The Current

The Current for December 11, 2018

Today on The Current: we look at the political turmoil in Britain and France and what it says about the wider trend in Western democracies; could a new bill that aims to help Indigenous women actually end up harming them?; and why some people argue that minimalism, and living with less, is actually a form of consumerism.
Anna Maria Tremonti hosts The Current's 17th season. (CBC)

Today on The Current

  • The political turmoil and rioting in Britain and France highlight a fault line in Western democracies. Voters have seized on a 'generalized' rebellion against 'thriving' elites, according to one expert.
  • Senator Lillian Dyck is proposing harsher sentences for those who commit violent crimes against Indigenous women, such as sexual assault, manslaughter or murder. But some advocates argue that Bill S-215 could have unintended consequences that actually harm those it seeks to protect.
  • In a world of stuff, minimalism is a movement that sells the idea of space as a path to happiness. But some critics see this lifestyle trend as self-centred, and say it includes its own kind of consumerism that only people with money can afford. In a conversation that originally aired in September, Anna Maria Tremonti delves into whether less is more.

Full Episode Transcript