The Current for Oct. 14, 2020
Today on The Current:
First Nations communities that largely avoided the worst of the first wave of COVID-19 are now fearful of what's to come as the weather gets colder. We talk to Peter Beatty, chief of the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in Saskatchewan; Keith Mason, pandemic coordinator in the Kasabonika Lake First Nation in northern Ontario; and Carrie Bourassa, professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan, and the Indigenous engagement lead for the federal COVID-19 Immunity Task Force.
Plus, a video of a sexist smear against B.C. politician Bowinn Ma has surfaced in the middle of the province's election campaign — highlighting the sexism still rife in politics. We talk to two B.C. politicians, Nadine Nakagawa, a city councillor in New Westminster, and Nicole Read, former mayor of Maple Ridge, about their experiences.
Then, it's not quite a holiday, but a website called Window Swap lets you stare out someone else's window, to take in a new view from somewhere around the world. Science communicator Samantha Yammine talks about why a change like this is as good as a rest in the pandemic.
Also, Saskatoon author Adam Pottle has just published his first children's book, but he's urging people not to buy it. He tells us the book contains an illustration that he says is offensive, and undermines the book's message of inclusion and celebration of deaf culture — but the publisher won't change it.
And Brad Regehr was appointed the first Indigenous president of the Canadian Bar Association last month. He discusses the work he wants to do, and the need for uncomfortable conversations about racism in Canada.