Redeye

Between the 1870s and the late 1990s, over 150,000 First Nations, Métis and Inuit children were forced to attend church-run, government-funded residential schools. As of three years ago, the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation had documented more than 4,100 deaths of children at these institutions. In 2022, Kimberley Murray was appointed Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. She released her final report, Sites of Truth, Sites of Conscience, last month. We discuss the report with Professor Frank Deer of the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba.  <from Nov 2024>

The Vancouver Police Department spent the last year exploring the use of body-worn cameras. In November, the VPD asked Council to approve expanding the program to all frontline members. Meanwhile, the RCMP is spending millions of dollars to bring in the use of body-worn cameras across the country. Chris Schneider says body-worn cameras are unlikely to increase public trust and police accountability. Schneider is a professor of sociology at Brandon University and the author of Policing and Social Media: Social Control in an Era of Digital Media. <from Jan 2025>

A new book examines the experiences of the women who faced the worst effects of the pandemic and the inequities it exposed. Conscripted to Care reveals how structural inequality placed women on the frontlines of the pandemic response, yet did not provide them with enough resources or a voice in decision-making. We speak with author Dr Julia Smith, assistant professor in Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. <from Oct 2024>

Solidarity Is the Political Version of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing was published last year by Haymarket Books. The two authors, Rebecca Vilkomerson and Rabbi Alissa Wise, were both staff leaders of Jewish Voice for Peace from 2010 to 2020. In the book, they ask what the politics of solidarity look like in practice, and how left-wing organizations can grow—in numbers and power—while remaining accountable to the broader movements of which they are a part.  Rebecca and Alissa were in Vancouver on January 26.  We bring you excerpts from that evening.

A new handbook has been launched to assist BC school trustees who are being targeted with transphobic and homophobic abuse. It outlines some of the ways that school boards are currently under attack and ways to prevent and address this violence. The handbook was written collaboratively by a committee of the group, Lawyers Against Transphobia. We speak with one of the authors, James Chamberlain. <from Sept 2024>

Both the BC NDP and the Conservative Party of BC have pledged to expand involuntary care under the Mental Health Act for people who use drugs.  More than 17 organizations have condemned forced detention plans, including the BC Civil Liberties Association and the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.  Meenakshi Mannoe is connected to anti-prison and anti-policing movements and has previously engaged in advocacy related to the expansion of involuntary care. We speak with her about this issue. <from Oct 2024>

Rights advocates in Canada are welcoming a new review and complaints body for the Canadian Border Services and the RCMP. A network of nine civil society organizations say the new commission is long overdue, but still falls short of what is needed. We talk with Tim McSorley, National Coordinator of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group. <from Nov 2024>

A report released last week reveals that millions of dollars in Canadian charitable donations have been funneled to organizations implicated in supporting illegal Israeli settlements, violent settler groups, and military activities in the occupied Palestinian territories. Under the Guise of Charity was produced by Just Peace Advocates, Independent Jewish Voices Canada and Miles Howe. We speak with author Miles Howe. <from Nov 2024>

Today, almost one in 4 of all species are at risk of extinction, from caribou and spotted owls to sea stars and slime mould. In her new book, Sarah Cox visits the habitats where species are threatened, and the people who are trying to save them. She documents heroic efforts to prevent animal species from disappearing while, at the same time, challenging us to question the approaches we’re taking. Sarah Cox is an award-winning reporter and B.C. bureau chief for The Narwhal. <from Sept 2024>

In 2016, Newfoundland filmmaker Justin Simms became the father of a son. Later that year, Donald Trump won his first term as president, fuelled by the rise of white supremacy and a particularly toxic form of masculinity. Simms was daunted by the prospect of being a father to a little white boy, born into middle-class privilege, and started to ask himself what he could do as a father to help him become a caring adult. He spent the next eight years making the documentary Sons, which premiered online in January at nfb.ca. We speak with Justin Simms from his home in St. John’s, Newfoundland. <from Jan 2025>"

For years, the Mitchikanibikok Inik First Nation community has fought to keep mining off of their territory. In an important ruling, the Superior Court of Québec has recognized that the Québec government failed for decades in its constitutional duty to consult the Mitchikanibikok Inik First Nation when mining claims were granted on its territory. Lawyers from Ecojustice and the Centre québécois du droit de l’environnement argued that the Quebec mining act violated the constitution, and they won. We speak with Joshua Ginsberg, the lawyer for Ecojustice who represented Mitchikanibikok Inik First Nation in this case. <from Nov 2024>

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the federal government introduced a special program to allow Ukrainians to temporarily work, study and stay in Canada until it was safe for them to return home. Nearly 300 thousand people have since arrived through that program. In late 2023, Canada announced a similar program to help Canadians get family members out of Gaza. 10 months later, it is unclear whether the program has facilitated the exit of any Palestinians from Gaza. We speak with immigration and refugee lawyer Randall Cohn. <from Nov 2024>

Non-disclosure agreements were originally a mechanism for protecting trade secrets. But they are now increasingly used as a matter of default in settlement agreements for all kinds of civil disputes, including those related to sexual misconduct, harassment and discrimination. We speak with Julie Macfarlane of Can't Buy My Silence, a campaign to end the misuse of NDAs. <from Dec 2024>

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, we saw a global reckoning on anti-Black racism. In response to this uprising and demand for action, universities across North America scrambled to make public commitments to racial justice.  But some Black scholars in Canada say these pledges now face a challenging landscape. We talk with Dr. Cornel Grey, assistant professor in the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at Western University. He joins me now.

Think globally, act locally is an old adage, but one that might be relevant as Canada works to strengthen our national economy. With US economic aggression shaking the economy, everyone is searching for ways to bolster businesses and industries here. Dr. Heather Hachigian says Canada’s policy makers need a renewed approach to economic development  – one that focuses on the local. Hachigian is an assistant professor in the Masters of Global Management Program at Royal Roads University.

PACE Society is a peer-driven organization located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver that provides support, advocacy, and education for current and former sex workers. In late February, they announced they were temporarily suspending services and programming and laying off most staff. PACE’s announcement followed a string of closures and service reductions at other organizations serving sex workers and other marginalized women. Jennie Pearson joins us to talk about why these closures happened and what’s needed to support women in the Downtown Eastside. She is a PhD Candidate in the Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program at UBC. She is also a volunteer with PACE Society.

Canada Council director Michelle Chawla says Canadian decision-makers need to acknowledge that the arts have a vital role to play in these uncertain times. In response to the threats of annexation by the U.S. and the tariffs aimed at weakening the Canadian economy, there has been a major rise in nationalistic cultural expression.  Musicologist Rosheeka Parahoo says that when it comes to radio play, funding and recognition, the promise of diverse Canadian music has seldom matched the reality. And that needs to change.

Patriotism has surged across Canada in response to Donald Trump’s attacks on our economic stability and sovereignty. In the midst of all this rallying behind the flag, Alpha Abebe says it’s a good time to consider who and what is being obscured in the current surge of Canadian patriotism. She is with the Faculty of Humanities and the Lead for Africa and Black Diaspora Studies at McMaster University.

The Nechako River was one of the main tributaries of the Fraser until the Kenney Dam was built in the 1950s. The dam diverted most of the river’s flow to power Rio Tinto Alcan’s aluminum smelter in Kitimat, severely impacting the lives of the local Stellat’en and Saik’uz Nations. Nechako is a new film that documents years of resistance by the two Nations, including a groundbreaking legal proceeding against the Canadian government and Rio Tinto Alcan that continues to this day. We speak with writer and director Lyana Patrick of the Stellat’en First Nation.

The English Language leader’s debate on April 17 ended with the abrupt cancellation of standard post-debate scrum.  At the centre of the incident was the accreditation of right-wing Rebel News and tensions between them and journalists at the event. We talk with the Tyee's Jen St. Denis about what happened that evening in Montreal.