Eh Sayers

Latest Episodes:

A Little Less Misinformation, a Little More True Facts, Please Dec 13, 2023

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In the age of social media, AI, and deepfakes, discerning fact from fiction is a crucial skill. Nowadays, we’re not just getting our information from the six o’clock news. Friends, family, researchers, influencers, entertainers, news anchors, advertisers… Who can you trust?

Timothy Caulfield, misinformation/disinformation expert, author, University of Alberta professor, and member of the Order of Canada, and Eric Rancourt, Assistant Chief Statistician at StatCan, join us to explore the challenges posed by our information environment and what can be done to counter misinformation.

I Got 99 Problems But Being Misgendered on the Census Ain't One Aug 21, 2023

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Ladies, Gentlemen, and Gentlethem!

While every census is special, the 2021 Census was historic. It was the first to include a question about gender, making Canada the first country to collect and publish data on gender diversity from a national census.

In this episode, we explore gender with drag king Cyril Cinder and we talk Census 2021 with StatCan’s Anne Milan.

Join us for a new kind of gender reveal.

Will the 40 Millionth Canadian Please Stand Up? Jun 19, 2023

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Canada reached an important milestone June 16, 2023. For the first time, there were 40 million people living in Canada. That means that someone out there is the 40 millionth Canadian. But who is it?

Laurent Martel, director of the Centre for Demography at Statistics Canada, joins us to explore what demographic data can tell us about this person, as well as the implications of Canada’s changing demographics and its rapid population growth.

In a Movie About the Economy, Is Inflation the Bad Guy? Apr 18, 2023

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StatCan’s Consumer Price Index tells us a lot about the economy… if you know what to look for.

Guy Gellatly, Chief Economic Advisor at StatCan, joins us at the mic to break down the CPI and answer our questions about the economy. What’s the ideal inflation rate? Is no inflation the best kind of inflation? And what is a deflationary spiral?

Green Houses, Not Gases Nov 22, 2022

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Canada is facing both a climate crisis and a housing crisis, and they are interconnected.

Choices we make about our homes impact the environment: their location and how much we need to use a car to get around, the heat source that they use, the materials used in their construction.

At the same time, the climate impacts our homes: when severe weather strikes and causes damage to our homes, we have no choice but to rebuild, and even if we escape unscathed, we still have to decide how much to change our lifestyles to adapt to a changing climate.

Andrew DeFazio, Climate Change Advisor at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) joins us to explore how we can climate-proof our housing strategy and home-proof our climate strategy.

Why Haven't We Ended Poverty Yet? Oct 17, 2022

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It used to be that Statistics Canada didn’t measure poverty. Not exactly. Poverty is complex, and there wasn't a single definition that everyone agreed on. So while StatCan did measure low income and other income inequality indicators, it didn't measure poverty per se. That is, until 2018, when the government chose to use the Market Basket Measure, or MBM, as Canada's Official Poverty Line. That means that the government now uses the MBM to track its poverty reduction targets.

But something strange happened during the pandemic: in 2020 the poverty rate fell. And it fell quite a bit. In fact, the poverty rate dropped in one year almost as much as it had in the four preceding years.

But why? What happened? Will the poverty rate continue to fall? And what happens if it hits zero? How would health outcomes change? Education outcomes? People's general happiness and well-being?

Has there ever been a time and place in Canada where the poverty rate was zero? The closest may be the Mincome Experiment of the 1970s in Manitoba. Many Canadians have never heard of this guaranteed income experiment, but it offers a glimpse at what eliminating poverty might look like.

To learn more, we spoke with Burton Gustajtis an economist from Statistics Canada, Evelyn Forget, a Professor of Economics and Community Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba and Kevin Milligan, a Professor of Economics in the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia.

Sylvia Ostry: Lessons from a Legend Oct 07, 2022

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If this is the first time you’re hearing about Sylvia Ostry, buckle up.

Sylvia was appointed Canada’s first and only female Chief Statistician in 1972, but she didn’t get there by playing by the rules. She was ambitious but grew up in a world where many thought that it was shameful to be female and have a career.

Sylvia was a Jewish woman in economics, and even after she earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, she was denied a job with the United Nations because of her gender. Nevertheless, she had a storied career, becoming the Chairman of the Economic Council of Canada then the Chief Economist at the OECD. But we're not focusing on her career highlights. We're going behind the scenes to look at how she challenged herself to succeed, becoming both a respected economist and mother, and how she handled setbacks, and discrimination, all while staying true to herself and demonstrating the integrity for which she's remembered today.

We’re celebrating the 50th anniversary of Sylvia Ostry’s appointment as Chief Statistician. In this episode of Eh Sayers, featuring interviews with her sons, Adam Ostry and Jonathan Ostry, we are pleased to introduce you to this remarkable woman and to share with you eight pieces of advice inspired by her life.

Dude, Where's my Semiconductor? Apr 28, 2022

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As the effects of the pandemic continue into its second year, we have all had to make adjustments with the way we go about our daily lives. We have seen plenty of service disruptions, closures of services and delays due to semiconductor scarcities, inclement weather or shifts in supply and demand. But what is the real cause of these disruptions and what is the supply chain that everyone is talking about it? Our guest, Andrew Barclay, an economist at Statistics Canada discusses the supply chain, what it is and why it’s important to Canadians. He also discusses the ripple effect it has on our consumer goods and services.

Doctor's Appointment? There's an App for That! Apr 07, 2022

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Healthcare is a privilege that Canadians value greatly. However, virtual healthcare was a rarity before COVID-19. Immediately after the pandemic hit in March 2020, Canadians were forced to rethink how they access healthcare. Appointments that would usually have happened in an office were suddenly taking place by phone or video chat. Now, two years later, most health care is conducted virtually. The question is whether access to virtual healthcare will disappear when the pandemic ends. Our guest, Dr. Gigi Osler, joins us to explore the barriers to virtual healthcare, the changes we saw during the pandemic, and what’s being done to make virtual care permanent.

Created Equal Mar 16, 2022

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Canada’s diversity and rich cultural heritage have been shaped by the people who have come from all over the world to call it home. But even in our multicultural society, eliminating all forms of discrimination remains a challenge. In this episode, we turn a critical eye to the ways that cognitive bias risks perpetuating systemic racism. Statistics are supposed to accurately reflect the world around us, but are all data created equal? Join us as we explore the role data can play to make Canada a more equal society for all.

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