Released:June 3, 2020
Project: Action Canada Fellowship 2018
OTTAWA, JUNE 3, 2020 – Action Canada and the Public Policy Forum are proud to announce the 2020/2021 Action Canada Fellows.
The Action Canada Fellowship is Canada’s top accelerator of policy leaders that aims to enhance emerging leaders’ understanding of the country and public policy choices for the future.
This Fellowship year will be a bit different for the 13 new Fellows due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most organizations, we will have to adjust and pivot to a dramatically changed global context and we are confident that we can offer a different but equally meaningful and rich Fellowship to the AC cohort of 2020/21 by adopting a suitable approach to converting our current program to a blended program format consisting of a mix of online plenary, small-group and individual sessions as well as hopefully a number of real study tours across Canada.
This year’s Fellows will also have an opportunity to work directly on policy solutions for rural and urban dimensions of the future of work in a post-pandemic world.
We’d like to thank this year’s partners: The Government of Canada and Power Corporation of Canada.
“Now is the time to bring new thinking to the fore and this year’s Fellows will enjoy a golden opportunity to contribute to important public discussions,” says PPF’s President and CEO Edward Greenspon. “This is a very impressive group of individuals and we at PPF are excited that the Action Canada program will furnish them the opportunity for further leadership policy and personal growth.”
“It’s with great pride that we welcome these dynamic and engaged emerging leaders from all across Canada who demonstrate great potential,” adds Annie Sabourin, the Chair of Action Canada’s Board of Directors and a 2012/2013 Action Canada Fellow. “Over the course of this very enriching year, these 13 new Fellows will develop their skills and enhance their understanding of the country and public policy choices for the future. We are happy that they join the more than 200 alumni of the program to form a strong network of devoted leaders who support each other in their work for a better Canada.”
This year’s Action Canada Fellows are:
| Tatheer Ali | Jean-Sébastien Blais |
| Gabrielle Bouchard | Chardaye Bueckert |
| Phil De Luna | Fadi Haddad |
| Douglas Judson | John Kimmel |
| Dakota Norris | Melana Roberts |
| Palash Sanyal | Kharoll-Ann Souffrant |
| Helen Tewolde | |
In light of current circumstances, the Fellows will meet for the first time virtually from July 3 to 6. Read the Fellows’ full biographies on the Action Canada website.
Reports
Shifting Gears: Steering Canada’s urban centers towards a sustainable transportation future
Action Canada Fellowship 2023/2024 Report on Sustainable Transportation
On the Edge of Affordability: Increasing access to affordable housing for low-to-moderate income renters in Canada
This paper examines how policy could help low-to-moderate income earners living in urban areas across Canada to access affordable rental housing. This would help them move from financial and psychological anguish to fully participating and thriving in society.
Tent Nation: Responding to the rise of housing encampments & the homelessness crisis in Canada
The rise of encampments has led to polarized debates among Canadians. There is a pressing need and an opportunity for greater collaboration, knowledge sharing and national coordination to address this pan-Canadian challenge. This report presents seven recommendations to the three levels of government to find solutions for people in need.
Heat-proofing community housing: Prioritizing extreme heat adaptation for vulnerable Canadians
The upcoming decades are likely to have more dangerous heat waves and community housing residents are at a heightened risk for heat-related morbidity and mortality. This report shares four key recommendations for policymakers to improve the livability of community housing units and to tenants’ quality of life.
Settling the Unsettled: Closing the Urban-Rural Immigration Gap in Canada
Newcomers to Canada overwhelmingly settle in urban areas. Why do so few immigrants settle down in small and medium population centres in Canada, and how can we encourage them to do so?
Immigration in the Era of Remote Work: Challenges and Opportunities for Canada
This paper examines the intersection of these two subjects: remote work and immigration. Our recommendations will help attract immigrants to take part in a new Canadian economy that features remote work.
We All Live on Indigenous Land: Building Trusted Relationships in Canada’s Immigration Process
Newcomers need to learn more about Indigenous Peoples’ histories, cultures, and lived experiences. This report features new research and engagement on how to support relationship building and truth telling between newcomers and Indigenous Peoples.
Place-Based Policy Options for Entrepreneurship in a Post-COVID Canada
As Canadians look forward to the economic recovery and governments herald a new normal, few signals have been given about its policy landscape, and even fewer about the role of small business and entrepreneurs in the post-COVID strategy. With the horizon now in sight, how can governments move quickly to put a shot in the arm of small businesses and entrepreneurs that are operating in disparate and localized challenges and conditions?
Growing the Next Crop of Canadian Farmers
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted fundamental gaps in our agricultural system. For the first time in generations, many Canadians saw empty grocery store shelves and became acutely aware of the challenges facing our domestic food system. What followed were COVID-19 outbreaks on farms and meat processing plants and temporary foreign workers who were delayed and stranded. The pandemic highlights vulnerabilities in Canada’s food supply-chain and the importance of a resilient agricultural sector.
A Platform Economy Strategy for Canada: Supporting place-based governance for a more resilient and inclusive post-COVID Future of Work
Advances in big data, algorithms and cloud computing over the past decade have contributed to the emergence and widespread use of digital platforms in Canada. Whether it be through Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, Etsy or Shopify, a growing number of Canadian workers and businesses are interacting in these platform-based and controlled markets. This phenomenon, known as the emergence of the Platform Economy, has significant implications for the Future of Work in Canada. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated this trend as more Canadians than ever before turn towards digital platforms to support their livelihoods.
Inclusive Futures: Indigenous engagement in Canada’s workforce
This report examines four interlinked factors that contribute to Indigenous inclusion in the labour force and which are incorporated into a suggested framework for developing a tool to measure how inclusive an organization’s workplace is.
More Than a Place of Refuge: Meaningful engagement of Government-assisted refugees in the future of work
The evolution of the Canadian labour market threatens to aggravate the challenges facing resettled refugees. We propose six recommendations for the Government of Canada to better support GARs to succeed in the labour market.
Benefit not Burden: Older workers and the future of work in Canada
This report is about the future of work and how building an inclusive, resilient economic future requires a critical look at how we understand and value older workers.
Food Innovation in Canada’s North: The case for a social enterprise cluster
Our Task Force conducted a preliminary study of the feasibility of an Arctic Food Innovation Cluster in Canada. The intent of such a cluster is to advance increased access to affordable, culturally informed, healthy food across northern regions. The cluster’s secondary objective is to foster further innovations within the North’s commercial food production industry via new food production methods (e.g., full utilization of harvested fish), value chains, and/or governance models. This would, in turn, boost local economic development opportunities within these northern communities.
Making Informed Food Choices
A lack of information about some aspects of food makes it difficult for Canadians to make informed food choices. Our Task Force set out to address this by considering what policy decisions could improve Canadians' ability to make informed food choices.
Permanently Impermanent: Migrant agricultural workers in Canada
Action Canada Task Force hears from workers, administrators and farmers that existing programs don't work quite right and they need to for Canada's agricultural sector to thrive.
Articles
The black funnel: #MeToo, #BlackLivesMatter and I
Action Canada's Kharoll-Ann Souffrant '20 weaves together #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter with her own experience and calls for judicial and cultural change to eliminate this 'persistent global scourge'.
How to talk so people will listen: A lesson from Sadhu Johnston, City Manager of Vancouver
“So, who are you, and what do you want to learn from me?” Vancouver's City Manager Sadhu Johnston goes off script when meeting with Action Canada Fellows.
PPF and Action Canada introduce the 2019/2020 Fellows
The 16 new Fellows from across Canada will be focusing on the Future of Work.
The Action Canada Fellowship is accepting applications
The application period for the 2019/2020 Action Canada Fellowship is now open. Interested individuals have until March 15 at 5 p.m. PST to apply.
Follow the Action Canada Fellows
The Action Canada Fellowship's 2018/2019 program is well underway. Follow the Fellows as they cross the country and study the 'future of food', their policy topic for the year.
Events
Past Event
Action Canada 2019/2020 – Halifax Study Tour
Following tradition, Action Canada is heading to The Maritimes on its third study tour of 2019/20.
Past Event
Action Canada 2019/2020 – Yukon Study Tour
Following tradition, Action Canada is heading North for one its study tours.
Past Event
Work in Progress: Why jobs are changing and where are the opportunities for all?
And why are jobs changing? Join the Indigenomics Institute's Carol Ann Hilton and Microsoft's Edoardo de Martin for a dialogue facilitated by SFU's Mark Winston on June 14 in Vancouver.
Past Event
Action Canada 2019/2020 – First Study Tour
The newest Action Canada cohort will start their journey on June 13 in Vancouver. Follow along with them!
Past Event
Action Canada 2018/2019 presents the Future of Food
Join us for the final task force report presentations from the 2018-2019 Action Canada cohort. After a 10-month study of the Future of Food that started last June in Ottawa and saw the group travel to from Laird, SK to St-Alexandre, QC and many places in between, the three Task Forces are nearly ready to present their final reports and recommendations.
Past Event
Action Canada Ottawa Study Tour
Action Canada’s 16 Fellows will gather in Ottawa where our first study tour took place. It’s the fifth and final study tour of the 10-month program and will provide opportunities to meet many of the experts that will inform the three research projects that are taking shape.
Past Event
Action Canada Montreal Study Tour
Action Canada’s 16 Fellows will gather again in cosmopolitan Montreal where they’ll attend Resetting the Table, Food Secure Canada's 10th Assembly. It’s the third study tour of the 10-month program and will provide opportunities to meet many of the experts that will inform the three research projects that are taking shape.
Past Event
Action Canada Saskatoon Study Tour
Action Canada's 16 Fellows are headed to Paris of the Prairies, Saskatoon! There, they explored Canada's agricultural innovation hub, heard from experts, visited farms, appreciate local food and took the pulse of reconciliation initiatives. It's the second study tour of the 10-month program and will help inform the three research projects that are taking shape.
