WONK

There are few people in Canada who understand the ins-and-outs, the strengths and the undeniable weaknesses of our healthcare system as well Dr. Jane Philpott. She recently poured her decades of invaluable experience into a new book called Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada. A core prescription in her book? That primary care must be easily accessible to everyone. On this episode, Host Ed Greenspon talks to Dr. Philpott about what that would take.

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Over 13 years, the organization Raven Lacerte co-founded with her dad has distributed seven million little squares of moose hide that people wear on their lapels. The Moose Hide Campaign has sparked an estimated 30 million conversations about ending violence toward women and children in Canada. She speak with host Edward Greenspon about how it all started and the progress she’s seen in that time.

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On lists of influential people to watch, Sean Speer is often described as a guide, an influencer and a conservative who is committed to policy. He was senior economic adviser to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Today, he's an editor-at-large at The Hub, the conservative leaning news and opinion website. And he's a leading thinker on the ideas behind conservatism as a political movement. He talks to host Edward Greenspon about what's driving political instability in the world and breaks down the increasingly pressing question of state capacity.

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If you are a Canadian who's interested in the world, then you are almost certainly a Canadian who has encountered Professor Janice Stein. She’s Canada’s preeminent interpreter of global issues through her teaching, academic research and regular media appearances. She is the founding director at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, and she's a good friend of PPF. She talks to host Edward Greenspon about Israel, Ukraine and the deepening conflict between China and the United States.

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Season 2 of WONK launches September 12! Join host Edward Greenspon, president and CEO of the Public Policy Forum, for another season of thoughtful conversations with passionate leaders and policy makers who are helping to shape the policy of this country. New episodes launch Thursdays.

John Risley is best known for his by-the-bootstraps creation of global seafood giant Clearwater — and for orchestrating its sale to a coalition of First Nations. The self-made billionaire’s next big project is as chairman of World Energy GH2, which plans to build a massive green hydrogen project on Newfoundland’s west coast. He talks to host Edward Greenspon about why the project could be revolutionary, what keeps him anchored in Atlantic Canada and why he went to "wind farm academy."

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The University of Calgary economics professor’s views on the intersection of policy and economics are in high demand because, well, his cool empirical perspective makes them so compelling. Trevor Tombe talks to host Edward Greenspon about why the now-operational Trans Mountain pipeline isn’t the boondoggle critics think, why Canada’s economy lags the U.S. and why he’s only the second most famous economist from Maple Ridge B.C.

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As chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada for the past 23 years, Craig Wright has offered essential insight through booms and busts, from the great financial crisis to the pandemic. Everyone from CEOs to prime ministers, to news reporters have relied on his prognostications. When he retires in June, he’ll relinquish his title as longest serving big bank economist. He talks to host Edward Greenspon about what’s changed over his career and where Canada needs to do better.

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Tucked into this year’s federal budget document was something a little out of the ordinary and of great consequence: Indigenous Loan Guarantees. The program has the potential to open massive energy and resource developments that will benefit both Canada and Indigenous communities. Mark Podlasly is the chief sustainability officer of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition, which has championed the program. He joins host Edward Greenspon to explain how it puts Indigenous communities on a whole new path.

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Canada’s lagging productivity has become what the Bank of Canada calls a national ‘emergency’. The OECD’s incoming chief economist, Álvaro Santos Pereira, a dual citizen of Portugal and Canada, is one of the foremost experts on the subject. He talks to host Edward Greenspon about why Canada lags other countries, the opportunities it’s missing, and why he’s optimistic Canadians will rise to the challenge.

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