Redeye
938 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 days ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsA progressive take on current events. Produced by an independent media collective at Vancouver Cooperative Radio.
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Episodes
The long reach of SNC-Lavalin in Canadian foreign affairs
March 27, 2019 16:04 - 10 minutes - 9.76 MBMedia coverage of the current scandal involving the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin and Justin Trudeau has focused primarily on the Prime Minister’s Office. Largely missing from any discussion are the crimes the company is accused of committing as well as the company’s long and influential relationship with Canada’s foreign policy. We speak with Yves Engler, a Montreal-based author and activist. His most recent book is Left, Right: Marching to the Beat of Imperial Canada.
White power movement a common thread in recent terrorist attacks
March 25, 2019 23:56 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBKathleen Belew says we should understand the Christchurch mosque killings, the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue and the U.S. Coast Guard officer’s plan to assassinate politicians as originating from the same source, the white power movement. Kathleen Belew is an assistant professor of history at the University of Chicago and author of Bring the War Home: The White Power Movement and Paramilitary America.
City Beat: Exploring the architectural style known as Vancouverism
March 22, 2019 18:52 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBVancouverism describes the practice of designing higher, thinner towers to provide so-called "view corridors" while still accommodating as large a population as possible. Our City Beat reported Ian Mass attended an urban forum about Vancouverism and he joins us to share what he learned.
Interactive app revisits the events related in Joy Kogawa's 1981 novel Obasan
March 20, 2019 13:00 - 13 minutes - 12.5 MBAcclaimed author Joy Kogawa collaborated with the Toronto tech studio Jam 3 and the NFB to tell the story of the Japanese-Canadian internment during World War II. East of the Rockies is an augmented reality experience told from the perspective of 17-year-old Yuki. Kogawa’s grandchild, Anne Canute, was creative consultant on the project and voiced the narrative in the interactive. Anne Canute joins us in studio to talk about East of the Rockies.
BC Liberal energy policy leaves Hydro customers on the hook
March 18, 2019 13:00 - 15 minutes - 13.7 MBStarting in 2002, BC Hydro bought too much of the wrong kind of energy, paid too much for it and did this at the behest of the provincial government. John Calvert is the author of Liquid Gold, a book analyzing the BC Liberals’ private power agenda. He joins us in the episode to talk about the problems this policy has caused for BC Hydro and what it will mean for our electricity bills.
Federal pharmacare council recommends national drug agency
March 16, 2019 13:00 - 11 minutes - 10.1 MBCanada has a universal medicare system, but there is a big gap when it comes to ensuring people can afford the medication they need. Currently, one in four households can’t afford their prescription drugs. The Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare has just issued an interim report to the federal government. Melanie Benard is with the Canadian Health Coalition. We asked her for her reaction to the report.
Developers building for-profit rentals fail to deliver on affordability
March 14, 2019 13:00 - 13 minutes - 12.2 MBThe City of Vancouver’s Rental 100 program offers substantial financial rewards for developers who build affordable rental housing. The problem is, the City’s definition of affordable puts the apartments out of the reach of anyone earning less than $80,000 a year. Sara Sagaii is with the Vancouver Tenants Union. She joins us to discuss the Rental 100 program and the measures needed to ensure real affordability.
Compassion club model could stem fentanyl overdose crisis
March 12, 2019 13:00 - 9 minutes - 8.87 MBIn the 1980s and 90s, cannabis compassion clubs provided marijuana to patients who used in for medical reasons. A recent report by the BC Centre for Substance Use recommends that the same model could be used to provide drug users with an untainted supply of heroin in a safe, medically-supervised environment. We talk with Laura Shaver, board member of the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users and a current heroin user.
Veteran planner reflects on how to make a city work for its residents
March 10, 2019 13:00 - 18 minutes - 16.5 MBNathan Edelson has been a community planner for almost 50 years, much of it in Vancouver. In this episode, he talks with our City Beat reporter Ian Mass about the future of community planning in Vancouver, including how best to intervene where the fractures and fault lines present themselves. Nathan also reflects on how best to activate neighbourhood residents and business people to build public support for progressive policymaking. Nathan Edelson will give the Jim Green Memorial Lecture 201...
Major protests in Haiti linked to US-backed coup attempt in Venezuela
March 09, 2019 02:26 - 14 minutes - 12.9 MBLarge demonstrations have rocked several cities in Haiti over the past few weeks as citizens rise up against the government of Jovenal Moïse. The final straw was Moïse’s vote denouncing Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro at the Organization of American States recently. Kim Ives is editor of Haïti Liberté and he speaks with us from New York.
Modular housing on Union Street first step in revitalization of Hogan's Alley
March 07, 2019 14:00 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBHogan's Alley in Vancouver’s East End was home to much of the city’s Black community before it was demolished to make way for the Georgia Viaduct in the 1960s. More than 50 modular homes have been constructed on the land where Hogan’s Alley once stood to house predominantly Black and Indigenous people. Lama Mugabo is a member of the Hogan’s Alley Society. He talks about the housing project, the history of the neighbourhood and the systemic racism Black people faced then and now.
New film examines impact of the gold trade on human lives and the planet
March 04, 2019 16:37 - 14 minutes - 13.6 MBA new documentary has its premiere this week in Vancouver. The Shadow of Gold reveals the impact of gold mining and the gold trade on our economy, environment and conflicts. We speak with Canadian producer and director Robert Lang about the effects of our obsession with this talisman of wealth and power on people from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Amazon and China.
New Senate to vote on cutting US support for Saudi war on Yemen
March 03, 2019 22:36 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBIn Dec 2018, intense lobbying succeeded in getting the US Senate to declare that US support for the Saudi-led war on Yemen was illegal, ushered in a fragile ceasefire. However, 16 million Yemenis are still on the brink of famine. Next week, the newly-elected US Senate will vote once again on the War Powers Resolution. We speak with Hassan El-Tayyab of Just Foreign Policy about the situation in Yemen and the importance of this second vote on the resolution.
BC Budget 2019: Positive investments but more ambitious action needed
March 01, 2019 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBA new, more generous child benefit for children under 18, investments in infrastructure, training and foster care but more ambitious action is still needed to help lift people out of poverty, provide housing and address the opioid crisis. We invited Iglika Ivanova back to take a look at what’s in the recent BC budget.
Skytrain to UBC not green, not affordable, not equitable
February 27, 2019 16:28 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBPatrick Condon argues that the proposed UBC extension to the Broadway subway line will blow the Lower Mainland’s transportation budget and fuel massive land speculation both on the university campus and all along the subway route. Patrick Condon is a former city planner and professor at UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.
City Beat: Municipal governments and BC Budget 2019
February 25, 2019 14:00 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBThe provincial government released its annual budget on Feb 19, with many implications for Lower Mainland municipalities. City Beat reporter Ian Mass brings us an overview of the potential effects for Metro Vancouver governments.
Benefits of CleanBC plan offset by emissions from LNG and fracked gas
February 25, 2019 00:00 - 12 minutes - 11.8 MBThe BC government is spending $900 million on its CleanBC plan while continuing to push ahead with a major LNG project in Kitimat which relies on fracked gas from northeast BC. Torrance Coste of the Wilderness Committee says that BC Budget 2019 simply isn’t taking the environmental crisis seriously enough.
City Beat: Vancouver and Burnaby city councils 100 days into their mandate
February 19, 2019 14:00 - 14 minutes - 12.9 MBTransit, housing, the overdose crisis and more - our City Beat reporter Ian Mass takes a close look at what the mayor and council have accomplished 100 days after the election in both Burnaby and Vancouver.
Five ways BC Budget 2019 could support a poverty reduction plan
February 17, 2019 23:43 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBAnti-poverty activists are looking for substantial new investments in BC Budget 2019 to ensure the success of BC’s first ever poverty reduction strategy, in the works for later this spring. We speak with economist Iglika Ivanova from the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. She has identified five ways Tuesday’s budget could pave the way for a comprehensive poverty reduction plan.
White nationalists in Canada don yellow vests, protest immigration policy
February 15, 2019 14:00 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MBWhile the gilet jaunes movement in France is fighting income inequality, and the high cost of living for the working class, protestors wearing yellow vests in Canada are more likely to espouse white supremacy and attack Canada’s immigration policy. Chuck Tanner is with the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights. We speak with him from Washington State.
New podcast forefronts the voices of drug users
February 14, 2019 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MBCrackdown is a new podcast that launched at the end of January. Its mission is to bring the perspectives of drug users to the discussion about how to end the overdose crisis that has claimed thousands of lives. Activist and musician Garth Mullins is host and executive producer of Crackdown.
New Westminster tenants win important protections from renovictions
February 12, 2019 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13 MBOn February 4, New Westminster city council passed a bylaw that will fine landlords who remove tenants from a building to renovate it only to significantly increase the rent on the suite once the renovations are complete. The bylaw is the first of its kind in British Columbia and a victory in the fight to preserve older rental buildings in the municipality. David Hendry is an organizer with the New Westminster Tenants Union. He tells us more about the new regulations.
Canada continues to violate rights of migrants by not supplying health care
February 11, 2019 14:00 - 10 minutes - 9.85 MBFeb 9 was the deadline for the Canadian government to respond to a UN Human Rights Committee ruling that Canada violated the rights of undocumented migrant Nell Toussaint by denying her essential health care. To mark Canada’s continued policy of denying health care based on status, migrant health care activists have organized a day of action on Tuesday, February 12. We speak with Omar Chu, a member of the Vancouver-based group, Sanctuary Health.
Hate crimes against Muslims on the rise in Canada
February 09, 2019 14:00 - 18 minutes - 17 MBThe third of three podcasts featuring speakers recorded at an event to commemorate the second anniversary of the death of six men at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City on January 29, 2017. Kashif Ahmed serves as the chair of the National Council of Canadian Muslims. He is a Vancouver-based lawyer who has a decade of experience in public and legislative advocacy and defending civil liberties. Kashif Ahmed speaks about the men who died in Quebec City and the rise of hate crimes in Canada.
Ideological history and current-day impacts of Islamophobia
February 07, 2019 14:00 - 18 minutes - 16.6 MBThe second of a series of three talks on Islamophobia, recorded January 28 2019, at an event to commemorate the massacre of six Muslim men at a Quebec City mosque two years ago. The second speaker is Itrath Sayed, a PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University. Itrath Sayed is a long-time community activist who has engaged issues of gender equality and Islamophobia both within and outside the Muslim community.
Islamophobia Hotline provides legal support for Muslims facing discrimination
February 06, 2019 01:36 - 8 minutes - 8.18 MBThe Islamophobia Hotline was set up in 2016 to provide free confidential legal assistance to people who are discriminated against for being Muslim or perceived to be Muslim. Hotline organizers brought together a community panel to commemorate the second anniversary of the death of six men at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City on January 29, 2017. Hasan Alam is one of the founders of the Islamophobia Hotline and moderator for the evening.
Punitive US sanctions behind collapse of Venezuelan economy
February 04, 2019 01:37 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBThis week the US announced that it would freeze Venezuelan assets and block payments for Venezuelan oil imports. The loss of the US market is a major blow to Venezuela’s oil income. These sanctions are just the latest in a long line of penalties imposed on Venezuela in order to destabilize the government. Joe Emersberger is a writer for Znet who has been following the situation in Venezuela closely.
Media analysis of and gas oil industry's influence within public institutions
January 31, 2019 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBIn 2015, over 70 news articles were published in both corporate and public media about the nature of Enbridge Inc’s funding partnership with the University of Calgary. UBC graduate student Kevin McCartney and UVic sociology prof Garry Gray produced this analysis as part of the Corporate Mapping Project, which investigates corporate power within the fossil fuel industry. Their paper, Big Oil U, has just been published in the Canadian Journal of Sociology.
Greta Thunberg inspires Canadian high school students to strike for a future
January 28, 2019 16:43 - 11 minutes - 10.4 MBA group of teenagers in the Lower Mainland went along to Vancouver City Hall in the middle of January to support a motion to declare a climate emergency. Rebecca Hamilton is with the climate action group Sustainabiliteens. She is one of a growing number of high school students in Canada who go on strike from school once a month. She talks with us about how Greta Thunberg’s actions inspired her and what she hopes her actions will achieve.
Urgent need for fully-funded community health centres in BC
January 25, 2019 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.5 MBCommunity health centres use an interdisciplinary, team-based approach to provide health-related services that allow patients to access care from a range of medical professionals. These centres are particularly successful at addressing the causes of illness upstream. Last November, the BC NDP made a commitment to fully-fund 20 new community health centres in BC. So far, that funding has not come on stream. Colleen Fuller is on the board of the BC Association of Community Health Centres.
UN Declaration upholds legitimacy of hereditary chiefs at the Unist'ot'en camp
January 24, 2019 01:32 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBOn January 7, the RCMP forcibly broke up a checkpoint on the road leading to the Unist’ot’en camp near Houston following an injunction sought by Coastal GasLink. The camp and the checkpoint had been set up to protect the territory from further oil and gas development. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which has been supported by both the provincial and federal government, has several articles that support the actions of the hereditary chiefs on their territories. We spea...
Human rights activists face life imprisonment for stopping deportation flight in UK
January 19, 2019 18:00 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBTwo years ago, a group of activists blocked a chartered flight from leaving Stansted airport near London. On the flight were 60 people being deported to Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. Last month, the Stansted 15, as they are known, were found guilty of endangering the safety of an aerodrome, a verdict that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. We speak with Mel Evans, one of the Stansted 15. Update: On Feb 6, all of the Stansted 15 walked free from court. Twelve were sentenced t...
Activist theatre group leads “stolen goods” tour of British Museum in London
January 19, 2019 00:57 - 12 minutes - 11.2 MBIn December, the theatre group BP or Not BP hosted a tour of the British Museum to highlight the appropriation of cultural artifacts from around the world, and to draw attention to the oil company BP and its sponsorship of the museum. We speak with Julia and Bo, two members of the group.
Yellow vest protests a response to deepening austerity policies in France
January 17, 2019 04:51 - 15 minutes - 13.9 MBThe yellow vest protests began last November following yet another rise in the tax on gasoline. But they have continued for more than two months in response to President Macron’s austerity measures that include an attack on the French health care system and a disconnect between Paris and the rest of the country. Diana Johnstone is a Paris-based author and a regular contributor to Counterpunch.
Quebec youth bring class action suit over Canadian government inaction on climate change
January 15, 2019 16:49 - 13 minutes - 12.1 MBAn environmental organization in Quebec has applied to bring a class action suit on behalf of the province’s young people against the government of Canada. The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the government’s lack of action on climate change infringes on the rights of youth. The application is filed by ENvironnement JEUnesse. We speak with their executive director Catherine Gauthier, the plaintiff named in the class action suit.
City Beat: Councillor Jean Swanson makes a pitch for low-income transit fare
January 14, 2019 16:48 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBThe lack of accessible and affordable transportation makes it harder for low-income adults to find and keep jobs, get to medical appointments and stay connected with friends. It also puts an unnecessary burden on families, who have to pay for children and youth to use transit. Jean Swanson’s motion for a low-income transit rate is one of the topics Ian Mass talks about in this episode of City Beat, our regular report on municipal affairs.
British media accused of manufacturing anti-Semitism charges against Corbyn
January 12, 2019 17:12 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBSince becoming leader of the British Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn has been under almost constant attack by the media. After coming close to winning the general election in 2017, Corbyn and the Labour Party have been under renewed attack over charges of anti-Semitism. We speak with Justin Schlosberg, senior lecturer in journalism and media at the University of London and co-author of a new report, Labour, Anti-Semitism and the News: A Disinformation Paradigm.
Maple Ridge seeks court order to dismantle wooden cabins at Anita Place
January 09, 2019 14:00 - 17 minutes - 15.7 MBAbout 90 homeless people set up the Anita Place tent city in May 2017. The camp has been running for nearly two years despite fierce opposition from the council and residents of Maple Ridge, a city in the northeast section of Greater Vancouver. Now the city is going to court to seek an order to dismantle wooden structures on the grounds that they violate fire safety regulations. Ivan Drury is with the Alliance Against Displacement and a long-time supporter of Anita Place tent city.
Vancouver tenants win important protections from renovictions
January 07, 2019 14:00 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBVancouver renters celebrated a major victory on December 4 when key parts of a motion to protect tenants from renovictions passed unanimously at city council. Derrick O’Keefe joins us to discuss the overall picture for renters in Vancouver and other municipalities following the recent recommendations of the BC Rental Housing Task Force. Derrick O’Keefe ran for COPE along with Pat Roberts and Jean Swanson in the recent municipal election. Jean Swanson was elected and brought the renoviction mo...
New book challenges widely-held belief that Canada is a force for good in the world
January 05, 2019 14:00 - 52 minutes - 48.1 MBYves Engler challenges us to look at why so many Canadians believe that Canada’s contribution to international affairs is overwhelmingly positive. He tackles the nationalism of traditional Left parties like the NDP and the CCF, and asks why Canadian unions largely ignore international affairs. Yves Engler’s new book is titled Left, Right: Marching to the Beat of Imperial Canada.
A roadmap for transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy
January 03, 2019 14:00 - 30 minutes - 28.1 MBMark Jacobson is professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University. The focus of his research is how to transition our homes, businesses and cities to 100% clean renewable energy. Mark Jacobson was in Vancouver this past fall to give the 2018 Gideon Rosenbluth Memorial Lecture. In this podcast, we present some excerpts from his talk.
Desmond Cole on carding, white supremacy and the Black Test
January 01, 2019 14:00 - 52 minutes - 47.6 MBDesmond Cole is an activist and journalist based in Toronto. In a feature article for Toronto Life magazine several years ago, he shared his experiencing of carding, saying he’s been stopped by police over 50 times. Last month, he was in Vancouver to speak at the annual fundraising gala of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Less than 24 hours after he arrived in Vancouver, he was carded by Vancouver police. In his keynote address at the gala, Desmond Cole talks about the connection ...
Viola Desmond: Her Life and Times
December 31, 2018 00:33 - 27 minutes - 24.7 MBIn November, the Bank of Canada introduced a new $10 bill featuring the image of Viola Desmond. Viola Desmond has often been compared to Rosa Parks, the U.S. civil rights activist. But Viola Desmond’s act of defiance in a New Glasgow movie theatre in 1946 is just one aspect of a remarkable life as a businesswoman in Nova Scotia. Wanda Robson is Viola Desmond’s sister; Graham Reynolds is professor emeritus and the Viola Desmond Chair in Social Justice at Cape Breton University. Together, they ...
Dissident Doctor: Catching Babies and Challenging the Medical Status Quo
December 27, 2018 14:00 - 22 minutes - 20.2 MBDr. Michael Klein played a vital role in placing maternity care at the heart of family medicine. He advocated for family-friendly birth practices, the re-introduction of midwifery and the elimination of routine intrusive interventions like episiotomy. These professional themes are central to Dr. Klein’s first book, but Dissident Doctor is also a personal memoir of a man who was born to left-wing parents in the McCarthy era, moved to Canada during the Vietnam War, and cared for his wife, filmm...
Teck Resources seeks approval for largest tar sands mine in history
December 26, 2018 20:24 - 11 minutes - 10.5 MBIn mid-December, hearings wrapped up for a mine that is not only bigger than any other tar sands project, but also uses the older of two possible extraction technologies. The Joint Review Panel is expected to approve the mine in the upcoming months. However, Bronwen Tucker of the Council of Canadians thinks there is still hope to stop the project. She explains why.
Mining-affected communities still waiting for Canadian ombudsperson
December 20, 2018 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBEarlier this year, Canada committed to creating an ombudsperson for responsible enterprise. Eleven months later, communities affected by the harms of Canadian mining, particularly in Guatemala and Papua New Guinea, are asking where the new ombudsperson is. So far, no-one has been appointed. We speak with Catherine Coumins, research coordinator and Asia-Pacific program coordinator at MiningWatch Canada.
Roadmap to ensure that BC legislation respects Indigenous rights
December 19, 2018 01:15 - 19 minutes - 18 MBTwo weeks ago, the First Nations Leadership Council and the BC government announced they will develop new legislation to implement the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Just two days earlier, a ground-breaking new report was released that spells out what implementation of the UN declaration could look like in BC. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives spent a year and a half on the report, titled True, Lasting Reconciliation. We speak w...
Major port expansion threatens critical ecosystem for migratory birds
December 16, 2018 22:58 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBVancouver Fraser Port Authority is going ahead with plans to build to add a second major container terminal on Roberts Bank, threatening one of the most important ecosystems on the Pacific coast. Roger Emsley says there is no justification for a new terminal of this size in the Lower Mainland. Roger Emsley is executive director of Against Port Expansion and a member of the Boundary Bay Conservation Committee.
City Beat: Vancouver council debates protecting tenants from renovictions
December 14, 2018 14:00 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBMetro Vancouver city councils are setting their agendas for the next four years. Our City Beat reporter, Ian Mass, brings us details about a poverty reduction plan coming before Vancouver City Council, Jean Swanson’s motion to protect tenants from renovictions and other issues being debated in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and Surrey.
Canadian farmers may be forced to pay royalties to save and reuse seed
December 13, 2018 14:15 - 15 minutes - 14.3 MBAgriculture Canada recently launched consultations on a model that would make the ancient practice of freely saving and reusing seed illegal. The proposed royalty scheme would force farmers to pay millions of dollars to seed companies every year and make the ancient practice of freely saving and reusing seed illegal. We speak with Ian Robson. Manitoba regional coordinator for the National Farmers Union.