UNCOMMONS

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 Dr. Adil 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, 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. He shares a similar approach to politics that is less partisan, 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 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 Premier, she held several key cabinet positions including Aboriginal Affairs, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Transportation, and Housing. 

In this episode Nate talks with Ronald Deibert 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 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.

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, 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, Queen’s 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

Nate is joined by Conservative MP for Durham and former leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Erin O’Toole 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 Erin’s leadership of his party. 

Nate talks with NDP MP Gord Johns about drug decriminalization and his private member’s bill C-216.

After this, Nate discusses decriminalization with Health Canada’s Substance Use Task Force, 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. 

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. 

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 Canada’s Climate Plan, 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.