Why Should I Care?

Public needs clear criteria for senate eligibility

Post Date May 29, 2014

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There has been a lot of recent talk on possible changes to the upper house with the outbreak of the senate expense scandal. Almost since its creation over a century ago, politicians have been trying in turn to reform or eliminate it. To date, little about it has changed. WSIC engaged in a discussion on May 26th with two eminent speakers on the topic of senate reform. Noted constitutional scholar Professor Peter Russell, and currently sitting senator the Honourable Art Eggleton lead the discussion.

Dr. Russell …

Know where the Environmental Puck is headed

Post Date May 02, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Economy, Environment, Government

This past Monday, April 28th, our WSIC audience benefitted from Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, and Debbie de Lange, Business Strategy Advisor and professor at Ryerson University provide an outlook on Ontario’s Green Economy, why it’s important, and where it is headed.

Mr. Milller began the evening by addressing the key dominant environmental factors we should be aware of today, and which will affect us going forwards:

(i) Burning of fossil fuels and climate change. Weather events in Toronto have become more severe recently and will …

The complexities of expanding Toronto’s Island Airport

Post Date March 28, 2014

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Economy, Environment, Transportation

On Monday, March 24th, a large WSIC audience participated in an unconventional discussion on the pros and cons of expanding the Toronto Island airport. The event was unusual because only one guest speaker presented the topic, instead of our customary two or three hosts. As a testament to the sensitivity of our topic, only one qualified expert was willing to field questions before a large gathering of concerned citizens on a subject so personal to so many people. Thankfully, our guest speaker did not disappoint. …

Medical professionals must be involved in the Assisted Suicide debate

Post Date February 28, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Government, Healthcare

On Monday, February 24th, a large crowd turned up to hear Dr Kerry Bowman and Dr Gary Rodin discuss the controversial issue of assisted suicide in Canada. They shared their background and experiences in dealing with palliative care patients, as well as general thoughts on the decriminalization of helping patients die. Should we have a right to die at the time of our own choosing? And if so, are we capable of enacting legislation with the necessary framework and regulatory oversight to protect …

CETA – Deal needs transparency

Post Date January 26, 2014

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Category Civic Engagement, Economy, Foreign Affairs

On Monday, January 20th, WSIC hosted an expert panel to engage audience members on the Canada/E.U. Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). Sharing their views on the subject were Catherine Swift, Chair of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), Stuart Trew, trade campaigner for The Council of Canadians, and Ali Ehsassi, a lawyer specializing in international trade law. Each speaker provided their unique point of view on the decision made by the government to enter into this important trade agreement with Europe.

Catherine began by …

Communities need to be part of Infrastructure Planning

Post Date November 26, 2013

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement, Government, Municipalities

On Monday, 18 November, WSIC discussed the challenges of infrastructure resiliency in Canada in light of our changing climate. Heavy flooding in Toronto this past July and the recent devastating effects of Hurricane Haiyan in the Philippines have shown Canadians that serious consequences could occur us if we don’t start planning now for the future extreme weather events. Leading our discussion on this matter was Chris Fonseca, city councillor of Mississauga and representing Ward 3, and Abe Khademi, a water resources engineer and …

Canadians need a robust framework to protect whistleblowers

Post Date October 25, 2013

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Category Civic Engagement, Government

On Monday, 21 October, WSIC audience members participated in a powerful debate on information privacy in Canada and discussed the level of protection to be afforded to whistleblowers that expose information to the public. WSIC was proud to host Stephen McCammon, counsel to the Ontario Privacy and Information Commissioner, David W. Hutton, Executive Director of FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform), and Joanna Gualtieri, the founder of FAIR and a whistleblower who suffered years of harassment as a result of exposing waste of public funds …

Fewer Barriers to Entrepreneurship key to helping Underemployed Young Canadians

Post Date September 27, 2013

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Category Economy, Financial, Uncategorized, Unemployment

This past Monday, September 23, WSIC hosted a vibrant discussion on youth underemployment in Canada. Leading the discussion was Michael Hlinka, a University of Toronto instructor and regular business commentator for CBC, and Julia Deans, CEO of the Canadian Youth Business Foundation. Michael and Julia were joined in the Q&A part of the evening by Leanne Abdulla, a young woman willing to speak openly about her ongoing challenges of finding permanent employment in Toronto.

Leanne is a registered social service worker with two diplomas yet is …

Patient engagement is key to Healthcare Sustainability

Post Date August 21, 2013

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Category Uncategorized

“Patient engagement is the blockbuster drug of this century” said Dr. Zayna Khayat; a great way to sum up her vision for the future of health care. A senior leader with the International Centre for Health Innovation, she and Dr. Ernie Lightman, an economics and social policy professor at UofT, led the Why Should I Care discussion on August 10 2013 at the Duke of York on health care sustainability. Both agree that major changes are needed and coming.

A great deal of health dollars are …

Understanding is the first step – Blog post by Terri

Post Date July 26, 2013

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Category Cities, Civic Engagement

On Monday night, WSIC hosted a discussion about Aboriginal Justice at the Duke of York pub. As the event organizer, I admit I was a little apprehensive since this is the first time we’ve come under vitriolic attack for our topic choices. A twitter user labeled us as “racist” for suggesting that aboriginal justice should not be the same kind of justice faced by everyone. Treating a subgroup of people differently was in and of itself racist.

This notion hit me hard and I was very …

Public needs clear criteria for senate eligibility

Know where the Environmental Puck is headed

The complexities of expanding Toronto’s Island Airport

Medical professionals must be involved in the Assisted Suicide debate

CETA – Deal needs transparency

Communities need to be part of Infrastructure Planning

Canadians need a robust framework to protect whistleblowers

Fewer Barriers to Entrepreneurship key to helping Underemployed Young Canadians

Patient engagement is key to Healthcare Sustainability

Understanding is the first step – Blog post by Terri

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