Your hosts on this edition, Lynn Desjardins, Terry Haig and Carmel Kilkenny (Marc Montgomery is on vacation)
UN Peacekeeping Forces and sexual abuse allegations
The United Nations fired the head of the peacekeeping mission in Central African Republic over his handling of alleged sexual abuse and other misconduct by UN troops and civilian staff. But some organizations say abuse is happening in several countries and much more needs to be done about it. Lynn Desjardins spoke with Paula Donovan, she along with Canadian Stephen Lewis, are co-founders of AIDS Free World, which has campaigned hard on this issue.
Debating the decriminalization of marijuana in Canada
This week, Stephen Harper, head of the Conservative Party ramped up the debate around the decriminalization of marijuana when he announced he would give the RCMP a 20 per cent increase in funding, to fight grow-ops and meth labs, if re- elected. Mr. Harper declared that legalization of marijuana is “the wrong direction for society.” Terry Haig spoke with someone who has a very different view. Gonzo Nieto graduated from Concordia University in Montreal last fall. He is co-chair of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy, a nation-wide group that lobbies for drug reform at all political levels.
Maple Water: we should all be enjoying it
Maple water has always been a source of physical and spiritual sustenance for native people in Canada and now, it’s being bottled and marketed to the rest of us, in the growing enhanced water business.
Carmel Kilkenny spoke Brenda Murphy this week. She is a professor in the Society, Culture and Environment program at the Brantford campus of Wilfred Laurier University. She, and colleagues, Professor Laura Brown a physical scientist, and Professor Annette Chretien, a metis woman and indigenous scholar, have been studying maple trees and what they provide, for several years now.
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