Appointed: A Canadian Senator Bringing Margins to the Centre

Kim Pate and Fregine Sheehy

A podcast from the office of Kim Pate. Hosted by Kim Pate, an Independent Canadian Senator from Ontario, bringing issues affecting folks on the margins, to the centre.

  1. 07/18/2025

    Advancing Basic Income: A Conversation with Iain Rankin

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim is joined by the Honourable Iain Rankin, Member of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia and former Premier of Nova Scotia, for a timely conversation on poverty, dignity, and the push for a guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI) in Canada. Drawing on over a decade of experience in provincial politics, MLA Rankin shares insights into the unique economic challenges facing Nova Scotians, the growing need for bold and inclusive social policy, and his recent introduction of Bill 41 – a proposal to launch a basic income pilot in Nova Scotia. The conversation also touches on Senator Pate’s Bill S-206, which seeks to establish a national GLBI framework, and explores how provincial and federal efforts can work hand-in-hand to create lasting change. Tune in for a thoughtful exchange on income security, human dignity, and the future of basic income in Canada. For more information on Bill 41, click here. For more information on GLBI and Bill S-206, check out our website here.

  2. 05/20/2025

    A Conversation with Senator Pat Duncan

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with Senator Pat Duncan, Canadian Senator and former premier of Yukon. Kim and Senator Duncan are longtime friends and have an amazing conversation about the work being done to ensure Canadians can “rebound” out of poverty.  Senator Duncan draws on her more than 10 years of experience serving in the Yukon Legislative Assembly and working in the Yukon community to discuss how food security in the North differs from other parts of Canada. Senator Duncan shines a light on the work being done to grow Yukon’s agricultural sector. Kim and Senator Duncan advocate for placing guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI) at the top of the national agenda. To learn more about Senator Duncan’s work, please visit the Senate of Canada website. For details on the Putting People First report which reviewed Yukon’s health and social systems and programs, including the 76 recommendations to serve the needs of Yukoners better, please click here.  Please also see the Circumpolar Agricultural Association website. You can read the Thumbs Up reports at their website. More information about work being done to address poverty in Yukon can be found at Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition. For information on the Yukon Agricultural Association, including a Farm Guide, please see here.

  3. 05/01/2025

    A Conversation with Dr. Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor at UBC

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with Dr. Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Sustainability and Sauder Distinguished Scholar at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Zhao speaks about her incredible research into how resource scarcity impacts human cognition and behaviour.   Kim and Dr. Zhao discuss Dr. Zhao’s 2023 study which found that one-time, unconditional cash transfers of $7,500 to people living in poverty reduced homelessness in Vancouver. Dr. Zhao explains her work modelling the cost of a guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI), and her findings that a GLBI would go a long way to allowing people to rebound in tough economic times and help to eliminate poverty and homelessness, in addition to costing less than half of the $92B currently spent every year on measures that keep people in poverty. To learn more about Dr. Zhao’s research, please visit her Behavioral Sustainability Lab or her website at the University of British Columbia. You can read more about the unconditional cash transfer study here. More information about the work being done in British Colombia to address poverty and other social challenges can be found at Foundations for Social Change. More information about our initiatives to assist governments to Spend Less on Poverty & More in People can be found at https://senpate.sencanada.ca/en/current-work/s-233/.

  4. 04/10/2025

    Dan Huang-Taylor (Executive Director of Food Banks BC) on the Intersection of Poverty and Food Security

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with Dan Huang-Taylor, executive director of Food Banks BC, a provincial association working to end hunger in British Colombia. Kim and Dan discuss the intersection of poverty and food security, and Dan’s extensive experience working in the non-profit sector. Dan speaks about his involvement with the Put Food Banks Out of Business initiative, which advocates for the implementation of a guaranteed livable basic income to ensure no Canadians fall below the poverty line, and shares his reflections on the true cost of poverty. To learn more about Dan’s work at Food Banks BC, please go here. To read about the Put Food Banks Out of Business initiative, please click here. More information about work being done by food banks in Ontario to end hunger can be found at Feed Ontario. For more information about our work on these issue, please visit our web site at https://senpate.sencanada.ca/en/current-work/s-233/.

  5. 04/02/2025

    Creating Art as an Act of Courage: A Conversation with Jessie Golem

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with activist and artist Jessie Golem about her portrait series, Humans of Basic Income, and her work on guaranteed livable basic income. Humans of Basic Income tells the stories of people who took part in Ontario’s basic income pilot project, and what happened when the pilot was cancelled prematurely. Ms Golem speaks about the impact that the Humans of Basic Income series, and the pilot project itself, has had on her own life, and her perspective on the importance of creating art as an act of courage, especially during uncertain times. See the Humans of Basic Income portrait series here, and associated film “A Human Picture” here.   To get involved with work being done on basic income in your community, please see UBI Works and Basic Income Canada Network. You can read about the cancelled Ontario basic income pilot project here. More information about the basic income class action case can be found here.

  6. 03/03/2025

    A Conversation with Economist Benoit Robidoux about PEI's Guaranteed Basic Income Benefit Proposal

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with economist Benoit Robidoux about the 2023 guaranteed basic income (GBI) proposal for residents in Prince Edward Island. Mr. Robidoux was a key member of the team behind the proposal; a team made up of economists, public servants, politicians and advocates from across Canada. Mr. Robidoux discusses how the GBI program would provide a benefit of $19,000 for single adults and $27,000 for families in Prince Edward Island, and reduce poverty rates among working-age adults and their families. Read the PEI Basic Income Report, titled "A Proposal For A Guaranteed Basic Income Benefit For Prince Edward Island", here.

  7. 12/04/2024

    Resisting Poverty, Resisting Racism: Senator Bernard Discusses a GLBI

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with the Honourable Dr. Wanda Thomas Bernard. Senator Bernard has decades of leadership and innovation as a social worker, educator, researcher, community activist and advocate for social change. Senator Bernard and Kim discuss how a GLBI might support Black Canadians and African Nova Scotians, the intersection of poverty, stigma, and racism, and the vital need to end anti-Black racism in Canada. Senator Bernard shares her incredible insights from her life, time in the Senate, and extensive experience as a social worker, professor, mentor and community leader.   Notes: Listen to the Appointed Episode with Senator Bernard, Abolish Racism here Bill S-233, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income can be found here Senator Pate’s Guaranteed Livable Basic Income Factsheet can be read here Senator Rodger Cuzner's Report Poverty in Nova Scotia at a Glance (2024) can be found  here (EN), and here (FR) The Nova Scotia Advisory Council on The Status of Women information here Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund can be read here A Nova Scotia Initiative to End Gender-Based Violence funded by WAGE’s National Action Plan to End Gender-Based Violence here Sanding Together: A Provincial Action Plan to Prevent Domestic Violence, Learning about  what it will take to  Prevent Domestic Violence  in Nova Scotia through the Advisory Council here Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights report: Anti-Black Racism, Sexism and Systemic Discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Commission can be found here

  8. 10/25/2024

    A Conversation with Senator Bernadette Clement: Moving Forward Together to Redress Inequality

    On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with her friend and colleague, Senator Bernadette Clement, about the intersection of poverty and racism in Canada. Senator Clement speaks from her experience in the Senate, municipal politics, and her career as a legal aid lawyer. Senator Clement still works as a practicing lawyer as well as being a Senator! Listen to their conversation, and how a guaranteed basic livable income could support Black Canadians. Notes: Information Materials re: Facts about Guaranteed Liveable Basic Income can be read here About Colour of Poverty Fact Sheet can be read here; more about Colour of Poverty here Information on Dr. Jane Phillpot’s “Fixing Family Medicine” can be read here Bill S-233, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income can be found here

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A podcast from the office of Kim Pate. Hosted by Kim Pate, an Independent Canadian Senator from Ontario, bringing issues affecting folks on the margins, to the centre.

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