COMMONS

Ever get the feeling someone is watching you? If you’ve been to an environmental protest recently, you might be right. Private intelligence firms, the RCMP and even Canada’s spies have all been caught collecting information on everyday Canadians speaking out against the oil industry. Featured in this episode: Ron Tremblay (Wolostoq Grand Council), Mike De Souza (National Observer), Meghan McDermott (BC Civil Liberties Association) To learn more: “Spies in our midst: RCMP and CSIS snoop on green activists” by Bruce Livesey in National Observer “The Private Intelligence Firm Keeping Tabs on Environmentalists” by Adam Federman in Mother Jones “Kinder Morgan privately eyes Trans Mountain opponents” by Alastair Sharp & Dylan Waisman in National Observer “The feds paid private eye to hunt for a journalist's sources” by Mike De Souza in National Observer Additional music: “A List of Ways to Die” by Lee Rosevere, adapted. This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past few weeks, Ontario Premier Doug Ford was loudly booed at the Raptors' victory parade, demoted a bunch of star members of his Cabinet amid sagging poll numbers and lost his Chief of Staff, who got caught up in a nepotism scandal. Are we witnessing the downfall of a government, or is this just another month in Ontario? If you like Wag the Doug, subscribe to hear more!Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Has Canada been a casualty of a nefarious campaign by foreign-funded radicals to landlock our country’s energy resources? Is Big Oil the victim of a vast international conspiracy? Naaaah. But there is, as always, another conspiracy afoot. Featured in this episode: Markham Hislop (Energi Media) Here's what Vivian Krause has said in response to Markham Hislop's piece. To learn more: “Debunked: Vivian Krause’s Tar Sands Campaign conspiracy narrative” by Markham Hislop in Energi Media. “Alberta Premier Singled Out Environmentalist. Death Threats Followed” by Samantha Beattie in HuffPost “Conservative politicians, oil executives map out strategy for ousting federal Liberals in growing collaboration” by Jeff Lewis & Shawn McCarthy in The Globe and Mail This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An unspeakable tragedy occurs off the coast of Newfoundland. But this isn’t just a story about a nautical disaster. It’s about what happens when a poor province finds immense riches just within reach. And how the promise of oil wealth can twist history around itself. Featured in this episode: Susan Dodd, Danny O’Brien, Sean Cadigan ADDITIONAL MUSIC CREDITS: "Seeker" and "Scenery" by Kai Engel, adapted To learn more: The Ocean Ranger: Remaking the Promise of Oil by Susan Dodd Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster by Mike Heffernan “The Ranger Disaster” by CBC’s The Fifth Estate This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster was a calamity like we’ve never seen before. The families of the victims never got justice. But the conditions that made it possible have barely changed. And the next time could be far worse. Featured in this episode: Bruce Campbell, Dylan Robertson (Winnipeg Free Press) To learn more: The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal, Justice Denied by Bruce Campbell. “Alberta Crisis, Winnipeg Danger” by Dylan Robertson in the Winnipeg Free Press This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when the oil wells run dry? Environmental damage, government bailouts and a scheme that some are comparing to the subprime mortgage crisis. And all of this is just the beginning. Featured in this episode: Sharon J. Riley (The Narwhal), Jeff Lewis (Globe and Mail), Alana Bartol (Orphan Well Adoption Agency), Herman, Shirley and Mark Dorin. To learn more: Hustle in the oil patch: Inside a looming financial and environmental crisis by Jeff Lewis, Jeffrey Jones, Chen Wang, Renata D’Aliesio in the Globe and Mail. The story of Alberta’s $100-billion well liability problem. How did we get here? By Sharon J. Riley in The Narwhal ‘Forgotten and ignored’ An Alberta couple fights a leaky oil well by Alannah Page in National Observer. This show was brought to you by our patrons. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Alberta oil sands. It’s a cold patch of land (which we once almost nuked into oblivion) that’s become Canada’s economic engine. Governments have fought over it for decades. And now it’s one of the most controversial places on the planet. Will it finally tear our politics apart? Featured in this episode: Mary Janigan, Chris Turner To learn more: Let the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark by Mary Janigan The Patch: The People, Pipelines, and Politics of the Oil Sands by Chris TurnerSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A family poisoned in their homes. Bombs going off in the night. Shots fired and inside jobs. The story of Wiebo Ludwig is There Will Be Blood come to life. So was he a man of faith facing down the full might of Big Oil? Or a terrorist with blood on his hands? Featured in this episode: David York (Wiebo’s War), Levi Ludwig To learn more: Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig’s War Against Big Oil by Andrew Nikiforuk Wiebo’s War by David York “Adventures in Wieboland” by Brian Bergman in Maclean’s.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you don’t understand oil, you can’t understand Canada. We take you to a place unlike anywhere else in the world, where the booms and busts all began. And find out why just a short distance away, children grow up afraid of the very air they breathe. Featured in this episode: Pat McGee and Charlie Fairbank (Fairbank Oil Properties), Vanessa Gray. To learn more: “Time stands still in oil industry's birthplace” in the Toronto Star by Murray White. “Canada’s Toxic Secret: A troubling trend of leaks and spills in the Sarnia area” in Global News “The Chemical Valley” In VICE by Patrick McGuire CLARIFICATION: In the episode, we credit the Price of Oil series to the the Toronto Star, National Observer and Global News. The collaborative investigation also involved Concordia University, Ryerson University School of Journalism, the University of Regina, UBC, The Corporate Mapping Project and the Michener Awards Foundation.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last season Commons covered corruption in Canada. This time around we're talking about Canada's relationship with the oil industry. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the weird. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canadian companies have committed all kinds of wrongdoing abroad. But this is on a different level. One Vancouver-based company has been accused by the United Nations and Human Rights Watch of using slaves to build a mine with one of the world’s most oppressive governments. Featured in this episode: Geoffrey York (The Globe and Mail) & Aaron Berhane (Mefti) To learn more: “Canadian miner Nevsun Resources has a tangled relationship with one of the world’s most repressive regimes” in The Globe and Mail by Geoffrey York “We were forced to work at Western-run mine, say migrants who fled Eritrea” in Reuters by Allison Martell and Edmund Blair “What did Canadian mining executives know about possible human rights violations in Eritrea?” in The Fifth Estate (CBC) by Scott Anderson “The Slaves of Eritrea” in Canadian Business by Matthew McClearnSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tens of thousands of dollars in suits, luggage, magazines and mustard. An epic booze heist from the legislature. An undercover legislator exposing corruption. And a wood-splitter that’s transfixed a province. Just another day in the wild world of B.C. politics. Featured in this episode: Andrew MacLeod (The Tyee) To learn more: “Speaker Report Alleges ‘Flagrant’ Misspending by Two Senior Legislative Officials,” in The Tyee by Andrew MacLeod “Whistleblower alleges legislature expense issues beyond clerk and sergeant-at-arms,” in Global News by Richard Zussman.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada is hockey crazy. But at the heart of the sport is a system of unpaid labour that scars some boys for life. And the teams and leagues are doing whatever it takes to make sure things stay exactly the way they are. Featured in this episode: Scott Wheeler (The Athletic) To learn more: “Hockey’s Puppy Mill” in The Walrus by Nicholas Hune-Brown “How a Dad with NHL Dreams Bankrolled a Hockey Empire” in The Toronto Star by Robert Cribb “Why Junior Hockey’s Financial Statement Should be Taken with a Mountain’s Worth of Salt” in The Hockey News by Ken Campbell “Hockey Parent Confidential: An Oral History of Sex, Bribes and Goalie Moms” in The National Post by Joe O’Connor “Lawyers Follow the Money as Court Releases CHL Team Financials” in TSN by Rick WestheadSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One of Canada's most notorious white-collar criminals speaks about his crimes.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It might be small, but it when it comes to graft, Prince Edward Island plays in the big leagues: a secret off-the-books committee, conflicts of interest run amok, public records mysteriously destroyed, a provincial government doing an end-run on the Criminal Code. An inside look at PEI’s long, strange attempt to become Canada’s online gambling hub. Featured in this episode: Robyn Doolittle (The Globe and Mail), Stu Neatby (The Guardian), Paul Maines. To learn more: “Small island, big bet: How PEI lost its online gambling gamble” in The Globe and Mail by Robyn Doolittle and Jane Taber “How Prince Edward Island almost made millions from Internet gambling” in The Guardian by Teresa Wright “Island businessman denies knowing he was sole director of e-gaming shell company” in The Guardian by Stuart Neatby. CORRECTION: PEI has two Green Party MLAs, not one, as stated in this episode.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For twenty years, he's controlled public institutions from behind the scenes. He brags about his connections to organized crime. And he's connected to some of the most powerful people in Canada. So who is the King of Cabbagetown? This follows up on the last episode, "Papa Pump and the Small Town Shakedown." To learn more: "Connected" in The Globe and Mail by Greg McArthur, Karen Howlett and Adrian Morrow. "A ‘Big Fish’ Seeks a Seat at the Toronto District School Board" in The Globe and Mail by Karen Howlett, Caroline Alphonso and Greg McArthur. "Inside the Nasty, Bizarro, Contemptible, Gobsmackingly Screwed-up Soap Opera that is the TDSB" in Toronto Life by Philip Preville "The Green Mobster: Rizzuto Family Secretly Owned Firm that Won Municipal Contracts" in The National Post by Adrian HumphreysSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the eleven years that Marolyn Morrison was the mayor of Caledon, Ontario, she faced down deep-pocketed developers, mafia enforcers and corrupt federal officials. When millions of dollars are at stake, things get heated. To learn more: "Battleground Caledon" in Toronto Life by Kelly Pullen "Connected" in The Globe and Mail by Greg McArthur, Karen Howlett and Adrian Morrow "Corrupt tax auditor gets three years" in The Toronto Star by Marco Chown OvedSupport COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Panama Papers revealed to the world just how deeply enmeshed tax havens are in the global economy. And for 100 years, Canadian banks, businessmen and politicians have worked to build that offshore system, alongside crooks, fraudsters and corrupt officials. To learn more: Treasure Islands: Uncovering the Damage of Offshore Banking and Tax Havens by Nicholas Shaxson Canada: A New Tax Haven: How the Country That Shaped Caribbean Tax Havens is Becoming One Itself by Alain Deneault The Billionaire and the Bank (Global News 16x9)Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years, people could walk into Vancouver-area casinos with tens of thousands of dollars of suspicious cash and walk out with clean money, no questions asked. That money may be fuelling two of the biggest problems the city is facing: the housing crisis and the opiate epidemic. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This season, Commons will be focusing on stories at the intersection of money, influence and politics in Canada. In this episode, we take you to what may be Canada’s most criminal neighbourhood — Toronto’s financial district. Along for the ride is investigative journalist Bruce Livesey, author of “The Thieves of Bay Street.”Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mohamed Waleed Taleb is stuck in Turkey. He applied to come to Canada in 2015 and was flagged under section 34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for his pro-democracy work against the Assad regime. He's responded to the governement's concerns and is now waiting to hear back on a final decision: will he be let into Canada, or will he be deemed "inadmissible". We spoke to Waleed about his experience. We also spoke to his lawyer Pierre Andre Theriault to better understand Waleed's case. This episode was inspired by Canada's Missing Syrians, by Canadian journalist Gareth Chantler.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you look at the stats, Canada has a low incidence of hate crimes, but the numbers that we rely on to tell us if we're racist or not are wrong. In this episode, we speak to journalist and Executive Director, of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network Evan Balgord who explains why that is. Evan represented the research of Barbara Perry Professor and Undergraduate Program Director, of Criminology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and Sabreena Ghaffar-Siddiqui PhD Candidate and Researcher at McMaster University.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Liberal government announced earlier this year that it would send around 200 troops to assist in a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali. But what does "peacekeeping" look like in today's world and what do peacekeepers actually do? In this episode, we speak to Major-General Denis Thompson (Retired) and Aisha Ahmad, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto, to answer these questions. stions.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada has 20 per cent of the world's freshwater and yet some Indigenous communities have not had access to clean drinking water for decades. In this episode, we speak to Rachel Arsenault a master’s student at Laurentian University's Indigenous Relations program who works with Decolonizing Water an Indigenous-led community-based water monitoring initiative. We also speak with Samantha Redsky of Shoal Lake 40 First Nation . Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The acquittal of Gerald Stanley in the shooting of Colten Boushie sparked outrage across Canada. The anger was further fuelled by the fact that the jury was all white, in a community that had a significant Indigenous population. After the Gerald Stanley verdict, the government proposed sweeping changes to the legal system in Bill C-75. The legal community has been divided on these proposed changes - some say they are an important first step to make juries more diverse, while other say they will actually make things worse. Kent Roach, chair of law and public policy at the University of Toronto, talks about the legal mechanism that lets this happen. Roseanne Sylvester tells the story of her brother, Donald Marshall Jr., a Mi'kmaq man who was wrongfully convicted by and all-white jury decades ago.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a teen, Elisa Hategan joined Canada's most notorious and well-organized white supremacist group, the Heritage Front. She later turned on the group and helped to take them down. What can we learn from the past about how white supremacists operate today? And what do we do about all these Nazis? Elisa's book about her time in the Heritage Front is called Race Traitor.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The final episode of our two-parter on solitary confinement in Canada. In this episode, we hear two personal stories about the impacts that solitary confinement can have. Featuring Yusuf Faqiri and Dan Parlow.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A two part series in which we explore the conditions and consequences of solitary confinement use in Canada. Featuring Chris Jackel, a correctional officer who works in a maximum security Ontario prison, and lawyer/professor Lisa Kerr.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a well known narrative about the opioid epidemic: pharmaceutical companies and doctors over-prescribed addictive drugs on patients. But there's an important policy story here too, and we need to talk about it. Featuring longtime opiate user and activist, Garth Mullins, and lawyer, Caitlin Shane.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robyn Maynard is the author of Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present. We chat with Robyn about what she calls our (mis)education: Canada's amnesia to its history of slavery and segregation, and about the ways in which Canadian classrooms are still rife with anti-black racism.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back next week with a new episode! In the meantime, check out a new CANADALAND show, Oppo.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada's immigration system has a human rights problem. Each year, thousands of people are indefinitely jailed in prisons without any criminal charges. Babou was one of them. This episode features Babou Jobe and Subodh Bharati.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We look back on some notably weird political moments of 2017 and collectively cringe. Featuring guests Tim Fontaine (of Walking Eagle News) and Scott Vrooman (of Centrism Dot Biz).Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stronger police accountability is an acute need across Canada. In Ontario, recommendations for stronger police oversight are being drafted into legislation. In this episode, we explore the suspicious death of Cheyenne Fox and the ensuing (lack of) investigation. We then speak to a former director of Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, Ian Scott, who takes us inside the organizations responsible for holding police accountable. The final part of our policing miniseries.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"If the police don't want you to see a file, you're never gonna know it exists." We speak with Lorimer Shenher, a former police officer who was in charge of investigating the growing number of disappearing women from Vancouver's downtown Eastside, about how law enforcement overlooked a serial killer. Part one of a two part series on Canada's policing system and police accountability.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from Vancouver: We speak with organizers Garth Mullins and Annie Ohana to unpack what it means to resist fascism in BC. Featuring Hadiya Roderique and guest host Sandy Garossino.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Betty Ann Adam is a reporter with the Saskatoon Star Phoenix. She is also a survivor of the "Sixties Scoop". When she was a toddler, the Canadian government pried her from her mother's arms. She was raised by foster parents. A modern version of this is still happening to Indigenous children across Canada. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quebec's racist bill, unveiled. Plus NAFTA explained by one of its founders, former Mulroney Chief of Staff Hugh Segal. And Vancouver? Commons is headed to your burg! Support us at patreon.com/CANADALAND and see this year's goals and rewards. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Liberals put forth a proposal to tax the hell out of small businesses. At least that's how it's being painted by the Opposition. In reality, the proposed changes would have virtually zero impact on the majority of small business owners, but would focus on self-incorporated doctors. And it wouldn't raise their taxes, per se, but alter how they can claim their family members as employees, and change how the money they park in investments rather than being poured back into their businesses is assessed. Fortunately, we have Laval economics professor Stephen Gordon to make sense of this. And you know what would ease the burden on the beleaguered doctors? Another 65 million Canadians who could share the pain. That's what author and Globe & Mail columnist Doug Saunders would like to see.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Episode 79 of Commons we spoke with three of the four NDP leadership candidates: Niki Ashton, Charlie Angus and Jagmeet Singh. These interviews were recorded before Singh's first-ballot victory on Sunday, October 1. As a bonus to Commons listeners, we present the full interview with now NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three Commons hosts, three NDP leadership hopefuls, one sweltering studio. On this episode, just days before the first vote closes in the race, we speak with Niki Ashton, Jagmeet Singh and Charlie Angus about Canada-Indigenous relations, the environment, the economy and the future of the party.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to a brand-new season of Commons! To kick things off, the Commons team is profiling each of the four candidates vying to replace Thomas Mulcair as leader of the federal NDP. This week, we speak with Guy Caron. Also, we look at the summer political stories that evolved while we were on hiatus: the Charlottesville tragedy and subsequent events in Canada, the influx of asylum seekers crossing the border and Trudeau's cabinet shuffle which may have just doubled the bureaucracy for Indigenous peoples. Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the final episode of the season, the Commons team digs into the rise of the fringe right in Canada. Journalist Evan Balgord has been covering organizations like the Proud Boys, Soldiers of Odin, and the Three Percenters for the better part of the past year. He joins us to discuss the ongoing street protests and what's driving these groups' discontent.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we're thrilled to welcome legendary broadcast journalist Amy Goodman. Her program, Democracy Now!, was one of the few non-Indigenous media outlets to provide sustained coverage of the Standing Rock camps protesting the building of the Dakota Access Pipeline. With a pro-pipeline president in the White House and a government in Ottawa that's shown a willingness to green-light our own projects, Goodman weighs in on what we can expect going forward. Also, British Columbians and, well, the British, are both coming to grips with minority governments. And nobody seems entirely sure how they're supposed to work. Philippe Lagassé, Associate Professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University provides some much-needed clarity.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The dust has settled, and the Conservative Party of Canada has elected Andrew Scheer -- an anti-choice, anti-gay-marriage, anti-refugee, anti-M103 candidate -- as their new leader. As the election results trickled in, the Commons team were joined by Conservative consultant Ginny Movat and about 50 loyal listeners at Toronto's venerable Monarch Tavern to dissect the various campaigns. Proceeds from this event were donated to Newcomer Women's Services -- a Toronto-based not-for-profit that supports new immigrants.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Appropriation is the buzzword in the news this week, as a misguided editorial was followed by a white elite up in arms on social media. In the end, two prominent magazine editors were gone from their posts, and the debate about the under-representation of non-white voices in Canadian media got significant traction. But Commons is a show about politics, so we asked CBC columnist and head of TIFF Cinematheque Jesse Wente how appropriation is represented in the Canadian political sphere. On the left coast, the Green Party is playing spoiler for the first time in Canadian history in the wake of the BC election, the Conservative Party is getting ready to choose their new leader, and Commons is throwing a Party to watch and analyze those results live. When somebody says 'traditional values,' everybody drink!Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced the rollout of a basic income trial. The program is to be introduced in three Ontario communities this summer, including Thunder Bay. This is widely seen as compensation for living in Thunder Bay. B.C. Premier Christy Clark gives a voter a succinct primer on democracy, while Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil trips on his shoelaces and accidentally drops his writ. In our feature interview, Ashley speaks with Bloodwatch.org founder and Executive Director Kat Lanteigne about her long fight for justice for victims of Canada's tainted blood scandal, and why she believes the federal government and some provinces are inclined to roll back some of the regulations put in place following the Krever Report.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Commons team unpacks the just-released specifics of the Trudeau government's plan to legalize cannabis. And after twenty minutes or so, all they can think about is snacks. Seriously.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Liberals, according to Conservative MP Scott Reid, are trying to "ram through whatever the fuck they want." In other, vaguely sexually-themed Conservative news, Brad Trost isn't down with the "the whole gay thing," while k.d. lang asks if Jason Kenney might be secretly fond of it. Kellie Leitch and Senator Lynn Beyak? Just crapping on Muslims and Indigenous peoples again, respectively. Nothing sexy there.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Having passed a second reading, the controversial bill C-23 stands to give U.S. border guards greater authority to reject, detain, or search Canadians and permanent residents trying to cross the border. Speaking of the border, a significant chunk of our shared border with the United States comes in the form of four of the five Great Lakes (bonus points if you can name the one entirely contained within one of the two countries). President Donald Trump's newly-unveiled budget threatens to decimate the funding of the Environmental Protection Agency and, by extension, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. And the ugly battle for the federal Conservative leadership reached blobfish levels of unattractiveness as accusations of widespread voter fraud reached a fever pitch over the weekend.Support COMMONS: http://commonspodcast.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.