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Nate is joined on this episode by Dr. Isaac Bogoch for a discussion on Neglected Tropical Diseases, 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 for more info on NTDs & click here to learn more about Nate's 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 Minister's 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.  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 to 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 Ontario's Deputy Minister of Health from 2014 to 2018. And he's 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 to make headway toward new health accords.  We've 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 of the Conservative Party's renewed call for a war on drugs but also this Liberal government's 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 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 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 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 a 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.  Dr. Kiran is currently leading the Our Care project, including a 15 min research survey to inform a patient perspective on the future of primary care. 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. 

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.