Eh Sayers

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the studio
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the audio mixer with care,
In hopes that a special guest soon would be there.

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.

The pandemic presented a long list of threats to the mental and physical well-being of children, parents and educators across the nation. To move towards the end of the pandemic and a return to normalcy, difficult choices such as closing schools had to be made by policy-makers. With our guest Dr. Kelley Zwicker, a pediatric doctor at CHEO, we discuss the potential short- and long-term effects of the school closures on children and their parents.

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.

The age old practice of working with one’s hands in skill and time honoured endeavors has seen a resurgence during the pandemic as people seek out ways of keeping busy, exploring a fleeting interest or honing their skills on a professional level. But there’s much more to it, according to Maegen Black, director of the Canadian Crafts Federation. We discuss the arts and crafts movement across Canada, its renaissance and its necessity.