News – DemocraCycle.ca

Aug 27 2022 Toronto, Ontario. My Daughter Gets Married!

mswartz — Sat, 27 Aug 2022 22:33:34 +0000

MY DAUGHTER’S WEDDING, AUG 27

My beautiful daughter, Stacia, got married on Saturday, August 27 in Thornhill. She wed her wonderful fiance, Jacques, in a lovely ceremony. I served as the officiant: their legal marriage was looked after in Quebec (they live in Montreal).

Congratulations (felicitations!) to the super-loving bride and groom!

July 26 Fire At Night At My Repentigny, Quebec AirBnb!

mswartz — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 23:15:17 +0000

FIRE AT MY AIRBNB OVERNIGHT

Well, last night (or should I say early morning) presented an unexpected event. I’ll say upfront that no one was injured, thank goodness. However a raging #fire completely destroyed two cars and melted a third so severely it’s a write-off, all in the driveway of the Airnb I stayed at.

The episode began for me around 1:00 a.m. I was sleeping away nicely in a room that backed on to a patio and swimming pool. I wear ear plugs to help sleep while traveling, thus the first indication I had of a problem was muffled knocking on my door, and the faint sound of “feu, allez” making its way into my dreams. Initially I didn’t want to acknlowledge it. Tried shooing it away like I would a pesky mosquito. But as the wording registered, and there was now pounding at my door, I pulled the plugs out of my ears, and heard people scurrying about.

When I opened the door separating me from the kitchen, all hell was breaking loose. Guests were running out of the house, some not fully dressed, as police went from room to room searching for stragglers (like me). Now I knew things were bad. I grabbed my crucial items: laptop, phone, wallet, and one bag of three I’ve been riding with. Just as I hurried out the front door the smallish explosions started. Looking to my right, the driveway was awash in flames and toxic smoke. More small explosions and a spread of sparks. Wow.

In case my narrative didn’t capture the severity, check out the accompanying video. Amazingly, after about 90 minutes, the apocalypse was extinguished and we were given the OK to return to our rooms. No one injured. Quite a night!

July 21 – The Mosaic Institute: Dismantling Prejudice. Newsletter with Ride Update

mswartz — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 19:31:16 +0000

The Mosaic Institute: Dismantling Prejudice

The following is from The Mosaic Institute newsletter. They are one of the two causes I’m riding in support of. Please donate.

“Would you cycle across Canada to build a more #inclusive society?

Mark Swartz is a 61-year-old Canadian doing *just that* Read about Mark’s journey: https://loom.ly/6Em1BUA

(Or donate here: https://loom.ly/u_M5WYg)”

#antiracism #antihate #democracy

DemocraCycle

June 22 2022 Press Release for Democracycle Canada ride for anti-hate and anti-racism

mswartz — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 15:39:18 +0000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Cycling 2,000 km to fundraise for Bernie Farber’s AntiHate.ca

Mark D Swartz is solo cycling 2,000 km from Halifax to Toronto for Canadian democracy

Toronto, Ontario – June 21, 2022 — To celebrate Canada Day, and interview Canadians about their views on democracy, Mark D Swartz is solo cycling 2,000 km from Halifax to Toronto.

He is raising funds for two non-profits: the Canadian Anti-Hate Network (Bernie Farber, Chair, Evan Balgord Exec Director), and Mosaic Institute (dismantling prejudice, Leigh Naturkach, Exec Director).

Mark calls this ride DemocraCycle. “At age 61, I feel I must do what I can to raise awareness for anti-hate and dismantling prejudice in our beloved Canada,” he says.

All donations to the two causes go directly to the organizations via GoFundMme. You can view and contribute to the campaigns at democracycle.ca. Mark leaves for Halifax on June 25 and will arrive in Toronto around August 20, 2002.

About Mark D Swartz and DemocraCycle

Mark is an author, speaker and Canadian democracy activist. Until fairly recently he had been writing about careers and the workplace since mid 90’s. He had a bi-weekly column in Toronto Star early to mid-2000’s called Career Activist. Several of his books have been published beginning 1997. His education includes an MBA from what is now Schulich at York University, and an M.Ed. from UofT’s OISE.

Mark has no affiliation with the nonprofits he is cycling for other than fundraising on their behalf. More at htpps://Democracycle.ca.

Contact

Mark D Swartz via his contact page. Antihate.ca and Mosaic Institute representatives available for comment as well.