© 2022 Toronto Peace Initiative (TPI)
This is a message from the leading organizers of the Toronto Association for Peace and Solidarity (TAPS).
TAPS strongly condemns the actions of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Communist Party of Canada (CPCanada) in regard to the treatment of a victim of sexual harassment by their staff member, the cover-up of the (mild) disciplinarian action against the harrasser, and the expulsion of and slander against the people who chose to stand with the victim once the victim went public on June 16, 2022. The person in question has since been removed from his former position as a coordinator of TAPS, even from the limited role he had played in the organization in the past few years. Members of the Central Executive Committee of the CPCanada have violated the Party’s Constitution and grossly mishandled their constitutional duties to their members, and since the Party’s 40th central convention on July 1-3, 2022, it has become clear that these individuals have faced and will face zero accountability for their egregious negligence in protecting the safety of young people, or adhering to the Constitution.
Details about the recent crisis can be found here.
Information and details about the past conduct of the CEC can be found here.
TAPS will no longer affiliate with or participate in events hosted by the Canadian Peace Congress or the Communist Party of Canada. The leadership of these organizations has demonstrated a character that is unbecoming of a working-class, anti-imperialist organization. TAPS refuses to associate with such organizations.
The leading organizers of TAPS are taking a firm stance against sexual harrassment and assault. The kinds of behavior engaged in by the harasser and covered up by members of the Central Executive of the CPCanada have no place in the anti-imperialist movement. Such predatory and laissez faire behavior further divides us as workers and allies by making people feel unsafe in our organizing spaces.
We extend our solidarity to all victims of predators who have used their positions in the Party to take advantage of vulnerable members and applicants. We stand in solidarity with the people who have been targeted in the preceding and subsequent cover-ups instigated by the Central Executive of the CPCanada.
The vast majority of Torontonians – the working-class people of Toronto – are suffering under the boots of austerity, neoliberalism, and further hollowing out of our healthcare and public services. The last thing we need is more of our taxes and public funds going towards Canada’s expanding war chest. People in Toronto need proper social housing, more effective and meaningful healthcare which includes accessible mental health care support, and investment in public transit systems, roads, hospitals, and schools. Until the anti-war movement engages with the real, everyday concerns of people, it will remain on the outskirts of social movements. With this in mind, this organization will embark on the crucial work of anti-imperialist, anti-war organizing in Toronto and beyond, and will focus more on educational initiatives and on collaboration on common issues with peace and friendship organizations and other working-class organizations in Canada and around the world.
Moving into the future, and to mark the new direction of this organization, TAPS will be renamed to the TORONTO PEACE INITIATIVE or TPI. This will be the name of our organization from now on. Part of the rejuvenation of this organization will include strategic use of technology to facilitate broader conversations about Canada’s role in wars, sanctions, economic exploitation, climate destruction, settler colonialism, and imperialism. Over the next few days, weeks, months, and for as long as it takes, we will be in the streets and on your screens promoting peace, solidarity, justice, and standing up against all forms of war and exploitation by the Canadian state and its imperialist allies. We will be releasing news, articles, videos, and other content on our website, and on our Twitter account, and Instagram account.
We invite you to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and join the TAPS email list at our website, so you don’t miss out on all that we plan to do in the future.
In peace, justice, and solidarity.
TORONTO PEACE INITIATIVE
(formerly known as TAPS)
July 12, 2022
© 2022 Toronto Peace Initiative (TPI)