Local 514

One month after the deadly Côte-des-Neiges shooting, some questions remain about the “ideology” that allegedly motivated the attack. Initially, it was reported that the shooter was tied to far-left tendencies, that he was even enacting some anti-zionist terror. But those were quickly debunked. A screed linked to the shooter has set some of those speculations aside. What’s known is that the shooter, a 25-year-old man, left Lethbridge, Alberta, to drive to Montreal to kill the CEO of PornHub. The text, while verbose, is best described by writer Nora Loreto as “a dog’s breakfast” of a mixed and incoherent ideology. Central to the text are threads about male loneliness. This tragedy has reignited conversations about incel culture, misogyny and the growing number of violent attacks connected to online communities built around resentment and isolation.

In this episode, Kalden is joined by Spencer, better known online as Social Dynamics Nerd. Spencer is a Montrealer familiar with male loneliness. She’s worked at Real Social Dynamics, self-marketed as the world’s largest pickup artist company in the 2010s. Many who were online back then might recall the momentum that the manosphere was gaining. That is the umbrella term given to the subculture of online pickup artists, men’s rights activists, and, central to this story, incels. Spencer doesn’t work for Real Social Dynamics anymore. Even her handle is a remnant of that time. She still gives some advice to men who wander the social wilderness. Spencer is careful not to call it life coaching when asked about titles we might assign her for the conversation. “Special interest” is the term Spencer uses, but for the sake of this episode and my editor’s peace of mind, let’s call Spencer a social connection specialist.

Spencer joins Local 514 to unpack the death of social connection at the center of the shooter’s long-winded essay. It should go without saying that the male dimension of loneliness and isolation begets public violence like no other. Spencer and Kalden recall Elliot Roger, Polytechnique, and the 2018 Toronto van attack. The question at the heart of this conversation is: If loneliness and isolation can produce such events of public mass violence, what responsibilities do we hold in our communities and civic institutions to address loneliness and isolation?

If you liked the episode make sure to follow Spencer on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialdynamicsnerd/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@socialdynamicsnerd

Where are we in the housing crisis? This week on Local 514, housing policy expert Gavin Armitage Ackerman joins us to break down some of the latest housing news. Quebec is investing $1 billion in water infrastructure to support new housing. Montreal has 25,000 vacant units. At the same time, landlords resist lowering rents, and housing activists are pushing for stronger government action on affordability. We take a look at the latest headlines and ask what they tell us about the state of the housing crisis.

New housing coalition debuts at July 1st protest video: https://youtu.be/5XMsKiShzxY

Zach Jutras sits down with Eva Ludvig, president of Talking Advocating Living in Quebec (TALQ) to speak about the lack of an English language debate for Quebec’s provincial election, and why one is needed.TALQ sent letters to leaders of the Quebec provincial parties explaining the importance of speaking with English Quebecers. 3 out of 5 provincial parties declined to participate in an English debate. Only Quebec Solidaire and the Conservative Party of Quebec had agreed. Due to a lack of participation, no debate will be held. Voters will go to the polls on October 5th, and 3 French debates will be held ahead of election night.

Who gets to celebrate publicly in Montréal?
After Morocco’s victory over Canada in the FIFA World Cup on July 4, thousands of people gathered in Petit Maghreb to celebrate. But instead of simply directing traffic or managing crowds, the SPVM deployed dozens of officers in riot gear, alongside mounted police, into the heart of the North African neighbourhood near the Saint-Michel metro station.

In this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with Moroccan-Pakistani community educator, researcher, and Habibti Please host Nashwa Lina Khan, who was present during the celebrations. She describes witnessing police corralling supporters, ordering people to disperse, and maintaining an overwhelming presence even though the festivities remained largely peaceful.

Together, they examine what happened that night and explore the larger questions it raises about policing, belonging, and public space in Québec. Why are some communities’ celebrations treated as a public safety concern while others are embraced? How does anti-Muslim racism shape law enforcement methods? And who ultimately has the right to celebrate—and take up space—in Montréal’s streets?

Nashwa describes what she saw, and questions how islamophobia in quebec extends into the limitation of celebration by muslims. Who has the right to the city?  Who is allowed to celebrate? and who does the police not want out in the streets to express joy?

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.

Zach Jutras sits down with Alyssa Cloutier from Regroupement des Maisons pour Femmes Victimes de Violence Conjugale to speak about the Protecting Victims Act (Bill C-16) that was passed into law on June 18th.Cloutier and her organization welcome the bill and criminalization of coercive control, something groups like hers have been asking for. However, Cloutier believes that collaboration and training are needed between the judicial system and domestic violence support groups until the law is fully implemented in 18 months.

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.