The Breach Show

A bi-weekly podcast from The Breach featuring sharp commentary on politics and movements in Canada.

Who’s afraid of Chrystia Freeland?

In the wake of Chrystia Freeland’s explosive departure from the Liberal cabinet, Martin Lukacs and El Jones discuss the establishment media’s infatuation with Ottawa’s palace intrigue and what the future for a hobbled Trudeau government might look like. Plus, we answer listener questions just in time for the holidays.

12-19
37:13

Why this Canadian mayor is criticizing her city’s spiralling police budget

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish recently generated headlines when she stepped down from her local police services board, calling the city’s escalating police budget “out of control.” Desmond Cole visits her office to discuss her resignation and the alternatives to policing.

12-12
17:56

A weekend at the Davos of warmongering

It was a big week for the military-industrial complex in Canada, with the west’s war-making establishment convening in Halifax for the annual International Security Forum (then hopping over to Montreal for a NATO summit).  El Jones fills Martin Lukacs in on her attempts to report on the Security Forum, where the hand towels were plush, the security uptight, and the drumbeat for increased Canadian military spending strong.

11-28
27:38

Little Nazi-sympathizing surveillance state on the prairie

Independent journalist Duncan Kinney of Progress Report was charged with mischief for allegedly spraypainting two monuments dedicated to Nazis and their collaborators—a charge he says the Edmonton Police have used to surveil and silence him. Kinney sits down with Desmond Cole to discuss his case.  To donate to Kinney's legal fund: https://www.gofundme.com/f/duncan-kinney-legal-defense-fund

11-24
25:03

UN expert on how Canada helps shield Israel from accountability

Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, sits down with Desmond Cole to discuss Canada’s ‘crystal clear’ complicity in the Israeli destruction of Gaza and the ‘hope that remains in this darkness.’

11-14
19:42

Trump vs Harris, the view from Canada

As Americans hit the polls next Tuesday, El Jones and Martin Lukacs hash out the U.S. election campaign, the folly of pandering to the right, neoliberal identity politics, the implications for Palestine, the threat of Trump, and their respective halloween costumes.

10-31
27:38

How movements can organize to defeat Pierre Poilievre

With a potential Pierre Poilievre Conservative government on the horizon, Martin Lukacs, Anjali Appadurai, Syed Hussan, Judy Rebick, and Laura Walton discuss how to organize in the face of a surging right.

10-24
01:11:41

The high price of protesting for Palestine

El Jones and Martin Lukacs discuss the worst and weirdest examples of the crackdown on the Palestine solidarity movement in Canada over the past year—and how to understand why it has been so severe and widespread. Plus: why the elite are worried about Canadians identifying as “settlers.”

10-12
43:30

What “I’m right here, bro” says about Canadian politics

El Jones and Martin Lukacs dissect a viral confrontation NDP leader Jagmeet Singh had with far-right wing protesters on Parliament Hill—and unlike everyone else, they’re not cheering. Plus: the crisis management firm that defends the “rich and guilty.”

09-21
22:35

Canadian landlords have a new way to hike rents—AI

Tenant rights organizer Chiara Padovani joins The Breach Show to discuss how a Canadian mega landlord is using algorithmic software as it massively hikes rents. The software maker is being sued by the U.S. government for allegedly enabling landlords to collude to artificially inflate rental prices.

09-06
22:13

The anti-immigrant backlash arrives in Canada

Organizer Syed Hussan of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change joins The Breach Show to talk about the uptick in immigrant bashing, the bipartisan project to exploit migrant labour, a Liberal backtrack on a historic plan to give status to undocumented people—and why anti-racism is the only way to stop all workers from getting divided and ruled.

08-16
30:40

Meet the Canadian doctors testifying against Israel

Canadian doctors Yipeng Ge and Ben Thomson join The Breach’s Brishti Basu to discuss what they witnessed during humanitarian trips to Gaza. Soon after returning, they got surprise emails: international lawyers wanted their testimony to build a war crimes case against Israel. Meet the Canadian doctors testifying against Israel

05-04
22:51

Dismantling the Haitian state (feat. Canada)

Professor Jemima Pierre dissects Canada’s participation in a 20-year debacle of military occupations and failed elections in Haiti.

04-05
27:26

Pharmacare bill is a rebuke to corporate interests, for now

The pharmacare bill is a breakthrough—and while it doesn’t cover enough medications, it gets the universal public framework right. Dr. Nav Persaud joins Donya Ziaee to discuss how corporate interests fought it bitterly—and will try to derail its expansion.

03-02
25:43

The truth about Canada's weapons exports to Israel

This week, Emma Paling sits down with Alex Cosh of The Maple to discuss his exclusive story on Canada’s weapons exports to Israel.  As Cosh explains, it’s not just Liberal doublespeak that makes it hard to nail down the details of Canada’s weapons exports. Canada’s system has structural features that make it impossible to know exactly how many goods made here end up in the hands of the Israeli military.  Read more:  Trudeau Government Authorized $28.5 Million Of New Military Exports To Israel Since October Trudeau Government Accused Of Sowing Confusion Over Israel Military Exports Canada funneled arms to Saudis during Yemen war via opaque U.S. program

02-22
27:03

Alberta's attack on trans rights is a harbinger of things to come

Trans activist Celeste Trianon sits down with Katia Lo Innes to discuss Alberta’s new anti-trans policies. Danielle Smith’s new gender identity bill is the most extreme anti-trans law that has been proposed in Canada. It bans puberty blockers for children under the age of 15 and outright bars trans girls and women from sports. Trianon breaks down how we got here, why these policies are becoming more common in Canada, and what could happen next. Anti-Trans Legislative and Policy Risk Map: https://celeste.lgbt/en/anti-trans-risk-map/

02-10
26:01

ICJ ruling tests ‘Canada’s remarkable double standards’ on Palestine

The Canadian government's response to the ICJ ruling on Israel's genocide in Gaza exposes its "egregious double standards" towards the Palestinians. International law expert Mark Kersten joins Martin Lukacs to dissect the historic decision from the UN’s top court.

01-27
24:55

Loopholes and lobbyists—what went down at the UN climate summit

This week, Martin Lukacs interviews Eriel Deranger, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and the executive director of Indigenous Climate Action. She gives us the 4-1-1 on this year’s UN climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, including the influx of fossil fuel lobbyists, Canada’s paltry commitment to financing Global South countries dealing with the brunt of the climate crisis, what real Indigenous-led solutions look like, and speaking at a rare demonstration for Palestine in the highly repressive UAE. 

12-14
25:00

How Canadian media distorts the truth about Palestine

Israel’s assault on Gaza has become a flashpoint in Canadian media.  This week, Martin Lukacs and Emma Paling dive deep into the current state of reporting, from CTV’s anti-Palestian bias to the arrest of Palestine solidarity activists in Toronto.

12-01
30:25

Canada, the empire’s right-hand man in Palestine

This week, Martin Lukacs interviews Dan Freeman-Maloy, a leading scholar of Canadian foreign policy toward Palestine and director of strategic operations for Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. From the U.K. to the U.S., Canada has long served as the right-hand man to imperial interests in the Middle East. As an American-backed Israeli army devastates Palestinians in Gaza, Freeman-Maloy breaks down the historical roots of Canada’s long denial of Palestinian rights.

11-17
29:51

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