On this episode we chat about a whole host of issues relating to Canada / China relations. We discuss how China bullies Canadian companies operating in China, the case of the two Michael’s, China’s AI race, China’s movement towards totalitarianism, and the need for Canada to stand up for itself in the face of Chinese hostility. We also chat about China's surveillance state, their social credit system, and what Canadian strategy towards China should look like going forward.
Margaret McCuaig-Johnston is Senior Fellow at the Institute for Science, Society and Policy and the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa where she has been lecturing and writing on China’s science and technology policies since 2013.
Over a 37-year career in the public service, Margaret held senior management positions in the Governments of Canada and Ontario. Most recently she was Executive Vice-President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council; prior to that she was Assistant Deputy Minister Energy Technology and Programs at Natural Resources Canada; and her first Assistant Deputy Minister appointment was at the federal Department of Finance. She has also had management positions at Industry Canada, the Prime Minister’s National Advisory Board on Science and Technology, the Ministry of State for S&T, and the Privy Council Office (the Prime Minister’s department).