Worth noting that even as Trump bombs Venezuela to unilaterally seize Maduro on domestic US charges, the ICC judges who voted to investigate US war crimes in Afghanistan face such severe US banking sanctions that they are for all intents and purposes excluded from modern life.

This was a reply to someone else, but probably should be here as its own post, my last call from what was literally generations of loyalty. Imagine Tommy Douglas in this moment.

Woke up and, holy fuck, this is how we are starting 2026. (Also, the novel I was working on may just have become redundant in advance).

!! Here’s a link to full video of the 60 Minutes segment that Bari Weiss killed last minute, via @jasonparis.bsky.social: is.gd/paU8Ko (It was uploaded to the Global TV app in Canada, seemingly by accident, and has now been taken down)

You can't stop the signal. Keep forwarding this. Download it if you can.

Bat Batford votes IN FAVOUR of homeless people dying in order to save the City a small amount of money, along with only two other councillors. Do not forget this when the mayoral election comes round.

I mean, this is not any kind of surprise for Holyday, but how far are we from actually just suggesting up front that the government kill people?

It's that time of year when separated bike lanes become a hazard, because the roads are cleared, and the main sidewalks are cleared, but the bike lanes are full of ice and snow, so you can go out into a narrower road where drivers don't expect you, or ride down steep hills over a sheet of ice.

Today someone asked one of the security guards, as he happened to walk past the church, what he was guarding. He replied, "Nothing."

Encampment by @maggiehelwig.bsky.social and Messy Cities (ed. Zahra Ebrahim, Leslie Woo, @dylanreid.bsky.social, and @johnlorinc.bsky.social) are top sellers by Canadian-owned publishers! (#16 and #23, respectively.)

Today's conversation with the Encampment Office: Me: I would like to know how long you're going to go on paying for private security to watch the church 24/7. EO: That's not my call at this time, but they're there for fire safety. Me: The fire safety of the concrete blocks? EO: Correct. (1/2)

It's not like this is an original thought, but I miss the days when Google worked. I'm thinking this because some years ago I managed to locate some information about a very obscure children's musical play, but failed to save it, and now Google just gives me dumb approximation answers.

The warming centres which opened yesterday at 5 pm are now closed. It is currently snowing.

Stop praying!

Church inside the fence. On All Souls, we held a memorial service inside the fence the City erected to block people from seeking sanctuary in the yard, for some of those we have lost in the last few years. People on the street die preventable deaths, too young. We will not forget.

I think this is paywalled, but at least for Star subscribers, it's an update on the state of the concrete blocks and the City's statements about them. www.thestar.com/news/gta/the...

This is a very good, comprehensive article.

This is our churchyard now.

We have just been informed that the encampment at St Stephen's will be cleared TOMORROW (Thursday). If you can be here in support of the residents, please come. We anticipate that things will start around 9 am and probably go on for some time.

Full text. I'm not a Roman Catholic, but I'm on board with all the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church considering themselves exhorted.

Things Pope Leo actually said just now, which are in fact better than the inspirational quotes being falsely attributed to him. Identifying the sacrificial economy. Identifying structural issues. Calling on people to work "alongside the poor, instead of on their behalf." Leo's a smart dude.

Pete Hegseth has honest to God called the US top command from around the world to Washington so he can tell them they look fat.

Sky full of gannets declared terrorist organization.

Lack of child care means I can't be at Dufferin Grove today, as the City tries for a second day to evict the encampment there, but if you can get there, please do. They are trying to destroy homes and a community.

@maggiehelwig.bsky.social 's ENCAMPMENT has been shortlisted for the 2025 Toronto Book Awards! Established by Toronto City Council in 1974, the Toronto Book Awards honour books of literary merit that are evocative of Toronto. View the full shortlist here: www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/tba/

Photos don't capture the extent to which the City turned today's garbage pick-up into a show of force; I didn't photograph the dozen or more uniformed City staff forming a phalanx on the sidewalk. Shown: the Claw seizing garbage bins for disposal, so they can't be used to throw away garbage ...

Well, Encampment would have made it into the top ten if it weren't for the unslakeable desire of Canadians for Herman Classics ...

The "pollinator garden" idea having apparently been mocked to death, the new idea floated by a City staffer today was that the encampment could be evicted to make room for ... outdoor ping-pong tables. I guess mocking outdoor ping-pong is your new assignment.

Someone in our encampment voluntarily requested a residential rehab program. Of course there are none. When a partner agency tried to connect them with one of the new "HART Hubs", they were told that you can't get HART Hub services of any kind if you don't have ID. It's going great, folks!

So after some ill-advised interaction with this group (likely person), it became clear to me that they had used an AI summary of the zoning by-law, and were upset that the city wasn't following the hallucinated zoning by-law and not the real one which they have never read.

Hello, I'm an Anglican priest in a movie. I conduct weddings, usually in ways which defy both church custom and legal requirements. Also I do funerals. Usually I wear the wrong vestments for both tasks. That's basically it. When not marrying or burying, I disappear.

It was drawn to my attention today by a CBC reporter that Sylvia Jones has apparently issued a statement claiming that there has been a 41% decrease in overdose deaths since the safe consumption sites were closed. I found this hard to believe, so I looked at the figures from the Chief Coroner.

Today two different people decided to take time out of their day to tell me the church is "a disgrace" for letting homeless people live in the yard. One of my volunteers has been told that we are all "going to hell." I mean, whatever, but can you not use your energy in better ways, people?

I guess there's a certain courage in the City of Toronto longlisting a book which is ... not very friendly to the City of Toronto. www.toronto.ca/city-governm...

I never thought of Encampment as a beach book, but apparently the CBC does?

Hey, maybe they could also plant a pollinator garden!

Hard to choose just one Bible verse for this huh

Priests swear frequently, and do not care if you swear also.

Chronicles of hostile architecture ... the church is now surrounded by fences on the parking lot side as well. We still welcome you! None of the fences are ours.

The CBC link seems to be broken, but apparently Encampment -- along with Messy Cities, also from the wonderful Coach House Books -- is on their Canadian non-fiction bestseller list.

In light of today in Los Angeles, it might be time to repost this again.

I wish I'd mentioned, in the piece I wrote for the Globe a couple weeks ago, the City's insistence that the word "encampment" means a single tent, so what we have outside the church is a multitude of "encampments." It's another sign of the refusal to see or respect community ... (cont)

As the "bubble zone" bylaw is debated, I am curious as to whether this means that if members of my church rally outside our own church in support of the encampment there, we could be arrested/charged under this bylaw.

As the "bubble zone" bylaw is debated, I am curious as to whether this means that if members of my church rally outside our own church in support of the encampment there, we could be arrested/charged under this bylaw.

On June 2 at 7 PM, TYPE Books is hosting a very special evening to celebrate ENCAMPMENT by Maggie Helwig, who will be joined in conversation by Michael Ondaatje. 883 Queen St. W. This is a free event - TYPE recommends you arrive early or call ahead to let them know if you need a chair.

Here's an important note about the fire at the church encampment last week. It happened when a candle fell on a tarp. Several encampment residents were awake, but they couldn't put the fire out effectively, because every time we give them fire extinguishers, they are confiscated by the City.

As the City evicts encampments again, and the province tries to criminalize living outdoors, please come to this launch and hear about some of the reality of why people live in encampments and what their lives are like. Thursday, May 8, 7 pm, St Stephen-in-the-Field, 365 College Street, Toronto.

If you are in the neighbourhood of the church, you may see that we had a serious fire in the encampment overnight. We want to assure you that everyone is safe and no one was hurt, although two people have lost their tents, clothing, etc. There has been some minor, repairable damage to the building.