In his new book On Property, Rinaldo Walcott argues that the project of abolition will not be over until Black people everywhere are free, equal, and safe, and that this necessarily includes the abolition of police, prisons, and property. Arguing for a society based around communal forms of ownership, the call to abolish the police is a call to transform society so that those who have been made the most disadvantaged can partake in equitable distribution of the earth's resources.

Plus, frontline workers have been forced to work under extremely dangerous conditions throughout the pandemic, risking their lives and the safety of their families. Despite supportive statements from the government and praise for being "heroes," they continue to endure a lack of PPE, paid sick days, and fair compensation. We need to stand together and demand better.

Guests:

Rinaldo Walcott [@blacklikewho], professor in the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto, and author of On Property

Fred Hahn [@FredHahnCUPE], President of CUPE Ontario

In the first half of the show I spoke with primary care physician Dr. Nili Kaplan-Myrth about her incredible advocacy during the pandemic. Primary care doctors take care of all of us, from babies to seniors, often at incredible personal risk. Early in the pandemic many family doctors didn't have PPE, during the lockdown many had to close their practices as a result of financial pressures, and many are continuing to risk their health and safety to care for their patients without yet being vaccinated.  

In the second half of the show I spoke with Alice Curitz, founder and clinical director of Our Landing Place, a queer therapy collective serving LGBTQ2+ people across Canada. While queer and trans identities are no longer pathologized in the DSM, stigma still persists and finding affirming, culturally competent mental health care can be a challenge.

Guests:

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

Alice Curitz, founder and clinical director of Our Landing Place

Links: 

Queering Mental Health, an online conference on April 21, 2021 exploring the intersections of queerness and mental health across Canada:

https://www.ourlandingplace.com/workshops

March 8 is International Women's Day! To celebrate, I'm speaking with two of my favorite progressive women in politics: Niki Ashton and Marit Stiles.

Canada is still nowhere near parity when it comes to representation of women in politics. But we don't simply need more women in politics; we need more progressive women who are making bold changes in our communities and at the national level.

Niki represents northern Manitoba, one of the poorest regions in the country. It has immense wealth in terms of natural resources, but extraction comes at the expense of women, Indigenous peoples, workers, and the environment. COVID is a call to do better — it's a matter of life and death.

Plus, it has been a year since COVID lockdown measures were first introduced in Ontario. Why are our schools still unsafe? Why haven't we banned evictions? Why do we still have no paid sick days despite overwhelming public support? Why is our vaccine rollout so slow and filled with uncertainties? Is all of this part of a Conservative agenda to push for austerity and increased privatization?

Guests:

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

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

Links:

Niki will be in conversation with Jeremy Corbyn on March 20 from 1–3 p.m. EST, hosted by Progressive International. Our current crises know no borders. The solutions to racism, the climate crisis, and workers' exploitation involve building international solidarity. Tickets are pay-what-you-can:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/building-solidarity-a-conversation-with-jeremy-corbyn-niki-ashton-tickets-143580403853

Kristyn Wong-Tam is one of the Toronto City Councillors who put forward a motion last summer to defund the police by a minimum of 10% and reallocate that money to community services. She joins The Radical Reverend to talk about the 2021 Toronto budget that was just passed. Despite all the hardships we've faced due to the pandemic and despite widespread support for systemic change, the new budget maintains the status quo. What can we do to have a real impact on budgets and policies?

In the second half of the show, Cathy Parkes and Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos join The Radial Reverend to talk about the crisis in long-term care. The Ontario government has launched an independent commission to investigate COVID-19 within long-term care homes, ostensibly to provide guidance on how to better protect residents and staff from future outbreaks. But experts have been telling us for decades how to protect residents and staff: end for-profit long-term care, ensure appropriate levels of properly-trained staff, enforce adherence to infection prevention and control standards, and hold criminally negligent homes accountable.

Guests:

Kristyn Wong-Tam [@kristynwongtam], Toronto City Councillor for Toronto Centre

Cathy Parkes [@CathyMParkes], Canadians for Long-Term Care Standards and The Families of Orchard Villa

Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos [@DrVivianS], professor at Ontario Tech University, long-term care researcher and advocate

Arash Azizi joins The Radical Reverend to talk about his new book, The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran's Global Ambitions. It tells the story of the military mastermind who established Iran as a major power in the Middle East and the nature of Iran's global ambitions today.

Plus, Skyler Williams joins us from 1492 Land Back Lane to give us an update on what's happening there. Haudenosaunee land defenders have been peacefully occupying 1492 Land Back Lane for the past seven months in opposition to a property development on their unceded territory. The United Nations has called on Canada to stop all development on Indigenous lands until there is free, prior, and informed consent. Land defenders are facing police violence and criminal charges for simply asking Canada to honor its treaty commitments.

Guests:

Arash Azizi [@arash_tehran], historian at New York University and author of The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US, and Iran's Global Ambitions

Skyler Williams [@1492LBL], land defender at 1492 Land Back Lane

Donate to 1492 Land Back Lane:

The first half of the show features an interview with Cornel West on The Bottom Line, "The choice is between disaster and catastrophe," originally aired September 3, 2020:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ti09oEN-DJ0

The second half of the show features a sermon by Bishop Yvette Flunder, "The Skin We Are In," originally aired August 15, 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwZCF84ITFE

A multi-racial coalition is coming together to demand that we defund the police by 50% and redirect that money towards community services including public health, secure long-term housing for street-involved people, food security programs, and public transit. 

As calls to defund the police have gained momentum, Toronto City Council is set to vote on a pilot program that will redirect funds away from policing people experiencing mental health crises and towards teams of healthcare providers trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation.

Thanks to the movement for police-free schools, in 2017 the Toronto District School Board voted to remove School Resource Officers from TDSB schools. Racialized students are disproportionately targeted with suspensions and expulsions, and policing racialized students only escalates the harms they experience.

Plus, Canada used to produce vaccines domestically in world-renowned labs, but as a result of privatization we are no longer able to. And in another self-sabotaging move, Canada, along with other wealthy countries, voted to block a proposal led by India and South Africa to waive intellectual property rights on COVID vaccines which would have allowed more vaccines to be produced at a lower cost. Now, amid a limited global supply and facing EU export controls, Canada has started taking vaccines from the COVAX program which were meant for people in developing countries. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are making billions of dollars in profit while the pandemic remains out of control and dangerous variants are spreading around the world.

Guests: 

Andrea Vásquez Jiménez [@andreavasquezj], co-director of LAEN (Latinx, Afro-LATIN-America, Abya Yala Education Network)

Jules Vodarek Hunter, SURJ Toronto [@SURJto]

Ben Nolan [@BenNolan], doctoral candidate in political theory at UMass, Amherst

Alex Grant [@alexg_fightback], editor at Fightback

The pandemic has made urgent issues out of longstanding problems. Paid sick leave should be available to everyone. People with disabilities should have programs and supports that meet their needs. Criminally negligent for-profit long-term care should end. These issues all have widespread public support, so why aren't our politicians taking action?

In the second half, we play an interview with Dr. Eric Topol and Dr. Eddie Holmes covering the story behind how the coronavirus was first sequenced and shared with scientists around the world, the rapid development of the tests and vaccines we rely on today, and the science behind the new variants. 

In recent weeks we've started to see the spread of dangerous variants around the world. There's growing evidence that the UK variant is more contagious and more deadly than the original, and that our current vaccines are significantly less effective against the South African variant — both of which have been detected in Canada. Researchers have already started to develop updated vaccines. Will we all need booster shots to stay safe in the years ahead?

Guests:

Joel Harden [@JoelHardenONDP], NDP MPP for Ottawa Centre, and Ontario’s Critic for Accessibility and People with Disabilities

Dr. Eric Topol, cardiologist, director of Scripps Research, and professor of molecular medicine

Dr. Eddie Holmes, virologist and professor at the University of Sydney

People who believed they were defending freedom stormed the US Capitol with the goal of killing lawmakers and overturning the election — all to prevent a Biden presidency. The Right has accused Biden of being a socialist, the mainstream media has portrayed him as a moderate Democrat, but his record and policy agenda show he’s closer to being a Republican. From his legislative work to oppose school desegregation, to his inadequate pandemic plan and climate targets, Biden’s policies are not going to save us.

The pandemic has left millions of people out of work and struggling financially. For sex workers, some have moved their work online but many are working in person, putting their health at risk to support themselves and their families. Paying money for sex is not illegal in Canada, but sex workers are criminalized and face routine police abuse including assault, entrapment, and arbitrary arrests. Sex workers are asking for their work to be decriminalized, and for our tax dollars to be redirected away from policing sex workers and towards programs that meet their needs.

Guests:

David Slavick [@DavidSlavick], former adjunct law professor at Elon University School of Law, former political consultant and DC think tank staffer

Andray Domise [@AndrayDomise], assistant editor at MacLean's

Jenny Duffy, board chair of Maggie’s Toronto Sex Workers Action Project [@MaggiesToronto]

Deniqua Edwards, lawyer at Biking Lawyer LLP

Links:

https://www.maggiesto.org/

After a fascist coup attempt, the National Guard has been called in to state capitals across the United States amidst FBI warnings of additional planned far-right attacks. The Biden administration's response has been to back new domestic terrorism legislation that would give even greater power to law enforcement. But won't these new laws overwhelmingly be used against the Left? 

There's no shortage of disturbing developments happening north of the border, too. Conservative politicians in Canada are borrowing from Trump's far-right playbook, including Erin O'Toole who has just hired the founder of Ontario Proud to be part of his campaign team. 

Plus, in response to rapidly rising COVID hospitalizations and deaths, Ontario has been placed under stay-at-home orders. Advocates are saying that won't be enough to save residents of long-term care and are calling for military health care teams to be sent in. Why is the Ontario government refusing their help? And why has nothing been done to fix the problems identified in the first military report?

Guests:

Ben Nolan [@BenNolan], doctoral candidate in political theory at UMass, Amherst and a Du Bois Center fellow

Dr. Vivian Stamatopoulos [@DrVivianS], professor at Ontario Tech University, long-term care researcher and advocate