Party in the U.S.A: State of the union

03/29/21 • 37 min

It’s our last episode! And what a wild ride it has been. Party in the U.S.A. was originally meant to cover the 2020 U.S. election, but then EVERYTHING happened. Ruth Bader Ginsburg died, Trump got COVID-19, Biden won, and a deadly riot on Capitol Hill led to Trump’s second impeachment. In this episode, we take stock of the last few months and what’s next for the U.S. But first, a deep dive into what’s happening in Bessemer, Alabama where a group of Amazon workers are trying to make history by becoming the company’s first U.S. union. Elamin is joined by Barry Eidlin, a professor at McGill University who looks at U.S. labour relations, as well as journalist and author Sarah Kendzior.

Previous Episode

Is training enough to fix systemic racism in the RCMP?

This week, an independent report found the RCMP racially discriminated against the family of Colten Boushie, the young Indigenous man whose shooting death in Saskatchewan was investigated by the national police force in 2016. RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki accepted the report’s finding, the Saskatchewan RCMP is implementing the report’s recommendations, the Prime Minister has once again acknowledged the presence of systemic racism in the RCMP and other institutions — but what happens next? Rosie and Elamin take a close look at the independent report and what options could be on the table for a police force that continues to come under fire for its treatment of Indigenous people. Plus: as the Supreme Court is set to hand down a decision on whether Ottawa’s carbon tax is constitutional, and after Conservative Party members last weekend voted down a policy resolution to officially recognize climate change, the two look at where Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole may venture next when it comes to climate change policy.

Next Episode

The massive generational divide in Canada’s housing market

Elamin has turned to a simultaneously fun and frustrating way to pass the time during the pandemic: scrolling through real estate listings. He’s just one of an endless number of millennials hoping to somehow grab onto the real estate ladder and buy their first home — but when? And how? The national average home price in February was up 25 per cent from the year before (jumping from just under $542,500 to just over $678,000, if you’re curious) and there’s research out there that suggests a young Canadian would have to log more than two decades of full-time work just to afford a decent down payment in certain markets. Rosie points out the grim reality that her cohort of first-time buyers who got in the door some 15 or 20 years ago simply had luck on their side; but it’s going to take a whole lot more than luck to cool Canada’s hot housing market in 2021. The two examine how the government could step in to help, as the federal budget is set to land in just a few weeks’ time; they also take a close look this week at the third wave of COVID-19 hitting several provinces where variants of concern are driving an increase in daily case counts.