the weekly rant

Neo-nazis, drug deals, and the absence of fear

In this episode we unpack restorative justice, performative action from the Minister of Justice David Lametti and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Doug Ford and his family’s history with drug dealing, Neo-Nazi presence at Pride Parades in Hamilton, and politicians using hope versus fear to mobilize voters.  Matthew Green was elected in 2014 to serve as Councillor for Ward 3 (Hamilton Centre) in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Matthew is a graduate of Political Science from Acadia University. He has also attended McMaster University and received a certificate of Executive Education and Governance for Non-Profits from Harvard University.  Matthew is an accomplished community organizer and has served for over a decade to advocate for barrier free access to healthy living on First Nations territory and with inner-city Hamiltonians. Matthew was also active in the CasiNO campaign which successfully stopped a casino from opening in Hamilton’s downtown.  As a City Councillor, Matthew’s advocacy has made a meaningful difference for residents. He passed the Blue Dot Motion, making Hamilton the first city in Ontario to adopt an environmental bill of rights. He is a strong advocate for affordable, dignified housing, actively supporting inclusionary zoning, and serves as Vice Chair and Treasurer for City Housing Hamilton. He fought for improved consumer protections for residents by taking on the payday loan industry’s predatory lending practices and made Hamilton the first Ontario City to licence payday loan outlets. Matthew’s advocacy opposing police carding and racial profiling had a direct impact on provincial policy resulting in more stringent regulations on how local police interact with our community.

“progressive” politics, gaslighting, and government tea ☕️

In this episode, we unpack diversity vs. inclusion, gaslighting, policy gaps like mandatory minimum sentences, and more with former MP Celina Caesar-Chavannes. From 2015 to October 2019, Celina was an elected Member of Parliament for Whitby, and served as Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development. While in politics her advocacy and vulnerability helped shape policy related to mental health, equity and justice. Before politics, Celina owned a double award winning research management firm that helped pharmaceutical companies run national clinical trials, as well as co-chairing Canada’s first national epidemiology study on neurological conditions. Celina has many years of experience managing complex projects involving industry, federal agencies, health care professionals, researchers and patient advocacy groups, and has lectured on the international and national stage on the inclusion of marginalized populations in clinical research. She holds a Bachelor of Science, an MBA in Health Care Management, an Executive MBA from Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and is completing her PhD in Organizational Leadership at Northcentral University.

regrets, reflections, & redemption

Harold R. Johnson is a trapper, member of the Montreal Lake Cree nation, a Harvard-educated lawyer, and former Crown prosecutor. In this episode, we unpack the criminal justice system, Harold’s personal experiences, and his ultimate decision to leave his role as a Crown prosecutor because he felt he was making things worse for the communities he was trying to help.

a statue! a controversy! explained!

The weekly rant @wklyrant is a platform aimed towards educating people about systemic racism (and systemic violence more broadly) in Canada. In this video, Anushay Sheikh unpacks politicians responses to Montreal protestors taking down the statue of John A Macdonald. Links referred to in the video: https://www.change.org/p/montréal-city-council-remove-white-supremacist-john-a-macdonald-s-monument-in-montréal/c https://nationalpost.com/news/c anada/here-is-what-sir-john-a-macdonald-did-to-indigenous-people https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/sir-john-alexander-macdonald https://www.macleans.ca/opinion/monuments-arent-museums-and-history-suffers-when-we-forget-that/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/systemic-racism-quebec-historian-1.5608397

Let’s unpack it babyyy (trailer)

the isms and phobias that are so deeply rooted in our society today are complex and difficult to navigate. we’re here to unpack it using different mediums for learning: infographics, podcasts, video interviews, and more. sources will be provided at the end of each episode. no bullshit✊🏾