Redeye

Jérémie Harris is a former physicist, an AI safety expert and a startup founder. He’s the author of “Quantum Physics Made Me Do It: A Simple Guide to the Fundamental Nature of Everything” and he will be a featured speaker at the Vancouver Writers Fest this year. We spoke with him about his new book and about the threats posed by the unregulated growth of AI.

Following a brutal attack on Israeli citizens by Hamas for forces, Israel has retaliated with a total siege of Gaza and a bombing campaign of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, targeting both civilians and militant actors, and killing and wounding thousands of Palestinians. Leaders in the Trudeau government have expressed full support for Israel and remained silent on the devastating airstrikes on t...

The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has just released its 24th alternative federal budget. The CCPA describe their budget as an exercise in expanding our collective imagination of what is possible, to instill hope in hard times, and to make crystal clear alternatives to the status quo. We talk with David Macdonald, senior economist for the CCPA.

This past spring, wildfires burned over 13 million hectares in Quebec. A new study by World Weather Attribution confirms that climate change and fossil fuel use contributed significantly to these wildfires. Lawyers at West Coast Environmental Law, representing the Sue Big Oil campaign, say the WWA study bolsters the case for a class action lawsuit against global fossil fuel companies by BC communi...

The 1 Million March 4 Children on September 20 is part of a widespread and growing “parental rights” movement targeting inclusive public education. Calgary academics Corinne Mason and Leah Hamilton point out that this isn’t simply a group of united parents concerned about their children’s education. Mason and Hamilton offer a brief history of the origins of the parental rights movement and some of...

For generations, the suffering of residential school Survivors has radiated outward, impacting Indigenous families and communities. In her new documentary Waapake (Tomorrow), filmmaker Dr. Jules Arita Koostachin examines the corrosive impact of residential schools on Survivors, and their children, siblings and parents.

Ian Mass joins us to talk about several housing-related motions before Council next week, including a proposal for high-end apartment and office buildings in Vancouver’s long-protected view corridors. Plus a return of the cops in schools program and a thumbs-down to the revitalization of Britannia Community Centre in East Vancouver.

Indigenous people represent only 5% of the population in Canada, but they make up a third of the prison population. Jennifer Duncan is a Dene lawyer and she was in Geneva last month spearheading efforts to bring international awareness to Canada’s ongoing mass incarceration of Indigenous people.

The UN special rapporteur on slavery paid an official visit to Canada in late August to assess the government’s efforts to prevent and address contemporary forms of slavery. After spending two weeks in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and two other Canadian cities, Tomoya Obokata identified a number of groups in Canada as vulnerable to slavery, including migrant workers brought in through the Temporary...

This is a critical moment for forests in British Columbia. Three years have passed since the B.C. government promised to work with First Nations to implement a paradigm-shift in forest stewardship, as laid out in the Old Growth Strategic Review. Yet the B.C. government has made little progress on their promises. On September 28, communities across the province are coming together in a day of actio...

This season, retired teacher and former MLA David Chudnovsky joins our regular City Beat reporter Ian Mass. Today they talk about the 2024 Vancouver budget, Vancouver School Board’s sale of school properties and other major issues that Vancouver Council will face this fall and winter.

There has been a rapid increase in Canadian university tuition fees, creating a barrier for low-income students and widening the gap between privileged students and those who struggle to pay for their studies. Grace Barakat is a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto. She talked with us in January about how changes in the cost of tuition are having an impact on Canadian students and their...

In February this year, the estimated cost of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project jumped by more than 70%. When the Trans Mountain Corporation announced the increase back in February, we were told that the government would spend no additional public money on the project. A new report by independent economist Robyn Allan says this is not the case, and that the federal government is hiding...

The BC government under Premier David Eby has signaled new directions on protecting BC lands. They have committed to protect 30 percent of the province’s land by 2030. This includes a mandate to work with Indigenous communities to create Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas. We talk about the new commitment with Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director for the Wilderness Committee.

Of all of the processes that are reshaping cities today, gentrification is probably one of the most misunderstood. In her new book, Gentrification is Inevitable and Other Lies, Leslie Kern addresses seven of the myths about gentrification and exposes the ideologies that make it seem like a natural and desirable process. Leslie Kern is associate professor of geography and environment and women's an...

In December last year, Canadian Blood Services signed a 15-year deal with a for-profit plasma corporation to privatize plasma collection in Canada. BloodWatch says the paid plasma scheme goes against recommendations from the Krever Commission and would negatively affect voluntary collection efforts. We speak with Dr. Michèle Brill-Edwards, a former senior Health Canada regulator and whistle-blower...

The pandemic brought into focus the urgent need for a public health that serves everyone in the community, including those who have traditionally been marginalized. A book by Zena Sharman asks what health care could look like if queer folks had access to safe, appropriate and compassionate medical care. Zena Sharman is a writer, speaker, strategist and LGBTQ+ health advocate. Her book, The Care We...

In November last year, the Superior Court of Quebec issued a landmark decision, finding that police roadside interceptions are often based on skin colour rather than on road safety objectives. Judge Michel Yergeau ruled that the law allowing for such arbitrary detention can no longer stand. The case was brought by Joseph-Christopher Luamba, a 22 year old black Montrealer, who told the court he pre...

Canada’s drug prices are the fourth highest in the developed world. New guidelines aimed at lowering prescription drug prices have been in process for more than 2 years, and have met with intense pressure by the industry lobby group, Innovative Medicines Canada. Dr. Joel Lexchin examines the lies and half-truths put out by IMC. Lexchin is Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at York...

Millions of Canadians do not have dental coverage, with 1 in 5 children and over half of seniors without access to regular dental care. A forthcoming book by Nova Scotia dentist Brandon Doucet highlights how Canada’s current dental care system is inconsistent with the primary purpose of the Canada Health Act. Doucet is founder of Coalition for Dentalcare. He joined us in January to talk about the...

In 2001, Dr. Norma Dunning applied to the Nunavut Beneficiary program, seeking legal recognition of her status as an Inuk woman. In the application process, she was faced with a question she could not answer, "What was your disc number?” Her new book Kinuavit: What’s Your Name is the result of two decades of research into the Eskimo Identification System and its impact on Inuit lives. It’s also a...

On October 4 last year, a parliamentary committee released a new report on facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence. The committee stopped short of recommending a ban on the use of facial recognition technology by police, a move that the International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group says is critical to prevent mass surveillance of Canadians. We spoke last fall with Tim McSorley,...

On November 1st last year, a provincial committee released their report on the toxic drug supply and overdose crisis. The report contains 37 recommendations looking at everything from BC's proposed decriminalization to treatment beds. In response, nearly 60 organizations and individuals released an open letter saying the report obscures the issue of a poisoned drug supply, and recommends nothing o...

A massive electricity plant in Northeast England that has transitioned from coal to wood pellets claims it is creating green energy. But a protest movement in the UK, and environmentalists in BC say this is greenwashing. Now an investigation team has revealed that DRAX intends to supplement its use of wood waste and sawdust with whole trees, logged in primary forests. Last October, we spoke with B...

People with Indian Status cards face stigma and discrimination on a daily basis when they show their cards at stores or to officials, according to a landmark study commissioned by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. The report is titled They Sigh or They Give You the Look: Discrimination and Status Card Usage. Last December, we spoke with Harmony Johnson, sɛƛakəs, from the Tla’amin Nation, who is the l...