Conversations That Matter

Mark Selman - Indigenous Business

Ep 266

Guest: Mark Selman

Indigenous Business 

 

In his book “Resource Rulers,” Bill Gallagher points out that the key to Canada’s economic future is in the hands of indigenous organizations and individuals. He goes onto say that opportunities are boundless for anyone who chooses to engage with First Nations businesspeople, community leaders and governments.

 

Like all business relationships, the dynamics and the particulars of how to succeed are wrapped up in the intricate web of human relationships – relationships that take into account the culture, the rules and regulations, and the meeting of minds in the pursuit of a common objective.

 

We are on new ground in Canada. Moving forward, First Nations and non-indigenous organizations will be working together to develop resources and capitalize on opportunities in a manner that will bring employment, revenue and prosperity to territories that have languished in poverty under the Indian Act.

 

How then do we move forward? What are the business and cultural first-through 100 steps that need to be realized to ensure success? These are the questions being asked by everyone in business, be they First Nations or not.

 

We invited Mark Selman, the founding director of the Executive MBA program in Indigenous Business and Leadership, Beedie School of Business, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the wealth of potential in doing business as or with indigenous organizations and individuals. 

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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 

Shauna Sylvester: Is Canadian Democracy in Trouble?

Ep 265

Guest: Shauna Sylvester

Is Canadian Democracy in Trouble?

 

The numbers are in and support for democracy in Canada is lower than you would expect. It's rebounding from a low of 65% in 2017 to 77% now. It is so low the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at SFU launched a study to figure out what is going on and why.

 

Back in 2005, it looked as if democracies around the world were thriving. Since then, the sense that a democracy is the best form of government has been slipping.

 

When support for democracy slips, other forms of government are often proposed. If and when there is an openness to another type of governance, that in turn can open the door to anti-system candidates or parties.

 

Trump and Brexit are two examples of anti-system responses. A party, an ideology or an individual will suggest there is another way to make the country great – and that other way is them.

 

We invited Shauna Sylvester of the Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the state of democracy in Canada. 

 

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

Jonathan Manthorpe - Claws of the Panda

Ep 264

Guest: Jonathan Manthorpe

Headline: Claws of the Panda

 

Does Canada have a distorted sense of its relationship with the government in Beijing? According to distinguished foreign correspondent and author Jonathan Manthorpe, we mistakenly think the government of the People’s Republic of China actually cares about what we think.

 

Wrong, says Manthorpe. They care what is said about them by foreign governments because they want to portray a utopian image of the economic miracle that continues to unfold in their country. Any criticism is quickly challenged internationally and silenced within their borders.

 

What is equally concerning to the government in Beijing, according to Manthorpe, is criticism from expats. In his book, “Claws of the Panda,” Manthorpe points out the ruling party keeps tabs on vocal opponents and lets them know they are watching and they are more than willing to include extended family members in their campaign to silence the voices they do not want to hear.

 

When our Prime Minister says he is going to talk to the government in Beijing about human rights and the rule of law, Manthorpe says all that does is irritate the Chinese government and throws a chill on government-to-government relations. Then add in the arrest of Meng Wanzhow of Huawei and the relationship turned icy cold with far reaching consequences that affect anyone who travels to or does business with China.

 

We invited Jonathan Manthorpe to join us for a Conversation That Matters about our distorted view of our relationship with China and how we might get it on track to accurately reflect its true nature – that being, we are a pawn in China’s North American strategy and we own natural resources their overheated economy requires.

 

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

Valentina Zharkova - What does a Solar Minimum Mean to Temperature?

Ep 263

Guest: Valentina Zharkova

Headline: What does a Solar Minimum Mean to Temperature?

 

The sun is going through a stage known as a solar or Maunder Minimum. This is where the solar activity that ignites solar flares or sun spots has decreased. It’s a normal cycle and one that has been linked to the mini ice age that lasted more than 50 years starting in the mid-1600s.

 

According to space weather since 2015, the number of days without a recordable sun spot has been rising year over year. NOAA, NASA and others all appear to agree the sun is entering a solar minimum phase.

 

What it means is open to interpretation because as Professor William Happer pointed out when I asked him about the growing number of people and agencies that suggest a solar minimum could lead to a cooling off period, he directed me the Danish proverb: “It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.”

 

It has been suggested that mathematics can establish patterns and back them up with empirical evidence to support a prediction. We reached out to Professor of Mathematics Valentina Zharkova of Northumbria University, one of the first people to raise awareness of the decrease in solar activity, for a Conversation That Matters about the sun, its reduced activity and her reading of the impact it will have on temperatures on earth.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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

Mario Canseco: Election Crystal Ball

Ep 262

Guest: Mario Canseco

Headline: Election Crystal Ball

 

The environment was supposed to dominate the 2019 election in Canada. However, long before the news of the Prime Minister in brownface broke, pollster Mario Canseco was saying he doubts climate will dominate. In fact, he says it is very difficult to say that one issue will resonate across the country. In Quebec and BC, yes, the environment is high on the agenda. In Alberta, resistance to climate policies top the polls. Ontario, the Maritimes and the Prairies all have different top issues.

 

Who do you see as your Prime Minister? This may be the polarizing question that will make people rally behind one leader or the other. The current prime minister has been battered and bruised by environmental decisions that are at odds with one another. On one hand, he wants to build a pipeline; on the other, he wants to stop the use of fossil fuels. He’s twice been found to have acted outside the ethics of the office he holds and still, he probably stands the best chance of calling Sussex Drive home for the next four years.

 

The challenge for voters is they don’t hate him the way they despised Steven Harper and they don’t love anyone else.

 

We invited Mario Canseco to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the myriad issues in play for the federal election in Canada and why picking a winner is becoming harder and harder.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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

Luminaries

Ep 261

Guest: Ryan Beedie

Headline: Luminaries

 

The distribution of intelligence in society is fairly even, regardless of socio-economic circumstances. The distribution of educational resources at the primary and secondary school levels in British Columbia is relatively good albeit unevenly shared. Access to post secondary education is anything but even – in most circumstances, the difference is money.

 

What if money wasn’t an object? What if industrious students with drive and determination could find the money and get to university? These are questions Ryan Beedie pondered as he looked at the lost opportunity when students, and society as a whole, are denied access to post secondary education.

 

Ryan decided to do something about it. He created Luminaries, a scholarship program designed to fund the post secondary education of students of potential who are facing financial adversity. In addition to funding, Ryan went three or four steps further by engaging mentors who will support and encourage recipients. He worked with employers to find summer employment and he created an on-going network for luminaries, mentors and business leaders.

 

We invited Ryan Beedie to join us for a Conversation That Matters about ensuring promising young women and men can reach their full potential and why that is important to all of us.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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 

Jody Wilson-Raybould

Ep 260 

Guest: Jody Wilson-Raybould

Headline: You’re running as an independent

 

Beverely McLachlin, who served as Canada’s 17th Chief Justice in an article titled, “The judiciary’s distinctive role in our constitutional democracy,” stated: “It is the rule of law that has traditionally provided the necessary limits on stark majoritarianism. It is the rule of law that ensures that elected representatives do not exceed or abuse their powers. And it is the law that protects minorities and permits the accommodations essential to long-term stability.”

 

Over the past 8 months, we have witnessed the rule of law come under intense pressure from a Prime Minister who used his majority position and his agents – namely the Clerk of the Privy Council, a man who was the former Deputy Minister of Northern and Indian Affairs to harangue – demote and then expel his Justice Minister from his party because he didn’t like her adherence to the rule of law.

 

As Jody Wilson-Raybould points out, we must administer the law evenly across all sectors of society. She paid a significant price for standing up for her principles. She is now an independent Member of Parliament who is seeking re-election.

 

We invited Jody Wilson-Raybould to join us for a Conversation That Matters about her reasons for seeking a second term in Vancouver-Granville, why adherence to the rule of law is fundamentally important in our democracy and I also wanted to talk in depth with her about an issue of great importance to me and to Canada. That is improving our relationship with indigineous people and ensuring they are given the same resources and respect that everyone deserves. 

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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.

 

To learn more about JWR and her career click here https://vimeo.com/357011279

 

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

Is Your Cyber Secure?

Ep 259

Guest: Dominic Vogel and Christian Redshaw

Headline: Is Your Cyber, Secure?

 

It’s easy to gloss over cyber security. In fact, that is what cyber criminals expect. They’re looking for easy targets. While you as an individual may have some passing interest to sophisticated cyber hackers, it's the company you work for that is their target. You might simply be the Rube they use as a conduit to the bigger prize, your employer.

 

If you read the headlines, you hear about large organizations with complex defenses getting hacked. While those organizations make the headlines, they are not the regular targets of well-organized cyber thieves. The low-hanging fruit to cyber thieves are the millions of small- to mid-sized companies that commit a number of security errors that leave them vulnerable to attacks and ransom.

 

We invited Dominic Vogel and Christian Redshaw, hosts of the new podcast Cyber Monday, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about keeping your cyber secure.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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 

Rob Germain: Saving Local News

Ep 258

Guest: Rob Germain

Headline: Saving Local News

 

Ten years ago, the team at CHEK News in Victoria were on the eve of losing their jobs and Vancouver Island was on the cusp of losing its local news station – a station that, when it opened on December 1, 1953, was the first private television station in BC and it had been on the air for more than 50 years.

 

The station was slated to be the first station to in Canada to go dark. If not for the all-out efforts of the women and men who worked for the station, a vital local news source would have been lost. A station that played a key role in holding politicians accountable, of informing the residents of Vancouver Island about their communities – a station that played a role in the social and economic well-being of Victoria and Vancouver Island – was within hours of vanishing.

 

We invited Rob Germain of CHEK News to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the all-out effort by the team at the station to keep it on the air.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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.

 

Click here to learn more about Rob and his career https://vimeo.com/356780050

 

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

Wally Oppal: Policing inthe 21st Centruy

Ep 257

Guest: Wally Oppal

Headline: Policing in the 21st Century

Today’s police officer is a combination of crime fighter, detective, first responder and social worker who faces a myriad of crimes and criminals that didn’t exist a generation ago. Terrorism and cyber crime are just a few of the new threats to the safety of any community that are on the rise and are extremely challenging to address.

 

At the same time, as Wally Oppal says, “The public has very high expectations of the police.” Expectations that in most cases Oppal says the police are meeting, “I think, in western democratic societies we probably have the best policing in the world and that is due in large part to the high level of qualifications and training that are needed to be a police officer in Canada.”

 

What is clear is the web of security forces that are now compelled to work together and coordinate their efforts is expanding. No one security system can meet the needs of society, business and industry and our ever changing requirement to guard against terrorism.

 

We invited Justice Wally Oppal, the man who is heading up the review on education and training of police officers in BC to join us for a Conversation That Matters about preparing law enforcement officers for their role over the next few decades.

 

Conversations That Matter is a partner program for the 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.

 

To learn more about Wally Oppal’s career visit https://vimeo.com/355197889 Careers That Matter

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