Happy New Year! Another year for activism and optimism for a more peaceful and just world! I’ve been really inspired by CODEPINK’s video “Hot Pink Ladies in Action: 10 Years of CODEPINK Creativity”. Please watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/codepinkaction

It is a beautiful sunny day but very cold and windy. It is -19 C. I picked up Lucia today and she brought her sign “In solidarity with Theresa Spence,” the Aboriginal leader on a hunger strike demanding a meeting with Prime Minister Harper. Much to our pleasant surprise, Marie joined us. She held up the sign “Action on Poverty and Climate Change: No Warships”. It was so nice to have company for the first time at my weekly protest.

The traffic was still light because of the holidays. Nevertheless, we were again pleasantly surprised to receive 6 honks of support.

It was so cold that we were glad to warm up afterward at the Hydrostone Café. The three of us discussed current affairs and signed cards to US war resister Kim Rivera who was deported out of Canada and Omar Khadr, a Canadian child, who was tortured and detained for years in the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

Marie mentioned how she was initially supportive of the shipbuilding strategy because it meant jobs and then she realized that it was warships that were being built so she couldn’t support it. Now when she talks about the warship contract with others, she says that the federal government is making a choice as to how to spend our tax dollars – spend it on building warships or investing in education and the environment. She doesn’t agree that the federal government should be spending money to prepare for war. I agree completely.

We gave each other hugs of support as we left to carry on with our day.