Futureproofing Canada

How do you make policy, good policy, in a crisis? That’s the question on everyone’s minds, as all levels of government try to find ways of putting out fires without sparking new ones. You have to be quick. You have to actually be able to make your policies happen. And you have to be responsive when citizens tell you what’s not working.  Jennifer Robson knows this. She’s an associate professor in the Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University, and an expert on social policy, tax policy and financial inclusion. Her plain-language guide on accessing the COVID-19 benefits has been picked up by media outlets, think tanks and citizens’ groups alike.  She joined the podcast last Wednesday, April 8th, to discuss how Canada is faring on these policy-making goals, and how we can better support those most at risk.   Her benefits guide: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lOJn7XS6ETIkbLRodYk681M_2dxkkQsc/view Download for free. New episodes every other week. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP.

Over the next while, here at Policy Options we’ll be putting out special “corona-casts” so we can look at the many sides to the COVID-19 pandemic. And specifically, how policymakers can respond in a way that helps the majority of Canadians without ignoring those most at risk. Today we’re laying the groundwork with Colin Busby. He’s a Research Director at the IRPP, where he heads the Faces of Aging program and co-heads the Skills and Labour Market Policy program. He gives us the lowdown on the current economic response plan and how the federal approach has changed over time. Canada's COVID-19 Economic Response Plan: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html Download for free. New episodes every other week. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has made headlines for his proposal to hold a referendum on equalization. Now, Canadian premiers have a long history of taking shots at equalization. But what’s different here is Kenney’s focus on fiscal stabilization. It’s a program most of us are likely unfamiliar with, or were until recently. But Kenney is tying these two programs together – describing fiscal stabilization as an “equalization rebate” – and saying that it, too, isn’t giving Alberta its due. So, what exactly is fiscal stabilization, and how does it relate to equalization? Will these programs be reformed? Should they be? Today on the podcast, we're joined by James Feehan, an honorary research professor and former professor of economics at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He’s the author of a recent IRPP Insight, Canada’s Equalization Program: Political Debates and Opportunities for Reform. We're also joined by Trevor Tombe, an associate professor of economics and a research fellow at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy. He’s the author of another recent IRPP Insight, An (Overdue) Review of Canada’s Fiscal Stabilization Program. Canada’s Equalization Program: Political Debates and Opportunities for Reform: https://irpp.org/research-studies/canadas-equalization-program-political-debates-and-opportunities-for-reform/ An (Overdue) Review of Canada’s Fiscal Stabilization Program: https://irpp.org/research-studies/an-overdue-review-of-canadas-fiscal-stabilization-program/ Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.

En 2019, à la suite d’une importante mobilisation de la société civile, la Ville de Montréal a lancé une consultation publique sur le racisme et la discrimination systémiques. Les audiences ont pris fin en décembre, et le rapport final de la consultation devrait être publié au printemps 2020. Ce n’est pas la première fois que le racisme et la discrimination systémiques à Montréal font l’objet d’un rapport. En 2017, après s’être rendu à Ottawa, Toronto, Halifax et Montréal, un groupe de travail du Conseil des droits de l’homme de l’ONU déposait un rapport condamnant le racisme systémique dont est victime la population noire au Canada. En octobre 2019, des chercheurs indépendants mandatés par le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal blâmaient le service de police dans un rapport faisant état de la discrimination systémique dont sont victimes les populations noires, arabes et autochtones. Malgré la multiplication des recherches et des condamnations, des actions politiques concrètes pour lutter contre le phénomène se font toujours attendre. Mais quelle est exactement cette problématique du racisme systémique et de quelle manière affecte-t-elle les Canadiens ? Cofondateur de Montréal en action ― le groupe qui, grâce à une pétition signée par plus de 15 000 personnes, a incité la Ville de Montréal à tenir ces consultations ―, Balarama Holness nous parle des impacts du racisme et de la discrimination systémiques, de la consultation publique de la Ville de Montréal et du manque de politiques gouvernementales efficaces pour lutter contre le racisme. Le téléchargement est gratuit. Nous mettons en ligne de nouveaux balados chaque deuxième mercredi. Vous pouvez envoyer vos commentaires par Twitter à @IRPP ou @JRicardoBM.

Parliament has finally resumed sitting, but it’s hardly a fresh start for Justin Trudeau. The regional and ideological fault lines of the last election aren’t going anywhere. And now, it’s on the prime minister – and of course, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Chrystia Freeland – to find points of common interest with all of Canada’s premiers. So how will Trudeau and Freeland approach this balancing act? Today on the podcast, we’ve got some of the keenest observers of Canadian federalism discussing this very question. On Monday, January 27th, the IRPP came together with the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada (MISC) and The Max Bell School of Public Policy to host an event on Justin Trudeau and the politics of federalism. What follows is a conversation between Chantal Hébert of the Toronto Star, Daniel Béland of MISC and Christopher Ragan of Max Bell, moderated by Charles Breton, executive director of the IRPP’s new Centre of Excellence on the Canadian. Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.

Last September, a Quebec Superior Court judge struck down key provisions in the Quebec and federal laws on medical assistance in dying (MAiD) in what’s known as the Truchon and Gladu case. These set out how close or predictable one’s death needs to be to qualify for MAiD. Now, on March 11, both laws will come into force – without those provisions in Quebec. Meanwhile, the federal government is holding consultations to develop a solution that will be consistent across Canada. As a result of the decision, MAiD will be within reach for more people like Montrealers Jean Truchon and Nicole Gladu – people suffering as a result of physical disabilities and chronic conditions. But a group of experts is arguing that the implications extend far beyond cases like these. In particular, it could allow many more people with mental disorders as their sole underlying medical condition to gain eligibility for MAiD. And if that happens, it’s not clear how the government will respond. To discuss the ripple effects of Truchon and Gladu, we’re joined by Jocelyn Downie and Mona Gupta for a bilingual podcast. Jocelyn Downie is the James S. Palmer Chair in Public Policy and Law at Dalhousie’s Schulich School of Law, and Mona Gupta is a psychiatrist and researcher at the Centre l’Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University de Montréal. They’re two of the authors on a forthcoming IRPP study on what the government must do to address the issue of MAiD for people living with mental disorders. Jocelyn will be speaking to our host Julia in English, while Mona will focus on the Quebec context with our French host, Ricardo. To skip ahead to the French portion of the podcast, go to the 31-minute mark. Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.

The legalization of cannabis and the pardon system for simple possession charges should have decreased the criminalization surrounding the drug. Yet advocates say the impact of legalization won’t be equal: Black and Indigenous people, already disproportionately targeted by police, will likely bear the brunt of the new cannabis regulations. Meanwhile, they’re facing some of the biggest barriers to obtain a pardon and enter into the legal cannabis market. This week’s podcast delves into the links between cannabis and the larger criminalization of Black Canadians. We’re joined by Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Toronto, Mississauga, and the director of research for the Campaign for Cannabis Amnesty; and El Jones, a Halifax-based poet, educator, journalist and activist. Cannabis Amnesty: www.cannabisamnesty.ca High, Good People: www.highgoodpeople.com Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.

We hear every day about the ways technology is changing the world around us. But if these conversations mention government, it’s usually to warn against foreign threats to our elections. Rarely do we discuss the digital transformation going on within the public service. The FWD50 conference is trying to change that. For the past few years, it has gathered experts from around the world to speak to public practitioners about the possibilities and challenges of digital government. We headed to Ottawa to speak to some of those experts. On this week’s episode, FWD50 speakers David Eaves (Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School of Government), Jaimie Boyd (Chief Digital Officer, Government of British Columbia) and Kristo Vaher (Chief Technology Officer, Government of Estonia) give us an insider’s look at how governments around the world are tackling the digital transformation. Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday, starting again in January. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.

Canada has an aging population. When we talk about this, our discussions usually circle back to health, and in particular, to the question of how we’re going to care for everyone as the tax base shrinks and the number of people with complex or chronic conditions grows. But older Canadians and their caregivers are struggling now: not just because there aren’t enough specialists or care facilities to go around, but because our health and care systems are so fragmented that reaching and navigating those services can become a Herculean task. To learn how this struggle affects older Canadians and their caregivers, we’re joined by Laura Funk. She’s an associate professor of sociology at the University of Manitoba with a new IRPP study: "Relieving the Burden of Navigating Health and Social Services for Older Adults and Caregivers." That study is available at https://irpp.org/research-studies/relieving-the-burden-of-navigating-health-and-social-services-for-older-adults-and-caregivers/. Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.

The 43rd federal election has come to a close. At his first press conference after election night, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed that he and the Liberals have a lot of reflecting to do. He said it so often, in fact, that Carleton Journalism Professor Josh Greenberg called this the “reflection re-election.” What does reflection entail? For starters, it means Prime Minister Trudeau and his team will be hard at work deciding on who has a voice in the new cabinet and how the parts of Canada without Liberal MPs will be represented. But there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes, from crafting mandate letters to choosing policy priorities. And it’s not just Mr. Trudeau who will want to hit the ground running. In a minority Parliament, even a fairly stable one, each party is going to have to think strategically. When will they play ball and when will they take a stand? Do they stick with their leader or is it time for a change? What is their endgame? This week we bring you the final conversation from Policy Options’ election 2019 breakfast series, as Yolande James (Les ex, Radio-Canada), Brian Topp (KTG Public Affairs), Elizabeth Roscoe (Hill+Knowlton Strategies Canada) and Jennifer Ditchburn (Policy Options) discuss what awaits Canada’s 43rd Parliament. This event series is held in partnership with the Max Bell School of Public Policy, sponsored by the CBC, and broadcast by CPAC. Download for free. New episodes every second Wednesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @jbugiel.