This is the Liberal government’s second attempt at passing lawful access legislation. Last year, the government pushed Bill C-2, their marquee border security bill that didn’t even make it to committee because of the backlash. But now, Bill C-22 is here, and things are feeling a little deja vu. Host Noor Azrieh asks Robert Diab what new powers this bill actually creates. Why are tech companies, privacy advocates, and our allies so worried?

Host: Noor Azrieh

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Host/Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Robert Diab

Background reading:

• The Lawful Access Two-Headed Surveillance Monster: How Bill C-22 Went Off the Rails – Michael Geist
• Lawful access bill could lead to exit from Canada, major VPN provider says - National – Global News
• Why the U.S. is noticing this Canadian security bill – CBC News
• Signal warns it would pull out of Canada if made to comply with lawful access bill – The Globe and Mail
• Meta joins Apple in opposing Canada’s digital wiretapping bill – The Logic
• Facing mounting backlash, Anandasangaree says U.S. tech companies are 'misinterpreting' his lawful access bill – CBC News

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We're going to be in Halifax on June 18th! Come see Canadaland Politics LIVE at the Halifax Convention Centre: Noor will be interviewing Nova Scotian politician Becky Druhan, and we'll be breaking the tension with comedian Clare Belford (This Hour Has 22 Minutes). For more information about our live show and to RSVP, head over to canadaland.com/live

Did you know we have a monthly supporter exclusive show?

Off The Record is our monthly call-in show, and last Thursday y’all called to chat with host Sam Konnert about your favourite story.

That episode comes out this Thursday, June 4th 2026! 

If you want to hear it (or if you want to catch up on all the great episodes of Off The Record you’ve missed!), become a supporter at canadaland.com/join.

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad-free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis; you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. 

Make sure you’re up to date on our upcoming events by going to canadaland.com/live!

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Trump and Putin both hate Chrystia Freeland. But her ability to unite world leaders under a single banner isn't her greatest accolade.  Freeland is quite simply one of the most acrcomplished public servants in Canada's history. For starters, she was the first woman to serve as finance minister. She helped introduce $10 a day daycare in this country. She was also instrumental in the fall of the Trudeau government, and currently she runs the Rhodes Scholarship and works as an economic advisor for Ukraine. 

But more than any of that, Freeland has been one of the closest observers of globalization over the past 30 years. She saw its birth as a journalist in Russia in the 1990s, and she saw its death while working as deputy prime minister for Canada in the 2020s. Chrystia Freeland joins us today to talk about that front row seat at the rise and seeming demise of globalization. 

This conversation is the launch of our upcoming speakers series The Nuance. It's a simple idea: important conversations on complex subjects with informed guests in front of a live audience.

Host: Stephen Marche

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor & Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Photo: U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada

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Danielle Smith sidesteps the courts to ask Albertans a question about a referendum on separation. 

Carney calls it a “dangerous bluff,” reminiscent of Brexit, and Smith’s question is being criticized as confusing and potentially misleading.

Rahim Mohamed of the National Post joins to explain why he predicted this would happen (but he didn’t say it would make sense) and why he thinks Danielle Smith is improvising on the fly, rather than following a plan. 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Kallan Lyons (Associate Producer and Fact Checking), Caleb Thompson (Mixing and Mastering), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: Rahim Mohamed

Further reading: 

• Carney calls Smith's Alberta referendum question a 'dangerous bluff' | CBC News
• Danielle Smith tries to blame 700,000 illusory Albertans for her separatism gambit - The Globe and Mail
• Alberta Separation: Three-in-five say they’d vote in October to stay, but half say the question is “confusing” - Angus Reid Institute
• Dispatch from the Front Lines: Canada ain't perfect, but we still stand for it
• B.C. Conservative leadership hopeful Findlay flees own press conference | Chilliwack Progress
• Audio Journalism Fellowship 2026 — CanadaLabs  

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If you value this podcast, Support us!  It’s our biggest sale of the year! Save 80% on a Canadaland subscription and become a supporter for only $2/month. You’ll get all of our podcasts ad-free, free access to our live events, and much, much more. What are you waiting for? Go to canadaland.com/join

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This industry is notorious for exploiting interns. Thanks to our supporters, we’ve been able to build a program that does the opposite: pay a fair wage to emerging journalists to work on their own stories, not ours.

Applications for the 2026 Canadaland Audio Journalism Fellowship are now open. This is a paid 4-month opportunity in the fall for two journalists to pitch, develop, and produce an original story to be broadcast on our network.

Learn more and apply at labs.canadaland.com. Applications close June 30th.

Want to keep programs like this alive? Become a supporter before the end of May, and pay just $2. Hurry over to canadaland.com/join.

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After Israeli minister Ben-Gvir posts a video of the inhumane treatment of detained protestors, Canada joins the global condemnation of Israel’s treatment of Gaza flotilla participants, including 12 Canadians. 

Rahim Mohamed of the National Post joins Jesse Brown to discuss why Jewish Canadians are reluctant to voice their criticism of Israel, and what’s left out of the coverage of the Gaza flotilla. 

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Kallan Lyons (Associate Producer and Fact Checking), Caleb Thompson (Mixing and Mastering), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: Rahim Mohamed

Further reading: 

• Israel's treatment of detained Gaza flotilla members is 'abominable,' Carney says | CBC News 
• Flotilla organizer confirms identities of 12 Canadians detained by Israel - CTV News  
• Video showing far-right Israeli minister taunting Gaza flotilla activists sparks global outcry | CNN
• I was Canada’s ambassador to Israel. Its reaction to the flotilla is undermining its own case - Toronto Star
• Sask. separatists buoyed by Alberta referendum plan | CBC News 
• The Online Streaming Act Bill Comes Due: Why the CRTC’s Latest Ruling Guarantees Years of Trade and Legal Battles - Michael Geist 

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If you value this podcast, Support us!  It’s our biggest sale of the year! Save 80% on a Canadaland subscription and become a supporter for only $2/month. You’ll get all of our podcasts ad-free, free access to our live events, and much, much more. What are you waiting for? Go to canadaland.com/join

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As Canada inches closer to China to escape the US's “global swagger,” do we even know who we're dealing with?

As Canada inches closer to China’s “global swagger” to escape the US's orbit, do we even know who we're dealing with? This week, Noor sits down with Jonathan Cheng, The Wall Street Journal's China Bureau Chief, a Canadian who's been based in Beijing since 2019,  to get an inside look at China's current confidence, its trade posture, and what Beijing actually thinks of Canada.

Also, Xav Trudeau's "electric" halftime show in Ottawa, a Conservative MP names her grandchild Charlie Kirk, Danielle Smith's refer-referendum, cabinet shuffle rumours, and the controversial surveillance bill that made Signal threaten to leave Canada entirely.

Host: Noor Azrieh

Credits: Aviva Lessard (Senior Producer), Sam Konnert (Host/Producer), Noor Azrieh (Host/Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Max Collins (Director of Audio) Jesse Brown (Editor), Tony Wang (Artwork)

Guests: Jonathan Cheng

Background reading:

• China’s Foreign Minister to visit Canada for the first time in 10 years - The Globe and Mail
• A ‘red line’: Chinese embassy condemns Canadian MP’s visit to Taiwan
• China and India among ‘main perpetrators’ of foreign interference, Canada’s spy agency reports - Toronto Star
• Nissan eyes exporting Chinese-made electric cars to Canada - Financial Post
• Ottawa working to get Canadian companies selling goods on Chinese platforms - National - Global News
• Ottawa working to get Canadian companies selling goods on Chinese platforms - National - Global News

Sponsors: 

Visit fizz.ca to learn more about Fizz mobile and its long list of added-value features, and activate a first plan using the referral code CAN40 to get 40$ off and 10GB of free data.

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Did you know we have a monthly supporter exclusive show?

Off The Record is our monthly call in show and this Thursday, you can call in and chat with Sam Konnert about your favourite story. We’re asking the question:

What’s the story that everyone in your community talks about? The one that just never dies.

Was it a drunk uncle? Did your classmate get arrested? A rumour that stuck? Maybe your community helped out an individual in need!

Just something that, if you bring it up, people go: “oh yeah… that!”

Call in is this Thursday, May 28, from 4:30-6:30 Eastern Time

If you want to catch up on all the great episodes of Off The Record you’ve missed, become a supporter at canadaland.com/join.

It’s our biggest sale of the year! Save 80% on a Canadaland subscription and become a supporter for only $2/month. You’ll get all of our podcasts ad-free, free access to our live events, and much, much more. What are you waiting for? Go to Canadaland.com/join

Can't get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more.

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Ebola. Hantavirus. Here we go again. Tracking outbreaks to see if they are going to spread across the world. Triggering fear: virus, epidemic, pandemic. And a flood of headlines. The locations, the numbers, the details change but the gist of the message is always the same. Keep the disease away from us. 

But today we meet someone who heard the news of an Ebola outbreak and ran straight at it. Into the hot zone. To the epicentre, to a village in what was then Zaire 30 years ago. Her five weeks living and reporting from that bush hospital resulted in her documentary film Ebola: Inside an Outbreak. The film earned her Emmy for outstanding investigative journalism. Her name is Ric Bienstock and she’s here with her firsthand account of the Ebola virus, how people live and die with it, what it means as a global health challenge, and whether or not this virus is something that Canadians need to fear.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Additional music by Audio Network

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

More information:

• No Ebola cases in Canada and no new hantavirus cases, chief public health officer says - CBC News

• Good Soup Productions - Website

Sponsors: 

Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at https://shopify.ca

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Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today. Visit douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer.

Can’t get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more.

It’s our biggest sale of the year! Save 80% on a Canadaland subscription and become a supporter for only $2/month. You’ll get all of our podcasts ad-free, free access to our live events, and much, much more. What are you waiting for? Go to canadaland.com/join

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Stephen Marche will be interviewing Chrystia Freeland LIVE in Toronto in the first edition of The Nuance, a live event series in partnership with the MNJCC. Join us on Sunday, May 24th at 7pm at the Al Green theatre. Doors open at 6pm. Free for Canadaland supporters, or you can become a supporter at the door for only $2 this month. Seating is first come first served. Find out more at canadaland.com/live 

Not a supporter yet? It’s our biggest sale of the year! Save 80% on a Canadaland subscription and become a supporter for only $2/month. You’ll get all of our podcasts ad-free, free access to our live events, and much, much more. What are you waiting for? Go to canadaland.com/join

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CBC is pausing its production of an elaborate “prank show” led by Indigenous creators after outrage online. 

Critics say “Northland Tales” is political activism that has no place on the national broadcaster.

But Ryan McMahon joins San Grewal to explain why pranking is fair game, even on the CBC, and why it would be a shame if the show gets cancelled. 

Host: San Grewal

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Kallan Lyons (Associate Producer and Fact Checking), Caleb Thompson (Mixing and Mastering), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: Ryan McMahon

Further reading: 

• CBC pausing production on satirical Indigenous show | CBC News
• LILLEY: CBC hits pause on show targeting RCMP and conservatives - Toronto Sun 
• CBC called out for role in prank interviews of Kamloops residential school grave critics -CBC News
• CBC-funded prank show’s deceptive tactics raise fraud and legal concerns: Lawyer - The Hub
• 'I'm sick to my stomach': Retired RCMP officer details humiliating experience with CBC prank show 
• Taxpayer-funded mockumentary exposed; most legacy media steer clear of graves dissidents - The Rewrite [Substack]
• Hundreds gather to celebrate Murray Sinclair's legacy with round dance in Winnipeg | CBC News  

Sponsors:

oxio: Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADALAND for your first month free! 

Douglas:  Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today.  Visit douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer.

Shopify: Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial today at Shopify.ca

It’s our biggest sale of the year! Save 80% on a Canadaland subscription and become a supporter for only $2/month. You’ll get all of our podcasts ad-free, free access to our live events, and much, much more. What are you waiting for? Go to canadaland.com/join

Stephen Marche will be interviewing Chrystia Freeland LIVE in Toronto in the first edition of The Nuance, a live event series in partnership with the MNJCC. Join us on Sunday, May 24th at 7pm at the Al Green theatre. Doors open at 6pm. Free for Canadaland supporters, or you can become a supporter at the door for only $2 this month. Seating is first come first served. Find out more at canadaland.com/live

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Nate Erskine-Smith lost his bid for nomination for the Ontario Liberals in Scarborough Southwest, putting his plans for leadership in question. He’s alleging serious voting irregularities, and that the Ontario Liberal establishment has it in for him. 

Meanwhile, the Toronto Star publishes a curious Editor’s Note, retracting a statement from the PMO that Carney did not in fact endorse Erskine-Smith, despite the video being posted online. 

Then, a Toronto Star freelance columnist criticizes the Star’s reporting, and has her column pulled. What is happening? 

Barbara Patrocinio of iPolitics joins San Grewal to sort through the chaos. 

Host: San Grewal

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Kallan Lyons (Associate Producer and Fact Checking), Caleb Thompson (Mixing and Mastering), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor)

Guest: Barbara Patrocinio

Further reading: 

• Liberal party under fire as more questions raised about Nate Erskine-Smith’s nomination fight - Toronto Star
• Why the Liberal nomination controversy could be an 'unhelpful distraction' for a party looking to rebuild | CBC News
• Supriya Dwivedi on Real Talk with Ryan Jesperson [YouTube]
• Supriya Dwivedi Thread [X/Twitter]
• Erskine-Smith appeals Ontario Liberal nomination loss, alleging ‘irregularities’ | Power & Politics [YouTube]
• Ontario running out of time to pass bill to deal with misbehaving municipal politicians, critics warn | CBC News
• Blind side: Why World Cup economic impact on Vancouver, Toronto may never be known | Globalnews.ca     

Sponsors:

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Taskrabbit: Get fifteen dollars off your first task RIGHT NOW with promo code CANADALAND at Taskrabbit.ca  or with the Taskrabbit app

It’s our biggest sale of the year! Save 80% on a Canadaland subscription and become a supporter for only $2/month. You’ll get all of our podcasts ad-free, free access to our live events, and much, much more. What are you waiting for? Go to canadaland.com/join

Stephen Marche will be interviewing Chrystia Freeland LIVE in Toronto in the first edition of The Nuance, a live event series in partnership with the MNJCC. Join us on Sunday, May 24th at 7pm at the Al Green theatre. Doors open at 6pm. Free for Canadaland supporters, or you can become a supporter at the door for only $2 this month. Seating is first come first served. Find out more at canadaland.com/live

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