Ep 517 - A crisis of indecision in Canada Guest: Gavin Dew By Stuart McNish On June 26th, Gavin Dew posted disappointing news on his LinkedIn profile. After four years of planning, fundraising, and negotiation with the City of Abbotsford, the Tech District project was pulling the plug. Dew says, “We couldn’t keep spending time and money without a c…

Ep - 516 - Weaving Two Worlds Guests: Christy Smith - Michael McPhie By Stuart McNish “The key to the Canadian economy is in the hands of First Nations,” says Christy Smith and Michael McPhie in their book, “Weaving Two Worlds,” a guide to economic reconciliation. According to Smith, “The intent of the book is to help First Nations, governments, an…

Ep 515 - Electronic Recycling Done Right Mohammad Doostmohammadi By Stuart McNish “There are six elements that play a key role in optimizing fuel and chemical production,” says Mohammad Doostmohammdi of pH7. “Without them, green hydrogen, low-carbon steel, biofuels and other climate technologies are not possible.” Those six elements are platinum, p…

Ep 514 - Real Estate Lessons from Singapore Guest: Ernst Lang By Stuart McNish “We can learn a few things from Singapore,” says Ernst Lang, the founder and CEO of Promerita Group. “Singapore has been getting housing right for many decades. In fact, it has found a way to make most of its housing affordable whilst also protecting the value of private…

Ep 513 - British Columbia’s Lacklustre Prosperity Guest: David Williams By Stuart McNish According to the 2024 British Columbia Prosperity Index, “BC places 11th out of 21 peer jurisdictions for overall prosperity.” The study was developed with the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, which compares BC’s performance on a range of economic, bus…

July 12, 2024 Ep 512 - To the Edge of Death and Back Guest: Paul Dragan By Stuart McNish Ten years ago on June 10, 2014, Paul Dragan sat down to enjoy a cup of coffee across the street from his business, Reckless Bikes. He took a sip and as he looked up, a heavyset man wearing a bicycle helmet came around the corner, pulled out a gun and shot Paul …

Ep 511 - Drug Free Kids Guest: Chantal Vallerand By Stuart McNish On Dec 8th, 2022, Jennifer Whiteside was appointed Minister for Mental Health and Addictions. At the time she said, “The Premier has asked me to prioritize accelerating BC’s response to the illicit drug toxicity crisis. The Premier has also asked me to expand new complex care, treatm…

Ep 510 - Post-Pandemic Leadership Guest: Ron Bremner By Stuart McNish COVID-19 disrupted supply lines and our lives. Now that the lockdowns are over, the lingering impact of the dramatic shifts in the workplace remain. During the pandemic, work from home became the rule. Many employees seized the opportunity and not only thrived, but they moved awa…

Ep 509 - Meet the BC Conservative Leader Guest: John Rustad By Stuart McNish It’s been two years since John Rustad parted ways with the BC United Party over differences about climate change science. Regarding the reason for his removal from the party, Kevin Falcon is quoted as saying, “Climate change is one of the most critical threats facing our f…

Ep 508 - Generously Giving Guest: Megan Owen-Evans By Stuart McNish In the book “Why Good Things Happen to Good People,” Stephen Post writes that “giving to others” has been shown to increase health benefits. A separate study by Michael Norton from Harvard Business School revealed that “people are happier when they spend money on others versus them…

Ep 507 - A Bleak Market for EVs Guest: Adam Pankratz By Stuart McNish “Little did we know how fast the free market would slap the electric vehicle mandate back to reality, while Canadian taxpayers continue to subsidize green fantasies,” says Adam Pankratz, a lecturer at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business. The “slap” is i…

Ep 506 - Will AI produce a state of Deep Utopia? Guest: Nick Bostrom By Stuart McNish In his new book “Deep Utopia: Life and Meaning in a Solved World,” philosopher Nick Bostrom ponders what life could be like in a “solved world” – a world where everything works and works better than if human hands got in the way. “What then?” asks Bostrom, is the …

Ep 505 - Has the Floatel Sunk? Guest: Christine Kennedy By Stuart McNish The District of Squamish denied Woodfibre LNG’s application for a temporary use permit for its Bridgemans “floatel,” citing concerns over safety, environmental, and community impacts. Council also cited a lack of information from the company as its reasons for saying no to the…

Ep 504 - Vancouver: Beautiful, yes – but! Guest: Bridgitte Anderson By Stuart McNish No doubt about it: Vancouver is beautiful. It’s beautiful to visit, it’s a beautiful place to study, and it’s a beautiful city to retire in. “But,” says Bridgitte Anderson, the CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, “it’s not so beautiful of a place to build …

Ep 503 - Canada’s Sagging Productivity Guest: Jock Finlayson By Stuart McNish On March 26th, 2024, the Bank of Canada issued a report titled “Time to Break the Glass: Fixing Canada’s Productivity Problem.” Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Rogers said at a speech in Halifax, “Productivity is a way to inoculate the economy against inflation.” The quest…

Ep 502 - Is Peace Possible in Gaza? Gidi Grinstein By Stuart McNish At the time of the recording of this interview, the war in Gaza raged on. Since Oct 7, when more than 1139 Israelis had been killed and another 240 taken hostage, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas. The atrocities of that day also severely challenged Israeli’s sense of compassion for Pa…

Ep 498 - How Canada Saved Me Guest - Sasha Luchkov By Stuart McNish On February 24th, 2022, in the dark of the night in Mukachevo, Ukraine, Sasha Luchkov woke to the news that his country was under attack. Sasha, a piano protege at the age of 17, was already an accomplished pianist. He had recently placed second in the Scherzo International piano c…

Ep 497 - Climate Action: The Net Zero Economy Guest - John Stackhouse By Stuart McNish “Population and economic growth spell a demand for much more energy,” states the opening paragraph of RBC’s Climate Action Institute report. The Institute is honest in its assessment of the path forward to a Net Zero economy. The bank’s John Stackhouse says, “Cli…

Ep 496 - Ballooning Public Service Guest - Renaud Brossard By Stuart McNish According to the Montreal Economic Institute, Justin Trudeau ranks first among Canadian Prime Ministers over the past 40 years when it comes to the expansion in the size of the civil service. In a recent study, MEI notes that “over the past few decades, the number of employ…

Ep 495 - Child Sex Trafficking Guest - Cathy Peters By Stuart McNish National Human Trafficking Awareness Day in Canada is February 22nd. It was instituted as part of the government’s commitment to fighting human trafficking. The point was to “raise awareness of the magnitude of modern day slavery in Canada and abroad and to take steps to combat hu…

Ep 494 - Canada and China: What Happened? Guest - Dr Paul Evans By Stuart McNish In 1970, Canada led the Western world by recognizing China. According to Paul Evans in his book, “Engaging China,” the Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau “believed that many of the world’s major issues ‘will not be resolved completely or in any lasting way unless …

Ep 493 - A Call to Purpose Guest - Mike Rowlands “Redefining success for the purpose economy,” Mike Rowlands says, “is to become a part of the rapidly growing movement toward social purpose in business. The social purpose focus creates healthier communities, restoration of our shared environment and better outcomes for companies’ staff, customers a…

Ep 492 - The Fountain of Youth Guest - Angela Brooks-Wilson By Stuart McNish Researchers at Simon Fraser University and BC Cancer have pinpointed specific physiological traits that they say “can help people live longer, healthier lives.” According to a recent study published in GeroScience, the healthiest, older adults live in a “sweet spot,” where…

Ep 491 - The Claims of Life Guest - Diana Chapman Walsh By Stuart McNish The Claims of Life, a new book by Diana Chapman Walsh, traces the emergence of a young woman who set out believing she wasn’t particularly smart but went on to meet multiple tests of leadership in the American academy – a place where everyone wants to be heard and no one wants…

Ep 49o - Addressing the Infrastructure Deficit Guest - Mark Liedemann By Stuart McNish The backbone of any complex society is its infrastructure. It is the glue that binds communities, provinces and countries together. The concept of infrastructure was central to Rome’s dominance for 500 years. Cody Gregory writes, “One of the key aspects of Roman …

Ep 489 - The Path to Urban Net Zero Guest - Jeanette Jackson In June of 2021, Canada – along with the other G7 countries – committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It is an audacious goal, one that affords Canada with an opportunity to play a leadership role and become the first of the G7 to reach net-zero emissions. It’s a long way…

Ep 488 - A Ministry of Entrepreneurialism Guest: Naseem Javed “The world, and in particular Canada, needs to embrace entrepreneurialism as a new frontier to resuscitate our gasping economy,” says Naseen Javed, the CEO and founder of Expothon. “We need a new Ministry of Entrepreneurialism that can ignite an economic revolution.” Javed says, “This ne…

Ep 487 - The Greatest Gift of All Guest: Paul Sitnam By Stuart McNish “Impact investing is an investment strategy that aims to generate specific beneficial social or environmental effects in addition to financial gains,” according to Investopedia. It is upheld as a societal good, but it does not include devoting your life to helping others. “The gr…

Ep 486 - Can First Nations Save Canada’s Economy? Guest: Chris Sankey By Stuart McNish “Canada’s per capita growth has been negative three out of the last four quarters,” says Perrin Beatty, the President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He adds, “Canada needs to do more to attract investment” – a sentiment that was recently shared by a…

Ep 485 - The interconnectedness of all things Guest: Wade Davis By Stuart McNish The Roman emperor Markus Aurelius posited in his book “Meditations” that “all things are implicated with one another and the bond is holy.” At the time of his writing, it was a philosophical concept. Today it has been proven by science – genomics in particular. Wade Da…

Ep 484 - How to Stop Stereotyping Seniors Guest: Rudy Buttignol By Stuart McNish More than 7 million people in Canada are older than 64 – that’s just shy of 20 percent of us. I’m one of those people. The issues that all seniors face include, but are not limited to, financial security, health care, and an end to ageism. Rudy Buttignol, the President…

Ep 483 - Youthful Cities: Attracting and retaining a young population Guest: Robert Barnard By Stuart McNish How a city attracts young adults to live and work matters. Robert Barnard, the founder of Youthful Cities, says, “Young adults are vital today and into the future. Attracting young people is important. Equally [as] important is retention – t…

Ep 482 - Save Our Streets Guest: Jess Ketchum By Stuart McNish At a press conference at the Woodwards development, the new Save Our Streets (SOS) public safety coalition said, “The growing crime, violence, vandalism and theft crisis is impacting local communities and businesses.” The costs associated with addressing security and safety, according t…

Ep 481 - CleanBC’s $28.1-Billion Price Tag Guest: Ken Peacock By Stuart McNish The government of British Columbia is aiming to lower CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030. It’s a bold ambition – one that will reduce the BC economy by $28.1 billion, according to a model created by the CleanBC Roadmap. Ken Peacock, the Business Council of British Columbia (BC…

Ep 480 - The Impact of Energy Poverty Guest: Jock Finlayson By Stuart McNish Energy poverty, according to the Canadian Urban Sustainability Practitioners, refers to “the experience of households or communities that struggle to heat their homes and power their lights and appliances” – a reality that is playing itself out in the Maritime provinces of…

Ep 479- Social Purpose: The New Business Mantra Guest: Drew Collier By Stuart McNish Social purpose is emerging as an important and necessary part of business. “What is social purpose?” you ask. Drew Collier, the President and CEO of LGM Financial Services says, “Social purpose is the reason to be in business. It is not just a nice-to-have policy. …

Ep 478- What is Keto Diet? Guest: Dr. David Harper By Stuart McNish “For 30 years, I taught the wrong stuff to generations of students. I taught them that a low-fat high-carb diet was the way to eat to prevent chronic disease and I got it wrong,” says Dr. David Harper, the co-author of the “BioDiet: The Scientifically Proven, Ketogenic Way to Lose …

Ep 477 - Canada: The World is a Hard Place Guest: John Rapley By Stuart McNish In the diplomatic spat between India and Canada, a rising India shows Canada that money is power, says John Rapley, a political economist at the University of Cambridge. He goes on to say that Canada is finding the world a hard place, and points out that it comes as a sh…

Ep 476 - Eat More - That’s the Message Guest: Dr Marion Nestle By Stuart McNish “We live in a food environment that encourages people to eat as much as possible,” says Dr. Marion Nestle. “Fighting those overwhelming messages and mustering up resistance is next to impossible!” The history of the “consume more” movement, says Nestle, “came about as a…

Ep 475 - Rent Control: A Blunt Tool Guest: David Hutniak By Stuart McNish Housing affordability is a North American-wide issue. In the U.S., only seven states and Washington, D.C. have imposed rent controls as a measure to address housing affordability. Only seven states – largely because it is believed they don't work. In a poll conducted by the A…

Ep 474 - How Markets Shape Cities Guest: Alain Bertaud By Stuart McNish What is a city and why does it exist? That may seem like a simple question but according to Alain Bertaud, the author of “Order Without Design: How Markets Shape Cities,” the answer is “not merely to house people but rather accommodate labour markets.” He goes on to acknowledge…

Ep 473 - The Looming Great Relocation Guest: Laura Alfaro By Stuart McNish “Nearshoring, friendshoring and onshoring” are terms that are becoming common in reference to moves within the United States to address a number of issues associated with global value chains. According to co-author Laura Alfaro of a paper that was prepared for the Jackson Ho…

Ep 472 - The Importance of Workplace Accessibility Guest: Joel Dembe By Stuart McNish “Accessibility” is a word that you hear more of, and for good reason. Canadian Paralympian Joel Dembe says, “Being accessible is essential when creating a strong and inclusive workplace and society. And it's good business. It’s good business in so many ways – name…

Ep 471 - The Great Remobilization Guest: Olaf Groth By Stuart McNish “In August 2022, when central bankers from around the world gathered for their annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a consensus emerged that the current methods for managing business cycles are woefully insufficient for managing today’s current economic and societal crises.” s…

Ep 470 - The Reasonableness of Being Unreasonable Guest: Bob Stamnes By Stuart McNish “The logic of being unreasonable sounds like an oxymoron,” says Bob Stamnes, one of Canada’s most creative ad Execs. “Unless, of course, you know exactly why you are being unreasonable.” According to the Oxford Dictionary, logic is “reasoning conducted or assessed…

Ep 469 - Boosting scientific innovations in British Columbia Guest: Brenda Bailey By Stuart McNish In April of 2023, the government of British Columbia announced a new life sciences and biomedical strategy. The objective is to position BC as a global hub in these sectors. Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation Brenda Bailey says, “We…

Ep 468 - The electric helicopter revolution Guest: Danny Sitnam By Stuart McNish Can we achieve liftoff of electric helicopter passenger service? Danny Sitnam, the President and Founder of Helijet says, "Yes we can! But…" The “but…” Sitnam refers to is, in fact, many “yes, but”s. Yes, helicopters can be powered by electricity – but the power plant …

Ep 473 - The Looming Great Relocation Guest: Laura Alfaro By Stuart McNish “Nearshoring, friendshoring and onshoring” are terms that are becoming common in reference to moves within the United States to address a number of issues associated with global value chains. According to co-author Laura Alfaro of a paper that was prepared for the Jackson Ho…

Ep 472 - The Importance of Workplace Accessibility Guest: Joel Dembe By Stuart McNish “Accessibility” is a word that you hear more of, and for good reason. Canadian Paralympian Joel Dembe says, “Being accessible is essential when creating a strong and inclusive workplace and society. And it's good business. It’s good business in so many ways – name…

Ep 471 - The Great Remobilization Guest: Olaf Groth By Stuart McNish “In August 2022, when central bankers from around the world gathered for their annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a consensus emerged that the current methods for managing business cycles are woefully insufficient for managing today’s current economic and societal crises.” s…