With the election coming in two weeks, Jesse sits down for an interview with Tiffany Lam, producer of The Backbench, to discuss what kind of politics show her and Fatima are making and how a politics show can be fun, accessible and nutritious.
The interview is followed by the most recent episode of The Backbench. Subscribe to The Backbench to be informed about the important issues of this election.
Kenya was the jewel in the crown of the WE Organization’s global empire. It’s where they took celebrities and CEOs for life-changing “experiences” with needy children, followed by stays in their 5-star luxury beach resort. It’s also where WE co-founder Marc Kielburger hired a private security firm staffed by an ex-Israeli military operative and a Sri Lankan fugitive to deal with Kenyan employees who he thought were robbing or blackmailing him. They in turn accused Marc of kidnapping them and financial misconduct. This is an explosive tale of death threats, bribery and corruption in a country where WE was supposed to be helping.
Many journalists are condemning the unruly protestors following Trudeau on the campaign trail. But is that our role? And co-host Jen Agg talks about how she became the centre of a major story after dealing with her own unruly protestors at her restaurants.
The Liberals promised to inject 6-billion more dollars into our healthcare system last week, but will more money mean more healthcare? Meanwhile, regional federal parties have dropped their platforms with distinct climate plans, posing a possible threat to major parties.
Last year there were 540,000 international students in Canada according to Immigrations Refugees and Citizenship Canada, IRCC. Many of these students came to Canada with one goal – permanent residency.
In the age of “corporate social responsibility,” giant corporations are tired of looking like the bad guys. Microsoft, Dow Chemical, Allstate Insurance, Hershey’s, Teck Mining – these companies were used to being blamed and boycotted. But by donating to WE Charity, they got more than tax benefits – they got a whole new PR strategy. This is the story of how WE turned virtue into a commodity, and sold it to the world’s biggest companies. But at what point does a charity become a marketing firm?
Twitter became the centre of the election this week when they put a “manipulated media” tag on one of Chrystia Freeland’s tweets, which contained an edited video of Conservative leader Erin O’Toole. And is science journalism at a crisis point in Canada? An analysis finds Canada’s biggest newspapers gave about half as much coverage to the IPCC’s major recent climate report as US ones did.
Liberals scramble to respond to the crisis in Afghanistan amid the first week of campaigning. And Trudeau says he wants life to be more affordable while also suggesting it’s not his job.
Craig Kielburger was the Greta Thunberg of the 90s – a 12 year-old kid from the suburbs who dreamed of freeing the world’s children from slavery. His activism made him famous, and he was endorsed by Oprah, the Pope, the Queen, and the Clintons. His campaign became a global movement and a powerful brand.
But right from the start, there were uncomfortable questions about money and exploitation. Decades later, it all came crashing down. But the seeds of WE’s self-destruction were planted right from the start…
Kids in 17,000 schools have been encouraged to take the WE Pledge, join the WE movement, and “Live WE.” But what does that really mean? In practice, it has meant fundraising for WE, paying the Kielburgers’ private company for a “voluntourism” trip, going to work for WE, and living in communal WE housing. According to many of those who lived WE, it meant joining an organization very much like a “cult.”
