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Pharmaceutical industry promotion is a worldwide phenomenon. And while doctors recognize the commercial motivation behind the industry’s interactions with them, they don’t believe they are affected. A new Cochrane review released last month aims to clarify whether and how those interactions influence what doctors prescribe for their patients. It looked at the results of 93 studies involving millions of doctors and published largely over the past two decades. We speak with Quinn Grundy, one of the researchers involved in the review.

In June, three young Canadians launched a legal challenge alleging that the federal government is failing to comply with its obligations to reduce the causes of climate change. They are joined by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, CAPE,  and Environmental Defence. The federal government went to court to try to strike the case, but a judge dismissed their appeal and ordered the government to prepare its evidence to move forward in a timely way. We speak with lawyer Fraser Thompson of Ecojustice.

The one thing that is certain following Tuesday’s election in Israel is that Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition has lost its majority. It looked for a while as if the leader of the Jewish opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, had a narrow lead. But now all the votes have been counted, the Netanyahu bloc has more seats but both blocs are short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority. Meanwhile Arab Israeli parties have 19 seats. Nir Hagigi is an MA candidate in political science at York University and Communications Coordinator with Independent Jewish Voices Canada. We speak with him about the results and what they mean for Palestinians.

In June this year, the federal government  launched a National Food Security Strategy, with the stated goal of building a more affordable and resilient food system in Canada. Yet experts in the sector say it does not address the root causes of food insecurity nor its health consequences. We speak with public health physician Dr. Lynn McIntyre, one of the co-authors of a recent article in The Conversation Canada critiquing the new strategy.

With the landslide victory for progressive candidates in Vancouver’s city election, hopes are high for improving mobility and transit in the city. Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders ran a campaign called Vote for a transit hero. We spoke with Denis Agar to see how the results tallied up for people who need transit and the road ahead for transit improvements.

The Alberta referendum ended with a resounding defeat for the separatist party. At least, that’s what most of the corporate media coverage has characterized it as. But, in an article in Canadian Dimension published before the vote, Megan Aiken and Will Kujula argue that Alberta independence is not a threat because it might actually happen, but because it normalizes organizing for white supremacist, anti-immigrant policies in Canada. We speak with Megan Aiken, assistant professor of political science at the University of Lethbridge.

In 2024, coho and chum salmon were returning to spawn in Worth Creek, a small stream east of Mission, but in December the following year, the creek suddenly ran dry, leaving fertilized salmon eggs high and dry.  Local journalist Jack Emberly was the first person to report what had happened, then others got involved, eventually forming the Norrish Creek Gravel Stewardship Group last year. We speak with one of the members of the group, retired biologist John Werring.

BC is the latest province in Canada where the chief coroner is being asked to look into the growing danger to pedestrians and cyclists from pickup trucks and large SUVs.  The Coalition to Reduce Auto Size Hazards – C.R.A.S.H.  – says there are 300 deaths and thousands of serious injuries on its roads each year, many caused by oversized vehicles. We speak with lawyer Albert Koehl.

The federal government’s major infrastructure legislation, Bill C-39, is in the hands of a special committee, which is planning to finish its work by mid-November in line with Mark Carney’s intention to bring the legislation into force as soon as possible.  The bill has been widely condemned for undermining labour protections as well as weakening environmental protections and sidestepping the Crown’s duty to consult Indigenous nations. We speak with Labour Studies prof Simon Black about how the bill will impact labour disputes in federally regulated sectors, such as airlines, postal service and banks.

The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group has released a report detailing how financial institutions are penalizing NGOs and individuals they suspect of supporting terrorist organizations, but without substantial evidence or due process. We speak with Tim McSorley, national coordinator of ICLMG.

As municipal and provincial elections approach, BC’s biggest, most expensive cities aren’t doing enough to help solve the current housing crisis. So says Alex Hemingway in a recent opinion piece in the Vancouver Sun. He argues that the BC government allowed cities to do an end-run around provincial zoning reforms, with the result that people continue to be pushed out of their communities. Alex Hemingway is a senior economist and public finance policy analyst with BC Policy Solutions.

In the run-up to Vancouver’s municipal election, Women Transforming Cities consulted widely to see what policies people want City Council to focus on. Now WTC is calling on all candidates for Mayor and Council to take the Our City Hall Pledge and commit to implementing six policy asks if they are elected.  We speak with Clara Prager of Women Transforming Cities.

On October 19, Albertans will vote on ten referendum questions put forth by Premier Danielle Smith and her UCP government. Five out of the ten questions in the referendum are directly related to immigration.  A new report, published by the Parkland Foundation seeks to answer two questions: Why immigration? And why now, when immigration and temporary resident numbers have declined in both Alberta and Canada? We speak with Bronwyn Bragg, assistant professor in the Department of Geography and Environment at the University of Lethbridge.

In 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 departed Tehran carrying 176 passengers and crew. Minutes after takeoff, the aircraft was struck by two surface-to-air missiles, killing everyone on board.  Director Soran Mardookhi’s feature documentary The Flight, produced by the NFB, follows the lives of family members left behind in their pursuit of truth, justice and accountability. The Flight has its world premiere at VIFF Oct 8.

Municipal elections on Saturday, October 17 are just 2 weeks away. With us to talk about some of the Metro Vancouver races is Redeye collective member Ian Mass with his City Beat report for October 3.