Did you know that some public sector pensions, like the Ontario Municipality Employees Retirement System (OMERS) invests in the very companies that contribute to the exploitation of retirees and the commodification of aging?

That is just one example of 'social investments gone awry' that author and researcher Tom Fraser brings to our discussion from his book, Invested in Crisis, Public Sector Pensions Against the Future. He explains how we got to the point where (mostly unionized) workers are heavily invested in real estate across the globe, pipelines, privatized healthcare and water infrastructure, and other industries we're mobilizing against.

Good news is Tom also talks about potential solutions and ways out of this cycle of trying to secure power over industries by investing in them.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Support the Campaign to Divest Ontario Teachers Pension Plan

Related Episode:

• The Tenant Class, with Ricardo Tranjan, where the subject of real estate investment trusts is raised and the barrier pensions present;

More Resources:

• The Maple: Major Canadian Union Calls for Divestment of Tesla
• Buy Tom's Book: Invested in Crisis – Between the Lines
• Huff Post: COVID-19 Has Killed 164 At Revera's Care Homes. Their Families Want Answers.

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Find out why and how the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) chose to intervene in the 2025 Federal Election.

VotePalestine.ca is more than a listing of candidates who have signed onto the Palestinian Platform. Yara Shoufani of the PYM explains the strategy behind the campaign, their expectations of politicians and, its long terms goals around mobilizing power.

The discussion also provides a great overview of the work the PYM has been doing since we last spoke to them, and specifics on how they're continuing to build capacity and bring people into the movement for a Free Palestine.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Take the Vote Palestine Pledge

Related Episodes:

• Our previous discussion with PYM, Return and Liberation;
• Canada's Colonial Imagination, with Tyler Shipley helps explain Canada's reaction to the occupation; and,
• Our entire Free Palestine Playlist

More Resources:

• PYM on Instagram
• Guelph News: Which federal candidates support the Palestine Platform? - An example of a local news outlet covering candidates' positions on the Palestine Platform.
• Trends in International Arms Transfers (2021) - On Canada's growing prominence in the arms industry.
• Vote Palestine FAQs

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📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

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In January 2024, shortly after workers in their Laval location had unionized, Amazon announced the closure of its facilities in Quebec. In a most egregious union busting moves, Amazon left 2,000 people out of work and walked away from significant investments in infrastructure to make sure workers wouldn't get a say in their conditions.

Jon Milton, Senior Communications Specialist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, shares some of the ways Labour, the community and municipalities are fighting back against Amazon. Jon also has some tactics not yet deployed to 'bring down' this corporate giant AND its exploitive business model.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Boycott Amazon Canada

Related Episodes:

• CUPW Right to Strike was recorded immediately after Canada Post workers were ordered back to work. Its a candid discussion on the state of what's often touted as Canada's strongest union.
• Another guest from the CCPA, Richard Tranjan, with a discussion on The Tenant Class

More Resources:

• Supreme Court Rules Walmart Broke QC Law - Global News
• Union says Amazon closures in Quebec are an attack on unionization - rabble.ca
• Amazon’s Quebec closures are a wake-up call for Canada’s labour movement - CCPA
• How Quebec and Canada can make Amazon pay for union-busting - CCPA

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission Pipeline, if built, would transport Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) 800 km, across 1,000 different waterways. Its approval is based on an inadequate, outdated environmental assessment and the youth of the Gitz’an Nation are not having it.

Indigenous activist Drew Harris from the Lax-yip Firekeepers talks about stepping into a role she never imagined for herself after seeing an absence of young voices at the table. She takes us through her journey into activism, and how they've been working to bridge generation gaps, build knowledge and expand their capacity to do more.

Their beginning lay in fighting the pipeline, but the youth found that, once provided with a voice, a venue and receptive ears, they had goals way beyond resisting resource extraction.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Stop the PRGT Petition, via Dogwood BC

Related Episodes:

• An interview with organizers from Change Course Canada. Drew mentions the supports they've received from this group in their campaign against the PRGT.
• Climate Justice: Knowing Friend from Foe, is a candid discussion with Torrance Coste of the Wilderness Committee on having to battle even the most progressive politicians in British Columbia.

More Resources:

• The Tyee: How Gitanyow Law Could Save Salmon in Northwest BC
• BCER in court over PRGT pipeline approval
• PRGT pipeline hit with warning letter for environmental violations | Penicton Herald
• Prince Rupert Pipeline Resistance | Watershed Sentinel
• The Breach: ‘Inherently racist’: Wet’suwet’en leader on the crime of defending her land
• Lax’yip Firekeepers Links and Resources
• Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition

📺YOU CAN CATCH US LIVE EVERY FRIDAY AT 12pm E.T. on our YouTube Channel.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

Student activists at two University of Colombia (UBC) campuses have decided upon one of the most extreme forms of non-violent protest - a hunger strike. It wasn’t a brash decision by any means, and it is by far the first tactic they’ve deployed. In this episode, they detail just how they got to this point of escalation in their efforts to have their University divest from weapons manufacturers.

They also provide details on how they prepared for this act of defiance, how they’re taking care of one another during it and what it will take to end their hunger strike.

Other great takeaways are the many ways these folks utilize their campuses to build community and create space for more folks to step up into the fight. There’s also a lesson in leaning on those who came before you, to both better inform your plans and support you through the act.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Call on UBC to Divest from Corporations Fueling Genocide and Occupation

Related Episodes:

• More on campus organizing with Change Course: Stigmatizing Capitalism on Campus
• Reflections on the student encampments from the Summer of 2024
• And more on the Palestinian Solidarity Movement in Canada, In Our Lifetime, a playlist.

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All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

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More Resources:

• UBC Divest on Instagram
• UBC Students Launch Hunger Strike to Demand Divestment | UBC DIVEST!
• CBC News: UBC Divestment Students Hunger Strike
• UBC Okanagan students start hunger strike to demand divestment - Saanich News

"The Tenant Class is Here" and they are a force to be reckoned with.

Vancouver Tenants Union organizers Asura Enkhbayar and Ben Ger provide insight into their work building power from below, some of it in neighbourhoods with the highest concentration of renters on the continent. The variety of campaigns they’ve got going on doesn’t just speak to the complexity of issues facing tenants, but also to the value of a decentralized organization that’s able to respond locally, as needed.

They also share the journey their organization has gone on over the past decade, and how tough lessons led them to a Basis of Unity and a new way forward.

Hosted and Produced by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Donate to the Park Beach Tenants Legal Fund

Related Episodes:

• Shifting Gears is a discussion w/Climate Justice Toronto on their own transition from an environmentalist grassroots org to one focused on supporting tenant organizing in the City.
• Voices for Unhoused Liberation is an interview with unhoused organizers and activists in Toronto.
• Tenant Power: a playlist of episodes that would have landlords shaking in their boots.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

More Resources:

• CBC: Power to the renter: Vancouver Tenants Union hopes to put rep in every building
• Vancouver Tenants Union: Basic of Unity

Two Refuseniks from Tel Aviv talk candidly about Israeli society's reaction to their movement and the supports they've created to make it easier for more youth to refuse enlistment in the IDF.

Tal Mitnik and Einat Gerlitz share their story, while also acknowledging despite all they've been through during their stints in military prison, it can't compare to the situation of Palestinian youth their age.

Comparisons are made to Canadian settlers; both our states' being predicated on ethnic cleansing and colonial violence, and the struggle to decolonize spaces from within while understanding our role in maintaining that same colonial state.

Their assessment of Israeli society at the moment, and the possibilities for peace are instructive, but difficult to hear.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action:

1. Call for an #ArmsEmbargoNow
2. Follow the Refusenik Speaking Tour with Independent Jewish Voices
3. Keep talking about Palestine.

Related Episodes:

• Support Systems Amid State Suppression a discussion with members of a legal support group in Toronto on the ways we can help each other navigate police state tactics.
• Disrupting Canada's Arms Trade is an interview with activist and organizer Rachel Small of World Beyond War.
• This episode has been added to our playlist, In Our Lifetime.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

More Resources:

• IJV Activist Anna Lippman's Substack
• Mesarvot (Organization Website)
• The Israeli teens imprisoned for their refusal to join the army (Galway Pulse)
• Refusenik speaking tour March 2025 – Independent Jewish Voices Canada

Journalist Jeremy Appel has uncovered proof Danielle Smith's government set the stage for universities in Alberta to quickly and violently have student encampments cleared from their campuses. The timeline of evidence predates the protest, with numerous communications disseminating Zionist talking points and demonizing the Palestinian solidarity movement.

We then find out how the University of Calgary Staff, Police and the Province worked seamlessly to coverup the truth about the violent eviction of peaceful student protestors back in May 2024. That was, until Jeremy got on the case.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Organize a Gaza Unbreakable: Week of Rage a call from the United Student Front for Palestine

Related Episodes:

• Student Encampments (May 2024), an analysis of the various encampments springing up across North America.
• Stigmatizing Capitalism on Campus, a discussion on campus organizing with folks from Change Course Canada.
• Lessons from the Peoples' Circle for Palestine (July 2024), on the University of Toronto student encampment.

All of our content is free - made possible by the generous sponsorships of our Patrons. If you would like to support our work through monthly contributions: Patreon

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

More Resources:

• Timeline: Protest encampments - University Affairs
• VIDEO: CBC Footage of Police Clearing Encampment
• Vancouver Island University suspends 2 students who were part of pro-Palestine camp - Saanich News
• VIDEO: Calgary Students Movement Footage of Police Violence
• The Orchard: How the UCP Covered up Police Violence
• The Orchard: UCalgary Palestine encampment's fate was sealed before a single tent was pitched