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Vasiliki Bednar

Executive Director, Master of Public Policy in Digital Society Program and Adjunct Professor of Political Science, McMaster University
Vasiliki "Vass" Bednar works at the intersection of technology and public policy as the executive director of the Master of Public Policy in Digital Society program at McMaster University, where she is an adjunct professor of political science. She writes a newsletter about start-ups and public policy called “regs to riches” and is a Public Policy Forum Fellow and a Senior Fellow at CIGI.

Vass is recognized as a creative, data-driven thinker and recently advised Ontario’s minister of labour, training and skills development on the province’s Workforce Recovery Advisory Committee (2021). She was previously chair of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Expert Panel on Youth Employment (2016–2017). As an interdisciplinary wonk focused on ensuring that we have the regulatory structures we need to embrace the future of work and new ways of living, Vass has further strengthened her collaborative approach to policy making as an Action Canada Fellow (2012–2013) and as a Civic Action DiverseCity Fellow (2015–2016).

As an enthusiastic and perpetual student of the policy-making process, she has held leadership roles at Delphia, Airbnb, Queen’s Park, the City of Toronto and the University of Toronto.

Passionate about public dialogue, she was also the co-host of Detangled, a weekly pop-culture and public policy radio show and podcast that ran from 2016 to 2018. Vass currently contributes to public dialogue as a panellist on CBC’s Sunday Conversation show and on Newstalk 1010’s “Free for All” panel on Thursday mornings.

She is a graduate of McMaster University’s Arts & Science Program (2008) and holds a master of public policy from the University of Toronto (2010).

Provincial competition law needed to address the power of gig work platforms

Mar 21, 2022 15:21 pm UTC| Law

With the invention of gig-based platforms like Uber and SkipTheDishes, the gig economy has not just become an integral part of the labour industry, but also digital society as well. Along with the meteoric rise in...

Economy

Paul Atkins Emphasizes Global Regulatory Cooperation at Fintech Conference

Paul Atkins, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), highlighted the growing importance of international regulatory cooperation during a fintech and regulation conference held in Brussels on Tuesday....

RBA Raises Interest Rates by 25 Basis Points as Inflation Pressures Persist

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Tuesday, lifting its benchmark cash rate to 3.85% from 3.65%, in a move that was widely anticipated by markets. The decision reflects the...

US–India Trade Turbocharge: Stocks Poised to Ride the Export Wave

The new US-India trade agreement highlights businesses with significant US market exposure by lowering duties to 18% on Indian exports and providing zero-tariff access for US products. Where US revenue shares vary from 10%...

Japan’s Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Exports Hit Record High in 2025 Despite Tariffs

Japans exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products surged to a new all-time high in 2025, rising 12.8% year on year to 1.701 trillion yen (approximately $10.9 billion), according to the Ministry of Agriculture,...

China and Uruguay Strengthen Strategic Partnership Amid Shifting Global Order

China and Uruguay have reaffirmed their commitment to deeper cooperation, with Chinese President Xi Jinping calling on both countries to work together to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic...

Politics

Russia Prepares for Post–New START Era as U.S.-Russia Nuclear Arms Control Nears Collapse

Russia has declared it is prepared for a new global security reality in which there are no U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control limits, as the New START treaty is set to expire this week. The landmark agreement, signed in...

Trump Plans Call With Savannah Guthrie After Mother’s Disappearance, Federal Support Considered

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he plans to personally reach out to NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie following the disappearance of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy Guthrie, a case that authorities now believe...

UK and US Reaffirm Strategic Importance of Diego Garcia Base Amid Chagos Sovereignty Dispute

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump have reaffirmed the strategic importance of the U.S.-UK military air base on Diego Garcia in the Chagos Archipelago, committing to close cooperation to...

Trump, Petro Discuss Sanctions and Strengthening U.S.–Colombia Relations After Oval Office Meeting

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he is working on potential sanctions and other cooperative measures with Colombian President Gustavo Petro following a meeting between the two leaders at the White House....

Netanyahu Warns U.S. Envoy Iran Unlikely to Honor Nuclear Deal as Talks Resume

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned the United States that Iran is unlikely to honor any future nuclear agreement, as diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran are set to resume. Netanyahu conveyed...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Acquires xAI in Historic Deal Uniting Space and Artificial Intelligence

Elon Musk announced on Monday that SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup xAI in a landmark deal that brings together his ambitions in space exploration and advanced AI technology. The acquisition combines...

Google Cloud and Liberty Global Forge Strategic AI Partnership to Transform European Telecom Services

Google Cloud, one of Alphabets fastest-growing divisions, has entered into a five-year strategic partnership with Liberty Global aimed at accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence and cloud technologies across...

Palantir Stock Jumps After Strong Q4 Earnings Beat and Upbeat 2026 Revenue Forecast

Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR) delivered a strong fourth-quarter earnings report, beating Wall Street expectations on both revenue and profit while issuing a significantly stronger-than-expected outlook for 2026....

Sam Altman Reaffirms OpenAI’s Long-Term Commitment to NVIDIA Amid Chip Report

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly reaffirmed the artificial intelligence companys strong relationship with NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ: NVDA), pushing back against recent reports suggesting dissatisfaction with the...

SoftBank and Intel Partner to Develop Next-Generation Memory Chips for AI Data Centers

SoftBank Corp (TYO:9434) has announced a strategic collaboration between its subsidiary Saimemory and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) to develop a new class of advanced memory chip technology aimed at powering the next...