Alright, Now What‪?‬ Canadian Women's Foundation

With Dr. Saskia Sivananthan, healthcare leader and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McGill University. The link between discrimination and your health is undeniable. Discrimination based on gender and other connected factors like our race and ability impacts our health in so many ways. For example, we get treated differently based on our gender in healthcare settings. Our access to relevant health services and options differs wildly depending on our gender. Even the medical research that gets funded and acted on depends on our gender.  

May 28 is International Day of Action for Women's Health. For the next few episodes, we’ll focus on gender and health matters. 

Our guest Dr. Saskia Sivananthan is a healthcare leader and advocate building strategies and solutions for older adults. As Affiliate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at McGill University and former Chief Research & Knowledge Translation Officer at the Alzheimer Society of Canada, she shines a spotlight on the needs of people living with dementia. In 2020, she was appointed to the federal Ministerial Advisory Board on Dementia, and she has worked with many bodies and organizations including the OECD. Dr. Sivananthan is a neuroscientist and health data scientist who has contributed to several international publications, articles, and reports.

Relevant Links: Alzheimer Society of Canada, Egale’s Help Us Remain campaign 

Episode ⁠Transcripts⁠ 

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ and consider becoming a monthly donor. 

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With The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada. As the Department of Finance Canada notes, the federal budget is “a blueprint for how the Government wants to set the annual economic agenda for Canada.” 

As Canada’s public foundation for gender justice and equality, government spending decisions are always a key topic for the Canadian Women’s Foundation. The focus of government spending affects all our lives, every single day, in so many ways. Government investment decisions are powerful tools that can maintain things as they are or profoundly change them, for better or for worse. 

The 2024 Federal Budget was recently released and we co-hosted an analysis of it with Oxfam Canada and other national feminist voices. We discussed how investments stack up for women and gender-diverse people and for moving the needle on gender equality. 

In this bonus episode, we speak with the Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau on this very topic. 

Relevant Links: Feminist Federal Budget Response 

Episode ⁠Transcripts⁠ 

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ and consider becoming a monthly donor. 

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation 

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation 

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn 

X: @cdnwomenfdn

With Tracey Lindeman, author of BLEED: Destroying Myths and Misogyny in Endometriosis Care. The link between discrimination and your health is undeniable. The World Health Organization describes social determinants of health as “non-medical factors that influence health outcomes”, the “conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life.” 

Discrimination based on gender and other connected factors like our race and ability impacts our health in so many ways. For example, we get treated differently based on our gender in heathcare settings. Our access to relevant health services and options differs wildly depending on our gender. Even the medical research that gets funded and acted on depends on our gender.  

May 28 is International Day of Action for Women's Health. For the next few episodes, we’ll focus on gender and health matters. 

Our guest Tracey Lindeman is a longtime freelance journalist. She’s published in The Guardian, the Associated Press, CBC, Fortune, and more. She is author of BLEED: Destroying Myths and Misogyny in Endometriosis Care. She is from Montreal and currently lives in western Quebec. 

A note about content: this episode addresses gender-based violence. 

Relevant Links: bleedthebook.com 

Episode ⁠Transcripts⁠ 

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ and consider becoming a monthly donor. 

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation 

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation 

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn 

X: @cdnwomenfdn

With Catherine Abreu of Destination Zero. I’ve heard people say, “climate disaster knows no bounds” and “it discriminates against no one.” There’s a sense in which that’s true. But impacts of climate change affect different people in Canada and around the world differently, depending on who they are.  

Women, girls, and gender-diverse people often experience harsher impacts of climate change, especially if they are marginalized due to racism, poverty, and other factors. They’re also an important part of effective climate solutions. Gender equality itself is a climate crisis solution. 

Our guest Catherine Abreu is Founder and Executive Director of Destination Zero and an internationally recognized, award-winning climate justice advocate. Recognized for her diplomacy, communication, and coalition-building skills, she's one of the world’s top 100 climate policy influencers according to Apolitical. Catherine was named the 2023 National Hero by Canada’s Walk of Fame. She’s a member of Canada's Net-Zero Advisory Body, the expert body tasked with providing advice to government on pathways to meet climate commitments. She is an advisor to the Canadian Climate Institute and sits on the Boards and steering committees of several organizations, including Climate Action Network Canada, the Global Gas and Oil Network, and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. Catherine is the recipient of the 2020 Jack Layton Progress Prize. She is a vital figure in climate policy and action, shaping global discussions on the transition toward clean energy. 

Relevant links: destinationzero.earth 

Episode ⁠Transcripts⁠ 

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ and consider becoming a monthly donor. 

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation 

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation 

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn 

X: @cdnwomenfdn

With cave diver and climate advocate Jill Heinerth. Climate change affects us all. But women, girls, and gender-diverse people often experience harsher impacts of climate change, especially those who are most marginalized. They’re also an important part of effective climate solutions. Gender equality itself is a climate crisis solution. 

Anishinabek Nation Chief Water Commissioner Autumn Peltier says, “I advocate for water because we all came from water and water is literally the only reason we are here today and living on this earth.” 

The United Nations says, “from unpredictable rainfall patterns to shrinking ice sheets, rising sea levels, floods and droughts – most impacts of climate change come down to water.” Knowing what's happening with our world’s water – and how we can protect and honour it as a life-giving force we all need – is essential.  

More people have walked on the moon than visited many of the places our guest Jill Heinerth has explored on Earth. From the most dangerous technical dives deep inside underwater caves to swimming through giant Antarctic icebergs, she collaborates with climatologists, archaeologists, biologists, and engineers worldwide.  

Jill is a tireless advocate for underwater conservation and water resource protection. She has made award-winning TV programs, consulted on movies, and produced documentary films. Over two and a half million people have learned about climate change, water advocacy, and exploration by viewing her TED Talks. 

Jill was named the first Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and she is the recipient of many medals and awards. She is author of the bestselling memoir, Into the Planet: My Life as a Cave Diver, and focus of a new documentary, Diving Into The Darkness. 

Relevant links: intotheplanet.com 

Episode ⁠Transcripts⁠ 

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ and consider becoming a monthly donor. 

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation 

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation 

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn 

X: @cdnwomenfdn

With Mandi Gray, author of Suing for Silence: Sexual Violence and Defamation Law. #MeToo made headlines around the world in 2017 and thousands publicly shared their experiences of sexual victimization. The “me too” movement was first established in 2006 by American activist Tarana Burke. #MeToo has been called a watershed moment for gender equality, giving a powerful platform to sexual violence survivors. 

And many of us have experienced sexual assault and harassment in our lives. In Canada, 30% of women over age 15 report experiencing sexual assault at least once. The rate of sexual assault against Indigenous women and women with disabilities is even higher. 

But some survivors who said “me too” found themselves subject to defamation lawsuits that, in some cases, might drag on for years. What are the legal matters behind these civil suits? 

Our guest Mandi Gray is an assistant professor at Trent University. She has been involved in anti-violence activism since 2008. Her debut book, Suing for Silence: Sexual Violence and Defamation Law, critically examines the growing trend of men accused of sexual violence suing their accusers. 

A note about content: this episode addresses gender-based violence. 

Relevant links: yescountmein.ca 

Episode ⁠Transcripts⁠ 

Please listen, subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and share it with others. If you appreciate this content, if you want to get in on the efforts to build a gender equal Canada, please donate at ⁠canadianwomen.org⁠ and consider becoming a monthly donor. 

Facebook: Canadian Women’s Foundation 

LinkedIn: The Canadian Women’s Foundation 

Instagram: @canadianwomensfoundation 

TikTok: @cdnwomenfdn 

X: @cdnwomenfdn