Generation Squeeze's Hard Truths

This week's episode is a feed swap with Aborsh – A podcastabout abortion in Canada, by playwright and podcaster Rachel Cairns.What do abortion and housing have in common? Well, they areboth recognized as human rights by the UN and multiple other international organizations and agreements. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it from living in Canada as the ongoing housing crisis locks people into unaffordable living situations. In this episode, Rachel explores the gendered impacts of the housing affordability crisis and how it impacts reproductive decisions, with insights from the Women’s National Housing and Homelessness Network, the National Right to Housing Network, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Emma Buchanan of Visual Change Video sits down with Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw to discuss Elxn 45 through the lens of generational fairness and Gen Squeeze’s election priorities: housing, pollution pricing, tax cuts, and balancing the budget (and trust us, the last two are more interesting than you think!).We seek to understand:- The magical thinking behind party promises to cut taxes and increase spending.- The surprising budget item that overshadows all other federal spending and why parties aren't talking about it.- Where parties are falling short on what Canadians really need to address the unaffordability crisis. And;- What happening to Mr. Poilievre's "carbon tax election", and what's now at stake to protect our kids from harmful pollution.In an era of “Trump-style” political turmoil and fake news, we use our Dupe-o-Meter to dig into each party’s promises to discover if there’s substance beyond the slogans, so voters know what’s really on offer.Learn more:Gen Squeeze’s 2025 Election Guide

As election day approaches, housing affordability and access are top of mind for many British Columbians. The BC NDP, Green, and Conservative parties acknowledge the severity of the crisis, but they offer very different plans to tackle it. We spoke about those differences with Thom Armstrong, CEO of BC’s Cooperative Housing Federation. We also dig into a few of the key strengths and weaknesses in housing platforms that matter most for younger and future generations. Dig deeper Our BC Election Housing Report Card Housing Central’s BC Election Platform Analysis Our full BC Voters Guide

Canada's outdated, underfunded parental leave system is failing too many families. UNICEF's Lisa Wolff explains why one in three infants is falling through the cracks in this system, and how we can give all children a good start in life, by giving their parents adequate time off and income to care for them. Dig Deeper UNICEF Canada's parental leave campaign Generation Squeeze's family policy solutions "Helping our kids thrive is a shared responsibility" by Andrea Long, Gen Squeeze Senior Director of Research & Knowledge Mobilization

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau sat down with Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw for a live show with our supporters and allies in Vancouver. They delved into the 2024 Budget's focus on "Fairness for Every Generation," as well as housing, child care, climate change, deficits, and the challenge of protecting healthy retirements without sacrificing the wellbeing of younger and future Canadians. Dig Deeper Slides from the event with graphics ⁠Prime Minister Trudeau's budget announcement video, which ends with a plea to older generations: "We can't let them down."⁠ Support our call for an Act to Safeguard the Wellbeing of Present and Future Canadians Our take on Budget 2024 Leger x Post Media report that found most Gen Z & Millennials agree that politicians are more interested in protecting interests of older generations and that previous generations are ‘rigging the system’. Previous Hard Truths episodes with NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May

When you think about what makes us healthy, do you think of doctors, medicine, and hospitals? Or do you think of affordable housing, living wages, and quality child care? Our health depends much more on the conditions in which we are born, grow, live, work and age than on the medical care we receive. But for decades Canadian governments have devoted more and more of their budgets to medical care, leaving less money for the social supports that matter more to lifelong wellbeing. This unhealthy imbalance in government spending is a major obstacle in our quest to make Canada work more fairly for all generations. So we spoke with award-winning author and journalist André Picard about how curing our “sickness care system” will require greater investment in the building blocks of a healthy society. ⁠André Picard⁠ has been writing about health for ⁠The Globe & Mail⁠ since 1987 and was appointed to the Order of Canada last year for his dedication to public health journalism. Dig Deeper ⁠Get Well Canada⁠, our alliance pushing Canadian governments to rebalance how they invest in wellbeing "⁠Canada must rethink health spending strategy⁠" by André Picard, The Globe & Mail "⁠Smart health-care policy must include affordable housing⁠" by André Picard, The Globe & Mail ⁠CBC Ideas⁠: "We don't have a health-care crisis, it's an implementation crisis, says André Picard" CCPA's The Monitor featuring Get Well Canada Watch our video about Past Policy Chickens

Our heads have been spinning after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced last week that the upcoming federal budget will focus on "fairness for every generation." In this mini bonus episode, Gen Squeeze Founder Paul Kershaw and co-host Megan reflect on the significance of putting generational fairness front and centre in the government's spending plans. More about the PM's announcement ⁠Sign our "thank you card" to federal leaders⁠ Check out our Budget Season commentary

David Coletto has had his finger on the pulse of Canadian public opinion for well over a decade, as the founder and CEO of Abacus Data and author of the inFocus newsletter. He shares insights into how generational inequality is playing out in our housing, affordability and climate crises. He warns that not closing this gap could have grim consequences for Canada's economy and social fabric. Yet he's still optimistic we can turn things around. Articles & reports discussed A Zero-Sum Mindset and Canadian Politics & Business Housing Affordability Hits Home: A closer look at Canadian families’ financial stress How the Housing Crisis Is Impacting the Goals and Well-Being of Younger Canadians Opinions on Housing and Climate: Do Canadians Want a Climate-Centred Fix to Housing? ⁠Understanding Canadian Perceptions of the Climate Action Incentive Payment and the Carbon Tax: An In-Depth Poll Analysis⁠ Highlights "The largest predictor of inequality among those 30 to 40 is whether they own their home or not. And [if that continues] that's going to make this country far more vulnerable to the kinds of shocks that none of us want to see. And housing will be the thing that creates that rise of extremism that is right now starting to occur." "If there's any country in the world that can figure this out -- that has enough wealth, enough opportunity, that knows how to bring different people together and live together -- it's Canada. And so positive-sum thinking is basically saying, we can lift all boats. Everybody can have a home. Maybe not be able to own, but everybody should be able to have shelter and live the life that they want. And let's figure out the public policy choices that get us there."

Better balancing our time at work and our time at home has long been a centrepiece of our family policy solutions. So in this episode, Paul and Megan spoke with Joe O'Connor, a leader in the work-time reduction movement. Joe O'Connor directs the ⁠Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence⁠ in Toronto. Previously Joe was CEO of ⁠4 Day Week Global⁠ where he led many successful work-week reduction projects around the world. Highlights "Lots of modern roles have been really completely overwhelmed with this fluff when it comes to overlong and unnecessary meetings, distraction and interruption in the work day, poor use of technology, outdated processes. And once you actually put in place a framework and an incentive structure… you find that actually getting five days worth of outcomes in four days at work is often much less of an impossible dream than you might have first believed," says Joe. "If you can actually free up time -- not just for people to be able to do the things that really matter of outside of work, but actually to be able to hone in on the things that they know drive value, that they know are making a real contribution to their organization’s objectives while they're at work -- that's a double dividend. That's something that can boost people's life satisfaction in two ways." Dig deeper Work Time Reduction Center of Excellence The Globe & Mail: Can I trade a higher retirement age for a four-day workweek? Policy changes for work-life balance Our policy solutions to support young families 4 Day Week Global

A lot of Canada's current crises were caused in part by past governments failing to think beyond election cycles. So how can we make governments think more long term and consider the impact of their decisions on future generations? To find out, we spoke with Jerry DeMarco, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in Canada’s Office of the Auditor General. Our conversation touched on: How his office holds the federal government to account on its sustainable development promises How Canada went from leader to laggard on climate action Comparing sustainable development and generational fairness How Canada and other countries can embed long-term thinking in government decisions Commissioner DeMarco has been interested in intergenerational equity for much of his 25-year career as a leading expert on environmental law. Before joining the OAG, he served as Commissioner of the Environment and Assistant Auditor General at the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario. PS: If you're interested in past policy decisions harming younger generations today, mark your calendars for Generation Squeeze's first Community Call on November 16! Register here. Interview Highlights “It’s kind of ironic that the institution that's protecting the public commons is often the one that's actually discounting the future at our own expense.” “When we didn't have the technology to create multi-decade or multi-century messes for others to clean up, then there wasn't necessarily a need to have institutions that could deal with that. But now that we do have that ability to create these long-term problems, we need to harness our ingenuity to figure out new ways of addressing them.” Dig Deeper Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Reports to Parliament Our push for a federal Generational Fairness Task Force Our interview with Wales Future Generations Commissioner Network of Institutions for Future Generations United Nations Summit of the Future

For this episode, Paul Kershaw, Aleem Punja (National Operating Officer, Aga Khan Council for Canada), and Ene Underwood (CEO, Habitat for Humanity GTA) wrestle with hard truths Canadians must face to make housing affordable again for younger generations and newcomers: the interplay of housing and immigration policy; renegotiating Canadians' expectations about home ownership and wealth; Habitat for Humanity's innovative adaptations to the GTA's housing market; what we can learn from places that are making strides on housing affordability; and how we can take action in our own lives. This episode builds on a three-part discussion series, "Housing in the GTA," organized by Generation Squeeze, the Future Ready Initiative, and Habitat for Humanity GTA this past spring. Their shared goal was to help Torontonians cut through distracting rhetoric about housing, so we could move more quickly to implement solutions. The series received generous funding from the Canerector Foundation and was beautifully hosted by the Ismaili Centre – Toronto, with support from many dedicated volunteers. Our guests: Aleem Punja is the National Operations Officer for the ⁠Future Ready Initiative⁠, a flagship community-based, multi-service organization of the Aga Khan Council for Canada. He also holds the position of Vice-Chair on the Board of Directors for the Toronto Lands Corporation and is an Executive Member of Civic Action's Emerging Leaders Network. Ene Underwood has been the CEO of ⁠Habitat for Humanity Greater Toronto Area⁠ for over a decade. There she leads a team that defies the odds by helping working families build strength, stability and self-reliance through affordable homeownership in what is characterized as one of most challenging residential real estate markets in North America. Ene was also member of Ontario’s Housing Affordability Task Force which filed its report with the Ontario government in February 2022 setting an ambitious goal of 1.5 million new homes over the next decade. Dig deeper: ⁠Housing in the GTA: Who pays and who gains? ⁠ ⁠Immigration and Housing in the GTA: What can we gain?⁠ ⁠Housing in the GTA: What's at stake?⁠ ⁠Ways you can take action⁠ ⁠Toronto Star: Families in the GTA earning six figures now eligible for Habitat for Humanity help⁠ ⁠Seattle Times: First American City to Tame Inflation Owes Its Success to Affordable Housing (Bloomberg)

It's been another rough summer for those of us worried about whether our planet will remain habitable for younger and future generations. So for this episode, we talked to environmental educator and author Elin Kelsey about fighting climate doomism with evidence-based hope. Elin Kelsey is the author of "Why Hope Matters: Why changing the way we think is critical to solving the environmental crisis." She's penned several children's books and articles for Hakai Magazine and was a co-creator of #oceanoptimism. Looking for solutions after this episode? We've got a few! Check out our policy solutions for climate, housing, family affordability, wellbeing, and investing fairly in all ages. Learn more Project Drawdown Solutions Library Gapminder Solutions Journalism Network Story Tracker "How Hope and Doubt Affect Climate Change Mobilization"

Dr. Paul Kershaw and Angie Chan chat with federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh about tackling the massive inequalities faced by younger Canadians. This far-ranging, in-depth interview also touches on: How lowering the voting age could strengthen our democracy The need for greater investment in the building blocks of a healthy society--such as safe, stable housing and jobs--which contribute more to our overall wellbeing than the medical care we receive How the federal government should apply an intergenerational lens when making decisions, akin to how budgets already must assess the impact of policies and programs on women and gender diverse people How we can shine more light on generational unfairness hidden in federal budgets Our goal to create a Minister for Generational Fairness ... and buckets of pierogi! Our website has a full transcript of this episode. A video with the complete interview is also on our YouTube channel, where you'll get to admire Mr. Singh's impressive bookshelf. PS: If you're interested in the discussion about how long it takes a young person to save a down payment across Canada, check out our ⁠Straddling the Gap 2022⁠ report, in which we crunch the numbers for housing affordability in all provinces and many cities. Join our network⁠ to grow our power to tackle generational unfairness! Highlights: "One of the biggest contributors to us being healthy is the fact that we've got a home, and that we can eat food, or that we are not in poverty," Singh says. "We are better as a community when we take care of each other... If we care about healthcare...we also need to then make sure we care about our neighbours that aren't able to get housed, who can't find a place to rent or to own. We're also really not gonna be a healthy society if people are living in poverty. If people can't get childcare so that they can go to work and then they can support themselves and their families." "We have to take care of our seniors, but we also need to make sure that young people have a fair shot, young families have a fair shot ,and that there isn't this inequality that exists right now," he says. "The way we do it is we are responsible with where we spend our resources, and we also need to look at increasing revenue in a responsible way as well."