“We don’t just want peace. We want to defeat the causes of war.” Talia de Ryck, Operational Officer with the Alliance of Students and Workers (AWAS)

In the middle of organizing Seeds Beneath the Snow, an anti-Imperialist symposium running from November 6-8th, Talia and Mahyar sit down to talk about the need to broaden peoples’ understanding of Imperialism, and how it connects not just to the struggles of the global south, but also the policies being made here at home.

Their ultimate goal, the ”intensification of the class struggle here in the heart of the empire.”

They also talk about the founding of their group back in 2024, at York University, when they were still Students and Workers for the Liberation of Palestine. With the struggle still ongoing, we asked them about the decision to change their name. AWAS Editor in Chief, Mahyar Mohaghegh, explained “the necessity of transforming this movement for Palestine to a movement that can take on the capitalist system as a whole.”

And so, they’ve worked hard to put together an impressive line up of speakers like Tyler Shipley, Immanuel Ness, Georges Abdallah, Abby Martin and more. The topics they’ve decided to focus on say a lot about their priorities as an organization - panels that focus on how Canadian Class Society, Disability, and Political education all relate back to imperialism.

Talia and Mahyar’s enthusiasm for their work is evident, and contagious. Be sure to listen all the way through, and share with a comrade.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Get a Ticket to the Seeds Beneath the Snow Symposium

Related Episodes:

• Organizing in a Fascist Canada (Apr 2026) The Atlantic Regional Communists on building political power outside the electoral sphere, class collaboration and the role Marxist settlers should be playing in so-called Canada.
• Canada's Colonial Imagination (Oct 2023) Tyler Shipley, Professor and author on why Canadians have trouble seeing our foreign policy for what it is.

More Resources:

Get even MORE content on our SUBSTACK.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky