On The Way Home

 This week on the pod I’m joined by Matt Young, the CEO and President of Republic Developments, as we talk about the coalition he formed called “CANT or Coalition Against New Home Taxes”. In our conversation he explains how the taxes on new homes being built have risen dramatically over the years and passed on to consumers, and how by reducing those taxes we could create housing that would be much more affordable for all. That and much, much more on this week’s OTWH podcast.

Two of our nation’s top experts in Mental Health join us this week on the podcast to chat about Mental Health in Canada. Rebecca Shields, CEO of CMHA York/Simcoe and Keir MacDonald, CEO of Coast Mental Health talk about mental health picture in Ontario and B.C., what the challenges are, some solutions they both are working on, and their hopes for the future.

Reza and Safiyah from the John Howard Society of Ontario join us to discuss the recent new report, “Locked up. Locked Out: The Revolving Door of Homelessness and Ontario’s Justice System,” which demonstrates how justice system involvement is a leading cause – and result – of housing loss in Ontario

It’s On The Way Home’s first international panel as we welcome experts from Finland, the UK, the US and Canada for a chat around our international response to housing refugees. We hear about how the challenges each country is facing, what their response has been, what has to change and their hopes for the future

This week Tim Coldwell, the Co-Founder and CEO of Énska Advisors joins us on the podcast to chat about his incredible journey at the helm of one of Canada’s largest and most innovative general contractors, how he recently chose to re-invent himself by starting Enska Advisors, and finally about his Fifty by 50 challenge to address the well documented skilled trades shortage. You won’t want to miss this inspiring conversation!

This week we are joined by Lara, Alesia, Jill and Denise, four experts from slightly different areas involving Seniors and Homelessness. A doctor specializing in harm reduction and supporting those experiencing homelessness, a social worker specializing in seniors, a geriatrician, and PhD in Health geography. We chat about a recent research paper Jill led with Alesia about how Toronto’s Homeless Shelters are failing our seniors, what Dr. Lara is seeing in her senior patients in Calgary, and what the research is showing Denise around seniors and homelessness in British Columbia. We talk about the challenges, the solutions and our hopes for the future when it comes to supporting seniors experiencing homelessness.

This week, podcast regular Nick Falvo joins us along with Mel and Julie from CHRA and Emily from A Way Home Canada, to talk about a recent study tour that took a group of Canadians to London, England to learn about some of the amazing work they are doing to create affordable housing and end homelessness. We talk about what they learned, surprises along the way, what we can bring back to Canada and what we might be able to share with the good folks in the UK. This podcast was a ton of fun and really eye opening! As well we talk about next year’s plan for a study tour in Finland! You won’t want to miss it!

This week on the pod we are joined by the brilliant Khulud Baig, Director of Policy and Community Engagement at the Women’s National Housing and Homeless Network, and Michele Biss, the National Director at the National Right to Housing Network to chat about their new Solutions Lab project they’ve been working on with a focus on creating Shelter Standards for Women and Gender Diverse people. We chat about how it came about, what the feedback has been so far, and what next steps in the process are. You don’t want to miss it!

Today on the 'On The Way Home' we welcome the senior housing panel to discuss aging.