Conversations With Canadians

Rhys Waters is a Canadian podcaster who co-hosts the brilliant podcast, Canadian Politics is Boring, with Jesse Harley. Rhys immigrated to Halifax Nova Scotia from Wales three years ago. He has produced, directed, and edited over 60 hours of TV, radio, and commercials. He has been involved in podcasting since 2014, having developed and launched and run the hit BBC show (the Unexplainers), and consults new podcasts through his company Podstarter. 

On this episode we chat about Podcasting, Canadian and U.K Politics, The Royal Family, and more. 

 Canadian Politics is Boring Website - https://www.canadianpoliticsisboring.com/

On today’s episode I had the pleasure of speaking with the Honourable Tony Clement. We chat about COVID-19 and the pandemic, new media, human behaviour, government, and life as a Cabinet Minister. 

Tony Clement is a former Federal Cabinet Minister who served in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet, and he served as Provincial Cabinet Minister in the governments of Mike Harris and Ernie Eves. 

In the provincial government his positions included Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing and Minister of Transportation.  As Health Minister he successfully steered Ontario through the SARS pandemic.

In the federal government he served as Minister of Health, Minister of Industry, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario, and President of The Treasury Board.  

In his post political life he is a start-up entrepreneur, public affairs advisor, business strategist, and media personality. He also hosts a weekly podcast called And Another Thing, which he co hosts with Jodie Jenkins.

Tony Clement's Website - https://www.tonyclement.ca/
Twitter @tonyclementcpc - https://twitter.com/TonyclementCPC

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians 

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Professor in food distribution and policy in the Faculties of Management and Agriculture at Dalhousie University in Halifax. He is also the Senior Director of the Agri-food Analytics Lab, also located at Dalhousie University. He is as well the former Dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University. Before joining Dalhousie, he was affiliated with the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute, which he co-founded. While at the University of Guelph, he was also the Associate Dean of Research for the College of Business and Economics.

 Known as “The Food Professor”, his current research interest lies in the broad area of food distribution, security and safety. He is one of the world’s most cited scholars in food supply chain management, food value chains and traceability.

He has authored five books on global food systems, his most recent one published in 2017 by Wiley-Blackwell entitled “Food Safety, Risk Intelligence and Benchmarking”. He has a 6th book on poutine.  He has also published over 500 peer-reviewed journal articles in several academic publications. He also hosts a podcast.

On this episode we chat about the origins of Poutine, his opposition to Quebec separatism, Food Security, and the impact of COVID-19 on food prices. 

 Dr. Charlebois Twitter @FoodProfessor

Food Professors Podcast - https://the-food-professor.simplecast.com/episodes

Anthony Koch has worked on Parliament Hill, was a key member of the movement to oust Andrew Scheer, is a former campaign surrogate for Erin O’Toole and currently serves as Managing Principal of AK Strategies.

On this episode we chat about how Anthony converted to Judaism after being an atheist, finding purpose and meaning in life, Quebec Nationalism, Conservatism, and Canada's COVID-19 response. We also look at what Canada and being Canadian means to Anthony. 

Follow Anthony on Twitter -Anthony's Twitter

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians 

On today’s episode I chat with my childhood hero, the family and children’s musician, Fred Penner.  We chat about his life as a musician, his philosophy of entertaining, the impact of music on children, and his Canadian roots.

Fred is a gentle giant with kind eyes and an undeniable ability to make you feel good about yourself, this musical master brings 45 years of commitment, consistency and depth to a career that skillfully blends the many genres of performing and communication. Dubbed “Mr. Multi-Media” by Billboard Magazine, his diverse repertoire includes a prolific 12 Children’s Albums, countless energetically packed live shows for throngs of eager audiences across North America, composing the music for APTN/YTV’s Tipi Tales, and writing the score and hosting the TV documentary The Simple Way (focused on the relevant, world-wide topic of voluntary simplicity). He has, without a doubt, established himself as a fundamental part of the North American family entertainment scene. And whether it’s through CDs, videos, books or television, his cornerstone philosophy remains the same: absolute trust that his work can make a difference. 

More than the music, the two-time Juno winner (equivalent of a Grammy) for Best Children’s Album, Fred Penner’s Place (1985) and Sing with Fred (2004) and eight-time nominee’s body of work is about energy and emotional connection. The guy who crawled magically out of that hollow log for 12 seasons and more than 900 episodes in the hit CBC TV show Fred Penner’s Place receives fan mail to this day from some of the 55 million American viewers where the show ran for four years on the Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr.. Always building on a common theme rooted in integrity and a “belief in what I can do” he has created a lasting impact that crosses the generations and continues to grow.

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians 

Hugh Segal is an author, academic, political strategist, and former Canadian Senator. He served as Chief of Staff to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Hugh resigned from the Senate in 2014 to accept an appointment as Master of Massey College in Toronto. He has written several books including the book we reference during our discussion, The Right Balance: Canada’s Conservative Tradition.

In this episode we talk about the impact of Canadian conservatism on Canada, the difference between traditional conservatism or a Red Tory and American conservatism, the importance of the Crown, universal basic income, and his life as a Senator.

The Right Balance: Canada's Conservative Tradition

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians 

Micayla Doria is the founder and CEO of Celebrate Toronto, a non-profit organization that highlights small businesses, artists, musicians, and hosts a large-scale festival each year honouring The City of Toronto’s anniversary. Micayla graduated from OCADU, and her extensive community involvement and volunteerism has landed her recognition awards for her outstanding work and dedication to community.

On this episode he chat about the Celebrate Toronto organization, the arts, Toronto, culture, and more.

Celebrate Toronto Event

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians 

Dr. Dennis Pilon is an associate professor of Canadian and comparative politics at York University. Dr. Pilon has written several academic articles on election systems and electoral reform, as well as two books on the subject: The Politics of Voting: Reforming Canada’s Electoral system, and Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the 20th Century West (Studies in Comparative Political Economy & Public Policy). 

In this episode we discuss a topic that I think more Canadians should reflect on: Our voting system and if should be changed. In our discussion Dr. Pilon lays out the case for ditching our majoritarian voting system and replacing it with a proportional representation voting system. We also chat about what Canada and being Canada means to him. 

 
For more information you can visit Fair Vote Canada

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians 

Dr. Kent A. Williams is an Assistant Professor in Climate Change Leadership at the Rowe School of Business, Dalhousie University and has a leadership consulting company, Integral Dialogue Project  His research and facilitation work is connected to his ‘why’ of co-inspiring human potential toward desired futures. He loves leading nature retreats that connect leaders to the relationship with themselves and the sacredness of place.

 We talk about ethics and its relationship to climate change and sustainability. We discuss ethical leadership and its impact on employee behaviour, and we chat about the importance of discovering your values and pursuing a meaningful life.

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians 

Yves Messy is a Canadian London-based Enterprise Architect in Capital Markets and Insurance Fintech. He works on large scale deployments of AI & Blockchain technology for Tier 1 financial institutions and large corporations in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Yves also advises startups and judges Fintech selection and investment rounds as a Tech and Venture Capital mentor at the Swiss Stock Exchange's F10 Incubator and Accelerator in Zurich, Switzerland.

On this episode we discuss the technical side of Blockchain (what it is and why it is secure). We chat about Fintech and how it impacts everyday consumers. We do a deep dive into Cryptocurrencies and look how how they are created and the potential impact they have on financial markets and emerging markets. And we discuss the problem of Canadian tech talent in the Blockchain space leaving Canada to work abroad.

We cover  some interesting ground in this episode and I hope you learn as much as I did.

If you enjoy this episode and please remember to subscribe and leave a review.

Yves Messy Contact Information

Instagram - @Yvesmessy

Please feel free to reach out to me and provide feedback at [email protected] 

On Twitter @MikeRyanG

On Instagram  @Conversations_With_Canadians