Brian Crombie Radio Hour

Brian interviews Katie Wheatley. Katie serves as Head of Canada for the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and is based in Montreal, Quebec. At the PRI, she works with a broad network of institutional investors to build sustainable markets that contribute to a more prosperous world for all. Katie's approach to responsible investment is informed by her previous work across Ca...

Brian speaks with Andy and Natalie Semotiuk. Andy is the author of a new book called Solomea: Star of Opera’s Golden Age. The book is a biography of the once world-famous opera star Solomea Krushelnytska, who performed on stage in the golden age of opera in the first half of the 20th century. Natalie is a Canadian filmmaker who is coming out with a full-length biographical documentary about Solome...

Brian interviews Cory Janssen. Cory is the Co‐Founder, Co‐CEO of AltaML, a leading artificial intelligence scale-up that designs and implements applied AI solutions for businesses. Cory drives AltaML's growth strategy and actively helps business leaders understand how implementing AI can be a horizontal enabler to create a competitive advantage. He has been involved in several successful ventures...

Brian speaks with Jeff Melanson. Jeff is one of the most prominent executives in the Canadian arts and culture community, is lauded internationally for his inventive approach to leadership, his bold strategies, and his practical vision. Prior to joining Stratagem, Jeff was President and CEO of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, President of The Banff Centre, Dean of The Royal Conservatory of Music’s...

Brian interviews Calvin Barry. Calvin has an extensive experience in Criminal law, built on a foundation of over sixteen years working as a Senior Crown Attorney, you can be assured that your case will be handled by a lawyer with a vast background and expertise in DUI/Impaired Driving, Domestic Violence and Abuse and Criminal Law. Calvin Barry talks about his career as a Criminal Defence Attorney,...

Brian speaks with Saba Ahmad, Ted Cowan, and Shannon MacDonald. They focus on an incredible place or visit, hike, experience and treasure, the lands of the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy. Saba Ahmad, Ted Cowan and Shannon MacDonald of the Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy talk about this land trust, that has properties all along the escarpment from Niagara up the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin Isl...

Brian speaks with Beth Sturdevant. Beth is a Spiritual Healer and Mindfulness Educator, who, through navigating the adversities of her own life’s journey, and healing her inner warrior spirit, has found authentic purpose and joy in her life again, and made it her mission to help others do the same. She is a compassionate and dedicated resource for those needing to heal from trauma, overcome obstac...

Brian speaks with Josh Medicoff. Josh is a graduate student at McGill that is completing his thesis on Regional Government and he has an in-depth and fascinating review of the strengths of regional government in metro Montreal and the weaknesses in the Greater Toronto area. As the Ford government is considering some changes they should look at Medicoff’s work as he shows that larger coordination a...

Brian speaks with Keith Ambachtsheer. Keith is director emeritus of the International Centre for Pension Management, senior fellow of the National Institute on Ageing, executive-in-residence at the Rotman School of Management and co-founder of CEM Benchmarking and KPA Advisory Services. We talk about Pensions and an article he penned “Canadian civil servants have a great pension system – why can’t...

Brian interviews Scott Brison. Scott was elected seven times as MP from Nova Scotia He was the first openly gay MP to sit as a member of the PC Party. In 2003, just days after the Progressive Conservatives and the Canadian Alliance merged Brison joined the Liberals. He served in several senior cabinet posts and now is Vice Chair of BMO Wealth. We talk with Hon. Scott Brison about Elected Life. We...

Brian interviews Murray Simser. Murray is the Founder and CEO of the AI company CITIZN and its flagship product Democracy GPT. He is a Silicon Valley, Silicon Alley and Seattle alumnus and serial tech entrepreneur. We talk about Chat GPT and Artificial Intelligence. Is it good, scary, should it be stalled or will it change society for the better?

Brian interviews Dr. Jenny Mathers. Dr. Mathers is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University on the west coast of Wales. Her research and teaching are focused mainly in two areas: Russian politics and security; and women and war. She is currently working on three projects relating the war in Ukraine: the militarization of Russia’s children; Russia’s so...

Brian interviews Wilson Coneybeare. Wilson talks about his dystopian political thriller novel: "A Feast of Wolves". It is about American society that overruns a government. Coneybeare’s story is sprawling, exciting and terrifying. It is also unsettlingly prescient. It has been rightly described as “a futuristic thriller about an America engulfed in a new civil war.” As the author’s foreword detail...

Brian speaks with Michelle Rosetta. Michelle is a Neighbours on the Line organizer. The newly-formed group of residents have been shocked by the news Hydro One is planning to run their Waasigan Transmission Line project right through their houses and properties and residents contend that properties within a kilometer of the power line will be impacted with possible water table contamination, elect...

Brian interviews Heather Exner-Pirot. Heather is a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and currently a Visiting Scholar at the Wilson Centre in Washington DC. Tonight Heather Exner-Pirot talks about her column: “Is Alberta Oil Ethical?”.

Brian speaks with Gareth Seltzer. Gareth is a seasoned business advisor considered to be one of Canada’s most connected executives. He has addressed audiences on brand building and innovation. Additionally, he was a co-founder of RYOT, an American content company acquired by Verizon/AOL in 2016 and his producer credits even include an Academy Award nomination in 2015. He has served as a director o...

On this episode of The Brian Crombie Radio Hour, Brian interviews two stand-up comics: - Amateur comic Shelley True runs a marketing agency and braved the stage to be a stand-up comic at a recent fundraising event. Shelley oversees TRUEdot’s strategic direction and leads the team in providing clients with a game-changing, results-driven vision and strategy. She says that at At TRUEdotDESIGN, she m...

Brian interviews Fallon Farinacci. A proud Red River Métis, Fallon is a Speaker, Survivor, & Advocate for MMIWG (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls). Fallon has cultivated an incredible community and uses her platform to share her story, give back to the Indigenous community, and raise awareness for causes and organizations close to her heart. She is the very definition of what it...

Brian speaks with Todd Hirsch. Todd is a former Calgary-based chief economist of ATB Financial and the author of The Boiling Frog Dilemma: Saving Canada from Economic Decline. He talks about his column: “As an economist, I think forecasts are a waste of time – almost hubris” where her says: “I’ve spent most of the past three decades working on teams within various think tanks, companies and banks,...

Brian speaks with Ken Greenberg. Ken is an urban designer, teacher, writer, former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto and Principal of Greenberg Consultants. He talks about the plans for the Ontario Science Centre and Ontario Place. “Moving the Ontario Science Centre is bad science, and bad policy” and “For the last two generations we have been working on making our...

Brian interviews Capital Economic’s Senior Global Economist Simon MacAdam. Simon talks about what he sees as the strong signals that Financial Conditions Indices are making about a coming recession. We discuss rising interest rates, bank failures, quantitative tightening, property loans etc and what businesses and households should do.

Tonight I welcome back Hanya Kizemchuk onto the show. Hanya is a Mature Model who started modeling in Milan as a young woman and has been on runways worldwide since then. Last interview we discussed her life as a 66-year-old model and her career, ageism in modeling, grey hair, etc. But we had so many positive responses and questions about her positive attitude about being single she wanted to do a...

Brian speaks with Dr. Meredith Ralston. Dr. Ralston is a Professor, Department of Women’s Studies/Political Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax and the author of “Slut-Shaming, Whorephobia, and the Unfinished Sexual Revolution”. She was commissioned to present a report to the Mass Casualty Commission report about a mass murder in Nova Scotia. Mass Casualty Commission report detail...

Brian interviews Amber Scott. Amber talks about Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Compliance. She has broad-based financial compliance experience that includes insurance, mutual funds and banking. In addition to being a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) Amber is also a Certified Privacy Professional (CIPP). In 2013, she founded Outlier Solutions Inc. to provide anti-money launder...

Brian speaks with Stefan Novakovic. Stefan is a Toronto-based journalist specializing in architecture and urbanism. He is the senior editor of Azure Magazine. He talks about the recently announced plan to relocate the Ontario Science Centre to Ontario Place and build a huge spa at Ontario Place. The architectural community across the GTA is rallying against the demolition of the Science Centre. Bo...