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Today's program comes from the recent Hospital Employees Union annual convention called Powered by Solidarity. It was held from November 4 through 9, 2018 in Vancouver. There's a lot to talk about when it comes to health care, but today's podcast isn't going to be about that. It is about solidarity though. In this case, it's about solidarity with and by Indigenous workers. Rod Mickleburgh is the author of On the Line: A History of the British Columbia Labour Movement. One of the chapters in the book is about the role of Indigenous workers and locals in the history of the province — something that there hasn't been a lot of information about in history books. He was a guest speaker at the HEU Convention. B.C. Premier John Horgan also stopped by the HEU convention to talk about another subject — the upcoming B.C. referendum on proportional representation. Voting has been open since October 22 and ends next Friday, November 30. Federally, the issue is off the table for now but provinces have the power to determine their own electoral system. This referendum in BC is a big step toward that goal. He shares a few words about the referendum with the HEU delegates. Thanks to Tania Ehret for recording these speeches for rabble podcasts. Listen to rabble radio's May 3, 2018 interview with Rod Mickleburgh. Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

Last week, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that the number of migrants and refugees from Venezuela has reached 3 million. We've seen a lot about this on the news but there are some different interpretations about what is causing this mass migration that you don't hear. Last May, rabble.ca was part of a delegation that went to Venezuela to observe the country's elections. The people in the delegation saw sharp differences between what was happening on the ground and what was being reported in the western media. And even when there was agreement on the facts, there was disagreement about the reasons. And there still is. Canada is one of the countries which is participating in the endless condemnations of the Maduro regime. Canada has economic sanctions in place against Venezuela, which critics of our foreign policy say create the problems that make life unliveable for so many and escalate the crisis. Things haven't gotten better in Venezuela since our election reports in May. In its most recent couple of programs, Global Research News Hour has devoted its airtime to explorations of the ongoing issues in Venezuela. A couple of weeks ago, host Michael Welch had a chance to talk to Steve Ellner, a professor of economic history and political science at Venezuela's Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela since 1977. He is the author of numerous books and journal articles on Venezuelan history and politics, specifically in the area of political parties and organized labour and frequently lectures on Venezuelan and Latin American political developments in the U.S. and elsewhere. He was in Canada in late October as part of a North American speaking tour. Michael Welch spoke to him in Winnipeg. Image: Wikimedia – 2015 Venezuela Colombia Migrant Crisis *************************** Read/watch rabble Venezuelan election coverage from May 2018: Venezuela is democratic because the majority of voters made it so The Vultures of Venezuela Rabble TV Venezuela – a mother's testimony Counting the Vote in Venezuela What should international labour solidarity with Venezuela look like? Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

The sound of a train in the night… it's a comforting sound that tells us somebody's out there in the darkness. But to the people of Lac-Mégantic in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, the sound of a train has very different associations. It's a reminder of that night — July 6, 2013 just after 1 am, when a runaway train barrelled into town, killing 47 people and decimating the core of the small town of approximately 6,000 people. Bruce Campbell has just written a book called The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster – Public Betrayal, Justice Denied, published by James Lorimer and Company. He's the former Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and is the author of three major reports and a number of media commentaries on the Lac-Mégantic tragedy. The book is the story of one runaway train and a small town catastrophe. It's also a larger story about how free market ideology of unfettered markets, big oil and deregulation caused the tragedy. Bruce Campbell managed to blend the two aspects of the story – the political issues and the human repercussions, painting a vivid picture of the town and its people and the long term effects of policy failures on individual lives. He speaks to rabble podcast exec producer Victoria Fenner. You can read an excerpt from the book here. Image: Wikipedia – Police Helicopter View of Lac-Mégantic If you're in Toronto tomorrow, November 9, 2018, join Bruce Campbell at the Centre for Social Innovation, 720 Bathurst for his Toronto book launch. It's from 5-7 pm. Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

Even though we're in Canada, many of us are watching the U.S. midterms next Tuesday with hope, and also fear and trepidation. Not just because the U.S. and Canada have important economic links, but also because what's happening in the U.S. also affects our social and political life up here. In particular, we've seen that Trump's brand of racism isn't stopping at the border. A return of Democratic Party strength next week will do a lot to help reign in the Republican party and the president. At least, that's the hope. Victoria Fenner, rabble's podcast producer, talked to two Americans who are working for change in their country as Tuesday approaches. 1) David Mivasair – Like many Americans, David is a dual citizen been living in Canada for a long time. And even though he's made his home in Canada for 23 years, he's understandably worried about the land of his birth. So he's doing something about it. He's campaigning in a swing district in New York State in the 22nd Congressional District of New York as a volunteer for Democratic candidate Anthony Brindisi. He's been doing Facebook posts since the middle of October which paint a picture of a beautiful rural landscape populated by very divided people. He talked to Victoria about why he decided his energy was needed in this place. 2) Music – Why Are the Guns Still Firing – performed by Joe Jencks, written by Si Kahn. Used with permission and thanks. From the CD The Forgotten – Recovered Treasures from the Pen of Si Kahn. 3) Joe Jencks – Joe is a singer, songwriter, social activist and an American from the Chicago area. In this conversation at a recent house concert in Barrie, Ontario, he talks about the state of his country and the contribution that music makes to build community and hope. 4) Music – Let Me Sing You a Song – written by Joe Jencks – in Joe's words – "dedicated to the courage, perseverance and integrity of my mentor and friend Pete Seeger. It was inspired by his 1955 congressional testimony". From the CD Poets, Philosophers, Workers and Wanderers. Used with permission and thanks. Last minute campaign notes — David Mivasair says there is still need for volunteers to help get out the vote. Canadians welcome. If you'd like to join him, the phone number for candidate Anthony Brindisi's campaign in the 22nd Congressional District of New York is 315-281-9642 or email info@brindisiforcongress.com. On the West Coast, you can contact the Democratic campaign in the 8th District of Washington, just south and east of Seattle, at (425) 395-4775 or info@drkimschrier.com. Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

During the 1980s, many young people from Canada and around the world traveled to Nicaragua. Young and idealistic, they wanted to help the people of that country rebuild after the revolution which saw the election of the Sandinistas. The Sandinistas were a people's party which came to power after 40 years of military dictatorship under the repressive Somoza family. Lois Ross is an Ottawa-based journalist and communicator who has had a longtime interest in Nicaragua. She was one of the young Canadians who went down to Nicaragua to support agrarian reform and the progressive Sandanista government. She lived in Nicaragua for two years in 1985 and 1986. Lois is a columnist on issues of agriculture and food security for rabble. She's done two installments of a three-column series for rabble where she draws from that experience in Nicaragua all those years ago, drawing parallels with what's happening there today. She talks to rabble podcast exec producer Victoria Fenner about her series of columns and why she wanted to write them more than 30 years later. Read Lois's columns: Are the real Sandinistas in Nicaragua standing up? Nicaragua's agrarian reform and revolution 40 years on Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

Over the past month, Phillip Dwight Morgan has been writing a special series for rabble.ca called Toronto Votes 2018. Phillip Dwight Morgan is a Toronto-based journalist and writer and was rabble.ca's first Jack Layton Journalism for Change Fellow. This fall we asked him to do a series of stories about the election. You can read his series here. To wrap it up, rabble.ca podcast executive producer Victoria Fenner talked to him at the new Centre for Social Innovative building at 192 Spadina in Toronto. They talked about the surprises in the campaign, the effect of the intervention by Doug Ford to shrink the size of council, the rise of racist alt-right and the two Torontos — the glitzy city trying to say "we're world class" and the Toronto of those who live on the margins just trying to survive. Image: Phillip Dwight Morgan. Photo by Victoria Fenner Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

It seems pretty obvious to most of us. The same countries that are 'up in arms' about refugees are also the ones which are working the hardest to discourage refugees from coming to their country. Even though they're the ones creating the crisis (US of A, we're looking at you). Today's rabble radio features an interview with Cesar Jaramillo, Executive Director of Project Ploughshares, based in Waterloo. It was done by David Kattenburg of The Green Blues Show, a production of The Green Planet Monitor, a social justice/environmental/science website and radio program based in Winnipeg. Cesar Jaramillo's work has focused on such program areas as nuclear disarmament, outer space security and conventional weapons control. As an international civil society representative, he has addressed, among others, the UN General Assembly First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), and the UN Conference on Disarmament, and the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS). He's an occasional columnist on matters of disarmament and international security, and graduated from the University of Waterloo with an MA in global governance and has bachelor's degrees in honours political science and in journalism. Prior to joining Project Ploughshares, Cesar held a fellowship at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI). Image: Pixabay – Alexas_Fotos – Child Refugee photo. Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

When rabble.ca podcast producer Victoria Fenner was driving out in the farmlands outside Barrie, Ontario where she lives, she noticed a billboard that wasn't the usual ad to buy real estate, furniture or other consumer commodities. On the side of the road, next to a stand of forest, the billboard said 'Free Political Prisoners in Honduras. Free Elmvale's Edwin Espinal'. She'd heard of Edwin Espinal because Ben Powless wrote an article for rabble just this past May 29 called The fight to get Karen Spring into Honduran Prison. Karen Spring is Edwin Espinal's partner who grew up in the town of Elmvale, not far from Barrie. Her parents still live in that small rural town. Ben Powless went down to Honduras in the spring with a delegation to try to get into the prison to see Edwin. And especially, to help get Karen in to see him. Janet Spring is one of the leaders of the campaign to secure his release. She's Edwin's mother-in-law and has been tirelessly working to advocate for the release of Edwin. It's been four months since that delegation went down to Honduras and Edwin is still not free. The campaign to release Edwin is being waged internationally, nationally and even at the local level in their own rural community. In this podcast, Janet talks about that day last spring outside the Honduran jail, the support from their small town, and what's happened with the campaign since their journey to Honduras in the spring. You can find out more about the local campaign by going to Simcoe County Honduras Rights Monitor. You can also find out about issues surrounding political prisoners and the climate of repression by going to the website of the Honduras Solidarity Network. Karen Spring, Edwin's partner, is the Honduras coordinator of that organization. Image: Billboard to Free Edwin Espinal – Elmvale, Ontario. Photo: Janet Spring Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

Earth is no longer a safe operating space, according to today's guest on rabble radio. Look at the dramatic and devastating events of this year – hundreds of fires across the world, monster sized hurricanes, earth parching heat waves and drought. All but the most stubborn of climate change deniers can see this. Unfortunately, some of those climate change deniers are politicians who are making decisions which affect our very survival. It's grim. Will Steffen has a long history in international global change research, serving from 1998 to 2004 as Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), based in Stockholm, Sweden, and before that as Executive Officer of IGBP's Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems project. He was the Inaugural Director of the Australian National University's Climate Change Institute, from 2008-2012. He is currently a Climate Councillor with the Climate Institute, and from 2011 to 2013 was a Climate Commissioner on the Australian Government's Climate Commission; Chair of the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee, Co-Director of the Canberra Urban and Regional Futures (CURF) initiative and Member of the ACT Climate Change Council. He is co-author of a paper called Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene. On today's podcast he talks about that paper, written with Johan Rockström looks at the earth as a geophysical system. It presents the theory that the earth is no longer a sustainable space – we're in a transient phase. The earth is shifting and we don't have a map to see what trajectory it might take. But, Will Steffen says, it's like a domino effect. Once temperatures reach a certain level, those dominoes will start to fall to the point where nothing can be done. We're not at that tipping point yet, but the science indicates that it's coming. This interview is from the August 17, 2018 episode of The Green Blues Show, hosted and produced by David Kattenburg who is an occasional contributor to rabble radio. Listen to the Green Blues Show on CKUW Radio in Winnipeg or online by going to greenplanetmonitor.net. Thanks to for permission to reuse this interview. Image: Wikipedia – Forest Fire in Yosemite Help make rabble sustainable. Please consider supporting our work with a monthly donation. Support rabble.ca today for as little as $1 per month!

If you look at maps of electoral riding across the country and which politicians represent them, it's pretty evident that most of the progressive politicians are elected from large urban centres. Not exclusively, but mostly. rabble podcast executive producer Victoria Fenner lives in one of those conservative places that has a track record of electing politicians who don't seem to understand a lot of basic issues like poverty, human rights, and issues of inclusion, among others. Barrie isn't a lot different from many other smaller communities across Canada. Except that Barrie is a bit more special in that regards, having been the only place east of Manitoba to have ever elected a Reform party candidate to Ottawa. That was back in 1993 when another guy named Harper (Ed Harper – no relation to Stephen) was elected for one term. Victoria moved to Barrie three years ago after living most of my life in big cities. She decided to do this interview because, she says. "It was pretty easy in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton to seek out and be with people who pretty much shared my values. It's frustrating in many ways to live here, but frustration hasn't worked very well for me. I'm not planning to move, so I've been actively exploring what I can do to have an effect on my community?" So she's making an effort to connect with the progressive people who do live here, rather than lament that there are not as many of them as she would like. Keenan Alywin one of those people. Keenan was born in Barrie, went away to school and came back. He's one of the most visible workers for human rights and a just and fair society in Barrie. He's young, has a lot of energy, lots of skills and abilities and good ideas. He also ran locally in the last provincial election for the Green Party. He didn't win but is trying again, running for City Council in Barrie in the October municipal elections. Victoria and Keenan got together down at the Barrie waterfront to share some thoughts about the small city where they live, and also what people in other places like theirs can do to be the change they want to see. Image: Keenan Aylwin. Photo by Victoria Fenner Like this podcast? rabble is reader/listener supported journalism.