Discover Canada is the official study guide for people who are preparing to take the Canadian citizenship test. But its portrayal of Canada is far from accurate, according to five women faculty members at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. We speak with Anne-Emanuelle Birn, Professor of Critical Development Studies and Global Health at the University of Toronto. Read the article: https://theconversation.com/canadian-citizenship-study-guide-should-tell-the-truth-about-racism-144629...
Nov 26, 2020•16 min
Vancouver City Council just spent two weeks discussing the climate emergency plan they asked staff to develop last year. They heard from 75 speakers both for and against the actions recommended in the plan – and ended up passing all 37 recommendations. Ian Mass joins us on our City Beat feature with more details about the climate plan and several other motions coming before council tomorrow.
Nov 24, 2020•15 min
A long tradition of the amateur detective exists in the mystery genre. The latest sleuth is Annick Boudreau, a clinical psychologist created by a Vancouver comedian, playwright, and novelist who based the character of Annick Boudreau, in part, on his own therapist. We speak with Charles Demers about the book, Primary Obsessions.
Nov 21, 2020•26 min
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is reported to be the largest private foundation in the world holding almost $47 billion in assets. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Foundation has risen to a position of even greater prominence. However as a private institution, the Gates Foundation’s interests and investments remain largely hidden from public view. Tim Schwab raises questions about the accountability and transparency of the institution’s investments in his recent article, “When the Poor...
Nov 19, 2020•14 min
Justin Trudeau once claimed that Canada had no colonial past. A new book just out from Fernwood Press would disagree. Canada In the World looks closely at Canadian foreign policy and finds a consistent pattern of colonial conquest and capital accumulation. We speak with the book’s author, Tyler Shipley, professor of society, culture, and commerce at Humber College.
Nov 18, 2020•29 min
The Canadian government has announced that the final provisions of the Secure Air Travel Regulations are now in force. These new regulations modify Canada’s No Fly List regime but, according to the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group, they do not address the basic problems that plague the system and continue to result in the undermining of individuals’ rights as they travel. We talk with Tim McSorley, national coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.
Nov 16, 2020•19 min
More than 150 residents of long-term care and assisted living homes have lost their lives to Covid-19. However, tens of thousands more have been deeply impacted by the loss of connection to family and loved ones. Seniors Advocate Isobel MacKenzie says there have been more calls, letters and emails on the issue of visit restrictions than any other single issue in the history of the Office. She joins us to speak about the findings of a recent survey by the Office of the Seniors Advocate that garne...
Nov 16, 2020•21 min
On October 7, a huge crowd of people gathered outside a court building in Athens. They were waiting to hear the verdict in the trial of 68 members of the far-right organization Golden Dawn. The hearing was the biggest trial of fascists since the Nazi trials at Nuremberg after WWII. The crowd in Athens erupted with joy when news emerged that the judges had ruled that Golden Dawn was a criminal gang, not a legitimate political party. We speak with Patrick Strickland, an author, journalist and edit...
Nov 14, 2020•15 min
The Fraser estuary is one of the largest estuaries on the Pacific coast of North America. It is the rearing grounds for Canada’s most productive salmon runs and connects a food web that links fish, birds and marine mammals across thousands of kilometres of the North Pacific Ocean. The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is proposing another massive container terminal on Roberts Bank in the Strait of Georgia. We speak about the project with Misty MacDuffee of the Raincoast Conservation Foundation.
Nov 11, 2020•14 min
Over 200 scholars of 20th century authoritarianism have signed an open letter of concern about the current state of democracy. The letter was released just a couple of days before the presidential election in the United States. It states that, while democracy appeared to be flourishing everywhere in the years following the end of the Cold War, today it seems to be withering or in full-scale collapse globally. We speak with Jennifer Evans of the New Fascism Syllabus board, who wrote the letter.
Nov 09, 2020•16 min
A constitutional test of Quebec's Bill 21 began Monday in the Quebec Superior Court in Montreal. The law, which was passed last year, prohibits public teachers, as well as government lawyers and other civil servants, from wearing religious symbols such as turbans and hijabs at work. The National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association are among the groups involved in the challenge. We speak with Sarah Abou-Bakr, Quebec Advocacy Coordinator with the NCCM.
Nov 08, 2020•11 min
British Columbia in known around the world for its beautiful natural scenery and abundant wildlife. But some species in BC have been dwindling. Sockeye salmon stocks plunged last year and caribou, moose and mountain sheep have also seen significant declines. A broad coalition had formed to urge the provincial government to take concrete steps to protect and restore habitat. We speak with John Bergenske, conservation director at Wildsight.
Nov 07, 2020•15 min
Built in the 1950s, the Little Mountain social housing complex was a key public asset in Vancouver. 13 years ago, the BC Liberals sold the housing to a private developer, Holborn Properties, in a deal shrouded in secrecy. Hundreds of people were displaced and more than 200 family homes were demolished. The residents were promised a quick return to new and modern homes but today, most of the social housing units remain un-built and the land sits virtually vacant. Community advocate David Chudnovs...
Nov 04, 2020•15 min
In January 2019, Vancouver City Council unanimously approved OneCity Councillor Christine Boyle's motion declaring that we are in a global state of climate emergency and that constitutes a crisis for Vancouver. The motion went on to direct staff to prepare recommendations for ramping up the city’s climate actions in line with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5°C. On November 3rd, the largest and most comprehensive set of climate emergency recommendations will be debated by city politicians.
Nov 01, 2020•18 min
On October 24, Chile voted in favour of replacing its neoliberal constitution written more than 40 years ago under the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. 78% of people backed a new charter in a plebiscite held Sunday. Estefanía Milla-Moreno is from Santiago, Chile. She is currently a PhD candidate in forestry at the University of British Columbia.
Oct 31, 2020•13 min
A new report on the current and future viability of the Site C dam on the Peace River was released this month in the midst of BC’s recent election campaign. Energy economist Robert McCullough concluded that the project is a net loss and will cost British Columbians well into the future. Ken Boon is president of the Peace Valley Landowners Association. We spoke with him about the McCullough report.
Oct 31, 2020•18 min
If a mining company comes into a community to prospect for a mine and community members don’t want it there, they have to hit the ground running. A new book is going to make it a whole lot easier to do that. Unearthing Justice is a comprehensive guide on how to protect your community from the mining industry. We speak with author Joan Kuyek, founding national coordinator of Mining Watch, Joan Kuyek.
Oct 25, 2020•15 min
It’s 2020, and Canada is not on track to meet our greenhouse gas emissions targets. To do so, we’ll need radical systemic change to how we live and work—and fast. How can we ever achieve this? Top policy analyst and author Seth Klein reveals we can do it now because did it before during the Second World War. We speak with Seth Klein about how wartime thinking and community efforts can be repurposed for Canada’s own Green New Deal.
Oct 22, 2020•30 min
British Columbians relied heavily on a private carrier until Greyhound abandoned its BC routes in 2018, stranding thousands of highway bus users. What’s left is a dysfunctional patchwork of privately-owned bus services, private charters, taxis and local transit. A new campaign is calling for the provincial government to create a unified system that will guarantee all British Columbians essential transit access to the rest of the province. We talk with Maryann Abbs of Let's Ride: Make Public Tran...
Oct 20, 2020•11 min
In the United States, Black and Latino pedestrians more likely to get hit by a car than white pedestrians They are less likely to own cars and more likely to take transit and walk. Plus, Black and Latino neighborhoods are passed over for safety improvements that white communities have the political clout to secure. These are some of the facts in a new book by journalist Angie Schmitt called Right of Way: Race, Class and the Silent Epidemic of Pedestrian Deaths in America. We spoke with Angie Sch...
Oct 15, 2020•18 min
A new report points out that women, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse people are at the forefront of Canada’s pandemic response. More than half of women workers are concentrated in occupations known as the 5Cs: caring, cashiering, catering, cleaning and clerical functions. It says women need to be centred in Canada’s economic recovery efforts going forward. A Feminist Recovery Plan for Canada is co-authored by YWCA Canada. We speak with Anjum Sultana of the YWCA.
Oct 12, 2020•18 min
Municipal and provincial levels of government say that their hands are tied when it comes to bringing about decriminalization of drugs in their jurisdictions. But that’s not true, according to a new report by Pivot Legal. Author Caitlin Shane says there are simple actions that non-federal levels of government can take to reduce the harms of criminal sanctions for drug users.
Oct 08, 2020•15 min
Black Canadians are more than three times as likely as the general population to know someone who died of Covid-19. This is just one of the findings of a new online survey of several thousand Canadians about their experiences with Covid-19 since the pandemic started. The study was carried out by the Edmonton-based African Canadian Civic Engagement Council and Innovative Research Group. Dunia Nur is president of the ACCEC.
Oct 05, 2020•14 min
Research over the past 15 years shows that climate change has drastically amplified the conditions that help wildfires ignite and spread. Simon Donner is a climate scientist and professor of geography at the University of British Columbia. He discusses the factors that led to the catastrophic wildfires in the western United States.
Oct 02, 2020•13 min
The recently released report, A New Future for Old Forests, contains 14 recommendations on how BC can better manage its endangered old-growth forests. Jens Wieting applauds the report but is concerned about the BC government’s response to it. Jens Wieting is senior forest and climate campaigner with the Sierra Club.
Sep 29, 2020•19 min
John Ware is an iconic figure in the history of southern Alberta. He was a Black pioneer and rancher who settled in the province before the turn of the century. Born in the American South, he was already an accomplished cowboy by the time he arrived in Alberta. John Ware is the subject of a new NFB documentary now showing at the Calgary and Vancouver International Film Festival.
Sep 26, 2020•20 min
Lower Mainland city councils got back to work this week with no shortage of challenging topics on the agenda. Vancouver City Council discussed a whole raft of motions to tackle homelessness, including tiny houses, RV parking and more. Redeye Collective member Ian Mass joins us with his City Beat report.
Sep 24, 2020•18 min
The prevalence of misinformation about Covid 19 is much higher on social media than in traditional news sources. A group of Canadian researchers has found that people who consume a lot of social media end up believing conspiracy theories and misinformation, and as a result do not engage in safe behaviours that prevent the spread of COVID-19. We speak with Lisa Teichmann, a member of the research team.
Sep 15, 2020•10 min
Last year, the BC government expanded its wolf cull program in an attempt to protect endangered mountain caribou in the province. The adoption of this strategy was based on a study by Robert Serrouya and others at the University of Alberta. But when biologist Lee Harding went back into the data Serrouya used, he found that killing wolves had no detectable effect on the caribou populations it was trying to protect. We talk with Lee Harding.
Sep 11, 2020•13 min
Local craft and artisanal businesses are often celebrated as an antidote to the corporatization of everyday life. Yet workers in these local enterprises say they can be toxic places to work, offering low pay and little protection from arbitrary management practices. Benjamin Anderson is a labour studies lecturer and PHD candidate at SFU. He explains what he’s heard from workers at local breweries, cafes and pubs.
Sep 07, 2020•18 min
