The recent Freedom Flotilla ships seized in international waters by the IOF were not the first, nor the last to try to break the illegal naval blockade on the, now starving, population of Gaza.

Mskwaasin Agnew is aboard another vessel determined to draw attention to the issue and force western governments to act. She speaks about the need for risk and sacrifice, of making an impact and of how this is also part of the global Indigenous resistance to colonization.

Mskwaasin, is an Indigenous Harm Reduction worker and fierce activist based in Toronto.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Track and Draw Attention to the Conscience's Mission

Related Episodes:

• Blockades and Bail Conditions (May 2024), also with Mskwaasin, who shares her experience of being arrested during a recent railway blockade in Toronto in solidarity with Palestine.
• Freedom Flotilla Coalition (July 2025), Family physician and activist, Dr. Yipeng Ge, speaks from the deck of the Handala.

More Resources:

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Draw the Line isn't just a cross-country day of action on September 20th, 2025; activists involved have been building the structure and finding a basis of unity to bring together the movements in Canada who are all fighting the same thing - Capital.

Three organizers from Draw the Line join the studio to talk about the work that went into connecting groups big and small, and finding enough common ground to build around something bigger.

Hear about their five key demands, how they plan on turning this mobilization into sustainable mass organizing and what it means to "grow globally while acting locally".

Guests:

• Willo Prince, Indigenous Climate Action
• Karen Cocq, Exec Director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change; and,
• Nathan Prier, President Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE).

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Host Your Own Action for September 20th

Related Episodes:

• Justice for Migrant Workers (Sept. 2023), a discussion on the conditions migrant workers face and the demands the movement is making to better protect them; and,
• Leftist Alliances and Power Struggles: A History Lesson (Apr. 2023), a history lesson on Labour politics and alliances with Prof. James Naylor.

More Resources:

• Kwame Ture - Organisation vs Mobilisation — ITS-IN-SCOPE
• First Nations react to Carney’s Bill C-5 | The Narwhal
• Chrétien-Era Austerity Levels May Soon Return Under Carney - The Maple
• Bill C-2 Gives Government Sweeping New Powers over Immigration - The Grind Magazine
• Latest Press Release from Draw the Line Campaign

Our podcast is also available on Our Substack, along with articles and more resources for the movements.

All of our content is free - made...

Things are heating up at Christie Pitts, 92 years after the famous riot there.

In the first half of this episode, John Clarke and host Jessa McLean talk about the Swastika clubs that sprung up in Toronto back in 1933, how they were emboldened by the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, as well as legitimized, even encouraged by the establishment here in Canada. These clubs, furthering white supremacist ideology, attacking Jewish community members were allowed to roam around the City until the community decided they had had enough.

In the second half, Catherine Crockett of the General Defence Committee for the IWW reminisces on the 'lovely riot' of 1933, its long term impact on the community. They'll also share some of the details around the planned anti-immigration rally and what organizers of the counter protest planned for this Saturday, September 13th hope to see happen.

Call to Action: Register to Attend Community Rally

Related Episodes:

• Making Mass Actions Count, John Clarke, Professor at York University and longtime organizer, compares the 2022 strike by CUPE workers to the 1995 Days of Action against then Premier Mike Harris.
• Nationalism and the Working Class, Chris Fairweather, academic, activist and labour organizer, talks about the pervasiveness of nationalism and the impact is has on the working class.

More Resources:

• Cable Street 88 years on: battling fascists then and now | Morning Star
• More on the General Defence Committee for the IWW
• The Riot at Cristie Pits (Full Movie)
• The Christie Pits Riot: The Worst Anti-Semitic Riot in Canada (Short Video)
• Toronto Today: Locals Organize Counter Protest to Oppose Racists

Be sure to also check out our Substack - it has written material, resources, as well as all our podcast episodes broken down into playlists.

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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Activist and journalist Benjamin Nolan has witnessed a shift in Police tactics over the past two years, particularly in how they deal with Palestinian solidarity protestors. Toronto Police won't admit to any of it and mainstream media fail to tell both sides, which has left an obvious gap in report Ben wants to step up and help fill.

He goes over his recent piece in The Grind, Police Chief Plays Loose with the Truth in Call in Show, which opens up a lot of discussions about police violence, their use of the knee-on-neck technique and just what TPS thinks 'proportionate' responses are to peaceful protests.

Ben also provides firsthand accounts of Police overreaching their authority and not following the law, as well as reports back on the amount of injuries

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action:

Related Episodes:

• Unverified: The Grind Exposes New Lows in Canadian Media (Oct 2024), Dave Grey-Donald goes over his months long investigation into the reporting surrounding October 7, 2023;
• Neighborhoods for Palestine (May 2024), Ben's first appearance on the show alongside four comrades organizing close to home for a Free Palestine.
• Weaponizing Canadian Law for Israel (Jul 2024), Martin Lukacs from the Breach talks about Project Resolute and the secret committee that drives it.

More Resources:

• Bubble Zones: Confiding Protests
• BBC: Palestine Action Protest Arrests Over 500
• Inside Project Resolute, Canada's crack down on Palestine speech
• The Breach: Inside the ‘shocking’ police operation targeting pro-Palestine activists in Toronto
• Toronto Police “Caused a Riot” Outside 51 Division After Pro-Palestinian Protest of UJA Event - The Grind Magazine

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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The F35 is back at the Canadian National Exhibition and its airshow - so are the peace activists.

For years peace activists, environmentalists, refugee advocates and even pet lovers have been protesting the annual four-day airshow that includes war planes over an urban centre, Toronto. However, there is a new sense of urgency this year, as well as new tools. A recent report revealed the extent of Canada's role in manufacturing components for the F35, the very plane delivering genocide from the skies over Gaza.

Three organizers, who are also part of the larger anti-war movement, talk about the shifts the campaign has taken over the years, the challenges they're overcomming and the coalition building that makes it all possible.

Guests:

• Maya Bastian, artist, conflict journalist, filmmaker (AirShow),
• Sharmeen Khan, World Beyond War, and.
• Rama, Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) Montreal.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Contact and Call on Your City Councillor to Demilitarize the AirShow

Related Episodes:

• Rabble Rants (Sept 2023) Stop the Air Show
• Disrupting Canada's Arms Trade (May 2024), with World Beyond War
• Return and Liberation (Oct. 2022), with the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM)

More Resources:

• CBC: Canada's F35 Review
• Toronto Air Show Triggers The Trauma Of War | HuffPost Politics
• Report - Arms Embargo Now
• Demilitarize the Toronto Air Show - World BEYOND War

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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The work behind the Arms Embargo Now Report revealed that there are unionized workplaces in Canada that are making weapons destined for Israel. World Beyond War organizer called this information, along with a recent letter from Unifor's President "an opportunity" for positive action.

Activists from Labour for Palestine are going into this week's UNIFOR convention in Vancouver with this top of mind. They are working on a campaign to have any goods or services coming from, or going to Israel, declared 'hot cargo'.

They know the majority of Canadians, and thus UNIFOR members, are against the genocide, but that doesn't mean there aren't going to be obstacles in their way. In a political climate defined by fear and heightened nationalism, it has been a challenge getting workers to prioritize Palestine. Hear what work is being done to pave the way for more Internationalism not just inside UNIFOR, but within all Labour institutions.

Guests:

• Pamela Arancibia, CUPE member, Labour for Palestine GTA
• Shaheen Lotun, UNIFOR local 2025 President, Labour for Palestine

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Tell the CLC to Declare Israeli Goods 'Hot Cargo'

Related Episodes:

• Answering the Call (Jan 2024) with Anna Lippman of Labour for Palestine
• Nationalism and the Working Class (Mar 2023) with Chris Fairweather

More Resources:

• Unifor letter to Prime Minister Carney Re: Urgent Canadian intervention to end the genocide in Palestine | Unifor
• Hot cargo agreements 101: a practical legal overview - Rights Navigator
• CJPME: Canadian Labour Congress Endorses sanctions on Israel
• Report - Arms Embargo Now
• People's Voice: Internationalism, identity politics and anti-apartheid organizing
• Rabble: Paramedic fired for pro-Palestinian speech fights for reinstatement
• The Maple: Israeli Products Should Have No Place In Canada

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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Over 10,000 CUPE unionized Air Canada workers defied the orders of the nation's labour board, stayed off the job and secured a tentative agreement.

Kim Siever, Labour Journalist for the Alberta Worker joins host Jessa McLean to talk about what led up to the strike, the Liberals' liberal use of back-to-work legislation and what this means for Canadian Labour.

They draw comparisons to other back-to-work orders and try to predict what might happen next...

Related Episodes:

• CUPW, Right to Strike (Jan 2025) Strike Captain, Stop Steward and Mail Carrier Sera talks about the dealings with Canada Post bosses, the attempts to build militancy inside the union and more...
• Making Mass Actions Count (Nov 2022), with organizer John Clarke. It compares Ontario's almost general strike to the Mike Harris Days of Action in the 1990s.
• Carney's First 100(ish) Days: A Paradigm Shift, (July 2025) co-hosted with Ashwin from the International Solidarity Pod, a look at the neoliberal agenda being fast tracked under the new PM.

More Resources:

• Alberta Worker: Air Canada flight attendants hold strike vote
• Global News UPDATE: Air Canada Tentative Deal
• Alberta Worker: Coaldale workers reject forced vote
• Statement from Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, following an emergency meeting of Canada’s Unions on the Air Canada Flight Attendants Strike
• CBC: 4 Things to Know about the Air Canada Strike

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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A discussion on recent events in the West Bank with activist, Anna Lippman of Labour 4 Palestine.

Anna helps tell Awdah Hathaleen's story, one that is sadly, a case study of how ethnic cleansing has intensified in the West Bank at the same time Gaza has been under siege.

Instead of F35s and armed drones, the Israeli authorities aid and abet settler violence to remove Palestinians from their land using tactics reminiscent of the Nakba.

How are the people of Umm Al Khair, Awda's village resisting? What can you do to help? What does this mean amongst new promises to recognize a Palestinian State?

We attempt to answer these questions, as well as provide related geopolitical updates and news from the movement.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Cover Photo Credit: Emily Glick (used with permission)

Calls to Action:

1. In Memory of Awdah, Support Umm Al Khair
2. Hot Cargo Kills Campaign, Labour 4 Palestine

Related Episodes:

• Arming Israel, Canada's Continued Role - with Haneen from the Palestinian Youth Movement and Rachel from World Beyond War Canada on their recent report.
• Ceasefire! Now What? - with Anna Lippman and activist Fatima Saleh on what people need to be focused on in the wake of the January ceasefire.
• More Episodes with Anna Lippman...

More Resources:

• ABC News: Trump Lifted Sanctions Against Israeli Settler Yinon Levi
• Israel security cabinet approves 22 settlements in occupied West Bank - UPI.com
• Report - Arms Embargo Now
• Writings of Awdah Hathaleen via +972 Magazine
• Awdah Hathaleen laid to rest after Israel withheld body for 10 days
• Al Jazeera: Who Was Awdah Hathaleen?

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