Futureproofing Canada

A snapshot of precarious work in Canada today, a Policy Options podcast. The nature of work in Canada is changing. With the onset of the so-called "fourth industrial revolution” careers are becoming a patchwork of impermanent contracts and “gigs,” which often do not come with the benefits associated with long-term employment. Canada’s social architecture, including employment insurance, may no longer be responding adequately to the nonstandard work so many Canadians are being forced to accept. In this podcast you can listen to the panel discussion recently hosted by Policy Options on the implications of precarious work for Canadians and decision-makers. Francis Fong of Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada, Sunil Johal of the University of Toronto’s Mowat Centre and Wendy Vuyk of the Ontario Centre for Workforce Innovation joined Policy Options Editor-in -Chief Jennifer Ditchburn to broach this key policy issue. Download for free. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP. Read Francis Fong’s Policy Options article on precarious work at http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/january-2018/we-dont-know-the-extent-of-precarious-work/ Check out the Policy Options special feature "Inclusive Growth in an Age of Disruption" at http://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/october-2017/inclusive-growth-in-an-age-of-disruption/

The role of online bots in electoral politics, a Policy Options podcast. Online bots scan social media sites and then send out automatic messages to users. Political parties use them to get their messages out. So they have the power to shape public opinion, and they can even have an impact on elections. Fenwick McKelvey from Concordia University and Elizabeth Dubois from University of Ottawa recently wrote about bots for Policy Options. They found that the risks of this kind of digital campaign could soon outweigh the benefits. McKelvey sat down with journalist and McGill University law student Ryan Hicks at our Montreal studio to talk about why political parties should commit to using bots responsibly. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP.

Put The Peace Back Into UN Peacekeeping Operations, a Policy Options podcast. Canada is rethinking the way it contributes to United Nations peacekeeping missions around the world. The federal government promised boots on the ground more than a year ago, and it has yet to deliver. But is that really where Canada should focus its efforts? Our host, journalist and McGill University law student Ryan Hicks, spoke to Lou Pingeot, co-ordinator of McGill’s Centre for International Peace and Security Studies. She and Vincent Pouliot are the authors of the recent Policy Options article Replacer la paix au cœur des opérations de l’ONU. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP.

Walking The Talk On International Development Assistance, a Policy Options podcast. When Justin Trudeau’s government took office, one of the Prime Minister’s messages overseas was "Canada's back," which referred to Canada's perceived lack of leadership on the world stage under the previous, Conservative, government. Now that the Liberals are halfway through their mandate, it’s a good time to reflect on whether the government is living up to its rhetoric on international development assistance. Our podcast host, journalist and McGill University law student Ryan Hicks, spoke to economist and policy analyst Debapriya Bhattacharya, a distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue in Dhaka, Bangladesh, about Canada’s performance in this area. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP.

Far-right extremist groups have long flown under the law enforcement and policy-making radar, but the events of the past year have made them impossible to ignore. The violent demonstrations of white supremacists and nationalists in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the planned protests by the anti-immigrant group La Meute in Quebec City this summer are just two examples of the alarming rise of far-right extremist activity. Barbara Perry, a professor at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, wrote recently in Policy Options about the phenomenon of far-right extremist groups in Canada. She joined journalist and McGill University law student Ryan Hicks to discuss the threat these groups pose and what policy-makers can do about it in the latest episode of the Policy Options podcast.

The Naylor Report under the microscope, a Policy Options Podcast. Does Canada spend enough on fundamental, independent research at our universities? When funding is awarded to our scholars and scientists, is it done fairly? These are two of the central questions addressed by the report of Canada’s Fundamental Science Review, or the Naylor Report. The report came out in April, but many in the research community are still anxiously waiting for the federal government to respond to the recommendations. Policy Options co-hosted a panel discussion on the report with Universities Canada. The participants included University of British Columbia President Santa Ono, Janet Rossant from the Gairdner Foundation, Indigenous legal scholar John Borrows from the University of Victoria, and PhD candidate Catherine Normandeau from Queen’s University. You can also read a Policy Options piece on the subject by Universities Canada president Paul Davidson, published earlier this year.

What to make of the INAC split?, a Policy Options Podcast. It is not often that the name of a department grabs the headlines in a cabinet shuffle, but that’s what happened when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced he was cleaving Indian and Northern Affairs Canada into two separate entities. The move comes two decades after the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples made this recommendation in 1996. In a recent Policy Options article, Queen’s University PhD student Veldon Coburn takes a look at whether splitting up the department still makes sense, and whether it will actually move the government toward decolonization. He joined the podcast to discuss the important context around the announcement.

Securing the best NAFTA deal possible for Canada, a Policy Options Podcast. In advance of the first round of NAFTA negotiations, officials from Canada, the United States, and Mexico all laid out their trade policy goals to their respective citizens. Achieving those goals will be easier said than done, and will require careful strategizing, compromise, and assertiveness on the part of each delegation. In an article she wrote as part of Policy Options’ ongoing special feature on trade policy, Meredith Lilly – holder of the Simon Reisman Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University – outlined a set of principles that she believes should guide Canada’s NAFTA negotiating strategy. Lilly discussed these principles and more in a new episode of the Policy Options podcast. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @AlexShadeed. Read Meredith Lilly’s Policy Options article “Four ways to keep our eyes on the prize in NAFTA talks” at http://options-po.li/2v1wIrA See the Policy Options Special Feature “Trade Policy for Uncertain Times" at http://options-po.li/2tfc5ow

Supporting academic freedom globally, a Policy Options Podcast. In 2016, Concordia University anthropology professor Homa Hoodfar was arrested in Iran while conducting research on feminism and security matters. During her 112 days in prison, Hoodfar reflected on the state of academic freedom and the factors that continue to lead to the imprisonment and abuse of her colleagues globally. In a speech she gave at the 2017 Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, and later published by Policy Options, professor Hoodfar argued that academic freedom ought to be recognized as a transnational right by governments everywhere. Doing so would go a long way toward the protection of academics and their contribution to the common good. Professor Hoodfar stopped by our podcast to explain what this would entail. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @AlexShadeed. Read Homa Hoodfar’s Policy Options article “Academic freedom as a transnational right” at http://options-po.li/2tLPhQG

Canadian copyright policy is so 2012, a Policy Options podcast. After a lengthy consultation process, in 2012 Stephen Harper’s government passed a legislative overhaul of the Copyright Act. Titled the Copyright Modernization Act, it addressed many of the issues in the copyright regime that had plagued both creators and users. With the mandated five-year review of the Act fast approaching, stakeholders are once again reflecting on how Canadian copyright policy can be improved. In an article he contributed to the Policy Options special feature Reviewing Canadian Copyright Policy, Michael Geist, holder of the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, outlined his expectations for the upcoming copyright policy review. He stopped by the podcast to discuss where he thinks copyright policy is headed. Download for free. New episodes every second Tuesday. Tweet your questions and comments to @IRPP or @AlexShadeed. Read Michael Geist’s Policy Options article on the upcoming Canadian copyright policy review at http://options-po.li/2rinW8h See the Policy Options special feature "Reviewing Canadian Copyright Policy" at http://options-po.li/2thJelK