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