Teacher Guide
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So, what is public policy?
Public policy is what the government does or how it governs. It can take the form of laws, regulations, guidelines, or actions that address real world problems. It often takes the form of programs.
Public policies are guided by our values or what we, as a society, think is important. It doesn’t just belong to the government; it belongs to all of us. And we as citizens might have ideas on how society should run and want to discuss, advance, or oppose those ideas.
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Fellows featured in this module
- Jasmine
- Irwin
2022/23 Fellow
Jasmine (Jas) Irwin is a Senior Associate at Springboard Policy, a public policy consulting firm that helps organizations to use their voices and expertise to shape important policy conversations. Jas has always been drawn to good ideas and driven to maximize their impact by helping to communicate those ideas to others in clear and compelling ways. She has eight years of experience working at the intersection of communications and policy to build consensus and spur change.
In her current role, Jas has spearheaded projects ranging from mapping the infrastructure gap in Canada’s North, to examining the role of artificial intelligence tech on children’s privacy rights, to researching career guidance as a policy tool for those with barriers to work. Before joining Springboard, Jas worked as a Policy Advisor and Press Secretary to Ontario’s Deputy Premier, where she worked on key policies like the transformation of Ontario’s Student Assistance Program. She began her career working in post-secondary student advocacy, creating province-wide campaigns on issues like tuition affordability and pay equity.
Raised in London, Ontario, Jas has a B.A. in Media and the Public Interest from Western University, and an M.A. in Political and Legal Thought from Queens University. At Queens, her research focus was on corrections policy in Canada and the overrepresentation of Indigenous women in high-security settings.
Jas also enjoys reading, lightly interrogating friends and strangers about the things they are interested in, and performing live comedy.
- Scott
- Stirrett
2022/23 Fellow
Scott is the Founder/CEO of Venture for Canada (VFC), a national charity that fosters the development of entrepreneurial skills and mindset in young Canadians. In 2021, VFC had an annual operating budget of over $14 million, 35 full-time employees, and 2,600 students and recent grads participated in its programs. VFC’s donors include Employment and Social Development Canada, The RBC Foundation, TD Bank, The Hunter Family Foundation, The Future Skills Centre, Fasken, and The Donald R. Sobey Foundation.
Originally from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Scott is a graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. Immediately after graduating from Georgetown, Scott worked at Goldman Sachs Inc. in New York City. Scott was recognized as the 2018 Telus LGBTQ Innovator of The Year by The Inspire Awards, a 2019 Young Impact Leader by Future of Good, and a 2022 Changemaker by The Globe and Mail. Scott has contributed to or been featured in The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Forbes, Future of Good, The Chronicle Herald, and The Georgia Straight. He has also appeared as a commentator on CBC News Network and BNN Bloomberg.
- Aliza
- Moledina
2022/23 Fellow
Dr Aliza Moledina is a General Internal Medicine physician with a passion for health equity, human rights and social accountability. She is currently completing a Masters in Science in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, motivated by her strong belief in the value of evidence and science in addressing complex social determinants of health. She was recently a lead author on a comprehensive 136-page Campbell Collaboration Review, examining interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of persons with lived experience of homelessness.
Dr Aliza Moledina is a General Internal Medicine physician with a passion for health equity, human rights and social accountability. She is currently completing a Masters in Science in Epidemiology at the University of Ottawa, motivated by her strong belief in the value of evidence and science in addressing complex social determinants of health. She was recently a lead author on a comprehensive 136-page Campbell Collaboration Review, examining interventions to improve the health and wellbeing of persons with lived experience of homelessness.
Aliza is also actively engaged in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and health advocacy initiatives at the University of Ottawa and The Ottawa Hospital, promoting the advancement of EDI policies and supporting efforts to reform undergraduate and postgraduate medical education curricula to embrace social accountability principles. As one of the national Internal Medicine co-leads of the Global Health Portfolio of the Aga Khan Health Board Canada, she liaisons with physicians in Afghanistan to provide monthly Internal Medicine educational sessions and enable case-based collaboration with Canadian sub-specialists.
At the local level, Aliza serves as one of the co-leads of the Serious Illness Care Program at The Ottawa Hospital, delivering training to physicians and other allied health professionals on how to deliver advance care planning (ACP) and goals of care discussions to critically ill patients and their families, with a particular focus on identifying individual patients’ goals, wishes and values. In recognizing the reduced uptake of ACP within diverse communities, she co-organized innovative virtual ACP sessions for the Ismaili Muslim community, which was attended by over 1000 participants nationally.
- Leslie
- Muñoz
2022/23 Fellow
Leslie Muñoz is a proud Colombian-Canadian currently living in Guelph, Ontario. A driven strategist, government relations expert and community-builder, they currently serve as Chief of Staff to the President of the University of Guelph. Prior to this role, they served as Manager of Policy and Intergovernmental Relations at the City of Guelph and as a Policy Advisor with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
They are also an Ontario Legislature Internship Program alum and previously worked with Global Affairs Canada as a member of Canada’s G7/G20 Summits team. Outside of work, Leslie enjoys cycling, exploring new towns and cities and spending time at home with their toddler and partner.
- Émily
- Soulières
2022/23 Fellow
Émily Soulières is an experienced public servant currently working for Service Canada in Quebec. As a senior manager in the Assistant Deputy Minister’s office, Émily focuses on issues management, as well as advising and making recommendations on a wide range of issues.
Since joining the Public Service of Canada in 2011, Émily has had the opportunity to play strategic roles and work on key files, including governance for the Department of National Defence, Global Affairs Canada’s consular policies and, more recently, the delivery of essential programs and services to Canadians for Employment and Social Development Canada.
In July 2019, Émily left her job with the Government of Canada in order to seek out new experiences in the private sector and a new life on Canada’s West Coast. For nearly three years, she lived in Vancouver and had the privilege of working for Navitas, a growing Canadian company and leading global education provider.
The COVID-19 pandemic gave Emily the space to self-reflect, re-examine her own values and priorities, and rethink her future. Seeing the plight worsening for the most vulnerable Canadians during the pandemic, Émily understood that she wanted to dedicate her career to building a richer, more inclusive Canada. This is why she seized the opportunity to return to her roots and resume her career in the federal public service.
Émily firmly believes that the Government of Canada has a key role to play in developing bold, innovative, hands-on solutions to today’s major social, economic and political issues, such as the labour shortage, care for seniors, support for individuals with mental health issues, systemic racism and youth disengagement.
Émily is fluent in English and French and has a basic knowledge of Arabic. She grew up in Gatineau and has a bachelor’s degree in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from the University of Ottawa. She now lives in the Greater Montréal area.
- Louis-François
- Brodeur
2014/2015 Fellow
Louis-François Brodeur holds an MA in political philosophy, is a doctoral candidate in administration at HEC Montreal and has received a doctoral grant from the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture (FRQSC). His research focuses on professors’ academic freedom: how it emerges, interacts with its environment and changes. In recent years he has had the opportunity to present his research at numerous international forums. Alongside his academic activities, he serves on FQRSC’s Board of Directors.
His interests led him to be involved in many organizations. He has been President of Force Jeunesse —which promotes and works towards improving youth’s job prospects and equity between generations,— administrator at the Association francophone pour le savoir (ACFAS) —which promotes diffusion of knowledge,— and graduate student representative at the University of Montreal (FAÉCUM).
In addition to having organized, hosted and participated in several conferences on union renewal, secularism, reasonable accommodations, the future of civil service, he has also written on the university system. Finally, in his spare time, he is a cycling enthusiast and novice gardener.
Don’t miss out on our podcast episode!
Episode 1: What does policy mean to you? + Halifax
In this episode, Fellows Sophie Hamel ’23 – Quebec – Health Canada and Japman Bajaj ’23 – Toronto – Vametric Corporation, discuss what public policy means to them, and how their trip to Halifax influenced their understanding of public policy.