Justin Trudeau

Episode 147 – Worst Case Ontario (and AB, BC…)

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about the chaos of the Third Wave, about how police will not fix anything and why these politicians would rather see people in ICU than stop the spread of COVID-19.

Episode transcript.

Episode 140 – Pharmacare and white supremacy news roundup

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about the NDP private member bill on pharmacare, and what it would take to build a pharmacare system in Canada. They also talk about the revelations in Celina Caesar-Chevannes’ new book and the Fifth Estate episode Black on Campus.

Episode transcript

Episode 139 – the Liberals’ crime reform legislation

Last week, the Liberals introduced Bill C-22 – the Liberals’ long-awaited amendments to Canada’s criminal code. Sandy and Nora discuss the changes, how they are a mixed bag of good and bad, and how the Liberals never take seriously the concerns of Black and Indigenous communities.

Transcript available here.

Episode 136 – Even more COVID

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about COVID news: from new viral strains to new travel restrictions, why does Canada seem to be perpetually aiming to do the absolute least?

Episode 124 – white rage in Nova Scotia: terrorism or genocide?

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about why taking action in support of Mi’kmaq fishers, and Indigenous struggles everywhere, is so critical. They also talk about seniority in the labour movement, and how eliminating seniority isn’t going to fix systemic racism in the workplace.

Contest is closed but you can buy merch here still:  https://twitter.com/amybeatrice/status/1317161330260979713

Nora’s book launch RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/billets-noras-55-hour-book-launch-open-house-pandemic-nightmare-edition-125505517381

RESOURCES:

Donations:  https://t.co/qp5x3vOqcb?amp=1

Twitter thread of ideas: https://twitter.com/TheAgentNDN/status/1317325273730371584

How others are helping: https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/mi-kmaw-fishers-creative-support-1.5770229?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar

Episode 119 – is white supremacy intensifying?

From saddling Black entrepreneurs with debt and calling it progress, to white settler fishers in Nova Scotia threatening Mi’kmaq fishers asserting their constitutionally-protected rights, to a white supremacist committing random murder in Toronto, Sandy and Nora ask: is white supremacy intensifying? It’s always bad but it seems like its … particularly bad right now?

Episode 116 – do not wait for things to get worse

It has been a week. In this episode, Sandy and Nora walk through the month of news that happened this week and explain how, and why, there is urgency right now to take radical action.

Episode 115 – Liberals having a proroguing good time

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about Bill Morneau’s resignation, Chrystia Freeland being a woman and how Justin Trudeau really hopes that Canadians will not pay close enough attention.

 

Episode transcripted (unedited): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z0-6Qj0mXnGofTLZGQhMnRV643_8fPOrtj8o5TvmVOk/edit?usp=sharing

Episode 109 – Liberal Fiberal

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about the Liberal tendency to work through other organizations, lik, WE to build support and consensus for the Liberal brand. Plus – Quebec’s new Me Too movement and that Harper’s fReE sPeEcH letter.

Note: Nora misspoke and said Bob Rae had been appointed the ambassador for the US. He’s been appointed the ambassador to the UN.

Episode 107 – Liberals and WE are BFFs

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about yet another Liberal scheme! And, Sandy reminisces about the famous 2016 BLM action that blocked the Toronto Pride Parade.

Episode 95 – Trudeau’s coronavirus schemes

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about all the ways in which Justin Trudeau and the federal Liberals have avoided the easiest way to help all Canadians and instead, chosen programs that are more bureaucratic, cumbersome and that will leave so many people behind.

Note: since this was recorded on Sunday, April 5, the Liberals have announced that they intend to expand the CERB, with more details coming later on.

Episode 79 – Election’s over. What does anything mean?

Sandy and Nora (but especially Nora) stayed up late to give you instant analysis of Canada’s new federal minority government. They talk about the winners (the Liberals, social movement activists) the losers (media and Maxime Bernier) and remind everyone that this result is good news for anyone looking to affect change.

Episode 77 – debate night and the fall of Canada’s old order

Sandy and Nora stayed up very late to bring you a hot-off-the-press analysis of the only English-language federal election debate. You’ll hear why Jagmeet Singh won and why no one should consider voting Liberal if they’re progressive.

Episode 75 – #BlackFaceTrudeau and Canadian white supremacy

It feels like so long ago: Justin Trudeau in Blackface hit the election cycle like an atomic bomb. What did journalists miss? How bad was the coverage? And what does this affair tell us about who Canada really is?

Episode 72 – try not to despair with an election in the air

In this episode, Sandy and Nora talk about how progressives should orient themselves towards the federal election. Hint: drop the partisanship, get involved in a local campaign if the candidate is worth your time and don’t imagine that voting is the sum total of democratic involvement.

** RE: Nora’s comment about the per vote subsidy clarification: Harper axed it. Trudeau never brought it back.

Episode 61 – Are the Liberals bowing to white nationalists?

The biggest story from the 2019 budget barely made the news — the Liberals are tightening border security and making it much more difficult for people to seek asylum, including making it illegal to claim asylum from the United States. Sandy and Nora examine these new anti-refugee policies (including Doug Ford’s cuts to legal aid) and ask progressives to do what they can to make noise to oppose these new policy measures.

 

Episode 55 — Liberals tokenize to make SNC affair go away

Despite their best efforts, the Liberals are still stuck in the SNC-Lavalin scandal. And they’ve trotted out some old timers to help push their narrative into the mainstream press. Sandy and Nora talk about the strategy of hiding behind women to burn other women, hiding behind racialized women to burn other racialized women, and why the Liberal Party they want you to know is very different than the Liberal Party they really are.

Episode 51 – Corruption and racism, as Canadian as Maple Pie

From SNC-Lavalin to the Yellow Vest Movement, Canada’s Two Natural Governing Parties (TM) are in a deep dive into those things that are more Canadian than Tim’s and hockey: racism and corruption. Sandy and Nora walk you through it all.

Episode 41 – You gotta fight for your right (to strike)

Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government legislated striking postal workers back to work this week. Despite the fact that 1. mail has continued to be delivered and 2. that the right to strike is protected by the Charter, everyone’s favourite fauxminist has put the boots to CUPW members’ necks and forced an end to their rotating strikes.

Sandy and Nora decode what all this means, and why our right to strike is a right that needs to be vigourously defended.

Photo courtesy of the Canadian Association of Labour Media

Episode 3: The white supremacy episode

2017 might just be the year where mainstream Canada reckons with white supremacy — or maybe not. From Justin Trudeau being a white supremacist to marches promoting hatred happening across Canada, Sandy and Nora make the necessary connections of these flashpoint events to broader systems and structures of white supremacy. With M103, the anti-Islamophobia motion soon to be debated in the House of Commons, it’s critical to understand this debate in the context of white supremacy.

The White Supremacy episode: from “should I punch a Nazi?” to: “here are the range of ways to disrupt, bother and challenge Nazis in the streets”