Redeye

The deputy mayor of Tirana, Albania says she realized one day that her city had been planned with one user in mind - an adult male who needed to get to the office as quickly as possible. She says everything about Tirana’s streets, public spaces and transport systems were designed to make his life easy. Anuela Ristani is one of the women in local government that we get to meet in Women Changing Cities, a new book by Canadian authors and urban mobility advocates Melissa and Chris Bruntlett. We speak with Melissa Bruntlett in this episode.

Bruce McIvor has written a new book that should become essential reading for Canadians who want to advance reconciliation. Indigenous Rights in One Minute gives clear and concise answers to questions like who qualifies as Métis and what the Doctrine of Discovery is.  Bruce McIvor is the founder and senior partner at First Peoples Law and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia’s Allard School of Law. He is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

The Jackpine Mine is an open-pit tar sands project north of Fort McMurray. Last year, the operator applied for a renewal of its licence to operate the mine for another 10 years. In response Ecojustice, the Alberta Wilderness Association, and Keepers of the Water filed a statement of concern asking the Alberta Energy Regulator to recognize the Athabasca River Basin as a “legal person” with the right to participate in decisions that affect its health.  We speak with Matt Hulse, a lawyer for Ecojustice.

Judy Darcy’s memoir, Leading From the Heart, chronicles her battles as a feminist, a union leader and a politician from the 1960’s until today. Judy joins Ian Mass to talk about those both personal and political battles.

When you think of a cleaning company, you probably imagine a place where employees work under a manager, decisions are made from the top down, and profits go to the business owner.  In Vancouver, a worker cooperative called The Cleaning Coop aims to disrupt this model by providing non-exploitative employment, paying a fair wage, and promoting well-being and equality among the workers. We speak with Hayley Postlethwaite, one of the founders of The Cleaning Coop.

British Columbia is in a housing crisis, and 1.6 million renters are bearing the brunt of it. The Residential Tenancy Act and Residential Tenancy Branch policy have the potential to support the human right to housing and to prevent homelessness and displacement but there is plenty of room for improvement in how well they protect tenants. First United has just come out with their second law reform platform addressing some of the gaps. We speak with Dr. Sarah Marsden of First United.

In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, Canada saw a rise in anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab and antisemitism that affects many areas of life and work for Canadians. So begins a report produced by the Islamophobia Research Hub at York University. The incidents documented in the report portray a climate of repression, violence and censorship across the country and throughout multiple aspects of life in Canada. We speak with Nadia Hasan, author of the report.

At the end of her mother’s life, writer and academic Julietta Singh returns to Winnipeg to say goodbye to her childhood home. As she digs into the history of the house, she uncovers 140 years of forgotten matriarchs and political rebels she never knew. Singh has teamed up with acclaimed filmmaker Chase Joynt and the National Film Board to create a documentary that interweaves Indigenous, Deaf, Japanese and South Asian histories, all connected through the house she grew up in. There’s a free showing of the film November 5 at the Chan Centre and a talk by Julietta Singh. We speak with Julietta Singh and Chase Joynt.

Plans by Vancouver Mayor Sim and his ABC majority to uplift the Downtown Eastside propose to increase the proportion of market rentals, water down the definition of social housing and dramatically increase allowable building heights. Critics say this amounts to a recipe for rapid gentrification and displacement of local residents. We talk with Ian Mass about this plan and much more.

Racism does not always follow the patterns of aggressive behaviour, or outright attempts to violate the human rights and equality of racialized people. A study of the experiences of first- and second-generation Haitian and Jamaican Canadians sheds light on a form of racial exclusion sociologist Dr. Karine Coen-Sanchez calls polite racism.  She joins us on our podcast today.

At September’s Union of BC Municipalities convention, Premier David Eby announced that 100 new involuntary care beds would open in the province. The new beds will be shared between Surrey and Prince George, adding to 18 long-term involuntary care beds announced for Maple Ridge in June. While city councillors in the two municipalities welcomed the move, it has been broadly criticized by drug policy researchers. We speak with Kora DeBeck, Distinguished Professor of Substance Use and Drug Policy in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University and research scientist with the BC Centre on Substance Use.

In BC, most gas is extracted through fracking, a process that has been shown to have major health impacts on local communities. Health professionals and First Nations leaders are calling on provincial and federal governments to fund an independent health impact assessment of fracking and LNG before approving any more projects. We speak with Dr. Bethany Ricker, a family physician in Nanaimo.

A new play by acclaimed theatre artist and author Carmen Aguirre opened Oct 16 at The Cultch. Fire Never Dies was inspired by the life of Italian photographer Tina Modotti. Modotti was brought up in poverty in Italy, crossed the Atlantic to the U.S. in 1913 when she was in her teens, and then moved to Mexico City where she became part of the thriving art scene that included Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Along the way, Modotti made a name for herself with her arresting photographs of the working class and Mexican Indigenous culture. Carmen Aguirre joins me today to talk about the play.

A newly released report from a national security watchdog confirms what Islamic charities and civil liberties advocates have long argued: that the Canada Revenue Agency’s approach to countering terrorist financing is deeply flawed. The report from the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency was triggered by years of allegations that the CRA's Review and Analysis Division unfairly targets Islamic charities due to bias and Islamophobia. Steven Zhou is Media and Communication Lead with the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

John Horgan: In His Own Words is a memoir that leads readers through pivotal parts of Horgan’s life and his years as premier of British Columbia. Horgan worked closely with journalist Rod Mickleburgh to share his life story. Rod Mickleburgh speaks about John Horgan and the book with Redeye’s Ian Mass.

The federal government’s Bill C-9 would amend the Criminal Code to address hate propaganda, hate crime and access to religious or cultural places. But a human rights coalition says it threatens the Charter rights and civil liberties of all people in Canada, including those communities that the government wishes to protect. We speak with Tim McSorley of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group.

Off the Map features writers with lived experience of mental health issues. The anthology includes works of creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry on a wide range of subjects. Seema Shah is a visual artist and writer, and is one of the book’s editors. Pari Mokradi is an artist and writer who contributed to the anthology. They speak with us about the book and read an excerpt of their work.

The War on Cars podcast delivers news and commentary on the latest developments in the worldwide fight to undo the damage caused by cars. Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author, Doug Gordon is a TV producer, writer and safe streets advocate. Sarah and Doug are authors along with Aaron Naparstek of Life After Cars, a book that offers an overview of the societal and environmental costs of the automobile and the forces that have created our current crisis.

On September 19, MP Jenny Kwan tabled a new private member’s bill that would close the loophole allowing Canadian arms to flow to Israel through the United States. A coalition of civil-society groups including members of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East worked side by side with MP Jenny Kwan to draft Bill C-233. WE speak with Alex Paterson, senior director of Strategy and Parliamentary Affairs with CJPME.

Vancouver voters are entering the crazy season of municipal politics with just a little more than a year until they go to the polls and decide the fate of Mayor Ken Sim and his deeply-wounded ABC party. Ian Mass joins us to talk about this looming 2026 election, the candidates who have already declared that they will run for Mayor, the upcoming potentially massive cuts at City Hall and lots more.