Redeye

In March, public health care advocates across the country took part in rallies and news conferences in response to Alberta’s new two-tier health care law, which allows doctors to practice in both the public and the private system. In early February, we spoke with researcher Andrew Longhurst about the threat that Bill 11 poses to universal access to health care. In a follow-up to that conversation,...

Oakridge looks like it is getting another massive development, there’s a new affordable mortgage model for the Heather Lands, more festivals are turning to the city as they struggle to survive and lots more. Redeye Collective member Ian Mass joins us with his City Beat report.

Every member of a former panel the BC government appointed to identify old-growth for potential protection in 2021 says they're concerned about continued logging in those same forests. The five panellists voiced their concerns in a document sent to Premier David Eby and other officials last week. To find out more about the progress - or lack of it - on protecting old-growth in the province, we spe...

As Israel and the US carry out devastating attacks on Iran, the Canadian oil industry and some politicians are seeing it as an opportunity to expand fossil fuel production.  Nick Gottlieb argues the fossil fuel industry is replaying its 2022 playbook, when they used Russia’s war in Ukraine to effectively destroy the Western climate movement. Nick Gottlieb is a climate writer and author of the...

On March 4, the provincial government announced that it was making amendments to the Residential Tenancy Act to provide new tools to address health and safety issues in supportive housing. Christine Boyle, Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs, said that the changes to the Act came in response to calls from operators of supportive housing. However, tenant advocates say this is the latest itera...

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a war of aggression against Iran including attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Iran. Analysts say that the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran are neither preemptive nor lawful and represent a further erosion of the international legal order. In the face of the US and Israeli attacks, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is being ca...

In 2021, Betty Baxter was inducted into the Volleyball BC Hall of Fame.   But as a lesbian athlete and coach, the journey to that recognition was far from smooth. Baxter competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal and helped found Canadian Women & Sport. She was the first woman coach of a national team, and was then fired from that job because of her sexual orientation. She went on to...

More and more websites that position themselves as news outlets are serving up what observers call AI slop.  Last month, a Surrey-based site published false information about mayoral candidate William Azaroff, and an AI-generated picture of a real murder victim. Zak Vescera is a staff reporter for the Investigative Journalism Foundation. He tells us what he found out about the content and own...

An informal coalition of organizations in the Downtown Eastside and Chinatown are sounding the alarm about what they call the massive human rights implications of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026. The World Cup is set to come to Vancouver, first through the 2026 FIFA Congress in April, and then for seven matches at BC Place scheduled between June 11-July 7, 2026.  Laura Macintyre is a staff l...

A coalition of health and environmental groups are celebrating a court victory that protects the federal government’s ability to regulate plastic pollution.  In its ruling, the Federal Court of Appeal affirmed that the government acted lawfully when it designated plastic manufactured items as ‘toxic’ under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. We’re joined by Dr. Sharon Dodd, a family ph...

In one of the biggest BDS victories in Canada to date, Scotiabank no longer holds any shares in the Israeli weapons maker Elbit Systems, according to its latest financial statements released in February. The coalition No Arms in the Arts was centrally involved in the divestment campaign.  We speak with Michael DeForge, an author and a cartoonist and an organizer with No Arms in the Arts.

The Vancouver organization, Women Transforming Cities, aims to reshape who cities are built by and for, so that everyone can participate, and thrive.  WTC works to build the civic skills and power of those who have been historically excluded from local government processes. On Monday, March 9, they are offering a new workshop to honour the roots of IWD through the lens of The Feminist Killjoy...

In City Beat today, the fallout from accusations that Vancouver city councillors are dealing drugs, plus yet more money for the FIFA World Cup, a 30-year plan for Vancouver’s growth, the fate of car-free day festivals and more. Redeye Collective member Ian Mass joins us with all the details.

On February 16, a group of Palestinian footballers and Palestinian clubs joined with others to file a complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. They are accusing the Presidents of FIFA, and Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, of aiding in war crimes and crimes against humanity in the occupied Palestinian territory. We speak about the reasons for th...

True North tells the story of the 1969 protest against racism at Sir George Williams University, now Concordia. Following the occupation of the university, 97 students were arrested or faced deportation. The film includes recent interviews with activists who were involved in the uprising. In making the documentary, director Michèle Stephenson draws on her Haitian and Panamanian heritage, and exper...

The mass school shooting in Tumbler Ridge has had a devastating impact on Canadians across the country. Amidst the collective grief for those who lost children and community members, government and school leaders face pressure to act quickly to keep students safe. But the best way to do that is not necessarily clear. Beyhan Farhadi researches surveillance technology in Canadian schools. She is con...

The Hope Dialogue Radio Show and Podcast is created in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside and explores the topics, issues and complex circumstances challenging low-income neighbourhoods like Downtown Eastside.  Their new season starts March 2 at noon on Vancouver Cooperative Radio.  The show is the brainchild of The Central City Foundation. We speak with president and CEO Jennifer Johnstone.

Ahead of BC Budget 2026, the provincial government was already laying the groundwork to defend austerity measures by arguing that there is not enough wealth to redistribute.  Economist Alex Hemingway disagrees. He and fellow economist Silas Xuareb at Canadians for Tax Fairness say that there is wealth in BC and Canada, and claiming otherwise is a way to distract us from the massive concentrat...

For more than six decades, the U.S. has targeted Cuba with economic sanctions, blockades and campaigns to destabilize the Cuban government. Now, Trump’s latest salvo toward Cuba is his January executive order that sanctions any nation that provides oil to Cuba.  The result has led to severe consequences for the Cuban economy and is harshly affecting the daily life of Cuban citizens. Medea Ben...

Redeye’s Ian Mass joins us to talk about calls for unity on the progressive left which heated up this week. Plus he wonders if, after 19 years, a school in Olympic village will finally be approved, and asks if the city is ready for when the FIFA World Cup comes to Vancouver in June. All this and lots more in Ian’s regular City Beat report.

British Columbia’s Finance Minister Brenda Bailey said that the budget she brought down on Tuesday wasn’t an austerity budget.  However, key spending areas have been given very small budget increases spread over the three-year fiscal plan, which will mean real cuts to services. In addition, the B.C. government’s tax increases will hit low- to moderate income households. In their analysis rele...

Following recent court decisions around Indigenous rights and Aboriginal title in BC, public discourse is full of conflicting assertions. Premier David Eby has criticized the court and called their decisions overreaching and unhelpful. RAVEN works to support Indigenous Nations upholding their rights in court. It published an article to clarify some of the confusion, comparing what they are hearing...

Vancouver City Council will hold public hearings on redevelopment of the 800 block of Granville and the old Army and Navy department store on Hastings, as well as a proposal for a 25-storey hotel a block from Stanley Park. Also this week, OneCity has chosen their candidate for mayor, Vancouver’s auditor general comes down hard on the real estate department and lots more in City Beat with Ian Mass.

In his new book If You Want to Win, You’ve Got to Fight, transportation activist Carter Lavin shares strategies about how to create the change we want to see in our communities. Whether it’s more protected bike lanes, improved bus service, or safer streets for pedestrians, Carter provides a comprehensive toolbox of campaign tactics and advocacy tips. He is co-founder of the TransBay Coalition and...

The No More Loopholes Act, Bill C-233, is a private member’s bill put forward by Vancouver-East MP Jenny Kwan. It puts pressure on the Canadian government to abide by the Arms Trade Treaty it signed in 2019. Currently, arms exported to the US are exempted and have ended up being used by Israel in Gaza, by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and by ICE in Minnesota. The private member’s bill will be voted on in...