Futureproofing Canada

When a snap election was called in August, Canadians had a little over a month to prepare for a federal election and digest the platforms put forward by the political parties vying for their votes. Each party focused on what they thought would get them the most seats in the House. The New Democrats talked about affordability writ large, the Conservatives prioritized financial well-being, the Bloc put Quebec’s interests first, the Greens focused on environmental sustainability and the Liberals promised a suite of measures to help stop COVID in its tracks. Months of intense planning goes into every election campaign. So how are these platforms conceived and developed in the first place? Who decides what makes the final cut? And what happens when something goes wrong?

Over the past few years, the need for governments to work with one another has been ramping up. Canada is facing a long and unpredictable pandemic, a changing economy and high expectations from Canadians. 2022 is upon us, and with the new year come new policies for governments to fight over and old disagreements to revisit. So, what issues are on the horizon at all levels of government as we enter our second full year of the pandemic? To discuss that question, we are joined by the IRPP’s Charles Breton. Charles is the director of the Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation at the Institute. We will be speaking about the provincial and federal economies and what major battles Canadians can expect from their governments in the coming year, as well as his work at the Centre of Excellence.

Over the summer of 2021 the world saw what can only be described as the fall of Afghanistan. Taliban offensive forces rapidly overtook the country in a matter of weeks, causing chaos within its borders and concern from the international community about what would happen to its citizens. There was a collective understanding that these individuals needed support, and along with it an understanding that we needed to take in refugees from that country. A few weeks later, the Canadian government committed to accepting Afghan 40,000 refugees (until now only 5,500 have been admitted). This isn’t the first time Canada has taken in a large group of refugees at one time. There are parallels (and considerable differences) between what is happening now and what happened during the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis, and we can learn a lot from our successes and mistakes during that 2015 initiative. On this episode of the podcast I speak with three individuals who have deep experience in refugee migration and settlement in Canada. First up is Thomas Soehl, an associate professor at McGill University and Canada Research Chair in International Migration. He is currently working on Tajribati, a project in which a McGill team is conducting interviews with thousands of Syrian refugees to explore the socio-cultural and political aspects of their adjustment to life in Canada, with a focus on intergenerational dynamics and informal support networks. Next is Alexandra Dawley, Senior Manager of Refugee Resettlement and Integration Programs at Mosaic ─ a British Columbia-based organization ─ one of Canada’s largest resettlement nonprofits, which serves immigrant, refugee and migrant communities throughout BC. Last I talk with Ramez Al-Jassem, who arrived in Canada in late 2016 as a Syrian refugee, to discuss his experience as a refugee and a Canadian citizen.

The killing of women and girls in Canada is not accurately tracked. Data needs to emphasize prevention, not just the administrative needs of government. Read the full article here: https://options-po.li/3pjJvkc Article by: Myrna Dawson Read by: Cléa Desjardins

In 2020, 5.5 million Canadian workers lost their jobs. In that same year, 47 Canadian billionaires saw their wealth increase by 78 billion dollars. But rising inequality did not start during the pandemic. In fact, since the 1980s, the richest Canadians have increased their wealth, while middle- and low-income Canadians saw theirs diminish. Between 1982 and 2018, the top 1 per cent of Canadians saw their income double, the upper middle class saw an income increase of around 10 per cent, and everyone else’s salary didn’t see any increase at all. In fact, those salaries didn’t even keep up with inflation. Wealth inequality in Canada is staggering. Last September, Statistics Canada reported that the wealthiest 20 per cent of Canadians currently hold over 65 per cent of the wealth in the country, while the bottom 40 per cent – almost half the country, holds just 2.5 per cent of wealth as of 2020. Coming out of the pandemic, governments are looking for ways to reduce debt and fix systemic issues in healthcare and long-term care, as well as fill gaps in the social safety net that were made apparent in the last two years. This week Angella MacEwan joins the podcast. Angella is the senior economist at the Canadian Union of Public employees, a policy fellow at the Broadbent Institute, and a former federal NDP Candidate for Ottawa Centre. I will be speaking with her about the steps the Canadian government has taken to reach this point of inequality, and the Broadbent Institute’s plan to tax the rich.

The Canadian federation was built on a compromise between two linguistic communities, anglophones and francophones. This compromise still exists today and is now part of our national fabric and identity, in addition to being enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Read the full text here: https://on-irpp.org/37oFnb6 By: Stéphanie Chouinard and Luc Turgeon *** La fédération canadienne a été érigée sur un compromis fondateur entre deux communautés linguistiques, francophone et anglophone. Ce compromis existe toujours et fait désormais partie du tissu identitaire national, en plus d’être enchâssé dans la Charte canadienne des droits et libertés. Lisez le texte complet ici : https://on-irpp.org/2Hm9fde Par: Stéphanie Chouinard and Luc Turgeon

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more common in our everyday lives. The technology is being used in a wide range of areas, such as advertising, health care, banking and manufacturing, to name a few. It is a massive advance in the tech sector that can benefit almost all levels of society. But with the benefits, there are also risks. Because of the speed at which the technology is advancing, it can be an unpredictable, or even a malicious tool that policy-makers are ill equipped to deal with, especially because of the speed at which the technology is advancing. This became apparent with the development of an AI system called GPT-3. GPT-3 was designed to be simple AI tasked with learning how to auto-complete a sentence, but it taught itself a suite of seemingly unrelated tasks, including how to write articles that are indistinguishable from writing done by a human. Its evolution raised alarm bells within the AI developing community, who had concerns about its impact on public safety. My guest today is dedicated to filling the knowledge gap between AI developers and policy- makers. Jérémie Harris is a former physicist and Silicon Valley tech start-up founder who left the tech industry to collaborate with AI policy leaders around the world, including the former heads of AI policy at the U.S. Department of Defense, the World Economic Forum, and top AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic. He has developed a plan that will enable the federal government to monitor and create policy around AI so that Canada can stay ahead of the curve. Jérémie joins the podcast to discuss the current public safety risks posed by AI, and what the government can do to mitigate them.

Canada-China relations in trade, climate change and human rights must follow a courageous and creative new path in the wake of the two Michaels saga. Read the full article here: https://options-po.li/3jVmMcf By: Lynette Ong

Alberta has spoken! On October 18, as Albertans voted in municipal elections, there were two additional questions on the ballot. One was fairly inconsequential and asked people if they preferred doing away with daylight savings. It was narrowly rejected, with just 50.2 per cent of the vote. The second was more weighty and could end up changing the Canadian Constitution. Albertans were asked if section 36(2) of the Constitution Act, concerning equalization payments, should be removed from the Constitution. To that question, they said “YES,” with 62 per cent of the vote. But what on earth is equalization!? And what happens now? Will Alberta be able to convince other provinces to get on board? And will the federal government entertain the idea of a constitutional change? To answer these questions, we speak with two professors in Alberta. First up is Trevor Tombe, professor of economics at the University of Calgary and research fellow at the School of Public Policy. His research focuses on international trade, macroeconomics and fiscal federalism. He will explain what equalization is, and talk about the flaws in the program. Then we speak with political science professor Lisa Young, also at the University of Calgary. She researches Canadian political parties, women's participation in politics, interest groups and social movements, and the regulation of electoral finance. She will discuss what this vote might mean for Alberta and for the rest of the country.

The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security should follow the blueprint that U.K. and U.S. institutions use to protect critical national infrastructure. Read the full article here: https://options-po.li/3G2tfLS By: David Masson