Beyond the Headlines

Truss Issues: Policy Lessons from the UK’s “Mini Budget”

In September this year, the British government, with its surprise mini-budget, incited a series of that led to turbulence in the markets which bled into the political arena, resulting in new leadership. This week’s episode cuts through the drama to break down the economic policy and understand what really went wrong. The show will also explore the ramifications of the UK’s political and economic crisis for a Canadian perspective.
Guest Bios:
Prof. Edmund Cannon from the University of Bristol. Prof. Cannon is a Fellow of the Pensions Institute and a Visiting Professor at the University of Verona. He is an Associate and long-standing member of the Economics Network, a body to help improve economics teaching in the UK Higher Education sector. His research interests lie broadly in the area of applied economics, especially in long-run economic development, the efficiency of markets, pensions and insurance.
Professor Mel Cappe is a fellow and professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Before joining Munk, he was the President and CEO of the Institute for Research on Public Policy. He has also had a distinguished career in the Canadian public service, and has served in many high-profile positions, such as Canada’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom as well as Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary to the Federal Cabinet.
Producers:
Antoine Fougère-Ramsamooj
Raagini Singh Panwar
Kriti Sharma

Rethinking Care for Canada’s Elders

COVID-19 has upended and disrupted the lives of many Canadians, but none have suffered more than our elders. As the virus infiltrated our communities in March and April 2020, horrific scenes unfolded at care homes across the country. Thousands of fatalities, seniors left for days without food and even opportunities to wash. Perhaps even more tragic is that, despite many warning signs and numerous investigations and special commissions, eldercare in Canada has been pushed aside for decades. The pandemic simply exposed an issue that had, in a twisted way, existed in silence and outside the public spotlight for some time. Today, we try and understand how and why Canada arrived at this moment, and what we can do differently to ensure our elders get the care they want and deserve. 
 
Topics discussed include: The origins of medicare and elder care in Canada, why politicians who champion healthcare issues aren’t rewarded, success models from other countries, addressing the shortage of care workers, whether market forces & the private sector can resolve challenges on their own, and much more. 
 
Guest Bio:
 
Our guest is Mr. André Picard. Mr. Picard is a health reporter and columnist for The Globe and Mail, where he has been a staff writer since 1987. He is also the author of five bestselling books, including most recently, “Neglected No More: The Urgent Need to Improve the Lives of Canada’s Elders in the Wake of a Pandemic”, which was nominated for the prestigious Donner Prize in Canadian public policy writing. Mr. Picard was named Canada’s first “Public Health Hero” by the Canadian Public Health Association, as a “Champion of Mental Health” by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health, and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his dedication to improving healthcare.
 
Further Reading:
 
Picard, A. (2021). Neglected No More: The Urgent Need to Improve the Lives of Canada’s Elders in the Wake of a Pandemic. Random House Canada.
 
Picard, A. (2022, October 23). In an aging world, seniors’ loss of independence and quality of life is a preventable tragedy. The Globe and Mail.
 
Song:
 
Highway to the Sea by Thea Koper
 
Producers:
 
Connor Fraser - @RealCJFraser
Anna Lazaris - @lazaris_anna

Canada and China: Looking to the Future

In January 2022, you joined Beyond the Headlines to learn about the past and present of Canada’s relationship with China. Today, we bring you a panel discussion about the future of Canada - China relations. China is rapidly ascending to become the world’s most powerful economy, and there is no denying that China has added value to the lives of many Canadians who regularly purchase goods and services developed in China. However, China is a complex nation, much larger in terms of population than Canada, and with a radically different worldview than our own. Some would even argue that China is a hostile power which threatens western civilization. In this spirit, we sit down with an open mind to understand a basic set of questions: What does China want (and why)? What does Canada want (and why)? And are there any notable areas of overlap & divergence that could enable us to either create or destroy value in the future. 
Guests:
Professor Bernie Frolic, is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at York University where he is executive director of the Asia Business and Management Program. He first visited China in 1965 and was First Secretary in the Canadian Embassy Beijing in the 1970s. Professor Frolic is notably the author of Mao’s People: Sixteen Portraits of Life in Revolutionary China, and Canada and China: A Fifty-Year Journey which was published in May 2022 and draws upon interviews with 5 Canadian Prime Ministers, 35 ministers, and 40 members of Global Affairs Canada, in addition to extensive archival research and his own personal experiences.
Professor Paul Evans is based at the Institute of Asian Research and the Liu Institute for Global Issues within the University of British Columbia where he is the HSBC Chair in Asian Research. Professor Evans is author of the 2014 book: Engaging China: Myth, Aspiration and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper, as well as co-editor of the 1991 essay collection: Reluctant Adversaries: Canada and the People’s Republic of China, 1949-1970. 
Further Reading:
Frolic, B. M. (2022). Canada and China : A Fifty-Year Journey. University of Toronto Press.
Evans, P. M. (2014). Engaging China : Myth, Aspiration, and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper. University of Toronto Press.
Chase, S. (2022, October 17). Western countries already embracing ‘friend-shoring’ to reduce trade with authoritarian regimes, Freeland says. The Globe and Mail. 
Attributions:
Intro by Quantum Jazz is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.
Jingle Jazz by Quantum Jazz is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License
Producers:
Connor Fraser - @RealCJFraser

Toronto 2022: Getting Election Ready

This week as talk of municipal politics filled the airways, we invited a few people to come talk to us about municipal challenges, the political context of this election, municipal finance and process modernisation. Our first guest, Matt Elliot from the City Hall Watcher, breaks down the major issues of this election and its political context, next we'll hear from Dr Enid Slack about municipal finance before we welcome Mayoral candidate Chloe Brown to talk about red tape and creating efficient infrastructure.
 
Guests: Matt Elliot, Enid Slack, Chloe Brown
Producer : Anna Lazaris

The Policy Roadmap to Innovation

For this episode we welcome Dan Breznitz, author of Innovation in real places. During this episode he argues success lies in understanding the changed structure of the global system of production and then using those insights to enable communities to recognize their own advantages, which in turn allows them to foster surprising forms of specialized innovation. There are many models of innovation that are far more equitable than the Silicon Valley model. Finally, Dr. Breznitz applies his insights on the Canadian context to discuss green and sustainable innovation.
 
Guest
Professor Dan Breznitz is known worldwide as an expert on rapid-innovation-based industries and their globalization, as well as for his pioneering research on the distributional impact of innovation policies. He is the Chair of Innovation Studies at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and currently serves as the Clifford Clarke Economist of the Canadian Department of Finance, where he is responsible for new economic thinking and the restructuring of the Canadian economy. His recent book, “Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World” received numerous accolades, including winning the prestigious 2022 Donner Prize. 
 
Executive Producer : Anna Lazaris

Conversation about Climate Action in Canada

We invite Caroline Brouillette from the Canadian Climate Network and Tom Green from the David Suzuki foundation for a conversation about climate action. We discuss Canada’s path towards net zero emissions and sustainability, while examining fiscal changes to the federal budget. This is the first of many conversations Beyond the Headlines aims to have about climate change and climate mitigation policy.
 
Producer: @lazaris_anna

Deep Dive: 2022 Conservative Leadership Race

On September 10th 2022, the Conservative Party concluded a leadership race, and announced Pierre Poilievre as its third official leader in 7 years. After a long race, Mr. Poilievre won an overwhelming victory by taking nearly 68% of the vote on the first round, compared to roughly 14% for his nearest rival, Jean Charest. The face of Canada’s official opposition has changed, and this will have important implications for the political game in our country. Today we sit down with veteran Conservative Party strategist John Capobianco to understand exactly how the leadership race played out, and what Canadians might expect from Mr. Poilievre and the Conservative Party going forward.
Guest:
Mr. John Capobianco @JCappy123 is the public affairs national practice lead in FleishmanHillard Highroad's Toronto office. With over 30 years of grassroots political experience at all three levels of government, he offers a strong, seasoned and influential voice in public affairs. John ran as a federal Conservative candidate in the 2004 and 2006 elections under the leadership of Stephen Harper and is recognized as a leader in the Conservative movement. He is a regular political commentator in Canada’s national media and on various industry panels.
Producer:
Connor Fraser @RealCJFraser
 

Breaking Down Inflation and Preparing for Recession

As the Central bank continues to address historically high inflation with interest rate hikes, talk of recession is overwhelming our tvs and airways. Today, we take a step back from the fanfare and talk facts about inflation, recession and the power of speculation. Longtime economist and academic, Dr Dungan from the University of Toronto gets us up to speed on the topic, while our second guest Dr Sebastien Betermier from McGill’s Desautels Faculty will give us a breakdown on financial tools available to help us prepare in the case of a recession. 
 
Guests:
Dr Peter Dungan - Rotman School of Management
Dr Sebastien Betermier - McGill’s Desautels Faculty of Management
 
Produced by:
Anna Lazaris - Executive Producer

The 2022 French Election : A recap

This year France ran its first election since the start of the pandemic. The 2022 French election has taken a turn as both the pandemic and the war in Ukraine take a front seat in debates. This episode seeks to understand how this election is different from that of 2017, where like this year Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen were both headed for a face-off into the second round with the first ultimately winning. We are speaking to three guests, Dr Laird Boswell who will enlighten us on the French electoral process, second Thomas Papernot, joining us to discuss public opinion and sentiment, finally journalist Lauren Chadwick who will give us an overview of this election’s highlights and challenges.
Guests:
Dr Laird Boswell is a historian of Modern Europe, especially France, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. His research interests focus on society and politics – ranging from the history of European socialism and communism, the history of nationalism, voter behaviour and, more recently, to the contemporary extreme right. In addition, he has directed the University of Wisconsin Center for European Studies. @lairdboswell
Thomas Papernot is currently an MSc in International Relations (Research) student at the LSE. He holds a Joint Honours Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Development Studies from McGill University. His past work assignments include traineeships at the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva and the US Mission to the OECD.
Lauren Chadwick is a multimedia journalist currently based in Lyon, France, where she covers French and European politics at Euronews. She previously produced content for special events at MSNBC and was the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship in Washington, D.C., which placed her as a U.S. national security reporter at the journalism organisation, The Center for Public Integrity. She graduated from Columbia University in 2015. @laubchad
Produced by:
Anna Lazaris - Executive Producer @lazaris_anna

Ontario Provincial Election Special

Ontario’s Provincial Election is fast approaching, and to that end this episode of Beyond the Headlines is dedicated to understanding some of the critical issues facing the province. We are grateful to be joined by the authors of two transition briefings from the Ontario 360 initiative within the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Ontario 360 is a purpose-built initiative to scan Ontario’s economic challenges and opportunities and develop evidence-based public policy ideas to inform and shape the Ontario government’s policy planning and priorities. In conjunction with leading policy thinkers from across the province, Ontario 360 has commissioned a series of bi-weekly policy briefings in advance of the provincial election. These are short, digestible, non-partisan and fact-based pieces designed to appeal to policy leaders, in addition to a broader audience. The briefings cover a wide range of policy issues from fiscal policy to homelessness, from innovation policy to urban Indigenous concerns, from tax policy to the future of work, and many more. You can follow Ontario 360’s work on twitter @ontario360 or by visiting their website www.on360.ca. 
For today’s discussion, we first sit down with Tomas Hachard from the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. Tomas co-authored the briefing entitled “Meeting in the Middle: How to get Provincial-Municipal Cooperation Right.” After a short break, we are joined by David McGown of the Canadian Business Coalition for Climate Policy. David authored the two-part briefing entitled “The Politics of Emissions Reductions in Ontario.” We’re so glad you tuned in for our show, and hope you enjoy the discussion!
Guests:
Tomas Hachard, University of Toronto/IMFG @thachard @imfgtoronto 
David McGown, Canadian Business Coalition for Climate Policy @davidkmcgown  
Senior Producer
Connor Fraser @RealCJFraser