This week I’m looking at the fall-out from Canada listing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity.
The IRGC is a branch of the Iranian military.
It’s controlled by the most powerful figure in Iran, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Canada is only the second country to make this move.
And that’s caught the attention of media outlets around the world.
My guest is Houchang Hassan-Yari.
He’s a professor Emeritus at the Royal Ministry College of Canada, in Kingston Ontario.
His area of expertise is the Middle East, with a concentration on security in the Persian Gulf.
Listen as we tease out why this change in Canadian policy is big news internationally.

If you’ve caught any of my previous episodes, you know this podcast explores what happens when Canadian news events get covered outside our borders.

It’s an idea that’s been bouncing around in my head since 2006.
That’s when I first heard that Canada was ranked one of the top three countries in the world…in a new global survey called the Anholt Nation Brands Index.
I’m a journalist, and I thought there must be some connection between the perceptions people have of Canada, and what they see and hear about us in the international media.
Simon Anholt is the brain behind the Nation Brands Index…the people who run countries seek him out to hear how they can improve, or leverage, their nation’s reputation.
He joins me for a feature interview about "Brand Canada," how to destroy your country's reputation, and whether or not domestic news ever influences Canada’s international image.

Wildfire season started early this year out West.

Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Alberta and British Columbia in May.

Experts say above-average temperatures and drought-like conditions could put us on track for another summer of extreme wildfires.

It’s terrifying for people living in the path of the flames.

And it’s unhealthy for everyone who breathes in the massive clouds of smoke produced by tens of thousands of square kilometers of burning forests and brush.

Just like last year, that includes our neighbours south of the border.

On this episode, I'm joined by Professor Owen Temby, an expert on bad air in North America, to look at the US reaction to our wildfire smoke, as our pollution becomes their problem.

This week I’m paying attention to what I’m seeing in articles written for readers in India.
Headlines such as “India slams Canada as diplomatic tensions rise” and “It's Canada's compulsion to blame India” are greeting readers in recent days.

And if you’re asking how come, here’s why. Police in British Columbia have just arrested four Indian nationals in connection with the murder of a Sikh leader last June. That’s when gunmen opened fire on Hardeep Singh Nijar in his pick-up truck. Nijar lived in Canada, but he was a leader in the movement to create an independent state for Sikhs, called Khalistan.
But you should know that the Indian government is very much against this separatist movement.
Nijar, and many others from the pro-Khalistan movement are considered extremists and terrorists by the Indian government.

So…why is Canada grabbing negative headlines in India?
Because our prime minister is saying Nijar was murdered on orders from the Indian government. That’s called an extrajudicial assassination, and if it’s true, it’s a big violation of international law.

On this episode, we'll look at what’s behind the reporting, with guest Aadil Naik, who is just back from India after visiting his family in Mumbai.