Local 514

South Asian diaspora organizing in a time of rising nationalism

There is a long history of South Asian diaspora organizing here in Montreal. On today’s episode, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to Lily Paul, a member of the South Asian Diaspora Action Collective, also known as SADAC. SADAC’s work entails multiple prongs of action. As Lily Paul describes, they are involved in migrant justice, community education events, solidarity actions, awareness campaigns on human rights abuses in India, and, critically, in shedding light on the Hindu far-right. The latter of these has caught the attention of the Hindu far right in Montreal, and they have even gone so far as to intimidate SADAC organizers and event participants.

Why is the US spending more than half a billion dollars on a facility near Montreal?

The US Army is gearing up for a massive $682 million upgrade to the General Dynamics facility in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. The upgrade is set to increase production capacity from 6 to 16 million pounds of munitions and ordnance. This facility is of great importance as it is the sole supplier of the M31A2 propellant used in 155mm artillery ammunition. Investigations have revealed this propellant to have been actively used in Gaza by Israel.On this episode of Local 514, host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with two activists organizing against this planned expansion. The #StopGDExpansion campaign is organizing a protest in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield this coming Saturday, May 30th, in conjunction with concerned residents who believe the expansion will negatively affect their health, the environment around Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, and who have qualms about the end use of the facility’s output.Articles mentioned:https://therover.ca/quebec-munitions-expansion-raises-questions-over-supply-chains-linked-to-the-idf/https://www.readthemaple.com/quebeckers-fight-u-s-backed-expansion-of-arms-plant/https://www.readthemaple.com/canadas-arms-to-israel-scandal-explained/Reports mentioned:https://armsembargonow.ca/Campaigns mentioned:https://www.instagram.com/genocide_dienamics/

From Khartoum to Montréal: 3 years of war and solidarity w/ Duha Elmardi

As of April 15, 2026, it has been three years of devastating war in Sudan. In its fourth year, the war and the organizing efforts that have emerged in response across Montreal and the diaspora. Despite being the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, many are still unaware of the scale and devastation of the war in Sudan. Local 514 host Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks with Duha Elmardi about the escalating humanitarian crisis amid ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This includes mass displacement, famine, attacks on civilians, and reports of ethnic cleansing in Darfur and Al-Fashir. She outlines the collapse of healthcare and education systems, the widespread use of sexual violence against women and girls, and the dangers faced by activists, journalists, and humanitarian workers on the ground. It is a layered crisis beyond the comprehension of many, as is evident in the weak analyses in The Atlantic’s piece “The war about nothing,” which has since been renamed. Duha shares with us the realities facing Sudanese refugees and diaspora communities in Canada, from immigration delays and family reunification struggles to the emotional toll of witnessing ongoing violence from afar. Duha speaks about grassroots solidarity efforts led by the Sudan Solidarity Collective and highlights inspiring collaborations with Black, Palestinian, and migrant justice movements across Canada. At the same time, she points to areas where stronger solidarity is still needed, including campaigns targeting the UAE’s role in the war and demands for accountability over Canadian-made weapons found in Sudan. Throughout the interview, Duha emphasizes the importance of sustained public engagement, collective action, and international solidarity. Articles mentioned: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/09/sudan-civil-war-humanitarian-crisis/683563/ [https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/09/sudan-civil-war-humanitarian-crisis/683563/] https://breachmedia.ca/in-the-genocide-in-sudan-canada-has-a-hand-in-the-violence/ [https://breachmedia.ca/in-the-genocide-in-sudan-canada-has-a-hand-in-the-violence/] https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sudan-rsf-massacres-canadian-rifles-sterling-cross-9.6969856 [https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/sudan-rsf-massacres-canadian-rifles-sterling-cross-9.6969856] https://continent.substack.com/p/is-the-sudan-war-really-about-nothing [https://continent.substack.com/p/is-the-sudan-war-really-about-nothing] Organizations mentioned: https://www.sudansolidarity.com [https://www.sudansolidarity.com] https://www.instagram.com/mtl4sudan/ [https://www.instagram.com/mtl4sudan/]

When celebrating the Habs gets you beaten by police

With the Stanley Cup playoffs underway in Montreal, the excitement is everywhere and the SPVM is deploying to contain it, but some say they are overacting. Alex MacMillan who started the Spark Solidarity page has been weighing in on what he considers excess brutality towards Habs fans by the Montreal Police. In this interview Alex details the long history of police interventions against hockey riots, the laws that changed how the police in montreal react, as well as the contrasting styles of big game crowd control used in places like Toronto that are much more peaceful than in Montreal. With the Habs continuing on in the playoffs one question remains, should public funds be used for beating up fans of the Montreal Canadiens who have not broken any laws?

Solidarity with Muslim prisoners

Muslim prisoners in Quebec face a compounded type of discrimination. There is the usual deprivation of life and freedom that the public expects prisoners to face. However, there is a rigidity of prison life that is wholly unaccommodating to the Muslim faith, and some are saying it is becoming even worse with budget cuts from both federal and provincial governments that take away educational opportunities from prisoners.Two community organizers are taking things into their own hands with the Eid Card writing initiative for incarcerated Muslims. Local 514 host, Kalden Dhatsenpa speaks to the organizers, Nashwa and Nabeela who have taken on efforts to spread awareness and raise funds for this unspoken issue.They talk about Islamophobia in Québec’s institutions, the broader global uses of prisons to stifle racialized and Indigenous communities, as well as the reception of their initiative by these prisoners.