Canadaland

Since the late 1990s nearly 800 children in Alberta government care have Veteran Edmonton Journal columnist Paula Simons has been shining a light on this crisis since from the start.  In November 2016, Simons published a story that shocked the province. It was a story about a four-year-old girl named Serenity. Let down by a wide range of government and non-governmental services, Serenity was the victim of horrific abuse and neglect.  Simons' article, Her name was Serenity. Never forget it. spurred the Notley provincial government to convene an all-party committee to investigate the multiple failings of Alberta's child welfare system. Her tireless coverage earned Simons honourable mentions from the National Newspaper Awards and the Canadian Committee for World Press Freedom. She speaks with guest host Omar Mouallem for the episode.    Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is the media complicit in popping Harjit Sajjan's balloon? Also, National Post columnist Christie Blatchford and her parent company, Postmedia are facing a substantial libel suit. Finally, in the art world, what constitutes cultural appropriation and what's merely blatant plagiarism? National Magazine Award multiple nominee and May's CANADALAND guest host Omar Mouallem joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On April 20, Toronto Star columnist and Newstalk 1010 host, Desmond Cole, gave a powerful deputation at a Toronto Police Services Board meeting. He then stood in protest, calling on the board to restrict police access to ‘carding’ data. The meeting eventually adjourned, and Cole was escorted out by police officers. For almost five years now, Cole has been using his platform as a journalist to report on and push back against ‘carding’—which disproportionately affects Black people—by the Toronto Police. Cole—former host of CANADALAND COMMONS—joins Jesse Brown to discuss recent criticism he’s received from fellow journalists and the public, how mainstream media has failed to highlight the damaging effects of carding, and his new CBC documentary The Skin We’re In, which explores anti-Black racism in Canada.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Prime Minister showed up at Vice to talk about the Liberal government's marijuana legalization plan, but is blindsided when members of the audience demanded he address the opioid overdose epidemic going on across the country. Reporters Without Borders released their annual World Press Freedom Index this week. Canada placed 22nd. Two years ago we were in eighth place. What caused this dramatic decline? Finally, the CBC is scoring some of that sweet Canada150 cash to commission programming it should probably already be making with the $1-billion it receives annually, and J.J. McCullough tries his hand at a nuanced comparison of Canadian and Turkish political systems, but most people just dismiss him as a crackpot. Tom Henheffer, Executive Director of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...The Chronicle Herald's Mark Lever, that's who. After pleading poverty for nearly 16 months while his reporters, editors, and photographers are strike, he came up with the bucks to buy 28 Atlantic Canadian newspapers from the floundering Transcontinental chain. This gives his company an effective monopoly in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island. We speak with long-time Nova Scotia journalists (and former Transcontinental reporters) Stephen Kimber and Parker Donham about the rationale behind the purchase and whether this benefits news consumers in Atlantic Canada.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The scandals continue piling up on B.C. Premier Christy Clark's administration, yet it doesn't seem to be getting a ton of press. Maybe that's because so many of them are now working for her party. Meanwhile, south of the border, President Trump no longer wants to 'tweak' NAFTA, but would rather stick it to our cows. Our precious, precious cows.  Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The largest newspaper chain in Canada is in its death throes. As Postmedia staggers, bleeding, toward insolvency, we need to ask what its loss means for public discourse in Canada. Former Postmedia stars Kady O'Malley and Stephen Maher join Jesse to try to envision a post-Postmedia future in Canadian journalism.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jian Ghomeshi is back and the nation breathes a collective "Ewww...really?" Also, you know things are bad at Postmedia when even the founder of the company is awaiting his pink slip. Plus, CBC finally gets the story of Canada right by just saying "sorry" over and over. Freelance journalist David Berry joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Quebec’s media - like its culture - distinct from the rest of Canada’s? Does national media do a decent job of covering Quebec issues and news? The Globe and Mail’s Montreal bureau chief, Les Perreaux and Laval University’s Centre for Media Studies' director, Colette Brin, set the record straight on prejudices and assumptions many ‘ugly anglos,’ like Jesse, have about the province’s media culture.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

CBC’s miniseries “The Story of Us,” is only two episodes in, but manages to upset literally everyone (except Joseph Boyden). Justin Trudeau endorses CBC’s Canada 150 fiasco--and his favourite microbrew, Labatt150. Everyone forgets the Junos were on Sunday and Russell Peters makes a statutory rape joke. The Globe and Mail issues Leah McLaren a gag order, following the coded memo sent out to staff. Following McGill’s brand-sensitive lead, Ryerson University issues an apology for a short documentary about poverty in Niagara Falls, made by its students.   An access-to-information request made by VICE reveals that CSIS has been secretly watching and reporting on events at the Standing Rock pipeline protests. How freaked out should journalists be about surveillance and border crossing? VICE Canada’s Hilary Beaumont joins Jesse.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something special to announce today, new show on Thursday.  Link discussed: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-canadaland-guide-to-canada/9781501150630-item.html?ref=item_page%3avariationSupport CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're seeing a simultaneous backlash against both the media and the Jewish community. And there's a place where the two intersect.   Is there an over-concentration of Jews in the media? Well, yeah, probably. So?   We speak with Yoni Goldstein of the Canadian Jewish News, and Sam Bick and David Zinman of the Treyf podcast about Jewish media in Canada, and what its future looks like.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A screed against Quebec's 'pathologically alienated and low-trust society' in Macleans has ignited howls of protest from Quebeckers, including from Premier Philippe Couillard and federal cabinet minister Mélanie Joly. But is it wrong? And journalism awards season is upon us. Should we pay attention, or is this a 'Central Canadian Toronto Media Party Fucking Circle Jerk?' The National Post's Jen Gerson joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last month, the National Post broke a crazy story involving former staffers from Canada's deepest-pocketed media upstart, up-and-coming members of Toronto's music and modelling scenes, and an international drug cartel. Adrian Humphreys, crime reporter for the Post, joins us to dig deep into this caper.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is Rebel Media's embrace of free speech leading to rampant anti-semitism and virulent racism? Also,  Atlantic Canadian journalists are coming under fire, and the refugee influx will likely ramp up in the next few months. Macleans Alberta correspondent Jason Markusoff joins us.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the majority of Conservative candidates for the federal leadership gig are pushing against Motion 103, and denying climate change, Michael Chong is trying to change the dialogue.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George Soros, the Koch Brothers, and the Reverse Vampires™ are out to overwhelm you with a barrage of news. Is there a way to discern kernels of truth in this "chaos machine?" Russians are apparently implicating Canada's Foreign Affairs Minster Chrystia Freeland in regards to familial ties to the Nazi regime. Finally, which pill is Maxime Bernier gonna take? The Toronto Star's Alex Boutilier joins Jesse.  Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The newspaper industry in Atlantic Canada is far less than healthy. The largest-circulation paper, the Halifax Chronicle Herald, is more than 400 days into a crippling strike which sees most of its senior reporters and editors on the picket line while its replacement workers are plugging out disturbingly sub-par journalism. Elsewhere in the area, the rest of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador have almost almost all of their daily and weekly newspapers cinched up between two companies: Brunswick News (owned by the Irving family, who employs approximately one-in-five New Brunswickers), and TC Media. Still, there are bright spots. Atlantic Canada is seeing a significant number of start-up journalism enterprises. Might there be a light at the end of the tunnel? Jesse joins Halifax Examiner publisher and editor Tim Bousquet and University of King's College assistant professor Terra Tailleur to discuss. This live taping was a benefit for CKDU radio in Halifax - who carries CANADALAN

Conservative leadership candidate Kellie Leitch released a video this week that was somewhere between political platform and performance play. Also, Kevin O'Leary continues to draw a paycheque from CNBC while running for the same role.  Finally, accusations of plagiarism are now dogging Joseph Boyden. National Observer Associate Editor Sandy Garossino joins Jesse from Vancouver.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the months after Robyn Doolittle's groundbreaking series of exposés about the scandal-ridden Toronto mayor Rob Ford, she left the Toronto Star for a new investigative role at the Globe & Mail. Then, mostly, silence. Her lack of bylines belied her hard work behind the scenes as she dug into what would become the story of the year: a 20-month investigation into police departments across Canada and their chronic underreporting of sexual assaults being filed. Within days of the story's publication earlier this month, police departments, provincial governments, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself promised to start implementing changes into how sexual assaults were recorded. Robyn joins us to talk about how the story got off the ground and how it will continue to be covered in the months and years to come.Support CANADALAND: https://canadaland.com/joinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.