The 2020 Network

The COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the urgent need for universal robust connectivity from coast to coast to coast. How can we use this moment of crisis to make generational improvements to connectivity infrastructure? In Keeping Canada Connected: Part 1 of the Crisis to Resilience series, Canada 2020's Alex Paterson speaks with Simon Kennedy from Industry, Science and Economic Development Canada...

Around the world, the calls have begun to “build back better.” The slogan, or some variant of it, is ubiquitous. Even as we continue to manage life during the pandemic, we start to look beyond it, towards something better, we hope. In Canada, the idea of a universal basic income has been circulating for decades. However, as the discussions and debates around our post-pandemic world pick up, it’s a...

Today on the show, Canada 2020 Executive Director Alex Paterson is joined by Kim Rudd, former Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, and Michel Trepanier, President of the Quebec Building Trades Council, to talk about their new report Real Jobs, Real Recovery and how we navigate a natural resource sector at a crucial crossroads for recovery.

It is often the people who care the most about an institution who also dare to raise the problems within it. On this episode of @Risk, Jodi Butts speaks candidly with Jeff Jarvis, an American journalist, professor and media pundit’s pundit, and Nana aba Duncan, an award-winning broadcaster, William Southam Journalism Fellow and founder of Media Girlfriends, about some of the overlooked internal th...

On this episode of Crisis to Resilience, Canada 2020's Alex Paterson sits down with Robert Asselin, currently the Senior Vice President at the Business Council of Canada, and former Director of Policy to the Hon. Bill Morneau. The Business Council's new report - Powering a Strong Recovery - lays out a recovery plan for our economy. But, as Alex and Robert discuss, even though times are unprecedent...

Around the world, the race is on to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. So far, nearly 200 candidates are in the works, including dozens at the human-trial stage. The optimistic experts tell us that a vaccine could be ready this year or early next, and set for distribution by mid-to-late 2021. The pessimists suggest it could take longer. But few doubt that we will be able to produce a vaccine. The questio...

In the United States, the votes have been cast. In some jurisdictions, they are still being counted despite the best efforts of President Trump to stop it. But counted they will be. The presidential election was closer than many expected, despite Joe Biden winning more votes than any contender in U.S. history. We are left with questions about the Biden campaign strategy, polling, and the state and...

Crisis to Resilience is a new Canada 2020 virtual series exploring how we can build a more resilient future for all Canadians. In this episode, Canada 2020's Alex Paterson speaks with the Hon. Mona Fortier,  Canadian Minister for Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance, about the immediate action taken by the Canadian government to support the most vulnerable Canadians impacted b...

It's election day in America and to mark the occasion, Jodi Butts speaks with internationally acclaimed American painter and sculptor, Eric Fischl, the artist behind the controversial sculpture, Tumbling Woman , inspired by the events of 9/11. Art has forever been a risky endeavour. The artist can never control how any person reacts to their creation. That reaction though -- whether positive or ne...

Crisis to Resilience is a new Canada 2020 virtual series exploring how we can build a more resilient future for all Canadians. Listen to our first episode featuring the Hon. Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier of Ontario and Ontario Minister of Health, speaking with Canada 2020's Alex Paterson, about Ontario’s response to the pandemic, what we've learnt, and what the future might look like.

When America votes for its President, Canada tends to catch election fever but, with all that’s at stake this time around, it feels like a matter of duty to pay attention. On this episode of @Risk, Jodi Butts sits down with former U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman, and former cultural envoy, Vicki Heyman, to discuss the risks on the U.S. presidential ballot, as well as what it all may mean f...

On Tuesday, November 3rd, Americans will head to the polls in the country’s 59th election. After four years in power, Donald Trump’s presidency is on the ballot and on the ropes—things are not looking good for the incumbent. But will the US election be free and fair? For years, Trump has been working to undermine the integrity of American electoral institutions. He has refused to say whether he’ll...

To read the full transcript of this episode, click here.

Over 500,000 people die around the world each year from drug use, and  the vast majority of those deaths are related to opioids. Thousands of the lives lost are Canadian lives. The old ways of thinking about, legislating around, and policing drug use have failed. New ways of thinking about drug policy, including an emphasis on safe supply, destigmatization, and treatment are ascendent. But more mu...

Risk is all of our business but some decisions really bring it home. On this episode of @Risk, Jodi Butts speaks with four parents about their decision to return their children to in-person learning in public schools. Hear how these parents carried out their risk decision-making responsibilities during a September unlike any other. We explore their policy ideas for what could have made the decisio...

On the premiere episode of @Risk, host Jodi Butts speaks with Col. Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station, New York Times bestselling author and YouTube sensation. Mr. Hadfield has spent his entire life being careful with risk, visualizing defeat and then figuring out how to prevent it. Hear why risk is all of our business, why we should always be ready for...

In Canada, the opioid crisis has killed thousands of people and continues to claim more lives each and every day. In August, British Columbia marked its third straight month with over 170 deaths by overdose - and its fifth-straight month with over 100 lives lost. In Canada’s westernmost province, the crisis has been, by far, deadlier than covid-19. While there is no panacea for the crisis, there a...

Democracy is in decline in the United States of America. While President Trump is hastening that decline, he is neither the initial nor the sole cause of it. Indeed, prior to Trump’s election, the Economist, in its Democracy Index, downgraded the USA from “Full Democracy” to “Flawed Democracy,” citing the concerns that would help give rise to the 45th president. Stretching back to the 18th century...

For over a year, Open to Debate has brought you smart, witty and thoughtful political conversations on current affairs, to help make sense of today's politics and policy, in Canada and around the world. At its core, Open to Debate is a space for agreeable disagreement, driven by the belief that honest, meaningful and vigorous discussion are essential to democracy. Open to Debate returns this fall....

Social media has opened up opportunities for sharing, networking, self-expression, and collaboration that were previously difficult, if not impossible for many. In plenty of ways, it has pluralized and democratized communication. While social media offers opportunities, it also comes with risks and costs. At times, it becomes an utter wasteland: a haven for harassment  and a steward of violence. O...

The year 2020 will be, for many, the most difficult year of their life. And yet, there will still be difficult years ahead. We are living through a pandemic. We are facing structural shifts in the global order. We are witnessing the decline of democracy, or at least its stagnation. We are grappling with climate change. The struggles we face are shaped by factors we control, and factors we cannot c...

In the United States, the United Kingdom, and around the world, protestors are defacing and toppling statues of figures whose legacy of deeds include oppression, violence, and death. While these monuments purport to celebrate these individuals for other reasons, the mere presence of such tributes speaks to a particular construction and understanding of history. In Canada, John A. Macdonald has bee...

For this final 2-part episode of the 2020 Network’s special COVID-19 series, host Jodi Butts speaks with Gerald Butts, current consultant with the Eurasia Group, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former CEO of the World Wildlife Fund. In part 1 of this episode, they discuss climate change in the context of a pandemic, what the new economy might look like post-pandemic...

For this final 2-part episode of the 2020 Network’s special COVID-19 series, host Jodi Butts speaks with Gerald Butts, current consultant with the Eurasia Group, former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former CEO of the World Wildlife Fund. In part 2 of this episode, Gerry shares his unique perspective about some of the most significant public policy impacts of this pandemi...

In June, Canada lost its bid for a temporary seat on the United Nations Security Council. The loss came after four years of campaigning for the spot and is reminiscent of Stephen Harper’s 2010 failure. Back then, we lost to Germany and Portugal. This time, it was to Ireland and Norway. Each time, we have been left asking: Why? Previously, going back to 1946, Canada had won each of its bids for a U...