Bright Future

Climate change is one of the most vexing challenges facing our world. That the climate is changing is increasingly clear.  Temperature thresholds are being passed years earlier than predicted. So, what, if anything, can we do about it?   My guest this episode has dedicated his life to sustainability but for Dr. Blair Feltmate, Head, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, University of Waterloo the f...

2024 has been called the year of democracy. It is estimated that more voters than ever in history will head to the polls this year. Democratic elections are happening in at least 64 countries plus the European Union—representing a combined population of about half of the people in the world.   At the time of recording, Canada is not facing a national election, but that may change at any point.  Be...

In late 2023, a dream team of former elected officials, mayors and chief planners, Indigenous leaders, designers, builders and developers, affordability advocates, and finance and insurance experts came together to create a Task Force for Housing and Climate.  This group released their Blueprint for More and Better Housing in March 2024. This episode we welcome Housing and Climate Task Force co-Ch...

During Black History Month in Canada, we celebrate the many achievements and contributions of Black Canadians and their communities. We highlight Black Canadians’ role in making Canada the culturally diverse, compassionate, and prosperous country it is. We also acknowledge the work that remains to be done in addressing anti-Black racism in our society.   This episode we welcome Dr. Denise O’Neil G...

When Joshua Gans and his co-authors released their book Prediction Machines in 2018, they were writing about a topic that seemed quite niche. At this time, machine learning was just starting out. In the last year, the speed at which artificial intelligence has advanced has surprised almost everyone. In this conversation, we hear how the analytical framework that he and his colleagues developed hel...

Canada’s labour force isn’t growing fast enough to keep up with the aging population.  On one hand we have a labour supply challenge. But, on the other hand the workers we do have don’t always have the skill sets that we need today, but particularly into the future.   My guests this episode are both actively working to reshape our skills development and labour market preparedness for students toda...

Today’s generation feels maligned by the press and often ignored by politics. Priced out of home ownership, dealing with the growing impact of climate change, and criticized for not appreciating that life is hard and always has been—life doesn’t seem fair for young people in Canada.  But my guest this episode is bringing evidence, passion and a clarity of perspective to reveal the real ways in whi...

OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other large language model AI have brought the long-standing promises of artificial intelligence to fruition.  ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, accumulating millions of users worldwide. However, this tool and others like it are being met with trepidation and fear by many AI pioneers.   To help us make sense of these developments and their implications is Valérie Pisano, P...

The history of humanity is a history of movement.  Today, movements of people from one place to another are subject to severe political and social constraints. Our guest this episode has spent a good portion of his life creating supports for people who are fleeing human rights or environmental disasters.   Dr. Lloyd Axworthy joins us to share what he and others at the World Refugee & Migration...

Professor Tracy Bear is a well-known researcher focusing on Indigenous knowledge, resilience and embedding research in true partnerships with communities. In 2021, she was appointed director of the McMaster Indigenous Research Institute. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians got to know Professor Bear through her role as academic lead of “Indigenous Canada”—a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) designe...

In May 2020, in the depths of the pandemic, Canadian Nicholas André G. Johnson broke new ground as Princeton’s first Black valedictorian. In over 274 years, no other Black student had been recognized in this way by the institution, making Nicholas a ground breaker and as we’ll hear—a mentor to other Black professionals forging their path through academic and professional settings.  Nicholas talks...

The war in Ukraine brought the country and its people to the forefront of international attention. Every day more and more people are seeking to help Ukrainians to end the war and to recover from the damage that is being inflicted. Dr. Marnie Howlett has dedicated her life to understanding—and helping others understand—how Ukraine and its people view their country and their unique position as a bo...

The ongoing war in Ukraine has shaken the foundation of international relations.  In many ways this war feels like déjà vu—a land war in Europe, a larger power attempting to overtake another smaller country for its own gains.  But in other ways this war is unprecedented.  Professor Jane Boulden joins us this episode to help make sense of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the international order,...

The Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves around the world and Canada is not immune.  Join the Conference Board of Canada’s economic forecasting team as they discuss how this conflict will impact Canadian producers, government, and consumers.  They will also discuss opportunities for Canada to build on its special relationship with the people of Ukraine to play a bigger role in post-war rebu...

Decisions about our communities are made based on data. That data comes from many places, but these days, a lot of it comes from what we do and the decisions we make. Over the course of the pandemic, our actions changed dramatically. Having local, current data meant decision-makers were able to target their reactions to the communities that needed them most.  But could we have done better? Do our...

More than five years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission issued its final report, progress on the 94 calls to action has been slow. But are Canadians starting to finally understand the truth of how Indigenous Peoples have been treated in this country? Reconciliation is a long journey. Knowing the truth is just the first step.  The head of that commission, The Honourable Murray Sinclair,...

What do you do when your technology trips you up more than it helps you out? In 2014, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation found itself with a collection of legacy technologies that were getting in employees’ way and limiting the organization’s impact. Initially, they thought it was just a technology issue. Turns out, they needed more than just a contractor to move them to the cloud—they ne...

“Comply or explain” disclosure requirements were intended to improve women’s representation at the top of Canada’s major organizations. Five years later, the ratio of women on corporate boards has improved, but is it thanks to the disclosure requirements? Dr. Susan Black, CEO of The Conference Board of Canada, and Rob Davis, Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer at KPMG in Canada, talk to us abo...

Refugees bring very few “things” with them when they arrive in Canada, but they don’t arrive empty-handed. They bring experiences, perspective, passion, and fresh ideas.  When Tareq Hadhad left war-torn Syria and settled in Nova Scotia with his family, he brought a delicious path to peace, prosperity, and community. The founder of Peace by Chocolate joins us to talk about Canada’s immigration and...

Policies need to make sense with how people and businesses already operate. Otherwise, they won’t work. Knowing how people make decisions can help policies make sense to the people they’re supposed to support. A misplaced nudge can sometimes feel like a shove.  Policies work better when they line up with how people already make their decisions. Sasha Tregebov, Director of Behavioural Insights Team...

Environmental sustainability is one of the most pressing concerns of our time. And while this is something most of us can agree on, turning that consensus into action is more difficult. If we want to make progress on our climate targets, we need to work smarter. One tool policy-makers and organizations are turning to is psychology. If we know how people come to their decisions, we can design polic...

Using data to make decisions—either by a person or by a machine—has become a big part of our lives over the past couple of decades. Our lawmakers have tried to keep up, but innovation will likely always outpace bureaucracy. And, in a world where most of us have clicked “I have read the terms and conditions” even when we haven’t, the implications of out-of-date privacy laws could become serious. In...

November 11 is a time of reflection. A time to remember the struggles and sacrifice that have gone into building this country. Margaret MacMillan, bestselling author and professor of history, reminds us in her new book, War: How Conflict Shaped Us , that we are all shaped by war.  They say we can either learn from our history or be doomed to repeat it. And while history never really repeats itself...

As a journalist in the ‘90s, John Stackhouse spent many years living overseas meeting and interviewing interesting people. Many of them were his fellow Canadians. He discovered that expats are keen to help their home country. When he returned, however, he found people were concerned over the number of people leaving the country—the perceived “brain drain.”  John says that’s the wrong way to think...

How can we keep the second wave from turning into a second lockdown?   Viruses spread when people spend time in close quarters, so lockdowns are good at slowing their transmission. But they come with a cost—a reality we know well, and don’t want to repeat.  Dr. Susy Hota is an infectious disease physician and medical director of infection prevention and control at University Health Network. She jo...