humanrightsradio

On Friday April 27, Human Rights Radio had the privilege of interviewing Rabbi Jeremy Parnes of the Pearl and Max Herman Centre.  On April 19th the Centre held its Evening of Remembrance for the Holocaust and we discuss that event and the reasons why we must not forget what happened to the Jewish people and other minorities in Nazi occupied Europe during the 2nd World War.

The Show this year features a cast consisting primarily of aboriginal women and their perspective on Vaginas and violence against women.

Human Rights Radio spoke with Ashley Norton, a social and environmental activist who represents Southern Saskatchewan Métis as a board member of Back to Batoche (BTB) Festival Days Inc.  She believes it is time to remove the shame of being a Métis and pass along what is left of their culture to the younger generations.

On Friday March 16 Human Rights Radio spoke with Hilary Craig, a Regina Activist about the commodification of Water.  We discussed how our supply of potable water is being endangered as demand is rising.

Human Rights Radio speaks with Mikayla Schultz, founder of TransSask Support Services about Transgender Awareness Week.  Special guests, J.P. and Erika join us to talk about the challenges of"coming out" as a transgender person.

University of Regina students have taken initiative to call for the integration of mandatory courses reflecting historical and modern Indigenous perspectives into all faculties of study at the U of R and across Canada. The interview explores the reasons one young woman decided to take up this action and how it has been successfully supported by faculty deans and other university organizations.

Human Rights Radio spoke with activists Rob Sutherland and Bernie Cohen about the possible consequences of Bill C-14.  This bill offers to legitimize several practices such as format shifting (ripping) and extends fair use, but then takes these rights away by criminalizing these actions in the event the digital material is protected by a digital lock (a piece of software designed to prevent copying).  This bill is proposed in large part to accommodate ACTA, a multilateral agreement which proposes international standards for enforcement of intellectual property rights.  However, ACTA has flaws which need to be addressed.  We discuss what is happening in Canada and internationally on this topic.

On Friday Feb 3, 2012, Human Rights Radio spoke with Dan Lindsay about "Raising the Roof" and National Toque Tuesday.  On Tuesday Feb 7, Dan and a team of dedicated  Rainbow Youth volunteers will be selling toques at the F.W.Hill Mall in Regina as part of an effort to "Put a Cap" on youth homelessness. Lower to average income groups continue to struggle to find adequate housing at reasonable cost in this city with a vacancy rate of 0.6 percent.  Those living in poverty are at great risk of being homeless, if they aren't already.  Regina City Council has yet to develop an effective plan for dealing with homelessness and lack of affordable housing while it seems to have a preoccupation with grand projects.

January 28th is the 60 anniversary of the plane crash near Los Gatos Canyon in California in which 32 people died.  The 4 Americans were identified in news reports, but the 28 Mexicans were simply referred to as "deportees".  This callous reporting in addition to the the actual act of deporting 28 Mexicans whose contract for employment had run out inspired Woody Guthrie to write what later became the "Deportee" song.  In today's program we discussed the plight of people who are trying to improve their lives by moving to a country like Canada or the US.  In Canada's earlier history, immigrants, other than White, Anglo Saxon, were not particularly welcome.  In the 1930's when the Nazi's vicious intentions towards Jews were becoming more and more menacing, Canada was among the many countries which turned back shiploads of Jewish immigrants, many of whom were victims of gas chambers as a result.  Contrast this with Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's 1986 assertion that Canada should accept and welcome refugees fleeing from death and torture in their own lands.  Many in Canada and beyond see the present government's Bill C-4 as a huge step backwards in the treatment of these people. We discuss these and other issues and listen to Joan Baez singing the Deportee song.

On Friday the 13th, we spoke with the Artistic Director of Queer City Cinema, Gary Varro, about Performatorium Festival of Queer Performance.  In 1996 Gary established Queer City Cinema, a lesbian and gay film and video festival, which went on to include a touring component to many urban centres across Canada.  In 2005-2006, he took on the role of programmer with Inside Out, the lesbian and gay film festival of Toronto. This coming week, January 19, 20, and 21, Performatorium will feature performances by Cindy Baker, Heather Cassils, Zackary Drucker, Helena Goldwater, Jamie Lewis Hadley, and George Stamos.  We discuss the history of Queer City Cinema and the performances included in this year's Performatorium:  Festival of Queer Performance.