Redeye

Ahead of BC Budget 2026, the provincial government was already laying the groundwork to defend austerity measures by arguing that there is not enough wealth to redistribute. Economist Alex Hemingway disagrees. He and fellow economist Silas Xuareb at Canadians for Tax Fairness say that there is wealth in BC and Canada, and claiming otherwise is a way to distract us from the massive concentration of wealth in this country. Alex Hemingway is Senior Economist and Public Finance Policy Analyst with BC Policy Solutions. He joins me today to talk about the report published last week, The New Robber Barons.

For more than six decades, the U.S. has targeted Cuba with economic sanctions, blockades and campaigns to destabilize the Cuban government. Now, Trump's latest salvo toward Cuba is his January executive order that sanctions any nation that provides oil to Cuba. The result has led to severe consequences for the Cuban economy and is harshly affecting the daily life of Cuban citizens. Medea Benjamin has just returned from a humanitarian trip to Cuba. Medea Benjamin is a cofounder of both CODEPINK and the international human rights organization, Global Exchange. She joins us on the podcast today.

Redeye's Ian Mass joins us to talk about calls for unity on the progressive left which heated up this week. Plus he wonders if, after 19 years, a school in Olympic village will finally be approved, and asks if the city is ready for when the FIFA World Cup comes to Vancouver in June. All this and lots more in Ian's regular City Beat report.

British Columbia's Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said that the budget she brought down on Tuesday wasn't an austerity budget. However, key spending areas have been given very small budget increases spread over the three-year fiscal plan, which will mean real cuts to services. In addition, the B.C. government's tax increases will hit low- to moderate income households. In their analysis released Tuesday, Marc Lee and Andrew Longhurst say the budget lays a financial burden on the poorest in BC. Marc Lee is an economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. He joins me today to talk about this week's provincial budget.

Following recent court decisions around Indigenous rights and Aboriginal title in BC, public discourse is full of conflicting assertions. Premier David Eby has criticized the court and called their decisions overreaching and unhelpful. RAVEN works to support Indigenous Nations upholding their rights in court. It published an article to clarify some of the confusion, comparing what they are hearing to what they know to be true. We speak with Jamie-Leigh Gonzales of RAVEN.

Vancouver City Council will hold public hearings on redevelopment of the 800 block of Granville and the old Army and Navy department store on Hastings, as well as a proposal for a 25-storey hotel a block from Stanley Park. Also this week, OneCity has chosen their candidate for mayor, Vancouver's auditor general comes down hard on the real estate department and lots more in City Beat with Ian Mass.

In his new book If You Want to Win, You've Got to Fight, transportation activist Carter Lavin shares strategies about how to create the change we want to see in our communities. Whether it's more protected bike lanes, improved bus service, or safer streets for pedestrians, Carter provides a comprehensive toolbox of campaign tactics and advocacy tips. He is co-founder of the TransBay Coalition and has helped lead and study over a hundred advocacy campaigns across the United States. Carter Lavin joins us this episode.

The No More Loopholes Act, Bill C-233, is a private member's bill put forward by Vancouver-East MP Jenny Kwan. It puts pressure on the Canadian government to abide by the Arms Trade Treaty it signed in 2019. Currently, arms exported to the US are exempted and have ended up being used by Israel in Gaza, by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and by ICE in Minnesota. The private member's bill will be voted on in Parliament at Second Reading in late February. We speak with Johanna Lewis of the Arms Embargo Now coalition.

Vancouver City Council will hold public hearings on redevelopment of the 800 block of Granville and the old Army and Navy department store on Hastings, as well as a proposal for a 25-storey hotel a block from Stanley Park. Also this week, OneCity has chosen their candidate for mayor, Vancouver's auditor general comes down hard on the real estate department and lots more in City Beat with Ian Mass.

As Canada grapples with a deep housing affordability crisis, women continue to experience some of the most severe housing needs. The Women's National Housing & Homelessness Network say the role of anti-feminist ideology shapes who gets safe, adequate, and affordable housing—and who does not. We speak with research assistant Aymen Sherwani.

Vancouver is a host city for the FIFA World Cup this year, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US. There are going to be seven matches at BC Place Stadium and an official FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE Amphitheatre. Organizers say more than a million visitors are expected province-wide, including over 360,000 during the tournament itself. The question is how all those people will move around the city once they get here. We speak with Denis Agar, executive director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders.

The number of businesses inviting us to tip their workers is growing all the time. Tipping used to be restricted to full service restaurants, but now it's spread to coffee chains and fast-food joints. A new analysis published by BC Policy Solutions proposes that it's time to finally ban tipping in Canada and enact a living wage. We speak with Simon Pek, one of the authors of the piece.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said natural disaster claims cost a record 8.5 billion dollars in 2024 due to the increased frequency and severity of weather-related losses. Now Canada's insurance sector is talking about the potential for the country to become uninsurable in 10 years, due to insufficient policy action on escalating climate disasters. Sue Big Oil is a campaign to pass along a share of the costs to the industry responsible for creating the crisis. We speak with Andrew Gage of West Coast Environmental Law.

Vancouver Council has booked themselves a heavy meeting schedule between now and the municipal election in October. Over and above their general council and committee meetings, they have 20 public hearing dates, with multiple redevelopment and rezoning applications to consider. Redeye's Ian Mass joins us to talk about rezonings, world cup soccer, fireworks, Vancouver politics and lots more in his regular City Beat report.

The Hungry Stories Project is a team of scholars, dietitians and artists who are fighting for the elimination of food insecurity by sharing what it takes to collectively care for each other's food needs. They are producing resources to understand food insecurity, and they say that we need to look at root causes. Dr. Jennifer Black is a member of the Hungry Stories Project and Associate Professor in Food, Nutrition and Health at the University of British Columbia.

First Nations across the country are reporting a major loss of funding for children's programs after the federal government changed Jordan's Principle rules last February. Mis­sissaugas of the Credit First Nation have been at a hearing at the Cana­dian Human Rights Tribunal since October, accusing Ott­awa of sys­tem­at­ic­ally under­fund­ing on-reserve child and family services in Canada. We speak with law­yer Kent Elson.

The Vancouver organization Rungh has conducted several Wikipedia Edit-a-thon events and, in 2024, they launched Rungh Wikipedia Scholars. The program focuses on researching and creating Wikipedia entries about BIPOC artists and communities. Kika Memeh is a Vancouver-based Nigerian writer, journalist, and interdisciplinary producer. She is one of 2025's Rungh Wikipedia Scholars. She talks about her research into the artist Chloe Onari and the goals of the Rungh program.

The American invasion of Venezuela — along with fresh threats to annex Greenland — is seen by many commentators as marking the collapse of the international legal order, based on rules enshrined in the United Nations Charter of 1945. The events in Venezuela suggest that this system, with its emphasis on sovereignty and fundamental rights, has been replaced by one more like the pre-Second World War system, when nations could go to war for almost any reason. Jorge Sanchez-Perez says it's time to accept this reality if we are to build a better international order next time. Jorge Sanchez-Perez is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Alberta.

Allowing more childcare in residential neighbourhoods, paying city staff and contractors a living wage, safe public washrooms for everybody and lots more. Redeye collective member Ian Mass brings us his preview of Vancouver Council's agenda over the coming week with his City Beat report.

Under B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Act, industrial projects must be substantially started within a set period or their environmental certificates expire. KSM Mining ULC is arguing that its gold-copper mine in Northwestern BC is substantially started despite little having been done on the site in the past 10 years. In December 2024, Ecojustice filed a judicial review on behalf of SkeenaWild, challenging the Environmental Assessment Office's decision that the mine meets the substantial start requirement. The case went to the BC Supreme court in September. We speak with Adrienne Berchtold, ecologist & mining impacts researcher with Skeenawild.

In 2021, Amber Bracken, a freelance photojournalist on assignment for the Narwhal, was arrested by the RCMP on Wet'suwet'en territory and held in jail for 3 days. The charges against her were later dropped. The Narwhal and Amber Bracken are suing the RCMP in a case about press freedom. That trial begins in Vancouver on Jan 12. We speak with Carol Linnitt, editor-in-chief of the Narwhal.

Vancouver politics were busy in 2025 and with an October 2026 municipal election approaching, things won't be quieting down any time soon. Redeye collective member Ian Mass brings us his New Year's City Beat report.

In Canada, the policies affecting disabled people do not always follow a consistent approach. Alfiya Battalova says our narratives around disability shape our policies – and some key laws reveal a profound tension in Canada's approach to disability rights and social responsibility. Alfiya Battalova is Assistant Professor in Justice Studies at Royal Roads University.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg was built to educate Canadians about stories of global injustice. Yet in the more than 10 years since it opened, it has not meaningfully acknowledged the dispossession of Palestinians in 1948 that resulted from the founding of Israel. But now the CMHR has announced an exhibit titled Palestine Uprooted: Nakba Past and Present to launch next year. Jonah Corne is an associate professor in the department of English, Theatre, Film and Media at the University of Manitoba. He joins us to talk about the significance of this move.

As students across Alberta returned to class this fall, families were met with a slate of changes targeting queer and trans kids, ushered in by the United Conservative Party government. These changes were largely driven by the movement for parental rights. Heather Ganshorn is research director for Support Our Students Alberta and author of the report, Challenging Parental Rights. She talks with us about links between the parental rights movement and the push to privatize education in Alberta.

On December 2, the OneBC party released its documentary Making a Killing: Reconciliation, genocide and plunder in Canada. Since then, the writer and producer of the film Tim Thielmann, has been fired along with two other senior staff. MLA Dallas Brodie has herself been removed as interim party leader. But the documentary lives on, with Dallas Brodie voicing Thielmann's script and interviewing all the guests. We talk about the film with Sean Carleton, professor of history and Indigenous studies at the University of Manitoba.

The Gitxaała & Ehattesaht First Nations have launched a court challenge to BC's free-entry mining regime. In a precedent-setting decision released last week, the BC Court of Appeal has affirmed that BC's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act creates legally enforceable obligations on the province to reform the mining permit process. We talk with Jamie Kneen of MiningWatch.

Solar farm projects in Alberta have stalled because of new provincial regulations. Yet some Canadian researchers are saying photovoltaic systems now produce the lowest-cost electricity in history and using them in agriculture increases crop yields. We speak with Joshua Pearce, co-author of a new study on agrivoltaics.

As hundreds of First Nations leaders gathered last week in Ottawa for their annual December meeting, the federal-provincial memorandum of understanding for a new pipeline to Asian markets was high on the agenda. The Assembly of First Nations chiefs voted unanimously on Tuesday to demand the withdrawal of the deal and expressed full support for First Nations on the British Columbia coast strongly opposing the initiative. Anna Johnston is a lawyer with West Coast Environmental Law and author of a brief on the legal and historical risk of a Northwest coast pipeline. management. We speak with her about the MOU and the risks of pursuing a new pipeline from Alberta to the BC coast.

Next week Vancouver City Council will consider Mayor Ken Sim's controversial proposal to fast-track a new Filipino Cultural Centre without community consultation. Also on the agenda, Vancouver's Social Housing Initiative, plans to radically change the current plan for the Downtown Eastside and much more. We speak with Redeye's Ian Mass.

Forty progressive economists and policy experts gathered in Ottawa in September for an economic summit called Elbows Up: A Practical Program for Canadian Sovereignty. Marc Lee is a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and he was both a presenter and participant in the Summit. We speak with Marc about his takeaways from the summit and the need for Canada to make a generational investment in non-market and public housing.

In the wake of a serious grizzly bear attack on schoolchildren near Bella Coola, there are calls from some quarters for the province to revisit its ban on the grizzly bear hunt. The BC Wildlife Federation has called for a new trophy hunt on grizzlies. Tandeep Sidhu is assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of Manitoba. We speak with him about the human dimensions of wildlife conflict and management.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has introduced Bill 9 - a piece of legislation that aims to infringe on the rights of trans people. Smith has used the notwithstanding clause four times in the last three weeks. This time to shield three anti-transgender bills from legal challenges and to bypass Charter protected rights. In response, queer activists are scaling up the campaign to defend these rights and protect queer and trans people. We speak with Fae Johnstone, executive director of Queer Momentum.

The practice of people self-identifying as Indigenous has come into sharp focus after a number of high-profile cases of “pretendians” claiming to be Indigenous without evidence. However, far less attention has been given to Indigenous people being wrongly labelled as pretendians. In a recent article for Policy Options, Debbie Martin argues that the rush for Indigenous identity policies at universities has led to people with legitimate claims to Indigeneity being swept up in policies that will cause lasting harm. Debbie Martin is Inuk and a member of Nunatukavut. She is a professor in the school of health and human performance at Dalhousie University and the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples' health and well-being.

British Columbia has one of the lowest industrial water rates in Canada. Meanwhile, water advocates say communities across the province are struggling to fund efforts to fight increasing droughts, floods, and wildfires. A new report says we need to modernize industrial water rates to protect our water sources, safeguard communities and secure long-term prosperity. The report was created by the BC Watershed Security Coalition. We speak with Kyle Visvanathan, co-author of the report.

On November 8, Doug Gordon and Sarah Goodyear of The War on Cars podcast were in Vancouver as guests of Vision Zero Vancouver to talk about their new book and to meet with local activists. There wasn't a seat left in the house at the Djavad Mowafaghian theatre at SFU Woodwards as Doug and Sarah introduced some of the ideas in their book, Life After Cars, and interviewed two Canadian activists in the fight for safer streets, Lucy Maloney and Tom Flood. We bring you excerpts from the evening on today's podcast.

Despite the purported ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes continue to kill Palestinians. Canada has long downplayed its role in arming Israel, claiming it only issues a limited number of export permits and that those permits have now been suspended. But this week, a new report was released that exposes a massive ongoing flow of Canadian explosives and F-35 parts to Israel via the United States. We speak with Rachel Small, Canada lead for World Beyond War, a member of the Arms Embargo Now Coalition.

In today's episode, Ian Mass with City Beat for Nov 22. Vancouver City Council has just gone through a gruelling 4-day public process focused on the 2026 city budget. On Tuesday Nov 25, we'll see if any of the comments have made a difference to this controversial zero-means-zero budget. Council will also consider a proposal for a Filipino cultural centre, BC Housing's decision to move 300 low-income tenants out of a single-room-occupancy hotel on Granville Street and lots more.

Five years after provincial government commitments to protect old growth, the new report commissioned by Sierra Club BC concludes that the ecological integrity of our forests continues to decline, threatening biodiversity, First Nations values and a diverse economy. We speak with Karen Price, an ecologist who co-authored the report.

On Oct 21, the Jewish Faculty Network published The CIJA Report documenting what the six authors say is a pattern of anti-Palestinian racism and genocide denial at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. They wrote the report to shine a light on how the current discourse about antisemitism in Canada serves to manufacture consent for Israel's genocide in Gaza. We speak with Sheryl Nestel, one of the authors of the report. She is a retired sociologist and long-time member and leader of Independent Jewish Voices Canada.

The deputy mayor of Tirana, Albania says she realized one day that her city had been planned with one user in mind - an adult male who needed to get to the office as quickly as possible. She says everything about Tirana's streets, public spaces and transport systems were designed to make his life easy. Anuela Ristani is one of the women in local government that we get to meet in Women Changing Cities, a new book by Canadian authors and urban mobility advocates Melissa and Chris Bruntlett. We speak with Melissa Bruntlett in this episode.

Bruce McIvor has written a new book that should become essential reading for Canadians who want to advance reconciliation. Indigenous Rights in One Minute gives clear and concise answers to questions like who qualifies as Métis and what the Doctrine of Discovery is. Bruce McIvor is the founder and senior partner at First Peoples Law and an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia's Allard School of Law. He is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

The Jackpine Mine is an open-pit tar sands project north of Fort McMurray. Last year, the operator applied for a renewal of its licence to operate the mine for another 10 years. In response Ecojustice, the Alberta Wilderness Association, and Keepers of the Water filed a statement of concern asking the Alberta Energy Regulator to recognize the Athabasca River Basin as a “legal person” with the right to participate in decisions that affect its health. We speak with Matt Hulse, a lawyer for Ecojustice.

Judy Darcy's memoir, Leading From the Heart, chronicles her battles as a feminist, a union leader and a politician from the 1960's until today. Judy joins Ian Mass to talk about those both personal and political battles.

When you think of a cleaning company, you probably imagine a place where employees work under a manager, decisions are made from the top down, and profits go to the business owner. In Vancouver, a worker cooperative called The Cleaning Coop aims to disrupt this model by providing non-exploitative employment, paying a fair wage, and promoting well-being and equality among the workers. We speak with Hayley Postlethwaite, one of the founders of The Cleaning Coop.

British Columbia is in a housing crisis, and 1.6 million renters are bearing the brunt of it. The Residential Tenancy Act and Residential Tenancy Branch policy have the potential to support the human right to housing and to prevent homelessness and displacement but there is plenty of room for improvement in how well they protect tenants. First United has just come out with their second law reform platform addressing some of the gaps. We speak with Dr. Sarah Marsden of First United.

In the aftermath of October 7, 2023, Canada saw a rise in anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab and antisemitism that affects many areas of life and work for Canadians. So begins a report produced by the Islamophobia Research Hub at York University. The incidents documented in the report portray a climate of repression, violence and censorship across the country and throughout multiple aspects of life in Canada. We speak with Nadia Hasan, author of the report.

At the end of her mother's life, writer and academic Julietta Singh returns to Winnipeg to say goodbye to her childhood home. As she digs into the history of the house, she uncovers 140 years of forgotten matriarchs and political rebels she never knew. Singh has teamed up with acclaimed filmmaker Chase Joynt and the National Film Board to create a documentary that interweaves Indigenous, Deaf, Japanese and South Asian histories, all connected through the house she grew up in. There's a free showing of the film November 5 at the Chan Centre and a talk by Julietta Singh. We speak with Julietta Singh and Chase Joynt.

Plans by Vancouver Mayor Sim and his ABC majority to uplift the Downtown Eastside propose to increase the proportion of market rentals, water down the definition of social housing and dramatically increase allowable building heights. Critics say this amounts to a recipe for rapid gentrification and displacement of local residents. We talk with Ian Mass about this plan and much more.

Racism does not always follow the patterns of aggressive behaviour, or outright attempts to violate the human rights and equality of racialized people. A study of the experiences of first- and second-generation Haitian and Jamaican Canadians sheds light on a form of racial exclusion sociologist Dr. Karine Coen-Sanchez calls polite racism. She joins us on our podcast today.

At September's Union of BC Municipalities convention, Premier David Eby announced that 100 new involuntary care beds would open in the province. The new beds will be shared between Surrey and Prince George, adding to 18 long-term involuntary care beds announced for Maple Ridge in June. While city councillors in the two municipalities welcomed the move, it has been broadly criticized by drug policy researchers. We speak with Kora DeBeck, Distinguished Professor of Substance Use and Drug Policy in the School of Public Policy at Simon Fraser University and research scientist with the BC Centre on Substance Use.