Local 514

Échec à la guerre’s white poppy campaign, now in its 16th year, calls for remembering all victims of war, including civilians, and making peace an intentional part of how we observe Remembrance Day. Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with Martine Eloy about the campaign. In the past, criticisms have been levied against the white poppy campaigners for being “disrespectful” to veterans. Martine...

The debate over objectivity in journalism has consequences beyond the newsroom. In his new book, La Presse deputy editor François Cardinal dismisses some progressive Montréal reporters as “activists.” But what does that distinction mean for journalists on the ground facing police? Christopher Curtis joins Local 514’s Kalden Rangdröl Dhatsenpa to discuss Cardinal’s criticism of Pivot as well as Piv...

Zach Jutras sits down with Milan Bernard, spokesperson for the National Council of Unemployed Workers (NCUW), to discuss their demands for Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne. The NCUW, along with other unions and worker organizations, gathered outside the minister’s office in Shawinigan to demand that the government cap employment insurance eligibility hours at 420. Right now, the hours...

The Parti Québécois is back in power with 60 seats, having gained one more after a recount in Vachon on Montréal’s South Shore. But its minority government will need support from other parties to pass legislation and budgets. What should Montréalers expect? Journalist and public historian Taylor C. Noakes joins Local 514’s Kalden Rangdröl Dhatsenpa to discuss the CAQ’s decline, the PQ’s return and...

On October 16, 2026, a La Presse investigation revealed that PDQ 21 suspended two officers. One officer had urinated on an unhoused individual, and another had posed for multiple photos with a suspect put into a humiliating position. These two suspensions follow a disastrous year for the SPVM, after last June’s massive suspension of an entire night watch unit at PDQ 39, where officers reportedly c...

Québec’s election delivered a Parti Québécois minority government with roughly 28 percent of the popular vote, raising questions about how closely the National Assembly reflects the electorate. The result gives the PQ the largest share of seats, despite nearly three-quarters of valid ballots going to other parties. Original data research by Local 514 journalist Kalden Rangdröl Dhatsenpa reveals an...

Joseph from Anakbayan Montréal joins Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa to discuss the Filipino youth organization’s wide-ranging work, from cultural activities and community support to workers’ rights and international solidarity. He shares how learning about human rights abuses in the Philippines moved him to get involved, connecting struggles back home with organizing here in Montréal. Find Anakba...

An interview with Randy Legault-Rankin, Liberal Party of Quebec candidate in Laurier-Dorion. Legault-Rankin pitches why Quebecers should vote for the party. In this conversation, we discussed the party’s reasons for keeping Quebec in Canada, the homelessness crisis, the notwithstanding clause, and more. The provincial election is on Oct. 5th. Stay tuned for more Local 514 election coverage, includ...

An interview with Vincent Hubert, Parti Québécois candidate in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Hubert pitches why Quebecers should vote for the party. In this conversation, we discussed the party’s plan for independence, lowering grocery prices, limiting temporary immigrants, and more. The provincial election is on Oct. 5th. Stay tuned for more Local 514 election coverage, including our livestream with CJLO...

The Quebec provincial elections are fast approaching. On October 5th Quebecers will decide which parties will be voted into the National Assembly. But what is it that the parties are promising with regard to the housing crisis? And how might some of these parties even worsen the crisis? In this episode, housing policy analyst Gavin Armitage Ackerman joins Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa to grade e...

An interview with Adrien Welsh, the leader of the Communist Party of Québec and candidate in Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques. Welsh makes his argument for why Quebecers should vote communist this provincial election. In this conversation, we discussed the party’s long history, its split from Quebec Solidaire in 2017, its return to provincial politics, and what building a workers movement looks like to...

In this episode of Local 514, Nour Amjahdi joins us to unpack Quebec’s expanding secularism laws and what they mean for Muslim women. We talk about work, exclusion, protest, and the everyday consequences of policies that determine who can teach, participate in public life, and belong in Quebec.

An interview with Saïd Kassabie, Québec solidaire candidate in Viau. Kassabie pitches why Quebecers should vote for the party. In this conversation, we discussed the party’s plan to build affordable housing, public grocery stores, a $20 minimum wage and more. The provincial election is on Oct. 5th. Stay tuned for more Local 514 election coverage. Make sure to follow Local 514 & CUTV on social...

Interview with Alex Tyrrell, the leader of the Green Party of Quebec. Tyrrell pitches why Quebecers should vote for his party, highlighting its eco-socialist approach. In this conversation, we discussed the party’s plan to make public transit free, public grocery stores, green energy, and more. The provincial election is on Oct. 5th. Stay tuned for more Local 514 election coverage. Make sure to fo...

An interview with Joe Cianflone, the leader of the Canadian Party of Quebec. Cianflone pitches why Quebecers should vote for his party; he calls it the only federalist party in the race. In this conversation, we spoke about the party’s plan to limit the use of the notwithstanding clause, promote bilingualism for the economy, build affordable housing, and more. The provincial election is on Oct. 5t...

It’s been 5 years since the release of A Citizen’s Guide to City Politics: Montreal. This book has served as a guiding compass for our show in many ways. Its essays on progressive municipalism, worker solidarity, police violence, and urban planning help lay out the project of why the city is an important locus for organizing. Today I sit down with the book’s editors, Eric Shragge, Jason Prince, an...

After revelations of racial profiling and claims that SPVM officers at Station 39 kept the locs of Black people as “trophies,” Soraya Martinez Ferrada and her administration decided to fast-track police body cameras to increase police accountability. However, this move renews debate about whether cameras truly change the institutional culture that drives police violence. Local 514 host Kalden Dhat...

Municipal elections are far more ephemeral than elections at other jurisdictions. At the municipal level parties often pop up as brief vehicles for mayoral campaigns, or borough specific parties like Courage - équipe Sue Montgomery, Mouvement Montreal, and Futur Montreal to name some recent examples. Jason Louissaint was a city councillor candidate for Transition Montreal in the last municipal ele...

Zach Jutras sits down with Zev Saltiel, spokesperson for Montreal Anti-Apartheid, to discuss a motion passed at City Hall. On August 24th, city council was scheduled to vote on a motion brought forward by Projet Montreal to pause institutional ties with Israel, and recognize the genocide in Gaza. Governing party Ensemble Montreal proposed an amended motion that ended up passing, in the place of th...

Ensemble Montreal City Councillor Claude Pinard has announced a new plan to revitalize Montreal’s Chinatown, including the possible development of affordable housing on the vacant lot at Saint-Laurent and René-Lévesque. But what kind of affordable housing does the neighbourhood actually need? Local 514 speaks with researcher and community organizer Wawa Li about Chinatown’s rooming houses, one of...

As Montréal celebrates the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Olympics, the Games are being remembered as a defining moment in the city’s history. But Montréal ’76 was also shaped by major political struggles that Local 514 is spotlighting for a special two-part series. One of the most significant was the African-led boycott of the Games, sparked by the International Olympic Committee’s refusal to sanct...

As Montréal approaches the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Olympics, much of the city’s attention is turning back to the Games’ legacy, in a surprisingly positive light. Much of the conversation in the decades since has centred on the Games’ enormous cost, but the lead-up to Montréal ’76 also included an aggressive social campaign to “clean up” the city for an international audience. In the years bef...

For its second iteration, Wild Pride is aiming high. This year’s festival spans over two weeks and features more than 120 different events co-created with members of Montréal’s queer community. Wild Pride started in 2025 in fierce opposition to Fierté’s corporatization and refusal to take a stance on the genocide in Palestine. Politics are central to how Wild Pride operates. This grows especially...

According to a new report published by the Breach. Deportations across Canada are increasing, with more than half of the country’s deportations happening in Québec. The Montreal Customs and Border Service Agency sees around 200 deportations a week according to Mostafa Henaway, an organizer with Immigrant Workers Centre. Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa sat down with Saima Desai who co-authored the...

Zach Jutras sits down with Bérengère Fouqueray, research analyst from the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB), to discuss their latest research into where small businesses employ temporary foreign workers, as well as Canadian youth. The research found that temporary foreign workers are filling in the gaps for small businesses when Canadian youth are unwilling or unable to do a job...