Blueprints of Disruption

The work hasn't just continued from the encampments of 2024; it has intensified.

Student activists at the University of Toronto are putting the focus back on academic boycotts - a critical component of the BDS Movement.

In this episode, we get an update on efforts to get one of Canada's oldest institutions to end its partnerships with Israeli Universities, and hear why these relationships matter so much to the Occupation.

Despite three years of intense pressure from students, faculty and other workers on campus, the University of Toronto still seems determined to play a key role in legitimizing the genocide, criminalize student activists and weaponize antisemitism against the movement for a Free Palestine.

We hear how the school drew criticism for hosting a conference on antisemitism that featured questionable speakers, and sought to demonize the Palestinian solidarity movement. Students also recently disrupted a class taught by a visiting professor, and were in the midst of planning a vigil on campus for October 7th.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Donate to ZAMA - a Survival Fund for Families in Gaza (follow links on IG)

Related Episodes:

• Organizing Metis: Adversarial and Reconciliatory (Sept 2026) How activists are pushing for change inside the Manitoba Métis Federation while strengthening their bonds with the community, all at the same time.
• Student Encampments (May 2024) On their demands for divestment, and the responses from the Universities, the police and the public.
• Or dive right into our Free Palestine playlist

More Resources:

• VIDEO: Antisemitism Conference Livestream
• How deep do UofT's partnerships with Israeli institutions run? via Sparrows for Palestine
• UofT President's Opening Marks to Antisemitism Conference

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Keywords: Activism, anti-zionism, organizing, boycotts, advocacy, universities, antisemitism

Activists within the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) are pushing to get their leaders to cut ties with Israel, take a stand for Palestine, and end their partnership with Ben-Gurion University. Their efforts haven't exactly been appreciated by everyone.

Returning guest and Métis activist, Ben Nolan, explains the politics involved with the partnership and the reluctancy to end it. He recently withdrew his citizenship in the Metis Nation of Ontario (MNO) over THEIR silence on the genocide in Gaza. Read his letter here.

Ben also draws parallels to other comprador style positions the MMF, and its longtime President David Chartrand, have taken - like giving Bill C5 their stamp of approval, or standing with Winnipeg Police after they shot and killed Eishia Hudson.

It was the last mentioned which "galvanized" Sonja Stone, a registered social worker and member of the MMF Two-Spirit Michif Local to challenge some of the ideology permeating the MMF. She talks about the balance that's needed to maneuver through these discussions without fracturing the MMF community.

Sonja also shares very specific ways in which they organize to accommodate queer and neurodivergent members, and provide a space of care within the chaos of politics.

Similar to the treatment Palestinian solidarity activists have received inside other politicized spaces like the NDP, push back has come in all forms - sometimes openly hostile.

A third, anonymous member of the MMF tells the story of young Metis advocates shouted down and threatened with violence for bringing forth a motion on Palestine, and stresses the importance of "horizontal reconciliation" within the community.

Hear how these activists plan to push for change, fight for a Free Palestine, AND strengthen their bonds with the community at the same time.

If you'd like to contact Metis4Palestine: (email) metis4palestine{AT}proton{DOT}me or via https://chat.whatsapp.com/G10LkP4anLMCyjeF4Nd7VJ

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Related Episodes:

• Whatever It Takes: Land Back (Sep 2022) Layla Staats and Skyler Williams of Six Nations of the Grand River, speaking about their efforts to ensure the survival of their community.
• Making Connections From Salish Sea to Palestine (Feb 2026) Sisters in film, Rawan Ramini and Jada-Gabrielle Pape were brought together for the film, From Salish Sea to Palestine. They joined Blueprints to talk about their use of the medium to make connections between movements, and tell the 'true stories' of their people.
• Exposing Toronto Police Tactics (Sep 2024) Activist and journalist Benjamin Nolan on the Toronto Police Services' violent responses to peaceful protests and their use of the knee-on-neck technique.

More Resources:

• Ben's Letter to the MNO w/update
• Guest Recommended Reading: Howard Adam's Prisons of Grass
• CBC: Manitoba Métis Federation president's remark in heated debate on Israel-Hamas war sparks concern
• CBC: Make it 5 for MMF president David Chartrand, running uncontested again
• CBC: Police shooting of Eishia Hudson not justified, earlier assessment flawed, expert tells inquest
• MMF Website: An International Education Exchange Between The Red River Métis And Israel

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Doctors Kavita Algu and Ben Thomson, both very active in the Palestinian solidarity movement, talk about the backlash they received at their separate workplaces - clear cases of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) in our public hospitals. Similar cases, met with very different means of resistance.

Dr. Kavita Algu a physician, activist and Ph.D candidate, was working in palliative care at Mount Sinai Hospital (Toronto) in the Fall of 2023, while the genocide in Gaza was intensifying. Already a longtime advocate for various issues, she did what any decent human being should have - and was shocked at the response from her fellow doctors.

She talks about seeing her boss' name at the bottom of a letter signed by 550 Zionists, calling her and any other doctor advocating for Palestine antisemitic. how she was pushed out of her job, and what it was like finally being able to go public and expose the anti-Palestinian racism that singled out her work.

Her story brings up discussions around the "entitlement of comfort" and the prioritization of declared feelings over the right to speak against actual violence.

Dr. Ben Thomson, of Eyewitness Gaza has been visiting Gaza for over 10 years, been extremely active in the movement - but how his workplace responded to this work also changed after 2023. All of a sudden "being passionate became a liability", and his protected political views were being used against him.

This happened to him twice! He was first suspended, then reinstated, by McKenzie Health - which caused him to file a lawsuit that is slowly working its way through the courts. Although critical for future cases, this method has been resource consuming and taxing in other ways.

When Ben lost a job opportunity in B.C. for the same reasons, he chose a different route to find 'justice' and filed a human rights complaint against . This process has been more accessible, and public.

Ben contrasts his experiences in other ways, and together with Kavita, provides lots of lessons for other workers who are most certainly facing something similar.

Also discussed: IHRI definition, Bill C9, the Palestine exception, zionism

Call to Action: Donate to the Toronto Community Justice Fund

Related Episodes:

• United Against Genocide: Name it, Stop it, Sanction It (June 2025) Alex Neve, Dr. Dorotea Gucciardo, and Dr. Ben Thompson on their work to pressure Canadian politicians to end Canada's complicity in the genocide
• Holding Institutions Accountable (Oct 2025) Activist and lawyer Dimitri Lascaris on students' $10 million lawsuit against the Toronto Metropolitan University for anti-Palestinian racism.

More Resources:

• Toronto Doctor Resigns From Mount Sinai (Toronto Star)
• Ontario doctor suspended, his address published after pro-Palestinian social media posts (CBC)

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#leftistpodcast #anticapitalist #activism #community

On September 14, 2026, Canadian PM Mark Carney is hosting the Canada Investment Summit in Toronto. He's invited the world's wealthiest CEOs to ask for one trillion dollars in investments.

What could be wrong with that? Turns out - a LOT!

Jasmine Peardon, Executive Director of Capitalism Can't Be Fixed, gives us plenty of reasons why activists from a wide range of organizations and even ideological backgrounds will be flocking to the Four Seasons at Bay and Bloor to challenge this way of doing politics.

To challenge the oligarchy.

Instead of meeting them quietly behind closed doors as he typically has, Carney has decided to make a spectacle of selling off public assets to billionaires, many of them American. The Carnival Against Capitalism contingent organizing a weekend of events, also plans to make a show of it.

Jasmine talks about the work that has gone into planning the event; how they're using art and performance to ridicule these villains; what it was like working with such a variety of other activists; how the group decisions we're made.

Since the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and the Public Sector Pension (PSP) Board are co-hosting the event alongside Carney, it was only fitting we got into a discussion about pension economics - a system that perpetuates the cycle of workers' wealth extraction then used for vile investments. Investments that make life more expensive, destroy the planet, manufacture weapons, and cost the jobs of the very workers the pension was meant to 'support.

Investments like selling off Canadian airports, and other bad moves sure to come out of the Summit this weekend. Hear how activist plan to disrupt all of that while making connections and having fun.

We also get to ask Jasmine about transitioning the energy and resources from the Yves Engler NDP Leadership campaign into Capitalism Can't Be Fixed, and other initiatives that came out of it.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Register for the Confront Carney's CEO Summit

Related Episodes:

• Not In Our Name: Divesting from Carney's War Bank (April 2026) Activists talk about the tactics they're using to cut into the cash flow of weapons manufacturers.
• Cutting Through the Knot of Social Investment (April 2025) Tom Fraser, author of "Invested in Crisis, Public Sector Pensions Against the Future", discusses how public sector pensions contribute to the industries that work against our interests.

More Resources:

• Carney's pitch to unlock trillions in global investment - CBC
• Prime Minister Carney announces first-ever Canada Investment Summit | Prime Minister of Canada
• Canada Investment Summit 2026 - Canada.ca
• Carney’s CEO summit could put public assets on the table – Canadian Dimension

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Arrested and charged three times for public displays of solidarity with Palestine, David Shultz talks about the continuous persecution by Toronto Police and the Crown, as well as the the repercussions that came with it.

He takes us through his multiple arrests, each more egregious than the last - culminating with an eventual trial, and full acquittal, for wearing a prop sword.

David's case really calls into question our ability to exercise our Charter Rights while protesting for Palestine, and the willingness of the Crown to use their resources towards incapacitating activists, despite having such low conviction rates.

Its also a discussion on the bias that's been crafted within policing, the impunity to which they're able to make baseless arrests; and the uneven application of the law.

Together, with host Jessa McLean, they compare and contrast other recent arrests and speculate how Mark Carney's new legislation, Bill C9, will impact future cases.

Keywords: Project Resolute, Toronto Police, Ontario, policing, activism, Charter Rights, Section 2, Bill C9, antisemitism, racism,

Produced by: Santiago Helou Quintero

Call to Action: Donate to David's Legal Defence Fund OR Support the Toronto Community Justice Fund

Related Episodes:

• Noisemaker with Deana Sherif (July 2026) Hear how Police in Ontario are working with the Crown to target activists and criminalize the use of sound in protests.
• Machinery of Suppression: Bill C9 and the Weaponization of Antisemitism (Jan 2026)

More Resources:

• Photos, Videos and Transcripts provided by Guest - via Google Drive
• Man who allegedly fired nail gun at Toronto-area protest motivated by hate: police CBC News
• ‘Proud,’ ‘Fucking Racist’ Absolutely Discharged of Assault on Palestinian Woman - The Leveller
• Charterpedia - Section 2(b) – Freedom of expression

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Keith McHenry, author, activist and co-founder of Food Not Bombs, shares great stories of how he and a few friends started the grassroots mutual aid network that eventually spread to over 1,000 cities in 65 countries worldwide.

With very few resources, a small group of activists were able to feed the people around them while also building a movement against war profiteering. As he takes us through his years of organizing, Keith also provides tips and tricks you can take to your own community: How they set up soup lines to maximize impact. How they shared knowledge, even in an era before the internet. How they make decisions on consensus while maintaining focus on taking action. How they used the heavy handed tactics of the police to expand their own reach. And how they persevered through years of being targeted by strategic incapacitation.

In fact, what most attests to the power of mutual aid and the model Food not Bombs uses is the amount of effort the state puts into criminalizing them. Keith details some of his interactions with state agents, from street cops stealing their food, to infiltrators and ‘honey traps’ working to derail the movement.

Like his new book, Soup Streets, this episode is a fascinating and resourceful collection of stories that takes you through decades of political change, while also demonstrating that nothing much has changed in terms of how the state responds to anti-capitalist models that gain traction.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean and Santiago Helou Quintero

Calls to Action: Grab a Copy of Soup Streets

Related Episodes:

• Solidarity and Supports (June 2022) Stories of finding solidarity and creating meaningful supportive spaces in rural Alberta and Saskatchewan
• Always Shoot Down Range (June 2024) The Canadian Socialist Rifle Association talks about their mutual aid work, their advocacy and creating socialist spaces.

More Resources:

• Article: Mayor Says Food Not Bombs Must Obtain Permit (2025)
• Prism Reports - Activists in West Palm Beach charged for feeding houseless people (2023)
• Keith's Bio

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Journalists Euan Thomson and David Slater tell us how they uncovered secret chats between Canadian universities, and national networks of school administrators and police - all seemingly tasked with infringing on the Charter Rights of students, and dismantling Palestinian Solidarity encampments, before they even started.

It took Euan and David almost two years to compile all of the documents they needed to write their recent piece for The Breach, Canadian universities set up a secret network to crack down on student Palestine demonstrators, largely due to sustained efforts to deny access to, what should be, public documents. We hear how they worked as a team, sharpened their tactics and caught many of these institutions contradicting themselves.

The episode also includes a discussion on the degradation of access to public documents across Canada. From new legislation, to the normalization of secrecy in public institutions, the powerful are finding new ways to avoid accountability.

Its really two stories in one! We hear the details of those secret chats and the lengths to which universities worked together to prevent protests from even happening, and then violently shutting them down when they did. But we also get to hear how these same players work when it comes to operating in secret and covering their tracks.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Produced by: Santiago Helou Quintero

Call to Action:

Related Episodes:

• Student Suppression by Any Means (Mar 2025)
• Raheleh's Story (June 2026) Part 1 of our miniseries on the University of Calgary encampment clearing
• Holding Institutions Accountable (Oct 2025) Lawyer Dimitri Lascaris on students' $10 million lawsuit against the Toronto Metropolitan University

More Resources:

• Drug Data Decoded: University of Calgary destroyed records related to May 9 police violence against protesters
• The Orchard: UCalgary Palestine encampment's fate was sealed before a single tent was pitched, documents reveal
• Alberta’s Bill 34 attacks the public’s right to know | The Narwhal
• Supreme Court of Canada | Access to Information and Protection of Privacy in Canadian Democracy
• The Breach: Canadian universities set up a secret network to crack down on student Palestine demonstrators

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Despite getting initial assurances from the City that they wouldn’t be priced out of their home - the tenants at 240 Markland in Toronto have been left to fend for themselves against a real monstrosity of an enemy.

Carterra Management Inc. have seemingly made it their mission to force out the legacy tenants by an means necessary, including FIVE (5) above-guideline rent increases (AGIs), harassment and other slumlord style tactics.

Stelios and Jerry, tenant organizers at 240 Markland, are back to talk about their fight against their landlord, and the system that protects them - including the Ontario Landlord Tenant Board.

The details of the tenants' first appearance at the LTB are shocking. The large amount of evidence tenants painstakingly gathered was ignored, and their claims largely dismissed.

Undaunted, they are preparing for another challenge, now better equipped.

Listen in to hear how smart, determined, and resourceful these tenants are, and learn from all the work they've put into the building a Tenant Class.

Its another great story we've added to our Tenant Power Playlist.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean and Santiago Helou Quintero

Call to Action:

Related Episodes:

• Scaling UP: Toronto Tenant Union (May 2026) In-depth coverage and analysis of the founding convention for Toronto's first city-wide tenants' union.
• The Tenant Class (Feb 2024) Author Ricardo Tranjan on the housing market, its purpose and the uselessness of policies that don't challenge the narrative of shelter commodification.

More Resources:

• Toronto Tenant Union Website
• ACORN Canada: Rent Control Loopholes REPORT
• Above-Guideline Rent Increases Ontario: Tenant Guide - tenantrights.ca
• CBC: Tenants say they lack quality of life during years-long renovations at Etobicoke building

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AI is here - but it won't last.

Cyber security expert, author, and activist, Kim Crawley makes the case that generative AI is unsustainable, and will eventually meet its demise. But not before our power grids, our water supplies and our minds take a hit.

An GenAI abolitionist, Kim is researching for a new book; one that will examine the impacts of this relatively new and unchecked technology the oligarchs are "pushing down our throats". It will also help lay the plans for a recovery from GenAI.

Host Jessa McLean asks Kim about Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's promised investments in AI, and the efforts by some to 'democratize' the technology, rather than reject it altogether. Listen in to hear her takes, learn more about AI and plug into ways you can help.

Call to Action: HELP KIM with her KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN

Related Episodes:

• Stop Gen AI: Mutual Aid for a Coming Age (June 2025) The impact of Generative AI and creative ways to raise funds for folks most impacted by the expansion of this technology, with activists from StopGenAI.com.
• COVID Under Capitalism (Sept 2023) Kim Crawley and Jessa McLean use a class analysis to looks at individual human behavior, the response of our governments and how the greed of our 'capitalist overlords' plays into it all.

More Resources:

• The Physical Limits of AI Intelligence: The Collision Course With The Law of Thermodynamics (Part I)
• Your Brain on AI: Cognitive Offloading, Debt, and Atrophy | Psychology Today
• Stop Gen AI – Mutual Aid and Political Activism

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Deana Sherif has been called a lot of things. A perpetual protestor, an Antifa ringleader, a criminal…but she’s also been described as a fierce advocate for her community, a tireless activist, and a protective presence to those around her.

All of these things made her a target of the Police, the Crown and the right-wing propagandists who serve them.

The legal saga that is Deana’s story starts off at a routine action for Palestine, and ends with a criminal conviction for making noise and just over 17 months time-served for a single mother of two with no prior criminal record.

As Deana describes her initial arrest, the bogus charges, and the unconstitutional bail conditions she faced for using a Fox40 electronic whistle, it is clear the system is looking to make an example of her.

Then comes the squeak-toy incident. You have to hear it to believe it, but Police are able to weaponize ridiculous bail conditions to again lock up an activist exercising their Charter Rights - for over 300 days.

Both Deana and host Jessa McLean make the case that cases like this are part of a larger effort to silence the loudest amongst, and incapacitate social movements. But it isn’t working.

Deana was able to realize community in jail, learn more about the legal system being used against her, and steel her resolve even more so - despite still not being on the other side of this ordeal yet.

Folks are still trying to get her arrested, and there are appeals pending that could impact all of us. See the Call to Action below to donate to Deana’s legal defence, and be sure to share her story with anyone disrupting the status quo.

Song Credit (Opening): The Whole Damn System, by Deana Sherif

Song Credit (Closing): This is Your Genocide, by Deana Sherif

Produced by: Santiago Helou Quintero

Call to Action: Email Money Transfer to [email protected]

Related Episodes:

• Process as Punishment (Feb 2025) Movement lawyers, Nora Fathalipour and Arash Ghiassi, discuss the processes police and the Crown are employing to intimidate, silence, and criminalize movements.
• Support Systems Amid State Suppression (Oct 2024) Dalia Awwad and Rachelle Friesen, members of the Toronto Legal Support Committee, discuss oppressive tactics being used by Police and their impact on individuals and the larger movement.

More Resources:

• VIDEO: April 15th Protest
• The Breach: Secretive committee in Ontario ministry pushed crackdown on pro-Palestine activism
• CentreTown Buzz: Assault by Noise Alone
• CBC: Ottawa Protestor who Used Squeaky Toy Found Guilty

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