This week, Nashwa and Ryan chat with Laurel Collins, the NDP MP for Victoria, British Columbia. The three discuss the push for climate accountability, the possibility of a Canadian equivalent of the Green New Deal, the perpetual prolongement of water crises within Indigenous communities, and the question of whether or not degrowth is the only way we can save the environment. Other subjects touched upon in the episode include what it’s like to advocate for sex work in Parliament, the fallout of the Me to We scandal and the curious case of missing money, as well as the gendered impacts of the COVID pandemic.
Mutual Aid Support:
East York 50
This week, we’d like to highlight a fundraiser for The East York 50: this fundraiser was set up to help support a group of 50 immigrant families slated to be evicted. Any donations would be deeply appreciated.
East York Tenant Union (Crescent Town + Goodwood Unions)
We’d like to also bring some attention to the East York Tenant Union, a group situated in Toronto currently fighting against COVID evictions. We highly recommend checking out this post, detailing the Valentine’s Day gift the Crescent Town tenants gave to their landlord, Pinedale Properties.
Note that tomorrow, Feb. 16th, 2021 at 9am is the Landlord and Tenant Board hearing for Crescent Town. You can show your support by simply joining the video call (with a muted microphone)—don’t hesitate to document what you see and/or make social media posts about the event.
Also note that the Landlord and Tenant Board meeting for Goodwood is on Thursday, Feb. 18th, 2021 at the same time and can be reached at the same link above, so please appear twice if you can!
Peoples’ Defence Toronto
Note that both the The East York 50 and the East York Tenant Union are supported by Peoples’ Defence Toronto. For more resources about the collective, visit the links below:
Guest Information:
Guest of the week: Laurel Collins
Laurel Collins is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Victoria in the House of Commons. She was elected in the 2019 Canadian federal election. Prior to her election in the House of Commons, she was a city councillor for Victoria City. Laurel is a community organizer and climate activist. She was an Instructor at the University of Victoria and a city councillor prior to being elected MP for Victoria.
Find Laurel online!
Production Credits:
Hosted by Nashwa Lina Khan
Show Music by Johnny Zapras and postXamerica
Art for Habibti Please by postXamerica
Production by Nashwa Lina Khan and Johnny Zapras
Production Assistance by Raymond Khanano
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Episode 21 with Laurel Collins