Send us a text In this episode, I provide some insights on Confirmation Bias! 1) Present political issues online that invites conversations; not shuts them down. 2) Think about the sources used for the articles you post 3) Look at the comments, likes and engagement. Are people engaging with your content meaningfully, or at all? --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show Visit my NEW Website! https:// www.christopherbalkaran.com Check out my Instagram/Tik T...
Apr 12, 2019•20 min
Send us a text In this episode, I explore the Province of Quebec's ban on religious symbols for certain public servants. Sources used in this podcast include the following: Marie McAndrew and Mahsa Bakhsaei, "The difficult integration of Muslims into Québec since 9/11: International or local dynamics?" International Journal , Vol. 67, No. 4, (Autumn 2012), pp. 931-949 Mereille le Breton, "Laïcité in the French Public School System : an exception française?" Paroles gelées, 23(1), 2007: 1-27. Rap...
Apr 09, 2019•25 min
Send us a text In this episode, I explore political sniping in our comments online and provide some tips on how to avoid it. Remember: we want to be conversation starters / continuers (is that a word?) NOT conversation enders! Let me know your thoughts and feedback! Twitter: StrongnFreePod Instagram: strngnfree Facebook/LinkedIn: Strong and Free Podcast Tumblr: strongandfreecad Email: [email protected] --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show V...
Apr 05, 2019•20 min
Send us a text Sources used in this podcast: Donna Feir and Robert Hancock’s “A Guide to Reconciliation for Quantitative Social Scientists," https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-canada-1.702280 https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/government-apology-to-former-students-of-indian-residential-schools http://nctr.ca/assets/reports/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf Interesting reading: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/up-ghost-river-a-chiefs/97803073998...
Mar 31, 2019•30 min
Send us a text I’m excited to share with you a new podcast series (surprise!): “Before You Reply Online”! We’ve all been there: someone posts something on our social media feeds that we absolutely disagree with: maybe it’s just a difference of opinion - or maybe it’s something so deeply upsetting to us, we can’t even fathom to look! So what do we do? We reply! And looking back, it might not have been the most...thoughtful reply ;). This series will be about giving you some tips, tools and tricks...
Mar 27, 2019•28 min
Send us a text Sources used in this episode: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/08/09/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/ https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/daily-quotidien/181129/dq181129a-eng.pdf?st=y6eEUKfd Defining and Researching Islamophobia Author(s): Erik Bleich Source: Review of Middle East Studies, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Winter 2012), pp. 182. Published by: Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) Islamophobia or Islamophobias: Towards Develo...
Mar 25, 2019•30 min
Send us a text In this episode I look at the rhetoric surrounding the immigration debate in the US, and examine how human perception may shape our discourse - for the worse. Let me know what you think!--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show Visit my NEW Website! https:// www.christopherbalkaran.com Check out my Instagram/Tik Tok for daily posts: Instagram @openmindspod Tiktok @openmindspodcast...
Mar 12, 2019•27 min
Send us a text In the final instalment of the SNC-Lavalin mini-series, I examine Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs). What is missing is a real understanding of what DPAs are and its effects on the Criminal Code. Sources used include the following: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/snc-lavalin-trudeau-bribery-fraud-wilson-raybould-1.5020498 https://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/ci-if/ar-cw/documents/rapport-report-eng.pdf Justifications and Purposes of Negotiated Justice for Corporate Offenders: Defer...
Mar 03, 2019•32 min
Send us a text In Part 2 of the Mini-Series on SNC-Lavalin, I examine the legislative environment the company, as a multi-national finds itself in. I examine the Corrupt Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) and its limitations. Sources used in this podcast include the following: https://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/9253/Ch.%2001_April2018_web.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y https://mcmillan.ca/Files/178841_Indiana%20International%20and%20Comparative%20Law%20Review%282%29.pdf https...
Feb 25, 2019•27 min
Send us a text Listen now on why public governance is so critical to major infrastructure projects!--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show Visit my NEW Website! https:// www.christopherbalkaran.com Check out my Instagram/Tik Tok for daily posts: Instagram @openmindspod Tiktok @openmindspodcast...
Feb 21, 2019•6 min
Send us a text Tired of all the information about SNC-Lavalin? Listen to Part 1 of a small mini-series on SNC-Lavalin! This first episode will focus on public governance and procurement. Sources used in this podcast include the following:https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/polarisinstitute/pages/29/attachments/original/1420757484/SNC-Lavalin_E.pdf?1420757484http://www.snclavalin.com/en/about-us/http://www.oic-ci.gc.ca/eng/rapport-annuel-annual-report_2016-2017_4.aspxhttps://business.financialp...
Feb 17, 2019•30 min
Send us a text Twitter: StrongnFreeCAD Instagram: strngnfree Facebook/LinkedIn: Strong and Free Podcast Tumblr: strongandfreecad Email: [email protected] Sources used in this podcast include the following: TransMountain ULC, Project Description for the Proposed Trans Mountain Expansion Project, May 2013: https://www.burnaby.ca/Assets/TMEP/Project+Description+for+the+TMEP.pdf Sean Kheraj, "Historical Background Report: Trans Mountain Pipeline, 1947-2013," York University: 2014. https://...
Feb 10, 2019•26 min
Send us a text Twitter: StrongnFreeCAD Instagram: strngnfree Facebook/LinkedIn: Strong and Free Podcast Tumblr: strongandfreecad Email: [email protected] In the third episode of Food for Thought, I explore why we are so quick to judge a topic after reading a bullet point about it - as was the case with the Minimum Wage legislation in Ontario.--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show Visit my NEW Website! https:// www.christopherbalkaran.com Chec...
Feb 07, 2019•7 min
Send us a text In this episode Strong and Free looks at the minimum wage debate in Ontario, by comparing Bill 148 introduced by the Ontario Liberal Party in 2017, and Bill 47 introduced by the Progressive Conservative Party in 2018. Sources used: https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2018/09/27/fords-move-to-flatline-minimum-wage-is-bad-for-workers-and-ontario.html https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2018/10/24/ontario-is-taking-a-big-step-back-by-freezing-minimum-wage.html https://n...
Feb 03, 2019•27 min
Send us a text Twitter: StrongnFreeCAD Instagram: strngnfree Facebook/LinkedIn: Strong and Free Podcast Tumblr: strongandfreecad Email: [email protected] In the second episode of Food for Thought, I explore the need for evidence-based policy decisions, which should translate into evidence-based protests - especially considering the recent changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show Visit my ...
Jan 30, 2019•6 min
Send us a text Twitter: StrongnFreeCAD Instagram: strngnfree Facebook/LinkedIn: Strong and Free Podcast Email: [email protected] Sources used in this podcast: Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, “Post Secondary Education in Canada,” Federal Spending on Post-Secondary Education, May 5 2016: 7. http://www.pbo-dpb.gc.ca/web/default/files/Documents/Reports/2016/PSE/PSE_EN.pdf Gerard Walsh, “The Cost of Credentials: The Shifting Burden of Post-Secondary Tuition in Canada,” Royal Ban...
Jan 27, 2019•33 min
Send us a text Welcome to a new series presented by Strong and Free: Food For Thought (FFT). Questions will be posed about how the government can be better. In FFT's first episode - why can't more government services happen online?--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show Visit my NEW Website! https:// www.christopherbalkaran.com Check out my Instagram/Tik Tok for daily posts: Instagram @openmindspod Tiktok @openmindspodcast...
Jan 22, 2019•7 min
Send us a text Sources used in this podcast: David A. Green and Christopher Worswick, “Canadian Economics Research on Immigration Through the Lens of Theories of Justice,” University of British Columbia, 2017: 4. https://econ2017.sites.olt.ubc.ca/files/2018/01/GreenPaper_CJE-Aug2-2017-2.pdf Paula Simons, “On point: Fifty years ago, Canada changed its immigration rules and in doing so changed the face of this country,” Edmonton Journal, June 29, 2017: https://edmontonjournal.com/news/insight/on-p...
Jan 20, 2019•44 min
Send us a text Sources used in this episode: Tracey L. Meares, “The Law and Social Science of Stop and Frisk,” Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 10(1), November 2014: 338. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268224149_The_Law_and_Social_Science_of_Stop_and_Frisk CBC News, “The Skin We’re In,” Date unknown: https://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/m_features/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-carding Statistics Canada, “Homicide in Canada, 2017,” The Daily, November 21, 2018: https://www150.statca...
Jan 13, 2019•34 min
Send us a text Sources used in this episode: Evelyn L. Forget, “The Case for Basic Income in Canada,” University of Manitoba, 2012. David E. Thigpen, “Universal Income: What is it and is it Right for the US?” Roosevelt Institute, October 2016. David Macdonald, “A Policymaker’s Guide to Basic Income,” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, October 2016. https://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/National%20Office/2016/10/Policymakers_Guide_to_Basic_Income.pdf Joh...
Jan 06, 2019•33 min
Send us a text Happy New Year! Thank you for everyone tuning into Strong and Free. There are some major plans for 2019. It's going to be great! Tune into hear what I am thinking for the year ahead! As always, stay #strgnfr--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/strongandfree/support Support the show Visit my NEW Website! https:// www.christopherbalkaran.com Check out my Instagram/Tik Tok for daily posts: Instagram @openmindspod Tiktok @openmindspodcast...
Jan 01, 2019•15 min
Send us a text Sources used in this podcast: Armina Ligaya, “Cannabis legalization named top Canadian business news story of 2018,” Global News, December 16, 2018: https://globalnews.ca/news/4767649/cannabis-legalization-business-canadian-press/ Vanmala Subramaniam, “Canadians still split on cannabis legalization, Forum Research Poll finds,” Financial Post, October 17, 2018: https://business.financialpost.com/cannabis/canadians-still-split-on-cannabis-legalization-forum-research-poll-finds Moham...
Dec 24, 2018•33 min
Send us a text Sources used in this podcast: Statista, “Breakdown of BMW Group's worldwide automobile sales in FY 2017, by region,” 2017: https://www.statista.com/statistics/267252/key-automobile-markets-of-bmw-group/ Marianne Schneider-Petsinger, “Trade Policy Under President Trump: Implications for the US and the World,” Chatham House, November, 2017: https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/publications/research/2017-11-03-trade-policy-trump-schneider-petsinger-final.pdf. Congressiona...
Dec 18, 2018•36 min
Send us a text Sources used in this episode: Thieb Peterson, “Globalization Report 2018: What about the NAFTA Countries?” Global Economic Dynamics Blog, June 13, 2018: https://ged-project.de/ged-blog/improving-public-understanding-of-economic-globalisation/globalization-report-2018-what-about-the-nafta-countries/ Bruce Anderson and David Coletto, “Most Canadians would vote for the USMCA deal,” Abacus Data, October 16, 2018: http://abacusdata.ca/most-canadians-would-vote-for-the-usmca-deal/ Finan...
Dec 17, 2018•26 min
Send us a text Sources used in this episode:American Psychological Association, “Managing Stress Related to Political Change,” apa.org, 2017: https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-political-change.aspxMythili Sampathkumar, “Thanksgiving: Most Americans want to avoid discussing politics at dinner, poll finds,” Independent, 2018: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/thanksgiving-dinner-politics-discussion-family-how-to-avoid-us-poll-midterms-a8645821.htmlRishab Nithyanand ...
Nov 27, 2018•30 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Send us a text This episode will focus on the carbon pricing system being proposed in Canada.Sources used:Nicholas Rivers, “The Case for a Carbon Tax in Canada,” Canada 2020, November 2014.Justin Worland, “How the Recession Accidentally Helped the Planet,” Time, July 22, 2015: http://time.com/3966553/recession-emissions-decline/Marc Jaccard et. Al, “Is Win-Win Possible? Can Canada’s Government Achieve its Paris Commitment…and get re-elected? “ Simon Fraser University, September 2016.Government o...
Nov 19, 2018•33 min•Ep. 2
Send us a text Welcome to Strong and Free! A podcast dedicated to providing you the information you need on the topics of the day!Sources used in this episode:Dr. Chloe Carmichael, “Political Polarization is a Psychology Problem,” Huffington Post, August 11, 2017: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/political-polarization-is-a-psychology-problem_us_5a01dd9ee4b07eb5118255e5Diana Petramala, et. Al, “Millennials in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area: A Generation Stuck in Apartments?” Centre fo...
Nov 15, 2018•11 min
