Federal inmates in Quebec are about to lose a key program that aids in their rehabilitation. For almost as long as CEGEPs have existed in Québec, they have been providing educational opportunities to inmates in federal institutions’ prisons across the province. This program has supported rehabilitation for thousands over 52 years. However, Correctional Service Canada announced in February 2026 that it would end its funding, causing concerns that the program’s loss could damage rehabilitation efforts.

Samuel Rochette, a psychology teacher who has taught in Quebec’s federal prisons, is among those pushing back against the decision. He joins Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa to explain what the program’s closure could mean for incarcerated students.

Funding has been extended through September, beyond the program’s original June 30 end date, to allow some incarcerated students to finish their diplomas. But Rochette says the credential is only one part of what students stand to lose. He argues that the routine, responsibility, and sense of direction that come with post-secondary study are just as important, citing research linking prison education to lower reoffending rates. He says he’s seen those changes firsthand in the classroom.

Without the program, Rochette says many of his students are uncertain about what comes next. Some have told him they expect to return to drug use simply to pass the time, while others say the classroom was one of the few places in prison where they felt treated as human beings. Those accounts show what could be lost if a long-standing pathway to rehabilitation were to disappear.

Opposition party Projet Montréal is pushing a motion that would call on the City of Montreal to sever its institutional ties with Israel. The motion also calls on the city to recognize and denounce the genocide against Palestinians, as well as recognize and denounce the apartheid regime imposed on Palestinians.The motion was introduced at the June 15 city council meeting, where pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside City Hall in support of what they call a “historic” motion. However, the vote was postponed until the council’s next meeting in August.Many Palestinian solidarity activists see the motion as a significant step forward. Others, however, have questioned why Projet Montréal did not bring forward a similar proposal while it was in government.In this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with Alex Norris, Projet Montréal city councillor for the Jeanne-Mance district in Le Plateau–Mont-Royal and one of the motion’s seconders. They discuss what the motion would actually do, why Projet Montréal is advancing it now, and what role municipalities should play in international issues.Cities such as Barcelona have already suspended institutional ties with Israel, while others, including Hayward, California, have adopted procurement policies targeting goods and services linked to Israeli settlements. Could Montreal become the first Canadian municipality to formally suspend its institutional ties with Israel?

An entire 16-person municipal police unit from Montreal-Nord’s station 39 has been dismantled after internal reports have alleged that officers from the night patrol unit were repeatedly carrying out serious discriminatory acts against black and arab residents. Some of the most disturbing allegations include ripping locs off of detainees’ heads. On this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa sits down with Christopher Curtis, editor-in-chief of The Rover, to discuss the SPVM’s history of police brutality, systemic violence in Montreal, and the unprecedented nature of this disciplinary action. What does it mean for the SPVM? And what does it mean for Montrealers who are not surprised at this news?

Quebec’s far-right landscape is changing. According to a report published by Montréal Antifasciste in May 2026, many ideas and narratives once associated with fringe far-right movements have increasingly found expression in mainstream political discourse. Islamophobia, anti-immigration sentiments, and ethno-nationalism are a few of the ideas that have gained more space in the mainstream since. The report argues that far-right organizing in Quebec has evolved along with the global far-right, with activists adopting new strategies, organizations and public-facing images while continuing to promote exclusionary and nationalist politics.In this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa sits down with “Andy,” a pseudonym used by a member of Montréal Antifasciste. Andy discusses the report’s findings on far-right activity in Quebec, details and names many formations and spokespeople, and explains why the collective believes these movements are increasingly seeking to influence public debate through more polished and institutional channels.While Andy argues that these organizations remain relatively small, he contends that they are far from marginal in their political influence. If ideas once confined to the fringes ten years ago can become mainstream, what ideas being promoted today could shape public discourse a decade from now? and what can be done to resist them?

There is a long history of South Asian diaspora organizing here in Montreal. On today’s episode, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to Lily Paul, a member of the South Asian Diaspora Action Collective, also known as SADAC. SADAC’s work entails multiple prongs of action. As Lily Paul describes, they are involved in migrant justice, community education events, solidarity actions, awareness campaigns on human rights abuses in India, and, critically, in shedding light on the Hindu far-right. The latter of these has caught the attention of the Hindu far right in Montreal, and they have even gone so far as to intimidate SADAC organizers and event participants.

The US Army is gearing up for a massive $682 million upgrade to the General Dynamics facility in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The upgrade is set to increase production capacity from 6 to 16 million pounds of munitions and ordnance. This facility is of great importance as it is the sole supplier of the M31A2 propellant used in 155mm artillery ammunition. Investigations have revealed this propellant to have been actively used in Gaza by Israel.On this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with two activists organizing against this planned expansion. The #StopGDExpansion campaign is organizing a protest in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield this coming Saturday, May 30th, in conjunction with concerned residents who believe the expansion will negatively affect their health, the environment around Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, and who have qualms about the end use of the facility’s output.Articles mentioned:https://therover.ca/quebec-munitions-expansion-raises-questions-over-supply-chains-linked-to-the-idf/https://www.readthemaple.com/quebeckers-fight-u-s-backed-expansion-of-arms-plant/https://www.readthemaple.com/canadas-arms-to-israel-scandal-explained/Reports mentioned:https://armsembargonow.ca/Campaigns mentioned:https://www.instagram.com/genocide_dienamics/

As of April 15, 2026, it has been three years of devastating war in Sudan. In its fourth year, the war and the organizing efforts that have emerged in response across Montreal and the diaspora. Despite being the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, many are still unaware of the scale and devastation of the war in Sudan. Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with Duha Elmardi about the escalating humanitarian crisis amid ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This includes mass displacement, famine, attacks on civilians, and reports of ethnic cleansing in Darfur and Al-Fashir. She outlines the collapse of healthcare and education systems, the widespread use of sexual violence against women and girls, and the dangers faced by activists, journalists, and humanitarian workers on the ground. It is a layered crisis beyond the comprehension of many, as is evident in the weak analyses in The Atlantic’s piece “The war about nothing,” which has since been renamed.
Duha shares with us the realities facing Sudanese refugees and diaspora communities in Canada, from immigration delays and family reunification struggles to the emotional toll of witnessing ongoing violence from afar. Duha speaks about grassroots solidarity efforts led by the Sudan Solidarity Collective and highlights inspiring collaborations with Black, Palestinian, and migrant justice movements across Canada. At the same time, she points to areas where stronger solidarity is still needed, including campaigns targeting the UAE’s role in the war and demands for accountability over Canadian-made weapons found in Sudan. Throughout the interview, Duha emphasizes the importance of sustained public engagement, collective action, and international solidarity.
Articles mentioned:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/09/sudan-civil-war-humanitarian-crisis/683563/
https://breachmedia.ca/in-the-genocide-in-sudan-canada-has-a-hand-in-the-violence/
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sudan-rsf-massacres-canadian-rifles-sterling-cross-9.6969856
https://continent.substack.com/p/is-the-sudan-war-really-about-nothing
Organizations mentioned:
https://www.sudansolidarity.com
https://www.instagram.com/mtl4sudan/

With the Stanley Cup playoffs underway in Montreal, the excitement is everywhere and the SPVM is deploying to contain it, but some say they are overacting.
Alex MacMillan who started the Spark Solidarity page has been weighing in on what he considers excess brutality towards Habs fans by the Montreal Police. In this interview Alex details the long history of police interventions against hockey riots, the laws that changed how the police in montreal react, as well as the contrasting styles of big game crowd control used in places like Toronto that are much more peaceful than in Montreal.
With the Habs continuing on in the playoffs one question remains, should public funds be used for beating up fans of the Montreal Canadiens who have not broken any laws?

Muslim prisoners in Quebec face a compounded type of discrimination. There is the usual deprivation of life and freedom that the public expects prisoners to face. However, there is a rigidity of prison life that is wholly unaccommodating to the Muslim faith, and some are saying it is becoming even worse with budget cuts from both federal and provincial governments that take away educational opportunities from prisoners.Two community organizers are taking things into their own hands with the Eid Card writing initiative for incarcerated Muslims.

Local 514 host, Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to the organizers, Nashwa and Nabeela who have taken on efforts to spread awareness and raise funds for this unspoken issue.They talk about Islamophobia in Québec’s institutions, the broader global uses of prisons to stifle racialized and Indigenous communities, as well as the reception of their initiative by these prisoners.

Should university staff at McGill be allowed to demand students identify themselves on campus? Montreal’s McGill University’s board of governors has voted in favour of a controversial new policy. It’s called the Identification Policy for Access to Properties Owned, Occupied, or Used by the University.
This policy was proposed by Professor Fabrice Labeau on January 14, 2026 and it received quick criticism for the power it gives to McGill security and staff to demand identification from anyone on campus grounds.
The concerns raised about the policy point to its timing after the pro-palestine encampments. Critics of the policy are concerned about how the policy might be used against protestors trying to protect their privacy, women wearing a veil for religious reasons, and those who wear the mask for medical purposes.
To learn more about the policy and the concerns around it, Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to student from McGill that helped organize an open letter of opposition to the policy back in the winter.