GUELPH POLITICAST #147 - Brent Patterson, Council of Canadians

The next Federal Election in Canada is less than 11 months away, and while all eyes are on the Conservative Party as the most direct threat to the re-election of Justin Trudeau's Liberals, there are a lot of people on the left-hand side of the political spectrum that aren't exactly fans of J.T. either. It's probably safe to say that Brent Patterson is one of them.

You can be assured that one of the things you'll be hearing about Trudeau from left-wing activists like Patterson next year is that he's failed progressives. Look at the last week: the Federal government ordered postal employees back to work, they were unable to act to save good, well-paying middle class jobs in Oshawa, and there continues to be a lack of any real action on climate change. In other words, Trudeau looks vulnerable from the left.

Patterson, who's been the political director of the Council of Canadians for 18 years, intends to turn up the heat on the Liberals, but that heat comes with a warning. In a recent rabble.ca post, Patterson said of the Trudeau Liberals, "The disappointment that followed the broken promises of electoral reform, respect for Indigenous rights, and a phasing out of fossil fuel subsidies has led some -- perhaps for the first time ever -- to consider not voting this time."

Obviously, Patterson doesn't find that option acceptable.

So on this edition of the podcast, Patterson talks about what effect the recent employment news will have on the perception of Trudeau and the Liberals, how Trudeau has painted himself into a corner on oil pipelines, and how we might finally be seeing progress in getting action on climate change.  There's also some discussion about the things that we should be considering as activists, including some much needed hopefulness, and how not to burn yourself out on your own anger.

So fasten your seat belt because we're going to take a sharp turn to the left on this edition of the Guelph Politicast!

Brent Patterson will be in Guelph tonight - Wednesday November 28 - immediately after the AGM of the Guelph chapter of the Council of Canadians. His talk, "What is to be Done? Thoughts on How Activists Can Navigate the Current Political Moment," begins at 7 pm in the community room on the second floor of the main branch of the Guelph Public Library. You can also read Patterson's writings on various topics on rabble.ca.

The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.

Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday’s episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.