CANADALAND

Conspiracies! They're out there... and Vice Canada's Mack Lamoureux is getting to the bottom of them.

You name it, he's covered it: The Berenst(a)ein Bears. Hollow Earth Theory. Iraq Stargate...

But what happens when these twisted narratives stop being just kooky, and start getting scary? As extremist right-wing groups grow their presence in Canada, and around the world, there's a personal cost to covering conspiracists.

Mack's 8-month-long investigation into Canada's armed, anti-Islamic "patriot" group — 'the III%ers'— is alarming:

"Connected to the anti-Islam sentiment is a sense of paranoia in the group, one that is reinforced by the sharing of debunked news stories and far-right wing commentary from sites like Rebel Media or Infowars. The members of the group, like their counterparts worldwide, are distrustful of mainstream news and often stray into extreme conspiratorial territory."

Mack Lamoureux joins guest host Omar Mouallem. 

For more on extremist right-wing groups in Canada, check out COMMONS' deep dive from this past July.

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On coverage of the hijab cutting hate crime that never was and the job of journalists in reporting stories of sexual harassment. Naheed Mustafa joins guest host Elamin Abdelmahmoud.

On coverage of the hijab cutting hate crime that never was and the job of journalists in reporting stories of sexual harassment. Naheed Mustafa joins guest host Elamin Abdelmahmoud.

Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you thought Bill C-51 was concerning, boy do we have an update for you!

Bill C-59 is the Liberal government’s national security reform bill, and it covers a lot of ground.

According to the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab’s report, the potential activities allowed by Bill C-59 are “limited only by imagination”: Mass dissemination of false information, leaking foreign documents in order to influence political and legal outcomes, large-scale denial of service attacks, interference with the electricity grid…

The report also warns that Bill C-59 contains a loophole which would allow the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) — the country’s spy agency focusing on electronic communications — to cause death or bodily harm, and to interfere with the “course of justice or democracy.” (*tugs collar* emoji)

This follow-up to Bill C-51, the Harper government’s controversial anti-terrorism Act, is making its way through parliamentary committees, but has yet to draw similar national attention or scrutiny.

But it’s not all bad. Bill C-59 also addresses institutional blindspots like lack of organizational oversight and accountability, and sheds some light onto the CSE's inner workings. Lex Gill, a researcher with Citizen Lab, says that only 3% of Canadians know what CSE is.

Gill, along with fellow researchers, outlines over 50 recommendations for amendments to Bill C-59. To learn more, see their 75-page report.

Lex Gill joins Jesse.

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This episode of CANADALAND is brought to you by our newest sponsor PayTM.

If you thought Bill C-51 was concerning, boy do we have an update for you!

Bill C-59 is the Liberal government’s national security reform bill, and it covers a lot of ground.

According to the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab’s report, the potential activities allowed by Bill C-59 are “limited only by imagination”: Mass dissemination of false information, leaking foreign documents in order to influence political and legal outcomes, large-scale denial of service attacks, interference with the electricity grid…

The report also warns that Bill C-59 contains a loophole which would allow the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) — the country’s spy agency focusing on electronic communications — to cause death or bodily harm, and to interfere with the “course of justice or democracy.” (*tugs collar* emoji)

This follow-up to Bill C-51, the Harper government’s controversial anti-terrorism Act, is making its way through parliamentary committees, but has yet to draw similar national attention or scrutiny.

But it’s not all bad. Bill C-59 also addresses institutional blindspots like lack of organizational oversight and accountability, and sheds some light onto the CSE's inner workings. Lex Gill, a researcher with Citizen Lab, says that only 3% of Canadians know what CSE is.

Gill, along with fellow researchers, outlines over 50 recommendations for amendments to Bill C-59. To learn more, see their 75-page report.

Lex Gill joins Jesse.

—

This episode of CANADALAND is brought to you by our newest sponsor PayTM.

Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Novelist and poet Zoe Whittall joins Jesse to talk creepy professors, racist letters, and predatory men. @zoewhittall

Novelist and poet Zoe Whittall joins Jesse to talk creepy professors, racist letters, and predatory men. @zoewhittall

Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/join

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.