After emerging from years of brutal dictatorship, the Haitian people dreamed of a democracy that would serve the poor and bring an end to impunity. Between 1991 and 2004, Haitians elected a succession of governments committed to realizing this dream. The pro-democracy movement’s efforts were ultimately derailed by powerful local elites and their allies in the international community, including Canada. Haiti Betrayed was written, directed and produced by Elaine Briere.

Eighteen months ago, Vancouver City Council was enthusiastic about the idea of 100 tiny homes for the homeless. This week they heard that 10 shelter beds is all that is possible and the City will have to foot the bill. Ian Mass joins me with his City Beat report to talk about this, a debate on financial support for a challenge to Quebec’s Bill 21 and more.

British Columbia is ahead of most North American jurisdictions with its composting and recycling programs. However, the Lower Mainland still burns at least 25% of its waste, with a plan to expand that amount. Sue Maxwell is a sustainability consultant with Ecoinspire Planning Services. She joins us to talk about the problems with this waste-to-energy expansion.

Cleaning and food service workers at Simon Fraser University say their working conditions are difficult and their pay lags behind counterparts elsewhere. Contract Worker Justice @SFU is a coalition of workers, students, faculty, and community members at SFU. They are calling on Simon Fraser University to hire these workers directly and to improve their pay and working conditions. John Calvert is an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at SFU and he has been involved in the coalition since its founding.

The storming of the Capitol last year was an unprecedented moment and raised questions about the fragility of democracy in the United States. Christopher Vials joins us to discuss the rise of xenophobic right-wing populism in the U.S. Vials is an associate professor of English at the University of Connecticut–Storrs and author of Haunted by Hitler: Liberals, the Left, and the Fight Against Fascism in the United States.

In 2021, communities across the province have found themselves facing unprecedented costs from forest fires, flooding and storm damage. Meanwhile, the companies who are making huge profits from fossil fuels aren’t contributing a penny to help with the impacts of climate change. Lawyer Andrew Gage says it’s long past time to make fossil fuel companies pay for the chaos they’ve helped to create.

Ottawa academic Hassan Diab was extradited to France 8 years ago to face terrorism charges. He spent 3 years in solitary confinement before French magistrates ruled that there wasn’t enough evidence for a trial and released him. Last year, France’s court of appeal overturned that decision. Now the French court has set a trial date for next year. We hear reaction from Tim McSorley of the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group; Jo Wood of the Hassan Diab Support Committee; Alex Neve, formerly of Amnesty Canada, and Rob Currie of Dalhousie University.

Vancouver City Council had its first meeting of the year this week and started off with a motion that got the attention of affordable housing advocates. Depending on who you listen to, single family neighbourhoods across Vancouver are either facing their biggest threat ever or just another small step in gentle densification. Ian Mass joins us to talk about this, and a whole bunch of other Vancouver Council issues in his regular City Beat report.

In British Columbia, the RCMP has a special detachment called the Community-Industry Response Group, set up to enforce injunctions and arrest land defenders blocking access to resource extraction companies. Molly Murphy is a BIPOC activist and journalist who’s experienced first-hand the violence of the RCMP at Fairy Creek. She explains what she’s found out about the background, training and tactics of the C-IRG.

Youth radicalization is on the rise in Canada. With increasing online promotion of far right ideas, young people are exposed a lot of politically motivated misinformation that can lead them to adopt extreme views. Teachers says they feel ill-equipped to recognize the signs of radicalization or know how to effectively intervene. Dr Kawser Ahmed is spearheading an effort to provide resources for educators in Manitoba.