Generation Squeeze's Hard Truths

Governments of all party stripes, across Canada, must confront a gnarly problem when it comes to investing more fairly in all ages. How do we pay for the ballooning retirement costs of baby boomers , without skimping on the needs of younger people and burdening future generations with massive public debts? And more basically, how can we have "adult conversations" about how to pay for the...

Our heads have been spinning after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week that the upcoming federal budget will focus on " fairness for every generation ." In this mini bonus episode, Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw and co-host Megan reflect on the significance of putting generational fairness front and centre in the government's spending plans. More about the PM's an...

We spoke with journalist Michelle Cyca about one of the hardest truths we grapple with (and which gets us a lot of hate mail). Skyrocketing home prices have made many older Canadian homeowners rich, while making housing unaffordable for younger generations. But many homeowners resist thinking of themselves as wealthy, especially whenever the subject of fair taxation comes up. So how do we get more...

David Coletto has had his finger on the pulse of Canadian public opinion for well over a decade, as the founder and CEO of Abacus Data and author of the inFocus newsletter. He shares insights into how generational inequality is playing out in our housing, affordability and climate crises. He warns that not closing this gap could have grim consequences for Canada's economy and social fabric. Ye...

Millennial Mayor Natasha Salonen of Wilmot, Ontario, made national news last summer: she can't afford to live in the small, rural town she leads. Besides showcasing how younger Canadians are being priced out of their hometowns, Mayor Salonen also reminded us of the power of speaking out. By sharing her story, she's reassured many younger people that they're not alone, and she's hel...

Better balancing our time at work and our time at home has long been a centrepiece of our family policy solutions . So in this episode, Paul and Megan spoke with Joe O'Connor, a leader in the work-time reduction movement. Joe O'Connor directs the  ⁠Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence⁠  in Toronto. Previously Joe was CEO of  ⁠4 Day Week Global⁠  where he led many successful work-week r...

Canada isn't the only nation squeezed by the symptoms of generational unfairness, and Gen Squeeze isn't the only organization squeezing back. To kick off our "We're not alone" miniseries, Paul Kershaw and Angie Chan spoke with Tom Walker, lead economist at Think Forward in Australia. Down under, Tom explains that younger generations are "doing it tough" too, faced w...

A lot of Canada's current crises were caused in part by past governments failing to think beyond election cycles. So how can we make governments think more long term and consider the impact of their decisions on future generations? To find out, we spoke with Jerry DeMarco, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in Canada’s Office of the Auditor General. Our conversatio...

Max Fawcett from Canada's National Observer joins Gen Squeeze founder Paul Kershaw for a wide-ranging look at intergenerational injustice in Canada. They tackle: The complicity of home owners in our housing affordability crisis Why building more supply is not a silver bullet How baby boomers are at risk of being remembered for leaving young people in an impossible situation Pension plan politi...

For this episode,  Paul Kershaw,  Aleem Punja (National Operating Officer, Aga Khan Council for Canada ), and Ene Underwood (CEO,  Habitat for Humanity GTA ) wrestle with hard truths Canadians must face to make housing affordable again for younger generations and newcomers:  the interplay of housing and immigration policy; renegotiating Canadians' expectations about home ownership and wealth; ...

In this episode, we look overseas for inspiration about improving the wellbeing of younger and future generations. Wales' Future Generations Commissioner Derek Walker describes his role as the watchdog for his country's pioneering Future Generations Act . He talks about Wales' new national healthcare strategy and the difficult task of balancing the needs of people struggling to pay the...

It's been another rough summer for those of us worried about whether our planet will remain habitable for younger and future generations. So for this episode, we talked to environmental educator and author Elin Kelsey about fighting climate doomism with evidence-based hope. Elin Kelsey is the author of " Why Hope Matters : Why changing the way we think is critical to solving the environme...

We talk to  ⁠Dr. Elaine MacDonald⁠  about a major update to Canada's most important environmental law and why it’s a big win for generational fairness . The House of Commons recently passed landmark legislation overhauling the Canadian Environmental Protection Act for the first time in decades and recognizing the right of every individual in Canada to a healthy environment. Not only that, Bill...

Dr. Paul Kershaw and Angie Chan chat with federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh about tackling the massive inequalities faced by younger Canadians. This far-ranging, in-depth interview also touches on: How lowering the voting age could strengthen our democracy The need for greater investment in the building blocks of a healthy society --such as safe, stable housing and jobs--which contribute more to ou...

While working on our Voters Guide for the Alberta election this month, we've found the province's political parties have been worrisomely quiet about climate change , even in the midst of unprecedented wildfires. That left us wondering: why's it so dang hard to talk about climate change? So for this episode, we invited Amber Bennett , a Calgary-based communications strategist, to refle...

Economist Kevin Milligan joins us to dig into the Hard Truth about medical budgets. Older Canadians didn’t pay enough in taxes during their working lives to cover the medical care they now use. That means a smaller pool of younger taxpayers are footing the bill for boomers’ ballooning medical needs. Our aging population's medical and long-term-care needs are expected to grow another 50% over t...

This episode features a discussion about our government relations work ⁠— specifically about the week we spent in Ottawa directed towards winning a 2023 federal budget that works for all generations. Have thoughts about our discussion that you'd like to share with us?   Send us a voice message:  https://www.speakpipe.com/GenSqueeze

Yesterday (February 20) was Family Day, so we thought we'd bring you a family-themed discussion.  This episode of Gen Squeeze's Hard Truths podcast features an interview with freelance labour journalist Emma Arkell. We chat about the staffing crisis that plagues the child care sector. Low wages, poor working conditions, lack of opportunities for career advancement, feeling disrespected — thes...

Canadians are rightfully proud of our publicly-funded medical care system. Our national self-image is closely associated with the idea that treatment of illness is a social responsibility. In this podcast episode, we make the case that prevention of illness should also be regarded as a social responsibility. Unless we can prioritize illness prevention, it's very likely that our medical care system...

This episode features a discussion about hope — about why we think it's worth it to struggle to change things for the better (even though it can sometimes seem otherwise). About our guest: Kareem Kudus is a member of Generation Squeeze's board of directors and a contributor to our research. The article mentioned at the beginning of the episode: https://www.gensqueeze.ca/kareem_kudus_first_year. Yo...

In this episode, we chat about the social media influencer Andrew Tate and make the case that his popularity is partly a symptom of our broken intergenerational system. People like Tate are able to highlight the very real challenges that young men face and channel their frustrations in a toxic, anti-social direction.  We start by asking why Tate attracts an audience much larger than organizat...

A listener recently sent us a message: "Time to take the gloves off. Stop the kumbaya and love B.S. Time for boomers to pay." So in this episode, Angie Chan and Paul Kershaw explore what we should be asking older Canadians to do in our fight for generational fairness, and how we can have hard conversations about generational injustice with older family members and friends, without just making them...

Doug Ford's Ontario government recently announced that parts of the province's Greenbelt would be opened up for development of homes. In this episode of the Hard Truth's podcast, we chat about why that's not a good idea — and why, more generally, we shouldn't be trying to solve our wallet problems by neglecting our climate problems.

In this episode, we chat about the work Gen Squeeze does in advising various levels and institutions in government. We discussion recent examples of this work, the reasons we think this work is important, as well as the ways in which those who follow us can support us in doing it better.

We continue the 10th anniversary discussion we began in the previous episode — chatting about we've been up to, some of the lessons we've learned along the way, and what we're looking forward to in the next 10 years as we work to preserve the sacred (a healthy home, a healthy childhood, and a healthy planet).