June was a month of perseverance and commitment for the Working Group to Stop Bill C-51. On
the evening of June 17, our coordinator, Charles Boylan, passed away after a courageous fight to
overcome prostate cancer. Charles was a lifelong social justice organizer and one of the founding
members of the Working Group to Stop Bill C-51. Even in his final days Charles remained
passionately committed to repealing Bill C-51, and we will continue this struggle!
The Working Group dedicated our 120th weekly picket two days later to Charles, and true to
his legacy, refused to be removed by security guards while also holding a photo of him as part
of the action.
After stalling for a year and a half, the Liberal Party also finally released their plan to “fix”
Bill C-51, with the confusingly named Bill C-59. The details of how this does not address the
fundamental human rights concerns of Bill C-51 are contained in another article this issue, but
suffice to say the Working Group has integrated the demand to “Scrap Bill C-59!” into our
actions and has begun the important public education process about the Bill and its fundamental
flaws.
Through the hot summer months the Working Group continues to alternate between pickets
and banner drops, and has managed to find new locations for both in Coquitlam and Burnaby.
This has been a struggle of 121 consecutive weeks over more than two years, but we remain
committed to defending our fundamental human and democratic rights
Follow Thomas Davies on Twitter: @thomasdavies59
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