In case Alberta politics isn't a hot enough topic, we're spending this episode on the intersection of religion and the machinery of public governance! In 2015 the Supreme Court of Canada decided in the Saturday Decision that prayer at municipal governments violates the states duty to neutrality, but is that decision being followed? To take this on, we sit down with Ian Bushfiled, the executive director of the BC Humanist Association and one of their main researchers Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff to talk about their efforts to document the overlap of religion and particularly prayer in government and their campaigns to ensure that the machinery of government remains neutral when it comes to matters of faith.

L'avortement au Canada est une réalité complexe et souvent méconnue. De la Gaspésie au Nunavik, en passant par les provinces de l'Atlantique et les grandes villes, ce balado met en lumière les disparités régionales et les obstacles rencontrés par les canadiennes désirant avoir recours à ce soin de santé. La journaliste Pasquale Harrison-Julien aborde dans cette série des sujets délicats tels que les avortements après le premier trimestre, les pressions culturelles et familiales, et les implications politiques et sociales des lois sur l'avortement. 

Is secularism church-state separation or government neutrality in matters of religion? What does state religious neutrality look like? When the Supreme Court of Canada issues a ruling, is that the final word? What is the difference between a welcome, a traditional greeting, a cultural practice, and a prayer, especially in the context of indigenous nations and reconciliation?

How would you feel if – when attending a local council meeting for the first time – the meeting opened with a Christian prayer? This is the question we explore in this episode. We learn about the practice of prayers before government meetings: how widespread are these prayers and what do they consist of? We also discuss what exactly the problem is with these prayers in a diverse society, and what – if anything – should replace them.

This week the fellas are joined by Sara (an NP) and Teale (PHD in International Studies) from AccessBC. They discuss the high cost of prescription contraception in British Columbia and how it impacts access for those who need it the most. They highlight the significant cost of different methods, including the intrauterine device, oral contraceptive pills, and hormone injections.

Olivia and Teale of the BC Humanist Association in collaboration with Abortion Rights Coalition Canada start off a new series exploring the deception and harmful practices of CPCs in Canada. Read the full report here.

The BCHA team discusses its newly released report: Open for Unconstitutional Business.

In this episode we have very special guest Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff joining us to discuss the importance and benefits of provinces providing free birth control to all Canadians. His experience in policy writing at all government levels has lead the charge on AccessBC holding the NDP government accountable to fulfilling their promise of providing free contraction to all BC residents. In this episode listeners will be inspired to take action to have universal coverage across Canada. 

Sea cucumbers, a prized delicacy in Chinese cuisine, fetch exorbitant prices in East Asia. These creatures play a crucial role in marine ecology - they vacuum the ocean floor; help coral reefs to grow and slow down the acidification of oceans. But now a soaring demand for these creatures is luring criminal gangs and fueling a booming multimillion dollar illegal trade. As millions of sea cucumbers get decimated, authorities and conservationists escalate their war on the poachers. Undercover Asia dives into the illegal sea cucumber trade and uncovers a global hotspot in the waters between India and Sri Lanka.

There's been a lot of talk in the news lately regarding noise, and specifically about gas-powered garden and landscaping equipment. The District of Oak Bay recently voted to phase out the residential use of all gas-powered gardening tools, over the next 3 years. The whir of lawnmowers, leaf blowers, and grass trimmers are just one type of noise pollution that we face. This episode we have Teale on to talk about how noise affects people and the environment, how it impacts our ability to form community, as well as show the detrimental effects on our communities.

Placemaking and little free libraries go hand in hand to help residents make a switch in their community. Dr. Teale Phelps Bondaroff of the Greater Victoria Placemaking Network joins The Switch to explain how the idea of placing making and community library boxes (which don’t replace libraries) can help communities become climate resilient and benefit everyone.