About Appointed: A Canadian Senator Bringing Margins to the Centre
A podcast from the office of Kim Pate. Hosted by Kim Pate, an Independent Canadian Senator from Ontario, bringing issues affecting folks on the margins, to the centre.
Advancing Basic Income: A Conversation with Iain Rankin
On this episode of Appointed, Kim is joined by the Honourable Iain Rankin, Member of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia and former Premier of Nova Scotia, for a timely conversation on poverty, dignity, and the push for a guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI) in Canada.
Drawing on over a decade of experience in provincial politics, MLA Rankin shares insights into the unique economic challenges facing Nova Scotians, the growing need for bold and inclusive social policy, and his recent introduction of Bill 41 – a proposal to launch a basic income pilot in Nova Scotia. The conversation also touches on Senator Pate’s Bill S-206, which seeks to establish a national GLBI framework, and explores how provincial and federal efforts can work hand-in-hand to create lasting change.
Tune in for a thoughtful exchange on income security, human dignity, and the future of basic income in Canada.
For more information on Bill 41, click here (https://nslegislature.ca/legc/bills/65th_1st/1st_read/b041.htm).
For more information on GLBI and Bill S-206, check out our website here (https://senpate.sencanada.ca/en/current-work/s-206/).
20 May 2025
A Conversation with Senator Pat Duncan
On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with Senator Pat Duncan, Canadian Senator and former premier of Yukon. Kim and Senator Duncan are longtime friends and have an amazing conversation about the work being done to ensure Canadians can “rebound” out of poverty.
Senator Duncan draws on her more than 10 years of experience serving in the Yukon Legislative Assembly and working in the Yukon community to discuss how food security in the North differs from other parts of Canada. Senator Duncan shines a light on the work being done to grow Yukon’s agricultural sector. Kim and Senator Duncan advocate for placing guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI) at the top of the national agenda.
To learn more about Senator Duncan’s work, please visit the Senate of Canada website (https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/duncan-pat/).
For details on the Putting People First report which reviewed Yukon’s health and social systems and programs, including the 76 recommendations to serve the needs of Yukoners better, please click here (https://yukon.ca/en/putting-people-first).
Please also see the Circumpolar Agricultural Association website (https://circumpolaragriculture.wordpress.com/). You can read the Thumbs Up reports at their website (https://thethumbsupfoundation.com/).
More information about work being done to address poverty in Yukon can be found at Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition (https://yapc.ca/). For information on the Yukon Agricultural Association, including a Farm Guide, please see here (https://yukonag.ca/).
1 May 2025
A Conversation with Dr. Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor at UBC
On this episode of Appointed, Kim speaks with Dr. Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Behavioral Sustainability and Sauder Distinguished Scholar at the University of British Columbia. Dr. Zhao speaks about her incredible research into how resource scarcity impacts human cognition and behaviour.
Kim and Dr. Zhao discuss Dr. Zhao’s 2023 study which found that one-time, unconditional cash transfers of $7,500 to people living in poverty reduced homelessness in Vancouver. Dr. Zhao explains her work modelling the cost of a guaranteed livable basic income (GLBI), and her findings that a GLBI would go a long way to allowing people to rebound in tough economic times and help to eliminate poverty and homelessness, in addition to costing less than half of the $92B currently spent every year on measures that keep people in poverty.
To learn more about Dr. Zhao’s research, please visit her Behavioral Sustainability Lab (https://zhaolab.psych.ubc.ca/publications.html) or her website at the University of British Columbia (https://psych.ubc.ca/profile/jiaying-zhao/). You can read more about the unconditional cash transfer study here (https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2222103120).
More information about the work being done in British Colombia to address poverty and other social challenges can be found at Foundations for Social Change (https://forsocialchange.org/).
More information about our initiatives to assist governments to Spend Less on Poverty & More in People can be found at https://senpate.sencanada.ca/en/current-work/s-233/.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 43 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
73
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
Contact Appointed: A Canadian Senator Bringing Margins to the Centre
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Appointed: A Canadian Senator Bringing Margins to the Centre?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
