In our second episode of the season, executive director of Oxfam Canada, Lauren Ravon returns for our annual focus on the Oxfam Inequality Report and this year we are also joined by senior director of Strategy and Innovation at Family Service Toronto and national director of Campaign 2000, Leila Sarangi.
We discuss Oxfam’s latest report on global inequality, Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power, the capture of political power by the billionaire class, the rise of authoritarianism and how this is being lived in Canada.
Ravon says:
“One of the main points that we’re trying to get across in this year’s Oxfam report. Is saying that not only does massive wealth allow you to buy luxury items … It allows you to buy political influence, and this is really what we see as most troubling … this political capture … around the world and it’s a risk for us here in Canada too, is that ultimately extreme wealth concentration, this kind of billionaire wealth that we’re talking about, is incompatible with the very idea of democracy. That you cannot have a healthy democracy when so much is held in the hands of so few … And it’s not a new trend, but we’re seeing it accelerating. And what’s really concerning is that this is eroding civil and political rights … is actually a really fertile ground for authoritarianism.”
Reflection on increasing poverty in Canada, Sarangi says:
“Our data has shown and our report cards the last two years, the largest historic increases in poverty since the pandemic. So it’s striking. While billionaire wealth is growing, poverty rates are rising, and incomes are plummeting, and depth of poverty is increasing … We have in Canada, two and a half million children living in food insecure households. ..in the provinces alone, we’re not asking about the Territories. We’re not collecting that data … Parents are skipping meals so the kids don’t have to. They’re foregoing buying medication or they’re cutting their pills in half to save money. They’re making strategic decisions every day, every week.”
Oxfam’s Global Inequality Report: Resisting the Rule of the Rich: Protecting Freedom from Billionaire Power
Oxfam Canada’s Report: The Rise of the Super-Rich: The State of Inequality in Canada
About today’s guests:
Lauren Ravon is a feminist and social justice advocate with over 20 years of experience in human rights and international development. She is currently the executive director of Oxfam Canada, where she leads a fabulous team working to advance women’s rights and economic justice by tackling the root causes of poverty, inequality and exclusion. Before joining Oxfam, Ravon worked at the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy) where she managed the organization’s human rights advocacy programs in the Americas. She has also worked to tackle gender-based violence and promote sexual and reproductive rights with Planned Parenthood Global and the International Rescue Committee. Ravon has conducted extensive policy research and campaigned on the right to food, economic inequality and tax justice, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the role of women’s movements. She is passionate about building alliances across sectors to protect and advance human rights. Ravon co-chairs the board of directors of the Humanitarian Coalition, which brings together Canada’s leading aid organizations to join forces during international humanitarian disasters. She is also a member of the board of directors of the Welcome Collective, a local organization dedicated to supporting refugee claimants in Montreal.
Leila Sarangi is senior director of Strategy and Innovation at Family Service Toronto and National Director of Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty. With over 25 years of experience in non‑profit leadership, coalition‑building, and policy advocacy, she is a nationally recognized leader on child and family poverty, income security, gender equity, and social infrastructure. Leila is the lead author of Campaign 2000’s annual national Child and Family Poverty and Disability Poverty Report Cards and regularly testifies before Parliamentary and municipal committees. She currently serves as chair of the board of Social Planning Toronto and as a board member of Child Care Now. In 2024, she received the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contributions to poverty eradication.
Transcript of this episode can be accessed at georgebrown.ca/TommyDouglasInstitute or here.
Image: Lauren Ravon, Leila Sarangi / Used with permission.
Music: Ang Kahora. Lynne, Bjorn. Rights Purchased.
Intro Voices: Ashley Booth (Podcast Announcer); Bob Luker (Tommy)
Courage My Friends podcast organizing committee: Chandra Budhu, Ashley Booth, Resh Budhu.
Produced by: Resh Budhu, Tommy Douglas Institute and Breanne Doyle, rabble.ca.
Host: Resh Budhu.
