificial fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation. It is The World Made By Hand estimated that in the US it takes ten calories of hydrocarbon energy to produce one calorie of food. Eating Fossil Fuels examines the interlinked In this work of speculative fiction, social critic Kunstler paints a picture of crises of energy and agriculture and highlights some startling findings, American life in the aftermath of , when the terminal and argues that the effect of energy depletion will be disastrous without decline of oil production and disruptive climate changes have put indus- a transition to a sustainable, relocalized agriculture. trial civilization out of business. Cities have been wiped out, epidemics 144 pages $13.95 softcover spread uncontrolled, the government has effectively collapsed, and trans- portation is slow and dangerous. This powerful tale of love, loss, violence, Gardening When It Counts and desperation depicts a surprisingly hopeful new America, struggling to be born. Growing Food in Hard Times Steve Solomon 317 pages $26.50 hardcover Designed for readers with no experience and applicable to most areas in the English-speaking world except the tropics and hot deserts, this book shows that any family with access to 3-5,000 sq. ft. of garden land The Alternative Work Book Store at Queen Street can halve their food costs using a growing system requiring just the odd bucketful of household waste water, perhaps two hundred dollars worth Commons Café offers a wide selection of books on such of hand tools, and about the same amount spent on supplies - working topics as the environment, an average of two hours a day during the growing season. 360 pages $19.95 softcover education, poverty, social alter- natives, the philosophy of work, Human Scale job searching, simple Big Governemnt, Big Business, Big Everything - How the Crises that Imperil Modern America are the Inevi- living, and more! table Result of Gigantism Grown Out of Control, and You can place orders by fax (519-743-3840), What Can Be Done About it Kirkpatrick Sale phone (1-887-252-2072), or mail (see order form below). Human Scale details the crises facing modern society and offers real solutions, describing how we can take control of our lives by building institutions, workplaces, and communities that are sustainable and eco- logically balanced. This remarkable book provides a fascinating perspective on the last quar- Alternative Work Catalogue Order Form ter-century of “growth” while exploring the movement towards relocalization in response to the end of cheap oil. Name: ______560 pages $33.95 softcover Address: ______The Lichen Factor City/Town: ______Province: ______The Quest for Community Development in Canada Jim Lotz Postal Code: ______Telephone: ______The collected wisdom of “a very wise man” describing how community development, governments and individuals can work together to create better societies. Reviews the history of community development as he  Cheque Enclosed (payable to The Working Centre) has seen it and explores its potential and limitations using practical expe-  Visa  Mastercard rience combined with vision. 288 pages $22.95 softcover Card #: ______Out of Poverty Expiry: ______Signature: ______What Works When Traditional Approaches Fail Paul Polak Quantity Title Price Polak busts the common myths that we can donate people out of poverty, that national economic growth will end poverty, and that Big Business, op- erating as it does now, will end poverty. These failed top-down efforts con- trast sharply with the grassroots approach outlined by Polak that helps the dollar-a-day poor earn more money through their own efforts. Unexploited market opportunities do exist for the desperately poor, and with innovative, low-cost tools, they can use the market to improve their lives. 232 pages $30.95 hardcover The Party’s Over Oil, War, and the Fate of Industrial Societies Postage: $3 for the first book, $1 for Total each additional book. Free postage for The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. In Postage The Party’s Over, Heinberg places this transition in historical context, orders over $200. and describes how contention for energy resources in the 21st century Subtotal will lead to war. He describes the likely impacts of , and all of the energy alternatives. He also recommends a “managed collapse” Mail completed forms to: that might make way for a slower-paced, low-energy, sustainable society Alternative Work Catalogue 5% GST in the future. 58 Queen St. S. Kitchener, ON Order Total 306 pages $17.95 softcover N2G 1V6 September 2008 Good Work News Page 8 Waterloo School for Community Development

In a Democracy Citizenship Means More than Voting

The Diploma in Local Democ- in the organizations that sustain our racy project has completed two communities. sessions involving 35 participants The course format consisted of over the last two years. The course eight evening classes in the fall and focused on the practice of local de- winter which emphasized partici- mocracy as perceived and experi- pants’ experience. enced by the participants. Participants have ranged from The theory and practice of Local people connected to Working Cen- Democracy is essential for the devel- tre projects, Kitchener-Waterloo opment of democratic communities citizens, new Canadians, interns where practical expressions of so- from Ugunja, Kenya, and students cial solidarity through cooperation, from the University of Waterloo. neighbourhood mobilization, and University students have taken the personal responsibility are normal. course as a BA level reading course Local democracy is about apply- and as a supplement to their M.A. their diploma and gave a five-min- racy. Up to now, minimal resources ing the virtues at home, work, and course work. Internally, the Di- ute speech on what they learned have been allocated towards the ploma in Local Democracy has through the course. conceptualization, recruitment and been a way for new and old staff Ken Westhues and Joe Mancini teaching. This past fall we opted at The Working Centre to engage have guided the development of to take a break to think about its the thinking of Local Democracy. this course and project. Ken Wes- structure and to consider its long- At our first graduation ceremo- thues is a Professor of Sociology ny, Carmetta Abbott, Professor and a distinguished practitioner Emerita of French Studies at St. of that discipline for 40 years. He Jerome’s University and the Uni- has been a board member of The versity of Waterloo and active Working Centre for 20 years. Joe citizen gave the commencement Mancini, Director of The Work- address. Each student received ing Centre has offered his 25 years of community development expe- rience. Both are satisfied with the Diploma course structure that emphasizes dialogue, equality and Diploma in Local Democracy: reciprocity. term integration as a viable Work- This dialogical approach has laid ing Centre teaching project. We Guest Speaker Series a foundation for further growth of will be offering the next Diploma this community based approach to in Local Democracy course in the Fall 2008/Winter 2009 teaching the skills of local democ- Fall of 2009.

th collaboration that encouraged a new October 29 at 7:30pm justice movement. He has used approach to downtown issues. There their friendship only through their Second Gathering for the Polanyi to demonstrate how mate- was a commitment to developing a joy at what goes on in the park. Presentation of the Diploma in rial poverty is not a tragedy when model where people’s ideas could The friends of Dufferin Grove Local Democracy a culture embeds social solidarity shape outcomes through flexible Park are not an organization. There through daily economic relations of St. John’s Kitchen design and the implementation of is no executive, no annual meetings, producing and selling. When given 97 Victoria Street North, Kitchener practical projects like Downtown no formal status. Jutta will describe community freedom, people can be Street Outreach and Job Café. how the park has become useful, Marty Schreiter, Honoured Guest creators capable of inventing a cul- Marty, as chair of the collaborative, as a commons, to those who live of the Waterloo School for ture that will sustain them. was steadfast in the development of nearby and how that commons has Community Development Ken Westhues reviewed Baum’s a working model for downtown col- enlivened those who give things like 1996 book Karl Polanyi on Ethics Marty Sch- laboration towards a shared vision time, plants, music, theatre, toys in and Economics in 1996 in Catholic reiter will talk of a vibrant and healthy downtown the sandpit, conversation, sports New Times. about the role community. skills, etc., as they feel moved to do. of the Kitch- “Polanyi understood half a cen- ener Downtown November 19th at 7:30pm March (TBA) tury ago that as capitalism frees it- self from limits, turning goods more Community Col- St. John’s Kitchen 97 Victoria Street North, Kitchener completely into commodities and laborative in the 97 Victoria Street North, Kitchener development of Gregory Baum presents Karl people into maximizers of utility, Outreach Ser- Jutta Mason presents the story of Polanyi’s insights into embedding it leads inexorably to authoritarian vices in Downtown Kitchener. Friends of Dufferin Grove Park social relationships in the work government and the destruction of In May 2002, as Executive Di- For over 15 years, Jutta Mason of local culture the earth. Accurately and compel- rector of the KDBA, Marty Schreit- has made friendship for the park her When Greg- lingly, Baum summarizes this ar- er put in motion a major community almost-full-time hobby. Her story is ory Baum retired gument, as well as the corrective effort to understand the problems local democracy in action with little from the Univer- Polanyi proposed. The need is to em- that were creating a negative public fanfare and lots of friendships. Dur- sity of Toronto, bed markets in vibrant, democratic perception of the downtown. The ing that time, under her clear vision he found a home communities, where the principle of first step was sponsoring a series for love of place, Jutta and friends, at McGill Uni- social protection and cooperation of breakfast meetings with over 50 who in this case are all those people - versity where balances the principle of economic social services, groups, businesses, more every year - who are friendly to he came upon liberalism. Only thereby can our neighbourhood and City of Kitch- that 14.2 -acre city-owned common the Karl Polanyi Institute in Politi- species and planet flourish. “Long ener representatives. The Kitchener space. Most park friends express cal Economy. The thinking of Karl before the public outcry against the Downtown Community Collabora- Polanyi has enriched Baum’s theo- tive developed into a multi-faceted retical work on the Catholic social continued on page 6