Conversations Live with Stuart McNish

The economic opportunities mining presents are enormous, however, the Trump Administration has thrown a wrench into the development of North American critical minerals. "The demand for critical minerals in the United States is not going to change" says Michael Goehring of the Mining Association of British Columbia, "the US has two choices of supply China and Canada. The US needs our critical minerals."BC currently has 17 critical mineral projects awaiting approval, four of which are on Premier Eby's list of natural resources projects, there's another five precious metal or gold projects under development. Goehring says, "those projects represent a generational opportunity for British Columbia's economy."Join us on Tuesday May 6 as our panel outlines the opportunities, the roadblocks and the solutions to igniting the province's economy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Earth Day, an international recognition that we need to protect our home. This precious blue marble in space, uniquely positioned to sustain life as we know it.Easy access to energy has powered dramatic changes and advances in our quality of life and it has also had an impact on the environment.For much of the past 20 years in Canada, the environment and sustainable energy has been at the forefront of every election in the country, nationally, provincially and locally.Suddenly, the environment is taking a back seat. It’s a troubling shift of priorities. One that could threaten the future of developing sustainable energy generation and the future of the planet.Join me on Earth Day, April 22 at 4:22 pm for a Conversations Live special edition - Sustainable Energy and the Election. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If American produced food is removed from grocery stores in British Columbia, get ready to go without. More than 60 per cent of the products on the shelves are from south of the 49th parallel. If you want a balanced diet of vegetables, grains, fruits and protein then you can not source all of your meals from BC or Canada. The way we grow and trade food back and forth is based on who can grow it, in quantity, with certainty and ensure we can afford it.So we grow grains and produce seafood in this country and we sell those to the US and others. But we don’t grow anywhere near enough fruit and veggies, so we import them.And here’s where it gets tricky, in BC we - at best - produce only 30 per cent of what we need and much of that we send to the US to be processed before bringing it home to consume.Now throw in tariffs, what will happen to the cost and the reliability of food? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last year at this time the headlines were filled with Real Estate Crisis stories. The Province and the Feds were making announcements upon announcements. Bill 44 was introduced with the idea that it would force municipal governments to increase density.It is legislation that was supposed to increase certainty of supply, stabilize prices and boost construction. But did it work? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re heading into a change election. The Liberals will put forward a new leader who will be charged with the daunting task of overcoming a significant gap in the polls.All indications suggest the Conservatives led by Pierre Poilievre will form the next Federal Government.If Mr. Poiliever is successful with voters, what can we expect regarding tone, the economy, social programs, immigration, Indigenous relations, Trump, tariffs, the border, national security, energy and the environment?Our remarkable panel of experts will shed light on all and more.Our panelists:Jock Finlayson – Chief Economist, ICBALaura Kirkimaki – Vice President, McMillan VantageStuart Thomson – Journalist, National PostJoyce Murray – Liberal MP, Government of CanadaStewart Prest – Political Scientist, University of British ColumbiaDavid McArthur – Senior Advisor, McMillan VantageKareem Allam – Political Strategist, Fairview Strategy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is not news there are glaring cracks in our healthcare systems – in some cases reaching a breaking point. In both BC and AB numerous rural emergency departments have closed for hours, even days, due to shortages. Healthcare organizations in both BC & Alberta struggle to recruit skilled doctors, nurses, care aids, and other skilled professionals. What can be done to alleviate the pressures on the system?Alberta has made changes to primary care funding. This is widely seen as a positive step.Yet funding for emergency physicians has not changed, nor has funding for hospitals.Alberta Health Services has considered changing to an activity-based funding model over global budgets. In 2010, BC experimented with ABF and determined there were no changes in measures of quality. During the recent election in BC, the idea re-surfaced.Families in both provinces struggle to find a GP – the foundation of our health care systems. Ontario has introduced new medical school rules that require students to be Canadians from Ontario.Surgical waitlists are long, access to operating rooms rationed by difficult budgets, and the food is terrible. The right of patients to use private clinics in their home province is not allowed.Delivering healthcare in a province isn’t a simple thing. It requires coordination of thousands of patients, billions of dollars, thousands of specialist providers, complex equipment, and hundreds of facilities. Just delivering healthy meals and timely appointments is challenging for institutions struggling to keep up with demand under budgets that are too tight - but already the single largest expenditure in every Canadian province. Join us December 10 for a conversation on this critical matter with an outstanding panel.We hope you can join us for the conversation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For many British Columbians parties’ divergent views on BC’s economy will be top-of-mind when they step into the ballot box in the upcoming provincial election. Join us October 7 when we sit down with a panel drawn from across the political spectrum for a conversation about The Election and the Economy. They are:Sonia Furstenau - Leader of the BC Green PartyMoe Sihota - Former BC NDP MLA & cabinet minister, broadcaster, political commentatorYuri Fulmer - Conservative Party of BCDavid Williams - Business Council of BC Vice President of PolicyJairo Yunis - Canadian Federation of Independent Business Director, BC and Western Economic Policy When asked about rising spending in our past conversations, BC Premier David Eby has pointed to spending as an investment in other deficits left by previous government – a deficit of investment in services and infrastructure including much-needed schools and hospitals, transit, and social services. Yet, BC is on track to hit a record $7.9 billion deficit this year – well up from the $5.7 billion surplus the premier inherited two years ago. One commentator noted BC’s debt already requires significant taxpayer dollars to pay interest charges, putting the figure at $4.1 billion this year and rising with each annual deficit. BC’s credit rating has already been downgraded by one agency. BC Conservative leader John Rustad calls it chronic financial mismanagement, and was recently quoted in media saying if elected BC’s budget will be his first priority. He’s spoken about growing BC out of the problem through renewed growth in LNG, agriculture, and forestry, among other sectors, and that he will look to selectively reduce spending and cut regulations that are adding costs. He has pledged to cut to both corporate and personal taxes, and to eliminate the carbon tax. We hope you can join us for the conversation – webcast with the Vancouver Sun and on our own website. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.