Uncommons with Nate Erskine-Smith: Recent Episodes
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith
Uncommons is an interview series with experts, advocates, and elected representatives on issues of the day, hosted by Liberal Member of Parliament Nate Erskine-Smith.
On this episode Matthew Mendelsohn joins Nate on the podcast to discuss the issue of wealth concentration and its threat to democratic stability. They discuss practical solutions to address wealth inequality, trust in democratic institutions, the role of the federal public service and the need for a competent and responsive government.
Matthew's extensive background includes serving as the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Results and Delivery) in the Privy Council Office of Canada, where he played a key role in developing and implementing the federal government's policy agenda.
His work focused on achieving measurable results and improving government performance, particularly in areas related to inclusive economic growth, tax reform, and public service effectiveness.
Nate and Matthew explore the concept of inclusive growth, which focuses on equitable and sustainable economic growth benefiting both communities and individuals. They also highlight progress made on Indigenous issues and the need for transparency and risk-taking in the civil service.
Watch on YouTube:
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Nate is joined on this episode by Dr. Jane Philpott, a former federal Health Minister and currently the Dean of Health Sciences at Queen’s University. She has recently published her book: Health for All, A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada.
Before politics, Dr. Philpott practiced family medicine for over 25 years, including important development work in Niger. She was elected in 2015 and served in cabinet in a number of roles, including in Health and Indigenous Services. She was a member of the Liberal caucus until the SNC-Lavalin affair, after which she ran as an independent candidate in the 2019 election.
Nate and Dr. Philpott discuss her book 'Health for All' and the need for improved access to primary care in Canada, a better focus on the social determinants of health, and why we should treat substance use as a health issue in the midst of a devastating public health crisis.
They also discuss her time in politics, including her reflections on how she left, and whether she would be interested in returning to political life.
Watch the full podcast here:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined by Mohamed Shuriye, Director of Community Safety and Well-being at the City of Toronto to discuss police reform and more effective alternate public health responses.
Mo has led the city’s efforts to develop an alternative community safety response model that is now rolling out across Toronto.
While conservatives seem intent on fighting a renewed war on drugs and pursuing fear-based policies, the evidence continues to point to a public health approach for people in crisis, in collaboration with community partners.
Watch this podcast live at Beach United Church:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Conservative MP Arnold Viersen. They talk about his legislation to protect people on porn platforms, his social conservative views and advocacy on abortion, and the role of social conservatism in today’s Conservative Party.
In the interest of full transparency, Nate invited Arnold on the podcast to talk about C-270. However, Arnold had introduced a petition to protect the preborn in early May, and has a history of advocacy against abortion. So Nate also asked him questions about his social conservatism, and only after a half hour conversation about his legislative work on pornography. Arnold emailed Nate to say he felt ambushed and that he would not have come on the podcast.
We’re posting the whole thing, unedited, and you be the judge.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Columbia law student Safia Southey and thoracic surgeon Dr. Amgad Elsherif.
Safia participated in the encampment at Columbia that helped to spark similar protests at campuses across North America. She speaks to the importance of protest, the role students can play in raising awareness and affecting change, and the need to differentiate between criticism of Israel and antisemitism.
Dr. Amgad Elsherif is a thoracic surgeon based in Ontario who has been on the ground in Gaza to provide emergency medical care. He shares his firsthand experiences of the devastating impact of the war on children in Gaza, including the impacts of the inability to access basic medical supplies.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction and Background of the Guests
01:24 The Distinction Between Criticism of Israel and Anti-Semitism
with guest Safia Southey (3:00)
3:00 Safia’s Background and Initial Involvement
05:10 Details of the Columbia Encampment
07:44 Safia’s Personal Motivations and Experiences
12:42 Addressing Antisemitism and Criticism of Israel
20:23 Complexities of Zionism and Palestinian Rights
20:45 The Complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
24:43 The Need for a Ceasefire and Protection of Civilian Lives
32:04 Challenges Faced by Student Protesters at Columbia University
34:26 Media Coverage of the Crackdown
36:46 Threats and Intimidation by the School
with guest Dr. Amgad Elsherif (43:18)
44:12 The Reality on the Ground in Gaza
53:08 Effectiveness of IDF Messages to Civilians
59:15 The Human Impact of War on Children
01:02:51 Recognition of a Palestinian State
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank, to discuss the recent surge in food bank visits, the diverse demographics of those in need, and the crucial role of policy reform in alleviating poverty and homelessness.
Neil Hetherington joined Daily Bread Food Bank as CEO in January 2018. Neil’s non-profit experience includes 16 years as CEO of Habitat for Humanity in Toronto, and then New York City, and two years as CEO of Dixon Hall, a multi-service agency with 240 staff serving thousands of people in Toronto through its social programs, shelters, seniors’ programs, youth initiatives and community revitalization efforts.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by economist Trevor Tombe for a discussion on the price on pollution, its impact on food inflation, wealth and capital gains taxation, and the government’s acquisition of the TMX pipeline.
Trevor is a professor of Economics at the University of Calgary and a Research Fellow at The School of Public Policy, with research exploring a broad range of topics, but focused mainly on international trade, macroeconomics, and fiscal federalism. He is also a co-director of Finances of the Nation.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Green MP for Kitchener Centre Mike Morrice for a discussion on the Canada Disability Benefit, the successes and shortcomings of the government’s climate plan, and the importance of acting as a voice for one’s constituents.
Mike was first elected in 2021 and has been a strong local advocate for greater climate action, as well as the need to lift people out of poverty and more meaningfully address wealth inequality.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu for a discussion on the challenges faced when protecting civil liberties in Canada, as well as a wider conversation on areas of common ground and disagreement.
Marilyn represents the riding of Sarnia—Lambton. She is a professional engineer by trade, who worked for Dow Chemical for 21 years in a variety of roles locally and globally. Her work in the house has ranged from work to ensure greater access to palliative care, better pension protections and her current role as opposition critic for civil liberties.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault for a wide-ranging discussion on Canada’s environmental policy, the work being done to combat attempts by the Conservatives to undermine that policy, and the importance of communicating what is being done to ensure that any progress is lasting.
Steven Guilbeault was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Laurier—Sainte-Marie in 2019. He has previously served as Minister of Canadian Heritage. Prior to politics, he was known for his activism with Green Peace and as the founder of Équiterre, the largest environmental organization in Quebec.
To read more of Nate’s writing on the carbon price below:
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
On this episode, Nate is joined by MP for Victoria and NDP environment critic Laurel Collins. The discussion covers a range of issues including Nate and Laurel's shared desire for a youth climate corps, Canada’s climate progress more broadly, and Laurel’s work to address domestic abuse.
At the end of the episode, Laurel highlights a virtual event taking place on Monday Monday, March 18th where young activists & MPs from across party lines will discuss the creation of a national Youth Climate Corps.
Click here to RSVP.
Lastly, starting with this episode, you will be able to watch full episodes of the Uncommons podcast on YouTube.
Click here to watch.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Housing, Infrastructure, & Communities Minister Sean Fraser to talk about the single most important issue in this country at the moment: housing affordability.
The lack of housing affordability is a generational challenge. Young people are worse off than their parents. It is as simple as that. And it's also an economic productivity challenge. Young people are leaving in significant numbers because they can't afford to stay and that has knock-on negative consequences for labour productivity, and talent retention.
Sean is relatively new in the role, and it certainly seems as if he's been firing on all cylinders ever since taking it on. While we've seen steadily growing federal action on social housing and homelessness since 2015. We've seen more serious action in recent months to address restrictive zoning, waive GST on rental construction, and to get all kinds of housing built.
So how does the Housing Minister stack up his plan against the competition? What more can and should we be doing to get housing built? And how can we best communicate our plan of action when the scale of the challenge is so great, and it takes time for new policies to be realized on the ground?
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow for a discussion on federal-municipal cooperation, navigating the city's difficult financial situation, and what she hopes to accomplish with her first budget as mayor.
You can listen to the #UncommonsPod wherever you get your podcast, or at Uncommons.ca where you can also find Nate’s recent substack posts including one on federal-municipal cooperation.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by Yasir Naqvi, a friend, a former opponent in the Ontario Liberal leadership race, and a continued federal colleague. Yasir is a lawyer, and an experienced politician who served in several provincial ministerial positions, including as attorney general. It's a wide-ranging conversation, reflecting on shared and sometimes different experiences in a leadership race, and touching on what they plan to do next.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
On our first episode back, Nate is joined by the founder of Bellingcat Eliot Higgins. Bellingcat is an investigative journalism website that specializes in fact-checking and open-source intelligence. Elliott himself began blogging about the Syrian civil war over 10 years ago. His work individually and as part of Bellingcat has ultimately created an incredible citizen-led community of journalists and fact-checkers.
If nothing else, Elliott is intent on restoring our collective concern for the truth. And it's hard to think of something more important than that, especially as we all now increasingly live our lives in a world of such fast-moving information.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca
Nate is joined on this episode by David Crombie for a discussion on the Greenbelt, the protection of the Greenbelt, and the Ford government corruption surrounding the Greenbelt.
David Crombie is the former mayor of Toronto from 72 to 78. He's a former cabinet minister, and Clark and Mulrooney governments, and most importantly for this conversation. He was the chair of the Greenbelt Council, and resigned at the end of 2020 because he saw the direction that the Ford government was heading.
This episode marks a new season where we will be shifting focus to Ontario politics as Nate continues to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership.
To learn more about his campaign, and sign up to vote, visit MeetNate.ca.
Nate is joined on this episode by former Mayor of Toronto, David Miller.
Before running for public office, he was a partner at the Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis, where he specialized in employment and immigration law and shareholder rights. He became a Metro councillor in 1994, and in 1997 he was elected to the new City of Toronto council where he served two terms prior to becoming mayor.
Following his time as Mayor, Miller briefly returned to law before serving as president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada from 2013 to 2017, after which he began working as the director of international diplomacy at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group.
As you may know, there’s an unexpected Mayoral race here in Toronto, so the conversation does cover some of that ground. As well as issues affecting municipalities all across Canada - housing, transit, how we should see the relationship managed between municipalities and provincial and federal governments, and how we should think about ambitious city building.
Nate is joined on this episode by Kimberly Murray for a discussion on her ongoing work to address trauma, realize justice, and advance reconciliation. Kimberly is the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools.
Prior to this new role, Ms. Murray was the Province of Ontario’s first ever Assistant Deputy Attorney General for Indigenous Justice. From 2010 to 2015, she was the Executive Director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Prior to that, she was a staff lawyer and then executive director of Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto.
She is a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation. She is currently the Executive Lead for the newly created Survivors’ Secretariat at the Six Nations of the Grand River, working to recover the missing children and unmarked burials at the Mohawk Institute.
Content Warning: This episode includes detailed discussions of personal accounts of residential school survivors.
Nate is joined on this episode by Dr. Isaac Bogoch for a discussion on Neglected Tropical Diseases, global health equity, pandemic prevention and preparedness and his advocacy during the pandemic.
He’s a professor of medicine at U of T, an infectious diseases specialist with a focus on tropical diseases and HIV, and he became very public facing in his work and regular commentary through the COVID pandemic.
Click here for more info on NTDs
& click here to learn more about Nate's pandemic prevention & preparedness bill
On this episode, Nate is joined by Jennifer Keesmaat for a discussion around housing, transit, and the roles that each level of government can and should play.
Jennifer is the former Chief Planner for the City of Toronto, she’s worked around the world in urban design, and she’s currently a partner at and co-founder of Markee Developments, doing the work of building affordable housing.
It is past time for all levels of government to deliver on housing and transit. If we don’t, we will see productivity and generational fairness challenges only further exacerbated.
Now, we have a mayoral election ahead of us, and an opportunity for greater ambition here in Toronto. At the provincial and federal levels, we have upcoming budgets, and an opportunity to revisit and reinvest in our National Housing Strategy, for example.
But as I think about Liberal and progressive politics more broadly, we have to send a strong message that we are ready to build and especially to build housing and transit. There is no reason for us to cede that ground to anyone else.
On this episode, a conversation with former principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and current Eurasia group Vice Chair Gerry Butts.
During his time in the Prime Minister's office, his work included overseeing economic policy, the negotiation of the Paris climate accord, and the creation of Canada’s first national climate change plan, which included an economy-wide price on carbon.
Currently, his work focuses on advising global financial firms, educational institutions, and philanthropists on strategic investments in climate mitigation and resilience.
Nate is joined on this episode by Timmins Mayor, Michelle Boileau.
First elected as a councillor in 2018, she’s a born and raised northerner, a proud Franco-Ontarian, she has a range of different experiences in the post-secondary sector, and at only 34, she represents thoughtful generational change, with a focus on serious long-term impacts rather than short-term election cycles.
And while she also ran as a federal Liberal candidate in the 2019 election, she has taken a positive and non-partisan approach to her work.
This is the second in a series we’ll continue, focused on the civic leadership we need. Our last episode with Mayor Amy Martin covered some of the issues faced in southwestern rural Ontario, and this conversation with Mayor Boileau is squarely focused on the needs of her northern municipality.
Nate is joined on this episode by Norfolk County Mayor Amy Martin.
Mayor Martin is the kind of Mayor we could all use more of. She’s passionate, smart, kind, and she’s driven to make a difference in her home community. She served as a counsellor starting in 2018, and she defeated an incumbent mayor this past fall. She is also a product of Norfolk County herself, and at the age of 34, she represents the generational change we very much need with an approach to politics that we very much need. She comes to politics with experience in the nonprofit sector, including stints with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the MS Society.
This is the first in a series of podcasts we plan to do with new civic leaders to hear about the issues in different communities and to highlight a new generation of municipal leadership.
Be sure to check back as we continue to post new episodes in this series
Nate is joined by Dr. Bob Bell to talk about the key challenges facing our healthcare system and what we should make of the proposed expansion of for-profit delivery and surgical procedures proposed by Premier Ford.
Dr. Bell is a former surgeon. He served as Ontario's Deputy Minister of Health from 2014 to 2018. And he's held senior leadership positions at a number of healthcare organizations, including as president and CEO of the University Health Network.
On the healthcare file federally, the prime minister will be hosting the premiers on February 7 to make headway toward new health accords. We've been clear at the federal level that our dollars will come with strings attached, including five priority areas.
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Reducing backlogs and supporting our healthcare workers.
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Enhancing access to family health services.
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Close to my heart, improving mental health and substance use services.
- Helping Canadians age with dignity and closer to home.
5. using health data and digital health more effectively.
Nate is joined by Benjamin Perrin to discuss his criticisms of the Conservative Party's renewed call for a war on drugs but also this Liberal government's slow and incremental action in the face of an overwhelming crisis.
Ben advocates for bringing a compassionate, evidence-based approach to pressing criminal justice issues like the treatment of victims of crime and offenders, the opioid crisis and reimagining criminal justice.
Ben is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law. He served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada, and was the lead justice and public safety advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2012-13.
Nate is joined on this episode by Catherine Mckenna, former minister of environment and climate and former minister of infrastructure and communities. She is currently the Chair of the United Nations High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities.
The discussion covers a range of topics at federal and provincial levels but primarily focuses on a report from her UN working group, which calls out greenwashing and recommends radical transparency and accountability to make net zero pledges a reality.
Nate is joined by Dr. Ladan Boroumand to discuss the courageous and sustained uprisings in Iran following the death of Mahsa Jina Amini.
Dr. Ladan Boroumand is the co-founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, a nongovernmental organization that promotes human rights awareness through education and information dissemination, including by way of the online human rights library Omid memorial, a website that documents human rights abuses committed by the Islamic Republic and memorializes its victims. In addition, she serves on the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy.
Nate is joined by Dr. Tara Kiran a physician and medical researcher and professor who, over the last decade, has led a program of research evaluating the impact of primary care reforms on quality in primary care in Ontario.
She and her team have studied the impact of financial incentives on diabetes care and cancer screening, compared chronic disease prevention and management between various practice models, evaluated the impact of mandated after-hours provision on emergency department use, explored the association between the access bonus and healthcare use, and highlighted the quality gaps for patients left out of enrolment models.
More recently, she has been focusing her efforts on quality improvement research including initiatives to improve cancer screening rates, measure and reduce care disparities, and support physicians to learn from data.
As provinces look to improve healthcare and as a debate between provinces and the federal government around healthcare heats up, it is important that we consider the gaps in the existing system to improve care across the province.
To participate in Dr. Kiran's Our Care study, go to. OurCare.ca or click here
Nate is joined by Taylor Bachrach, who makes a strong case for why we should lower the voting age to 16 and, at a minimum, send Bill C-210 to a parliamentary committee for further study. Taylor makes the argument that the government is facing some of the most consequential decisions in history with respect to the lives of young people and that we, therefore, ought to give young people a say in the future they will face.
Taylor Bachrach has represented the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley since 2019. Prior to entering federal politics, Taylor served as municipal councillor in the Village of Telkwa and as mayor of the Town of Smithers.
Nate is joined on this episode by Ail Shamji - the new Liberal MPP for Don Valley East, and a former emergency room doctor.
Adil led a fascinating career before politics, as you’ll hear from him directly about, including work in remote communities, supporting homeless shelters, and more.
He’s now one of only 8 Liberal MPPs, and so he has far too many critic roles, including Health, Northern Development, Indigenous Affairs and Colleges and Universities. And while the focus of our conversation is predominantly healthcare, Adil rightly steers the conversation to other issues as well, with the view that all policy is health policy.
On this Uncommonspod, I’m joined by Liberal MP Anthony Housefather who shares a similar approach to politics that is less partisan and with a willingness to speak one’s own mind.
He’s done just that most recently with his work and comments in relation to Hockey Canada’s actions in response to sexual assault allegations and to the government’s inexplicable anti-racism funding to an organization led by someone with a long history of anti-semitic comments.
Anthony has been at the forefront of addressing anti-Semitism in Parliament and on the global stage, and our work has aligned here too as we’ve both worked internationally to hold social media platforms accountable for online hate.
Of course, we don’t always agree as you’ll see through our discussion of the real world implications of the notwithstanding clause. But that reasonable disagreement is central to improving our own views and advocacy, central to the party we are both a part of, and central to a stronger democracy.
Nate is joined by Kathleen Wynne to discuss her time as premier, the issues facing the provincial government, and rebuilding the Ontario Liberal Party.
Kathleen is the former premier of Ontario, having been elected in 2013 as the first woman and openly gay person to hold the office. She served as the MPP for Don Valley West from 2003 until this most recent provincial election this year. During her time in office prior to becoming premiere, she held several key cabinet positions including Aboriginal Affairs, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Transportation, and Housing.
In this episode Nate talks with Ronald Deibert about the role Canada should play in ensuring its own transparency with respect to cyber surveillance, and ensuring that our use of technology is consistent in respecting human rights.
Ron is Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory focusing on research, development, and high-level strategic policy and legal engagement at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security.
On this episode, Nate discusses competition reform in Canada with a panel of guests made up of Vass Bednar, Robin Shaban and Denise Hearn. All three have recently spoken at the House of Commons Industry Committee, and have stressed that competition reform should be a priority for our government.
Denise Hearn is currently a Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project and co-lead of the Access to Markets initiative. She also serves as Board Chair of The Predistribution Initiative which aims to improve investment structures and practices to address systemic risks like inequality, biodiversity loss, and climate change.
Vass Bednar is a public policy entrepreneur working at the intersection of technology and public policy. Her work is interdisciplinary with a focus on ensuring that we have the regulatory structures we need to embrace the future of work and new ways of living. She has held leadership roles at Delphia, Airbnb, Queen's Park, the City of Toronto, and the University of Toronto.
Robin Shaban is the co-founder and senior economist of Vivic Research, an economic consulting firm serving advocates, think tanks, governments, labour unions, and other agents engaged in the development of public policy. They are also a co-founder and director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP), which advocates for policy conducive to a more democratic economy
In this episode, Nate is joined by Conservative MP for Durham and former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Erin O'Toole for a wide-ranging conversation that covers his time as leader, his concerns about populism, and what comes next for him.
The conversation also touches on stories of First and Second World War veterans that have been shared with Nate and Erin, and candid reflections on what ultimately brought down Erin's leadership of his party.
On this episode, Nate talks with NDP MP Gord Johns about drug decriminalization and his private member's bill C-216.
After this, Nate discusses decriminalization with Health Canada's Substance Use Task Force, each of whom brings a unique perspective to the issue.
Following this are clips from past episodes that discussed drug decriminalization, including episodes with Louise Arbour, Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, & Kennedy Stewart.
In this episode, Nate speaks with friend and mentor Angela Swan about her lived experience as a trans-woman.
Angela is a legal scholar having written a number of papers, reviews, books, case comments and annotations on topics such as contract law, civil litigation and conflict of laws. Her work has been cited with approval by a number of courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. She is frequently retained by other law firms as an expert witness in connection with matters pertaining to the law in Ontario. Angela was also recently appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
On this episode, a conversation from the vault with climate scientist, former BC MLA, and former leader of the BC Green Party Dr. Andrew Weaver.
Their conversation ranges from a reflection on the outcomes of COP26, to his view on the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees, to reflections on his time in politics.
Since this discussion, our government has tabled Canada's Climate Plan, which commits to net-zero emissions by 2050, carbon pollution pricing, climate change adaptation and resilience, clean technology and jobs, and expert engagement on climate action.
In this episode, Nate is joined by Sahir Khan and Brett House to discuss Budget 2022, tabled on April 7th 2022.
Sahir is a public finance executive, teacher, advisor and speaker. The focus of his work has been on budgetary and financial analysis, reporting and organizational performance. He is a co-founder of the University of Ottawa-affiliated IFSD.
Brett House is a macro-economist, the former deputy chief economist at Scotiabank, a Rhodes scholar, and a senior fellow at Massey College.
The conversations with each guest range from fiscal sustainability and fiscal prudence in an inflationary environment to modern supply-side economics, as well as cryptocurrencies. With both conversations highlighting the importance of trust in government.
David Herle joins Nate to discuss the Liberal-NDP deal and his concerns.
David leads a public research firm, and he's a long-time political consultant, Liberal strategist, campaign manager, and more. But he is best known these days as the host of the most popular political podcasts in Canada, with both The Herle Burly and The Curse of Politics.
Andrew Leslie joins Nate to discuss Russia’s unconscionable war of aggression and attack on Ukraine, what more Canada can do to help, and the critical need to improve our country’s military capacity.
Andy is a retired Canadian Forces lieutenant-general and a former Liberal MP. In his 35 year military career, he served for four years as the chief of the Land Staff, and as an MP he held the role of Chief Government Whip. After serving an initial term in Parliament, Andy opted not to run for re-election.
In support of Ukraine, Canada has levied serious and targeted sanctions against Putin, his inner circle, and key financial institutions. We’ve contributed hundreds of millions in economic support. And we are throwing open our borders to help.
We are also providing military support, but Andy makes the case that such support is sorely limited by existing capacity and that we should address that lack of capacity now.
Michelle Rempel joins Nate to discuss the bizarre World Economic Forum conspiracy theory, its negative impact on her own life, and some of the criticism she’s directed at her own caucus colleagues for trafficking in such conspiracies.
Michelle and Nate also discuss the Conservative leadership race, her recent crypto legislation, and the common ground they share in support of electoral reform, dissent and accountability in Parliament, and stronger animal protections (an issue they’ve worked together on in the past).
Michelle was first elected to Parliament in 2011 and represents the riding of Calgary Nose Hill. She served as a Minister in the Harper government, she’s been one of Prime Minister Trudeau’s fiercest critics, and she is one of the most prominent Conservatives in Canada. She also very much does her own thing, using her voice not only to hold the government to account, but to push her own party at times.
Joe Cressy joins Nate to discuss his role helping to lead the city's pandemic response, a public health approach to the opioid crisis, Toronto's housing affordability challenge, and why he's leaving politics at the end of his current term.
Joe Cressy is the City Councillor for Toronto's Ward 10, Spadina-Fort York. As the Chair of Toronto's Board of Health, he's played a leading role in the city's pandemic response alongside Mayor Tory, putting their political differences aside to put public health first.
In that same role, Joe has also been vocal about the need for stronger efforts to combat the ongoing opioid crisis, that has only been exacerbated by the pandemic. He helped to secure inter-governmental approval for Toronto’s supervised consumption sites, and the Board of Health has recently called on the federal government to decriminalize the possession of drugs for personal use, following Vancouver and BC’s lead.
Joe grew up in a political family and both of his parents were city councillors. After managing a successful campaign for his friend Mike Layton, Joe put his name on the ballot in 2014, first unsuccessfully at the federal level, and then successfully for city council in Ward 10. He's served his Spadina-Fort York community ever since, but he will be leaving politics at the end of this term, when the next municipal election rolls around this fall.
With the federal government invoking the Emergencies Act for the first time since its adoption in 1988, Nate is joined by national security experts Leah West and Wesley Wark on the question of whether the Act is a justified response to the illegal blockades across our country.
Dr. Leah West is a professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, the co-author of the textbook National Security Law, and one of the hosts of the Intrepid Podcast. She previously served as Counsel with the Department of Justice in the National Security Litigation and Advisory Group, and before that she served in the Armed Forces for ten years as an armoured officer.
Wesley Wark is a CIGI senior fellow, and recently retired from U of T’s Munk School. From 2005-2009, he served on the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council on National Security, he’s the co-editor of Secret Intelligence, a book in the field of intelligence studies, and former editor of the journal Intelligence and National Security. He’s previously provided advice to the Minister of Public Safety on national security legislation and policy, and I’ve had the opportunity to engage with him when he’s attended as a witness at our parliamentary committee hearings.
Minister Marci Ien joins Nate to discuss why she left as co-host of the popular show The Social to run for office, how she plans to use her new role to make a difference, and her work to strengthen diversity and equality.
Before politics, Marci was an award-winning broadcaster and journalist with The Social, Canada AM, CTV News, and CHCH. She’s been nominated for a Canadian Screen Award, received an African Canadian Achievement Award for her journalism, and her Journey to Freedom series focused on the Underground Railroad earned a Radio Television Digital News Association Award.
Marci won a by-election in October 2020 to become the Liberal MP for Toronto Centre, and after winning re-election in 2021 she was appointed the Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Youth.
Her 2020 book Off Script: Living Out Loudchronicles her life working as a journalist and decision to enter politics.
Powerful advocate Cindy Blackstock joins Nate to discuss Indigenous child welfare, including the Human Rights Tribunal decision and judicial review application related the equality of treatment for First Nations children, and compensation to kids for discrimination.
Blackstock is the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, co-applicant with the Assembly of First Nations in the court case. She is also a professor in the School of Social Work at McGill.
On a previous episode, Nate was joined by Minister Miller to discuss the human rights tribunal case from the government's perspective.
For background, Jordan's principle is named after Jordan River Anderson, a First Nations child who died in hospital at the age of 5 while provincial and federal governments could not agree on who was financially responsible for his home care in a medical foster home. Jordan's Principle is really a child-first principle to ensure that services for First Nations children are not delayed due to jurisdictional disputes. TRC Call to Action number 3 calls on “all levels of government to fully implement Jordan’s Principle.”
To read more about the long history of the case before the Human Rights Tribunal and federal court, you can find the Caring Society's timeline here, and the government's timeline here.
While international development doesn't always steal national headlines, there are few more important ministries when one considers the global challenges of mass vaccination against COVID-19 and action to prevent catastrophic and runaway climate change.
On this episode, Minister Karina Gould joins Nate to discuss global vaccine equity and international climate finance, as well as development assistance more broadly and Canada's role in the world.
Minister Gould is the youngest cabinet member in Canadian history, one of the hardest working Ministers you'll meet, and there's no doubt she'll continue to play an important role on the world stage in the coming years.
Vancouver's Mayor Kennedy Stewart joins Nate to discuss the city's proposal to decriminalize all drugs for personal use, and solutions to deliver affordable housing.
Canada faces an opioid crisis that continues to kill thousands, and a housing affordability crisis that is leaving a younger generation of Canadians worse off than their parents. Both of these issues are particularly acute in Vancouver. In response to the opioid crisis, the city has applied for a federal exemption to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to decriminalize all drugs, and has increased funding for safer supply and peer support. In response to the housing crisis, it has moved towards more inclusive zoning, and it is working with the federal government to deliver rapid housing and to build affordable rental units.
Before his mayoral run in 2018, Stewart served as an NDP MP in our House of Commons starting in 2011. He and Nate were colleagues from 2015 to 2018.
Hassan Yussuff joins Nate to discuss a just and fair transition for workers as we set Canada on a credible path towards net zero, with reference to his work as co-chair of the Task Force on Just Transition for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities.
Yussuff was recently appointed to the Senate, after serving two terms as the president of the Canadian Labour Congress. In addition to his involvement on the Just Transition task force, he has previously served on the government's NAFTA Council, Sustainable Development Advisory Council, and the Net-Zero Advisory Body.
In addition to their conversation on a just and fair transition, they also discuss what Yussuff hopes to bring to his role as a Senator and the progress he helped to oversee in his tenure at the CLC.
Leonid Volkov is Alexei Navalny's top aide, and he joins Nate to discuss the fight against corruption and for democracy in Russia.
Upon his return to Russia after being poisoned, Navalny has been imprisoned by Russian authorities in order to silence opposition. Volkov himself has been forced out of the country, subject to false and politically motivated charges.
Volkov and others have made it clear that continued appeasement of Russia is destined to fail, and in testimony before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs committee, he called for sanctions against Russian oligarchs.
Recently, the Putin regime has enacted even more repressive measures to criminalize democratic opposition as 'extremist', forcing the closure of in-person operations, so Volkov and his team are increasingly focused on growing the democratic movement online, looking ahead to this fall's elections.
Amira Elghawaby joins Nate to discuss hate and Islamophobia in Canada, and how the federal government should act.
Amira is a journalist, columnist, human rights advocate, board member of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, and she recently served on the Canadian Commission for Democratic Expression, which made recommendations to the government to address hate online.
This conversation was recorded in the wake of the horrific and hate-motivated murder of the Afzaal family in London, Ontario. Since then, our federal government has tabled Bill C-36, an act to address online hate through through a return to a civil remedy in the Canadian Human Rights Act.
The legislation builds on some other significant steps to date, from restoring the anti-racism directorate, to new funding through Heritage Canada to address racism, to adding white nationalist groups to the terror list, and more.
Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller joins Nate to discuss the promise of clean water on reserves, support for Indigenous communities throughout the pandemic, and the government's judicial review application of a Human Rights Tribunal ruling to compensate First Nations kids.
Minister Miller has served in the role since November 2019, he was a lawyer prior to politics, and he made history in 2017 when he delivered a statement in the House of Commons entirely in Mohawk.
Irfan Dhalla is a public health expert, he's been a voice of reason throughout the pandemic, and he joins Nate to discussvaccine roll-out strategy, whether and how we should begin to allow cross-border travel, and lessons learned to prevent and prepare for a future pandemic.
If you don't already follow Dr. Dhalla on Twitter, you should. He’s also the vice-president and general internist at Unity Health Toronto, associate professor at U of T’s medical school, and currently the co-chair of Canada’s Expert Advisory Panel on Testing and Screening.
That panel has issued four reports to date, and its most recent report makes recommendations for changes to our border management practices, including allowing quarantine-free travel for those with proof of immunity. Just as we followed public health guidance to impose restrictions, we must now follow public health guidance to lift them.
Dr. Dhalla is a regular commentator in the media, writing recently to call for a faster second dose strategy, and having previously written in support of an elimination strategy which has proven to be the successful approach when we compare outcomes across national and subnational jurisdictions.
Jon Allen, former Canadian Ambassador to Israel, joins Nates to discuss the recent violence in Israel and Gaza, the evictions in Sheikh Jerrah and the occupation and expansion of settlements more broadly, the need for elections in the Palestinian Authority and to limit the violent role of Hamas, and how Canada can constructively play a role towards peace going forward.
In addition to his role as Ambassador to Israel from 2006 to 2010, Jon has spent a lifetime in the foreign service, he's now a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs, he serves on the advisory council of the New Israel Fund, and he’s recently been public with his views on the path to peace for Israel and Palestine through an interview with the CBC and an op-ed in The Globe and Mail.
Our federal government has now committed $25 million in new humanitarian support for Palestinan civilians and peacebuilding initiatives in the region. You can read Canada's statement on the violence in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank here.
Jon's knowledge and advocacy helped to inform Nate's own comments to the CBC here.
MP Don Davies plays an important parliamentary role as the NDP Health Critic in the course of the pandemic. On this episode, Don and Nate discuss the importance of working across party lines, recent work together on the TRIPS waiver, and the need to put partisanship aside and deliver evidence-based drug policy reform to save lives.
You can read the letter calling our government to support the TRIPS waiver here, signed by over 80 parliamentarians from all parties.
Don and Nate are also co-chairs of the cannabis caucus together, alongside Conservative MP Scott Reid.
Border management has become deeply politicized in recent months, and it's worth moving beyond the partisan debate, to reflect on best practices around the world, and to assess what more Canada should do both to enhance travel restrictions and address essential travel needs.
On this episode, Nate is joined by Professor Kelley Lee to discuss pandemic border management, including global best practices, how Canada compares, and vaccine certification and other measures that Canada should work towards. She is a professor at Simon Fraser University, Canada Research Chair in global health governance, and leads the Pandemics and Borders Project focusing on cross-border measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past, Professor Lee contributed to major studies of WHO reform, including assessments of the global response to SARS and Ebola virus.
What is the intent of Bill C-10 and can we deliver on that intent without limiting free speech?
On this episode, Nate is joined by Michael Geist to discuss free speech issues around Bill C-10, why he has been opposed to the bill on other grounds as well, and how we should think about addressing illegal speech online in future legislation.
Michael is a law professor and Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, and is a member of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society. He has written extensively about his objections to Bill C-10 on his blog here.
On the issue of free speech, the government has repeatedly, albeit clumsily, said from the outset that it does not intend to regulate user generated content, and that the focus of the bill is to require Netflix, Spotify and other onlineundertakings to pay into the system of Canadian content creation as traditional broadcasters are required to do.
What needs to happen is for the government to correct its misstep in communication and clarify the law through an amendment to properly exclude user generated content. Thankfully, the Minister has said recently that this is exactly his intention: we “want to make sure that the content that people upload on social media won’t be considered as programming under the Act and that it won’t be regulated by the CRTC. And that’s why we will be bringing forward another amendment that will make this crystal clear.”
The Global Commission on Drug Policy was created in January 2011 to highlight the failure of the war on drugs and to call for a paradigm shift towards drug policies grounded in evidence, human rights, and public health. On this episode, Nate is joined by commissioner Louise Arbour to talk about domestic and global drug policy, the harms of prohibition, and why we need to decriminalize all drugs for personal use and then regulate all drugs according to their respective harms.
Arbour has taken on an incredible number of impactful and interesting roles over her career. She served as the chief prosecutor of war crimes before the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, as a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and as a Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for International Migration. As an SCC justice, Arbour dissented in Malmo-Levine, highlighting the harms of prohibition, and she has served as a commissioner of the Global Commission since its inception.
You can watch Nate's speech in the House on Bill C-22 here.
Should governments be concerned about generational fairness? On this episode, Nate is joined by Paul Kershaw, professor at the UBC School of Population and Public Health, and founder of Generation Squeeze, a national research, education, and advocacy organization focused on fairness for younger Canadians.
With the federal budget set to be released on April 19, Nate and Paul discuss how the budget process can and should better serve younger Canadians, including by addressing the high cost of housing and childcare, delivering climate action, and increasing revenue to meet our growing public debt.
You can learn more about Gen Squeeze here.
Public health measures remain critical, but mass vaccination is how we end this crisis. On this episode, Nate is joined by Minister Anita Anand to discuss Canada's vaccine procurement efforts, where we are today, and what we can expect going forward.
Anand and her team have worked around the clock for over a year now, towards procuring PPE, rapid tests, and most recently vaccines. After frustrating supply chain issues, the vaccine delivery schedule has been expedited and every adult Canadian should be able to receive a dose by Canada Day.
You can learn more about the vaccine delivery schedule here.
You can learn more about investments in domestic manufacturing here and here.
All vaccines approved by Health Canada are safe and effective.
Experts are warning that Canada's housing market is overheated and unsustainable. On this episode, Nate is joined by John Pasalis and Mike Moffatt to discuss what's driven the surge in prices and what the federal government should do in response.
John Pasalis is a specialist in real estate data analysis and president of Realosophy Realty, a Toronto real estate brokerage.
Mike Moffatt is an economist and professor whose series, Ontarians on the move, is focused on population growth, migration, and what's going on with Ontario's housing market.
By way of background, Canada's big banks have all recently raised concerns about Canada's housing market. Scotiabank says the housing market is off the charts, TD calls it white-hot, CIBC says it's unsustainable, RBC notes that property values have soared to levels far outside historical norms, and BMO has said that Canada is playing with fire.
While the Bank of Canada has been slow in voicing its concerns, after this episode was recorded Governor Tiff Macklem finally came out and acknowledged that "Canadians are stretching and that is worrying" and questioned the sustainability of the market.
Baroness Beeban Kidron joins Nate to discuss children's rights in our digital world, and why we need new rules to protect them.
Kidron has been a member of the British House of Lords since 2012. Previously an award-winning filmmaker, her last documentary film InRealLife ultimately led her to become an advocate for children's rights online, which she continues both as a parliamentarian and in her role as Chair of the 5Rights Foundation.
Here in Canada, Bill C-11 will strengthen our federal privacy framework, and we expect a new bill to be tabled in the coming months to strengthen online safety and better address online harms. At the same time, our proposed privacy reform does not include any specific reference to children's rights, so changes will likely be needed and this conversation is a timely one.
Our federal government has committed to end chronic homelessness, and Nate is joined by Adam Vaughan and Anne Babcock to discuss how we can best deliver on that commitment.
Adam is the Liberal MP for Spadina-Fort York, and a former Toronto city councillor. His political career at both levels has been motivated by a passionate concern for housing policy, and he’s the parliamentary secretary with carriage of the housing file.
Anne is the president and CEO at Woodgreen Community Services, an established and experienced service provider of supportive housing. She has a wealth of experience locally and internationally on housing policy, including most recently as a member of Toronto’s housing task force.
Our federal government has increased funding towards ending chronic homelessness over the last five years, including most recently a $1 billion rapid housing initiative. The RHI exceeded its initial target of 3,000 new affordable homes, and will support the construction of more than 4,700 permanent affordable units for Canadian families.
We’ve also helped to fund city plans here in Toronto, including for modular housing, and there’s a site in Beaches-East York on Trenton Ave that is currently the subject of some local debate, which is also a focus of conversation in this episode. If you have feedback on that particular project: communityliaison@lura.ca
Dr. Paul Farmer joins Nate to talk about global health equity, both with reference to past health crises, and today's. In his recent book, Fevers Feuds & Diamonds, Dr. Farmer writes about his first-hand experience responding to the Ebola crisis in West Africa, and what we can learn from it.
Dr. Farmer is professor and chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and co-founder and chief strategist of Partners in Health and a board member of Partners In Health Canada.
Partners in Health is dedicated to bringing a high standard of public health care to the most vulnerable communities around the world, and PIH Canada is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
The story of Dr. Farmer and colleagues Jim Yong Kim and Ophelia Dahl in founding PIH is the subject of the documentary Bending the Arc.
Kevin Page joins Nate to discuss fiscal responsibility, stimulus and recovery spending, and fiscal anchors or what the Fall Economic Statement described as “fiscal guardrails.”
Kevin is currently president and CEO of the Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy at the University of Ottawa, but no doubt better known as Canada’s first Parliamentary Budget Officer, from 2008 to 2013.
For his work in that role, he’s been described as an “unlikely hero.” And while it’s a job he’s said nobody wanted, himself included, he’s also described it as “the best five years of my public service career,” - a career that included 27 years of experience in the public service including the Department of Finance, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Privy Council Office.
Over the last five years, Nate has relied upon Kevin's advice and guidance in reviewing federal budgets and scrutinizing spending, and that continues in this conversation.
Armine Yalnizyan joins Nate to discuss the need for a stronger federal role in creating a cross-Canada quality early learning and child care system.
Armine is a labour economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Work. She recently served as senior economic policy advisor to the deputy minister of employment and social development Canada, has worked with the Canadian Centre of Policy Alternatives in the past.
For background, here's the government's recent throne speech:
“It has been nearly 50 years since the Royal Commission on the Status of Women outlined the necessity of child care services for women’s social and economic equality. We have long understood that Canada cannot succeed if half of the population is held back. Canadians need more accessible, affordable, inclusive, and high quality childcare.”
Then, in the Fall Economic Statement, “as a first step” our government announced early investments “to lay the groundwork for a Canada-wide child care system in partnership with provinces, territories and Indigneous people” and noted that “Budget 2021 will outline a plan to provide affordable, accessible and high-quality child care.”
In the last parliament, our government passed C-83 to address solitary confinement with new and supposedly improved “structured intervention units”, but a recent report found that 10% of inmates in these units continue to actually be in what we know to be solitary confinement and worse, for long enough to meet the UN’s definition of torture.
That report was authored by two professors and criminologists, Ryerson’s Jane Sprott and the University of Toronto’s Anthony Doob, and on this episode, Nate is joined by Professor Doob to discuss solitary confinement in Canada.
Professor Doob is recognized as a long-time leading scholar in criminology, and he was also appointed in 2019 by then Minister Ralph Goodale to serve as the chairperson of the Structured Intervention Unit Implementation Advisory Panel.
Dr. Tara Moriarty is an infectious disease research scientist, director of the Moriarty research lab, and professor at the University of Toronto.
She joins Nate on this episode to answer common questions about vaccine safety.
Dr. Moriarty also hosts a regular Zoom Q&A that anyone can join to answer any questions related to vaccines and vaccine safety. You can sign up for those sessions here.
Arun Advani is professor of economics and a commissioner of the UK’s Wealth Tax Commission, and he joins Nate on this episode to discuss the Commission’s call for a one-off wealth tax, and what he thinks of the wealth tax motion Nate has proposed in Parliament.
The Commission found that a one-off wealth tax could generate significant revenue, but also that it “would be economically efficient. Since it is based on wealth at a (past) point in time, a one-off wealth tax does not distort behaviour.”
Nate’s motion calls for, among other tax measures, a one-time tax on extreme wealth - 3% on net wealth over $10 million, and 5% on net wealth over $20 million. The Library of Parliament estimates that such a tax would generate almost $70 billion direct revenue.
Interestingly, this figure is similar to our inclusive recovery fund, which the Fall Economic Statement sets at $70 to $100 billion over three years. So perhaps we should ask those with extreme wealth to pay for our national recovery, an idea that is both fair and efficient.
Jann Arden is a Canadian music icon and a fierce defender of animal rights.
Jann joins Nate to discuss the cruelty involved in the live export of horses for slaughter and her work to end that cruelty through the HORSESHIT campaign and with the Canadian Horse Defence Coalition.
Find out more and support the campaign at horseshit.ca
This February marks the 25th anniversary of Black History Month, since then Liberal MP Jean Augustine led a motion to have it recognized.
Writing in the Toronto Star recently, Minister Ahmed Hussen reflected on What Black History Month means in 2021. He joins Nate to discuss why he’s looking at that history through the lens of deeply troubling events, what action the government has taken to date to address racial equality, and what more needs to come.
Minister Hussen is an accomplished lawyer and cabinet minister, he came to Canada with his family from Somalia as a refugee, and despite all of his accomplishments he's said he still gets followed around in stores and has spoken out against racial profiling.
The charities that serve those in need also need our help right now. Revenue has declined, demand for services has only increased, and a critical component of our social safety net is coming undone when we need it most.
On this episode, Nate is joined by Maya Roy, Jocelyn Formsma, and Owen Charters to discuss how the federal government can and should step in to support charities.
Maya Roy is the CEO of the YWCA Canada, Jocelyn Formsma is the executive director of the National Association of Friendship Centres, and Owen Charters is the president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada.
As referenced in the podcast:
· Feminist Economic Recovery Plan – http://www.feministrecovery.ca
· Impact of COVID-19 on the Women’s Sector in Canada: https://ywcacanada.ca/take-action/act-now/take-action-for-the-womens-sector/
Sarah Perret is a tax economist and deputy head of unit at the OECD's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. Her role involves assessing countries' tax systems and advising them on tax reform. She is also the author of a number of studies on taxation, inequality and inclusive growth, including The Role and Design of Net Wealth Taxes in the OECD, and she recently provided advice to the UK Wealth Tax Commission.
Sarah joins Nate to discuss wealth inequality and different ways of taxing wealth.
Former Supreme Court Justice Michel Bastarache joins Nate to discuss the devastating effects of sexual harassment on women in the RCMP, and his scathing report "Broken Dreams Broken Lives."
The report and claims process formed part of the historic Merlo-Davidson settlement, in the wake of two class action suits alleging that female members of the RCMP had been victims of workplace discrimination, intimidation, and harassment. Over the last four years, Mr. Bastarache heard from hundreds of former female RCMP employees, which culminated in his report and recommendations calling for serious reform.
With renewed optimism that the United States will now be a stronger partner than ever before in meeting the challenge of climate change, Saikat Chakrabarti joins Nate to discuss what comes next for the Green New Deal and more progressive politics in America.
Saikat is former campaign manager and chief of staff to Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, co-founder of Justice Democrats, and currently president of New Consensus, a think tank focused on developing the Green New Deal.
Dr. Samir Sinha joins Nate to talk about how we've failed to protect our seniors, and the changes we need to make going forward, including targeted vaccine roll-out to seniors at risk, national standards for long-term care, and action to help seniors stay in their homes.
Dr. Sinha is a geriatrician, co-chair and policy director of the National Institute on Ageing, and the director of geriatrics at Mount Sinai and the University Health Network. He has also helped to lead the development of seniors' strategies both in Ontario and nationally, and he's been vocal in the media and in his work on the need for all levels of government to prioritize our seniors in our policy-making.
Dr. David Naylor is a physician, medical researcher, and former president of U of T. He's also uniquely placed to discuss pandemic response, as the co-chair of the federal COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, and as past chair of the National Advisory Committee on SARS and Public Health in 2003.
On this episode, Dr. Naylor and Nate discuss vaccine roll-out, pandemic response, and lessons learned.
Dr. Joeri Rogelj is an expert in climate science. He is currently Director of Research at Imperial College London, he's been a long-time lead author of the UN Emissions Gap annual reports, and he's also a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, including its 1.5 degree report and its upcoming 6th assessment report.
Dr. Rogelj joins Nate to discuss the need for greater climate ambition. It's a well-time conversation, as Canada has finally established a target of net zero by 2050, we've recently released an updated climate plan, and as part of that plan we've committed to increase our climate ambition for 2030.
In this episode, Nate is joined by professor Miles Corak to discuss how to strengthen our social safety net and, more specifically, what an EI system for the 21st century should look like.
Miles is currently an economics professor at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and senior scholar at the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality.
In 2017, he was the Economist in Residence at Employment and Social Development Canada, and a lead author of Canada's first poverty reduction strategy.
You can read more of his work at milescorak.com
Brett House is vice-president and deputy chief economist at ScotiaBank. Among a long list of past roles, he's served as principal advisor in the office of the UN Secretary-General and as an economist at the International Monetary Fund.
In this episode Nate and Brett discuss Canada's fiscal response to the pandemic, whether the significant size of new deficit spending is affordable and justified, and how and when we should assess concerns about new deficits and debt.
Now chair of the World Refugee Council, Lloyd Axworthy held a number of cabinet roles over the course of a 27 year parliamentary career.
As Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs, he led efforts towards a global landmines ban (which earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize), and he's one of 56 notable signatories on an open letter calling on Canada and countries around the world to adopt the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
In this episode Lloyd and Nate discuss the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons, why Canada should adopt sign the treaty, and how Canada's history of advocacy should better inform its current role on the world stage.
Eric Duncan represents the rural Ontario riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, he was first elected to the House in October 2019, he’s only in his early 30s but has already somehow served over a decade in municipal office, and he’s also our country’s first openly gay Conservative Member of Parliament.
On this episode, Eric and Nate discuss Conservative support for the Liberal government's bill to ban conversion therapy, Eric's personal experience in politics as a new Conservative MP, and more broadly what it means for the Conservative Party of Canada to become more modern and inclusive.
Justin Ling is a journalist, author, and one of the most prolific users of Canada's access to information system. He has also been critical of how broken the system now is.
In this episode, Justin explains why access to information matters for accountability and transparency, what makes the system so broken, and how the government has failed to fulfill its promises of reform.
Chelsea Rochman is a marine ecologist whose research focuses on plastic pollution in freshwater and marine ecosystems. She is an assistant professor at the University of Toronto in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and a scientific advisor to the Ocean Conservancy.
In this episode Nate and Chelsea discuss Canada's zero waste strategy, the federal government's recent proposal to ban harmful single-use plastics and improve recycling rates, and what more needs to be done to reduce plastic pollution.
To improve your own waste literacy, check out the waste wizard and download the app.
David Morley is the President and CEO of UNICEF Canada. With millions of kids around the world still out of school, and with vaccine efforts central to our recovery, UNICEF has a unique role to play.
David has long been dedicated to issues of global justice, with over thirty years of experience advancing children’s rights and sustainable development on the world stage.
In this episode Nate and David discuss the pandemic's impact on children all over the world, and the work UNICEF is doing to help.
Carla Qualtrough is the Liberal MP for Delta BC, and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion. She will lead efforts in this parliament to strengthen Canada's social safety net, through EI reform and a new disability benefit.
On this episode, Minister Qualtrough discusses the work that lies ahead, the challenges of rolling out income supports in the pandemic, and why we need a permanently strengthened social safety net that leaves nobody behind.
Victor Madrigal-Borloz is a Costa Rican lawyer and the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Earlier this year, he published a report that called for a global ban on conversion therapy. Our federal government here in Canada is moving forward with amendments to the Criminal Code to effect such a ban, and in this episode Victor highlights why we need both domestic and international action.
Victor will be appearing in two online panel discussions with EquiTalks on October 21st and 22nd. For more information, see here.
It's been two years since Canada legalized cannabis and, while there is much to celebrate, we haven't done enough to right the historical wrongs of cannabis prohibition.
Annamaria Enenajor joins Nate to discuss why this matters and what should be done about it. Annamaria is a criminal and constitutional lawyer, a powerful advocate, and the founder and executive director of Cannabis Amnesty, a not-for-profit advocacy organization that has called for the deletion of records for the simple possession of cannabis and for greater justice and equality in our legalization efforts.
You can support Cannabis Amnesty here.
And you can read Annamaria's testimony to the public safety committee on Bill C-93 here.
The federal government has introduced Bill C-7 to fix our assisted dying laws and address the unconstitutionality of its past legislative effort. But there remain problems with the law as drafted, and Professor Jocelyn Downie joins Nate to discuss those problems and how to fix them.
Professor Downie is an expert in the law of assisted dying in Canada. In 2004, she published a book on the subject, and she worked with a pro bono legal team in the 2015 case of Carter in which our Supreme Court unanimously recognized a constitutional right to death with dignity. Since then, Professor Downie has participated in several expert panels on physician-assisted dying, and she has been critical of the government’s legislative efforts for failing to respect the rights set out by the court in Carter.
Isha Datar is a food pioneer. She's the CEO of New Harvest, a research institute that funds and conducts public research on cellular agriculture, and she's co-founder of companies making milk without cows, and eggs with chickens.
Nate and Isha discuss the potential for cell ag, how close we are to a reality of animal products without animals, and why it matters for our planet, for health, and for animals.
Senator Ratna Omidvar has dedicated her life to strengthening migration, diversity, and inclusion, through roles as president of the Maytree Foundation, the head of Ryerson's Global Diversity Exchange, and her continued work with the World Refugee Council.
On this episode, Ratna and Nate discuss what was missing in the throne speech, reasons to better support charities and essential migrant workers, why the Safe Third Country Agreement needs to go, her bill to support the forcibly displaced, and how Canada's future success depends on immigration.
Professor Joe Stiglitz is a Nobel Prize winning economist, former chief economist at the World Bank, and former chairman of the US president's Council of Economic Advisers.
He's also a profilic author. He's recently co-written a report that makes the case for a green recovery, he's a leading voice for both measuring success differently and addressing inequality, and his most recent book, People, Power, and Profits, makes the case for a progressive agenda to save capitalism from itself.
In this episode, Professor Stigltiz joins Nate to discuss deficit spending, a green recovery, income and wealth inequality, and how we mismeasure our lives.
Shoshana Zuboff is a Harvard professor, philosopher, and author of the book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.
Nate and Shoshana discuss the mass collection of personal information and data in our digital world, its consequences for individual autonomy and democracy, and what we can and should do about it.
Leah Gazan is the NDP MP for Winnipeg Centre, and she is the sponsor of Motion 46 calling for a guaranteed livable basic income. Leah joins Nate to discuss her motion and to call for action to end poverty as a matter of human rights and dignity.
Read the full text of Motion 46 here.
Jim Balsillie is a philanthropist, businessman (former co-CEO of Blackberry's RIM), and he has led efforts in calling for a new innovation agenda in Canada. On this episode, Jim joins Nate to discuss a report from the Council of Canadian Innovators, how Canada lags our peer countries on innovation, why Canada needs national IP and data strategies, and what an innovation agenda means in a modern and global economy.
From our food supply, to frontline healthcare, migrant workers are often essential workers. Yet they are both undervalued and subject to systemic exploitation through our temporary immigration work programs. That migrant workers are predominantly racialized raises additional concerns about the exploitative nature of these work programs, as our federal government has committed to address systemic racism.
In this episode, Nate is joined by Professor Fay Faraday to discuss migrant worker rights in Canada. Professor Faraday is an expert on labour rights, she has been active in community organizing with migrant and marginalized workers for over 25 years, and she has published three landmark reports on migrant worker rights here in Canada.
Dr. Jane Goodall is a world famous primatologist and anthropologist best known for her work with chimpanzees, 60 years ago in Tanzania. Her life's work is focused on conservation and animal welfare issues. In 1977, she founded the Jane Goodall Institute which does important work in nearly 100 countries around the world, including engaging young people through its Roots & Shoots program.
In this episode, Nate and Jane discuss the lessons learned through this pandemic, why we can't continue to treat animals and our environment as we have, and how we can challenge the status quo to build a better world for our future.
Irwin Cotler is a giant in the field of human rights, most recently as founder and chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He's also a former McGill professor, parliamentarian, Minister of Justice, and he has dedicated a great deal of his life to defending political prisoners, including as Canadian counsel for Nelson Mandela.
In this episode, Nate and Irwin discuss the Wallenberg Centre's current work and human rights concerns around the world, including China's genocide against the Uyghurs, Saudi Arabia's mistreatment of Raif Badawi, Venezuela's systematic use of torture, and more.
Parents and educators are rightly concerned about a safe September in our schools and for our kids. More, a failure to open schools safely has the potential to increase community transmission and affect us all. On this episode, Nate is joined by expert epidemiologists and professors Ashleigh Tuite and Amy Greer to discuss provincial plans, the frustrating lack of planning from the province and the need for stronger action, and the risks parents and educators need to consider upon their return.
Professor Tuite is an infectious disease epidemiologist and mathematical modeler at the University of Toronto's school of public health.
Professor Greer is a Canada Research Chair in Population Disease Modeling with appointments at both the University of Guelph and the University of Toronto, and she previously held scientific positions in the Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control at the Public Health Agency of Canada.
In July, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police published a report calling on governments to treat drug use as a health issue, including action to decriminalize all drugs and create options for a safer drug supply. In this episode, Waterloo Police Chief Bryan Larkin joins Nate to talk about why police in Canada want to decriminalize all drugs.
As the CACP report notes: "We must adopt new and innovative approaches if we are going to disrupt the current trend of drug overdoses impacting communities across Canada. Merely arresting individuals for simple possession of illicit drugs has proven to be ineffective. Research from other countries who have boldly chosen to take a health rather than an enforcement-based approach to problematic drug use have demonstrated positive results."
You can read the report here.
Senator Murray Sinclair has accomplished much in his career, including as a judge in Manitoba and as the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Nate is joined by Senator Sinclair to discuss the government's reconciliation efforts to date, the slow pace of change, and how we can improve efforts going forward.
China has arbitrarily detained Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, weaponized tariffs and trade, violated international law and human rights in Hong Kong, and continues to commit mass atrocities against the Uyghurs. In this episode, Nate is joined by national security expert and professor Stephanie Carvin to discuss Canada’s relationship with China.
Professor Carvin is also the co-host of the Intrepid Podcast focused on national security law and you can follow her on Twitter here.
In 2019, Jaime Battiste was elected as the MP for Sydney—Victoria, and he's the first Mi'kmaw MP in Canada. He's been a professor at Cape Breton University, a senior advisor to Eskasoni Band Council, a citizenship coordinator for KMKNO and Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief. In addition to his MP role, Jaime is also the Chair of the Liberal Indigenous Caucus. In this episode, Nate and Jaime have a conversation about reconciliation, economic racism, and UNDRIP.
While we've recognized the criminal law's failure in our approach to assisted dying and cannabis, we continue to undermine the human rights of sex workers and people who use drugs.
Seven years ago in Bedford, the Supreme Court struck down criminal laws against prostitution because they prevented sex workers from taking measures to increase their safety. Our current laws don't fare much better, and decriminalization is a logical next step.
In another area of consensual crime, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police has now joined public health experts across our country to call for the decriminalization of the possession of all drugs for personal use. The status quo, in their words, "has proven to be ineffective."
On this episode, Nate is joined by Richard Elliott, the executive director of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, to discuss sex, drugs, and evidence-based policy.
Jenica Atwin is the MP for Fredericton and the first Green MP in New Brunswick. In this episode, Nate is joined by Jenica to talk about life as a first-time MP in these difficult times. They discuss making mental health a priority, the importance of measuring well-being, why she's definitely not running for leader, independence in the House, and the challenges of raising a young family while serving in parliament.
Despite public statements in support of a strong minimum wage, CEOs of our national grocers communicated directly with each other about the prospect of ending pandemic pay for essential workers. On this episode, Nate is joined by Unifor president Jerry Dias to discuss the Industry committee hearings, the growth of precarious work in our country, the NAFTA re-negotiation, and more.
The Prime Minister kneeled at an anti-racism protest, and then declared in the House of Commons that "we will do everything we can to eradicate" racism. The Parliamentary Black Caucus has published a roadmap to that goal, signed by 160 parliamentarians, including many cabinet ministers.
Nate speaks about the letter and its calls to action with Greg Fergus, Liberal MP and Chair of the Parliamentary Black Caucus.
Read the full statement here.
In the face of opposition from legal scholars, animal rights advocates, and associations of journalists, Ontario has now passed unconstitutional ag-gag laws, an attempt to silence whistleblowers who expose animal cruelty. Nate speaks with Animal Justice lawyer Camille Labchuk and University of Alberta law professor Peter Sankoff about efforts in Ontario and across our country to hide animal cruelty on farms.
Check out Camille and Peter's own podcast Paw and Order and donate to the efforts of Animal Justice to strike down these unconstitutional laws at animaljustice.ca
This episode is dedicated to Regan Russell, a kind and passionate animal rights advocate who was fatally hit by a pig transport truck while protesting the new ag-gag laws outside of a slaughterhouse. We need more people like Regan in the world, those who dedicate so much of their lives to the pursuit of justice for others. She put herself in harm's way to help animals in distress, and it is hard to accept that she lost her life bearing witness to animal cruelty mere days after Ontario's legislature moved to make her activism criminal.
The pandemic and economic fall-out have taken a toll on our society in a number of different ways, including a serious impact on our mental health. Before his appointment, Senator Stan Kutcher was an expert in the area, having served as the department head of psychiatry at Dalhousie University and as the director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Mental Health. Nate and Senator Kutcher discuss the impact of the crisis, how mental health supports can be improved, and the importance of evidence over ideology in politics, with reference to psychedelics.
The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has provided critical income support to millions of Canadians, but it's set to expire for many at the end of June. Should we extend the CERB? Improve it? Expand it? Nate is joined by Jennifer Robson, Carleton Professor and expert in social policy, to discuss the future of CERB.
Justice David Stratas sits on the Federal Court of Appeal, he's been prolific in writing judgments, and he's been vocal about the role judges should play. He was also a mentor to Nate and as a professor at Queen's University he taught Nate constitutional law. In this episode, the two have a conversation about the separation of powers: the role of courts versus the role of the legislature.
Cities are in dire financial straits and need federal support. Nate is joined by Toronto Mayor John Tory to discuss the city's financial needs in this crisis, how Toronto can better address racism in the wake of the tragic death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, as well as important issues of affordable housing and public health.
Protests against police violence and discrimination have taken place across the US and in Canada, and we need to do more to recognize and address racism. Nate speaks with Professor Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, a criminologist at U of T, Director of Research at Cannabis Amnesty, and expert in race, crime, and criminal justice.
Former Senators Art Eggleton (Liberal) and Hugh Segal (Conservative) have been champions of a basic income in Canada.
In part 2, Nate is joined by Hugh to discuss one Tory’s lonely battle to end poverty in Canada. Hugh is a former Senator, and served as Chief of Staff to both Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Premier Bill Davis.
His recent book on the subject: Bootstraps Need Boots: One Tory’s Lonely Fight to End Poverty in Canada.
Former Senators Art Eggleton (Liberal) and Hugh Segal (Conservative) have been champions of a basic income in Canada.
In part 1, Nate is joined by Art to discuss his passion for social justice and ending poverty through a basic income. Art has a long history of public service, as a former Senator, Minister, MP, and Mayor of Toronto. As a Senator, he founded the all-party anti-poverty caucus which Nate has carried on.
A recent military report has highlighted the deplorable state of private nursing homes in Ontario, a scandal that experts and families have drawn attention to for years. It is hard to understand, impossible to accept, and Pat Armstrong has solutions. She's a distinguished research professor and sociologist at York University, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and has researched and published for decades on the issue of seniors care.
Maria Ressa is a highly-regarded journalist and author in the Philippines. As an outspoken critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte she was arrested on multiple occasions for critical reporting on the government. Maria is one of the journalists included in the Time's Person of the Year 2018, and in 2019, she received a Tribute honour from the Canadian Journalism Foundation for "her powerful defence of truth in the face of daunting obstacles, including threats to her life”.
Dr. Michael Warner is the Director of Critical Care at Michael Garron Hospital, working on the frontline to treat patients with COVID-19. He speaks to Nate about how we are falling short in necessary efforts to test and trace, and the need for more serious action to save lives.
Adam van Koeverden won four Olympic medals for Canada as a paddler, including a gold medal in 2004, and he's been Canada's flag bearer in both opening and closing Olympic ceremonies. He's now the Liberal MP for Milton, and speaks to Nate about how and why he made the move from paddling to Parliament, and the important work of Conquer COVID-19 (www.conquercovid19.ca).
Ken Price and Claire Smith’s daughter is a victim and survivor of the Danforth shooting. They talk to Nate about their journey as gun control advocates with the Danforth Families for Safe Communities (danforthfamilies.com), their views on recent government action to ban assault rifles, and what more they want to see.
There has been an incredible amount of false information about the pandemic, both from the dark corners of the internet and from world leaders. Tim Caulfield is a Canadian professor who has devoted his career to debunking pseudoscience. He speaks with Nate about popular COVID-19 myths, his work to combat this "infodemic", and why Gwyneth Paltrow is still wrong about everything.
Our federal government has announced the immediate prohibition of 1,500 models and variants of assault rifles. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair is leading these efforts. He speaks with Nate about why this policy has been put into place, how it's just a first step, and why we need a comprehensive approach to address gun violence.
Can we become a more equal society post-pandemic? As the former head of the Elizabeth Fry Societies, Senator Kim Pate has worked in prison reform for decades. She speaks with Nathaniel about her current work to fix our prisons, why we should address systemic inequality as part of that reform, and why a basic income should be part of the solution.
As provinces set plans to re-open our economy, are they prioritizing childcare? The economic fallout of COVID-19 has hit women the hardest and childcare is critical for young families to return to the labour force. Nate is joined by Brock U Professor Kate Bezanson to discuss how and why childcare should be placed at the centre of recovery efforts.
How can and should we regulate big tech platforms, from Facebook to Google? Our online lives are largely filtered through a small number of these companies and we need new laws to protect the public interest. Nathaniel is joined by Professor Taylor Owen, McGill University’s Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications, to discuss the issue of platform governance.
Conservative MP Michael Chong has been a strong advocate for empowering Parliament, including through his Reform Act. Nate speaks to Michael about the need for greater independence in politics, his experience resigning from cabinet in 2006 and running for leadership in 2017, and how we can and should strengthen our parliamentary institutions.
Dr. Hedy Fry, Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre, has been a pioneer in the fight to treat drug use as a health issue. She speaks with Nathaniel about how COVID-19 exacerbates the realities of vulnerable populations, how B.C. is taking steps to address a contaminated drug supply, and her passion for the Charter and for life in politics.
Peter Singer may well be the world’s most influential living philosopher. In episode 8, Nathaniel speaks with Peter about effective altruism and global poverty, animal rights, food policy and the need for a global ban on wet markets, and broader questions including how we can make the biggest difference.
If the world can mobilize against COVID-19, can we do the same against climate change? Nathaniel speaks with former Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, about her climate advocacy, lessons we might learn from the pandemic, and the need for greater ambition and action to tackle the climate crisis.
Do we have enough personal protective equipment? Are we mobilizing fast enough to scale up the testing and tracing required? In episode six, Nathaniel discusses the health response to COVID-19 with Sarah Downey, the President and CEO of Michael Garron Hospital, and the need for a war-time effort with Danielle Allen, Professor and the Director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University.
Disinformation has helped to upend elections, and in a pandemic it can cost lives. Nathaniel speaks with NDP MP Charlie Angus about the challenges posed by disinformation online, their shared committee work in the last parliament, and the importance of a non-partisan and international approach to tackling platform governance issues.
Can we still talk about sports? Nathaniel is joined by Toronto Star Sports/COVID-19 Columnist Bruce Arthur and The Athletic Canada Editor-in-Chief James Mirtle to discuss the meaning of sports in a pandemic, the big league emergency response, and how the economics of sports will be changed in a post-pandemic world.
How should we prioritize human rights in the midst of a pandemic? In episode three, Nathaniel speaks with Alex Neve, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada. They discuss why human rights should be at the heart of the response to COVID-19, how Canada’s approach meets that call in many ways but falls short in others (notably for refugees), and what the future holds for a human rights agenda post-pandemic.
Is now the right time for a basic income? In episode two, Nathaniel is joined by Evelyn Forget, a health economist and professor at the University of Manitoba, and expert in basic income experiments. They discuss the evidence from pilots and existing programs in Canada, the new Emergency Response Benefit, and whether a basic income is the right approach to manage the economic fallout from COVID-19.
Uncommons: Canadian Politics with Nathaniel Erskine-Smith is a new podcast series from the Beaches-East York MP speaking with experts on current affairs.
Should the federal government invoke the Emergencies Act to combat COVID-19? In episode one, Nathaniel is joined by Craig Forcese, a University of Ottawa professor and expert in national security law. They discuss the Emergencies Act, and what it would mean for the federal government to declare a public welfare emergency.