This week on rabble radio, rabble editor Nick Seebruch speaks with Dr. Yipeng Ge, one of over 4,000 people from around the world who joined the Global March to Gaza. The Global March to Gaza attempted to reach the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Palestine, aiming to draw global attention to the blockade of Gaza and call for an end to the siege.

You can read Dr. Yipeng Ge’s full reflections on the march in his op-ed for rabble—available now on our website. 

Dr. Yipeng Ge is a primary care physician and public health practitioner based on the traditional, unceded, and unsurrendered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg. In his clinical practice, he works in family medicine practice and refugee health at a community health centre. He has worked on and studied the structural and colonial determinants of health in both the settler colonial contexts of so-called Canada and occupied Palestine. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

Labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Leo DeVries from Science for the People to discuss Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to boost defence spending to five per cent of Canada’s GDP over the next decade.

What will this mean for workers? For the economy? 

And more broadly, what does it signal about Canada’s priorities—especially when it comes to fighting the climate crisis and honouring Indigenous rights? Can massive military investment coexist with those commitments, or are they fundamentally at odds?

Leo DeVries is a math graduate student and an organizer with Science for the People: Ottawa. 

Science for the People is an organization of scientists, workers, educators, and activists dedicated to building a bottom-up social movement with radical perspectives on science and society. 

Through research, writing, protest, and grassroots organizing, Science for the People seeks to demystify scientific knowledge and embolden “the people” to take science and technology into their own hands. The organization's numerous publications play a formative role in the field of science and technology studies, challenging mainstream understandings of science as “neutral” and instead showing it to be inherently political.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

On April 26, a violent attack took place at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in Vancouver — an event meant to honour Filipino heritage and community. At least 11 people were killed, and many others injured. In the days since, members of the Filipino community in Canada and their allies have been coming together to grieve, reflect, and support one another through this difficult time.

This week on rabble radio, labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga spoke with Zuha Zubair from Migrante Ottawa to reflect on the recent Lapu Lapu Day tragedy in Vancouver, and to shed light on the often-overlooked struggles faced by Filipino migrants in Canada.

Zuha Zubair is a Filipino and a community organizer with Migrante Ottawa, a chapter of an international migrants organization fighting for national liberation and genuine democracy in the Philippines. Zubair was born in the Maldives to parents who were overseas Filipino workers, known as OFWs. She came to Canada in 2019 as an international student and is currently pursuing a masters’ degree in anthropology. Zubair’s research focuses on overseas Filipino workers and the political connections they have to the Philippines.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

This week on rabble radio, we share a segment from our most recent episode of the Courage My Friends podcast series, hosted on Needs No Introduction. 

In this episode of Courage My Friends, podcast series, host Resh Budhu sits down with Ana Guerra Marin and Dara Wawaite-Chabot of Iron & Earth. The three discuss what a just transition can look like for those working and living in Canada’s oil patch and for Indigenous communities.

About our guests 

Ana Guerra Marin, communities director and just transition lead, started her career in Colombia, listening to and empowering oil, gas and mining workers at various work sites through forming partnerships and understanding worker issues. As Marin delved into the extractive industries, she became more aware of how important it is to address the environmental and socio-economic impacts she was witnessing, and how urgent it is to create long-lasting solutions rooted in community-based initiatives that focus on the most vulnerable persons. 

This started a 15-year career focused on helping communities achieve self-determination through social and environmental justice in Latin America and Canada. As a white, cisgender, immigrant woman with invisible disabilities, Marin recognizes her position in the world and challenges societal ideas by creating transformative change through a praxis informed by intersectional and Black feminism, womanism, critical race theory, Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, decolonization, and critical consciousness.

Dara Wawaite-Chabot, Indigenous lead researcher, is a single parent who studies political science full-time at the University of Ottawa and works part-time for Iron & Earth. They support their small family by creating art and working remote contracts fighting for environmental justice in so-called Canada.

The Courage My Friends podcast series is presented by rabble.ca and the Tommy Douglas Institute, with the support of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation.

If you’d like to hear more from the Courage My Friends podcast, please subscribe to Needs No Introduction – a podcast by rabble which presents a series of speeches and lectures from the finest minds of our time. Available on rabble.ca, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and more. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, Stephen Wentzell sits down with Red Buffalo Nova, an Ojibwe Two-Spirit, transgender artist, filmmaker, and storyteller to talk about how their multi-layered Indigenous identity informs their creative and professional work.  

About Red Buffalo Nova Weipert

Red Buffalo Nova Weipert (he/him/they/them) is an Anishinaabe Ojibwe, Two-Spirit and transgender interdisciplinary artist, writer, director, educator and storyteller. Nova is a proud enrolled member of the Pinaymootang First Nation located in Treaty 2 territory, and is a recent graduate of the Master of Fine Arts program at Emily Carr University of Art + Design. 

They are a long time collaborator, producer and video mentor with Access to Media Education Society (AMES) and their work has screened at festivals such as imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (2021) and Vancouver Queer Film Festival (2022). 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was ‘Off the Hill: Truth before reconciliation.’

This month, our Off the Hill panel was informed by National Indigenous People’s Day. From coast to coast to coast, Canadians want to see reconciliation – but are they willing to hear the truth first?

Our June panel dissected this question and more. Special guests this month included: Joan Phillip, Melanie Mark and Rachel Snow. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. 

About our guests

Robin Browne is Off the Hill’s co-host. Robin is a communications professional and founder of the 613-819 Black Hub, living in Ottawa. His blog is The “True” North.

Libby Davies is Off the Hill's co-host and author of Outside In: a Political Memoir. She served as the MP for Vancouver East from 1997-2015, and is former NDP Deputy Leader and House Leader.

Joan Phillip is a respected community leader and Indigenous Elder who has dedicated her life to fighting for social justice, human rights, and climate action. Her work experience includes youth counsellor at Britannia School, program director at the Aboriginal Friendship Centre, and lands manager for the Penticton Indian Band.

Melanie Mark served as the MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant from 2016 to 2023. Mark is the first First Nations woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and the first First Nations woman to serve in the Cabinet of British Columbia. Mark is Nisga'a, Gitxsan, Cree and Ojibway.

Rachel Snow is Iyahe Nakoda, the daughter of late Reverend Dr. Chief John Snow. She holds a juris doctor from the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan and is an outspoken educator, speaker, writer and co-contact person for the Indigenous Activist Networks. Rachel resides on her ancestral lands in Mini Thni which is west of Calgary, Alberta. Rachel is also a columnist for rabble.

Photo: Tungsten Rising on Unsplash 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell sits down with Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who has made headlines over the past four years as he created tiny shelters for the houseless population in Toronto. 

Wentzell and Seivwright discuss the need to provide meaningful quality of care for the houseless and also speak about the audience response to Someone Lives Here, the recent documentary following Seivwright’s work during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

About Khaleel Seivwright

Khaleel Seivwright is a carpenter known for formerly building tiny shelters for unhoused people in Toronto in the fall of 2020. Currently he is working with a team building tiny home communities for unhoused people in Toronto.

In 2021, rabble columnist Cathy Crowe followed Seivwright’s important work and his fight with the City of Toronto and then-mayor John Tory throughout his process. 

Someone Lives Here follows Seivwright during the COVID-19 pandemic as he launched a project of building small private shelters for homeless people in Toronto, against the bureaucratic resistance of the city government. The film premiered at the 2023 Hot Docs Festival where it was awarded the Rogers Audience Award. 

Join us for Off the Hill next week for National Indigenous People’s Day

On Wednesday, June 21 at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET, join us for our final Off the Hill political panel before our summer hiatus.

This month, we focus on National Indigenous People’s Day. What is causing the slow-moving action on the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada? What can Landback look like across Turtle Island? And are we any closer to true reconciliation?

Register for this free event today!

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, rabble contributor Doreen Nicoll sits down with Ontario educator Frank Domenic to discuss the state of Ontario’s universal health care system. 

Health care privatization in Ontario is something rabble writers have been closely following over the past year. For further reading, please see the following pieces: 

Linda McQuaig – Ontario’s shift to private health care will cost much, much more (May 23, 2023) 

Doreen Nicoll – Groups working to save public health care in Ontario (May 18, 2023)

Karl Nerenberg – Doug Ford’s private surgery plan is driven by ideology not innovation (January 17, 2023) 

rabble radio – The ongoing fight against privatized healthcare (September 16, 2022) 

rabble radio – The privatization of long-term care homes in Ontario must be stopped (May 6, 2022) 

About our guests 

Frank Domenic is a teacher in Ontario who creates content on social media focusing on news and politics, ranging from global issues to niche local Ontario content. You can follow him on Twitter @TheFrankDomenic and on TikTok @frankdomenic. 

Doreen Nicoll is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to rabble.ca  She is diligently working to end poverty, hunger, and human rights abuses across Canada and the globe.

Join us for Off the Hill 

On Wednesday, June 21 at 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET, join us for our final Off the Hill political panel before our summer hiatus. 

This month, we focus on National Indigenous People’s Day. 

What is causing the slow-moving action on the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada? What can Landback look like across Turtle Island? And are we any closer to true reconciliation?

Register for this free event today! 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, rabble editor Nick Seebruch sits down with Alberta political analyst Dave Cournoyer to review the recent provincial election in Alberta, and the newly re-elected Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith. 

READ MORE: Smith’s UCP ekes out a win in Calgary, secures majority

Smith and Alberta New Democrat Leader Rachel Notley were neck and neck for most of this election; but even after scandal after scandal, and despite losing some seats, Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party was able to amass enough support to overtake Notley and the New Democrats. 

READ MORE: Despite election win, UCP shut out of Edmonton

For more analysis on the recent Alberta election and for all-things Alberta politics, we encourage you to check out David Climenhaga’s contributions on rabble.ca. 

About our guest 

Dave Cournoyer is an Edmonton-based writer, political watcher, and communications professional. He writes about Alberta politics at daveberta.substack.com and is the host of the Daveberta Podcast. He can be found on Twitter at @davecournoyer and on Instagram at @daveberta.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was ‘Off the Hill: Labour in high gear for action and change.’

Recent months have seen significant activity in Canada’s labour movement — including a public service strike, actions against austerity across the country, and the CLC convention in Montreal. This month our panel dove into recent developments and wondered what’s next for the labour movement in Canada.

Our panel included MP Alexandre Boulerice, OSBCU - CSCSO president Laura Walton, policy expert and rabble columnist Chuka Ejeckam and rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, Georgia Kelly and Norm di Pasquale discuss why the current renovation plans for Ontario Place may not be in the best interest of Ontarians – or the surrounding wildlife and environment. 

Norm di Pasquale is the co-chair of grassroots advocacy group Ontario Place for All. Norm has been fighting for waterfront public space for a decade, leading the NoJetsTO fight against jets at the island airport. di Pasquale has been an elected school board trustee in Ontario and has also run in federal and municipal elections.

About Ontario Place for All 

Ontario Place for All is a grassroots organization which aims to ensure Ontario Place redevelopment plans truly serve the public of Ontario, maintains the cultural heritage of the building and respects the surrounding environment. 

Learn more about Ontario Place for All here – and, for those of you who want to donate to the cause, visit this page. 

Join us for Off the Hill this month! 

Recent months have seen significant activity in Canada’s labour movement — including a public service strike, actions against austerity across the country, and the CLC convention in Montreal. 

This month, rabble’s Off the Hill political panel takes a dive into recent developments and what’s next for the labour movement in Canada. Register for this free event here! 

Guests this month include: MP Alexandre Boulerice, OSBCU - CSCSO president Laura Walton, policy expert and rabble columnist Chuka Ejeckam and rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on the show, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell sits down with Olivia Chow, currently running for mayor of Toronto. The two discuss her platform, her history and why she believes it’s all about love and ‘creating a caring city.’

“People in Toronto are feeling stuck. They’re stuck waiting for the bus, stuck in traffic or stuck on lists for housing, childcare and recreation programs. After a decade of conservative mayors, the city has become more expensive and less liveable for people,” said Chow. “We can give in to fear and pessimism, or we can choose to channel our frustration into hope. We can open up city hall and work together to build a more caring, affordable and safer city.” – OliviaChow.ca. 

About Olivia Chow

Olivia Chow has served two terms as a school trustee, four terms as a Toronto city councillor and eight years as New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014. Chow is a well-known public figure for social justice and progressive political change. She is also the founder of the Institute for Change Leaders where she has trained thousands of activists in political organizing. 

Join us for Off the Hill this month! 

Recent months have seen significant activity in Canada’s labour movement — including a public service strike, actions against austerity across the country, and the CLC convention in Montreal. 

This month, rabble’s Off the Hill political panel takes a dive into recent developments and what’s next for the labour movement in Canada. Register for this free event here! 

Guests this month include: MP Alexandre Boulerice, OSBCU - CSCSO president Laura Walton, policy expert and rabble columnist Chuka Ejeckam and rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Gabriel Allahdua, an outreach worker working with migrant workers across Ontario. The two discuss the harsh realities of Canada’s farm labour system and how Canadians can take action to create fairer working conditions for all. 

“Migrant workers are made invisible. We are made invisible, and that’s not an accident – that is by design. From the very foundation of Canada, from the Chinese railroad workers … Canada continues to use unjust immigration and unjust labour laws to work in tandem, to keep migrant workers vulnerable. To keep migrant workers in precarious situations. To exploit migrant workers, essentially. That’s not something new to Canada.” – Gabriel Allahdua. 

About our guest

Gabriel Allahdua is a former migrant farm worker from Saint Lucia and is now an outreach worker working with migrant workers across Ontario. Allahdua is also the University of Guelph's first Activist-in-Residence. He is the author of Harvesting Freedom: The Life of a Migrant Worker in Canada. 

Harvesting Freedom is available through Between the Lines Publishing, here. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

After announcing that he would not seek re-election as the NDP Member of Parliament for Timmins–James Bay, Charlie Angus has stepped into a new role — as a vocal leader in what he calls Canada’s “resistance” against U.S. President Donald Trump, fascism, and rising threats to democracy.

This week on rabble radio, Charlie Angus joins rabble editor Nick Seebruch to discuss The Resistance, the growing threat of “maple MAGA,” and how everyday Canadians are pushing back against creeping U.S. influence and far-right politics in their own communities.

Charlie Angus is the former Member of Parliament for Timmins-James Bay, serving two decades from his first election in 2004. He has been the NDP critic for Ethics, Natural Resources, FedNor, Indigenous Youth, Income Inequality and Affordability, and Deputy Critic for Labour. Charlie is a member of the Council of Canadians and was instrumental in developing the Pledge for Canadians. He is the author of nine books, including the most recent, Dangerous Memory. Charlie is a songwriter, musician and lead singer with the Juno-nominated Grievous Angels. He is a grassroots activist leading The Resistance.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, we’re sharing a clip from our most recent Courage My Friends podcast series, hosted on Needs No Introduction. 

The planet is telling us it's high time we change our ways and transition to a clean economy, but what does that look like? Specifically, what does that look like for workers?

This week, senior program manager for Blue Green Canada, Jamie Kirkpatrick joins host of the Courage My Friends podcast series Resh Budhu to talk about the alliance between labour and climate movements in the push for a clean energy economy and the Just Transition we need to get us there.

To listen to the full episode of Good jobs, clean economy: Pushing for a Just Transition, please tune into Needs No Introduction. Needs No Introduction is available on rabble.ca, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. 

The Courage My Friends podcast is presented by rabble.ca and the Tommy Douglas Institute, with the support of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was ‘Off the Hill: Corporate interference and the climate crisis.’

Corporate interference – or corporate capture – refers to the means by which large corporations can (and do) influence politicians and political decision-making. We have to wonder: how does corporate Interference affect the climate crisis in Canada? 

Our April panel included MP Leah Gazan, Diana Yoon and Gordon Laxar. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies.  

This week, rabble is celebrating 22 years of sharing progressive news and views! And it’s all thanks to the support from our rabble rousers. 

Thanks to the financial support of rabble rousers like you, rabble can continue to publish journalism that matters - reporting on the news from progressive social and labour movements and providing context and analysis to national and world events that you will not find elsewhere.

Help us celebrate our birthday! We’re giving away vegetable seed packets, books and our new union-made tote bag to new donors. Become a rabble rouser today at rabble.ca/donate. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

In this year’s federal budget, the Liberal government announced a $13-billion plan to expand dental care to families earning less than $90,000 a year, fulfilling the government's commitment to the New Democrats. This is, of course, a major step forward for dental care in Canada. But is it enough? Or do we also need to rethink the structure of dental care in Canada as a whole? 

This week on rabble radio, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell speaks to Dr. Brandon Doucet about his new book, About Canada: Dental Care.

About our guest

Brandon Doucet is a Nova Scotia-based dentist, founder of the group Coalition for Dentalcare, and author of About Canada: Dental Care. 

You can get a copy of About Canada: Dental Care at FernwoodPublishing.ca or order it at your favourite local bookstore. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

What does it mean for a workplace to be truly inclusive for all workers? 

This week on rabble radio, labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Jade Pichetter from Pride at Work to discuss creating safe and inclusive workplaces for trans, non-binary and agender people. 

Through dialogue, education and thought leadership, Pride at Work Canada empowers employers to build workplaces that celebrate all employees regardless of gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation. -- Pride at Work Canada

About our guest

Jade Pichette is an inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility professional based in Tkarón:to/Toronto. Currently, Pichette serves as the director of programs at Pride at Work Canada, where they work with over 250 large employers across Canada around gender expression, gender identity, and sexual orientation inclusion. Pichette was one of the authors of Transitioning Employers, a survey of policies and practices for trans inclusive workplaces. 

To learn more about the work Pride at Work Canada does, please visit their website here. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, Georgia Kelly sits down with Franz Hartmann from The Alliance for a Livable Ontario. The two discuss the Alliance’s goals for holding the Ontario government accountable and creating vibrant communities across the province. 

Want to learn more about The Alliance for a Livable Ontario? Visit their website here. 

About our guests: 

Franz Hartmann is the coordinator of The Alliance for a Liveable Ontario. Before this role, Hartmann was the executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance (or TEA) for 11 years. He also served as chair of the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance for four years and helped the Alliance build vast community support for the Greenbelt. Prior to working at TEA, Hartmann was the environmental advisor to Jack Layton when he was city councillor and oversaw Layton’s civil society engagement activities in Ottawa.

Georgia Kelly is a third-year undergraduate in the University of Toronto’s Ethics, Society, and Law program. She works as an associate editor for the student newspaper, the Varsity, and is working towards a career as a journalist. She primarily reports on labour issues on campus and local business issues around Toronto. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was ‘Off the Hill: Mind the gap – the federal budget and income equality.’

The federal budget for 2023 is soon to be announced. Who decides the budget? Who influences it? And where does all that money go? Last year’s budget was aimed at growing the economy in Canada and making life more affordable and equitable. But did it? Our guests dissected these questions and more in our Off the Hill panel this month. 

Our March panel included MP Niki Ashton, Chuka Ejeckam, David Macdonald and Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies.  

Happening next week: Book launch, ‘Advocating for Palestine in Canada’  

Join rabble for a very special book launch webinar on Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 8pm ET / 5pm PST.  

Through the experiences of the contributing authors, Advocating for Palestine in Canada offers an indispensable and first-hand view into the complex social and historical forces at work in one of the world’s most urgent issues, and one which also has huge implications for freedoms enjoyed by Canadians.

This webinar will feature contributing authors from the book to share their unique views and wide experiences on advocating for Palestine in Canada, revealing a solid civil society movement in the face of strong institutional opposition. Our panelists share how they came to Palestine activism, why they continue and where they see the movement going. 

Register for this free event today! 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga is joined by Ethel Tungohan. Today, Tungohan and Calugay-Casuga discuss the expectations and assumption of care work in Canada. 

Calugay-Casuga and Tungohan talk about Matatag: Filipina Care Workers During COVID-19, a photo series project by Filipina nurses, support workers, and caregivers during COVID-19. The two also talk about the “invisibilization” of care work in Canada, particularly for women and racialized communities and how a complete breakdown of colonized thinking, learning and working in Canada must take place in order for true labour equity to take place. 

Tungohan appeared on a recent episode of Courage My Friends: ‘Migrant workers and ‘the pandemic paradox’: The unseen hands that truly keep us afloat.’ In this episode, she joined Jhoey Dulaca and Chris Ramsaroop to discuss temporary foreign workers in Canada. Be sure to tune into that episode after this!  

Tungohan’s new book, Care Activism: Migrant Domestic Workers, Movement-Building, and Communities of Care is set to be released August 2023. 

Join us for Off the Hill next week! 

The federal budget for 2023 is soon to be announced. Who decides the budget? Who influences it? And where does all that money go? Last year’s budget was aimed at growing the economy in Canada and making life more affordable and equitable. But did it? Our guests will dissect these questions and more in our Off the Hill panel this month. 

Guests include MP Leah Gazan, rabble columnist and policy researcher Chuka Ejeckam, economist David Macdonald and rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. 

Save your spot for this free event today! Join us this March 23, 2023, 7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell is joined by Dr. Martha Paynter. 

Paynter last joined rabble radio in June of 2022 to talk about the misconceptions people have about access to abortion in Canada and the other threats facing reproductive justice in the country. 

Today, Wentzell and Paynter discuss Paynter’s new guidebook for providing abortion care in prison, a new jail facility being built in N.B., and the need for universal contraception coverage in Nova Scotia. 

Dr. Martha Paynter is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of New Brunswick. She is the affiliate scientist for the Nova Scotia Women’s Choice Clinic. In addition to this, she is the founder and past chair of Wellness Within: An Organization for Health and Justice. She is also the author of Abortion to Abolition: Reproductive Health and Justice in Canada. 

Join us for Off the Hill this month

The federal budget for 2023 is soon to be announced. Who decides the budget? Who influences it? And where does all that money go? Last year’s budget was aimed at growing the economy in Canada and making life more affordable and equitable. But did it? Our guests will dissect these questions and more in our Off the Hill panel this month. 

Guests include MP Leah Gazan, rabble columnist and policy researcher Chuka Ejeckam, economist David Macdonald and rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. 

Save your spot for this free event today! Join us this March 23, 2023, 7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT. 

Through the experiences of the contributing authors, Advocating for Palestine in Canada offers a first-hand view into the complex social and historical forces at work in one of the world’s most urgent issues, and one which also has huge implications for freedoms enjoyed by Canadians.

This webinar will feature contributing authors from the book to share their unique views and wide experiences on advocating for Palestine in Canada, revealing a solid civil society movement in the face of strong institutional opposition. Our panelists share how they came to Palestine activism, why they continue and where they see the movement going.

Save your spot for this event here.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, rabble contributor Doreen Nicoll speaks to Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, to talk about two important campaigns by Democracy Watch. 

The first, an ‘honesty in politics’ law which fines politicians who make false promises or misleading statements during elections and while in office. This campaign involves the proposal of an independent “watchdog agency,” and gives the watchdog agency the power to investigate and penalize the politician caught lying.

The second campaign is focused on ending secret, unethical lobbying. Because of loopholes in lobbying laws, it is legal for lobbyists to be secretly bankrolled by wealthy interests to buy influence and trade favours with politicians and government officials in secret. 

On this, Conacher says: “Secrecy is a recipe for corruption, waste and abuse of the public and the public interest.” 

Democracy Watch is a national non-profit, non-partisan organization, and Canada’s leading citizen group advocating democratic reform, government accountability and corporate responsibility. Since its formation in 1993, Democracy Watch has won more than 200 changes to federal and provincial good government and corporate responsibility laws. 

Save your spot: Advocating for Palestine in Canada, book webinar 

Through the experiences of the contributing authors, Advocating for Palestine in Canada offers an indispensable and first-hand view into the complex social and historical forces at work in one of the world’s most urgent issues, and one which also has huge implications for freedoms enjoyed by Canadians.

This webinar will feature contributing authors from the book to share their unique views and wide experiences on advocating for Palestine in Canada, revealing a solid civil society movement in the face of strong institutional opposition. Our panelists share how they came to Palestine activism, why they continue and where they see the movement going. 

This event is sponsored by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Fernwood Publishing, Another Story Bookshop, Independent Jewish Voices Canada. With partners Zatoun and, of course, rabble.ca. 

Save your spot for this event here. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on the show, rabble editor Nick Seebruch speaks to Medea Benjamin, co-founder of women-led peace group Code Pink. Code Pink is a grassroots NGO with an anti-war mandate. 

The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on the morning of February 24, 2022, which makes today the one year anniversary. 

Today, Seebruch and Benjamin discuss the global efforts Code Pink and like-minded organizations have made to encourage a peaceful resolution to this war. 

Reflecting on the one year anniversary of the war, Benjamin says: “I feel like the human community has not evolved far enough to recognize that this way of dealing with conflicts is not only unjust, inhumane – but untenable.” 

Benjamin appeared on rabble radio in May of last year to speak with Libby Davies about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. You can listen to that episode here. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

On April 28, 2025, Canadians will head to the polls and elect members of the House of Commons to the 45th Canadian Parliament – and with it, a Prime Minister. 

Canadians have a lot to weigh in this election—from the cost of living crisis and rising inequality, to the ongoing trade tensions with the United States, and a range of other pressing issues.

So, this month on our Off the Hill panel, we discussed Election 2025: What’s next for Canada? Joining us this month were former NDP Member of Parliament for Toronto—Danforth Craig Scott; poet and activist El Jones; community organizer and political commentator Jennifer Arp; and rabble’s senior parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Libby Davies. 

Craig Scott is a professor of Law at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University and a former Member of Parliament for Toronto-Danforth from 2012-2015. While an MP, he served as the Official Opposition Critic for Democratic and Parliamentary Reform, during most of which period the government minister for this portfolio was Pierre Poilievre. 

El Jones is a poet, author, journalist, professor and activist living in Halifax. She is the author of Abolitionist Intimacies (2022) and Live from the Afrikan Resistance! (2014).

Jennifer Arp is a community leader and non-profit professional. Previous roles include interim national president and CEO with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada and senior vice-president of the community at MS Canada. She had the privilege of representing her community on the Toronto District School Board as trustee and vice-chair from 2014-2018 where she led numerous initiatives including the Enhancing Equity Task Force. Other experience includes working at both the federal and provincial level for multiple cabinet ministers. She recently completed her Master of Arts in International and Intercultural Communications at Royal Roads University.

Karl Nerenberg is an award-winning journalist, broadcaster and filmmaker, working in both English and French languages. He is rabble’s senior parliamentary reporter.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was ‘Off the Hill: Tackling systemic inequalities.’

This month is Black History Month. In our political panel this month, we examined the critical issues facing us in Canada this month including the privatization of health care in federal-provincial agreements, the ongoing space right wing sentiment has in mainstream culture and some of the initiatives happening across the country to address systemic racism and inequality.

Our February panel included MP Matthew Green, Richard Sharpe, Stephen Brown and Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne.  

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, rabble contributor Doreen Nicoll speaks to Katie Purdy, a drag performer in Oakville, Ontario. Purdy is on a mission to host more drag events in the Great Toronto Area. 

Katie Purdy (or, as they’re known in drag, Capt Danny Bailey) is a new face in the Canadian drag scene. Largely influenced by the style of Elton John, The Beatles, and Ninja Sex Party, Purdy’s drag act is fluid – one performance may be drag king, next may be queen. Out of drag, Purdy identifies as a pansexual gender queer or "cis-ish" and does not care about labels. 

Later this month, Purdy is hosting Take Me to the Drag Show! Learn more about this event below. 

Take Me to the Drag Show! 

When: February 18, 2023 (doors open at 7pm show starts at 8pm) 

Where: Seasons Brasserie, downtown Oakville, Ont. 

Hosted by local drag artist Capt Danny Bailey, featuring home town icon Adrianna Exposée, plus Toronto stars Krēme Inakuchi, and Tash Riot! Join us at the historic Seasons Brasserie for an evening of memorable drag numbers, and delicious hor d'oeuvres. Show will be 18+ due to the possibility of adult themes and profanities. Tipping the performers is encouraged. Tickets are available via ​​Eventbrite. 

Join us for Off the Hill this month! 

Black History Month is our lens for a dive into critical issues facing us in Canada this month. Our panel will also dig into some of the initiatives happening across the country to address systemic racism and inequality.

This month we’re joined by: Matthew Green, MP Hamilton-Centre; Richard Sharpe, director of the Black Equity Branch, Treasury Board Secretariat in the Ontario Public Service; Stephen Brown, CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, and rabble’s own senior parliamentary reporter, Karl Nerenberg. 

You don’t want to miss this panel. Join us this February 15, 2023, 7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

This week on rabble radio, rabble labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with CUPE Ontario secretary-treasurer Yolanda McClean. The two discuss ways of achieving gender and racial equity inside and outside of Canada’s labour movement. 

The two also discuss CUPE Ontario’s recently launched initiative, Women in Leadership Development (WILD) program for Indigenous, Black and racialized women.

You can learn even more about CUPE Ontario’s WILD program here. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. 

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was ‘Off the Hill: Will 2023 be a year of competing crises? On climate and the economy.’

Off the Hill takes a deep dive into the politics of cooling the economy - and the planet - as Parliament returns. The Canadian parliament returns on January 30. The spotlight is on the economy and the impact on Canadians. Our panel will unpack the critical issues related to the economic outlook and the climate emergency. 

Our January panel included MP Leah Gazan, Jim Stanford, Clayton Thomas-Müller and Karl Nerenberg. Hosted by Robin Browne and Nick Seebruch. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg and Réal Lavergne, president of Fair Vote Canada, join editor Nick Seebruch to debate what electoral reform might look like in Canada. 

At the top of the month, Nerenberg shared a piece calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to revive the idea of electoral reform for Canada. In the piece, he explained that Canada’s current ‘winner-takes-all’ system often puts an unpopular leader in power. He wondered: might a ranked system be a more equitable way of deciding the leader of the country? Might we aim for that way of voting by the next election? 

Lavergne thinks it’s not that simple. 

Together, the three dissect Canada’s current voting system and discuss how a fairer way to vote might be accomplished in the future.  

Join us for Off the Hill this month! 

Mark your calendar! In our first political panel of 2023, join guests MP Leah Gazan, economist Jim Stanford, Indigenous campaigner and climate activist Clayton Thomas-Müller and parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg as they speculate what’s to come in the year ahead.

Register for this free event here!  

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

Well folks, another year has come and gone! 

As we reflect on the year that’s passed, we here at rabble radio are remembering some of our favourite interview moments on the show this year. We had so many wonderful guests — ranging from activists, to professors, to filmmakers, economists, healthcare workers, poets and writers — the list goes on. 

In today’s episode, we’ll be sharing a few of our personal favourite interview clips of this year. (Which was no easy task for a 28 minute show, I’ll tell you that!) 

Here are some of our top rabble radio episodes of the year… 

In February of this year, Paul Taylor, executive director of FoodShare Toronto and a lifelong anti-poverty activist joined rabble radio to speak with Libby Davies about the impact the pandemic had on FoodShare. And how activists should allow for room for fatigue and frustration during difficult times. 

No one felt the COVID-19 pandemic harder than our health care workers in Canada. In early 2022, rabble partnered with the Canadian Federation of Nurses’ Unions. Together, we developed the Nurses’ Voices: Stories of courage and determination in the face of COVID-19 book. It highlights over 20 interviews from health care professionals across Canada. The book illustrates how the pandemic upended nurses’ lives – and how, despite it all, their commitment to their patients remained unwavering.

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. This piece of legislation made abortion access a federal right in the United States. The decision sent a shockwave through the States which was felt in Canada. That week, Stephen Wentzell interviewed writer and registered nurse Martha Paynter for rabble radio. They spoke about the misconceptions people have about access to abortion in Canada and the other threats facing reproductive justice in the country. 

As part of rabble’s Boiling Point series, Stephen Wentzell spoke to Dr. Melissa Lem, to talk about how recent extreme weather events are affecting the physical and mental health of Canadians. 

Also a part of our Boiling Point series, Jillian Piper spoke to Breanne Lavallee-Heckert, the research manager at Indigenous Climate Action. Breanne explained the work she does at the organization, and the importance of Indigenous stewardship in regard to the climate crisis. 

The labour movement in Canada grabbed the attention of the nation in late autumn this year, when CUPE Ontario went to war with Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative government over fair wages and  for education support workers. In November, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn joined rabble radio to speak with Nick Seebruch about what was at stake in this labour dispute.

Another huge story of 2022, was, of course, rising inflation. In November, economist Jim Stanford sat down with editor Nick Seebruch to discuss the state of Canada's economy. The two also talked about how progressive organizations, activists, and groups must band together as we move forward into what’s sure to be a tough year economically and politically. 

Did we miss a favourite interview of yours from 2022? Let us know in the comments below! 

Thank you for listening to rabble radio 

Our show would not be possible without listeners like you. So thank you! 

From all of us here at rabble, we want to wish you and your communities a safe and happy new year! 

If you’re in the giving mood and would like to support our show today, please visit rabble.ca/donate.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was ‘Off the Hill: Looking back to leap ahead.’

From the Freedom Convoy, to major action in Canada’s labour movement, to the ongoing war in Ukraine, to political leadership races on the provincial and federal levels, our panel reflected on the major news events of 2022 and wondered aloud: What does this mean we can expect for the year ahead?

Our December panel included MP Leah Gazan, Chuka Ejeckam, El Jones and Karl Nerenberg. Co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies.

Also – don’t miss next week’s episode, when we’ll be reviewing highlights from our top rabble radio episodes of the year! Will your favourite episode make it on our list? Tune in next week to find out.

Do you know a rabble rouser to watch?

We are now accepting submissions for our ‘rabble rousers to watch’ of 2023. Tell us about the activists in your community who have made a difference, and whose work you think rabble should be covering. Nominations are open until midnight, December 31, 2022. Everyone who participates in our survey will be entered into a draw to win a rabble tote bag.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, Libby Davies interviews Harley Augustino, organizer and trainer, to talk about his experience volunteering for two separate congressional districts in the most recent U.S. midterm elections. 

Oregon 5 and Washington 3 had two very different projected outcomes when Augustino volunteered to organize with them. Oregon 5 was considered a ‘class toss up,’ with about a 50/50 chance of going with a Republican or Democratic candidate. Washington 3, however –a Republican district– was projected to have only a 2% chance of becoming a Democratic district. 

In this interview, Augustino walks Davies through the results of these campaigns and explains why good, old fashioned door-to-door organizing shouldn’t be underestimated.  

Harley Augustino appeared on rabble radio earlier this year to talk about ‘Base Building for Power’ a collective he works with which trains future activists and organizers.

Photo by: Maximillian Conacher on Unsplash

Do you know a rabble rouser to watch?

We are now accepting submissions for our ‘rabble rousers to watch’ of 2023. Tell us about the activists in your community who have made a difference, and whose work you think rabble should be covering. Nominations are open until midnight, December 31, 2022. Everyone who participates in our survey will be entered into a draw to win a rabble tote bag.

Don’t miss our final Off the Hill event of 2022! 

This December, our panel is taking a look back to look forward, as we close off 2022 and think ahead to 2023.

From the Freedom Convoy, to major action in Canada’s labour movement, to the ongoing war in Ukraine, to political leadership races on the provincial and federal levels; our esteemed panel will reflect on a year that had no shortage of newsworthy events, and then ask: what does this mean we can expect for the year ahead? 

Our panel includes MP Leah Gazan, El Jones, Chuka Ejeckam and Karl Nerenberg. Co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. Join us this December 14, 2022. 

Register for this free event here! 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell speaks to Dr. Jane McArthur. McArthur is the Toxics Program director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). 

McArthur, other members of CAPE and advocates for environmental protection and public health are calling on Parliament to expedite passage of Bill C-226, Canada’s first environmental racism law. 

Bill C-226 was first introduced by former MP Lenore Zann as Bill C-230 in the last session of Parliament. It was approved by the House of Commons in June last year, but died on the order paper when Parliament dissolved for elections. In February of this year, now co-leader of the federal Green Party Elizabeth May re-introduced the same legislation as Bill C-226. 

The time is now to develop and implement a national strategy on environmental racism and environmental justice, McArthur says. 

“Canada talks about itself as a country of kindness, but we need to see that reflected in our policies and we should not be tolerating vulnerablization of any community.” 

- Dr. Jane McArthur

Photo: Markus Spiske on Unsplash 

Don’t miss our final Off the Hill event of 2022! 

This December, our panel is taking a look back to look forward, as we close off 2022 and think ahead to 2023.

From the Freedom Convoy, to major action in Canada’s labour movement, to the ongoing war in Ukraine, to political leadership races on the provincial and federal levels; our esteemed panel will reflect on a year that had no shortage of newsworthy events, and then ask: what does this mean we can expect for the year ahead? 

Our panel includes MP Leah Gazan, El Jones, Karl Nerenberg. Co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. Join us this December 14, 2022. 

Register for this free event here! 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on the show, rabble editor Nick Seebruch is joined by the director of the Centre for Future Work, economist Jim Stanford. Together, they walk us through the state of Canada’s economy – the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

Earlier this month, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem made headlines when he remarked that inflation was due to what he called an “overheated” labour market. Stanford says that’s unfair; Canadian workers being able to easily find employment and the slightly higher wages they’ve been receiving are not to blame for inflation – and therefore shouldn’t be punished. 

Seebruch and Stanford also discuss how progressive organizations, activists, and groups must ban together as we move forward into what’s sure to be a tough year economically and politically. 

Photo: Charles Deluvio on Unsplash

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

*Audio of pro-Palestine demonstration at the Vancouver Art Gallery on March 18, 2025*

The Freedom of peaceful assembly – or, in other words, to protest – and the freedom of association are among the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

Protest has been a vital aspect of Canada’s democracy and social fabric since the country's formation, playing a key role in advancing Indigenous rights, environmental causes, 2SLGBTQ+ and feminist issues, and labour rights. 

This past week alone, people in various cities across the country came together to protest against the threats to Canadian sovereignty made by US President Donald Trump. 

And sure, we might not all agree with every protest which happens in our cities and communities (the Freedom Convoy of 2022 comes to mind). But as stated in our Charter, as long as the protests do not include hate speech, become violent, incite violence, or pose a danger to public safety, we have decided – as a country – that the right to protest is more important than agreeing with every protest that is organized. 

It is crucial that we are able to express our opinions, criticize our governments and institutions, and participate in public discourse. 

Which is why the City of Toronto’s recent survey and proposed bylaw about demonstrations near vulnerable institutions is sounding some alarm bells. 

This week on rabble radio, Jack Layton Journalism for Change fellow Ashleigh-Rae Thomas sits down with Samira Mohyeddin to talk about what this bylaw is and why it is being considered, why the right to protest is so important, and the “Palestine exception.” 

Samira Mohyeddin is an award winning journalist and producer. For nearly ten years she was a producer and host at CBC Radio and CBC Podcasts. She resigned in November of 2023 and founded On The Line Media. Samira has a Master of Arts in Modern Middle Eastern History and Gender from the University of Toronto and Genocide Studies from the Zoryan Institute. She is currently working on a documentary about the People's Circle for Palestine student encampment at the University of Toronto.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

*Audio courtesy of Jase Tanner. 

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. And across the country, communities gather to pay tribute to veterans and military members. 

But not all veterans are feeling cared for. Some are asking if the government cares about them or their wellbeing at all, or if Veterans’ Affairs Canada is operating under the old “deny, delay, and die” adage. 

This impression is brought about in large part due to the $560-million plan to sub-contract veteran rehabilitative and vocational services away from the Veterans’ Affairs case workers and into the hands of the for-profit company: Partners in Canadian Veterans Rehabilitation Services. This company is composed of WGC International and Lifemark Health Group. The contract is set to come into effect this month. 

Veterans Affairs Canada says the contract will help overworked case managers while ensuring veterans have timely access to the care they need. However, the Union of Veterans’ Affairs Employees (UVAE) believes this contract is going to have the opposite effect. UVAE argues this will add more paperwork to the workload of case managers, disrupt the relationships case managers have built with veterans, and add an extra level of bureaucracy veterans will be left to deal with. 

UVAE says the only group this contract will benefit will be the profit-making corporation.

A statement from UVAE and the Public Service Alliance of Canada reads: 

“Veterans and their families deserve better. They have already paid for these services with their sacrifice. Let’s not make them fight and pay again.” 

This week on the show, rabble labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga speaks with Virginia Vaillancourt, the national president of UVAE. Vaillancourt argues Veterans Affairs Canada must stop using private sector companies to do public sector work.

Join our Off the Hill discussion this week! 

When marijuana was legalized in 2018, it drastically reduced the number of cannabis-related drug convictions, while also creating a multibillion-dollar industry. But what does the cannabis industry look like today? Who wins? Who loses? Who calls the shots, and what’s next? 

Our dynamic panel will give us an inside look into what’s really going on with Canada’s drug reform policy on marijuana and much more. 

Our panel includes “princess of pot” Jodie Giesz-Ramsay, rabble columnist and drug policy researcher Chuka Ejeckam and MP Don Davies. Co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies. 

Join us this November 17, 2022. Register for this free event here. 

Photo: Ellie Pourreza on Unsplash. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, we’re sharing an interview between CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn and rabble editor Nick Seebruch. The two spoke on Nov. 2 to explain what’s at stake in the labour dispute in Ontario. 

At the time of this episode’s posting, CUPE has announced that it will strike on Friday, Nov. 4 and OPSEU – the Ontario Public Services Employees Union – says its 8000 education workers will join them. The Ontario Federation of Labour has also taken to social media to share their support for CUPE. 

But how did we get here? 

To recap, CUPE Ontario has been negotiating with the Ford government, trying to secure better pay for its educational support workers.

As Marc Belanger explained on a special RadioLabour episode this week, when inflation is taken into account, the lowest paid educational worker in Ontario has seen their wages effectively cut by 11 per cent since 2012. 

CUPE has been seeking a wage increase of $3.25 per hour in each year of a three year collective agreement. 

On Sunday, October 30th, 97% of CUPE Ontario’s 55,000 education workers voted to give the Ford government the legally necessary five day notice of a potential provincial-wide strike should their wage demands not be met. 

Despite a long week at the bargaining table, the Ford government was not to be persuaded. 

On Thursday evening, the Ford government passed Bill 28 which imposes a new work contract on educational support workers with a pay increase of 2.5 per cent, well below the rate of inflation. 

Ford invoked the Constitution's notwithstanding clause which allows the provincial government to override part of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and bypass the union’s right to bargain and strike. The use of the notwithstanding clause means that Bill 28 cannot be challenged in court.

In doing so, Judy Rebick says the Ford government has effectively called a “class war against unions.”

CUPE president Laura Walton has pledged that their members will strike on Friday, November 4 and that the strike will continue "for as long as it takes."

The Ontario Federation of Labour took to social media saying: “Doug Ford and Stephen Lecce have declared war on 1 million union members, 7 milllion workers, 14 million Ontarians. Get ready to fight.” 

This is a developing story. Join in the conversation on our discussion board, babble.  

Photo: Courtesy of CUPE 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Homelessness is a major social and healthcare disaster that has been plaguing Canada for decades, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated this issue. 

Are provincial and municipal governments doing enough to combat homelessness in our communities? Or are the solutions that they’re coming up with making the problem worse? 

In Displacement City: Fighting for Health and Homes in a Pandemic, outreach worker Greg Cook and rabble columnist and retired street nurse Cathy Crowe collect stories which shed a light on infrastructure of displacement through prose, poetry, and photography. 

Contributors to the book include those who have lived experience of homelessness in Toronto. Each chapter reports on different areas of the realities of this crisis and how community members responded. Whether that be by providing disaster-relief supplies and tiny shelters for encampments, by advocating for shelter-hotels where people could physically distance, by taking the city to court, or by rising up against encampment evictions. 

The book also provides particular insight into policies affecting Indigenous peoples and how the legacy of colonialism and displacement reached a critical point during the pandemic.

You can order your own copy of Displacement City: Fighting for Health and Homes in a Pandemic here. 

You can catch up on Cathy Crowe’s column, where she regularly reports on issues surrounding homelessness, housing, advocacy and activism here. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was 'Off the Hill: Confronting Islamophobia in Canada.'

This month is National Islamic History Month. This month’s panel dove into what political actions are needed to confront the rise of Islamophobia in Canada. Our panel also explored what role the media has in all of this. 

Our September panel included Senator Salma Ataullahjan, Monia Mazigh, Nuzhat Jafri, and Karl Nerenberg. Co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Nick Seebruch speaks to two members of Health Providers Against Poverty (HPAP) to talk about destigmatizing people fighting addiction, homelessness, and poverty. 

This week on the show, rabble editor Nick Seebruch sits down with Sara Pishdadian and Adriana Di Stefano, both active members of Health Providers Against Poverty. 

Healthcare Providers Against Poverty is a group of healthcare workers who strive to make healthcare provision equitable for all. 

Pishdadian and Di Stefano explain how addressing the social determinants of health, meaning the economic and social conditions at play which affect one’s health status, need to be addressed in order to reduce health inequity. Destigmatizing homelessness, poverty, and drug addiction is also key in providing care to every Canadian. 

The two also dive into the many resources, events, campaigns, and support groups that are available through Healthcare Providers Against Poverty. 

“In a country where we are so proud of equitable healthcare, efforts such as this are of utmost importance to ensure that our healthcare system truly does remain accessible for all.” – https://healthprovidersagainstpoverty.ca/ 

Also on the show this week, we feature a song by Ish Theilheimer, in honour of his friend, Mel Watkins. Listen to “Mel, the Parry Sound Babysitter” today. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Last month, Buckingham Palace broke the news that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The queen was 96, and Canada’s longest serving monarch. 

Now, Canada has a new head of state: Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son, King Charles III. 

This week on rabble radio, editor Nick Seebruch interviews royal historian, teacher, and author Carolyn Harris. 

While the Pope made a public apology for the Catholic Church’s role in residential schools, Indigenous peoples never got an apology from Queen Elizabeth II before her passing. Might the new King Charles III make that apology? And how might a new sovereign leader might affect public opinion of the monarchy in Canada? Harris ponders these questions and more with Seebruch this week. 

Dr. Carolyn Harris is an instructor in history at the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies. She received her PhD in European history from Queen's University at Kingston in 2012. She is the author of three books, Magna Carta and Its Gifts to Canada (Dundurn: 2015), Queenship and Revolution in Early Modern Europe: Henrietta Maria and Marie Antoinette (Palgrave: 2015) and Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting (Dundurn: 2017). She is the co-editor of English Consorts: Power, Influence, and Dynasty, a four volume history of English royal consorts published in 2022 by Palgrave Macmillan, and the proofreading editor of The Royal Studies Journal. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, Stephen Wentzell sits down with Joshua Whitehead, author of ‘Making Love with the Land.” 

Whitehead is an Oji-Cree/nehiyaw, Two-Spirit/Indigiqueer member of Peguis First Nation (Treaty 1). He is the author of the novel ‘Jonny Appleseed’ (Arsenal Pulp Press), which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and shortlisted for a Governor General's Literary Award in Fiction. He is also the author of the poetry collection ‘full-metal indigiqueer’ (Talonbooks), which was shortlisted for the inaugural Indigenous Voices Award for Most Significant Work of Poetry in English and the Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry. Currently, he is working on a PhD in Indigenous Literatures and Cultures at the University of Calgary's English department (Treaty 7).

Today, Whitehead explains to Wentzell about ‘Making Love with the Land’ - a book which is part memoir, part poetry, part literary criticism. Whitehead explains how this genre-bending of traditional colonial literary standards is a “radical act of freedom” and more similar to a Indigenous form of storytelling.  

Whitehead also shares how touring for Jonny Appleseed and experiencing nature, break-ups, and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic influenced his writing this book. Finally, Whitehead shares what truth and reconciliation means to him.  

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was Off the Hill: What does reconciliACTION look like?

We discussed how Indigenous Peoples are exercising sovereignty every day, the tangible ways settlers can support Indigenous Peoples in their communities, and what action must be taken at the federal and provincial levels for meaningful change.

Our September panel included MP Leah Gazan, Georgina Lazore, and Breanne Lavallée-Heckert. Co-hosted by Robin Browne and Libby Davies.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Photo by: Bekky Bekks on Unsplash

In 1959, the then-premier of Saskatchewan, Thomas Douglas envisioned a universal, pre-paid and publicly administered health care system – the first of its kind in North America. This plan for Saskatchewan prompted the federal government to initiate a national strategy to subsidize socialized medicine and support provinces in the shift to a universal system.

He’s recognized as “the father of Medicare,” and the one to thank for our universal healthcare system as we know it in Canada today. 

But is this system in trouble?  

This is not a conversation which is new to rabble radio. 

In May, rabble contributor Doreen Nicoll sat down with Natalie Mehra, the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition to talk about the privatization of long-term care homes in Ontario. Nicoll spoke to Sarah Jama, the co-founder of the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, later that month to talk about the importance of accessible health services in regard to those who are differently abled. 

This week, we continue the conversation by sharing an interview from the first episode of the newest season of Courage My Friends. 

In this interview, host Resh Budhu speaks to JP Hornick, the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, and palliative care physician and health justice activist, Dr. Naheed Dosani. The three discuss the current crisis facing public healthcare in Ontario. 

Courage My Friends is a podcast series presented by rabble.ca and the Tommy Douglas Institute at George Brown College, with the support of the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation. 

Hosted on Needs No Introduction, a sister podcast to rabble radio, this season’s Courage My Friends will focus on housing, education, erosion of public goods, just economics, the plight of migrant workers, and the climate crisis.

Join our Off the Hill conversation next week! 

Join panelists MP Leah Gazan, Georgina Lazore, and Breanne Lavallée-Heckert and co-hosts Robin Browne and Libby Davies as they deconstruct truth and reconciliation. 

On Thursday, September 22 at 7:30pm eastern time, join our panel via Zoom and engage with our panelists as they discuss how Indigenous Peoples are exercising sovereignty every day, the tangible ways settlers can support Indigenous Peoples in their communities, and what action must be taken at the federal and provincial levels for meaningful change.

Register today at: https://bit.ly/OffTheHillSeptember22 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Photo by: Marcelo Leal on Unsplash

This week, Jillian Piper speaks to Kimberly Carroll; an animal rights advocate and coach for changemakers. 

For 13 years, Carroll has empowered and counseled thousands of activists, social entrepreneurs, and mission-driven leaders who want to make a bigger difference in the world. 

By taking clients through a journey of deep inner work, finding empowering habits, and developing a strategy to unlock one’s activism superpowers, Carroll has made a name for herself as one who “helps the helpers.” 

Today, Carrol joins Piper to talk about what inspires her about this work and how activists can better take care of themselves through this demanding – and often underappreciated – work. 

Are you interested in improving your activism? 

Kimberly Carroll wanted to share a few free resources for our audience: 

A five-part video mini course on preventing burnout and becoming a more impactful joyful and resilient changemaker on Kimberly Carroll’s website. 

A six-week course which focuses on self-empowerment, how to lobby politicians, how to get the media’s attention, and how to organize in your community - brought to you by Animal Justice Academy.  

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Photo by: Angèle Kamp on Unsplash

Working Canadians are facing a multitude of issues in 2025. 

Between 2023 to 2024, in Ontario alone, one million people used food bank services – a 25 per cent increase from the year before. Canada's housing market is among the most unaffordable in the world. And of course – the latest crisis on everyone’s mind – the ongoing trade dispute with the United States. 

With a federal election at the end of the month, there’s a lot to consider for working Canadians. 

This week on rabble radio, labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Deena Ladd, one of the founders and executive director of the Toronto Workers' Action Centre. The two discuss the issues facing working Canadians today, how workers without union support are often more vulnerable to these issues, and how the Workers' Action Centre advocates for fair work for all.  

Deena Ladd is one of the founders of the Toronto Workers' Action Centre and currently serves as its executive director. Ladd has 30 years of organizing experience. She helped build grassroots campaigns like the Fight for $15 and Fairness campaign. Beyond the Workers’ Action Centre, Ladd has also fought for migrant justice through her involvement with the Migrants' Rights Network and the Migrant Workers' Action Centre.

The Workers’ Action Centre (WAC) is a worker-based organization. They are committed to improving the lives and working conditions of people in low-wage and unstable employment. They believe that the leaders in the fight for decent work should be the workers directly affected by poor working conditions. Workers have firsthand experience of problems at work, and have the best insight into what will bring fairness and dignity to Ontario’s workplaces.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

This week on the show, rabble labour reporter Gabriela Calguay-Casuga joins The Coalition For Women In Journalism founder Kiran Nazish to talk about protecting female journalists in Canada. The Coalition For Women in Journalism is a New-York based, international support organization for female and LGBTQIA journalists from around the globe. 

Today, Nazish joins Calguay-Casuga to talk about the increasingly vitriolic landscape female journalists in Canada are facing today – particularly, journalists of colour. 

In September 2021, Canada was one of the top five countries in the world guilty of cyber violence against women, according to The Coalition for Women in Journalism.  

What can be done to better protect our female and LGBTQIA journalists in Canada? And what do these staggering statistics say about our media landscape as a whole? 

Read Calugay-Casuga’s full analysis on this interview and research on rabble.ca this week. 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Photo by: Thomas Charters on Unsplash

This fall, someone will be replacing John Horgan as NDP Leader of British Columbia. Could that person be Anjali Appadurai? 

This week on the show rabble’s national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell sits down with the Appadurai to talk about what inspired her to run for leadership and how her experience in grassroots organizing is guiding her campaign.

“My role as an insurgent candidate is to open the door for the voices of community and the voice of the grassroots to be lifted on this platform and to be lifted, ultimately, into the halls of power.” 

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Photo by: Fruit Basket Agency

This week on the show, Breanne Lavallée-Heckert, the research manager at Indigenous Climate Action, talks about the importance of Indigenous stewardship in regard to the climate crisis and how people can support Indigenous Climate Action. 

Founded in 2015, Indigenous Climate Action is an Indigenous-led organization guided by a diverse group of Indigenous knowledge keepers, water protectors and land defenders from communities and regions across Turtle Island. The vision of the organization is “a world with sovereign and thriving Indigenous Peoples and cultures leading climate justice for all.” 

Indigenous Climate Action inspires action through the development of tools and opportunities created with, by and for Indigenous communities, with the goal of uplifting Indigenous voices, sovereignty, and stewardship of the lands and waters for future generations.  

Today, Breanne Lavallée-Heckert joins rabble audience editor Jillian Piper to talk about the idea of joy for Indigenous youth as an act of rebellion, defunding the police, and why climate solutions cannot happen without Indigenous governance. 

This podcast is part of rabble’s series “The Boiling Point.” The Boiling Point examines the ways increasingly high temperatures due to the climate crisis are affecting our summers in Canada on a social, institutional, and ecological level. The series also explains how Canadians can take action against climate change and make real differences in their communities. Follow more stories here.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your podcasts. And please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends — it takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca. Or, if you have feedback for the show, get in touch anytime at editor@rabble.ca.

Photo by: Aaron Burden