The Radical Reverend

For the final episode of this season, we've got an incredible, far-ranging conversation about socialism in Canada. Don't miss it!

We'll be back in September with new episodes!

Guests:

Niki Ashton [@NikiAshton], MP for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski and founding member of Progressive International

Alex Grant [@alexg_fightback], editor at Fightback

This week on the Radical Reverend I spoke with two incredible Indigenous representatives about Indigenous human rights and the tragic deaths of 215 children at a Kamloops residential school. 

Guests:

Leah Gazan [@LeahGazan], NDP MP representing Winnipeg Centre, member of the Wood Mountain Lakota First Nation

Sol Mamakwa [@solmamakwa], Ontario NDP MPP representing Kiiwetinoong, Official Opposition Critic for Indigenous & Treaty Relations, member of the Kingfisher First Nation

This week on the Radical Reverend, Nicholas Marcus Thomson joins me to talk about the Black Class Action lawsuit filed on behalf of Black federal employees seeking reparations for systemic anti-Black racism and discrimination in the Public Service of Canada. 

Plus, MPP Jill Andrew reflects on her term in government, the civil rights wins we've achieved in the year since George Floyd was murdered, and the significant work that remains to be done. 

Guests: 

Nicholas Marcus Thompson [@MeetNicholas], organizer of the Black Class Action Lawsuit, president of the Union of Taxation Employees, declared activist of the year by the Public Service Alliance

Jill Andrew [@JILLSLASTWORD], NDP MPP representing Toronto—St. Paul's

This episode of The Radical Reverend features the launch of my new book, The Queer Evangelist!

In The Queer Evangelist, I tell my story, from my roots as a young socialist activist in the 1960s to ordained minister in the ‘90s to member of provincial parliament. As the New Democratic member representing Parkdale-High Park in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2006 to 2017, I passed more LGBTQ bills than anyone in Canadian history. I describe the behind-the-scenes details of major changes to the law, including Toby’s Law, the first Transgender Rights legislation in North America in a major jurisdiction. I also passed bills banning conversion therapy, proclaiming parent equality for LGBTQ parents, and for enshrining in Ontario law the Trans Day of Remembrance. This story of one queer kid will inspire other young people (queer and not) to resist the system and change it.

With special guests Kathleen Wynne, El-Farouk Khaki + more!

Signed copies are available at Another Story Bookstore in Toronto!

The narrative in the mainstream media is that "tensions are erupting" between Israel and Hamas and that Israel has the right to defend itself. Palestinians are framed as the aggressors for firing rockets into Israel, and we are told the only path to peace is a two-state solution negotiated under international law. But this narrative is a propaganda campaign that serves to cover up colonization and international war crimes.

Guests:

David Slavick [@DavidSlavick], lawyer, political strategist and analyst, co-host of @ThePopularPod

Prof. Emilio Dabed, law professor at York University in Toronto

Education Matters: A Conversation With Cheri DiNovo and Marit Stiles was a live event held on April 30, 2021. Cheri and Marit took questions and comments from listeners and talked about: budget cuts, work refusals, vulnerable students who need more support, Conservative moves to privatize education, vaccine access, and more!

Cheri and Marit were joined by special guest Caleb Smolenaars, a public school student who is calling on the Halton Catholic District School Board Trustees to reverse their decision not to fly the Pride flag at Halton schools in June.

Guests: 

Marit Stiles [@MaritStiles], MPP for Davenport and education critic for the NDP

Caleb Smolenaars [@cmsmolenaars], activist, photographer, writer, public school student

This week on the Radical Reverend we're talking about physical and mental health: the vaccine rollout, vaccine safety and efficacy, the current situation in our ICUs, holistic approaches to mental health care, making mental health care more accessible, and creating a system of community supports that reduces the problems which lead to mental health crises in the first place.

Guests:

Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth [@NiliKM], primary care physician and co-host of the podcast RxAdvocacy

Semir Bulle [@SemirBulle], co-founder of Doctors for Defunding Police [@DrsDefundPolice]

The SIU recently announced there will be no charges for the police officers who killed Ejaz Choudry, a man killed in his Malton, Ontario apartment after his family called a non-emergency line for mental health help. Friends, family, and community members held a peaceful gathering last Saturday to protest the SIU's decision and to demand justice for Ejaz. The police arrived in full force, armed with assault rifles, and violently arrested at least seven community members. Why are peaceful protesters charged and arrested but there are no charges or consequences for police officers who kill? 

Doctors for Defunding Police believe that taking care of their patients doesn't end when patients step out of their offices. We're facing multiple public health crises right now, including the pandemic, poverty, homelessness, and racialized violence, and we need to invest in robust, community-driven solutions. You can't solve a public health crisis with more policing.  

Guests: 

Malton People's Movement [@MaltonMovement]

Semir Bulle [@semirbulle], co-founder of Doctors for Defunding Police [@DrsDefundPolice]

Links:

Justice for Ejaz

https://soundcloud.com/cheri-dinovo/justice-for-ejaz

The SIU recently announced there will be no charges for the officers who killed Ejaz Choudry, a man killed in his Malton, Ontario apartment after his family called a non-emergency line for mental health help. Ejaz locked himself alone inside his apartment while seated on a prayer mat and asked the police to leave. The SIU report says Ejaz "said he would not come out because he thought the police would shoot him." Then the police broke in and shot him. A statement from Ejaz's family reads: "Ejaz committed no crime. He did not deserve any of this. If there are no reasonable grounds to lay charges in this case, then when will the SIU ever take action for a police killing?"

97% of SIU cases that are investigated end without charges. In Peel alone, police have killed Jermaine Carby (1981-2014), Matt DiGiovanni (1985-2019), Clive Mensah (1989-2019), Jamal Francique (1992-2020), D'Andre Campbell (1994-2020), and Ejaz Choudry (1958-2020), and none of the officers involved have faced any charges. 

The Malton People's Movement is a grassroots community organization that is fighting back. They are demanding that the officers be named, charged for the crimes they've committed, and fired. Families must be compensated. And in a region in which 40% of all tax dollars go to the police, they are demanding we defund the police and reallocate that money to community services. Join their Justice for Ejaz action on Saturday, April 10 (follow @MaltonMovement for details). 

In the second half of the show, I talk with Alex Grant and David Slavick on our Left, Lefter, Leftist panel about defunding the police, the relationship between police and capitalism, reform versus abolition, abolishing the crown, how to stop COVID, and more!

Guests:

Malton People's Movement [@MaltonMovement], a grassroots organization formed in response to the killing of Ejaz Choudry

Alex Grant [@alexg_fightback], editor at Fightback

David Slavick [@DavidSlavick], political strategist and analyst, co-host of @ThePopularPod

Links:

Support the Malton People's Movement:

https://chuffed.org/project/support-malton-peoples-movement

This week on The Radical Reverend I spoke with Peggy Nash about the 2021 Ontario budget, how COVID has impacted higher education, why there isn't a general strike, and more!

I also spoke with Romana Siddiqui about the Ontario Parent Action Network, a grassroots movement that empowers parents and caregivers to step into community advocacy and protect our schools against COVID, privatization, and budget cuts.

Guests:

Peggy Nash, CM [@PeggyNash], former NDP MP for Parkdale–High Park, senior advisor at Ryerson University

Romana Siddiqui [@romanaandahmad], Ontario Parent Action Network

Links:

https://ourschools.ca/