The Hatchet

• The Last of the Pirates

  When Paul Watson was arrested in July of last year, it made headlines around the world. The presidents of France and Brazil called for his immediate release.But here in Canada — Watson’s birthplace and where much of his activism has centred — the reaction was strangely muted.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau never said a word about his case. While there was some news coverage of his case, it was nothing like the attention his arrest received in other countries.Which is surprising. Not only is Watson a founder of Greenpeace and one of the most famous environmental activists in the world, he’s also one of the most controversial. Many have labelled him as an eco-terrorist because of his willingness to use almost any means necessary to achieve his goals.Nowhere is this more obvious than his decades-long campaign against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. On a rickety ship, with a neophyte crew, Watson went to war against the illegal Japanese whale hunt, ramming their ships in the open seas.He’s been called a pirate, and it’s a label he accepts willingly.This is a story about more than just whales. It’s about a planet on the brink of ecological collapse. And the lengths that one man is willing to go to try to stop it.Featured in this episode: Peter HellerTo learn moreThe Whale Warriors: The Battle at the Bottom of the World to Save the Planet’s Largest Mammals by Peter HellerWatson (2019) by Lesley Chilcott“‘They want revenge’: Canadian co-founder of Greenpeace, Paul Watson, awaits extradition hearing in Greenland jail” by Linsday Jones in The Globe and MailSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. Every week, we’re going to deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works, and we’re going to do it in a way that no one else can.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque Get full access to The Hatchet at hatchetmedia.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  49:20
• How Pretendians and Grifters Infiltrated a Billion Dollar Federal Strategy

  You’ve probably heard some of the controversy swirling around ArriveCan; how one of the contracts to help build it went to a company owned by a federal government employee. And especially how the whole thing cost $60 million to make, even though, you know, it was a pretty basic app.But ArriveCan was also the beneficiary of a specific strategy that the federal government has been implementing for nearly three decades. It’s known as the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business.And the idea is simple. A certain percentage of government contracts should go to businesses owned and operated by Indigenous people.Which on paper sounds reasonable. You could think of it as reconciliation-via-contracting.Under the Trudeau government, the strategy was expanded, with the government aiming to have 5 per cent of their contracts go to Indigenous-owned businesses.But here’s the problem. For a very long time, nobody was really checking upfront whether or not a business was actually “Indigenous” in any meaningful way.And there’s good reason to believe that many of them simply weren’t.The stakes for a story like this really couldn’t be higher. It’s not only the billions of dollars in taxpayer money. But it’s the government’s ability to deliver the services that Canadians depend on. And economic reconciliation with First Nations, Inuit and Métis.Featured in this episode: Patti Sonntag (Global News/The National Post)To learn more“Billions in federal contracts awarded to ‘Indigenous’ enterprises without verification” by Patti Sonntag, Melissa Ridgen, Hannah Sangster, Celeste Bird & Alex Boutilier in Global News“Underneath the ArriveCan scandal, questions swirl about Ottawa’s Indigenous procurement requirements” by Bill Curry, Tom Cardoso & Kristy Kirkup in The Globe and Mail“Liberal minister's former business questioned over 'Indigenous' claims in government contract bids” by Patti Sonntag in The National Post“How one nursing company tapped into Ottawa’s Indigenous businesses program, despite not being Indigenous” by Bill Curry in The Globe and MailSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. Every week, we’re going to deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works, and we’re going to do it in a way that no one else can.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque Get full access to The Hatchet at hatchetmedia.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  24:59
• The Only Certainties in Canada are Death and Tax Havens

  So everyone seems pretty worried about a potential trade war with the United States. And for good reason — the US is our biggest trading partner by far. And I bet that over the next couple of days and weeks, a lot of journalists are going to head over to the StatsCan website to look up numbers of just how much money flows between the two countries.If they do, they might find themselves looking at a chart that shows Canadian foreign direct investment. It shows how much Canadian firms, individuals and institutions are investing in different countries. And, of course, the US is right at the top of the list, with just over a trillion dollars.But it’s the rest of the list that I find especially interesting. Do you know which country ranks second?Bermuda. In 2023, there was more than $135 billion invested in Bermuda that came from Canada.Bermuda is a tiny British Overseas Territory with a population just over 64,000. That $2.1 million dollars for every resident of Bermuda.Now Bermuda is not exactly an industrial powerhouse. This money is not being used to build new factories or invest in exciting new Bermudian industries.Everyone knows what’s happening. Bermuda is a tax haven. Almost to a dollar, that $135 billion dollars in Bermuda is for companies to avoid paying Canadian taxes.So what the hell is going on here? The truth is that government after government has made it easier for companies to avoid paying taxes in this country, depriving Canadians of billions of dollars in revenue. That’s money that could be spent on social programs or addressing the budget deficit or lowering taxes on everyday peopleSo how did we get here? And do any of the political parties have the guts to do anything about this?Featured in this episode: Alain Denault, Silas XuerebTo learn moreCanada: A New Tax Haven by Alain Deneault & translated by Catherine Browne“Deals Canada signed to catch tax cheats allow billions in taxes to escape” by Zach Dubinsky in CBC News“Foreign direct investment, 2023” in The Daily from Statistics CanadaSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. Every week, we’re going to deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works, and we’re going to do it in a way that no one else can.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque Get full access to The Hatchet at hatchetmedia.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  24:44
• Canada’s Economy Is Even More Screwed Up Than You Think

  Support us at hatchetmedia.substack.comI think we all know that the Canadian economy isn’t doing great. In the years after the pandemic, inflation surged and everyday people had to deal with ever-rising prices on all kinds of staple goods.The former governor of the Bank of Canada Stephen Poloz said recently that it’s likely that Canada’s already in a recession, and we just don’t know it yet.And now, even the people in charge of the economy are in chaos. Chrystia Freeland, the finance minister resigned, claiming that she can’t tolerate the political gimmicks being forced on her by the Prime Minister’s Office.And the threat of massive tariffs from the incoming Trump administration could pulverize Canadian industry in upcoming years.But the problems with Canada’s economy go much deeper than even all that. For the last few decades, economists have pointed to Canada’s absolutely anemic rates of productivity, which measures how efficient an economy is.The housing crisis continues to be one of the very worst in the world. And no political party seems to be offering up any real solutions to any of our problems.And that’s why I wanted to talk to John Rapley.  He’s an economics columnist for the Globe and Mail and the author of a number of books, including Why Empires Fall: Rome, America and the Future of the West, and one of the sharpest thinkers on all things economic.We caught up with him while he was in South Africa and on the day after Freeland’s dramatic resignation.Featured in this episode: John RapleyTo learn more“The ‘vibecession’ is real, and economists must do some soul-searching” by John Rapley in The Globe and Mail“Bless this house: Why Canadians put so much faith in the housing market” by John Rapley in The Globe and MailWhy Empires Fall: Rome, America, and the Future of the West by Peter Heather & John RapleyThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. Every week, we’re going to deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works, and we’re going to do it in a way that no one else can.Music: I dunno by grapes (c) copyright 2008 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. Ft: J Lang, Morusque Get full access to The Hatchet at hatchetmedia.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  44:49
• How the Indian Government Extorts Canadians Into Becoming Spies

  An open secret among Canadian Sikhs is only now being spoken about publicly.For years, Indian officials have used visa approvals to extort and blackmail their critics in Canada. They’ve coerced Canadians to spy on their fellow citizens or denounce their political beliefs in writing, in exchange for the privilege of being able to visit loved ones in India.It’s just a small part of the foreign interference machine that India has built on Canadian soil.Featured in this episode: Stewart Bell (Global News)To learn more“Investigation: Visas have become an Indian foreign interference tool” by Stewart Bell & Jeff Semple in Global News“Contract to Kill” by CBC’s The Fifth EstateSupport us at hatchetmedia.substack.comThe Hatchet is a podcast and newsletter dedicated to exposing power and money in Canada. Every week, we’re going to deliver important, original and fascinating journalism about how this country actually works, and we’re going to do it in a way that no one else can. Get full access to The Hatchet at hatchetmedia.substack.com/subscribe

  --------  

  26:40

More Business podcasts

Trending Business podcasts

About The Hatchet