Redeye
930 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsA progressive take on current events. Produced by an independent media collective at Vancouver Cooperative Radio.
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Episodes
House passes motion recognizing residential school system as genocide
December 13, 2022 00:29 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBWhen the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was presented in Parliament in June 2015, the Commission said the residential school system was a form of cultural genocide. The Canadian government did not take that recognition any further. However, on October 27 this year, a motion calling on the government to recognize Canada's Indian residential schools as genocide passed unanimously in the House of Commons. We speak with Leah Gazan, NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, who introdu...
Canadian Blood Services sign deal to privatize plasma collection
December 09, 2022 14:00 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MBCanadian Blood Services has signed a 15-year deal with a for-profit plasma corporation to privatize plasma collection in Canada. BloodWatch says the paid plasma scheme goes against recommendations from the Krever Commission and would negatively affect voluntary collection efforts. We speak with Dr. Michèle Brill-Edwards, a former senior Health Canada regulator and whistle-blower on drug and blood safety. Dr. Brill-Edwards is a long-time board member of the Canadian Health Coalition.
They Sigh or They Give You the Look: Discrimination and Status Card Usage
December 07, 2022 14:00 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBPeople with Indian Status cards face stigma and discrimination on a daily basis when they show their cards at stores or to officials, according to a landmark study commissioned by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. The report is titled They Sigh or They Give You the Look: Discrimination and Status Card Usage. We speak with Harmony Johnson, sɛƛakəs, from the Tla’amin Nation, who is the lead author of the report.
City Beat: Budget, police body cameras, fast-track for non-market housing
December 05, 2022 21:26 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBIan Mass joins us with his City Beat report, looking ahead to the 2023 budget discussion as council tries to square a 4% increase in the cost of policing with just a 5% increase in property taxes. He also talks about the Vancouver School Board vote on bringing back cops in schools, a motion to fast-track non-market housing and a plan to make Vancouver a more age-friendly city.
Canadian government considers bill to allow consumers the 'right to repair'
December 02, 2022 14:00 - 15 minutes - 13.8 MBFor far too long, manufacturing giants have exploited Canadian consumers by making their products increasingly expensive and challenging to repair through restrictive warranties, software locks, and restrictions on access to spare parts and manuals, forcing people to replace their products more often. Now there’s a private member’s bill before Parliament to give consumers the ‘right to repair’. We talk about the issue and the bill with Matt Hatfield of Open Media.
Massive port expansion in Delta threatens biodiversity in region
November 30, 2022 14:00 - 12 minutes - 11.4 MBRoger Emsley has been watching and commenting on a Vancouver Port Authority proposal to expand the Roberts Bank coal and container terminal since 2013. Finally, after almost 10 years, the public may have the answer next month. Roger Emsley joins me to talk about the major threats to biodiversity that the project represents and the pending announcement.
Jim Stanford says, Pick your poison: inflation, recession…or both
November 27, 2022 14:00 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBJim Stanford is Director of the Centre for Future Work and is one of Canada’s best-known economic commentators. The webinar “Pick your poison: inflation, recession…or both” was organized by The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Stanford breaks down the factors that have led to current inflationary crisis and how the Bank of Canada is risking an avoidable and painful recession by just raising interest rates and not looking at the factors that got us here. We bring you his presentation i...
BC needs to step up its game and protect species at risk
November 24, 2022 14:00 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MBThe UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal – COP 15 – starts in December. Countries from around the world are expected to agree on a biodiversity framework. The federal government has called on the provinces and territories to help meet the key goal of the biodiversity conference: to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030 and achieve its full recovery by 2050. However, a new independent audit by biologist Jared Hobbs highlights huge legal gaps driving species extinction in B.C. We speak ...
Living wage calculation reveals big spike in cost of living in BC
November 22, 2022 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MBThe Living Wage is the hourly rate that a family of four needs to live modestly in BC. It has been calculated every year since 2008. This year’s report was released two days ago and it shows that, for the first time in a decade and a half, the living wage has significantly increased, driven by a spike in the cost of food and shelter. The rate was calculated in 22 communities across BC this year. We talk with Anastasia French, Provincial Manager of Living Wage for Families BC.
Quebec senator aims to stop Canadian banks funding fossil fuels
November 20, 2022 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.7 MBIn March of this year, Québec senator Rosa Galvez tabled Bill S-243, the Climate Aligned Finance Act. Her bill aims to hold governments and financial institutions to account for their actions, and halt the widespread financial backing of fossil fuels. We speak about the bill with Bruce Campbell, Senior Fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University's Centre for Free Expression.
BC government has enough money to solve many of the challenges ahead
November 18, 2022 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.8 MBDespite dire predictions that the pandemic would be a big blow to provincial finances, most provinces have enough funds to pay for the important programs and investments that Canadians need, according to a recent report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives national office. Here in BC, the extent of the province’s fiscal and economic latitude goes well beyond what is discussed in the national report. We speak with economist Alex Hemingway.
End of random police stops in Quebec a victory against racial profiling
November 16, 2022 14:00 - 14 minutes - 13.2 MBThe Superior Court of Quebec has issued a landmark decision, finding that police roadside interceptions are often based on skin colour rather than on road safety objectives. Judge Michel Yergeau ruled that the law allowing for such arbitrary detention can no longer stand. The case was brought by Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a 22 year old black Montrealer, who told the court he prepares to pull over whenever he sees a police cruiser. We speak with Laura Berger, staff lawyer with the Canadian Civ...
Report on overdose crisis “another disappointment” for people who use drugs
November 14, 2022 14:00 - 15 minutes - 14.5 MBOn November 1st, a provincial committee released their report on the toxic drug supply and overdose crisis. The report contains 37 recommendations looking at everything from BC's proposed decriminalization to treatment beds. In response, nearly 60 organizations and individuals released an open letter saying the report obscures the issue of a poisoned drug supply, and recommends nothing outside of the status quo. We speak with Caitlin Shane of Pivot Legal.
City Beat: Anti-Semitism, Chinatown, cops, nurses and more
November 12, 2022 21:10 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBCity Beat reporter Ian Mass joins us to talk about the new Vancouver City Council’s first meeting. This includes a motion to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, Chinatown, street nurses and police, who appear to want to champion social service reform in the DTES all by themselves.
Trans Mountain's full financial picture hidden from Canadians
November 10, 2022 14:00 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBIn February this year, the estimated cost of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project jumped by more than 70%. When the Trans Mountain Corporation announced the increase back in February, we were told that the government would spend no additional public money on the project. A new report by independent economist Robyn Allan says this is not the case, and that the federal government is hiding the real situation from Canadians. We speak with Eugene Kung, staff lawyer with West Coast Envir...
City Beat: Vancouver council to discuss IHRA definition of anti-Semitism
November 08, 2022 14:00 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MBOne of the first pieces of business the new Vancouver City Council will deal with is a motion from newly re-elected Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung asking council to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism and the definition’s list of examples. City Beat reporter Ian Mass joins me to talk about that motion and other plans coming from this new city council.
Ford government uses notwithstanding clause to deny workers rights
November 06, 2022 22:15 - 16 minutes - 15.4 MBThousands of Ontario education workers hit picket lines on Nov 4 after the Ford government passed Bill 28, using the notwithstanding clause to deny workers the right to strike and imposing a contract on 55,000 CUPE members. We speak with Ryan Kelpin, PhD candidate in the Department of Politics at York University and research associate at the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies.
The Future Is Degrowth: A Guide to a World beyond Capitalism
November 03, 2022 13:00 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MBIn April 2020, a group of academics in the Netherlands wrote a manifesto for a post-pandemic recovery. It proposed an approach to building economies where green and socially valuable sectors were promoted, and harmful industries like oil and gas, and even advertising, were demoted. This fledgling movement is called Degrowth. Now a new book helps bring the ideas of degrowth out for discussion. The book is The Future Is Degrowth: A Guide to a World beyond Capitalism. We speak with one of the bo...
Cubans vote in favour of full equality for LGBTQ+ people
November 01, 2022 13:00 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBIn September, Cuban citizens at home and abroad cast their ballots in a referendum on the country’s new Families Code. The Code passed by 67%, expanding legal rights for women, children and LGBTQ+ people. The new code has been described as one of the most progressive piece of social policy in the world. Owen Schalk is a writer based in Winnipeg. He was in Cuba this spring and he joins today to talk about the new Families Code.
Vancouver moves forward with UNDRIP strategy
October 30, 2022 13:00 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBThis week Vancouver City Council considered the final report of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Task Force. The report was developed in a partnership with Musqueam Indian Band, Squamish Nation, and Tsleil-Waututh Nation and the City of Vancouver. The task force states that the calls to action are the first of their kind in Canada and will lead to Vancouver becoming both a national and world leader in implementing a clear strategy towards UNDRIP and reconcil...
Kinuavit? What's Your Name?
October 28, 2022 13:00 - 16 minutes - 15.3 MBIn 2001, Dr. Norma Dunning applied to the Nunavut Beneficiary program, seeking legal recognition of her status as an Inuk woman. In the application process, she was faced with a question she could not answer, "What was your disc number?” Her new book Kinauvit: What’s Your Name is the result of two decades of research into the Eskimo Identification System and its impact on Inuit lives. It’s also a personal account of her search for her grandmother. We speak with Dr. Norma Dunning.
Unveiling the Chilly Climate: The Suppression of Speech on Palestine
October 25, 2022 13:00 - 20 minutes - 18.7 MBA new report by Independent Jewish Voices documents in detail the reprisals, harassment and intimidation faced by Canadians who engage in scholarship and activism in the area of Palestinian human rights. The report discusses how this chilling effect blunts and shapes the discourse around Palestinian rights and criticism of Israeli policy. We speak with report co-author, Sheryl Nestel.
City Beat: A roundup of election results from around the Lower Mainland
October 23, 2022 13:00 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBMunicipal elections on October 15 changed the political landscape all over the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. Redeye collective member Ian Mass joins us with his City Beat report to talk about the surprises and some of the challenges facing these new municipal governments.
How growth through the care economy can benefit people and the climate
October 21, 2022 13:00 - 27 minutes - 24.8 MBOn September 14, Marjorie Griffin Cohen gave the 2022 Gideon Rosenbluth Memorial Lecture at an event organized by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC office. Her talk was titled Handle With Care: Growth through the care economy benefits people and the climate. In it, she looks at the blind spots in economic thinking that devalue the care economy and in doing so, miss opportunities for expanding the economy in a way that meets people’s needs and address the climate crisis.
UK firm claims using BC wood pellets to generate electricity is green
October 18, 2022 13:00 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBA massive electricity plant in Northeast England that has transitioned from coal to wood pellets claims it is creating green energy. But a protest movement in the UK, and environmentalists in BC say this is greenwashing. Now an investigation team has revealed that DRAX intends to supplement its use of wood waste and sawdust with whole trees, logged in primary forests. We speak with Ben Parfitt of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
Urgent need for ban on use of facial recognition technology by police
October 16, 2022 13:00 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBOn October 4, a parliamentary committee released a new report on facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence. The committee stopped short of recommending a ban on the use of facial recognition technology by police, a move that the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group says is critical to prevent mass surveillance of Canadians. We speak with Tim McSorley, national coordinator for ICLMG.
Gentrification Is Inevitable, And Other Lies
October 14, 2022 13:00 - 14 minutes - 13.3 MBOf all of the processes that are reshaping cities today, gentrification is probably one of the most misunderstood. In her new book, Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies, Leslie Kern addresses seven of the myths about gentrification and exposes the ideologies that make it seem like a natural and desirable process. Leslie Kern is associate professor of geography and environment and women's and gender studies at Mount Allison University, in Sackville, New Brunswick. She joins us to talk a...
Criminal charges against group recruiting for Israeli military
October 12, 2022 13:00 - 11 minutes - 10.9 MBTwo years ago the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute and others started a campaign to oppose Israeli military recruitment in Canada. A parliamentary petition calling on the Minister of Justice to investigate this recruitment got more than 7500 signatures but died on the order paper. In response to a follow-up petition, the Liberal government last month reiterated the illegality of foreign recruitment but declined to take action. This has prompted two individuals to initiate a private prosecuti...
Coastal Gaslink drilling despite lack of consent from Wet'suwet'en
October 10, 2022 23:43 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MBCoastal Gaslink is poised to drill under Wedzin Kwa – The Morice River on the territory of the Wet’suwet’en. Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and their allies have fought back for years against developments that threaten their land and waters. At this critical time, they are calling for solidarity and support. We speak with Jennifer Wickham.
City Beat: 2 mayoral debates in Vancouver, 4 races in Lower Mainland
October 09, 2022 19:52 - 23 minutes - 21.1 MBIn his City Beat report, Ian Mass covers the municipal races in the four Lower Mainland cities that could elect progressive councils: Surrey, Burnaby, New Westminster and Vancouver. He also attended two mayoral debates in Vancouver, one on Chinatown and one on housing and real estate issues.
BC government subsidizing for-profit medical clinics with public dollars
October 07, 2022 13:00 - 18 minutes - 16.5 MBPrivate surgeries and medical imaging are big business in BC. A new report says that government policies have created a market for these clinics by signing contracts with them to deliver publicly funded services worth almost 400 million dollars over 6 years. Health policy researcher Andrew Longhurst says the provincial government needs to stop subsidizing for-profit clinics and wean BC off its growing reliance on corporate health-care delivery. We speak with Andrew Longhurst.
Tsqelmucwilc: The Kamloops Indian Residential School - Resistance and A Reckoning
October 05, 2022 13:00 - 22 minutes - 20.7 MBTsqelmucwilc is the story of the children who survived the Kamloops Indian Residential School. It is based on the 1988 book Resistance and Renewal, a groundbreaking history of the school - and the first book on residential schools ever published in Canada. The new book has contributions by Garry Gottfriedson, Randy Fred and the KIRS Survivors. We speak with author Celia Haig-Brown.
Municipalities encouraged to do more to support children and youth
October 04, 2022 21:18 - 15 minutes - 14.1 MBAn organization that advocates for BC’s children and youth says municipal governments need to take more responsibility for supporting the youngest residents of their cities. To this end, First Call has developed a toolkit for voters wanting for raise issues in the upcoming municipal elections taking place across British Columbia on October 15. We speak with Adrienne Montani, executive director of First Call.
Canada ignores its own foreign policy experts in UN votes on Palestine
September 30, 2022 13:00 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBIn 2019, the Canadian government voted in favour of a resolution on Palestinian self-determination at the United Nations General Assembly. This was a reversal of its vote for the previous 8 years. Despite this symbolic shift, Canada has continued to vote against almost every other resolution which aims to support Palestinian human rights. A report published by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East reveals a stark disjuncture between Canada’s overall stance on Israel and the advi...
New NFB doc Unarchived reveals what is erased from official records
September 28, 2022 13:00 - 21 minutes - 20 MBIn the new feature film Unarchived, co-directors Hayley Gray and Elad Tzadok highlight community archives across British Columbia. Their film reveals just some of what has been erased from the official record and challenges larger institutions to re-examine narratives that don’t reflect the totality of our shared experience. Unarchived has its world premiere Sept 30 at VIFF. We speak with Hayley Gray and Elad Tzadok.
City Beat: A guide to the parties and issues in the 2022 Vancouver election
September 26, 2022 13:00 - 18 minutes - 17.1 MBVancouver municipal voters will go to the polls on October 15. Electors will have to sort through 137 candidates to decide who the mayor will be, as well as city councillors, school trustees and park commissioners. To break it down a bit for us, we talk with Redeye collective member Ian Mass with his City Beat report.
Hot Pink Paper Campaign identifies key policy asks in municipal election
September 25, 2022 13:00 - 11 minutes - 10.1 MBIn the lead-up to Vancouver’s upcoming municipal election on October 15, Women Transforming Cities has launched the Hot Pink Paper Campaign with eight policy asks for candidates in the election. These policy asks are based on months of community input from women, gender-diverse residents, and front-line organizations. Campaign lead Mahtab Laghaei joins us to talk about what they want to see candidates support.
Chilean-Canadian author Carmen Rodriguez on her 2021 book, Atacama (encore)
September 21, 2022 13:00 - 20 minutes - 19.1 MBCarmen Rodriguez is an internationally acclaimed Chilean-Canadian author, educator and journalist. Her 2021 novel, Atacama, is set against the backdrop of Chile in the first half of the twentieth century and Europe during the Spanish Civil War. It is both a sweeping historical novel and gripping tale of personal drama. Carmen Rodriguez joined us in November last year to talk about the book.
Vancouver choir director Earle Peach shares his passion for writing songs (encore)
September 14, 2022 13:00 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MBEarle Peach is the director of three Vancouver-based choral groups including the High and Lows Choir and Solidarity Notes Labour Choir. He also plays a bunch of instruments and performs with musical groups. In his 2021 book, Questions to the Moon, Peach says songwriting is his strongest self-identification. The book is a collection of stories and lyrics, published by Lazara Press.
New research institute studies the 200 years of slavery in Canada (encore)
September 07, 2022 13:00 - 17 minutes - 16.4 MBIn June 2021, NSCAD University in Halifax announced that it was going to set up an institute to study Canadian slavery. The initiative was spearheaded by Dr. Charmaine Nelson, the first Black tenured professor of art history in Canada. The Institute for the Study of Canadian Slavery will be a hub for the study of the art, visual cultures, and histories of Canadian slavery and its legacies. We talked with Dr. Charmaine Nelson last year.
The Water Defenders tells remarkable story behind El Salvador's ban on metal mining (encore)
August 30, 2022 13:00 - 19 minutes - 17.4 MBIn 2017, El Salvador became the first country in the world to pass a comprehensive law banning on metals mining nationwide. The vote was the result of a 12-year struggle by small farmers and their allies to protect the waters of the Lempa River from the impact of gold mining. Robin Broad and John Cavanagh tell this incredible story in their 2021 book The Water Defenders: How Ordinary People Saved A Country From Corporate Greed. We spoke with John Cavanagh shortly after the book was published.
New book argues for radical transformation of Canadian history in schools (encore)
August 24, 2022 13:00 - 19 minutes - 17.7 MBCanadian history, as many of us learned it in high school, leaves out or distorts the histories of many Canadians who do not fit into the prescribed narrative of this country. Students are often left questioning how they can study a past that does not reflect their present. The book “Transforming the Canadian History Classroom: Imagining a New "We", calls for an approach that places students at the centre of the history classroom. We spoke with author Dr. Samantha Cutrara in February 2021.
English country mansions, colonialism and historic slavery (encore)
August 17, 2022 13:00 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBThe National Trust manages historic properties and areas of countryside in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In September 2020, the Trust commissioned a report on connections between their properties and colonialism, including links with historic slavery. The report attracted the attention of a group of Conservative MPs who attempted to discredit the work of the historians who produced it. In January 2021, we spoke with Professor Corinne Fowler of the University of Leicester about the work...
Primary Obsessions: A mystery novel by Charles Demers (encore)
August 10, 2022 13:00 - 26 minutes - 23.8 MBA 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.
A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency (encore)
August 04, 2022 13:00 - 29 minutes - 27.2 MBIt’s 2022, 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. In a conversation recorded in 2020, we speak with Seth Klein about how wartime thinking and community efforts can be repurposed for Canada’s own Green New Deal.
Cheryl Foggo on her documentary film about legendary Black cowboy John Ware (encore)
July 26, 2022 13:00 - 20 minutes - 18.4 MBJohn 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 NFB documentary that showed at the Calgary and Vancouver International Film Festival in September 2020.
Digital book shares the teachings of Tla'amin elder Elsie Paul (encore)
July 19, 2022 13:00 - 28 minutes - 25.8 MBBorn in 1931, Tla’amin elder Elsie Paul was raised by her grandparents on their ancestral territory just north of Powell River on the Sunshine Coast of BC. As her adult life unfolded against a backdrop of colonialism, she drew strength from the teachings she had learned. She now passes on those teachings to all who visit a new interactive book published by Ravenspace. We talk with one of the co-creators of the book, Elsie Paul’s grandson, Davis McKenzie in July 2020. The book is still availab...
Racism and the Black body (encore)
July 12, 2022 13:00 - 26 minutes - 24.2 MBWhen sociologist Ingrid Waldron started teaching in the School of Nursing at Dalhousie, she says she got a lot of pushback from White student nurses who didn’t understand what race had to do with health. In this wide-ranging conversation recorded in July 2020, Waldron examines the connections between the social determinants of health, environmental racism and police violence.
Singer songwriter Eliza Gilkyson on her album 2020 (encore)
July 06, 2022 13:00 - 27 minutes - 25.1 MBEliza Gilkyson describes her album "2020" as a collection of sing-alongs, diatribes, marching songs and love letters to the Earth. We caught up with her in May 2020 at her home in Austin, Texas for an extended conversation about politics, music and the significance of the year 2020 in the United States.
Women gain full equality under Indian Act after 143 years of discrimination (encore)
July 01, 2022 13:00 - 20 minutes - 18.8 MBSharon McIvor’s grandmother was a member of the Lower Nicola Band who married a non-Indigenous man. Under Canada’s Indian Act, status was decided on the basis of male lineage and so their daughter was ineligible for registration as an Indian. Sharon McIvor launched a landmark case to gain equality and won a sweeping legal victory in 2007. The Canadian government continued to drag its feet. Sharon McIvor took the case to the United Nations in 2011. Canada finally ended sex-based discrimination...