Just Cause

This episode is a special one as it was Toronto Police Service Deputy Chief Peter Yuen's last official interview before he retired from the TPS at the end of February 2022. We chat about his reflections over a 35-year career, what needs to be done to rebuild public trust in the police, his personal experiences of dealing with racism and discrimination, his work to implement race-based statistics, support better services and responses to mental health, build community policing, and the importance of empathy gained through an impactful personal experience in his career. 

This episode features a conversation with Chief Stephen Tanner of the Halton Regional Police Service. In January 2022, Steve celebrated 40 years of policing, and 20 years as a Police Chief making him the longest serving Police Chief in Canada. 

We chat about how policing has changed over his career, the cases that have stayed with him, advice he would give his younger self or to new recruits, managing today's challenges in an increasingly connected world, and what he thinks the future holds for policing. 

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This episode features a conversation with Inspector Dan Jones of the Edmonton Police Service and Melissa Neal. Dan and Melissa met years ago when Dan was working foot patrol in the City of Edmonton, Canada, and Melissa was a young person finding herself in conflict with the law. 

As the years progressed, Dan and Melissa developed a special friendship. Dan refused to give up on Melissa as she moved in and out of the criminal justice system, providing her with support, guidance and encouragement, and she leaned on him for help, support, and stability. 

Melissa's story is important to share. In this discussion, she is open and vulnerable as she talks about her life experience and struggle in steering herself out of a life of crime, chaos, and addiction. Her story and the insights she shares as someone who has now come out the other side shows how important it is to have someone care and believe in you - and believe in yourself. There are many layers and trauma that often exist for those who find themselves in the criminal justice system and it is important for justice system actors - as well as the general public - to understand this in making meaningful justice transformation, working towards outcomes that make a difference, and increasing empathy. Hearing stories such as Melissa's from a firsthand perspective is a powerful way to learn. 

Episode 2 features a discussion with Phil Gurski. Phil has an immense depth of experience in the world of intelligence, specializing in issues on national security and terrorism with a particular focus on the Middle East and violent Islamist-inspired terrorism gained through his first-hand experience at organizations including the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and Communications Security Establishment (CSE - Canada's Signal Intelligence Agency). He is the President and CEO of Borealis Threat and Risk Consulting Ltd. and Programme Director for the Security, Economics and Technology (SET) hub at the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute.

Our premiere episode and it's a blockbuster! This episodes features a conversation with Tamara Cherry, who shares her stories and experiences from working in the field of crime reporting and media trauma research. 

Tamara is a trauma researcher, victim advocate and communications consultant who spent the bulk of her career as an award-winning journalist in some of Canada’s largest newsrooms. She left her post as CTV News Toronto’s crime specialist in 2019 to launch Pickup Communications, a public relations firm that specializes in supporting victims and survivors of traumatic events, and providing communications consulting for justice-sector clients. Tamara is also the author of All the Bumpy Pebbles, a novel about domestic sex trafficking. She is now working on her second book. It’s called Unspeakable: Victims, Survivors & the Media. Part journalism, part memoir, this book is based on Tamara’s research project examining the impact of the media on trauma survivors, and the impact of trauma on journalists. Tamara is a regular voice on Newstalk 1010 radio in Toronto. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan with her partner and their three kids.