Local 514

Who gets to celebrate publicly in Montréal? After Morocco’s victory over Canada in the FIFA World Cup on July 4, thousands of people gathered in Petit Maghreb to celebrate. But instead of simply directing traffic or managing crowds, the SPVM deployed dozens of officers in riot gear, alongside mounted police, into the heart of the North African neighbourhood near the Saint-Michel metro station. In...

Federal inmates in Quebec are about to lose a key program that aids in their rehabilitation. For almost as long as CEGEPs have existed in Québec, they have been providing educational opportunities to inmates in federal institutions’ prisons across the province. This program has supported rehabilitation for thousands over 52 years. However, Correctional Service Canada announced in February 2026 tha...

Opposition party Projet Montréal is pushing a motion that would call on the City of Montreal to sever its institutional ties with Israel. The motion also calls on the city to recognize and denounce the genocide against Palestinians, as well as recognize and denounce the apartheid regime imposed on Palestinians. The motion was introduced at the June 15 city council meeting, where pro-Palestinian de...

An entire 16-person municipal police unit from Montreal-Nord’s station 39 has been dismantled after internal reports have alleged that officers from the night patrol unit were repeatedly carrying out serious discriminatory acts against black and arab residents. Some of the most disturbing allegations include ripping locs off of detainees’ heads. On this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa...

Quebec’s far-right landscape is changing. According to a report published by Montréal Antifasciste in May 2026, many ideas and narratives once associated with fringe far-right movements have increasingly found expression in mainstream political discourse. Islamophobia, anti-immigration sentiments, and ethno-nationalism are a few of the ideas that have gained more space in the mainstream since. The...

There is a long history of South Asian diaspora organizing here in Montreal. On today’s episode, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to Lily Paul, a member of the South Asian Diaspora Action Collective, also known as SADAC. SADAC’s work entails multiple prongs of action. As Lily Paul describes, they are involved in migrant justice, community education events, solidarity actions, awareness campaigns on hu...

The US Army is gearing up for a massive $682 million upgrade to the General Dynamics facility in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The upgrade is set to increase production capacity from 6 to 16 million pounds of munitions and ordnance. This facility is of great importance as it is the sole supplier of the M31A2 propellant used in 155mm artillery ammunition. Investigations have revealed this propellant to...

As of April 15, 2026, it has been three years of devastating war in Sudan. In its fourth year, the war and the organizing efforts that have emerged in response across Montreal and the diaspora. Despite being the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, many are still unaware of the scale and devastation of the war in Sudan. Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with Duha Elmardi about the escala...

With the Stanley Cup playoffs underway in Montreal, the excitement is everywhere and the SPVM is deploying to contain it, but some say they are overacting. Alex MacMillan who started the Spark Solidarity page has been weighing in on what he considers excess brutality towards Habs fans by the Montreal Police. In this interview Alex details the long history of police interventions against hockey rio...

Muslim prisoners in Quebec face a compounded type of discrimination. There is the usual deprivation of life and freedom that the public expects prisoners to face. However, there is a rigidity of prison life that is wholly unaccommodating to the Muslim faith, and some are saying it is becoming even worse with budget cuts from both federal and provincial governments that take away educational opport...

Should university staff at McGill be allowed to demand students identify themselves on campus? Montreal’s McGill University’s board of governors has voted in favour of a controversial new policy. It’s called the Identification Policy for Access to Properties Owned, Occupied, or Used by the University. This policy was proposed by Professor Fabrice Labeau on January 14, 2026 and it received quick cr...

The National Post recently published a column by Terry Newman that referred to an event organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement Montreal as “pro-terror.” The event was intended to share the experiences of former Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons. As Ali Salman explains, PYM aimed to shed light on stories that are often hidden from public view. This framing is nothing new to organiz...

In this episode, Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa sits down withvenue owner and former municipal political candidate Sergio Da Silva to discuss his recent criticism of Montreal’s new nightlife policy. Sergio acknowledges that the policy brings some positive developments—particularly for venues that have put in the work to earn special designation allowing them to stay open later. However, he raises...

In a recent tweet, border scholar Harsha Walia described Bill C-12 as “absolutely horrific,” warning that it could become “the country’s largest machinery of deportation.” As the bill moves from the Senate to the House of Commons, concerns about its potential impact are growing. In this episode, Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with Mostafa Henaway of the Immigrant Workers Centre in Montreal...

Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa is joined by journalist Katia Lo Innes for a look at the stories making headlines in Montreal this month. The OQLF is planning on unleashing “secret shoppers” across Quebec but more than half of the visits will be in Montreal. The secret shoppers will report back to the OQLF on how often french is used by service staff. The operation will be carried out by a private...

In 2026, 7 women have been killed in and around Montréal. Ruba Ghazal, co-spokesperson of Quebec Solidaire claims that the CAQ government is contributing by underfunding prevention and support systems for women in danger. During a previous femicide spike in 2021 the CAQ promised to expand shelters and funding for services but currently at the time of writing the provincial government is short 33%...

Islamophobia has long been a recurring instrument in Québec’s political landscape. From the Parti Québécois’s proposed Charter of Values in 2013, which sought to bar public servants from wearing religious symbols, to the passage of Bill 94 in 2010, Muslim communities have repeatedly been cast as scapegoats in a broader culture war. This discourse often amplifies fears around so-called threats to l...

On this episode of Local 514 we delve into a provocative legal case that has sparked widespread debate across Canada. The case centers around Alexe Frédéric Migneault, a non-binary individual who received $500 in damages from a hair salon after they faced discrimination in booking an appointment. At the center of this story and the wave of angry misinterpretations is the right to accommodation. La...

As much as professional sports tries to distance itself from the political world, politics always finds sports. Recently FBI director Kash Patel and president Donald Trump embroiled themselves in scandal for their ugly gold medal celebrations with the US mens national hockey team. Some of which had to return to their local Canadian teams and answer for their soft support of these authoritarian fig...

So far in 2026 US  Immigration and Customs enforcement, also known as ICE, have killed at least 9 people according to reporting by Al-Jazeera. Two of those were the high-profile killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both Minneapolis residents. Today on Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa, interviews Michael Lipset, who is originally from the Twin cities area where these high-profile killings took p...

On this episode of Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to CSU campaigns coordinator Julianna Smith about a 5-day curriculum called Anti-Capitalist week. Julianna describes some of the workshops as well as how the campaign evolved from prior Anti-Consumerism campaigns. Tune in to listen to the full conversation.

AI is everywhere, but can it really fix Montreal? From city permits to urban planning, municipal leaders are betting on artificial intelligence to solve local problems. In this episode of Local 514, Kalden Dhatsenpa talks with tech critic Paris Marx about the hype, the limits, and the hidden social consequences of Montreal’s AI push.

From scandals in the Liberal Party of Québec to an increasingly domineering attitude from the Parti Québecois, to a massive projected crash from the governing Coalition Avenir Quebec this moment marks a tumultuous point in Québec politics where much is uncertain. Editor-in-chief of the Rover, Christopher Curtis joins Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa to make sense of this political mess.

“We are one of the white races with fewest children!” - Lucien Bouchard Today’s episode of Local 514 explores the renewed relevance of sovereignty in Quebec at the 1995 referendum’s 30th anniversary. How did that pivotal moment change Quebec and has the sovereignty movement changed as well? One expert suggests a fundamental issue within the movement, whiteness. Tune in for the full discussion.

As Quebec approaches the 2026 provincial election, the government has introduced Bill 9, a legislation that would restrict public prayer in certain settings. Officials say the measure is meant to reinforce state secularism, while civil liberties groups argue it disproportionately affects Muslim communities. To better understand the legal implications and the broader context, Local 514 spoke with S...