Wonk

In this week’s episode of Policy Speaking, our host Edward Greenspon (President and CEO of PPF) chats with Dahabo Ahmed-Omer (Executive Director of the BlackNorth Initiative ) about systemic racism, economic inclusion and the disproportionate impacts the pandemic has illuminated among different communities across Canada. They reflect on the progress made towards combatting discrimination and exami...

In marking the fifth anniversary of PPF’s The Shattered Mirror report, the host of Policy Speaking and PPF’s President and CEO Edward Greenspon sits down with three of the principal researchers on The Shattered Mirror project, Colette Brin (Professor in the Department of Information and Communications at the Université Laval),

This week our host and PPF’s President and CEO Edward Greenspon discusses Indigenous ownership and economic self-determination with Jeff Cyr (CEO of Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation and Managing Partner of Raven Indigenous Capital Partners) and Alicia Dubois (Founder of Nish Synergies Advisory Group and former CEO of Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation). They examine the role of reconci...

This week our host Edward Greenspon (President and CEO of PPF) chats with Aron Feuer (Managing Director of Cybersecurity at Valencia) and Brad Brookman (former Director of Finance and Treasurer at the Municipality of North Grenville) about the landscape of cyberattacks and ransomware attacks in Canada. They discuss the cyberattack in North Grenville, the targeting of public sector institutions acr...

In this week’s episode of Policy Speaking , our host and PPF’s President and CEO Edward Greenspon sits down with Dr. David Naylor (past Dean of Medicine and President Emeritus at the University of Toronto) and Jodi Butts (lawyer, entrepreneur and self-described healthcare nerd) to discuss the new Omicron variant. They compare public health measures taken with Omicron and previous variants, and dis...

This week’s episode of Policy Speaking is literally out of this world and focused on the space economy. Our host Edward Greenspon (PPF’s President and CEO) chats with Dan Goldberg, President and CEO of Telesat and the Honourable Navdeep Bains, former Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. They cover the importance of investing in space technology along with strategic changes in...

In this week’s episode of Policy Speaking, our host – and PPF’s President & CEO – Edward Greenspon chats with the co-chair of the Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression, Taylor Owen, Commissioner Nathalie Des Rosiers and Chair of the Citizens’ Assembly on Democratic Expression, Peter MacLeod. They discuss what the Commission and Citizens’ Assembly has been working on and what it hopes to acc...

In this week’s episode of Policy Speaking, our host Edward Greenspon (PPF President & CEO) chats with the Honourable Jean Charest and Amanda Affonso looking at Canada’s efforts to balance national interests while decarbonizing. They discuss leveraging Canada’s energy advantages and becoming policy shapers in the global race to net-zero carbon emissions. Hon. Jean Charest and Amanda Affonso also ex...

In our first episode this fall, Ed Greenspon (host of Policy Speaking and PPF President & CEO) is joined by the Right Honourable Joe Clark and the Honourable Christy Clark. They discuss the recent report by the Senate Prosperity Action Group, called Rising to the Challenge of New Global Realities , and focus on the 'how' of achieving its outcomes. Some of the conversation points include building c...

In this week’s episode of Policy Speaking, Edward Greenspon connects with Jerry Dias, President of Unifor Canada. They reflect on the state of the ‘union’, the impact of the pandemic on Canada’s auto, manufacturing & service industries and the constant transition to new & different work. Jerry shares thoughts on industrial policy based on U.S. protectionism, the roles government, business and cons...

Brave New Work special | Episode 3 of 3 Vass Bednar takes over as host of Policy Speaking, for a special Brave New Work discussion on new data policymakers can use in this digital era. Joining the podcast is Paul Cowan, Chief Marketing Officer at FreshBooks who talks about the birds-eye-view insights his accounting company gleaned during the COVID economic crisis, and how sharing those trends help...

Brave New Work special | Episode 2 of 3 Vass Bednar takes over as host of Policy Speaking, for a special Brave New Work discussion on algorithms that pit workers – especially precarious workers – against the clock. Joining the podcast is Emily Guendelsberger, author of 'On the Clock', who wonders: how do you measure misery at work and what do political solutions for misery look like when policymak...

Brave New Work special | Episode 1 of 3 Vass Bednar takes over as host of Policy Speaking, for a special Brave New Work discussion on how to think more fully about technological change. This week's focus is on skills and surveillance, with special guests: Unifor economist and policy analyst Kaylie Tiessen who talks trends in workplace training and how truck driving has been transformed; Director o...

Canada's track record with infrastructure is world renowned, yet as Ehren Cory, CEO of Canada's Infrastructure Bank says, nationwide the country is in a persistent infrastructure gap – especially in Northern or remote communities. Cory joins Policy Speaking host Edward Greenspon to talk about the infrastructure bank system, how to leverage investment in Canada's infrastructure and innovative proje...

Manulife Financial's Chief Economist Frances Donald and former governor of the Bank of Canada David Dodge face off for a productive conversation about supporting our economy at home. From housing prices pushing a generation out of the market, to a debate on a national childcare program, these two eminent Canadian financial minds discuss the historic spending Canada has unleashed to address the pan...

Canadians have made step-wise advancements in treating mental health in the past two decades. 15 years ago the stigma made it hard to even talk about. Today, COVID has accelerated the use of telehealth technology to make mental health support easier to access than before. Dr. David Goldbloom, senior medical advisor at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) joins us to talk next steps on...

Canada is presented with a smorgasbord of solutions to reduce, reuse, or better use the carbon that's heating up the Earth. Policy Speaking is joined by Bruce Lourie , President of the Ivey Foundation and Janet Annesley , Senior Director, Energy and ESG at Invest Alberta Corporation for a wide ranging discussion on what Canada's provincial and federal governments can focus on – in terms of policy...

Canadians have seen the inadequacies of Canada's senior home system in this pandemic. What's less clear – how do we solve these? Policy Speaking is joined by Deloitte Canada's Georgina Black to talk about what good senior support looks like around the world, and where Canada can start to innovate. Should we be looking for better housing solutions, for new social care solutions, or is there a need...

The pandemic presents an opportunity to breathe new life into the story of rail in Canada. Former Transport Minister Lisa Raitt and Yves Desjardins Siciliano, CEO at Siemens Mobility Canada and former VIA Rail CEO join Policy Speaking to talk the ghost of divestment past, Canada's present inter-city train network, why Quebec's system seems different, and how the current commuter crisis resulting f...

Vaccines are rolling out and many Canadians are hoping for an economic upswing in the summer and fall. Is that what we should expect? David Dodge , former Governor of the Bank of Canada, joins us to talk about the economic factors he's following and the impact of the economic stimulus so far in Canada versus the U.S. and Europe. He also puts on his healthcare hat, as a former deputy health ministe...

Canada has four COVID-19 vaccines ready for distribution in half (if not 1/3) the time many predicted. Yet none are homegrown. Dr. Alan Bernstein, CEO of the global research organization CIFAR, and Dr. Vivek Goel, soon-to-be President of the University of Waterloo and a public health physician on the federal government’s COVID-19 Immunity Task Force, join Policy Speaking to talk about the logistic...

When the pandemic ends, do we return to the office of 2019? Over half of surveyed workers would like to continue working from home, even just a bit. Managers, employees, commuters, and families have lived new options and Tania Saba, professor and expert on workforce and digital transformation, explores how back-to-office may – or may not – play out. Regardless, says Murtaza Haider, Research Direct...

Women are the heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. From nurses to doctors, school teachers to orderlies, women represent 50% (or much more) of many front-line professions. Yet employment outcomes for women, particularly young women and racialized women, are the most troubling. Lynn Barr-Telford , Assistant Chief Statistician at Statistics Canada, joins Policy Speaking to share these numbers and Anjum...

Nadine Spencer , President of the Black Business and Professional Association, and Mohamed Elmi , Director of Research at the Diversity Institute discuss walking the talk when it comes to addressing systemic racism. Nadine and Mohamed share the challenges black business people have long faced, and society has only recently begun to acknowledge. From financing in the COVID-19 pandemic, to the fact...

U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent inauguration speech spoke of the “uncivil war” that polarizes American society across different fault lines including the urban-rural divide. But Canadians shouldn’t assume that these are merely American problems. PPF's Prime Ministers of Canada Fellow Sean Speer and Peter Loewen share their recent research, and sketch a blueprint for how we can go about building...