Ep. 420: Has Canada lost its way?

Guest: Ken Coates, McDonald-Laurier Institute and University of Saskatchewan

“Canada is a country without a centre, without a purpose,” says Ken Coates, a Distinguished Fellow and Director of the Indigenous Affairs Program at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a Canada Research Chair at the University of Saskatchewan.

It’s a jarring statement – one, Coates says, is “an apt description of the state of the country.”

Coates says, “On one level, the idea that Canada’s future is uncertain seems absurd. The country routinely places well in global comparisons.” While that is true, it also masks the reality of crumbling sectors of the economy, investment in education, investment in natural resources and infrastructure projects that are stalled or mothballed. Coates adds, “Canadians don’t seem to care.”

We invited Ken Coates to join us for a Conversation That Matters about Canadians need to turn our attention to the issues that are bubbling to the surface and could dramatically change our quality of life.