Finding Solutions with Dan Albas

Tom Kmiec is the Member of Parliament for Calgary- Shepard and serves as Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. He arrived in Montreal as a four-year-old in 1985, after his father left Poland and the family waited two years to be reunited. He learned French and English by watching television, went to Polish school on Saturdays, and spent early mornings with his mom while she cleaned restaurant ki...

Finding Solutions with Dan Albas MP, Member of Parliament for Okanagan Lake West - South Kelowna. Jeff Kibble, MP for Cowichan, Malahat, Langford and a 28-year Royal Canadian Navy veteran, joins Dan to talk defence procurement, Canadian Armed Forces readiness, and Bill C-235, legislation aimed at reducing repeated trauma for families of victims of the most heinous crimes. Guest bio Jeff Kibble, MP...

Guest Info: Kathy Bernard is the founder and president of the Save Your Skin Foundation, a national patient-led organization dedicated to skin cancer education, prevention, advocacy, and patient support. After receiving a metastatic malignant melanoma diagnosis in 2003 and navigating a complex healthcare journey, she built a national network to ensure no patient faces cancer alone. Website: saveyo...

This episode is part of our ongoing Healthcare Solutions series. Dan Albas MP is joined by Dr. John Bell, senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and an internationally recognized leader in cancer immunotherapy. Over decades of work, Dr. Bell has helped advance research that uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, and he has played a central role in building BioCanRx,...

On this edition of Okanagan Stories and Solutions, I sat down with West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom. With municipal elections coming this fall and Gord stepping down after eight years as mayor, this conversation looks past day-to-day headlines at how a community actually gets built, how local leaders navigate crisis, and what it means to put service above self. Watch our full conversation in the vid...

Erin Durrant shares how discovering that a proposed ALTO corridor could affect her rural property led her to examine the evolution of the project from the earlier High Frequency Rail initiative to the current high-speed rail proposal, now estimated at $60-$90 billion. She discusses concerns about the availability of project studies, proposed changes to federal expropriation procedures under Bill C...

On this episode of Finding Solutions, Dan continues the healthcare solutions series with Louise Binder, one of Canada’s most experienced patient advocates. Louise traces her path from HIV advocacy in the early 1990s, when the system moved too slowly to save lives, through co-founding the Canadian Treatment Action Council, to her current work as a health policy consultant with Save Your Skin Founda...

On this episode of Finding Solutions , Dan sits down with Étienne-Alexandre Beauregard, one of a rising generation of Quebec public intellectuals. They begin with life in Quebec City and how his experiences placed culture and belonging at the heart of political life. The episode traces his path from answering constituent mail as an 18-year-old to speechwriting for the Premier of Quebec, authoring...

In this episode of Finding Solutions, Dan Albas sits down with Opie Sidhu, an Okanagan-born public policy professional, community volunteer, and small business owner who is leading an initiative to collect and preserve Sikh family stories, historical records, and photographs across the region. From the early days of agriculture and pioneer partnership to modern trailblazers in community leadership...

In this episode of Finding Solutions with Dan Albas , Dan sits down with Jason Brolund , Fire Chief of West Kelowna Fire Rescue. Born and raised in the Central Okanagan, Chief Brolund has spent more than three decades in emergency services. After serving with the Kelowna Fire Department, including as Deputy Fire Chief, he became Fire Chief of West Kelowna Fire Rescue in 2015, serving both the City...

In this episode, Dan Albas is joined by Adrian Marr, Board Director of the Okanagan Chinese Canadian Association (OCCA) and Chair of the OCCA Chinese Heritage Committee, and Master Shui Lee, member of the Chinese Freemasons, cultural ambassador, lion dance instructor, court interpreter, and longtime community volunteer. Together, they discuss: * Chinese Canadian history in the Okanagan and across...

Finding Solutions with Dan Albas Dan Albas sits down with fellow Conservative MP Aaron Gunn to discuss his journey from documentary filmmaker to Parliamentarian and his new role as Shadow Minister for Ethics and Accountable Government. The conversation covers a wide range of issues, including Canada’s addiction crisis, recovery-focused programs, housing affordability, BC Ferries procurement, workf...

In this episode of Finding Solutions with Dan Albas , Dan sits down with Macklin McCall , MLA for West Kelowna–Peachland and the Official Opposition Whip in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia. A lifelong Okanagan resident, Macklin shares his perspective on the issues affecting West Kelowna, Peachland, and communities across British Columbia. The conversation focuses on practical solution...

The murder of Bailey McCourt shocked the Okanagan and sparked a movement for change. Despite seeking help and navigating the justice system, Bailey’s life was tragically taken in an act of intimate partner violence that many believe could have been prevented. In this special Okanagan Stories & Solutions episode, Dan Albas is joined by Debbie Henderson, speaking on behalf of Bailey’s family, and Kr...

Dan sits down with Adam Chambers, MP for Simcoe North and Conservative trade critic, for a conversation that starts with butter tarts and ends with hard questions about Ottawa's priorities. They kick off with Midland's record-breaking Butter Tart Festival and a push for a national holiday, then Adam shares a story from his days working for Jim Flaherty. From there, it's straight into the CRA: a Ke...

We lost a giant of BC and Canadian public service. The Honourable Tom Siddon served as a federal cabinet minister under four portfolios, helped create the Canadian Space Agency and Nunavut, and championed salmon conservation across BC. But those who knew him remember him most for how he treated people. He believed in others before they believed in themselves. Dan shares his memories of Tom. Rest i...

Gavin Dew and Kristina Loewen are both sitting MLAs representing Kelowna ridings in the BC Legislature. They join the podcast to recap the spring legislative session, discuss what it means for constituents back home, and share their read on where the province is headed. Direct from Victoria to your ears. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acce...

What do politicians really think once they're off the clock? Dan Albas MP sits down with four former elected officials he's worked alongside and trusts -- Renee Merrifield (former MLA, Kelowna-Mission), Ben Stewart (former MLA, Kelowna-West), Doug Findlater (former Mayor, West Kelowna), and Dan Ashton (former MLA and former Mayor, Penticton) -- to get their unfiltered take on politics today. No co...

Drivers Inc. is back in the national spotlight following a Globe and Mail investigative exposé raising questions about labour abuse, weak oversight, and safety gaps in Canada's trucking sector. Dan is joined by Stephen Laskowski, President and CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance and the Ontario Trucking Association, who has spent decades working on trucking policy, safety, labour standards, comp...

What are the impacts of government policy on real people and how can they affect change? My guest is Renee Merrifield, former MLA, current CEO of Troika Developments. As a local leader, Renee has been a champion for organizations like Kelowna's Starbright as well as building a successful business in a challenging economic environment. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this wit...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danalbas.substack.com

This week's guest is Jeff Stibbard. Jeff is the founder and Executive Chairman of JDS Energy & Mining. He is a mining engineer with over 30 years of experience in mine design, construction and operations. BC has a long history of mining and Jeff shares some of his experiences and hope for the future. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access t...

MLA Harman Bhangu joins Dan to discuss the BC Ferries purchase of Chinese ships, the effect of 'Drivers Inc' on the trucking industry and much more. MLA Bhangu represents the riding of Langley-Abbotsford in the BC Legislature and is his parties Transportation Critic. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danalbas.s...

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danalbas.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit danalbas.substack.com