Canadian in a Crisis Zone

It's hard to imagine the devastation caused by the Turkey-Syria earthquake on February 6: more than 50,000 people killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and at least $100B in damage to Turkey's infrastructure alone. Medair is one of the NGOs working to provide basic resources including water and shelter in and around Aleppo. Aid worker Raija-Liisa Schmidt-Teigen joins us live from Damascus. But first...

2:08 | It turns out a BC company will not be manufacturing and selling cocaine to the general public after all. Despite what Adastra Holdings announced late last week, Health Canada says the claims are inaccurate. Our fact check turns into a conversation about drug policy in Canada, including decriminalizing "hard" drugs and supporting safe supply.

HAVE YOUR SAY: talk@ryanjespersen.com 

21:05 | Raija-Liisa Schmidt-Teigen has been doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and Syria for more than 15 years. She tells us present-day Syria - "a crisis heaped on top of a crisis" - is the worst she's ever seen. Don't miss her first-hand report on what Canadian and other aid workers are doing to save lives in desperate circumstances. 

LEARN MORE/DONATE TO MEDAIR: https://www.medair.org/

53:10 | Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre says there will be no consequences for MPs who met with far-right German politician Christine Anderson during her recent visit to Canada. Poilievre, who called Anderson's views "vile and racist" just a few days ago, is attempting to drag Justin Trudeau's history of blackface back into the chat. Will it work for him politically? Ryan explores the story. 

WEBSITE: https://ryanjespersen.com/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/RealTalkRJ
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/RealTalkRJ/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@realtalkrj

PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/ryanjespersen

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors

The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.