Expats & Allies

We spoke to Dru Oja Jay from The Breach about why a new bill proposing to make Google and Facebook share a portion of their profits with Canadian news outlets will likely end up subsidizing the profits and debt repayments of corporate media giants. Support The Breach: https://breachmedia.ca/support-us/ Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane. Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily n...

We share our readers' thoughts on whether we should continue tipping service workers more or demand that employers pay their workers better base wages, even if that means increasing costs for the consumer. Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane. Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily newsletter for as little as $7 per month.

We're joined by Peter Smith of the Canada Anti-Hate Network to discuss why Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warmly congratulated far-right leader Giorgia Meloni's election victory in Italy last fall, and what newly obtained documents tell us about the balancing act between diplomacy and criticizing right-wing extremism on the world stage. Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane. Sup...

This week, North Untapped host Alex Cosh went on the CJPME Debrief podcast to talk about The Maple's recent reporting on Canada's response to major incidents in Israel. Subscribe to CJPME Debrief here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/cjpme-debrief/id1597601276 Learn more about CJPME: https://www.cjpme.org/

We read out some of our readers' thoughts on a recent Statistics Canada report that showed one-in-five houses and condos were used as investment properties in British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in 2020. Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane. Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily newsletter for as little as $7 per month.

We spoke to Jen Hassum, executive director of the Broadbent Institute, about the political threat posed by Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, and what progressives can do to harness public anger for positive change. Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane. Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily newsletter for as little as $7 per month.

We're joined by PressProgress reporter Stephen Magusiak and independent journalist Jeremy Appel to discuss the story about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith's office allegedly contacting Crown prosecutors to challenge its direction on cases involving members of last year's Coutts border blockade.  We talk about the problems with the internal investigation that turned up no evidence of...

We recap two recent stories from The Maple revealing that despite internal warnings about the dangerous behaviour and extremist views of newly appointed Israeli ministers,  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly warmly welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu's new government. Read the articles: https://www.readthemaple.com/canada-welcomes-israels-new-government-despite-in...

We're joined by Ottawa Citizen reporter David Pugliese to discuss Canada's deal with Lockheed Martin to purchase the F-35 fighter jet. We talk about the broken promises, about turns, ballooning costs and technical hiccups that led to the deal, and the lack of accountability in Canadian military procurement. Follow David on Twitter: @davidpugliese Music credit: "Fluidity," by to...

We're joined by PressProgress editor Luke LeBrun to reflect on last year's 'Freedom Convoy' that occupied downtown Ottawa for a month last year, and whether or not there is going to be a second Convoy in 2023. Follow PressProgress' reporting: https://pressprogress.ca/ Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane. Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily newsletter...

We bid farewell to 2022. To support our work in 2023, you can become a paid subscriber for just $7 per month: https://www.readthemaple.com/subscribe-options/ Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane.

This week, we spoke with Alberta politics writer and commentator David Climenhaga about why Premier Danielle Smith pushed ahead with the so-called Sovereignty Act, despite legal experts tearing it to shreds and predicting it will die in the courts. We talk about the bill's likely unconstitutionality, Smith's political calculation in ramming it through the legislature anyway, and whether...

We spoke with Maple contributor Jeremy Appel about his reporting on the Halifax International Security Forum (HFX) that took place last month. We talked about what HFX is and why it was founded, went over some of the more eyebrow-raising comments made by attendees at this year's event, and critiqued some of the corporate media coverage that came out of it. Read Jeremy's two-part coverage...

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith introduced Bill 1, the much anticipated "Alberta Sovereignty Act," Tuesday, prompting a stream of intense criticism from experts and analysts who say the bill is unconstitutional and undermines democracy. https://www.readthemaple.com/alberta-sovreignty-a/ Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane. Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily newslett...

We spoke to Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, about his recent trip to the occupied Palestinian territories, what he heard from Palestinians, and why Canada decided that an Amnesty International report on Israel's system of apartheid would not change its relationship with Israel. Follow Michael on Twitter: @mbueckert Follow CJPME: @CJPME C...

A Canadian parliamentary committee report examining the international situation of human rights defenders and journalists is being criticized for not mentioning Israel’s killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and giving scant attention to Israel’s other abuses. We provide the full update. Read the full story: https://www.readthemaple.com/parliamentary-human-rights-report-excludes-ment...

We spoke to labour researcher Adam D.K. King about the standoff between Ontario education workers and the Doug Ford government. We discussed the roots of the dispute, why Adam thinks CUPE was right to call off strikes in exchange for Ford promising to repeal Bill 28, and the lessons learned for future struggles. Subscribe to Class Struggle: https://readpassage.com/category/class-struggle/ Follow A...

We spoke to writer Ibnul Chowdhury about the NDP's virtual lockstep with the Liberal government on the war in Ukraine, and its abandonment of calls to push for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Read Ibnul's recent piece for Passage here: https://readpassage.com/a-cowardly-ndp-has-abandoned-anti-war-politics-to-the-far-right/ Follow Ibnul on Twitter: @ibnulfc Support The Maple by sub...

This week, we spoke to Jafrikayiti (aka Jean Saint-Vil), an activist and co-founder of the Canada-Haiti Action Network, about the reasons behind the current protests in Haiti against the US-backed government, and why the protesters strongly oppose the government's request for foreign military intervention. Jafrikayiti's website: https://jafrikayiti.com/ Support The Maple by subscribing t...

We interview BC NDP leadership candidate Anjali Appadurai about her plan to address the intersecting crises impacting British Columbia's public health system. Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily newsletter for as little as $7 per month. Music credit: "Fluidity," by tobylane.

This week, we read out an article written by Jeremy Appel about Canada's ongoing arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a theocratic monarchy and notorious human rights abuser. The most recent data from Statistics Canada shows that in August 2022 alone, Canadian firms sold $132,445,056 worth of tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles to Saudi Arabia. Read the original article: https://www.readthemapl...

This week, we recap some of our reporting on Israel's killing of Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh back in May, and Canada's subsequent refusal to condemn Israel or demand real accountability. The articles we read out in this episode: 1.  https://readpassage.com/will-canada-ever-blame-israel-for-killing-shireen-abu-akleh/ 2. https://www.readthemaple.com/new-investigation-shows-isr...

This week, we spoke to PressProgress labour reporting intern Ashlynn Chand about her work covering the challenges faced by sex workers, and what advocacy groups are doing to fight for their rights and protections. Follow Ashlynn on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashlynnashc Support The Maple by subscribing to our daily newsletter for as little as $7 per month. Music credit: "Fluidity," by...

A read out of one of our recent articles, titled 'The Truth About Canada’s Involvement in Afghanistan,' written by Mitchell Thompson. The piece explains: "2022 marks 21 years since Canada joined the U.S.-led War on Terror, and one year since the last U.S. troops exited Afghanistan. Today, a review of first-hand accounts authored by those involved in the operation dispels myths about...

In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's passing, we spoke to policy analyst and writer Chuka Ejeckam about the bloody imperialist legacy that the monarchy represents. We also discuss some of the bizarre reactions to the queen's death in the UK and Canada, the case for why the monarchy should be replaced with a democratic alternative, and some of the obstacles that stand in the way of advanci...