Redeye

Diet for a Small Planet was the first major cookbook to address the environmental impact of meat production. Author Frances Moore Lappé advocated for a vegetarian lifestyle out of concerns over animal-based industries and products. She also argued that world hunger is not caused by a lack of food but by ineffective food policy. Frances Moore Lappé joins us to discuss the new 50th anniversary edition of the book.

First Nations in BC are working proactively towards re-establishing sovereignty over their territories in British Columbia. Asserting sovereignty over mining activities is a critical part of that work. A recent report by the BC First Nations Energy and Mining Council aims to provide First Nations with tools to guide the development and implementation of new ways for mining to occur on their lands. Tahltan elder Allen Edzerza was the project lead in the process that resulted in the report Indigenous Sovereignty: Implementing Consent for Mining on Indigenous Lands.

In his newly released book Becoming Vancouver, Daniel Francis follows the evolution of the city, tracing decades of transformation, immigration and economic development. Daniel Francis speaks with Ian Mass, our City Beat producer.

Noam Chomsky has been an anti-war, anti-capitalist activist for over 60 years and continues to call liberal elites to account for propping up unjust systems that have brought us to the brink of climate catastrophe and nuclear annihilation. Chomsky spoke at a recent webinar organized by Canada-China Focus, a new pan-Canadian, anti-racist project promoting critical conversations and policy initiatives on Canada-China relations. Chomsky says Canada is at a crossroads on China, and we must work together or perish together.

Tens of thousands of Canadians are asking the federal government to pause any further construction on the TMX pipeline. The Canadian government bought the project from Kinder Morgan in 2018. The last update in 2020 revealed that the expansion cost had ballooned to $12.6B, and now Trans Mountain Corporation says it will cost $21.4B, four times the original estimate. We speak with Eugene Kung, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law.

Criminology Temitope Oriola says that the truckers convoy is a fascinating study in the sociology of law enforcement. Oriola is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Alberta and joint Editor-in-Chief of African Security journal. His research interests include policing, terrorism, social movements and political violence. His recent article in The Conversation talks about what the convoy reveal about the ties between politics, police and the law.

At the end of November last year, people in Honduras voted overwhelmingly for the platform of democratic socialism put forward by Xiomara Castro. Her Libre Party was formed in the aftermath of the coup that deposed Castro’s husband, Manuel Zelaya. We talk with writer Owen Schalk about the 2009 couple and Canada’s role in Honduras during the reign of terror that followed.

The BC government has released a report on oil and gas royalties from a public consultation in November. The report showed that 77% of survey respondents wanted the government to make environmental protection its top priority in its new royalty regime. We talk with Peter McCartney, Climate Campaigner at the Wilderness Committee.

After emerging from years of brutal dictatorship, the Haitian people dreamed of a democracy that would serve the poor and bring an end to impunity. Between 1991 and 2004, Haitians elected a succession of governments committed to realizing this dream. The pro-democracy movement’s efforts were ultimately derailed by powerful local elites and their allies in the international community, including Canada. Haiti Betrayed was written, directed and produced by Elaine Briere.

Eighteen months ago, Vancouver City Council was enthusiastic about the idea of 100 tiny homes for the homeless. This week they heard that 10 shelter beds is all that is possible and the City will have to foot the bill. Ian Mass joins me with his City Beat report to talk about this, a debate on financial support for a challenge to Quebec’s Bill 21 and more.

British Columbia is ahead of most North American jurisdictions with its composting and recycling programs. However, the Lower Mainland still burns at least 25% of its waste, with a plan to expand that amount. Sue Maxwell is a sustainability consultant with Ecoinspire Planning Services. She joins us to talk about the problems with this waste-to-energy expansion.

Cleaning and food service workers at Simon Fraser University say their working conditions are difficult and their pay lags behind counterparts elsewhere. Contract Worker Justice @SFU is a coalition of workers, students, faculty, and community members at SFU. They are calling on Simon Fraser University to hire these workers directly and to improve their pay and working conditions. John Calvert is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU and he has been involved in the coalition since its founding.

The storming of the Capitol last year was an unprecedented moment and raised questions about the fragility of democracy in the United States. Christopher Vials joins us to discuss the rise of xenophobic right-wing populism in the U.S. Vials is an associate professor of English at the University of Connecticut–Storrs and author of Haunted by Hitler: Liberals, the Left, and the Fight Against Fascism in the United States.

In 2021, communities across the province have found themselves facing unprecedented costs from forest fires, flooding and storm damage. Meanwhile, the companies who are making huge profits from fossil fuels aren’t contributing a penny to help with the impacts of climate change. Lawyer Andrew Gage says it’s long past time to make fossil fuel companies pay for the chaos they’ve helped to create.

Ottawa academic Hassan Diab was extradited to France 8 years ago to face terrorism charges. He spent 3 years in solitary confinement before French magistrates ruled that there wasn’t enough evidence for a trial and released him. Last year, France’s court of appeal overturned that decision. Now the French court has set a trial date for next year. We hear reaction from Tim McSorley of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group; Jo Wood of the Hassan Diab Support Committee; Alex Neve, formerly of Amnesty Canada, and Rob Currie of Dalhousie University.

Vancouver City Council had its first meeting of the year this week and started off with a motion that got the attention of affordable housing advocates. Depending on who you listen to, single family neighbourhoods across Vancouver are either facing their biggest threat ever or just another small step in gentle densification. Ian Mass joins us to talk about this, and a whole bunch of other Vancouver Council issues in his regular City Beat report.

In British Columbia, the RCMP has a special detachment called the Community-Industry Response Group, set up to enforce injunctions and arrest land defenders blocking access to resource extraction companies. Molly Murphy is a BIPOC activist and journalist who’s experienced first-hand the violence of the RCMP at Fairy Creek. She explains what she’s found out about the background, training and tactics of the C-IRG.

Youth radicalization is on the rise in Canada. With increasing online promotion of far right ideas, young people are exposed a lot of politically motivated misinformation that can lead them to adopt extreme views. Teachers says they feel ill-equipped to recognize the signs of radicalization or know how to effectively intervene. Dr Kawser Ahmed is spearheading an effort to provide resources for educators in Manitoba.

A federal court has ruled that RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki violated her legal obligations when she took more than 3years to respond to a complaint about RCMP spying on anti-pipeline activists. In a groundbreaking decision, Justice Gagné said that the RCMP must respond to complaints within 6 months of receiving a report from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission. We speak with Jessica Magonet, lawyer with the BC Civil Liberties Association.

There was a time when the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and Justin Trudeau was described as ‘hostile’. The industry didn’t like the PM’s suggestion that domestic drug prices were too high and should be regulated. But now Trudeau is supporting the industry in its opposition to a drug patent waiver. Nikolas Barry-Shaw is trade and privatization campaigner for the Council of Canadians.