Latest news with #Vermette
Winnipeg Free Press
7 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg woman launches hunger strike as ‘moral obligation'
A Winnipeg woman has launched a hunger strike outside the offices of Liberal MPs to raise awareness of what she says is genocide in Gaza. Monique Vermette hasn't consumed anything except water with electrolytes since Sunday to protest Gaza citizens not getting enough food aid because of Israeli blockades 22 months into the war. 'I am on a hunger strike because the pain of Gaza screams louder every day, yet no one hears,' Vermette said. 'Because I have a moral obligation to speak out in the face of oppression. Because Canada is complicit in this genocide and refuses to act. Ruth Bonneville / Free Press Monique Vermette is on Day 2 of a hunger strike to protest Gaza citizens not getting enough food aid because of Israeli blockades outside the office of Liberal MP for Winnipeg West Doug Eyolfson, Monday. 'Wake up, Gaza is starving.' Vermette said she protested at MP Doug Eyolfson's Portage Avenue office Monday and at Ben Carr's Corydon Avenue office Tuesday. On Wednesday, she promised to be outside city hall at noon and the Manitoba Legislative Building at 6 p.m. On Thursday and Friday, she expects to visit the offices of MPs Terry Duguid and Ginette Lavack respectively. On Tuesday, Canada, Britain, Australia and 21 other European allies called on Israel to allow aid to enter Gaza with no restrictions. Israel has accused Hamas of stealing aid shipments to Gaza, which Hamas has denied. Gaza's health ministry has said 227 people, including 103 children, have died from starvation and malnutrition since the war started after Hamas-led militants crossed into Israel and killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages on Oct. 7, 2023. It said last month more than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 145,000 injured during the war. Vermette said she has encountered few people so far during her hunger strike. City hall was closed when she went there Sunday and Eyolfson's office was also shut. 'His office had a sign on it saying it was closed due to unforeseen circumstances,' she said. As to whether it was closed because of her protest, Vermette said 'I can't say for sure, but I think it is definitely possible because there have been protests I have been part of in the past where MP offices just decided to close even though they are peaceful protests. 'I can't imagine them being scared of me with my sign, all alone, peacefully protesting outside when they are politicians and their job is to listen to what the people have to say.' Carr said he was away and couldn't comment while the other MPs could not be reached for comment. Another protest was set to be held outside Folklorama's Israeli pavilion Wednesday night. Candice Bodnaruk, organizer with Peace Alliance Winnipeg, said the annual protest began in 2014 to oppose Israel's 51-day war on Gaza. 'The first few years people said they had no idea about any of this stuff that was going on,' Bodnaruk said. 'Now, I don't see how, after being in the news and the stories, how anybody can say now they don't know what is going on as they go into this pavilion.' Bodnaruk said the group has asked Folklorama to exclude the pavilion from the annual festival because of Israel's actions in Gaza. 'The people that run that pavilion are part of a group in Winnipeg who are pro-Israel and many of them regularly travel to Israel to show support for the idea — they are not neutral,' she said. 'I don't know how you can call yourself an Israeli pavilion when they know what the state you are supporting is and what they are doing.' Jeff Lieberman, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, said the Israeli pavilion has been part of Folklorama since the festival began decades ago. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. 'The pavilion has always been non-political and one of the more popular pavilions because of our excellent show, food and cultural display.' Lieberman said protests have become common in recent years. 'The choice to protest outside a Jewish community centre, the heart of Jewish life in Winnipeg, is inappropriate and deeply troubling,' he said. 'Such actions create a hostile environment for people simply visiting the centre and cross the line between political expression and targeting an entire faith community. 'This intimidation must stop. We call on government authorities and law enforcement to ensure the safety of all who come to our pavilion and to protect the right of our community to celebrate our culture free from harassment or fear.' Kevin RollasonReporter Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press's city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin. Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Powys County Times
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Powys pair among stars at Powys staged Red Bull Hardline
GEE Atherton endured a tough weekend at the Red Bull Hardline UK on the hills near Machynlleth. The Llangynog raised downhill cycling star ended 11th in a time of 2:43.199 while Llanfyllin rider Kaos Seagrave was further down the pecking order with his time of 2:50.485 enough to end 15th. Both are members of cycling families. Atherton's siblings Dan and Rachel are downhill stars while Kaos' sister Tahnee is also an established downhill cyclist. The competition was won by 18-year-old Asa Vermette who edged out Charlie Hatton to claim the title of Red Bull Hardline UK 2025 champion in a dramatic final race in Wales. Vermette became the youngest ever to secure the top spot with a time of 2:24.477, edging out Hatton by 1.681 seconds. After becoming the first woman to do a top-to-bottom and qualify at Red Bull Hardline, Louise Ferguson made history as the first to win the women's category with a race time of 3:44.593. Both Vermette and Ferguson were met in the finishing field by a huge roar from the sold out crowd who provided an electric atmosphere throughout the weekend's action. Vermette said, 'I haven't been doing the best all year so to get this feels so good and hopefully we'll keep going forward in this way. 'I just tried to have fun on the run and have fun while biking so I always try and stick to that. 'The whole race is super cool – Hardline is one of the funnest races I've ever done.' The extreme, unforgiving track was dreamed up by Dan Atherton, realising his original concept to create a a downhill race and 'make it the hardest in the world'. Each year 32 riders push their limits to conquer a brutal course with massive jumps, drops and technical challenges. The track is too dangerous for amateur riders, and competitors are selected by invitation only. The event provides an annual boost to the Machynlleth economy as hundreds of downhill fans from across Britain and further afield make the pilgrimage for one of sport's most extreme cycling challenges.
CBC
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Procession by katherena vermette
Procession: a line of people moving in the same direction; a formal ceremony or celebration, as in a wedding, a funeral, a religious parade. Bestseller and Governor General's Awardwinner Katherena Vermette's third collection presents a series of poems reaching into what it means to be at once a descendant and a future ancestor, exploring the connections we have with one another and ourselves, amongst friends, and within families and Nations. In frank, heartfelt poems that move through body sovereignty and ancestral dreams, and from '80s childhood nostalgia to welcoming one's own babies, Vermette unreels the story of a child, a parent, and soon, an elder, living in a prairie place that has always existed, though looks much different to her now. This book is about being one small part of a large genealogy. A lineage is a line, and the procession, whether in celebration or in mourning, is ongoing. Procession delves into what it means to make poems and to be an artist, to be born into a body, to carry it all, and, if you're very lucky, age. (From House of Anansi Press) katherena vermette is a Michif (Red River Métis) writer from Winnipeg. Her books include the novels real ones, The Break, The Strangers and The Circle, poetry collections North End Love Songs and river woman and the four-book graphic novel series A Girl Called Echo. North End Love Songs won the Governor General's Literary Award for poetry. The Break was a finalist for the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. It was defended by Candy Palmater on Canada Reads 2017. The Strangers won the 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was longlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize. real ones was also longlisted for the 2024 Giller Prize. She is also a senior editor at Simon & Schuster Canada.
