Following recent court decisions around Indigenous rights and Aboriginal title in BC, public discourse is full of conflicting assertions. Premier David Eby has criticized the court and called their decisions overreaching and unhelpful. RAVEN works to support Indigenous Nations upholding their rights in court. It published an article to clarify some of the confusion, comparing what they are hearing to what they know to be true. We speak with Jamie-Leigh Gonzales of RAVEN.

Urgent need for context to understand recent debates around DRIPA

Vancouver City Council will hold public hearings on redevelopment of the 800 block of Granville and the old Army and Navy department store on Hastings, as well as a proposal for a 25-storey hotel a block from Stanley Park. Also this week, OneCity has chosen their candidate for mayor, Vancouver’s auditor general comes down hard on the real estate department and lots more in City Beat with Ian Mass.

City Beat for Feb 14: Controversial public hearings dominate council agenda (updated)

In his new book If You Want to Win, You’ve Got to Fight, transportation activist Carter Lavin shares strategies about how to create the change we want to see in our communities. Whether it’s more protected bike lanes, improved bus service, or safer streets for pedestrians, Carter provides a comprehensive toolbox of campaign tactics and advocacy tips. He is co-founder of the TransBay Coalition and has helped lead and study over a hundred advocacy campaigns across the United States. Carter Lavin joins us this episode.

Book: If You Want to Win, You’ve Got to Fight

The No More Loopholes Act, Bill C-233, is a private member’s bill put forward by Vancouver-East MP Jenny Kwan. It puts pressure on the Canadian government to abide by the Arms Trade Treaty it signed in 2019. Currently, arms exported to the US are exempted and have ended up being used by Israel in Gaza, by Saudi Arabia in Yemen and by ICE in Minnesota. The private member’s bill will be voted on in Parliament at Second Reading in late February. We speak with Johanna Lewis of the Arms Embargo Now coalition.

No More Loopholes Act goes to critical second reading vote this month

As Canada grapples with a deep housing affordability crisis, women continue to experience some of the most severe housing needs. The Women’s National Housing & Homelessness Network say the role of anti-feminist ideology shapes who gets safe, adequate, and affordable housing—and who does not. We speak with research assistant Aymen Sherwani.

Anti-feminist narratives impact housing choices for women

Vancouver is a host city for the FIFA World Cup this year, co-hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the US. There are going to be seven matches at BC Place Stadium and an official FIFA Fan Festival at the PNE Amphitheatre. Organizers say more than a million visitors are expected province-wide, including over 360,000 during the tournament itself. The question is how all those people will move around the city once they get here. We speak with Denis Agar, executive director of Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders.

Vancouver needs more bus lanes to prevent FIFA gridlock

The number of businesses inviting us to tip their workers is growing all the time. Tipping used to be restricted to full service restaurants, but now it’s spread to coffee chains and fast-food joints. A new analysis published by BC Policy Solutions proposes that it’s time to finally ban tipping in Canada and enact a living wage. We speak with Simon Pek, one of the authors of the piece.

Time to ban tipping and enact a living wage

The Insurance Bureau of Canada said natural disaster claims cost a record 8.5 billion dollars in 2024 due to the increased frequency and severity of weather-related losses. Now Canada’s insurance sector is talking about the potential for the country to become uninsurable in 10 years, due to insufficient policy action on escalating climate disasters. Sue Big Oil is a campaign to pass along a share of the costs to the industry responsible for creating the crisis. We speak with Andrew Gage of West Coast Environmental Law.

Big oil should pay its share for climate-drive insurance crisis

Vancouver Council has booked themselves a heavy meeting schedule between now and the municipal election in October. Over and above their general council and committee meetings, they have 20 public hearing dates, with multiple redevelopment and rezoning applications to consider. Redeye’s Ian Mass joins us to talk about rezonings, world cup soccer, fireworks,  Vancouver politics and lots more in his regular City Beat report.

City Beat: Council to consider multiple redevelopment and rezoning plans

The Hungry Stories Project is a team of scholars, dietitians and artists who are fighting for the elimination of food insecurity by sharing what it takes to collectively care for each other’s food needs.  They are producing resources to understand food insecurity, and they say that we need to look at root causes. Dr. Jennifer Black is a member of the Hungry Stories Project  and Associate Professor in Food, Nutrition and Health at the University of British Columbia.

Food insecurity and the Hungry Stories Project

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