The truth is we are not making enough meaningful progress on the most important issues of our time. Here are some highlights from my work as a social entrepreneur and some ideas on how to breakthrough.

Freeing Up Police to Focus on Crime

Police Chiefs across the country are telling me that the vast majority of what they are asked to do is not connected to crime.  We’ve reached the point where the majority of 911 calls are responding to people in recurring crises caused by poverty, unemployment, mental health challenges and addictions.  Indigenous people and people of colour carry, by far, the greatest weight of these social problems. This is a contributing factor to the real problem of tensions between police and frustrated members of the public.       

Calls to “defund the police'' and “fund the police” are polarizing and are keeping us stuck.  But everyone does agree on two things.  Firstly, the work that nonprofits do actually works to stabilize people, which in turn reduces calls to 911 and secondly, that these interventions actually save more money than they cost.  New ways of thinking are required to connect the dots.  

I’ve been advocating for years for a new way to move resources that works for taxpayers, police AND for families that are struggling.   As police workloads go down, so too will the resources they require. (See more)

Green Jobs

Millennials have grown up under the threat of climate change and increasing levels of inequality.  They want jobs that they can feel good about.   

Many of the social enterprises I’ve helped to co-found address what I believe to be the defining issue of our time - connecting the people who most need the work with the work that most needs to be done.  For example, Aki Foods works in the local food sector, Aki Energy installs ground source heat pumps on First Nations and BUILD has lowered utility bills in 10,000 low income households in Winnipeg alone.

(See more)

Ending Homelessness 

In many cities across Canada, homelessness is worse than it’s ever been. The different levels of governments argue endlessly about who should pay to address the problem.   I don’t think anyone wants homelessness but we’re using old financial tools and it's keeping us stuck.

The great news is that supportive housing works and providing it is cheaper than the costs of responding to perpetual crises.  Because governments have only used funding to engage nonprofits, it has led to the false premise that solving homelessness is a price we can’t afford.  

I’ve proposed a new way forward that is endorsed by both national advocacy groups AND emergency service providers. It’s an idea that is good for taxpayers and for people who are struggling. (See more)

Taxes

Governments are exhausted with the financial burden of managing multiple social problems.   The percentage of government budgets to respond to crises is perpetually going up (think police, courts, jails, emergency rooms…), while the percentage available for everything else is going down (housing, diabetes prevention, libraries, recreation centres, road repairs...).  Our long patterns of making incremental changes are not getting the transformational changes that are needed.

It’s time we interrupt old narratives where the debate has been between more government and less government.  The honest truth is that neither has worked.   Here’s how we change the channel and embrace the new, emerging problem-solving era.  (See more)