27. The Proto-Fascism of “Trust me” Carney w/ Leftie Jane

My guest today is Jane Yearwood—aka Leftie Jane on the TikTok and Instagram machines. She lives here in Toronto and does amazing political commentary from a leftist and disability justice POV.

Today we’ll be looking at why so many Canadians seem to believe that MAGA-stye fascism couldn’t possibly take root here, even though it actually is. So we talk about Canadian exceptionalism, including how settler colonial history and US foreign policy alignments have always been hidden from public education and are now almost invisible behind the halo of Mark Carney.

We talk about online activism and reflect on the generations between us and the middle school students she tutors, and also her love for libraries as third spaces, but the heart of our focus is on five bills currently reshaping Canadian law. Bill C12, Bill C9, Bill C15, Bills C8 and C22. We give them good names for clarity:

• Bill C12: the scapegoat a migrant save a billionaire bill

• Bill C9: the no more protesting against genocide bill

• Bill C15: make Carney and his friends kings again

• Bill C8: the we’re going to spy on all your s*** bill

• Bill C22: the unlawful access to information bill

One thing Jane wanted me to stress in these notes, because we weren’t quite explicit about this in our conversation, is the sheer volume and rush of reality-changing legislation is strategic. It has a very “flooding the zone” vibe to it. This is the Steve Bannon innovation of deliberate saturation of media channels with so much information and noise that critical thinking becomes impossible. That wave is mirrored only by Carney’s extended charm offensive, which reached a peak on March 29th when he was glazed by the celebrity class at the Juno Awards, Canada’s version of the Grammys.

All things Leftie Jane! linktree

Sources

Bill C12 retroactivity and refugee claims, Migrant Rights Network

Amnesty International statement on Bill C12 and international humanitarian law

Avi Lewis on Canada’s deportation system, The Walrus

Bill C9 (Combating Hate Act) text, Parliament of Canada

Civil liberties concerns on Bills C8 and C22, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group

Bill C15 omnibus provisions and ministerial exemption powers, Parliament of Canada

Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk postcard campaign

Jodi Dean, Communicative Capitalism: Democracy and the Illusion of Connection, MIT Press

• Bluesky: matthewremski.bsky.social

• Instagram:

Chapters

• (00:00:06) - Trust Me Carney With Lefty Jane
• (00:02:23) - Why Canadians Can't See the Fascism at home
• (00:04:40) - The Future of Communication in a Digital World
• (00:25:53) - Bill C12: Scapegoat a Migrant, Save a Billionaire
• (00:38:37) - Bill C9: An Attack on Protest
• (00:43:56) - Bill C15: The Unlawful Access to Information Bill
• (00:49:48) - Disability Activists Write Postcards
• (00:58:45) - The Fight for Public Spaces