50 episodes
Moving the Needle - Senator Ratna Omidvar's Podcast Moving the Needle - Senator Ratna Omidvar's Podcast
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Welcome to Moving the Needle on Wicked Problems, Senator Ratna Omidvar's podcast co-hosted with Paul Faucette, her Director of Parliamentary Affairs. The podcast explores some of the most pressing socio-economic questions facing Canada and the world and it features a variety of renowned experts’ providing analysis and insights on how to tackle society’s most wicked problems.
Ratna Omidvar is an internationally recognized voice on migration, diversity and inclusion. In April 2016, Ms. Omidvar was appointed to the Senate of Canada as an independent Senator representing Ontario. As a member of the Senate’s Independent Senators Group she holds a leadership position as Liaison and was previously the Deputy Chair of the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector.
Senator Omidvar is a Councillor on the World Refugee Council, a Director at the Samara Centre for Democracy and Chair Emerita of the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council.
Previously at Ryerson University, Senator Omidvar was a Distinguished Visiting Professor and founded the Global Diversity Exchange.
Senator Omidvar was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2005 and became a Member of the Order of Canada in 2011, with both honours recognizing her advocacy work on behalf of immigrants and devotion to reducing inequality in Canada.
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Season 4, Episode 4: Standing Up to Putin with Evgenia Kara-Murza
Episode 4 features Evgenia Kara-Murza, a Russian human rights activist. Evgenia advocates for human rights accountability and democratic change in Russia. She is also the wife of political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza, the twice-poisoned Russian opposition leader who has been imprisoned since 2022 for protesting the war on Ukraine.
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Season 4, Episode 3: Finding Creative Ways to Support Ukraine with Allan Rock
Episode 3 features Allan Rock, a lawyer, former politician, diplomat, and university administrator. He was Canada's ambassador to the United Nations and served in the Cabinet of Jean Chrétien, most notably as Justice Minister and Health Minister. Amongst other roles, Allan is currently the chief legal advisor to the World Refugee and Migration Council. We discussed his career in the public service, the role of the United Nations, and using frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine.
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Season 4, Episode 2: Reexamining Canada’s Relationship with India with David McKinnon
Episode 2 features David McKinnon, a former Canadian diplomat who has been posted to New Delhi, Canberra, Bangkok and, most recently, Colombo, where he served as Canada's high commissioner to Sri Lanka. We discussed his career in the foreign service, the current state of politics in India, and the allegations that the Indian government is linked to the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.
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Season 4, Episode 1: Connecting with the Past with Senator Tony Loffreda
Episode 1 features Senator Tony Loffreda, an independent senator from Montreal, Quebec. We asked him about his family’s immigration story, his trip to Sicily to do the Walk for Remembrance & Peace, and what it felt like to follow the footsteps of Canadian soldiers of the past.
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Season 3, Episode 5: Innovating Ways to Support Ukrainians with Kira Rudik
Episode 5 features Kira Rudik, a Member of Ukrainian Parliament, the Leader of the Golos political party, and the Vice President of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. We talked about what Ukrainians have endured since the Russian invasion, the situation on the front lines, and what Ukraine needs to push back the invasion. We also discussed the innovative law Canada passed to allow the confiscation and repurposing of assets belonging to sanctioned foreign individuals, including many Russians, and what the money should be used for.
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Season 3, Episode 4: Celebrating the Contributions of Immigrants with Toronto Mayor John Tory
Episode 4 features Toronto Mayor John Tory. We talked about how immigrants have made Toronto great, why the proportion of immigrants coming to the city is declining, and issues with housing availability. We also discussed what needs to be done at the municipal level to support refugees, and how Toronto is using the municipal nominee program.