Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! Conservatives, led by Jason Kenney, are spreading disinformation about empty grocery shelves and the impacts of vaccine mandates on our food supply chain and ignoring the realities of Canadians struggling to put food on the table. This is happening as a convoy of trucks heads towards Ottawa to protest the vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers. Why the obfuscation? Escalations in Ukraine are threatening to boil over with disinformation flying and imperia...
Jan 26, 2022•54 min•Season 4Ep. 85
Fan of the show? Support us on Patreon ! Jared Walker has learned a thing or two working in communications in the offices of both Jagmeet Singh and Andrea Horwath — starting with never check the DMs. Jared joins us to discuss the complex strategies of campaigning, how social media is shaping our politics, and how campaigns of the future may look. About Jared Walker Jared A. Walker is an organizer, activist, writer and communications professional, presently working as Principal Speechwriter and M...
Jan 25, 2022•50 min•Season 4Ep. 84
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! Doug Ford announces a phased reopening ‘in light of improving conditions’. What is he talking about? Continued issues with access to fresh water in the territories highlights the inequity of Ontario/Quebec and every other Canadian. Follow Joe on Twitter Follow Rodger on Twitter _________...
Jan 21, 2022•26 min•Season 4Ep. 83
Each week on Counterpoint, we’ll bring you a panel discussion with Canada’s leading journalists, columnists, politicos, and change makers discussing what’s happening in the newsphere. This week, we’re joined by activist and former NDP candidate Shailene Panylo and National Post columnist Adam Zivo for a conversation on defunding the police and police abolition. About Shailene Panylo Shailene Panylo is a community organizer, activist, and advocate based in the Durham Region. She represented the N...
Jan 20, 2022•58 min•Season 4Ep. 82
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! What’s the deal with snow removal in PEI? Unionized provincial workers have been replaced by private contractors in at least one municipality, how are these decisions made and is it just one more step in the war on working people by conservative governments? Air Canada and Westjet are asking us to stop testing for COVID-19 at the airport while omicron is ravaging us. They can spin it all they like, it’s bad for public health. Then, we’re joined in the CUPE ...
Jan 19, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 81
Fan of the show? Support us on Patreon ! Nova Scotia MLA Suzy Hansen joins us for a conversation on the power of change, how we can bring it, and what it looks like to fight for it when the terrain looks difficult. Hope and hard work go a very long way to building a better future. About Suzy Hansen Born and raised in Halifax’s North End, Suzy is a grassroots organizer, community leader, and mother of seven beautiful children. In 2016, she won a seat on the Halifax Regional School Board for Distr...
Jan 18, 2022•47 min•Season 4Ep. 80
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! The prevailing narrative is that the economy has mostly rebounded. Led by TSX performance and GDP numbers, the status quo is content that all will be just fine. Are these really how we want to judge ourselves? Can’t we find a better way to judge if our society is prospering? Or do we just get back to business as usual? Then, Alberta’s making moves to privatize laundry at its hospitals. It may not seem like much, but it’s laundry today and then surgery tomor...
Jan 17, 2022•28 min•Season 4Ep. 79
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! The crisis in housing is reaching fever pitch across Canada, with it hitting especially hard right at home for one of our co-hosts. It's being reported that the Bank of Canada is going to be raising the overnight lending rate next week in what will be the beginning of a series of increases seeking to control inflation. It's bad news for the working class and the same tired monetary policy that got us into this mess. Follow Joe on Twitter Follow Rodger on Tw...
Jan 14, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 78
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! After federal teasing of mandatory vaccines, Quebec Premier Legault announces a “financial penalty” for Quebeckers who refuse to vaccinate. It draws serious questions about bodily sovereignty and the ability of the wealthy to avoid vaccination. Conservative leader Erin O’Toole claims that Canada-US relations have never been worse. It’s definitely not true. Has O’Toole lost the script and where is the opposition right now? Is there even a government right no...
Jan 12, 2022•41 min•Season 4Ep. 76
Fan of the show? Support us on Patreon ! World renowned leftist philosopher Slavoj Žižek joins for a sweeping and wide ranging conversation on the urgency of this moment as we struggle through COVID-19 while trying to cling to failed paradigms. In a world where the status quo realizes that the old way must give way to the new, there is little action being taken to transition to what Žižek calls the “communism of necessity”. How can the left win in the face of a century of losses? How do we battl...
Jan 11, 2022•55 min•Season 4Ep. 75
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! Remember when we were promised action in the housing crisis during the 2021 election? What happened to that? How about some new ideas to solve the problem? Ottawa has agreed to a settlement with Indigenous communities to end the cycle of court cases. In true Liberal fashion, it’s non-binding. Will the dollars ever be paid? Follow Joe on Twitter Follow Rodger on Twitter _________...
Jan 10, 2022•20 min•Season 4Ep. 74
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! After a disastrous and unnecessary election call, former Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin calls it quits. He’s stepping down from leadership of the party and will likely fade into obscurity, or at least the world of corporate lobbying. Canadian media giants ask the government to protect their profit from social media giants. Social media giants threaten to block news from their platforms. This is what happens when we hand over the public commons to private c...
Jan 07, 2022•27 min•Season 4Ep. 73
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! Omicron is ravaging us. With policy changing daily, and the announcements at and furious, one thing is clear — there will be none of the supports, financial or otherwise, of 2020. The Canadian Dream is alive? A new initiative is pushing for Canada to grow to 100 million people by the year 2100. Is 100 million really a game changer? Without making significant changes to our economy today aren’t we damning millions more to life in an unaffordable and unjust s...
Jan 05, 2022•31 min•Season 4Ep. 72
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! Omicron is devouring Ontario’s healthy and Premier Doug Ford has sent a fairly clear message — we don’t care about you. Go to work, shut up, and die if you have to. As he has since the beginning of this crisis, PM Justin Trudeau has the authority to take control through the Emergencies Act. Spoiler alert, he won’t use it. $10 a day childcare seems to be all but a done deal with the rumours that Ontario will announce it is joining the federal government’s sc...
Jan 03, 2022•32 min•Season 4Ep. 71
Like the show? Support us on Patreon ! Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan appears to be dead, and Justin Trudeau’s threats had nothing to do with it. In the aftermath, we wonder, does Justin Trudeau think that the status quo is good enough for Canadian workers? Justin Trudeau has done a series of in depth interviews lately, in one of which he laments the ‘cynicism of the left’. Is it cynicism or seeing calling out broken promises and unfulfilled advancement? CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn drop...
Dec 22, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 70
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! We’re taking a mental health day today but enjoy this unreleased episode from last Monday when we had technical difficulties! Justin Trudeau doubles down against US climate legislation by threatening tariffs. Who is he fighting for and who is he kidding with this? You probably remember Liberal MP George Chahal as the guy who stole Con...
Dec 20, 2021•31 min•Season 4Ep. 69
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! The call to extend the vote to youth voters has been heard with NDP MP Taylor Bachrach announcing his intention to table a private members bill that would lower the voting age to 16. Now it’s up to the House to decide. The fear of Quebec reprisal continues in the saga of Bill 21 and the teacher removed from the classroom under the law...
Dec 15, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 68
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! The BCNDP has been under fire from the left of its caucus for not calling the RCMP off of Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has stayed mum. Now, with the left of his caucus calling for him to publicly denounce John Horgan, what will Singh do? TWO THIRDS of Canadians are worried their income won’t keep up with th...
Dec 10, 2021•32 min•Season 4Ep. 67
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! Surprise surprise, it sucks working for Conservatives. Erin O’Toole calls for an investigation into CPC MP Shannon Stubbs but political motives remain. The power of the PMO continues its creep. Liberal Ministers are doing their jobs with no direction on their mandates. Does it matter if JT is the sole decider? Then we head to the CUPE...
Dec 08, 2021•37 min•Season 4Ep. 66
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! Maxime Bernier survives his self-initiated leadership review as head of the PPC. What’s next for the party? What do we have to learn from them? The hits keep coming for Canada’s banking sector — profit, profit, profit. How can we stop the financialization of Canadian life at our expense? Follow Joe on Twitter Follow Rodger on Twitter ...
Dec 06, 2021•30 min•Season 4Ep. 65
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! Canadians under 18 have filed a challenge to voting laws in their quest for universal sufferage. Their argument, that it is unconstitutional to bar them from voting is interesting and could change elections significantly in Canada. Friend of the show, Dr. Amita Kuttner has been named the interim leader of the Green Party of Canada — a...
Dec 03, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 64
Fan of the show? Support us on Patreon ! Each week, we’ll bring you a panel discussion with Canada’s leading journalists, columnists, politicos, and change makers discussing what’s happening in the newsphere. This week, we’re joined by journalist and activist Dimitri Lascaris & economist and National Post columnist Rupa Subramanya to go around the horn on what the chances of success are for the fifth Foreign Minister in six years, the Trudeau foreign policy vision (or lack thereof) and China...
Dec 02, 2021•48 min•Season 4Ep. 63
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! Our good friends in the Canadian banking sector have piled the cash high during the pandemic and now they are ready to pop in the form of stock buybacks and fat dividend payments — the problem is that they are doing it with our money. Then, the Liberals introduced legislation to give *some* workers *some* paid sick days. It's too litt...
Dec 01, 2021•35 min•Season 4Ep. 62
Fan of the show? Support us on Patreon ! Net zero is often thrown out as the answer to our climate nightmares, including right here in Justin Trudeau's Canada — but is it? We're joined by Holly Jean Buck to discuss just what 'net zero' is, what it is not, and if we can save ourselves by shooting for good enough when it comes to climate action. About Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero is Not Enough Around the world, countries and companies are setting net-zero carbon emissions targets. But what wi...
Nov 30, 2021•40 min•Season 4Ep. 61
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! We’re back and the NLR team is now regionally diverse! Today we cover the ridiculous notion that Saskatchewan is a sovereign nation within Canada that Premier Scott Moe put forward and the new wave of shutdowns due to the Omicron variant. Are they necessary? Should we be comfortable locking down again? Follow Joe on Twitter Follow Rod...
Nov 29, 2021•27 min•Season 4Ep. 60
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! A message has been sent — cross Erin O’Toole or threaten his leadership and you’re out. Conservative aligned Senator Denise Batters is the first to go. Then, we’ve all heard of the Panama Papers. Apparently it’s taken this long, and charges being sought by the American Securities and Exchange Commission for the CRA to act. JT hoped of...
Nov 19, 2021•33 min•Season 4Ep. 59
Fan of the show? Support us on Patreon ! Each week, we’ll bring you a panel discussion with Canada’s leading journalists, columnists, politicos, and change-makers discussing what’s happening in the newsphere. This week we're joined by journalist Fitsum Areguy and professor of economics and philosophy Vivek Dehejia to explore the possibility of rising interest rates, exploding housing costs, and Canadians being left out in the cold. What can we do? Then, it is being reported that inflation is at ...
Nov 18, 2021•57 min•Season 4Ep. 58
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! Alberta announces that it's joined the federal Liberals' scheme to offer $10 a day childcare leaving Ontario as the last holdout. It's a win that's desperately needed by both Jason Kenney and Justin Trudeau, and a surefire election issue for Doug Ford. Bill 2 in Quebec has been modified but is still a discriminatory law against transge...
Nov 17, 2021•33 min•Season 4Ep. 57
Fan of the show? Support us on Patreon ! Amazon permeates our lives in so many ways, from lightning-fast consumerism to hoarding metadata - it does it all. It makes sense that a platform originating in bookselling has had an impact on the author and of fiction itself. Literary critic Mark McGurl joins us to discuss his new book Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon, and the deep impact that platform capitalism has had on the artform that is the written word. About Everything and Le...
Nov 16, 2021•41 min•Season 4Ep. 56
Like the show? Like reading books? Support us on Patreon at the 'solidarity' level and you'll be. in the NLR Bookclub, w/ a Verso book delivered to you each month! The federal government is set to release their 5G blueprint, with all signs pointing to the exclusion of Huawei from Canada’s plan. Is this simply anti-China sentiment or are there legitimate concerns? Thousands of Canadians on the financial knifes edge are poised to lose benefits for taking pandemic related emergency payments. What d...
Nov 15, 2021•29 min•Season 4Ep. 55
