Recently, I had the privilege to engage in a fascinating conversation with Khelsilem, Chair person for Nexwsxwníw̓ntm ta Úxwumixw, of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Council of the Squamish Nation.) The conversation was inspired by a series of tweets by Khelsilem, and centers on Indigenous governance. We talk about the perception and evolution of In…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with Jonathan Morris, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association, B.C. Chapter. He has worked in the sector for the past two decades and we start our conversation discussing how he got started and what he and the CMHA is doing today. We cover a variety of relevant topics including, • The res…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I am sharing an interview from CFAX 1070 with afternoon host Ryan Price on the first annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. We covered a variety of topics including why the federal government made this day a statutory holiday and what the day means and what it can be for all Canadians. I have…

Over the past year, we have heard many stories on the nightly news about the tragic COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care homes. Throughout the first wave of the global pandemic our elders, specifically those living in care facilities, were the most threatened by the virus. As a result of changes to staffing protocols, limited access and a targeted …

This podcast is a MUST LISTEN if you are concerned about old-growth in British Columbia. In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with Ken Wu, the former Executive Director of the Ancient Forest Alliance and the current Executive Director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance. For the past thirty years Ken has worked on protecting hig…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I am interviewed by Jason Goertzen. We discuss family life in politics. Jason is the Chaplain at the British Columbia Legislature with Leading Influence Ministries. Since my election in 2017 I have enjoyed many conversations with Jason, he has provided a kind and compassionate ear, and calm advice during…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I share a recording of the second reading speech I would have stood and delivered in response to Bill 22: The Mental Health Amendment Act (2020). You will find more details about the proposed legislation in the opening to the podcast and details about why we were challenged by the language in the bill in…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast, my colleague Sonia Furstenau and I connect with Alex Soojung-Kim Pang to discuss his research on the four-day workweek. So much of our lives have been re-designed in the past four months. It was in our workplaces where the most abrupt and dramatic changes occurred. Many of us have had to quickly adapt t…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast (the first in several months) I’m republishing a virtual town hall I hosted on Monday June 15, 2020 with Isobel Mackenzie, the B.C. Seniors Advocate. In February 2020 the Office of the Seniors Advocate published a report titled A Billion Reasons to Care. It is the first detailed review of British Columbi…

Hello my name is Adam Olsen, MLA for Saanich North and the Islands. Thank you for doing your part to limit the spread of COVID-19. We are living in an extraordinary time and its has required an extraordinary effort to protect vulnerable people from this terrible illness. Thank you to all our healthcare professionals and essential workers for contin…

This episode of The Public Circle Podcast features a conversation I had with John Juricic and Kelly Darwin for their podcast Northern Conversations. I am re-publishing it here. There is a great deal of confusion with respect to the current state of Indigenous relations in British Columbia. There is even less understanding of how we got here. This h…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) Interim CEO Bruce Williams. This is the not the first time that Bruce and I have sat across from each other with microphones. It was the first time that I was interviewing Bruce though. Williams joined the SIPP after a successful career as a telev…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with youth climate activist Emma-Jane Burian. We recorded this conversation in late Fall 2019 and admittedly I have been slow in publishing it. No matter, here it is. Burian is a grade 12 student who lives in Victoria but grew up in Burnaby with the Trans Mountain pipeline running through her b…

After a brief unintended hiatus from the podcast Adam Olsen and Nick Gilchrist resume their conversation about life in British Columbia politics. It has been a busy year and with the original week 7 episode languishing in the dustbin of unpublished podcasts, this second attempt will be much more successful - it will be published. Part of the challe…

Episode Summary - In Week 6, Adam Olsen and Nick Gilchrist have a lengthy discussion about jurisdictional issues and frustrations. - The conversation begins with Adam reflecting on the transition between the legislative and constituency focus of his work. There is always a backlog of meeting requests in the constituency when the legislative session…

In Week 5 of the podcast Adam Olsen and Nick Gilchrist get together to continue their discussion about life in British Columbia politics. They open with a brief chat about feedback Adam received regarding the opening music. One listener literally shook their head in dismay over the song and so Nick is going to head back to the drawing board. Perhap…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I return to the original format with a conversation with Salt Spring Island folk singer Luke Wallace.As it turns out, Luke had many more questions for me than I had for him. He is a fantastic interviewer!Over the past few years, I have come to know Luke as a powerful advocate for social justice and envi…

In week four of the podcast Nick Gilchrist and Adam Olsen cover quite a bit of ground. They open the episode with a potential new theme song for the series and discuss a possible name other than just the current week. Listeners are encouraged to provide their ideas of possible names for the podcast. The labour disruption in School District #63 was …

In Week 3, Nick Gilchrist and Adam Olsen discuss the past week in Saanich North and the Islands and British Columbia politics. The conversation covers a range of topics starting with the brand new opening music sequence that Nick created and that he really does not like. For the past three weeks the Saanich School district has been locked in a labo…

Week 2: 11/10/2019 We begin this episode by talking about the B.C. Cabinet and First Nations Leaders' Gathering that I attended early in the week. Next, we spend a few minutes discussing the personal and social impact of being an elected representative. Following is a regrettable 😉 discussion about the provincial government engagement on daylight s…

Week 1: 11/03/2019 In this pilot episode Nick and I convene at my dining room table to discuss the past week. With no game plan heading into the conversation it literally could have gone in any direction. We kick it off by discussing Bill 41, The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (2019) (DRIPA). Nick asks about the history of the …

The Public Circle Podcast is back! After a few weeks off in August, I start things off with a conversation with my wife and partner, Emily Olsen, about the second edition of The Connection Projecton October 4th in the Charlie White Theatre at the Mary Winspear Centre. For many years, Emily has faced the challenges of depression. There have been man…

In episode 20 of The Public Circle Podcast (and the final episode of the "first season”), I chat with Hunter Lastiwka. Hunter recently graduated from my alma mater Stelly's Secondary. He is an incredibly active young man on a variety of issues which impact him and his peers. I first met Hunter a few years ago. Following my election, he approached m…

In the 19th episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I chat with Helen Davis. Helen is a Registered Professional Biologist and owns Artemis Wildlife Consultants. She has been a consultant for the past 27 years. We met at a conference for biologists earlier this year. I was a speaker on a panel about defining the public interest. She had heard of the w…

In the 18th episode of The Public Circle Podcast I chat with David Smith. David is a fisherman and owner of Professional Components Ltd., located in the Sidney/North Saanich Industrial Park. His company makes Scoremaster soccer goals and Shockwave, shock-mitigating seats. He has been building things on the Saanich Peninsula since 1981. I toured Dav…

In the 17th episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I connect with the Deputy-Leader of the Green Party of Canada, Jo-Ann Roberts. Jo-Ann was the former host of All Points West on CBC Radio which is broadcast across Vancouver Island and at one time across all of British Columbia except the Vancouver area. After retiring from her career in broadcastin…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with newly elected District of North Saanich Councillor Patricia Pearson. We share many of the same interests and so while this is a rather short conversation compared to the past few episodes, I view this as just a starting point. As the title of the podcast notes, Patricia is far more than ju…

In episode 15 of The Public Circle Podcast I'm joined by Skaana podcast host Mark Leiren-Young to talk about what? You guessed it, the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). This was a deeply enjoyable conversation about the history of our relationship with orcas from cetaceans in captivity to the recent change in federal legislation freeing them,…

In the 14th episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with Briony Penn. It was wonderful to sit on her front porch in the middle of a South Salt Spring forest. It's been the home of five generations of Briony's family. The warm early summer sun, birds chirping and even the odd handsaw working in the background provide an excellent setting for …

When I first thought of transitioning my weekly Public Circle LIVE! broadcasts from Facebook to a weekly podcast, I had it in my mind to invite Raffi as a guest. We have run into each other a few times now at the Salt Spring Island Saturday Market and I appreciate his forthright political commentary on Twitter. It all came together at Elizabeth May…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I connect with Dr. Ambrose Marsh. Dr. Marsh is a primary care physician in Sidney, B.C. He has worked on the Saanich Peninsula since 1985 and is the former Chief of Staff at the Saanich Peninsula Hospital. There is a growing crisis in primary care in Saanich North and the Islands and across British Colum…

In this episode of The Public Circle Podcast I meet up with Denny Warner. Denny is the Executive Director of the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce (SPCC). She has led the Chamber for the past four years. Over the first few episodes of this podcast I have met with business leaders in our community and in this episode Denny and I continue the dis…

Janine Fernandes-Hayden is one member of the original organizing team of 100+ Women Who Care Salt Spring Island. We connect on this episode of The Public Circle Podcast to discuss the impact of their fundraising for non-profit organizations on Salt Spring. Originally from Victoria, Janine is now an established 15-year resident of the Island and is …

In the ninth episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I connect with Paul Holmes the co-founder of Social Media Camp at the Victoria Conference Centre. One of the regular themes I explore in my daily blog posts is the impact of social media. The fuel for my content is driven by podcasts, blogs and articles that are also exploring the impact of these t…

In the eighth episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I connect with Stasia Hartley, Area Director for Bayshore Home Health. A lifelong member of the Saanich Peninsula community, Stasia has worked in leadership roles in healthcare for 29 years. She has a Master's of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University and manages the home health operations…

In the seventh episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I connect with Paul Smith, General Manager of Titan Boats. Following a visit to their manufacturing facility in the North Saanich Business Park, Paul joined me in our constituency office to chat about the homegrown company. He came out of retirement to join Titan in 1998. What started as part tim…

I change things up a little for the sixth episode of The Public Circle Podcast.The BC NDP put Bill 10, Income Tax Amendment Act (2019) up for debate this week. If you have been following my blog then you will already have some indication of my response to the Bill. In this podcast, I am publishing my second reading debate speech, and responses to t…

In the fifth episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I connect with Donna Petrie, Executive Director and Event Liaison with the Sidney Business Improvement Area Society (BIA). Donna has led the BIA for the past 5 years. Established in 2013, the BIA is now in the second year of its renewed 5-year mandate. It began through a concerted effort from local…

In the fourth episode of The Public Circle Podcast, I reconnect with my friend John Juricic. John characterizes himself as a serial entrepreneur. He's been active in numerous businesses since graduating from UVic in the early 1980’s. He is most recently worked in labour market consulting and his extensive involvement in the local business community…

Gerry Taylor joins me for the third episode of The Public Circle Podcast. My conversation with Gerry is reflective of many conversations I have with constituents of Saanich North and the Islands, and residents of British Columbia from across the province. Retired for 20 years, Gerry worked for the provincial government for 45 years. He is a biologi…

Sylvia Olsen married into Tsartlip First Nation in the 1970's. She moved onto the reserve where she and her husband raised four kids. I am one of those kids. For the past two decades Sylvia has worked in on-reserve housing. In 2016, she received her Phd. in history from the University of Victoria where she completed one of the first academic studie…

Humaira Ahmed is the CEO and founder of Locelle. She has a background in software engineering and communications and had the idea to build a mobile application to foster connections between women. Humaira is tackling the growing issue of social isolation directly. She talks about the numerous points in her life that she has felt isolated. As an imm…

The Public Circle Podcast is hosted and produced by Adam Olsen. Adam is the Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Saanich North and the Islands. This is a podcast about the stories of the people that Adam meets from day-to-day.