The Honest Talk

Dr. Pamela Palmater is an award-winning Mi’kmaw lawyer, author, and social justice activist from Eel River Bar First Nation who has worked to advance native education, sovereignty, and nation-building for the past 25 years.

Pam is Chair of Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University, but she’s also a respected podcast host, a blogger, and her latest book - Warrior Life: Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence – has just been published. In this episode, she talks to Jen and Catherine about the importance of her family in fueling her activism, the systemic racism she has battled her entire life, but also the very real hope she feels for the future.

Susan Delacourt is one of Canada’s best known political journalists.  The author of four bestselling books, Susan is currently the National Columnist for the Toronto Star, but her remarkable career has seen her reporting from Parliament Hill for The Globe and Mail, the National Post, The Ottawa Citizen and ipolitics, covering every major Canadian political event for most of the past four decades, and winning awards and accolades along the way. Catherine and Jen speak with Susan about sexism and female journalists, her favourite political encounter, and… of course… the US election results.

Ask anyone who does anything in International trade to name one of the world’s most respected and influential trade officials, and Dr. Ailish Campbell will be at the top of every list. As Canada’s Chief Trade Commissioner and Assistant Deputy Minister of Global Affairs, Ailish helps Canadian companies achieve success abroad, and has served in numerous high-pressure roles – setting policy, leading teams and mentoring colleagues. In this interview, Ailish goes beyond her remarkable career, revealing to Jen and Catherine her struggles with infertility, her commitment to diversity and equality, and how she preserves her energy for the things that really matter: the people she loves.

Not only is Minister Karina Gould the youngest female cabinet minister in the history of Canadian politics, she is also the first to have a baby while holding office. Before entering politics, Minister Gould was a trade and investment specialist for the Mexican Trade Commission, a consultant for theMigration and Development Program at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., and spent a year volunteering at an orphanage in Mexico. She is also a mother and passionate advocate for women’s rights. 

Perdita Felicien spent more than a decade representing Canada as an elite track and field athlete, hurdling her way into the hearts of people across the country and around the world as a two-time Olympian, a world-champion and a ten time Canadian champion. Now retired from competitive sport, Perdita is a wife, a mother, a TV host, a freelance sports broadcaster and podcaster and she has a brand-new memoir coming out soon. Join us as Perdita talks all about her remarkable and extraordinary journey so far.