Frank Buckley and Chrystia Freeland gave a preview of their upcoming Great Canadian Debate on income inequality during an interview on CBC Radio One over the weekend.
They will square off on Tuesday, March 30 at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa over the resolution: “Canadians should stop worrying about income inequality”. Buckley will argue in favour, while Freeland will argue against.
For tickets, click here.
On Sunday, though, the two joined CBC the 180 host Jim Brown to explain their positions.
Buckley says that it’s not an issue because Canadians have greater mobility than people in other countries, such as the United States.
“The income inequality we have is largely a consequence of things we can’t change”, says Buckley in the interview.
Freeland agrees that Canadians have more control over which income bracket they end up in. However she argues that Canadians have the ability to move around only because we worry about income inequality.
“We appreciate that it takes political will and social institutions to overcome the greater divides that income inequality imposes”, says Freeland.
Click here to listen to the full interview.
The Great Canadian Debates create a lively setting in which influential speakers can hash out some of the hottest topics Canada faces in front of a live audience.
This is the first debate in the 2015 series.