rabble radio

In recent weeks, mass protests have been shaking Chile. The protests began on October 7 as a fare-evasion protest by high school students. Throughout the rest of the month and now into November, the protests have rapidly escalated into a comprehensive challenge to the political and economic order established by Augusto Pinochet in the nation's 1980 constitution. On today's rabble radio, we'll also look at the background to these protests, starting with Chile's use under the brutal Pinochet dictatorship as a laboratory to test the neoliberal policies that would later be brought to the rest of the world, how the protests relate to the current state of the left across Latin America, and what their prospects of success are. As many as ten per cent of the country's population were on the streets on the biggest day of protest. We'll be hearing Corvin Russell talk to Carlos Torres about the protests. Torres is a long time activist and writer of the Chilean left, and a former political prisoner, who spent many years in Montreal and Toronto doing research, social justice, and international solidarity work, including serving on the World Social Forum International Council. Russell is an activist, writer, and educator living in Toronto. Carlos Torres has written recently for Amandla magazine in South Africa, and for Alternatives in Montreal. Most recently he has written three books — one on Che Guevara in the 21st century, one titled Venezuela: Democracy or Dictatorship?, and a book on the revolutionary left in Chile. He is currently finishing a PhD at the University of Buenos Aires, now lives in Santiago, which is where Corvin Russell reached him. This podcast features two different interviews. The first interview was done last Monday October 28. And because things are evolving and changing rapidly, Corvin did a followup interview with Carlos at the beginning of this week. Image: Wikimedia/Carlos Figueroa/Protestas en Chile de 2019, Plaza Baquedano, Santiago, Chile

We're well into the semester for Ontario's post secondary students. Reading week is over and everybody is settling in. One thing that isn't settling in yet, though, is the budgets of students unions, radio stations, student newspapers, food banks and all the other services which are being affected by the Ontario provincial government's Student Choice Initiative. Last spring, the program was announced, which would give students greater choice about what student they want to pay for and not. Most services on campuses like libraries, and athletic fees weren't affected, and critics of the plan say that this was ideologically driven to diminish student voices, opinion and action. The Canadian Federation of Students has launched a lawsuit which has been heard earlier in October, with a decision expected in six to eight weeks. Kayla Weiler is the Ontario representative for the CFS. She talked to Victoria Fenner about the status of the lawsuit, and also about the effects of the Student Choice Initiative on campuses so far. Image: Canadian Federation of Students Ontario. Used with permission.

The dust is settling on the 2019 election and we're all still figuring out what it all means. Minority governments can be messy, but it can also be a time for creative solutions too. In theory, it means that more voices will be heard, not just the governing party. Hopefully that will mean that some of the marginalized voices will be able to speak and be heard, including the voices of women. This time around, a record 98 women were elected on Monday. That's up from 88 in the previous Parliament, but still less than 30 per cent of the House. Last time around, the Liberals made big commitments to increase the impact and role of women in the government. How much that really happened is of course, a matter of interpretation. We will see in weeks to come if the commitment to women in positions of power continues in the same way it did during the previous Parliament. And whether or not the presence of more women will result in substantive change in how our government operates and the priorities it identifies. That's a big question — if there are more women in power, does it make a difference? Today's guest on rabble radio looks at that question. Sylvia Bashevkin is the editor of a new book called Doing Politics Differently? Women Premiers in Canada's Provinces and Territories. It's a collection of articles about 10 women premiers from coast to coast, an analysis of how they rose to power, what kept them in power and what caused their exits from the office of the premier in their various provinces. Sylvia Bashevkin is a professor in the department of political science at the University of Toronto. Her primary research focus is gender and politics, notably women's impact as public leaders. Image: Connor Mah/Flickr

This election is a nail biter. Will it be a minority government? Which party will have the most seats? What kinds of deals are going to be going down as the parties make their power plays to be the one who will lead our country. And, since it's looking like it won't be a majority government, which parties are positioning themselves to be king-makers? There are many questions and there won't be an answer until Monday. And maybe not a clear answer until later than that. Things are changing so quickly that we're posting this podcast a bit early — this conversation with rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg was held on Tuesday, October 15. With the speed things are moving, this is one interview which shouldn't sit on the shelf. Because it might all change by tomorrow. Image: Ishmael Daro/Flickr

For a long time, many campus and community stations have considered themselves to be a force for social change in their communities. So, once again, they're using their airwaves towards that end. 1. Facts are Free is a collection of public service announcements that are being aired on campus and community radio stations across the country in the weeks leading up to the election. The non-profit and charitable radio sector in Canada has launched a campaign to raise awareness about climate change and environmental issues facing Canadians. The campaign is called Facts are Free and it's been created in cooperation with with Environmental Defence and the VX3 Exchange. Luke Smith is a learning and development officer with the National Campus and Community Radio Association. He talked to Victoria Fenner. 2. Canada's youth have the opportunity this election to shift the political landscape considerably. For the first time in Canada's history, millennials and Gen Z make up the largest voting bloc — 37 per cent of the electorate — so there is a lot of opportunity to force politicians to focus on youth issues that are otherwise ignored. If youth come out to vote, there could be far reaching consequences. Whether they'll take advantage of the opportunity remains to be seen. Future Majority is an organization set up to work towards that end. Shreya Kalra is working as a field organizer with Future Majority. As a part of this campaign, she's been speaking to about 100 students everyday at Seneca College's Newnham campus about the issues that are affecting their everyday lives. She took a break from organizing to talk to rabble radio on October 2, 2019. Image: Victoria Fenner

With the election less than a month away, all of us who are politically engaged are reflecting on how well our government has worked over the past few years. And governments of all kinds are operating very differently than they did even 10 years ago, thanks to digital innovation and theories of information management which arise from new technologies. The digital age has had a profound effect on the way our country and our government operates. You can explore these themes in Amanda Clarke's new book Opening the Government of Canada — The Federal Bureaucracy in the Digital Age. For example — she has a section in her book where she considers the legacy of former prime minister Stephen Harper as "Canada's first digital era prime minister." Considering the secrecy and information control rampant in the Harper era, it wouldn't surprise most of us that the transition towards open government has had its bumps along the way. And it still does, despite the very different style of the Trudeau government. While it's easy to criticize the federal government for being pretty slow about about figuring out new models to navigate the digital age, Clarke says there needs to be a balance. She makes the case for a more open model of governance, but says that the model also needs to be balanced with the democratic principles embedded at the heart of our parliamentary system of governance. It's a tricky thing. rabble podcast producer Victoria Fenner talked to Amanda Clarke about how those dynamics are playing out on Parliament Hill. Amanda Clarke joined the faculty of Carleton University's School of Public Policy and Administration in July 2014. Her research examines public sector reform, policymaking and civic engagement, focusing in particular on the impact of digital technologies on these domains. Prior to joining Carleton, Clarke completed a doctorate at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, as a Pierre Elliott Trudeau scholar, a Clarendon Press scholar and a fellow of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She is co-editor of Issues in Canadian Governance and author of Opening the Government of Canada: The Federal Bureaucracy in the Digital Age. In 2017, Clarke was appointed Carleton University's Public Affairs Research Excellence Chair and in 2019, the Canada School of Public Service named her a Digital Government Research Fellow. She is the founder of the Canadian Digital Governance Research Network. Image: Open Knowledge Foundation/Flickr

This month, starting tomorrow until September 27, students across Canada are organizing a week of action to call attention to climate change. People around the world are seeing more and more severe weather. Oceans are rising, deserts are growing and the planet is in trouble. We are glad to work with organizers who are demanding that every government and industry take on climate change as a priority. Today on rabble we're talking to Climate Strike organizers across the country about what they are planning for upcoming week of action. This edition of rabble radio is done in partnership with rabble's Lynn Williams Activist Toolkit, and the help of toolkit editor Maya Bhullar. Panelists: Rebecca Hamilton: Vancouver Sydney Chadwick: Regina Alex Flett: Regina Maureen Huot: Regina (adult ally) Allie Rougeot: Toronto Nick Lorraway: Kingston (Queens) Anna Morineau: Ottawa Gatineau Michael James: Edmonton You can find more information about the strikes on climatestrikecanada.org. Spread the word among students and, if your school days are over, come out as allies. Image: Climate Action Toronto, May 3 2019. Payton Mitchell. Used with permission.

James Gordon thinks that we might be able to sing our way towards a solution in dealing with the climate crisis. Not just through song alone, of course, but by mobilizing groups of people and lifting the mood a little bit with a whole theatrical range of seriousness, scariness, inspiration and hopefulness. Today on rabble radio, podcast executive producer and rabble radio host Victoria Fenner talks to James Gordon at his debut performance at a house concert in Barrie, Ontario. And he even gave her permission to play some of his songs from the show. James Gordon, for those of you who haven't heard him before, is a singer songwriter whose career goes back some 40 years. He has recorded over 40 albums and has written for symphony orchestras, musical theatre, dance, film scores, as well as performing his own work all over North America. He was even a song writer in residence for CBC Radio. He's still touring and writing, but now has to divide his time between songifying and sitting in city council chambers of Guelph, where he is in his second term as a councillor. One of the things he's been known for, especially in the run up to the 2015 election, was his production Stephen Harper – the Musical. That's one of the hazards of tying your songs to the news agenda. Sometimes you have to retire some of your repertoire when the world moves on. But as you'll hear, Gordon is good with that. And now, his tradition of interpreting the news in song and dance continues with his latest production. Image: James Gordon/Facebook Music: from "Emergency Climate Musical" – Used with permission of James Gordon

As the climate crisis escalates, new solutions and new groups are emerging to becoming part of the dialogue. Extinction Rebellion is a fairly new one — it started just last year in the U.K. on May 18, 2018. Its first major action was the blocking of five bridges across the Thames just last November. Since then, there have been Extinction Rebellion groups coming together in other parts of the world, including here in Canada. Their core values are summarized in three points — tell the truth, act now and form a citizens' assembly to determine how the changes will happen. The group's actions are very direct, very visible and include non violent civil diobedience. Civil disobedience is something that is little understood by the general population here in Canada. rabble podcast executive producer Victoria Fenner called Rocky Petkov, an organizer with Extinction Rebellion in Toronto. They talked a lot about that, and also their plans to have an effect on the results of the upcoming election. Image: Sebastian Dooris/Flickr

Hamilton, Ontario. Factory city, crime-ridden downtown, mafia stronghold. At least that's what people used to think of Hamilton. That's been changing in recent years as people from "away" have been discovering the good things about the city as they've moved to escape high real estate in Toronto. They've been discovering what longtime residents have known all along — that it's a city full of people with good hearts and pride in their city. Yet there is still a dark underbelly in the Hammer. Hamilton has just earned the dubious distinction of being community No. 1 in police-reported hate crimes in Canada, according to a July 2019 report by Statistics Canada. According to the report, the rate was 17.1 people out of 100,000. As a comparison, the national rate was 4.9, while Toronto was 6.4. Judging by recent events, it's not getting better. Over the past few months there have been visible demonstrations of hatred. In June, Hamilton Pride was targeted by far-right hate groups. Yellow Vesters have been showing up at city hall every Saturday morning for several months to demonstrate. There are a few more elements in this toxic stew, which today's guest explores. Lyla Miklos is the former chair of Pride Hamilton and the LGBTQ advisory committee for the City of Hamilton. A resident of Hamilton since 1982, she is an engaged citizen who thinks the local city council and mayor's actions are inadequate to address the problem of hate in her city. She also thinks that the problem didn't rise up out of nowhere. Her conversation with rabble podcast executive producer Victoria Fenner begins with a recap from Miklos about recent happenings related to hate in the city, and then moves into what other communities can learn from what's going on in Hamilton. Victoria Fenner is executive producer of rabble's podcast network. Image: Lyla Miklos