Brief Remarks

For this final 2-part episode of the 2020 Network’s special COVID-19 series, host Jodi Butts speaks with Gerald Butts, current consultant with the Eurasia Group, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former CEO of the World Wildlife Fund. In part 2 of this episode, Gerry shares his unique perspective about some of the most significant public policy impacts of this pandemic, and considers Canada’s road to recovery.

For this final 2-part episode of the 2020 Network’s special COVID-19 series, host Jodi Butts speaks with Gerald Butts, current consultant with the Eurasia Group, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former CEO of the World Wildlife Fund. In part 1 of this episode, they discuss climate change in the context of a pandemic, what the new economy might look like post-pandemic, and the challenges that lie ahead.

In June, Canada lost its bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council. The loss came after four years of campaigning for the spot and is reminiscent of Stephen Harper’s 2010 failure. Back then, we lost to Germany and Portugal. This time, it was to Ireland and Norway. Each time, we have been left asking: Why? Previously, going back to 1946, Canada had won each of its bids for a UNSC seat. What is it about Canada’s contemporary foreign policy that led to the two losses? And beyond that do we need the United Nations Security Council? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Caroline Dunton, a doctoral student in political studies at the University of Ottawa who studies campaigns for seats on the United Nations Security Council and a researcher with the Centre for International Policy Studies.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Dan Gardner about how we cope with the uncertainty and unpredictability of this pandemic, and what we are all working towards. Dan Gardner is a New York Times best-selling author of books about psychology and decision-making, and a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

Since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, observers have been talking about the “egalitarian” nature of the virus. ‘Covid-19 doesn’t discriminate’ has been a common refrain. But while the virus itself may have common effects across populations, the pandemic and its consequences are far from equally shared. As with many public health challenges, the effects and costs of the pandemic are distributed unequally, with marginalized individuals and groups often asked to do the most while facing a higher likelihood of becoming ill. It may comfort us to say we’re all in this together. But that isn’t quite true, leaving us to ask: Whose pandemic is this?   On this bonus episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Arjumand Siddiqi, Canada Research Chair in Population Health Equity and Associate Professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode, host Jodi Butts speaks with Jaykumar Menon, international human rights lawyer and founder of the Open Source Pharma Foundation about whether now is the time to experiment with developing a new model for vaccine discovery.

Around the world, Black Lives Matter and their allies - are demanding justice -- and structural change -- in response to years upon years of racist violence, marginalization, and repression. In many instances, activists are being met with further state violence at the hands of police and resistance from elected representatives and officials. Despite state intransigence, one of the core demands gaining traction right now is the movement to ‘defund the police’. But what does that mean? And, moreover, could it happen? Are we on the brink of lasting, foundational change? Is this time different? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Fabio Rojas, professor of sociology at Indiana University Bloomington.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Nelson Saddler, second year medical student at the University of Toronto, and member of the Black Medical Students’ Association at UofT, about race in healthcare during a pandemic.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. In part 2 of this special 2-part conversation on the future of work post COVID19, host Jodi Butts speaks with Pedro Barata, Executive Director at the Future Skills Centre to discuss the skills that will be needed in a labour market transformed by COVID, automation and other factors.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. In part 1 of this special 2-part conversation on the future of work post COVID19, host Jodi Butts speaks with Brittany Forsyth, Chief Talent Officer at Shopify about Shopify’s decision to shift to a digital workplace.

Humankind is facing an extraordinary threat. No, not that threat. The other one. Climate change. And we are running out of time to develop and implement solutions to meet the challenge -- or, at least, to mitigate the worst of what’s coming. Tackling the climate crisis requires radical change, including adaptations to -- or perhaps upheavals of -- the social, political, and economic systems that have delivered us into this mess. Some people, however, argue that there is much we can and should want to keep of the old ways, not least of which may be the market economy. That leaves us to ask: Can capitalism solve climate change? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Tom Rand, venture capitalist and author of The Case of Climate Capitalism: Economic Solutions for a Planet in Crisis.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Ben Rhodes on the state of America in midst of a pandemic. Ben Rhodes is the author of the New York Times bestseller The World As It Is, the co-chair of National Security Action and an advisor to former President Barack Obama. From 2009-2017, Rhodes served as Deputy National Security Advisor to President Obama.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Michele McKenzie, principal of McKenzie Strategies about tourism in the time of COVID-19.

As of May 18th, 2020 there are more than 1.52 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States of America. While 280,000 people have recovered from the virus, 90,000 have died -- the most of any country in the world. The American response to the pandemic has been criticized, appropriately, by just about everyone who is paying attention. And life in the time COVID-19 has just begun, which makes the following question even more important: Can the United States of America manage the pandemic? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Katie Simpson, CBC foreign correspondent based in Washington, D.C.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Julie Drury, the Strategic Lead, Patient Partnerships at the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement about why family care providers are 'Not Just a Visitor'. Melissa Jones joins to share her family's experience.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Dr. Sacha Bhatia about the redesign process of the health care system, and what it could look like in the long term in and beyond COVID’s shadow. Dr. Bhatia is a scientist at the Women's College Research Institute, the Chief Medical Innovation Officer and F.M. Hill Chair in Health System Solutions at the Women's College Hospital, a Cardiologist at the Women's College Hospital and University Health Network and Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Dr. Alan Drummond about gun regulation as a public health issue. Dr. Drummond is an emergency doctor in Perth, Ontario, a member of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, co-chair of its Public Affairs Committee, which has long advocated for red flag laws to curb firearms suicides.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Dr. Anne Snowdon, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University of Windsor’s Odette School of Business; Academic Chair of the World Health Innovation Network (WIN); and Scientific Director and CEO of SCAN Health, about how health care supply chains work and how they can be improved.

Canadians like to tell themselves stories about the serene, progressive country they call home. In certain imaginations, Canada is immune to the social and political toxicity we find around the world -- especially that which we find to the south of us. And yet, a cursory glance at our past and our present tells another tale. Racial prejudice is embedded in Canadian minds and institutions. We must confront the question: Is Canada racist? On episode 15 of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks about race in Canada with Erica Ifill, economist, writer, entrepreneur, and co-host of the podcast Bad + Bitchy.

The COVID19 pandemic is moving quickly, as is the news and information around it. That’s why our team on the 2020 Network is focused on giving you some balanced perspective on the story as it develops. On this episode of the 2020 Network, host Jodi Butts speaks with Willy Kruh, retired Global Chair, Consumer and Retail at KPMG, and business advisor to leading multinational consumer brands about the ever-changing impact of COVID19 on the retail industry.