Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
On this episode of Canadian Innovators, host Jocelyn Bamford talks with entrepreneur and award-winning former CTV and CBC journalist Rodney Palmer, owner of Sauna Ray, a nontoxic, medical-grade far infrared sauna made in Ontario.
Rodney explains how his family's illness in Beijing's smog led him to redesign the sauna from scratch, why he sources nearly every component within Ontario, and how cheap Chinese imports are being sold to Canadians under fake "Made in Canada" branding.
Drawing on years as a foreign correspondent in India, the Middle East and China, he also draws parallels between what he witnessed in Beijing and what he sees in Canada today, and shares the three things he'd do as Prime Minister to grow Canadian jobs.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Welcome to Canadian Innovators with Jocelyn Bamford
00:42 — Meet Rodney Palmer: foreign correspondent turned manufacturer
01:08 — Why he reinvented the sauna after his family got sick in Beijing
01:45 — The Dallas clinic that put every patient in a sauna
02:42 — Designing a toxin-free sauna: basswood, beeswax and ceramic
03:22 — What "infrared" actually means and why low heat matters
03:42 — Ten times more toxic metal in sweat than urine
04:28 — Why this is considered the only medical-grade sauna
05:28 — The decision to manufacture in Ontario
05:48 — Controlling every component: lumber, glass, steel, electronics
06:34 — Doubling production during COVID while imports stalled
07:59 — Chinese dumping and the fake "Made in Canada" sauna
09:09 — $600 imports sold for $5,000 with no support
10:14 — Why the Canadian manufacturing brand is worth protecting
11:17 — Reporting from India, Jerusalem and a rising China
12:35 — Tiananmen 1988, the truckers protest, and the parallels
14:05 — Surveillance laws and building the same architecture here
14:47 — Closer ties with China vs. "elbows up" against America
15:29 — Carney's book, Carney's values, and what they signal
16:35 — What keeps a Canadian entrepreneur up at night
17:31 — The temporary foreign worker program and entry-level jobs
19:10 — If Rodney were Prime Minister: his three priorities
20:16 — Fix NAFTA, stop the posturing
20:58 — Teaching critical thinking from junior kindergarten up
GUESTS
Rodney Palmer: Founder - Saunaray
Canadian Innovators
Host: Jocelyn Bamford
FOLLOW US
• Subscribe: youtube.com/@TheNewsForum
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/thenewsforum_
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-news-forum
TAGS
#CanadianInnovators #JocelynBamford #RodneyPalmer #SaunaRay #MadeInOntario #MadeInCanada #CanadianManufacturing #BuyCanadian #ChineseDumping #InfraredSauna #Detox #SmallBusinessCanada #Entrepreneurship #CanadianEconomy #TemporaryForeignWorkers #MarkCarney #NAFTA #CanadaUSTrade #FreeSpeech #SurveillanceState #Tiananmen #TruckersProtest #CriticalThinking #OntarioBusiness #CanadianJobs #SupplyChain #Manufacturing #EconomicGrowth #CanadianPolitics #JobsInCanada
On this episode of Canadian Innovators, host Jocelyn Bamford talks with entrepreneur and award-winning former CTV and CBC journalist Rodney Palmer, owner of Sauna Ray, a nontoxic, medical-grade far infrared sauna made in Ontario.
Rodney explains how his family's illness in Beijing's smog led him to redesign the sauna from scratch, why he sources nearly every component within Ontario, and how cheap Chinese imports are being sold to Canadians under fake "Made in Canada" branding.
Drawing on years as a foreign correspondent in India, the Middle East and China, he also draws parallels between what he witnessed in Beijing and what he sees in Canada today, and shares the three things he'd do as Prime Minister to grow Canadian jobs.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 — Welcome to Canadian Innovators with Jocelyn Bamford
00:42 — Meet Rodney Palmer: foreign correspondent turned manufacturer
01:08 — Why he reinvented the sauna after his family got sick in Beijing
01:45 — The Dallas clinic that put every patient in a sauna
02:42 — Designing a toxin-free sauna: basswood, beeswax and ceramic
03:22 — What "infrared" actually means and why low heat matters
03:42 — Ten times more toxic metal in sweat than urine
04:28 — Why this is considered the only medical-grade sauna
05:28 — The decision to manufacture in Ontario
05:48 — Controlling every component: lumber, glass, steel, electronics
06:34 — Doubling production during COVID while imports stalled
07:59 — Chinese dumping and the fake "Made in Canada" sauna
09:09 — $600 imports sold for $5,000 with no support
10:14 — Why the Canadian manufacturing brand is worth protecting
11:17 — Reporting from India, Jerusalem and a rising China
12:35 — Tiananmen 1988, the truckers protest, and the parallels
14:05 — Surveillance laws and building the same architecture here
14:47 — Closer ties with China vs. "elbows up" against America
15:29 — Carney's book, Carney's values, and what they signal
16:35 — What keeps a Canadian entrepreneur up at night
17:31 — The temporary foreign worker program and entry-level jobs
19:10 — If Rodney were Prime Minister: his three priorities
20:16 — Fix NAFTA, stop the posturing
20:58 — Teaching critical thinking from junior kindergarten up
GUESTS
Rodney Palmer: Founder - Saunaray
Canadian Innovators
Host: Jocelyn Bamford
FOLLOW US
• Subscribe: youtube.com/@TheNewsForum
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/thenewsforum_
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/the-news-forum
TAGS
#CanadianInnovators #JocelynBamford #RodneyPalmer #SaunaRay #MadeInOntario #MadeInCanada #CanadianManufacturing #BuyCanadian #ChineseDumping #InfraredSauna #Detox #SmallBusinessCanada #Entrepreneurship #CanadianEconomy #TemporaryForeignWorkers #MarkCarney #NAFTA #CanadaUSTrade #FreeSpeech #SurveillanceState #Tiananmen #TruckersProtest #CriticalThinking #OntarioBusiness #CanadianJobs #SupplyChain #Manufacturing #EconomicGrowth #CanadianPolitics #JobsInCanada
