Vice-President, Indigenous Relations, Nuclear Waste Management Organization
Former CEO, Assembly of First Nations
Why should organizational leaders and managers care that their team members feel a sense of belonging and feel like they matter? In short, because pain, whether social or physical, has a negative impact on human performance. Inclusion is both a safety issue and a performance issue.
Faculty Affiliate, ISSP
Assistant Professor, Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, uOttawa
Despite its reputation as a more sustainable form of transport, long-distance passenger rail travel in Canada typically results in a higher carbon footprint per passenger than long-distance commercial air travel. This is what I discovered after diving into the emissions data (recently published in the journal Canadian Geographer). Here I explain why Canada’s long-distance rail services defy the ‘green’ reputation held by rail transportation globally, and offer some policy proposals for improving the situation.
Since the emergence of COVID-19, we have seen some clear and encouraging examples of how science and evidence-informed policy have shaped Canada's response to the pandemic. Public health officials have been given a platform, ensuring that scientists are actually delivering messages to the public and providing them with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions. New tools are emerging to help governments find and use evidence more effectively.
When thinking about which trends will stick in an age of COVID-19, I see bad news and good news. Whether we should be more pessimistic or more optimistic remains deeply uncertain. But even if the pandemic can be brought under control (a mighty assumption), the knock-on effects are grim.
When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, everyone was saying that we are all in it together. Six months in, it is clear that we are not. We have seen huge disparities in terms of the impacts of this virus on the elderly, the unemployed and underemployed, women, Indigenous peoples and racialized minorities. In other words, the majority of our population.
Over the past six months, the ISSP has published multiple member blogs providing concrete advice to decision-makers about the myriad impacts and dimensions of COVID-19 – everything from science advice and government responses, to data collection and modelling to the cultural dimensions of superspreader events, the future of air travel, and the impacts on human rights. This volume compiles the contributions to date. We will be continuing the series in the months ahead.
As we look forward to the speech from the throne, there is no shortage of ideas to help with the rebuild. Research from Positive Energy on the Just Transition Task Force for Canadian Coal Power Workers and Communities can offer lessons for leaders as they shift their focus to longer-term supports for workers and industries reshaped by COVID-19. The research examined aspects of the task force’s activities that could help depolarize Canada’s climate and energy dialogue.
What will be the plan after the pandemic is managed? Who will show the necessary leadership and how will citizens participate meaningfully? Will we see more effective national coordination on research, innovation and health strategies? Can we become technologically sovereign with vaccines, medical devices and equipment while maintaining our global science outreach? Will we go beyond the mere rhetoric of being prepared for the next global emergency?
Author: Prof. Jennifer Wallner and Prof. Patrick Leblond
Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, uOttawa
Faculty Affiliate, ISSP
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and CN – Paul M. Tellier Chair on Business and Public Policy, uOttawa
On August 17, we convened health, education and economic experts on The Benefits & Challenges of Sending Children Back to School webinar, to discuss the benefits and challenges of sending children back to school in person this fall. We wanted to bring together a wider range of people who rarely have the occasion to speak face to face. Here’s what we found out.
The opinions expressed in these articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ISSP or its staff.
