The Fundraising Campaign

    The Fundraising Campaign

    Along with lending support to the families and coordinating education and solidarity efforts, the Coalition Justice For Levi exists in order to help raise legal funds.  It is absurd that it has been left to the efforts and to the pocket books of two grieving Ontario families to bring a widespread, systemic, governmental mess to light and to seek firm resolution through the courts.   For many, many long years, the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario, the Special Investigations Unit, police associations, the Office of the Ombudsman of Ontario, Ontario’s courts and Ontario’s justices have all been embrangled in a dispute and conflict.  Each of the aforementioned parties is funded by taxpayers and each is, in fact, a public employee.  Each of these parties has a substantial budget and each one has an obligation to meet their mandates as funded by the public and to assure the greatest level of transparency, efficiency and accountability possible.  Where the resources and responsibility to address these matters do exist within the mechanism of the state, the cohesive political will necessary to finally and clearly resolve this systemic mess does not.

    The Coalition Justice For Levi is helping with fundraising efforts because grieving families should not be forced into the poorhouse as they seek the courts’ assistance to resolve these systemic matters.   The Coalition Justice For Levi is helping to raise legal funds, as well, because the outcomes of this historic court case are of great impact and relevance to the greater public interest.

    Whereas the police interests in the matters before the courts have unlimited legal budgets, the families involved have had to spend any and all savings left after burying their loved ones in an attempt to continue with this process through the courts.   Whereas the state interests in these matters can endlessly pull monies from the taxpayer’s coffer, the families and communities of Levi Schaeffer and Douglas Minty have been left to their own fundraising efforts and to the generosity, solidarity and kindness of those who have been so kind as to contribute to the legal fundraising campaign.

    There is a common understanding that it takes money to make money.   The Coalition Justice For Levi has attempted to build and contribute to a legal fund without the benefit of much capital to propel the journey.   The Coalition Justice For Levi, based in Peterborough, Ontario, has held dozens of small fundraisers over the past few years and has sold hundreds of small ticket items to a wonderfully supportive network .  Through the years of this campaign, social justice organizers in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal have taken up the call and helped with fundraising and awareness raising efforts- helping to create a coalition that grows ever stronger.

    The Coalition Justice For Levi is consistently seeking ideas, inspiration and direct collaboration in order to continue fundraising efforts as the Schaeffer and Minty families now prepare to go to the Supreme Court of Canada.  Musicians, artists, community organizers and others with skills and resources that could contribute to fundraising efforts are also sought.

                The Coalition Justice For Levi would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every person who has thus far contributed to this legal fundraising campaign.   It is through community, solidarity and creativity that we will succeed together at helping to ensure that these matters of great public interest are addressed at the Supreme Court of Canada and that the families involved are given the support that they need and deserve.

 

    CLICK HERE FOR PICTURES OF OUR March, 2010 EVENT!!
    We would like to thank michaelhurcomb.com for the photos.