UNCOMMONS

Dr. Michael Warner is the Director of Critical Care at Michael Garron Hospital, working on the frontline to treat patients with COVID-19. He speaks to Nate about how we are falling short in necessary efforts to test and trace, and the need for more serious action to save lives.

Adam van Koeverden won four Olympic medals for Canada as a paddler, including a gold medal in 2004, and he’s been Canada’s flag bearer in both opening and closing Olympic ceremonies. He’s now the Liberal MP for Milton, and speaks to Nate about how and why he made the move from paddling to Parliament, and the important work of Conquer COVID-19 (www.conquercovid19.ca). 

Ken Price and Claire Smith’s daughter is a victim and survivor of the Danforth shooting. They talk to Nate about their journey as gun control advocates with the Danforth Families for Safe Communities (danforthfamilies.com), their views on recent government action to ban assault rifles, and what more they want to see.

There has been an incredible amount of false information about the pandemic, both from the dark corners of the internet and from world leaders. Tim Caulfield is a Canadian professor who has devoted his career to debunking pseudoscience. He speaks with Nate about popular COVID-19 myths, his work to combat this “infodemic”, and why Gwyneth Paltrow is still wrong about everything.

Our federal government has announced the immediate prohibition of 1,500 models and variants of assault rifles. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair is leading these efforts. He speaks with Nate about why this policy has been put into place, how it’s just a first step, and why we need a comprehensive approach to address gun violence.

Can we become a more equal society post-pandemic? As the former head of the Elizabeth Fry Societies, Senator Kim Pate has worked in prison reform for decades. She speaks with Nathaniel about her current work to fix our prisons, why we should address systemic inequality as part of that reform, and why a basic income should be part of the solution.

As provinces set plans to re-open our economy, are they prioritizing childcare? The economic fallout of COVID-19 has hit women the hardest and childcare is critical for young families to return to the labour force. Nate is joined by Brock U Professor Kate Bezanson to discuss how and why childcare should be placed at the centre of recovery efforts.

How can and should we regulate big tech platforms, from Facebook to Google? Our online lives are largely filtered through a small number of these companies and we need new laws to protect the public interest. Nathaniel is joined by Professor Taylor Owen, McGill University’s Chair in Media, Ethics and Communications, to discuss the issue of platform governance.

Conservative MP Michael Chong has been a strong advocate for empowering Parliament, including through his Reform Act. Nate speaks to Michael about the need for greater independence in politics, his experience resigning from cabinet in 2006 and running for leadership in 2017, and how we can and should strengthen our parliamentary institutions.

Dr. Hedy Fry, Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre, has been a pioneer in the fight to treat drug use as a health issue. She speaks with Nathaniel about how COVID-19 exacerbates the realities of vulnerable populations, how B.C. is taking steps to address a contaminated drug supply, and her passion for the Charter and for life in politics.