Context Beyond The Headlines

Eleven years of war in Syria -- with devastating consequences. What began as the Arab spring- pro-democracy demonstrations erupting all over the Middle East in 2011 soon turned into war when the Syrian government had enough.  Crackdowns intensified; Syrians were killed, as protestors demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. Then, a civil war erupted, accompanied by the factions of fighting also carried out by Isis and Kurdish forces in the region. The number of lives lost will never be known but estimates are that hundreds of thousands of Syrians have perished since 2011. The United Nations estimates almost 6 million Syrians have fled to neighbouring countries and abroad including here in Canada, while nearly 7 million are internally displaced. The war continues to this day. The situation has been called one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history. The Government of Canada resettled 25,000 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and February 29, 2016.  Today on Context, Syria ,11 years later, why is there still unrest and what has happened to the millions who fled?

Canada is among the 12 countries in the world that have made assisted death legal.      

Brought into law 6 years ago, MAID continues to be a point of contention in this country.       

Last year alone, 10,000 Canadians died by the procedure, with numbers expected to increase this year.       

When Bill C-7 was initially passed the caveat to accessing the procedure was that one’s death had to be reasonably foreseeable.        

Since then the law has changed and allows those with a serious and incurable illness disease or disability to access MAID.         

A special joint committee is looking into changing the restrictions once more- allowing those with mental health diagnoses and mature minors access to the procedure.    

Critics say the law is flawed and has made it too easy for Canadians to choose death.  44-year-old Sathya Dhara Kovac died at the beginning of October, accessing medical assistance in dying. She says that she didn't have enough home care support to help her cope with her disease.   

Today on Context - Medical Assistance in Dying: has it become too easy in this country to die?

For more information about MAID in Canada, you can visit EFC Canada's website: https://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/Resources/Government/2022/Review-of-Medical-Assistance-in-Dying-by-special-j

The cost of being a woman in the world can be deadly as we saw recently with the death of Mahsa Amini – a 22-year-old Iranian woman, detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly. She died after falling into a coma while in police custody.   

It is the most recent case that has resurfaced the debate around gender equality everywhere.     

But as the protests in favour of gender rights continue - the silent death of millions of unborn girls worldwide including in Canada hasn't stopped either.    

It's called gendercide or sex-selective abortion.   

While there seem to be higher rates of gendercide in Asian countries - in 2020 Canadian MP Cathay Wagantall introduced a Sex-Selective abortion act (bill c-233) in the House of Commons It was a proposed law that would make it illegal for a doctor or practitioner to perform an abortion simply because of the sex of the child. It was voted down.   

While a recent report by Pew Research Centre states the ratio of baby girls to boys in some areas of India is starting to normalize slowly, many advocates ask at what cost?    

On today's Context: Gendercide - The Dangers of Being a Girl Society. 

Two and a half years ago the world stopped as we all watched George Floyd die before our eyes.

After years of hearing about the racial injustice experienced by people of colour - the world seemed ready to finally listen.

But according to statistics Canada the number of reported hate crimes went up.

Anti-black hate crimes went up 92% in 2020; hate crimes against indigenous people increased 152%  but the most startling were crimes against  east and southeast Asian Canadians which saw a 301% rise -making headlines around the world.

But studies show diversity and representation at the decision-making level of organizations and churches has not changed. Pew research centre finding that Black Christians feel safer worshipping with those who look like them.

On today’s context:

Where are we now? 2.5 years after the racial awakening, has the world finally woken up?

A tragic death on an Ontario farm has led to calls for more rights and safety requirements for migrant workers working under Temporary Foreign Worker permits.  

 The workers fill vital positions - primarily in agriculture, food and beverage manufacturing, and home care. But are migrant workers being treated humanely?    

An open letter from Jamaican farm workers to their country's Ministry of Labour describes the program as "systemic slavery" - listing poor housing, abusive bosses, and exposure to dangerous work conditions. In late September, the Canadian government released a statement on new measures to strengthen protections for the workers. But are they enough to protect vulnerable Temporary Foreign Workers?   

This week on Context: Migrant Work: The True Cost of Labour.

As 97% of teens spend most of their time online, there is a dark layer to many of the social media platforms and sites they find themselves on. A recent study by the City University of London found that almost two-thirds of 16-17 year-olds had seen sexually explicit content on messaging and social networking apps, not to mention online games. 

In November 2021, Canadian Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne presented a new bill that would restrict online access to sexually explicit material to young people under 18, proposing sites institute age verification technology to add a safeguard to easy access. Is proposed legislation enough to protect young eyes from sexually explicit material? What safeguards should be in place? 

Context guests include Chris McKenna, founder of Protect Young Eyes, a team helping parents, and educators to create safer digital spaces for children and teens. We also hear from a recovering porn addict who shares his story of the effect porn had on his life. This week on Context: Beyond the Headlines - Explicit Content: Pornography and Underage Access.

As Britain's longest-reigning monarch, she lived through wars, terrorist attacks, pandemics, and family loss.  While Queen Elizabeth II's life was focused on public service, she did that with great devotion to her faith in Jesus. From the beginning of her reign, the Queen professed a deep belief in prayer, and the church played a pivotal role in her life and her death.  

Defender of the Faith was one of the many titles she held as Monarch and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.  And as the world says goodbye to the Queen of a generation, many wonder if her legacy of faith will continue.   

Also today -- Don’t miss a sit-down interview with Context’s founder and former host, Lorna Dueck, on the importance of having a Christian voice speak into news and current events, as Context has done for the past 800 episodes.

Grammy award-winning singer Michelle Williams was planning her own funeral when she realized she needed immediate help.

Michelle had been sweeping her depression and anxiety under the rug, even while in the spotlight with R&B group Destiny’s Child.

The singer and actress has written a book called Checking In: How Getting Real About Depression Saved My Life and Can Save Yours.

We check in with Michelle for some real talk about what may be under that proverbial "rug" for all of us and what we can do about it!

Canada Suicide Prevention Service: 1-833-456-4566

KIDS HELP PHONE LINE: 1-800-668-6868

HOPE FOR WELLNESS LINE: 1-855-242-3310

PRAYER LINE: 1-866-273-4444

A government taskforce report says Canada has the "fastest growing rate of overdose mortality in the world.”

So jurisdictions are turning to harm reduction.

Hamilton, Ontario, is requesting to decriminalize illicit drug possession. The city, along with Toronto, is looking to join B.C.’s 3-year pilot project to decriminalize the small possession of drugs which begins in January.

Is this the way out of the opioid crisis? Or does it go too far?

And can the Church play a more active role in helping those who want to find healing from addiction?

Matt Smedley, CEO of Mission Possible, has seen the impacts of the opioid crisis firsthand in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side. He joins Maggie John to discuss.

The statistics are shocking, and yet year after year, they only get worse.

The opioid crisis has gripped Canada for the past five years.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, opioid-poisoning fatalities have skyrocketed to an average of 20 deaths per day.

But behind the person struggling with an addiction is often a family desperately trying to do whatever they can to get their loved one clean.

As a firefighter in Brantford Ontario, Jeff Walsh has saved countless lives from opioid overdoses. But despite trying everything to get his son Brodie clean, the grips of addiction were too tight. Jeff shares his experience with Maggie.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, there are resources to help.

Go to www.crossroads.ca/opioidcrisis to find more information.

The Pope has officially apologized to Indigenous People for the atrocities, including abuse, taking away of culture, and even death, committed at Residential Schools - most of which were run by the Catholic Church.

But what makes an apology meaningful? And how can the Pope's apology be a meaningful step to reconciliation?

Maggie John sits down with Andrew Blackwood, author of The Art of a Genuine Apology, to discuss how we can all learn to apologize better.

Pope Francis is set to visit Canada for a journey of healing, reconciliation, and hope with Indigenous people across the country.

This visit comes months after the historic apology to a delegation of residential school survivors, elders, and youth at the Vatican in March.

Cassidy Caron, President of the Metis National Council, was at that apology. She sits down with Maggie John to discuss what the apology meant for her community and how the Pope's visit to Canada can further reconciliation.

With the recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade in the United States, the abortion debate has heated up, even in Canada.

While Canada does not have any abortion laws, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed into the decision south of the border saying it was “an attack on women’s freedoms” and adding,  “in Canada we will always defend women’s rights to choose.”

But unplanned pregnancy - and the decisions that follow - are complex. Wrought with emotion, many pregnant women feel isolated and alone, including Jennifer Burley. She was about to graduate high school when she found out she was pregnant. Her parents decided for her: she would abort the baby.

But there are pregnancy support centres that help women navigate the emotions and realities of pregnancy and motherhood.

Maggie John sits down with Lois Benham-Smith from Atwell Centre - a pregnancy options support centre in Hamilton, Jennifer Burley, and Randy Lowe to hear their personal stories of post-abortion grief so many years after making the difficult decision.

A nation and a world exhale together in a deep healing breath in the name of George Floyd. The poison of racism diluted a bit more in the guilty verdict of former police officer Derek Chauvin as a 9-year-old child stood witness to a murder in broad daylight in the streets of her hometown. A modern-day lynching caught on 17-year-old Darnella Frazier’s cell phone changed the course of history.

In light of the guilty verdict, we take another look at our “realities of anti-indigenous and anti-black racism” program but, get an update from Minneapolis Bishop Harding Smith. And a conversation with social justice and law enforcement advocate – former RCMP staff/sergeant Alain Babineau for a reaction on what this means for Canadian policing.

Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Three simple words ignited evil, hateful acts of violence against innocent Asian people around the world.

Pandemics can happen anywhere, anytime, and in any country. COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China, and Asian people are now being demonized, causing long-standing and deep psychological impacts in Asian communities.

This week on Context: Asian hate must stop.

How will history record the years 2020 and 2021? We thought we had seen it all, but has anything really changed? The hate-filled killings of unarmed Black people in the U.S. sparked international outrage from every race under the sun. Here in Canada, Indigenous people faced inexplicable pain when police answered wellness checks by families who called for their loved ones in distress but were met with death. Still, if anything is under-reported in all this outrage, pain, and anxiety, it’s not the lack of goodness in people, it’s the institutional and systemic change that must happen. This week on Context, the realities of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism.

Gathering at churches, synagogue and temples is a sacred right, but these days, worshipping and gathering is inside,outside, zooming, face timing, skyping, even drive-in movie theatres.

During the last year, Christians along with people of other faiths enduring lockdowns, unable to father, leave some people feeling that it’s an infringement on their religious freedom.

While others say we’ve got to listen to health authorities.

We look at all sides of the debate.

And Maggie visits an inner-city ministry where God never sleeps, as they’ve been caring for the less fortunate since the beginning of the global pandemic.

Christine Yoo visits a street pastor helping people who are unable to get to the only lifelines they have to the outside world.

Is church essential?

GUESTS:

Lisa Bildy, Lawyer, Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms

Pastor Jonathon Shierman, Moosomin Baptist Church

Pastor David Lynn, Christ Forgiveness Ministries

Bill Dyck, Pastor, Toronto Alliance Church

When power causes leaders and others in positions of influence to lose their moral compasses, the trail of pain and destruction is devastating – How do we heal?

This week on Context – abuse in the halls of power and influence.
From preachers to politicians, even inside the church.
The immoral behaviors by some of the leaders in positions of power continues to erode the trust of the institutions that many people once embraced.
In fact, Time Magazine reports that the year 2020 ushered in “an epidemic of misinformation and widespread mistrust of societal institutions and leaders around the world.”

This week on the program – when abuse of power goes so far as to cause people to want to end their lives.

How do we heal?

GUESTS

Dr. Serene Jones, President, Union Theological Seminary

Daniel Gilman, former employee at RZIM

Richard Landau, Educator and critical thinker

Autumn Miles, Author, Speaker, Domestic Abuse Survivor

Mary DeMuth, Speaker, Author, Advocate, and Abuse survivor

Although there’s been a pause amid COVID-19, caring for God’s earth is essential.

A snowstorm in Texas,  floods in Fort Mac, forest fires in L.A. and Australia, increased hurricanes around the world: it’s clear climate change is changing mother earth.

Internationally renowned Christian scientist Katharine Hayhoe joins context to explain what is happening to the planet.

Plus: Context correspondent Cheridan Sanders talks with us from Rome, where the lockdowns and fewer tourists have given the canals of Venice back their beauty.

Marney Bloom talks about Israel’s technologies in helping global climate change.

Back in Canada where many environmentalists – even famous Hollywood actors like Jane Fonda are up in arms about Alberta oil. Indigenous leader Karen Ogen-Taves talks about some of Canada’s first nations being pro-pipelines.

And a sit down with A Rocha CEO, Luke Wilson on what you can do.

GUESTS:

Katharine Hayhoe, Climate scientist

Karen Ogen-Toews, CEO The First Nations LNG Alliance

Cheridan Sanders, Context Rome correspondant

Marney Bloom, Freelance journalist

Julie Stahl, CBN News Middle East corresponden

Luke Wilson, CEO of A Rocha

It was one year ago this month that the world as we knew it changed forever.

We were in shock and disbelief…and then the confusion began.

For the grace of God we go.

Adversity, hardship and challenges aren’t new in our lives,

many of us feel like we’re in the dark.

For most of us, COVID has ushered in a loneliness that is difficult to describe.

Most affected are our children, students, our elders, and disabled.

Coming out of the dark will require a steadfast faith and as we see in retrospect – God is with us, among us and guiding us.

GUESTS

Milena Batanova – Research & Evaluation MGR., Harvard

Elizabeth Chuck, NBC Reporter

Chris Daken, father lost his teenage daughter to suicide.

Michael Gibson, Special Education Teacher

Connie Stam – Compassionate Neighbourhood Health Partners

Greg Luesink – Volunteer, Compassionate Neighbourhood Health Partners

Andrea Groenewald, Registered Psychotherapist

Patricia Khoury, Psychology Student

What went wrong with Canada’s early warning pandemic system? We find out from a specialist in international affairs and intelligence gathering.

A Mississauga newspaper reports that international travelers arriving at Pearson airport are taking fines instead of quarantining or providing COVID-19 tests.

And are quarantine hotels legal? We hear from a lawyer from the justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms in Calgary.

And the global CEO of Ipsos public affairs, Darrell Bricker gives us an update on how Canadians feel the government is handling Covid-19’s second wave.

Plus, a major concern for Canada’s school-age children. School board chair, Dawn Danko and Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation are here to talk about the children.

Cardus executive vice president, Ray Pennings gives us the Christian view on the economy.

GUESTS

Wesley Wark, Adjunct Professor, University of Ottawa. Specialist in International Affairs and Intelligence Gathering

Jay Cameron BA, LLB, Litigation Dir., Justice Centre for Freedoms

Darrel Bricker, Global CEO, Ipsos Public Affairs

Dawn Danko, Chair, Hamilton-Wentworth School Board Trustee

Harvey Bischof, President of OSSTF/ FEESO

Ray Pennings, executive vice-president of Cardus

Context dedicates our program to International Women’s Day, and honours women of every age, stage, race, and religion – and the men who love us!

Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker, Maryam Ebra-Himi speaks with Faten Al Faraj. See Hear Love host and new author – Melinda Estabrooks and 100 HS host Cheryl Weber talk women in Christian media with Maggie.

And, Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson of Empowered in My Skin, and TD Bank speaks about Black women in tech and corporate leadership.

And an inspiring talk with Susan Ponting’s mum who beat the odds, going back to university as a single mother.

GUESTS

Rita El-Mounayer, CEO of SAT-7 Broadcast

Nkechi Nwafor-Robinson, CEO and Founder Empowered in My Skin Inc.

Beverly McNight, Susan Ponting’s mother. Social worker.

Maryam Ebrahimi, Documentary filmmaker, No Burqas Behind Bars

Melinda Estabrooks, Host – See Hear Love

Cheryl Weber, Host- 100 Huntley Street

The myth of multiculturalism in a global world. Where do people from other countries fit into the mosaic of Canada that is continually expanding? Shachi Kurl, President of Angues Reid is here. United Nations resettlement officer, Micheal Cassasola and Kalyani Thurairajah, each explain the hope that in in multiculturalism when we earase racism. Indigenous leader, Susan Levi Peters weighs in. And media professional, Ola Adebayo talks with Maggie about making it as a newcomer in the tough world of Canadian media. We ask: Is multiculturalism a myth or are we on the right track to fixing things when it comes to the boundaries that immigrants face daily in our Canadian – made systems?

GUESTS:

Shachi Kurl, President of Angus Reid Institute

Kalyani Thurairajah, Professor at MacEwan Univeristy

Michael Casasola, UNHCR Sr. Resettlement Officer

Susan Levi-Peters, Former Elsipogtog First Nation Chief.

Ola Adebayo, Media professional. Immigrant from Nigeria.

In a world that continues to reel from the global pandemic – that seems to have no end in sight – we look to other places around the world where even worse than getting Covid is simply being a Christian. Today on the program – we talk with Fadi Sharaiha about Christianity in the Middle East and North Africa – and the dire need to report this in the media. Kiaa Alipour speaks about Iran’s efforts to quash Chrisitanity, but the religion is still growing. Plus: a man who defected from North Korea tells his story of surviving jail. Greg Mussleman tells us how the Christian faith is flourishing despite persecution on all fronts. Gary Stagg from Open Doors Canada explains the astonishing numbers behind the 2021 World Watch List.

GUESTS

Gary Stagg, Executive Director, Open Doors Canada

Kiaa Aalipour, Article 18 Spokesperson

Fadi Sharaiha,

Greg Musselman, Minister at Large, Voice of the Martyrs

Confusion reigns during the first months of the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Minister of International Development, Karina Gould, talks about Canada’s role in the global distribution of the vaccine. Dr. Matthew Miller weighs in on the efficacy of the vaccine, and Dr. Shannon Macdonald talks about the plight of vaccinating indigenous peoples.

PLUS: Nurses against lockdowns are steadfast in getting their controversial voices heard about how they say lockdowns are causing more harm than good. Our multi faith panel gives insight into how their communities are dealing with the vaccine. We’ll speak with one lucky nurse named Lucky who’s had both of his shots.

GUESTS:

The Honourable Karina Gould, Canada’s International Development Minister

Dr. Matthew Miller, Assoc. Prof. Depart. Biochemistry, McMaster University

Dr. Shannon McDonald, Acting Chief Medical Officer First Nations B.C.

Sarah Choujounian, nursing home nurse

Kristen Nagle, Nicu nurse

Lucky Aguila, Nurse, Rekai Centre

Rabbi Jordan Cohen, Temple Anshe Sholom, Hamilton

Raheel Raza, activist and journalist

A knock out punch to the porn industry as New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof exposes millions of uploaded videos of women and girls, drugged and raped and then posted on Porn Hub. Find out what actions the credit card companies took, and what our Canadian government is doing about it. Also on the program MP Arnold Viersen and Glendyne Sylvester Gerrard of Defend Dignity and Garrett Jonsson of Fight the New Drug – and Sathiya Sam of Deep Clean Ministries shares his brave story of healing – and Rebecca Bender who says, “Lived through hell and now I’m going back to help others get out,” shows us all the road to healing through Jesus.

GUESTS

Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist

Garrett Jonsson, Fight the New Drug

Glendyne Gerrard, Director of Defend Dignity

Arnold Viersen, Conservative MP

Rebecca Bender, CEO & Founder, Rebecca Bender Initiative

Sathiya Sam, Founder – Deep Clean

Daisy Khan, Director of the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality.

Sadness and fear is gripping all of us during this global pandemic and time of social unrest. There are no easy answers – but there is a healer – we only need to reach out and hear God’s voice amid all the chaos.

GUESTS:

Asante Haughton, Mental Health Advocate

Andrea Warnick, Grief Psychotherapist

Dr. Andrew Blackwood, Healing Communication Facilitator and Consultant
Founder of The Healing Communication Centre

Jermaine Morrison RSW, BSW, Mental Health Advocate

Filmmakers Dan Shannon and Isabelle Depelteau discuss their award-winning documentary Me The People Film to speak about the many policies of populist leaders.

Also on the program controversial New York University professor, Lawrence Mead, talks about western individualism and immigration.

Fenwick Mckelvey of Concordia University answers the question: Is media broken? And, Ali Noorani from National Immigration Forum with Eric Kaufman, author of White Shift, join The Cue to talk about how we work through these troubling times in politics.

GUESTS

Filmmakers Dan Shannon and Isabelle Depelteau, directors of Me the People.

Dr. David Koyzis, professor and political scientist.

Professor Lawrence Mead, professor at New York University

Fenwick McKelvey, PhD – associate professor, communication studies

Eric Kauffman, author of Whiteshift

Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum

A gruesome halloween stabbing by an alleged mentally ill man in Quebec sparked a $100 million dollar injection into that province’s mental health system.

Christine Grou of l’Ordre des psychologues du Québec speaks with Maggie John about what her province is doing with the extra resources for people coping with mental health.

Context Executive Producer, Susan Ponting talks with world renowned addictions specialist, author, speaker, and physician Dr. Gabor Mate about our mental health challenges amid the toxicity of the global coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Mate also speaks about the cost to our bodies of the hidden stresses that we face everyday.

Plus, Patricia Khoury, a brave university student, tells Maggie about having to make dire changes in her life’s path in order to heal and preserve her own mental wellness.