This summer, Vancouver will host seven matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In the lead-up to major global sporting events like this, a familiar narrative tends to resurface: fears of a spike in human trafficking, particularly for sexual exploitation. Yet, time and again, these claims have been widely circulated without credible evidence or data to support them.

Advocacy organizations such as SWAN Vancouver have raised concerns about newly introduced RCMP anti-trafficking units, warning that such initiatives may conflate consensual sex work with trafficking. Critics argue this approach risks further marginalizing sex workers and could ultimately undermine the safety of already vulnerable communities.

This week on rabble radio, rabble labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Crystal Laderas, the communications manager at SWAN Vancouver, to talk about this issue and why advocating for sex workers' rights and protections is as essential as it is for any other workers in Canada.

Crystal Laderas is the communications manager at SWAN Vancouver, an organization that promotes the rights, health and safety of im/migrant women engaged in indoor sex work. She focuses on public education, advocacy, and debunking misinformation. As a former reporter who worked across Western Canada, she encourages ethical and accurate reporting of the community SWAN supports. Crystal also manages ResponsibleReporting.ca, an online resource hub with quick facts, explainers and information for reporting on sex work and human trafficking.

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This week on rabble radio, we're sharing a clip from the latest episode of the Courage My Friends, featuring Kara Anderson (Mining Injustice Solidarity Network) and Rachel Small (World Beyond War) on Canada's defence spending and the connections between militarism and mining.

The full episode can be found here. Listen to the entire series of Courage My Friends on Needs No Introduction.

Kara Anderson is an organizer with the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network, as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto working on food justice.

Rachel Small works as the Canada Organizer for World BEYOND War, a global grassroots organisation and network working to abolish war and the military industrial complex, is a founding member of the Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition, and coordinates the Arms Embargo Now Campaign. She has done grassroots organizing within local and international social/environmental justice movements for nearly two decades, with a special focus on working in solidarity with communities harmed by Canadian extractive industry projects.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This week on rabble radio, author Jowita Bydlowska joins rabble publisher Sarah Sahagian in the rabble book lounge to discuss her latest memoir Unshaming, and reflect on how her 2014 memoir Drunk Mom transformed her life.

Jowita Bydlowska is the author of Unshaming (March 2026). She is also the author of Monster(September 2024), Possessed, the best-selling memoir Drunk Mom, and the best-selling novel GUY. She's also a prolific short-story writer, journalist and a mentor. She divides her time between Tkaronto and Treaty-9. She is obsessed with her chihuahua.

​Learn more about Bydlowska on her website here.

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This week, rabble editor Nick Seebruch and publisher Sarah Sahagian review the top stories in the news this week, including the attacks on Iran from the US and Israel and the upcoming NDP leadership convention.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

According to a December 2025 report from the Centre for Future Work, fossil fuel jobs in Canada are in decline and will likely continue to drop in the years to come. Not just because of climate policy, but because of technology, economic changes, resource limits and corporate greed.

As director of the Centre for Future Work Jim Stanford explains, many fossil fuel workers are close to retirement, and surveys show they're most interested in early retirement options and transition plans supported by unions. The issue of fossil fuel jobs in decline isn't about whether or not they will continue to decline (they will), but about how to manage the transition fairly for workers.

About our guest

Jim Stanford is economist and director of the Centre for Future Work, a progressive labour economics institute based in Vancouver. He has a PhD in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York, and also holds economics degrees from Cambridge University and the University of Calgary. He is the author of Economics for Everyone, which has been translated into six languages.

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Bridget Potasky, rabble's 2025–26 Jack Layton Journalism for Change Fellow, has been working on a series examining the growing use of the notwithstanding clause by federal and provincial governments, as we discussed in last week's episode.

This week, she sat down with Ontario Federation of Labour president Laura Walton to talk about why strengthening worker solidarity is essential as governments increasingly invoke the notwithstanding clause.

About our guest

Laura Walton is the president of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), Canada's largest provincial labour federation. The OFL represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. Laura previously served as the president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees' Ontario School Board Council of Unions (OSBCU), which represents over 55,000 education workers across the province.

In 2022, Laura led an historic strike that won unprecedented gains for OSBCU members and that led to the defeat of Bill 28, the provincial government's landmark anti-labour legislation.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

Since 2017, rabble.ca and the Institute for Change Leaders has presented the Jack Layton Journalism for Change Fellowship: a fellowship with the objective of supporting emerging writers and journalists who are passionate and engaged in developing unique voices in social change reporting. Our current fellow is Bridget Potasky.

This week on rabble radio, Bridget sits down with rabble editor Nick Seebruch to talk about her series on Canada's recent frequent use of the notwithstanding clause and what her plans are after the fellowship wraps.

About our guest

Bridget Potasky is a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University, where she earned her degree in Politics and Governance. Since completing her studies, she has been actively involved in peacebuilding and human rights advocacy.

Bridget has worked with Human Rights Action Group, contributing to efforts that address mass atrocity crimes, transnational repression, and violations of international law. She has also collaborated with Canadian Friends of Peace Now, writing about issues of injustice, social movements, and democracy in the Middle East. Through this work, Bridget has developed a deep commitment to amplifying the stories of underrepresented voices and holding power to account.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

This week on rabble radio, something a little different: a love story.

Sarah Sahagian sits down with Rachael Durie to talk about falling in love at 18, becoming a living organ donor, and what it means to keep going after losing the love of your life.

This is part one of their conversation. To hear Sarah's full interview with Rachael, join our Patreon community today—memberships start at just $1 per month.

Rachael Durie is a public policy and nonprofit leader with over a decade of experience spanning government, community advocacy, and social impact. She is currently the executive director of Spectrum Mothers Support Society, supporting mothers and families in crisis through community-based, preventative care.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and now: subscribe to rabble on Patreon to hear exclusive bonus episodes of rabble radio.

2026 marks the 60th anniversary of Canada's Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program. Today, at a time when Canada appears to be rolling back protections and freedoms for migrant workers, this anniversary raises an urgent question: what does Canada's treatment of migrants reveal about our values, and are we truly living up to the United Nations' expectations for human rights?

Gabriel Allahdua (Justice for Migrant Workers) sits down with Gabriela Calugay-Casuga to talk about the urgent need to speak up for migrant workers in Canada and globally.

About our guest

Gabriel Allahdua is a former migrant farm worker from St Lucia, an island in the Eastern Caribbean. He is an organizer with the collective, Justice for Migrant Workers (J4MW) for almost a decade. He is currently an outreach worker working with migrant workers across Ontario and education and mobilization officer with the Association for the Rights of Household and farm Workers (DTMF). He was the activist in residence at the University of Guelph, the first person to hold that position, which brought activists and researchers together.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends. It takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.

Over the last two years, Alberta and Saskatchewan have used a special legal power—the notwithstanding clause—to protect laws that affect transgender youth. These laws limit access to gender-affirming health care and require schools to get parental consent before using a student's chosen name or pronouns. Critics say these laws break basic rights protected by the Charter and could put transgender and gender-diverse young people at greater risk of harm.

This week on rabble radio, Jack Layton Journalism for Change fellow Bridget Potasky sits down with Aaden Pearson, trans rights legal fellow with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. The two discuss the use of the notwithstanding clause across Canada and its impact on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights.

To learn more about this issue and about the recent increase in the use of the notwithstanding clause in Canada, read Potasky's latest piece on rabble today.

About our guest

Aaden Pearson is a staff lawyer and Trans Rights Legal Fellow at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. They develop and coordinate advocacy strategies to advance trans rights in Canada as well as monitor significant developments in this area.

Prior to joining the CCLA, Aaden held a fellowship position with the Law Commission of Canada and was engaged in Canadian law reform. Aaden clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal and was a litigation associate at a boutique law firm practicing in the areas of civil litigation, public interest and constitutional law.

If you like the show please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. Please, rate, review, share rabble radio with your friends. It takes two seconds to support independent media like rabble. Follow us on social media across channels @rabbleca.