What happened to Canada's Pharmacare plan?

What happened to Canada's Pharmacare plan?

It was long overdue, and began with a promise: It might start small, covering just a few common drugs, and expand until Canadians without benefits were no longer struggling to afford medication prescribed by doctors under our universal health care system. Less than two years later, however, the program seems set to contract instead of expand. It never got beyond the first couple of drugs, and the funding might well be squeezed to zero by the federal government. What happened here? Does Pharmacare still have a chance? And why weren't necessary drugs part of a "universal" health care system in the first place? Nikolas Barry-Shaw, a campaigner at the Council of Canadians, joins us to discuss how such a promising program became at risk of vanishing as quickly as it became reality. (We're welcoming our first sponsor to CanCon. Go RVing Canad [https://gorving.ca/]a wants to help you explore the country this summer, without leaving behind the comforts of home. If you've ever been curious about RVing, but have questions, they can help [https://gorving.ca/].) Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us [hello.elbowsup@gmail.com]: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

The US just paused a joint defence effort. How worried should Canada be?

You may not have heard about it, but the Permanent Joint Board on Defense has been a part of Canada and America's shared strategy for decades. Evidently, however, it may not be as "permanent" as its name suggests.  Recently, the US announced it was pausing the board, citing Canada's need to contribute more to mutual defence in North America and a suggestion that we're talking the talk more than walking the walk when it comes to military spending. It's easy to take offence to that, given recent defence spending announcements from the Canadian government. It's easy to assume this is yet another poke to the eye from a US administration that exists only to troll or threaten Canada. But ... what if those claims aren't exactly wrong? What if we should perhaps, get off our high horse, this one time, when it comes to continental security? This week, Joe Varner, Senior Fellow at the MacDonald-Laurier institute, joins us to make the case for focusing on what really matters, and not the rhetoric from the White House. (We're welcoming our first sponsor to CanCon. Go RVing Canad [https://gorving.ca/]a wants to help you explore the country this summer, without leaving behind the comforts of home. If you've ever been curious about RVing, but have questions, they can help [https://gorving.ca/].) Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us [hello.elbowsup@gmail.com]: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

Why are gas prices so high in Canada if we produce our own? It's complicated.

Canada, as you may know, produces a ton of oil. Billions of tons every day, actually. Nearly all the oil we use was taken from the ground, one way or another, right here. And yet! When the Strait of Hormuz shut down, the price Canadians pay for Canadian-produced oil and gas went through the roof, just as it's done in nations that need to import almost all their oil. The answer to why that happened goes back to a policy that Canada has flip-flopped on over decades. It touches on Western Alienation and separatism, the legacy of Pierre Trudeau and a system that we theoretically could change, but practically cannot. Today, Economist Jim Stanford, of the Centre For Future Work, welcomes you to the world of Canadian energy policy! Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us [hello.elbowsup@gmail.com]: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

Midseason update: Surveillance pricing, listener feedback and more

This week we're checking in with the audience on the first few months of CanCon, discussing episodes we did or didn't (yet!) create, reading some of your feedback and getting a feel for where we're at before we dive back in to another few months of Canadian stories. If you haven't yet, don't forget to let us know what you think, and what you'd like us to cover. And thanks, as always, for listening. Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us [hello.elbowsup@gmail.com]: hello.cancon@gmail.com.

The emotional side of the Canadian housing crisis

A roof over one's head has been a necessity of life since we lived in caves. But when that roof also represents Canada's class struggle, our income inequality issues and potentially the owner's entire retirement portfolio...things get complicated. More than half of young Canadians don't expect they'll ever own a home. There are millions of Canadians right now who own their homes thanks to privilege, timing, relationships and...just plain ol' luck. Some of those lucky Canadians, including Cancon's host and today's guest, look around and see the generations following them stuck in shoebox apartments with no hope of qualifying for a mortgage and feel guilty for owning their homes. Not enough to do much about it, mind you, but still, guilty. Are we part of the problem? Today we unpack the complicated dynamics of home ownership, at a time when a human right has become an investment strategy. Feedback from listeners is so, so welcome. If you have something to say, email us [hello.elbowsup@gmail.com]: hello.cancon@gmail.com.