Conversations That Matter

UNDRIP - Ellis Ross is not so sure

Ep 280 UNDRIP

Guest: Ellis Ross

 

On November 26, 2019 ,the government of the Province of British Columbia introduced legislation aimed at adopting the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP). The stated purpose is to ensure that all laws in BC affirm the rights of indigenous peoples.

When introduced, it was celebrated on both sides of the house as a significant step forward. Bill 41 - 2019 passed unanimously with a caveat, that being concerns voiced in the house by Ellis Ross, the Liberal MLA for Skeena and a former Chief Councillor for the Haisla First Nations.

In the House, Ross questioned the meaning of the declaration’s guarantee of “free, prior and informed consent” to First Nations over land and resource development within their traditional territories and the need to introduce the legislation. 

Ross asked, “If there are two parties at the table (First Nations and the Crown), and the First Nation doesn’t agree, what happens?... Does the Crown still go ahead and make a decision based on the interests of BC as a whole? Or do they just withhold their decision? Making no decision is still a decision.” Ross went on to ask, “Isn’t that a form of veto?”

We invited Mr. Ross to join us for a Conversation That Matters about UNDRIP, what it means, its implications and the path forward. This is the first in a series of more than 10 conversations that we recorded at the “Finding a Path to Shared Prosperity Conference” in mid-January that you can find on the Conversations That Matter YouTube channel.

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you.

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs   

Greg Flato: Climate Scientist - Part Two

Ep 279 Government of Canada Climate Scientist explains Climate Part 2 of 2

Guest: Greg Flato

 

In part two of my conversation with Environment Canada Climate Scientist Greg Flato we discuss the dynamics of co2 in the troposphere, the tropopause and the stratosphere. Carbon in one layer of the atmosphere has a completely different effect on the admission and containment of heat from the sun than in the other.

 

We dig into the various greenhouse gases, for example did you know that by far and away water vapour is number one followed by co2 and methane or natural gas.  We also discuss the fascinating make up of methane or natural gas which has been labelled as the cleaner greenhouse gas but isn’t true. In fact natural gas is 20 times more effective than co2 as a greenhouse gas. The saving grace is that there is considerably less methane than co2 being used to produce energy.

 

Most importantly this conversation concludes on a positive note, Mr Flato, like climate scientist Simon Donner, is optimistic that collectively we will find solutions to the climate challenges we face.  

 

Here now is part two of my Conversation That Matters with Environment Canada Climate Scientist Greg Flato.

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you.

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs   

Paul Dragan: Big Wheel at the Bike Shop on Micromobility

Ep 278 Micro Mobility 

Guest: Paul Dragan

 

In a world of climate change, the bicycle is playing a vital role in reshaping the way people get around in dense urban environments. Micro mobility refers to a host of small (mostly two-wheeled) alternatives to cars and commercial vans. 

 

The pressure this transformation is putting on cities that, for the past 70 years, were designed to accommodate automobiles is increasing. Bikes, mopeds, skateboards, scooters and pedestrians are demanding more and more of the available space. The conflicts are inevitable.

 

Automobile drivers who pay the majority of the taxes that pay for the byways of our cities are being relegated to second-class citizens. I recently heard car drivers described as the new smokers. As in, yuck, you drive a car!

 

Local governments are challenged on how to build the appropriate spaces for this onslaught of traffic that frequently spills out of its designated lane and into the path of cars, buses and trucks. 

 

Bike theft is a huge issue that stops many from cycling to and from work. The more bikes there are, the more they get stolen. Bicycles are the perfect item to fence for quick cash. We are at a collision point: car bike tension, rules of the road and theft. These issues will need to be addressed if we hope to get more people out of cars.

 

We invited Paul Dragan, the Big Wheel at Reckless Rider, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the transportation transformation that is reshaping our cities.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you.

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

Are Honey Bees the Canary in a changing environment

Ep 277 Are Honey Bees the Canary in a changing environment?

Guest: Amanda and Jeff Lee

 

Honeybees are a foundation species; without them, our food supply diminishes. When bees die, the outcome reaches right inside everything that is on your plate when you sit down to eat. If bees can’t or don’t pollinate, then you don’t eat and neither do the other animals in the food chain.

 

Colony collapse disorder is the term given to hives that lose the majority of the worker bees, leaving behind a queen – plenty of food, but only a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees.

 

From 2007 through to 2013, more than 10 million bee colonies around the world were lost to colony collapse disorder. There are several possible causes for CCD that include pesticides, infections, pathogens, changing climate and environments and the introduction of neonicotinoids.

 

And then there is the honey. Nature’s nectar which in its pure, raw form is a delicious natural sweetener. The key to buying good honey, as you will hear, is to know your honey bee farmer.

 

We invited beekeepers Amanda and Jeff Lee of Swan Valley Honey to join us for a Conversation That Matter about the intricate relationship we have with pollinators who ensure we all can enjoy a plentiful and delicious diet.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you.

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

Gluten and Leaky Gut: Alessio Fasano

Ep 276 Gluten and Leaky Gut

Guest: Alessio Fasano

 

The discovery that “leaky gut” contributes to celiac disease and autoimmunity was treated with great skepticism. Five years after the formulation of the hypothesis, Dr Alessio Fasano and his team discovered zonulin, a protein that reversibly modulates intestinal permeability. 

 

Zonulin’s effect on gut permeability involves the regulation of tight junctions in intestinal and extra-intestinal cells, including the endothelial cells of the blood brain barrier. Why should you care? Well, it plays an important role in gut permeability, otherwise known as leaky gut syndrome.

 

It turns out there are several potential intestinal stimuli that can trigger zonulin’s release. One is bacterial dysbiosis and the other is gluten. The discovery that zonulin causes aberrant intestinal permeability led to the appreciation that this protein is involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.

 

We invited Dr Alessio Fasano to join us for a Conversation That Matters about our guts, our microbiome and what we can do to manage our own well-being through diet and lifestyle.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you.

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

Greg Flato: Climate Scientist

Ep 275 Government of Canada Climate Scientist explains Climate Part 1 of 2

Guest: Greg Flato

 

If you are like me you watch and read a wide variety of reports about climate. The consensus is that arctic ice is melting, ocean levels are rising, ocean pH is changing and not getting better, global temperatures are rising.

 

Then I read reports that say the above is not true. Arctic ice is actually growing and at astounding rates, ocean levels are not rising and while the temperature has gone up it is insignificant.

 

I look up reports that are cited from either side of the argument and within minutes realize I do not have the appropriate knowledge to begin to understand what they mean. They are complex, they are extremely specific because science demands that the hypothesis focus on defined elements. The results of an individual experiment are just that and need to be taken in the context of the whole which is challenging because the world we live in is extremely complicated.

 

I have reached out to a wide range of people who read the reports differently from one another. This week I read in a Canadian newspaper, that the World Meteorological Organization,  a trusted source, says Canada had a very cold 2019. So I looked it up. I couldn’t find that statement, instead I read, “2019 concludes a decade of exceptional global heat and high-impact weather”

 

Where is the truth? In this Conversation That Matters I talk online to Environment Canada Climate Scientist Greg Flato about climate and he clears up a number of issues for me. And because our conversation extended far beyond my broadcast window, I have broken this Conversation into two parts. Here now is part one.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you.

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs

Ep 16: Shauna Sylvester; Executive Director, Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue

Ep 16 Shauna Sylvester

Executive Director, Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue

 

Dialogue is a tricky thing. It’s not just the exchanging of words: it is the sharing of ideas. On the surface, that sounds straightforward – until you realize it is a complex interplay of thoughts, agendas, emotions and competing interests, to name but a few.

 

Then add in the demands of running a program at Simon Fraser University complete with intelligent staff and associates. But don’t stop there: be a professor too. Then take a break from the job and run for mayor of Vancouver.

 

What does this career look like and how do you ever plot a course to it? In this episode of Careers That Matter, Shauna Sylvester takes us inside her world and her career.

Ep 15: Dr Claire Fraser - Mapping the Microbiome

Ep 15 Dr Claire Fraser

Mapping the Microbiome 

 

The mapping of the human genome was a fearless plunge into groundbreaking science. Dr Fraser says, as a scientist, she had to take risks that allowed her to answer the questions she was asking in molecular biology, at the time a nascent field. She dared to fail at a time when that was still an option.

 

Her PhD and her early work at NIH was focused on G-protein coupled receptors and that lead to exploring the receptors at a fundamental molecular level. She asked how do you discover new members of this protein family and that question led her to an intersection of disciplines, such as automated DNA sequencing which ultimately put her in line to map the human genome.

 

In this episode of Careers That Matter, Dr Claire Fraser walks us through her remarkable career.

Ep 274 Give a Damn: Martin McNish

Ep 274 Give a Damn

Guest: Martin McNish

 

“It’s more blessed to give than receive.” (Acts 20:35) – but not if that is the reason to give. Giving with a purity of purpose manifests if your intention is in the true spirit of giving. Giving of oneself, one’s time, one’s skills, one’s heart and sometimes their money.

 

Giving helps others and improves lives. Now, imagine you can come together as a small group of people who can make a difference to small charities that make a difference in the lives of people in need.

 

Margaret Mead is credited with saying, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” It’s a quote that also epitomizes what Martin McNish and a 100 or so of his closest friends are doing. They are changing the lives of hundreds of people who rely on small charities.

 

So rather than wait for the opportunity to give to come to him, McNish sought out a way to build his own small group of committed citizens. What started as 100 men who give a damn morphed into an expanding group of women and men who show up at four events each year to support micro charities. 

 

Give a Damn is about believing you can make a difference. Martin McNish, at each quarterly event, emphasizes the point that not giving a damn is to resign yourself to believing you can’t make a difference.

 

We invited Martin McNish to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the gift of giving.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the Morris J Wosk Center for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. The production of this program is made possible thanks to the support of the following and viewers like you.

 

Please become a Patreon subscriber and support the production of this program, with a $1 pledge https://goo.gl/ypXyDs 

Ep 14 Mario Canseco: Taking the Temperature of Society

Ep 14 Mario Canseco

Taking the Temperature of Society

 

Every day you see some poll, some insight into how people shop, relax, vacation, choose their job, pick a favourite beer – and how they say they will vote. Have you ever wondered who the people are who gather all of that information? 

 

What do they do? How many people do they have to talk to? And what kind of training do you need to speak to and gather information from thousands of people?

 

In this episode of Careers That Matter, the insightful Mario Canseco takes us on his career journey.