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

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky

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

Follow us on Instagram or on

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

Follow us on Instagram or on Bluesky