Uncommons with Nate Erskine-Smith
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126 episodes
Nate is joined on this episode by Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault for a wide-ranging discussion on Canada’s environmental policy, the work being done to combat attempts by the Conservatives to undermine that policy, and the importance of communicating what is being done to ensure that any progress is lasting. Steven Guilbeault was first elected as the Member of Parliament for Laurier—Sainte-Marie in 2019. He has previously served as Minister of Canadian Heritage. Prior to politics, he was known for his activism with Green Peace and as the founder of Équiterre, the largest environmental organization in Quebec. To read more of Nate’s writing on the carbon price below: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca https://www.uncommons.ca?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1
On this episode, Nate is joined by MP for Victoria and NDP environment critic Laurel Collins. The discussion covers a range of issues including Nate and Laurel's shared desire for a youth climate corps https://www.ourcommons.ca/MEMBERS/en/105908/motions/12762371, Canada’s climate progress more broadly, and Laurel’s work to address domestic abuse https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/en/bill/44-1/C-332. At the end of the episode, Laurel highlights a virtual event taking place on Monday Monday, March 18th where young activists & MPs from across party lines will discuss the creation of a national Youth Climate Corps. Click here https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9Tq5sYruRKSuX5GWWJl5Mg#/registration to RSVP. Lastly, starting with this episode, you will be able to watch full episodes of the Uncommons podcast on YouTube. Click here https://youtu.be/Dau6hG0OmqM to watch. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca https://www.uncommons.ca?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1
Nate is joined on this episode by Housing, Infrastructure, & Communities Minister Sean Fraser to talk about the single most important issue in this country at the moment: housing affordability. The lack of housing affordability is a generational challenge. Young people are worse off than their parents. It is as simple as that. And it's also an economic productivity challenge. Young people are leaving in significant numbers because they can't afford to stay and that has knock-on negative consequences for labour productivity, and talent retention. Sean is relatively new in the role, and it certainly seems as if he's been firing on all cylinders ever since taking it on. While we've seen steadily growing federal action on social housing and homelessness since 2015. We've seen more serious action in recent months to address restrictive zoning, waive GST on rental construction, and to get all kinds of housing built. So how does the Housing Minister stack up his plan against the competition? What more can and should we be doing to get housing built? And how can we best communicate our plan of action when the scale of the challenge is so great, and it takes time for new policies to be realized on the ground? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca https://www.uncommons.ca?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1
Nate is joined on this episode by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/council/office-of-the-mayor/about-mayor/ for a discussion on federal-municipal cooperation, navigating the city's difficult financial situation, and what she hopes to accomplish with her first budget as mayor. You can listen to the #UncommonsPod wherever you get your podcast, or at Uncommons.ca where you can also find Nate’s recent substack posts including one on federal-municipal cooperation https://www.uncommons.ca/p/cant-we-just-get-along. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.uncommons.ca https://www.uncommons.ca?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1
Nate is joined on this episode by Yasir Naqvi, a friend, a former opponent in the Ontario Liberal leadership race, and a continued federal colleague. Yasir is a lawyer, and an experienced politician who served in several provincial ministerial positions, including as attorney general. It's a wide-ranging conversation, reflecting on shared and sometimes different experiences in a leadership race, and touching on what they plan to do next. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit beynate.substack.com https://beynate.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1
On our first episode back, Nate is joined by the founder of Bellingcat https://www.bellingcat.com/ Eliot Higgins. Bellingcat is an investigative journalism website that specializes in fact-checking and open-source intelligence. Elliott himself began blogging about the Syrian civil war over 10 years ago. His work individually and as part of Bellingcat has ultimately created an incredible citizen-led community of journalists and fact-checkers. If nothing else, Elliott is intent on restoring our collective concern for the truth. And its hard to think of something more important than that, especially as we all now increasingly live our lives in a world of such fast-moving information.
Nate is joined on this episode by David Crombie for a discussion on the Greenbelt, the protection of the Greenbelt, and the Ford government corruption surrounding the Greenbelt. David Crombie is the former mayor of Toronto from 72 to 78. Hes a former cabinet minister, and Clark and Mulrooney governments, and most importantly for this conversation. He was the chair of the Greenbelt Council, and resigned at the end of 2020 because he saw the direction that the Ford government was heading. This episode marks a new season where we will be shifting focus to Ontario politics as Nate continues to run for the Ontario Liberal leadership. To learn more about his campaign, and sign up to vote, visit MeetNate.ca https://www.meetnate.ca/.
Nate is joined on this episode by former Mayor of Toronto, David Miller. Before running for public office, he was a partner at the Toronto law firm Aird & Berlis, where he specialized in employment and immigration law and shareholder rights. He became a Metro councillor in 1994, and in 1997 he was elected to the new City of Toronto council where he served two terms prior to becoming mayor. Following his time as Mayor, Miller briefly returned to law before serving as president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada from 2013 to 2017, after which he began working as the director of international diplomacy at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group. As you may know, there’s an unexpected Mayoral race here in Toronto, so the conversation does cover some of that ground. As well as issues affecting municipalities all across Canada - housing, transit, how we should see the relationship managed between municipalities and provincial and federal governments, and how we should think about ambitious city building.
Nate is joined on this episode by Kimberly Murray for a discussion on her ongoing work to address trauma, realize justice, and advance reconciliation. Kimberly is the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/interlocutor-interlocuteur/index.html. Prior to this new role, Ms. Murray was the Province of Ontario’s first ever Assistant Deputy Attorney General for Indigenous Justice. From 2010 to 2015, she was the Executive Director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Prior to that, she was a staff lawyer and then executive director of Aboriginal Legal Services of Toronto. She is a member of the Kahnesatake Mohawk Nation. She is currently the Executive Lead for the newly created Survivors’ Secretariat at the Six Nations of the Grand River, working to recover the missing children and unmarked burials at the Mohawk Institute. Content Warning: This episode includes detailed discussions of personal accounts of residential school survivors.
Nate is joined on this episode by Dr. Isaac Bogoch https://twitter.com/BogochIsaac?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor for a discussion on Neglected Tropical Diseases https://cnntd.org/, global health equity, pandemic prevention and preparedness and his advocacy during the pandemic. He’s a professor of medicine at U of T, an infectious diseases specialist with a focus on tropical diseases and HIV, and he became very public facing in his work and regular commentary through the COVID pandemic. Click here https://cnntd.org/ for more info on NTDs & click here https://beynate.ca/bill_c293/ to learn more about Nates pandemic prevention & preparedness bill
On this episode, Nate is joined by Jennifer Keesmaat for a discussion around housing, transit, and the roles that each level of government can and should play. Jennifer is the former Chief Planner for the City of Toronto, she’s worked around the world in urban design, and she’s currently a partner at and co-founder of Markee Developments, doing the work of building affordable housing. It is past time for all levels of government to deliver on housing and transit. If we don’t, we will see productivity and generational fairness challenges only further exacerbated. Now, we have a mayoral election ahead of us, and an opportunity for greater ambition here in Toronto. At the provincial and federal levels, we have upcoming budgets, and an opportunity to revisit and reinvest in our National Housing Strategy, for example. But as I think about Liberal and progressive politics more broadly, we have to send a strong message that we are ready to build and especially to build housing and transit. There is no reason for us to cede that ground to anyone else.
On this episode, a conversation with former principal secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and current Eurasia group Vice Chair Gerry Butts. During his time in the Prime Ministers office, his work included overseeing economic policy, the negotiation of the Paris climate accord, and the creation of Canada’s first national climate change plan, which included an economy-wide price on carbon. Currently, his work focuses on advising global financial firms, educational institutions, and philanthropists on strategic investments in climate mitigation and resilience.
Nate is joined on this episode by Timmins Mayor, Michelle Boileau. First elected as a councillor in 2018, she’s a born and raised northerner, a proud Franco-Ontarian, she has a range of different experiences in the post-secondary sector, and at only 34, she represents thoughtful generational change, with a focus on serious long-term impacts rather than short-term election cycles. And while she also ran as a federal Liberal candidate in the 2019 election, she has taken a positive and non-partisan approach to her work. This is the second in a series we’ll continue, focused on the civic leadership we need. Our last episode with Mayor Amy Martin covered some of the issues faced in southwestern rural Ontario, and this conversation with Mayor Boileau is squarely focused on the needs of her northern municipality.
Nate is joined on this episode by Norfolk County Mayor Amy Martin https://twitter.com/AmyForTheFolk. Mayor Martin is the kind of Mayor we could all use more of. She’s passionate, smart, kind, and she’s driven to make a difference in her home community. She served as a counsellor starting in 2018, and she defeated an incumbent mayor this past fall. She is also a product of Norfolk County herself, and at the age of 34, she represents the generational change we very much need with an approach to politics that we very much need. She comes to politics with experience in the nonprofit sector, including stints with the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the MS Society. This is the first in a series of podcasts we plan to do with new civic leaders to hear about the issues in different communities and to highlight a new generation of municipal leadership. Be sure to check back as we continue to post new episodes in this series
Nate is joined by Dr. Bob Bell https://www.cdhowe.org/our-people/dr-bob-bellto talk about the key challenges facing our healthcare system and what we should make of the proposed expansion of for-profit delivery and surgical procedures proposed by Premier Ford. Dr. Bell is a former surgeon. He served as Ontarios Deputy Minister of Health from 2014 to 2018. And hes held senior leadership positions at a number of healthcare organizations, including as president and CEO of the University Health Network. On the healthcare file federally, the prime minister will be hosting the premiers on February 7 https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-to-meet-premiers-in-ottawa-1.6725253 to make headway toward new health accords. Weve been clear at the federal level that our dollars will come with strings attached, including five priority areas. 1. Reducing backlogs and supporting our healthcare workers. 2. Enhancing access to family health services. 3. Close to my heart, improving mental health and substance use services. 4. Helping Canadians age with dignity and closer to home. 5. using health data and digital health more effectively.
Nate is joined by Benjamin Perrin to discuss his criticisms https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-former-harper-adviser-denounces-poilievre-drug-policy-unveiled-in/ of the Conservative Partys renewed call for a war on drugs but also this Liberal governments slow and incremental action in the face of an overwhelming crisis. Ben advocates for bringing a compassionate, evidence-based approach to pressing criminal justice issues like the treatment of victims of crime and offenders, the opioid crisis and reimagining criminal justice. Ben is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law. He served as a law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada, and was the lead justice and public safety advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper from 2012-13.
Nate is joined on this episode by Catherine Mckenna, former minister of environment and climate and former minister of infrastructure and communities. She is currently the Chair of the United Nations High-Level Expert Group https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/high-level-expert-group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities. The discussion covers a range of topics at federal and provincial levels but primarily focuses on a report http://chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/high-level_expert_group_n7b.pdf from her UN working group, which calls out greenwashing and recommends radical transparency and accountability to make net zero pledges a reality.
Nate is joined by Dr. Ladan Boroumand to discuss the courageous and sustained uprisings in Iran following the death of Mahsa Jina Amini. Dr. Ladan Boroumand is the co-founder of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center https://www.iranrights.org/center for the Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy in Iran, a nongovernmental organization that promotes human rights awareness through education and information dissemination, including by way of the online human rights library Omid memorial, a website that documents human rights abuses committed by the Islamic Republic and memorializes its victims. In addition, she serves on the Steering Committee of the World Movement for Democracy.
Nate is joined by Dr. Tara Kiran https://www.dfcm.utoronto.ca/faculty/tara-kirana physician and medical researcher and professor who, over the last decade, has led a program of research evaluating the impact of primary care reforms on quality in primary care in Ontario. She and her team have studied the impact of financial incentives on diabetes care and cancer screening, compared chronic disease prevention and management between various practice models, evaluated the impact of mandated after-hours provision on emergency department use, explored the association between the access bonus and healthcare use, and highlighted the quality gaps for patients left out of enrolment models. More recently, she has been focusing her efforts on quality improvement research including initiatives to improve cancer screening rates, measure and reduce care disparities, and support physicians to learn from data. As provinces look to improve healthcare and as a debate between provinces and the federal government around healthcare heats up, it is important that we consider the gaps in the existing system to improve care across the province. To participate in Dr. Kirans Our Care study, go to. OurCare.ca or click here https://www.ourcare.ca/
Nate is joined by Taylor Bachrach, who makes a strong case for why we should lower the voting age to 16 and, at a minimum, send Bill C-210 to a parliamentary committee for further study. Taylor makes the argument that the government is facing some of the most consequential decisions in history with respect to the lives of young people and that we, therefore, ought to give young people a say in the future they will face. Taylor Bachrach has represented the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley since 2019. Prior to entering federal politics, Taylor served as municipal councillor in the Village of Telkwa and as mayor of the Town of Smithers.
Nate is joined on this episode by Ail Shamji - the new Liberal MPP for Don Valley East, and a former emergency room doctor. Adil led a fascinating career before politics, as you’ll hear from him directly about, including work in remote communities, supporting homeless shelters, and more. He’s now one of only 8 Liberal MPPs, and so he has far too many critic roles, including Health, Northern Development, Indigenous Affairs and Colleges and Universities. And while the focus of our conversation is predominantly healthcare, Adil rightly steers the conversation to other issues as well, with the view that all policy is health policy.
On this Uncommonspod, I’m joined by Liberal MP Anthony Housefather who shares a similar approach to politics that is less partisan and with a willingness to speak one’s own mind. He’s done just that most recently with his work and comments in relation to Hockey Canada’s actions in response to sexual assault allegations and to the government’s inexplicable anti-racism funding to an organization led by someone with a long history of anti-semitic comments. Anthony has been at the forefront of addressing anti-Semitism in Parliament and on the global stage, and our work has aligned here too as we’ve both worked internationally to hold social media platforms accountable for online hate. Of course, we don’t always agree as you’ll see through our discussion of the real world implications of the notwithstanding clause. But that reasonable disagreement is central to improving our own views and advocacy, central to the party we are both a part of, and central to a stronger democracy.
Nate is joined by Kathleen Wynne https://twitter.com/Kathleen_Wynne to discuss her time as premier, the issues facing the provincial government, and rebuilding the Ontario Liberal Party. Kathleen is the former premier of Ontario, having been elected in 2013 as the first woman and openly gay person to hold the office. She served as the MPP for Don Valley West from 2003 until this most recent provincial election this year. During her time in office prior to becoming premiere, she held several key cabinet positions including Aboriginal Affairs, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Transportation, and Housing.
In this episode Nate talks with Ronald Deibert https://deibert.citizenlab.ca/ about the role Canada should play in ensuring its own transparency with respect to cyber surveillance, and ensuring that our use of technology is consistent in respecting human rights. Ron is Professor of Political Science, and Director of the Citizen Lab https://citizenlab.ca/ at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto. The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory focusing on research, development, and high-level strategic policy and legal engagement at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security.
On this episode, Nate discusses competition reform in Canada with a panel of guests made up of Vass Bednar, Robin Shaban and Denise Hearn. All three have recently spoken at the House of Commons Industry Committee https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/INDU, and have stressed that competition reform should be a priority for our government. Denise Hearn is currently a Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project and co-lead of the Access to Markets initiative. She also serves as Board Chair of The Predistribution Initiative which aims to improve investment structures and practices to address systemic risks like inequality, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Vass Bednar is a public policy entrepreneur working at the intersection of technology and public policy. Her work is interdisciplinary with a focus on ensuring that we have the regulatory structures we need to embrace the future of work and new ways of living. She has held leadership roles at Delphia, Airbnb, Queens Park, the City of Toronto, and the University of Toronto. Robin Shaban is the co-founder and senior economist of Vivic Research, an economic consulting firm serving advocates, think tanks, governments, labour unions, and other agents engaged in the development of public policy. They are also a co-founder and director of the Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project (CAMP), which advocates for policy conducive to a more democratic economy
In this episode, Nate is joined by Conservative MP for Durham and former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Erin OToole https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/erin-otoole(72773) for a wide-ranging conversation that covers his time as leader, his concerns about populism, and what comes next for him. The conversation also touches on stories of First and Second World War veterans that have been shared with Nate and Erin, and candid reflections on what ultimately brought down Erins leadership of his party.
On this episode, Nate talks with NDP MP Gord Johns about drug decriminalization and his private members bill C-216 https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2022/05/11/tragically-inadequate-how-ottawas-decision-on-decriminalizing-drug-use-in-toronto-and-other-cities-may-only-make-things-worse.html. After this, Nate discusses decriminalization with Health Canadas Substance Use Task Force https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/about-health-canada/public-engagement/external-advisory-bodies/expert-task-force-substance-use.html, each of whom brings a unique perspective to the issue. Following this are clips from past episodes that discussed drug decriminalization, including episodes with Louise Arbour, Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, & Kennedy Stewart.
In this episode, Nate speaks with friend and mentor Angela Swan about her lived experience as a trans-woman. Angela is a legal scholar having written a number of papers, reviews, books, case comments and annotations on topics such as contract law, civil litigation and conflict of laws. Her work has been cited with approval by a number of courts, including the Supreme Court of Canada. She is frequently retained by other law firms as an expert witness in connection with matters pertaining to the law in Ontario. Angela was also recently appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada.
On this episode, a conversation from the vault with climate scientist, former BC MLA, and former leader of the BC Green Party Dr. Andrew Weaver. Their conversation ranges from a reflection on the outcomes of COP26, to his view on the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees, to reflections on his time in politics. Since this discussion, our government has tabled Canadas Climate Plan https://www.canada.ca/en/services/environment/weather/climatechange/climate-plan.html, which commits to net-zero emissions by 2050, carbon pollution pricing, climate change adaptation and resilience, clean technology and jobs, and expert engagement on climate action.
In this episode, Nate is joined by Sahir Khan and Brett House to discuss Budget 2022 https://budget.gc.ca/2022/home-accueil-en.html, tabled on April 7th 2022. Sahir is a public finance executive, teacher, advisor and speaker. The focus of his work has been on budgetary and financial analysis, reporting and organizational performance. He is a co-founder of the University of Ottawa-affiliated IFSD. Brett House is a macro-economist, the former deputy chief economist at Scotiabank, a Rhodes scholar, and a senior fellow at Massey College. The conversations with each guest range from fiscal sustainability and fiscal prudence in an inflationary environment to modern supply-side economics, as well as cryptocurrencies. With both conversations highlighting the importance of trust in government.
