Canada at a Crossroads: Tech Flight, Taxes & an Ostrich Farm Standoff

Guests

• • John Turley-Ewart — Risk management consultant specializing in capital markets with extensive experience on Bay and Wall Streets; Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist; contributor to The Globe & Mail.

  • Katie Pasitney — with the Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood, BC.

• Segment 1 — “Dear Canada: Nobody’s Coming to Save Us”

  • Turley-Ewart unpacks his Globe & Mail piece and argues Canada is losing ground on productivity, capital, and talent.

  • Why cheering a proposed US$100,000 H-1B fee is “self-delusion”: high-skill workers and companies still prefer the U.S.

  • Tech drain: startups headquartering abroad to raise more capital; policy programs seen as out of touch with operators.

  • Structural headwinds: tax burden, weak industrial investment since the early ’80s, and health-care capacity gaps.

  • What to fix: rebuild manufacturing, unlock LNG/natural resources, drop interprovincial barriers, reward investment, and create policy certainty that beats (not just matches) the U.S.

  • Fiscal reality check: rising deficits/debt squeeze future social spending and opportunity for younger Canadians.

• Segment 2 — Edgewood Ostrich Farm vs. CFIA

  • Katie Pasitney updates the legal fight over the flock after earlier bird deaths linked to avian influenza.

  • Farm seeks independent testing of the surviving ostriches; says offers to fund testing have been rebuffed.

  • Interim stay in place; concerns raised about animal care, community tensions, and the costs of enforcement.

  • Core question: if birds are healthy and not shedding, should culling proceed—or should testing decide the outcome?

• Segment 3 — Does Staging Sell Homes?

  • A pro stager and a veteran realtor weigh in: staging helps buyers visualize living in the space and can reduce objections.

  • Typical playbook: neutral décor, rentals for key rooms, curb-appeal tune-ups; agents often cover staging costs.

  • Market nuance: still-hot pockets vs. buyer’s-market caution; write appliances (make/model) into offers to avoid swaps.

• Listen

  • Catch The John Oakley Show live weekdays 3–6pm on 640 Toronto, stream anytime at 640toronto.com, or on the iHeartRadio app.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices