Conversations That Matter

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 future.” And he added that Rustad “does not spe...

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 themselves.” Megan Owen-Evans went far beyond the...

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 in reference to plummeting sales of electric ve...

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 reason to work? “Is it to earn extra income or...

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 refurbished cruise ship that is intended to a...

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 a robust economy.” In fact, according to a new...

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 question ahead is, why has Canadian productivity...

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 Palestinians.   In Palestine, the death toll is...

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 competition, where he performed Beethoven’s Son...

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, “Climate pressures spell an imperative for a diffe...

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 employees in the federal public service has fluctuat...

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 human trafficking.”   In her book, “Child Sex Tr...

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 and until an accommodation has been reached wi...

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 and other stakeholders.”   Rowlands says the path...

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 more than 100 different physiological traits...

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 a boss.   The Claims of Life offers readers a...

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 society and development was its unprecedented...

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 from where we are at the moment. Currently, s...

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 new Ministry will only work if it is managed by...

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 greatest gift of giving possible is your life’s...

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 panel of experts for “Conversations Live” abo...

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 Davis, the great Canadian thinker and anthropolo...

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 of the Canadian Association of Retired Perso...

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 – that is, keeping their residents in the city.” O...

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 to SOS spokesperson Jess Ketchum, are “jeopardiz...