I have been interested in the tension between capitalism, democracy and sovereignty for almost 40 years. I was politicized on these issues in 1988 during the FTA debate and they shaped my core political instincts, preoccupations and values. Capitalist societies inevitably lead to inequality, but the unequal distribution of wealth and power has grown to the breaking point in the past 40 years during the era of neoliberalism.
In my professional work today, these interests manifest in a focus on ownership and inequality, with the goal of identifying and advocating public policy change that will broaden and diversify ownership of assets in Canada and catalyze more investment into local assets that deliver social, community and environmental returns.
Over the past two years, the question of sovereignty and who controls key assets in Canada has of course become more central to my preoccupations. It has also made issues I care about more prominent on the policy agenda, like industrial policy, community and state ownership of assets, resilience of democratic institutions, social capital and civic trust, digital sovereignty, and the nature and impacts of foreign direct investment.
