Brief Remarks

Whether it’s in the school cafeteria, the House of Commons or on social media, your reputation is out there. Jodi Butts is joined by The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney to gain his wise counsel on how to build a reputation that can withstand and outlast the fray.

There are plenty of criticisms of democracy in Canada. While the country ranks in the upper echelons of mainstream reviewers concerned with global comparisons, there are disconcerting cracks in the foundation of our self-government. Indeed, the foundation itself is fundamentally flawed. One could—and should—point out the country’s inequities and inequalities, embedded colonialism, vestigial electoral system, and so forth. But on this episode, our focus is on a sort of immanent critique of Canada’s Westminster system itself, on its own terms. And so we ask: What’s wrong with Canada’s democracy? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Emmett Macfarlane, associate professor of political science at the University of Waterloo and author of Constitutional Pariah: Reference re Senate Reform and the Future of Parliament.

On this episode of @Risk, host Jodi Butts is joined by the 33rd Premier of New Brunswick and now the CEO of the Canadian Centre for the Purpose of the Corporation, Brian Gallant, to discuss reputation as the mother of all risks (M.O.A.R.) in the corporate context. For a business, reputation is more than a comms issue, it’s existential, and Brian wants to see companies find their purpose in order to protect it.

In March of last year, David Moscrop spoke with feminist theorist and friend Amanda Watson about managing life during the pandemic. The conversation included thoughts about compassion, care, inequity, resistance, and, of course, anxiety. Just over a year later, as the end of the pandemic begins, the two revisit that conversation. This time the focus is on processing...all of this, with special attention given to the question: How are we managing late-pandemic anxiety and what will a return to “normal” look like? As mentioned, on this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Amanda Watson, feminist theorist, lecturer at Simon Fraser University and author of The Juggling Mother: Coming Undone in the Age of Anxiety.

On this episode of @ Risk, host Jodi Butts is joined by four-time Olympic Gold medalist, community leader and soon to be doctor, Hayley Wickenheiser. They discuss the importance of sport in our recovery, being a good team player and the impact of the pandemic on the Olympics.

In Canada and around the world, anxious, weary populations are looking forward to returning to something that will approximate normal life. That return is predicated on, among other things, mass Covid-19 vaccination efforts that continue along slow and steady. As more of us get the jab, states, including Canada, are considering vaccine certification programs for domestic use, foreign travel, or both. But concerned individuals, including health, privacy, and social science experts, are raising a number of concerns with the idea. While a vaccine “passport” might intuitively seem like a good idea, it’s fraught with risks and trade-offs, leaving us to ask: Should we adopt vaccine certification programs? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Françoise Baylis, University Research Professor, bioethicist, and author of Altered Inheritance: CRISPR and the Ethics of Human Genome Editing.

Crossing borders are never without risk, almost always entailing a trade-off of one set of risks for another. On this episode of @ Risk, Jodi is joined by Tareq Hadhad, the Canadian entrepreneur behind Peace by Chocolate and former refugee who fled war-torn Syria with his family. Jodi is also joined by Marcello Di Cintio, an award-winning travel author who in his latest non-fiction book, Driven, beautifully tells the stories of the men and women behind the wheels of Canada’s taxis. Buckle your seat belts! You’re in for a risky ride!

Listen to a conversation with Mark Carney on his new book VALUE(s): Building a Better World for All, a bold and urgent examination of the radical, foundational change required if we are to build an economy and society based not on market values, but on human values.

The rise of digital media and technology has transformed how we engage in democratic processes and public debate. In Canada and around the world, digital threats are contributing to polarizing societies and weakening institutions. That’s why Canada 2020 launched Democracy in the Digital Age, a new series challenging Canadians to rethink their approach to defending our democratic institutions. Listen to a conversation between Minister Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s Minister of Canadian Heritage, in conversation with Anja Karadeglija, Parliamentary Reporter at the National Post, exploring Canada’s approach to reducing the harms of digital technology on democracy and public life, as well as a follow up panel with Laura Tribe, Executive Director of Open Media, Will Perrin, Trustee at Carnegie Trust UK, and Vivek Krishnamurthy, the Samuelson-Glushko Professor of Law and Director of Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic.

In Canada, wireless and broadband prices are too damned high. Why? The recent news of a merger attempt by Rogers and Shaw gives us a hint—and a look into the world of telecom strategy and oligopoly. Indeed, observers would be forgiven for thinking the country is a handful of telecom companies in a trenchcoat, perhaps with an airline or two crammed in there. But there’s more to it than that—a bit more, anyway. Understanding wireless and broadband policy requires us to dig into the state of the industry, competition or a lack thereof, the question of nationalization, the role of the Competition Bureau and the CRTC, and more. Eventually, we get to answer the big question: Why are our wireless and broadband bills so high? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Michael Geist, Professor of Law at the University of Ottawa and Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law.

On this episode of @ Risk, Jodi is joined by Icelandic artist and activist, Andri Snaer Magnason, whose approach to climate change is like no other. Magnason is the author of On Time and Water, a calculated and enchanting invitation to see ourselves in the battle against climate change through mythology, his conversations with the Dalai Lama and our love of family.

Canada’s political left is facing a series of choices. What kind of movement should it pursue in the face of contemporary challenges at home and around the world? How can left-wing parties win at the local, provincial, and federal orders of government? Should communists, socialists, and social democrats work together -- and, if so, when and how? Also, to what extent does the leading social democratic party in Canada, the NDP, serve as a vehicle for successful left politics? Answering these questions requires us to start by understanding what it even means to be “left-wing.” It requires us to trace the history of Canada’s left, to look around the world, and to embrace the tensions, even contradictions, of contemporary left politics. It also requires us to ask: What is the future of Canada’s left? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Christo Aivalis, historian, writer, left YouTuber, host of the podcast Left Turn, Canada, and author of The Constant Liberal: Pierre Trudeau, Organized Labou

Rockets, rovers and reaching for the stars are undertakings rife with risk – but nothing worth doing is without it. On this special episode of @ Risk, Jodi Butts is joined by Col. Chris Hadfield and Dr. Farah Alibay to discuss how they engineered their successes in space, and other lessons relatable to our more earthy daily lives.

In early March, Ontario surpassed 7,000 Covid deaths, over 3700 of which occurred in the province’s long-term care facilities. Around the country, suffering and death in care homes is part of an emergency that has long been ignored -- an emergency that pre-existed the pandemic. Precarious work, low pay, inadequate staffing, neglect, abuse, unreasonable waitlist times, poor communication, and the urge to put profit before people condition much of the long-term care sector. Because of that, the most vulnerable among us suffer and die. Things could be different. So, how can we solve our long-term care crisis? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Vivian Stamatopoulos, associate teaching professor at Ontario Tech University and LTC advocate.  

Canada is ranked *last* according to a non-partisan study assessing the legitimacy of whistleblower laws globally. What? On this episode of @Risk, host Jodi Butts is joined by Dr. John O’Connor, the winner of the inaugural Peter Bryce Prize honouring individuals whose courage in speaking up about wrongdoing has served the public interest, as well as by David Yazbeck, lawyer and Advisory Board Member to the Centre for Freedom of Expression’s Whistleblower Initiative, to discuss why we need whistleblowers and how the Canadian and provincial governments can better protect them. To read the full transcript of this episode visit: https://canada2020.ca/risk-blowing-the-whistle-with-dr-john-oconnor-and-david-yazbeck/

We have been at...all of this for about a year now. Maybe it feels longer for you. Maybe it feels shorter. Maybe time has lost all meaning. Whatever the case, on this episode of Open to Debate, we are taking a deep breath and mixing things up as we celebrate our 40th episode and process 12 months of pandemic life. How do we simultaneously celebrate this podcast and process what the last year has meant? Well, mostly we make jokes for about an hour. And talk about trains. How else would we proceed? So, without further delay: How are you doing? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Brittlestar -- Stewart Reynolds -- comedian, video-maker extraordinaire, and, according to his website, The Internet’s Favourite Dad* (*unproven).

Each generation carries its unique burdens forward in the face of their own particular headwinds. On this episode of @Risk, Jodi Butts is joined by Dr. Samir Sinha, geriatrician and Health Policy Research Director for the National Institute on Ageing, and Vass Bednar, Executive Director of McMaster University’s Master of Public Policy Program, to discuss the policy opportunities for improving the risk profiles of older Canadians and Millennials. To read the full transcript of this episode visit: https://canada2020.ca/risk-talkin-bout-generation-risk-profiles/

U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have a rare and historic opportunity to make generational progress in the fight against climate change. Listen to a conversation between John Podesta, Founder, Center for American Progress and Former Chief of Staff to the President of the United States, and Gerald Butts, Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor, Eurasia Group and Former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as they discuss the ways policy makers, business leaders and citizens on both sides of the border can work together to seize this moment.

Throughout the pandemic, the quality and success of communications from government, public health officials, elected representatives, and others tasked with keeping us in the loop have been, let’s say, inconsistent. There have been highs and there have been lows. Quality has varied across jurisdictions. And it shows. While approaches to good communication work may vary, there are some strategies and tactics that ought to be more common. For instance, meeting people where they are, rather than expecting them to come to you. That is precisely what this week’s guest does. He answers the question: How should we talk about public health during a pandemic? On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Dr. Naheed Dosani, palliative care physician, Lecturer in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of Toronto, Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University and health justice activist.

The secondary effects of public health interventions against COVID-19 continue to impact the health and wellbeing of Canadians, and must not be ignored. Listen to a conversation between Dr. Vera Etches, Medical Officer of Health, Ottawa Public Health, Dr. Vivek Goel, Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, Dr. Gail Beck, Clinical Director, Youth Psychiatry Program, The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, moderated by Nadine Yousif, Mental Health Reporter, Toronto Star.