rabble radio

It's been a year since the historic women's marches happened across North America and in many other parts of the world. The marches were organized to coincide with the timing of the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States. Things have turned out even worse than we thought for women in the United States over the past year. This weekend there will be women's marches again. If you go to the webpage listing this year's events, you'll see a map of North America with little red dots showing where this year's marches will be happening. And some of those dots are in Canada. On this edition of rabble radio, we talk to Samantha Monckton, an organizer of the March on Vancouver. She's also connected to groups across the country hosting women's marches. I gave her a call to find out how things are shaping up for this weekend. And, we hear from Frieda Werden, co-founder of WINGS – the Women's International News Gathering Service. WINGS is one of North America's first feminist radio shows. Frieda is a dual citizen now living on Denman Island in BC and plans to go to the March on Nanaimo. She has been involved in the women's movement since the 1960's, mostly in her former home state of Texas. She shares a long term view of what's happening in the women's movement and the erosion of women's rights under the presidency of Donald Trump. To find out what's going on with marches in other communities across Canada, go to The March on Canada's facebook page. Image: Women's March Toronto – Wikimedia Commons Like this podcast? rabble is reader/listener supported journalism.

This week's protests at Tim Hortons in various parts of Ontario have fuelled the debate about minimum wage — worker justice on one hand, employer profits on the other. The argument by some vocal business owners in the fast food sector is that they just can't be profitable if they have to pay their workers a higher minimum wage. Yet, there are places in Canada where employers pay higher than the minimum wage in the hospitality/food sector, and they're still in business. For example, a recent post on the internet job site indeed.com advertises a food counter attendant job at McDonalds for $15-17 an hour in Yellowknife. A front desk agent for a hotel in the same city lists a wage rate of $16.78 an hour. The minimum wage in the Northwest Territories is currently $12.50. George Lessard, has lived in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories for 30 years. He's also known as Media Mentor, working as a media consultant, photographer, writer, and trainer. He's also a longtime rabble supporter and contributor. rabble.ca podcast exec producer Victoria Fenner spent her coffee break talking to George about minimum wage in the North and how people survive in a place where jobs are scarce and the cost of living is much more than down south. Image: George Lessard virtually taking a picture of Tim Hortons in Yellowknife. Photos by George Lessard Like this podcast? rabble is reader/listener supported journalism.

The new year has started, but there's still time to make new year's resolutions. We know there are a lot of you out there who have followed rabble's progress ever since we went on the net in 2001. And even more of you who have discovered rabble.ca over the years. Today, we're bringing you reflections from some of our rabble staff about what they want to see rabble do over the next year. It's a big time of change — the world is changing, the internet is changing, and rabble is also changing along with all those forces which shape our lives. And helping shape that change. Interviews with: a) Meg Borthwick – rabble did social media even before Facebook and Twitter. Meg is the moderator of rabble.ca's 'babble' discussion forum b) Michelle Gregus – rabble's managing editor – Michelle has to balance her editorial with constant technological change. Hear how she does it. c) Kim Elliott – rabble publisher – Kim has been rabble.ca's publisher for over ten years. She's seen a lot of changes in the way internet journalism is done, and constantly needs to shift with the winds of change. d) Victoria Fenner, executive producer of rabble podcasts and host of rabble radio. rabble.ca was one of the first online organizations in Canada to start podcasting. That was back in 2005, when practically nobody knew what a podcast was. Victoria talks about how the growth of podcasting is shaping what we are doing at rabble over 12 years later. From all of us at rabble.ca, thanks for being there with us through the craziness of 2017. And for being there with us this year as we forge ahead shaping rabble.ca — the next generation. Image: Pixabay – Creative Commons Like this podcast? rabble is reader/listener supported journalism.

Last December, we were looking ahead to the year to come with some fear and trepidation. We were still in shock after Donald Trump's win in the U.S. What were we in for? Well, now we know. To say it's been a challenging year is the understatement of the still-new century. And though it looks like Peace on Earth is a concept which seems more elusive than ever, there are lots of people out there working to reverse the damage that has been done over many years of globalization, corporate control, and the actions of demogogues who use "democracy" as a synonym for "capitalism". For your holiday listening, some wise words from people who believe that all is not lost. The struggle continues, and is far from over. a) Chris Hedges – Writing as Resistance – In this excerpt, Chris talks about his early years as an activist journalist. He was in Peterborough at the invitation of Bill Kimball, the artistic director of an organization called Public Energy. So, when you hear Chris talk about Bill, that's who he's referring to. They went to school together in the States in their younger days. You can hear the whole talk here. b) For decades, Angela Davis has been deeply involved in movements for social justice around the world. She emerged as a prominent activist in the 1960s, especially for her involvement in the American Civil Rights movement. Her work as an educator — both at the university level and in the larger public sphere – has always emphasized the importance of building communities of struggle for economic, racial, and gender justice. She spoke at the Canadian Labour Congress Convention on Sunday May 7, 2017 as part of the CLC Human Rights Forum: Disruption is Power. Here is the entire talk on Needs No Introduction. c) Gerry Caplan has worked for justice for a long time. He was a key figure in the New Democratic Party for many years as a party strategist and even took a run at a seat himself at one point. He's an author, and a commentator on the state of the media. He's also an authority on genocide, especially in Rwanda. He writes for publications like the Globe and Mail and is a frequent guest on the CBC. And … we are very proud that Gerry Caplan has a blog on rabble, and especially proud that he's been a friend of rabble since the very beginning, way back at the turn of the century. You can read his rabble blog here. His entire interview on rabble radio with Victoria Fenner can be found here. Thanks for the larger perspective, all of you. Thanks to all of our contributors to rabble podcasts, and we look forward to hearing your voices again in 2018. Image: Peace on Earth – Wikimedia

People just want to be treated with respect. That's one of the strongest messages that Meagan Gillmore says she's taking away with her as her internship as rabble.ca's labour reporter ends. Work isn't just a way to make money, she says. It's about finding one's place in the world and in our communities. In this conversation with rabble podcast executive producer Victoria Fenner, she talks about the logistics of covering a large country from her office in Ontario, the significant events of 2017, what it is that she likes about covering people and their work, and trying to forge a career in media as a young journalist as the media landscape shifts. She's a great spirit and has done some complex stories with us in her time this year at rabble. The internship is over, which is why she's leaving us. But we wish it wasn't so and hope she comes back to us with many story ideas. Best wishes, and thanks from all of us, Meagan! About the rabble.ca labour beat internship: rabble.ca is one of the only media that prioritizes our coverage of labour stories, and initiated this paid editorial internship, in partnership with Unifor. In 2015, we were delighted to broaden our partnership to CALM (Canadian Association of Labour Media) and extend the reach and impact of this much-needed labour beat in Canadian media. The labour beat reporter internship was created in 2012 by rabble.ca and is a partnership with Unifor, Canada's largest union in the private sector, with the goal of improving understanding of the labour movement across Canada and creating a bank of labour reporting expertise among emerging journalists. The success of the project has led rabble.ca, in partnership with Unifor and now CALM, to continue the position, now into its fifth iteration. "We're excited and honoured to continue this partnership with Unifor, which continues to build up knowledge and understanding of the labour movement throughout Canada," says Publisher, Kim Elliott. The long-term goal of the labour beat position is to equip reporters with new skills and to enhance their knowledge of the labour movement and workers' issues. The labour beat internship provides nine months of labour reporting at rabble.ca, but as the labour beat reporters continue careers in journalism, their time on the labour beat is sure to enhance labour coverage and understanding in the media as a whole. Like this podcast? rabble is reader/listener supported journalism.

For an artist, precarious work isn't a new trend. Artists have always worked from contract to contract, gig to gig, cobbling together a sustainable life (or trying to) from a wide variety of sources. What is new in recent years is that it's not just artists who are living a financially precarious life. Our guest today on rabble radio is the co-organizer of a festival called Precarious in Peterborough Ontario. And it's not just about precarious artists. Because precarious work isn't just an art problem anymore. The festival takes a broad look at precarious work in all sectors of the economy through the lens of art. It is organized in partnership with a wide variety of funders and supporters including The City of Peterborough, unions, a local Indigenous group and even a group concerned with food security. Kate Story is a writer, performer and former Newfoundlander now living in Peterborough Ontario. She is co-organizer of the Precarious Festival. Precarious: Peterborough ArtsWork Festival is being held until December 3rd. One of the highlights of the festival is a talk by Pulitizer prize winning American journalist and activist Chris Hedges. His presentation is called "Writing as Resistance", and will take place on November 20, 2017. His talk is being presented by Public Energy. They'll be recording it and have graciously agreed to share Chris Hedge's talk with rabble.ca — so keep a watch out for it next week. Image: provided by Precarious.

David Kattenburg is a name you might have heard over the past few months on places like CBC and the Globe and Mail. He's in the news because he's challenged the Liquor Control Board of Ontario about two wines on their shelves, labeled as products of Israel. When Dave saw the listing, he knew they were not products of Israel. The wines come from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. He knows. He's been to both wineries. So in July, he filed a complaint with the federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The basis of his complaint was that the label "Product of Israel" is false and misleading. The LCBO, which is one of the largest wine, beer and liquor distributors in the world, instructed their outlets to remove the wine from their shelves. But that didn't last long. The CFIA reversed their decision a few weeks later. So the wine is still on LCBO shelves. Dave is not giving up, though. On October 24, 2017, he and his lawyer Dmitri Lascaris launched an application for a judicial review of the Canadian Food Inspection's Agency's actions. David Kattenburg is a Winnipeg-based science educator, broadcaster and human rights activist. In this interview, he talks to Victoria Fenner about the court case, what motivated him to launch it, and especially, why he believes this issue is something worth fighting for. (Disclosure: Victoria is a close personal friend and colleague of David Kattenburg's but is not involved in this campaign). You can read the chronology of the story at the website of his lawyer Dmitri Lascaris. You can read and listen to David Kattenburg's large collection of stories from the West Bank at his web based magazine The Green Planet Monitor, and contribute to the legal challenge at their GoFundMe page. Image: David Kattenburg – taken at Psagot Winery, in the unlawful Jewish settlement of Psagot, Occupied West Bank. Used with permission.

Community college students in Ontario weren't even halfway through their first semester when they got the news that they were going to be taking a break from their studies. Approximately 12,000 college faculty from 24 colleges across Ontario have been on strike since October 16, 2017. Braden Alexander is a former rabble podcast intern and volunteer. After taking a four year degree at University of Lethbridge in Music, he enrolled at Fanshawe College in London to take further training in recording arts. We asked him to put together this podcast to ask the questions he, as a student, wants to know about the strike, and to reflect on how the work stoppage is affecting him and other students. We connected by skype, and he gathered interviews and streeters from the picket line outside Fanshawe. Interviews with : 1) Darryl Bedford – President – OPSEU Local 110, Fanshawe College Faculty Union. 2) three anonymous comments from faculty members from the windy picket line outside Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. Thanks to Braden Alexander for putting this podcast together. Image: Braden Alexander

Christopher Torres, former National Organizing Director for United We Dream speaks to rabble radio. The status of 800,000 young people who were born in the US to undocumented migrants remains very much in limbo. We've heard a lot about DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. To recap — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is an American immigration policy brought in by former president Barack Obama that allowed some individuals who entered the country as minors and stayed, to receive a renewable two-year permit which would free them from threat of deportation and allow them to have a work permit. The policy was overturned by President Donald Trump in September this year, but the fight is not over. United We Dream, was the famous American campaign that pushed President Obama to introduce the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program. Tomorrow in Toronto, Christopher Torres will speak about how the DREAMers helped win Americans hearts and minds in order to achieve the goal of normalizing the status of 800,000 young people. He will also speak about what's happening to fight back Trump's deportation order. He is in Canada right now, helping the Institute for Change Leaders celebrate its first anniversary. He was in Ottawa on Saturday and in Toronto tomorrow (October 17, 2017) at an event being held at Ryerson University from 11:30 to 1:00. Details about the event here. Image: Wikimedia Commons/Rhododendrites​ Like this podcast? rabble is reader/listener supported journalism.

What does it mean to belong? That's a question that the Community Foundations of Canada has been asking over the past three years. Community foundations are one of the fastest growing ways to help people donate money to their communities. Instead of each person having to figure out what the community needs are, and where they can direct their donations, they can go to their local community foundation to help them. There are 191 community foundations in Canada, ranging from large ones in cities like Vancouver and Toronto, to very small ones in Haida Gwaii and Flin Flon. Community Foundations of Canada is the national network of these individual organizations. The national umbrella organization also actively researches conditions in our communities on a national scale. One of their ongoing major research projects is the annual Vital Signs report. The 2017 report was released last week. This year's report card isn't encouraging. What it showed is that our communities aren't doing enough to help people feel like they belong. Rising housing costs, lack of affordable housing, economic inequality and lack of faith in our public institutions are some of the factors that affect people's sense of belonging. Victoria Fenner, rabble radio's executive producer, spoke to Lee Rose, Director of Community Knowledge and National Vital Signs Lead; and Juniper Glass, Research Lead for National Vital Signs.