rabble radio

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was 'Off the Hill: Labour in high gear for action and change.' Recent months have seen significant activity in Canada's labour movement — including a public service strike, actions against austerity across the country, and the CLC convention in Montreal. This month our panel dov...

This week on rabble radio, Georgia Kelly and Norm di Pasquale discuss why the current renovation plans for Ontario Place may not be in the best interest of Ontarians – or the surrounding wildlife and environment.  Norm di Pasquale is the co-chair of grassroots advocacy group Ontario Place for All. Norm has been fighting for waterfront public space for a decade, leading the NoJetsTO fight against j...

This week on the show, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell sits down with Olivia Chow, currently running for mayor of Toronto . The two discuss her platform, her history and why she believes it's all about love and 'creating a caring city.' "People in Toronto are feeling stuck. They're stuck waiting for the bus, stuck in traffic or stuck on lists for housing, childcare and recreation progr...

This week on rabble radio, Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Gabriel Allahdua, an outreach worker working with migrant workers across Ontario. The two discuss the harsh realities of Canada's farm labour system and how Canadians can take action to create fairer working conditions for all.  "Migrant workers are made invisible. We are made invisible, and that's not an accident – that is by desig...

This week on rabble radio, we're sharing a clip from our most recent Courage My Friends podcast series, hosted on Needs No Introduction.  The planet is telling us it's high time we change our ways and transition to a clean economy, but what does that look like? Specifically, what does that look like for workers? This week, senior program manager for Blue Green Canada, Jamie Kirkpatrick joins host...

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was 'Off the Hill: Corporate interference and the climate crisis.' Corporate interference – or corporate capture – refers to the means by which large corporations can (and do) influence politicians and political decision-making. We have to wonder: how does corporate Interference...

In this year's federal budget, the Liberal government announced a $13-billion plan to expand dental care to families earning less than $90,000 a year, fulfilling the government's commitment to the New Democrats. This is, of course, a major step forward for dental care in Canada. But is it enough? Or do we also need to rethink the structure of dental care in Canada as a whole?    This week on rabbl...

What does it mean for a workplace to be truly inclusive for all workers?  This week on rabble radio, labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with Jade Pichetter from Pride at Work to discuss creating safe and inclusive workplaces for trans, non-binary and agender people.  Through dialogue, education and thought leadership, Pride at Work Canada empowers employers to build workplaces that...

This week on rabble radio, Georgia Kelly sits down with Franz Hartmann from The Alliance for a Livable Ontario. The two discuss the Alliance's goals for holding the Ontario government accountable and creating vibrant communities across the province.  Want to learn more about The Alliance for a Livable Ontario? Visit their website here .  About our guests:  Franz Hartmann is the coordinator of The...

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was 'Off the Hill: Mind the gap – the federal budget and income equality.' The federal budget for 2023 is soon to be announced. Who decides the budget? Who influences it? And where does all that money go? Last year's budget was aimed at growing the economy in Canada and making l...

This week on rabble radio, labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga is joined by Ethel Tungohan. Today, Tungohan and Calugay-Casuga discuss the expectations and assumption of care work in Canada.  Calugay-Casuga and Tungohan talk about Matatag: Filipina Care Workers During COVID-19 , a photo series project by Filipina nurses, support workers, and caregivers during COVID-19. The two also talk about...

This week on rabble radio, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell is joined by Dr. Martha Paynter.  Paynter last joined rabble radio in June of 2022 to talk about the misconceptions people have about access to abortion in Canada and the other threats facing reproductive justice in the country.  Today, Wentzell and Paynter discuss Paynter's new guidebook for providing abortion care in prison,...

This week on rabble radio, rabble contributor Doreen Nicoll speaks to Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, to talk about two important campaigns by Democracy Watch.  The first, an 'honesty in politics' law which fines politicians who make false promises or misleading statements during elections and while in office. This campaign involves the proposal of an independent "watchdog agency," a...

This week on the show, rabble editor Nick Seebruch speaks to Medea Benjamin, co-founder of women-led peace group Code Pink. Code Pink is a grassroots NGO with an anti-war mandate.  The Russian invasion of Ukraine began on the morning of February 24, 2022, which makes today the one year anniversary.  Today, Seebruch and Benjamin discuss the global efforts Code Pink and like-minded organizations hav...

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was 'Off the Hill: Tackling systemic inequalities.' This month is Black History Month. In our political panel this month, we examined the critical issues facing us in Canada this month including the privatization of health care in federal-provincial agreements, the ongoing space...

This week on rabble radio, rabble contributor Doreen Nicoll speaks to Katie Purdy, a drag performer in Oakville, Ontario. Purdy is on a mission to host more drag events in the Great Toronto Area.  Katie Purdy (or, as they're known in drag, Capt Danny Bailey) is a new face in the Canadian drag scene. Largely influenced by the style of Elton John, The Beatles, and Ninja Sex Party, Purdy's drag act i...

This week on rabble radio, rabble labour reporter Gabriela Calugay-Casuga sits down with CUPE Ontario secretary-treasurer Yolanda McClean. The two discuss ways of achieving gender and racial equity inside and outside of Canada's labour movement.  The two also discuss CUPE Ontario's recently launched initiative, Women in Leadership Development (WILD) program for Indigenous, Black and racialized wom...

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was 'Off the Hill: Will 2023 be a year of competing crises? On climate and the economy.' Off the Hill takes a deep dive into the politics of cooling the economy - and the planet - as Parliament returns. The Canadian parliament returns on January 30. The spotlight is on the econo...

This week on rabble radio, rabble parliamentary reporter Karl Nerenberg and Réal Lavergne, president of Fair Vote Canada, join editor Nick Seebruch to debate what electoral reform might look like in Canada.  At the top of the month, Nerenberg shared a piece calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to revive the idea of electoral reform for Canada. In the piece,...

Well folks, another year has come and gone!  As we reflect on the year that's passed, we here at rabble radio are remembering some of our favourite interview moments on the show this year. We had so many wonderful guests — ranging from activists, to professors, to filmmakers, economists, healthcare workers, poets and writers — the list goes on.  In today's episode, we'll be sharing a few of our pe...

This week on rabble radio, we feature a segment from our most recent Off the Hill political panel. This month, our theme was 'Off the Hill: Looking back to leap ahead.' From the Freedom Convoy, to major action in Canada's labour movement, to the ongoing war in Ukraine, to political leadership races on the provincial and federal levels, our panel reflected on the major news events of 2022 and wonde...

This week on rabble radio, Libby Davies interviews Harley Augustino, organizer and trainer, to talk about his experience volunteering for two separate congressional districts in the most recent U.S. midterm elections.  Oregon 5 and Washington 3 had two very different projected outcomes when Augustino volunteered to organize with them. Oregon 5 was considered a 'class toss up,' with about a 50/50 c...

This week on rabble radio, national politics reporter Stephen Wentzell speaks to Dr. Jane McArthur. McArthur is the Toxics Program director of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE).  McArthur, other members of CAPE and advocates for environmental protection and public health are calling on Parliament to expedite passage of Bill C-226, Canada's first environmental racism...

This week on the show, rabble editor Nick Seebruch is joined by the director of the Centre for Future Work, economist Jim Stanford. Together, they walk us through the state of Canada's economy – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Earlier this month, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem made headlines when he remarked that inflation was due to what he called an "overheated" labour market. Stanford s...

Today is Remembrance Day in Canada. And across the country, communities gather to pay tribute to veterans and military members.  But not all veterans are feeling cared for. Some are asking if the government cares about them or their wellbeing at all, or if Veterans' Affairs Canada is operating under the old "deny, delay, and die" adage.  This impression is brought about in large part due to the $5...