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

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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

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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

Imagine a PR Firm for the movements...

Gur Tsabar from the Movement Media Hub joins Host Jessa McLean to talk about the work he does to help organizations get their message out there in an environment often hostile to their stories.

Whether it be through traditional mainstream media, or by using resources within the movement, Gur shares tactics that help amplify the work being done on the ground. He also talks about the forces he's often up against; the commodification of media, the Zionist lobby and complacent newsroom bosses'

Episodes done with the help of the Movement Media Hub:

• Onboard the Handala: Freedom Flotilla Coalition, a discussion with Dr. Yipeng Ge from the deck of the most recent humanitarian vessel to try to break the siege on Gaza.
• United Against Genocide, an interview with Alex Neve, Dr. Ben Thompson and Dorotea Gucciardo , Ph.D., on their work to get Canadian politicians to Name it. Stop it. Sanction it.
• Suppressing Voices in the School Board, Labour 4 Palestine Ontario Education Workers' on their report on anti-Palestinian racism within school boards.

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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Representatives for the Arms Embargo Now campaign have released a scathing report that shows Canada has been actively arming Israel as recently as July 2025.

Haneen from the Palestinian Youth Movement and Rachel from World Beyond War, share details included in the report, including what kind of weapons we're sending, where they're going exactly and the routes these shipments are taking.

They also provide an inside look into their methodology, their motivations and what they'd like to see happen as a result - namely a "political crisis" for the Canadian government.

With this information, the activists behind the report will be helping to mobilize folks, including (hopefully) elements in Labour that have close connections to these weapons.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: REGISTER FOR URGENT MOVEMENT MEETING

Related Episodes:

• Disrupting Canada's Arms Trade, with Rachel from World Beyond War
• Return and Liberation, a discussion with the Palestinian Youth Movement from October 2022.
• Vote Palestine! Organizers behind this campaign explain their approach to the 2024 Canadian Federal Election.

More Resources:

• The Maple: What Mélanie Joly Said And Didn’t Say About Israel Arms Exports
• Learn more about Arms Embargo Now
• Times of Israel: Canada to Halt Arms Exports (March 2024)
• CBC: Joly Stand on Non Binding Motion
• READ the Report - Arms Embargo Now

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In a joint episode with the International Solidarity Pod, hosts Ashwin and Jessa breakdown Canadian PM Mark Carney's first 100(ish) days in office.

Together they go over the details, context and implications of controversial legislation already passed, promised made and foreign policy positions taken by the banker turned politician.

Topics covered:

• Bill C5 (@8 mins)
• Bill C2, The Stronger Borders Act (@27 min)
• NATO / Military Spending (@46 min)
• Foreign Policy (@1h3min)

On top of highlighting what the Liberals have been up to, we go over the resistance mounting to these changes and what the Left's role could (or should) be.

More Resources:

• The Maple: Canada Sold $18.9 Million Of Military Goods To Israel, Despite ‘Pause’
• Joint Statement by the Hague Group on the Conclusion of the Emergency Conference on Palestine at the Bogotá Conference, in Bogotá, Republic of Colombia, from 15 to 16 July 2025 - DIRCO
• CMPAC: On PM Carney's Remarks on Zionist Palestinian State
• Ottawa Citizen: Carney Spending and Public Service Cuts
• APTN News: New NATO Spending
• GlobalNews: Carney and the Golden Dome
• National Virtual Forum on Bill C-5, the Building Canada Act - Assembly of First Nations
• CBC: BC NDP Bill 15
• As mentioned (and rebutted): Fraser Institute on Bill C5
• Bill C-5 (45-1) - First Reading - One Canadian Economy Act - Parliament of Canada
• OpenMedia: Over 300 Organizations Unite to Demand Complete Withdrawal of Bill C-2
• Bill C2
• Migrant Rights Network Condemns Bill C-2's Anti-Refugee & Mass Deportation Provisions - Migrant Rights Network
• The Orchard: Carney Bends the Knee to Trump (Bill 2)
• Journal of International Solidarity

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Family physician and activist, Dr. Yipeng Ge answers questions about his current journey from deck of the Handala. The humanitarian aid vessel is the latest attempt by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to break the naval blockade on Gaza by sea - something activists have been trying to do since at least 2007.

We ask Dr. Ge why he's chosen to travel to Italy and take the risk of engaging with Israeli forces, and what he hopes to get out of it all.

We also get to find out what it takes to prepare for and execute such a complex action, under such dangerous conditions. But despite all the risks being taken, Dr. Ge repeatedly refocuses the discussion back to those taking the most risks - Palestinians fighting for liberation, as well as migrants crossing the very same waters.

Hosted by: Jessa McLean

Call to Action: Ways to help the Freedom Flotilla Coalition

Related Episodes:

• Student Hunger Strikes: Only a Matter of Time, is an interview with UBC and UBCO students using another extreme form of activism to add to the pressure for a free Palestine.
• Answering the Call: West Bank. A discussion with jewish labour activist, Anna Lippman about her travels to the occupied territories to act as a protective presence against illegal settler violence.

More Resources:

• Track the Handala
• CBC: Israel Fires on Aid Trucks, Kills 59
• Freedom Flotilla Coalition
• Partial List of Items Prohibited/Permitted into the Gaza Strip | Public Intelligence
• More on the Blockade

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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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