PressProgress Sources

The foreign interference commission published its preliminary report — but the Sikh community in Canada says the inquiry largely overlooked India despite their role as a major threat of foreign interference in Canada. In the foreign interference commission’s final report it was revealed that "India directed foreign interference activities related to the 2019 & 2021 general elections.” The commission also revealed that CSIS considered India a “clear second to (China) in terms of the level of (foreign interference) threat” and that Indian foreign interference was an “area of focus for more than one regional office.” Following the arrests of Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killers and the release of the report, we speak with lawyer Prabjot Singh, legal counsel for the Sikh coalition, about what questions still need answers. Prabjot Singh is a lawyer and the Founding Editor of the Panth-Punjab Project. His articles on Sikh political theory, public policy, and law have been published in a number of platforms including The Guardian, Baaz News, and the Manitoba Law Journal. He is participating in Canada's Foreign Interference Commission as Legal Counsel for a coalition of Sikh organizations. Support the Show.

Canada has been seeing an unusual wave of anti-LGBTQ+ protests over the last year. These rallies and marches targeted drag storytime events at libraries, they targeted local school board meetings – in fact, they even targeted high schools and elementary schools in residential neighborhoods. This organized wave of hate climaxed with a so-called “one million march for children” which took place in cities across Canada last September. Now the pendulum is swinging the other way, and 2SLGBTQIA community groups are getting organized. Along with labour unions and civil society groups, they’re planning their own marches to protest against this recent wave of hate targeting queer and trans Canadians. On this episode of Sources, Fae Johnstone, Executive Director of the Society of Queer Momentum, talks with PressProgress Editor Luke LeBrun about why she is organizing a Rainbow Week of Action across Canada this week. For the full list of rallies and events taking during the Rainbow Week of Action, visit their website for more information: RainbowEquality.ca Support the Show.

Capital gains – what are they and why is everyone talking about them? This year’s federal budget, released on April 16, is rolling out changes to the way capital gains are taxed in order to make wealthy Canadians “pay their fair share.” According to Finance Canada, these changes are targeted at the wealthiest of the wealthy – Canada’s top 0.13%, a group of approximately 40,000 Canadians with average incomes of 1.4 million dollars. As one can imagine, the capital gains tax changes are already generating pushback from business lobby groups and right-wing think tanks who want to maintain the status quo and say the changes will damage the economy and disincentivize investment. But it’s also undeniable that the current capital gains tax rules disproportionately benefit people like CEOs and corporate executives, people who play the stock market or flip houses, because the way capital gains are taxed represents, if not a lucrative tax loophole, certainly a double-standard in how the tax code works. DT Cochrane, Senior Economist with the Canadian Labour Congress, speaks with PressProgress Editor Luke LeBrun on this episode of sources to explain what capital gains taxes are and what these new changes mean. Support the Show.

Author and journalist Jeremy Appel joins host Stephen Magusiak to discuss (almost) all things Jason Kenney: his quest for power, his influence in building the Conservative Party of Canada, his undoing, and, most recently, the conclusion of a massive 5-year RCMP investigation surrounding his campaign to take over Alberta's United Conservatives. Once a key figure in building Stephen Harper's conservatives, in the end Kenney failed to win over the grassroots in Canada's conservative heartland. We discuss why there were no charges laid in the investigation into voter fraud and identity theft that plagued the 2019 election campaign, what happened with the infamous "kamikaze campaign," and also consult the crystal ball to speculate on what might be next for Alberta's former Premier. Appel's recent book "Kenneysism: Jason Kenney's Pursuit of Power," published through Dundurn Press is available here. Support the Show.

You might know Ed Broadbent as the former leader of Canada's federal NDP. But Broadbent was more than just a political party leader -- he also spent a lifetime seeking social and democratic change outside partisan politics in academia and civil society, both in Canada and around the world. On this episode of Sources, PressProgress Editor Luke LeBrun is joined by Luke Savage, a contributor to Jacobin and co-author of Broadbent's book Seeking Social Democracy, to explain and remember Ed Broadbent's life and his ideas. Additional reading: • Seeking Social Democracy • How Ed Broadbent and His Democratic Principles Made an Impact on PressProgress’ Journalism (PressProgress) • Ed Broadbent Was a Socialist Because He Believed in Democracy (Jacobin) • Ed Broadbent state funeral (CBC News) Support the Show.

Canada’s spy agency is investigating the nomination of an Ontario Conservative MP, according to evidence from a recent investigation by PressProgress Associate Editor Rumneek Johal. Questions surround the nomination of MP Arpan Khanna, who was allegedly favored by the party establishment with ties to figures including Jason Kenney, Stephen Harper and Pierre Pollievre. Rumneek joins Stephen Magusiak to talk about what happened with the Oxford nomination in 2019, and why CSIS would be looking into it now. Support the Show.

Francis Hébert-Bernier, a reporter with Quebec’s independent news outlet Pivot, speaks about the historic public sector strikes currently underway in the province. These strikes are part of the Common Front movement where multiple public sector unions are bargaining at once with Premier Francois Legault's government. These are the largest strikes in the history of Canada and North America. Read more from Francis Hébert-Bernier: “The government is deliberately discouraging us from working in the public sector” Quebec's common front of public sector unions launches 7-day strike Backgrounder on the Common Front movement: Public Sector Workers in Quebec May Be on the Verge of a General Strike Support the Show.

Dr. Roberta Lexier joins Stephen Magusiak to discuss her recent OpEd in Medicine Hat News, where, as a Jewish Canadian, she strongly condemned the violence and oppression happening to Palestinians in Gaza. In this episode we explore the narratives that dominate mainstream media and politics in Canada. Support the Show.

Social media companies are enforcing an Indian Law that censors social media content critical of the Indian government and its ongoing crackdown in the Punjab state. Canadian Sikhs have found themselves in the crosshairs of this aggressive campaign of censorship, harassment, and intimidation. The campaign has escalated on Facebook since the assassination of BC Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, which was tied to the far-right nationalist Modi government, with posts being blocked and accounts banned just for talking about it. Support the Show.

Dark money networks from out of province have set their sights on Manitoba. Emily Leedham joins Stephen Magusiak to discuss her investigative series into the Canada Growth Council, a registered third party advertiser tied to Alberta and Saskatchewan conservatives, oil lobbyists, and an obscure religious sect known as the Plymouth Brethren. Support the Show.

Far-right groups are planning a convoy to Toronto to “Save the Children,” and it’s already spinning out of control. PressProgress Editor Luke Lebrun joins Host Stephen Magusiak to talk about the convoy movement’s latest conspiratorial obsession, and what they have planned for the fall if they can get along enough to organize it. Support the Show.

Researcher Kurt Phillips with Canadian Anti-Hate Network joins Stephen Magusiak for a look at the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ2SA+ protests and hate crimes happening in Alberta and across Canada. From acts of vandalism, mobbing town councils and school board meetings, and chemtrail conspiracy theories, we take a look at what its about and where its coming from. Support the Show.

PressProgress Ontario Reporter Mitchell Thompson joins Stephen Magusiak to talk about the Toronto mayoral race, and one unlikely candidate who stands out in the crowded field of conservative hopefuls. Though still a long shot, former Toronto Sun columnist Anthony Furey has seen some momentum in the polls with his right wing populist positions and some big endorsements from right wing media figures like Conrad Black and Jordan Peterson. Support the Show.

As funding for charter schools in Alberta increases rapidly, public schools are under attack. Rumneek Johal is joined by Wing Li with Support Our Students to discuss the rapid expansion of Charter schools in Alberta under conservative governments, and how they almost exclusively cater to elites using public funds, at the expense of everyday Albertans. Support the Show.

Stephen Magusiak is joined by journalist Jeremy Appel to discuss what we know so far about the right wing group that appeared on the Alberta political landscape after the Coutts border blockade. Did Take Back Alberta come out of nowhere? We look at who their supporters are, who leads them, and what they’re trying to accomplish. Support the Show.

The PressProgress team is joined by investigative reporter Sam Harper with Pivot to talk about the common threads and the common funders behind the right-wing networks that stretch across Canada. We talk conspiracy theories, astroturf campaigns, Alberta dark money in Quebec, secret societies, and where the right-wing think tanks like The Fraser Institute fit into the bigger picture. This panel discussion was part of the 2023 Progress Summit in Ottawa. Check out Pivot https://pivot.quebec/ Subscribe to our national labour newsletter Shift Work Sources is edited by Eric Wickham Support the Show.

Today’s episode of Sources features an interview with Faiz Shakir, Executive Director of the labour news site More Perfect Union and Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign manager. More Perfect Union was founded in 2020 to tell working class stories through video journalism. In just a few years, More Perfect Union has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views. PressProgress talked to Shakir about the importance of labour journalism especially as inequality between the rich and poor grows more each year. Follow More Perfect Union: https://perfectunion.us/ Twitter.com/MorePerfectUS Sign up for PressProgress’ Free Canadian Labour Newsletter: PressProgress.ca/ShiftWork Support the Show.

How workers at an Amazon packing facility made history by unionizing, and lessons learned to pave the way forward, with Amazon Labour Union President Chris Smalls in his first trip to Canada. Support the Show.

We read Justice Roleau’s final report on the Emergencies Act Inquiry in its entirety so you don’t have to. Tune in to learn about the convoy’s origins on TikTok, the infighting among occupiers, as well as among Ottawa police, as well as some of the strange and surprising details buried in the Emergencies Act Inquiry’s final report.. PressProgress Editor Luke LeBrun joins Stephen Magusiak to highlight the important, the overlooked and the utterly bizarre findings within. Support the Show.

International students are coming to Canada for their education and leaving in body bags. The government doesn’t seem to be tracking the issue. Discussing the web of exploitation surrounding Indian international students who are dying at high rates across Canada from drug overdoses, suicides, and more with Jindi Singh, National Director Khalsa Aid Canada. Support the Show.