Generation Squeeze
Generation Squeeze's Hard Truths
How can we make governments stop "mortgaging the future"?
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How can we make governments stop "mortgaging the future"?

“It’s kind of ironic that the institution that's protecting the public commons is often the one that's actually discounting the future at our own expense.” - Commissioner Jerry DeMarco

A lot of Canada's current crises were caused in part by past governments failing to think beyond an election cycle. So how can we make governments take a longer view and consider the impact of their decisions on future generations? To find out, we spoke with Jerry DeMarco, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in Canada’s Office of the Auditor General. 

“When we didn't have the technology to create multi-decade or multi-century messes for others to clean up, then there wasn't necessarily a need to have institutions that could deal with that. But now that we do have that ability to create these long-term problems, we need to harness our ingenuity to figure out new ways of addressing them.”

- Jerry DeMarco, Commissioner of the Environment & Sustainable Development

Our conversation touched on:

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Commissioner DeMarco⁠ has been interested in intergenerational equity for much of his 25-year career as a leading expert on environmental law. Before joining the OAG, he served as Commissioner of the Environment and Assistant Auditor General at the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario.

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PS: If you're interested in how past policy decisions are harming younger generations today, mark your calendars for Generation Squeeze's first ⁠Community Call⁠ on November 16! 

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Generation Squeeze
Generation Squeeze's Hard Truths
Gen Squeeze's Hard Truths brings you the untold story about why basic life milestones – like owning a home, raising a family, and living on a habitable planet – are slipping out of reach for younger Canadians, and how we can make this country work more fairly for all generations.
Learn more at https://www.gensqueeze.ca/