Conversations That Matter

Ep 580 - Unmanageable Permitting Processes Guest: Todd Yuen

Ep 580 - Unmanageable Permitting Processes

Guest: Todd Yuen

By Stuart McNish

 

A robust industrial property sector is vital to the economy. According to a Metro Vancouver study, “Industrial lands serve various purposes, such as warehousing, manufacturing, and supporting emerging technology businesses. They provide essential employment opportunities and contribute to supply chains.” In other words, they are vital to economic growth.

 

Here’s the challenge, says Todd Yuen of Beddie Industrial. “There’s a critical shortage of industrial lands in Metro Vancouver and we’re losing businesses and their employees to Alberta and other jurisdictions.” The reasons for the shortages are complex, according to the InterVISTAS report, which include “constrained land supply, complex jurisdictional overlaps, and a need to review the development process.”

 

Yuen says, “To give you an example of the unmanageable permitting process, we just put a new site on the market after seven years of approvals. The wheels within the permitting process turn so slow they create an air of anti-progress."

 

We invited Todd Yuen, the President of Beedie Industrial, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the need to build industrial facilities, the impediments to doing so, and the consequences of inaction.

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Ep 579 - Labour Negotiations & Job Action Guest: Kevin Howlett

Ep 579 - Labour Negotiations & Job Action

Guest: Kevin Howlett

By Stuart McNish

 

Canada Post is in the midst of job action by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. They’re not on a full strike; instead, they’re still delivering mail but not all of it. On September the 15th, the Union implemented a national ban on delivering flyers and neighbourhood mail. This followed an overtime ban in May.

 

Air Canada just concluded negotiations with flight attendants. After a three day work stoppage that wreaked havoc on the airline and passengers, the attendants were ordered back to work but the union ignored the order, negotiations resumed, and they went back to work. Weeks later, union members rejected the company's offer by 99.1% but they also kept working. 

 

In British Columbia, the BC General Employees’ Union (BCGEU)  initiated job action aimed at gaining an 8.25% wage increase over two years. The union’s website says, “We escalated job action in several key areas: Public service workers who support B.C. 's mining operations joined the strike. An overtime ban was announced in corrections and sheriff services. As the strike carried on, BC Liquor Store Workers walked off the job and as the job action continued into week eight, 25,000 of the 34,000 Union Members in government jobs were on strike. At the time of recording this interview, there is job action but not a full-out strike.

 

We invited human resource specialist Kevin Howlett to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the changing nature of labour negotiations and job action.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Ep 578 - Canada - UK Trade Guest: Thomas Codrington

Ep 578 - Canada - UK Trade

Guest: Thomas Codrington

By Stuart McNish

 

On September the 9th, British-owned Anglo American announced it was merging with Teck to “form a leading global critical minerals champion headquartered in Canada.” Teck CEO Jonathan Price said, “This transition will create significant economic opportunity in Canada while positioning Anglo Teck to deliver sustainable, long-term value for shareholders and all stakeholders.”

 

It is one of a number of investments and trade deals that have been underway between British Columbia and Britain over the past 5 years. “We’re working to build even stronger relationships with Canada and British Columbia,” says Thomas Codrington, the British Consul General to British Columbia.

 

Total trade between the UK and Canada is on the rise, thanks to the UK’s response to leaving the EU. In 2020, Canada and the UK signed the Trade Continuity Agreement and it serves as a showcase of the value of diversifying trading relationships. As a result, trade is up by more than 50 percent between 2016 and the first quarter of 2025.

 

We invited Thomas Codrington, the British Consul-General in Vancouver, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the potential and benefits of increased trade between the UK and British Columbia.

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Protecting Democracy Guest: Lech Walesa

Protecting Democracy

Guest: Lech Walesa

By Stuart McNish

 

On December 13th, 1981, the government of Poland declared martial law. It outlawed the Solidarity Federation of Unions and threw its leader Lech Walesa in jail. He was detained for a year before being released. Once out, he continued the fight against the oppressive rule of the Polish government. Walesa was forced underground to continue to protest against the harsh economic conditions in Poland. 

 

In 1988, labour unrest led by Walesa forced the government to restore Solidarity’s legal status and to sanction free elections for a limited number of seats. Solidarity won an overwhelming majority of seats. Walesa went on to become the first democratically elected President of the country.

 

Walesa was a towering international figure who stared down the barrel of a gun and demanded an end to the communist rule in Poland. Former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said, “Solidarity and Walesa were the spark that lit the fuse which ultimately brought down what Ronald Reagan called the ‘Evil Empire’ of Soviet Communism.”

 

We invited Lech Walesa, who is on a speaking tour in North America (including Vancouver), to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the current prospects for peace, leadership, democracy, and the challenges facing the world today.

 

Lech Walesa is currently in Canada for a speaking tour.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

How to be a Dude in the 21st Century Guest: Alex Cordero

Ep 576 - How to be a Dude in the 21st Century

Guest: Alex Cordero

By Stuart McNish

 

“Massive changes are underway in society that are improving the lives of most people. Those same changes are having a growing impact on young men who are wrestling with what masculinity means,” says Alex Cordero, the author of “How to be a Dude in the 21st Century.” Cordero says, “Boys are struggling to understand masculinity versus toxic masculinity and I wrote this book to help them navigate their way forward.”

 

In a 2024 article in Psychology Today, neurosurgeon, teacher, and author Gary R. Simonds, MD, says, “Men are falling behind. Dramatically. They risk unemployability and irrelevancy in our ever-modernizing society. The gap between female and male academic performance is substantial and widening, and will soon translate into a similar gap in graduate degrees, employment opportunities, career success, and earnings.”

 

Cordero agrees: The loss of motivation in young men is clear. We’re seeing a rising number of young men who feel disconnected. They’re idle and, in many cases, ignorant. This leaves them vulnerable to respond with fear, disappointment, frustration, and embarrassment.”

 

We invited author Alex Cordero to join us for a Conversation That Matters about working to ensure boys grow into men who are motivated contributors to our changing society and workplaces.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Doing Business in British Columbia? Yes, but… Guest: Brad Liski

Doing Business in British Columbia? Yes, but…

Guest: Brad Liski

By Stuart McNish

 

British Columbia is a wonderful jurisdiction to start a business. “Small businesses benefit from a number of programs that get the wheels turning,” says Brad Liski of Tru Earth. The company is addressing the environmental impact of 30 billion loads of laundry annually around the world. “We founded the company out of a desire to change the world and Tru Earth is doing that, one laundry load at a time,” says Liski.

 

The co-founder says, “I’ve started 26 companies and Tru Earth is the first one that wakes me up in the morning excited to make a difference.” The company focused first on reducing the amount of plastic used in packaging laundry detergent. It then focused on reducing an entire jug of soap into a strip about the size of a business card. They tested the idea and it was an instant success.

 

The company quickly grew and, in doing so, it ran into a series of government rules and regulations that thwarted its ability to scale up in British Columbia. “We’ve had to move much of our manufacturing to other provinces as a result,” says Liski. It was something that he says he didn’t want to do, but the economics of growing in BC worked against the company.

 

We invited Brad Liski of Tru Earth to join us for a Conversation That Matters about a path forward that will support mid-market companies to grow and prosper in British Columbia.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

France and Canada Lean In on Trade Guest: Nicolas Baudouin

France and Canada Lean In on Trade

Guest: Nicolas Baudouin

By Stuart McNish

 

The US tariffs are officially in place and Canada was hit hard. The rhetoric leading up to the imposition of the tariffs focused on a need to develop new trading relationships and expand existing ones. Canada and France have a trading history that goes back hundreds of years. Then in 2016, Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the European Union.

 

The signing of the agreement opened up greater tariff-free access to France and EU countries. According to the Jean Monnet Network at Carleton University, “trade between Canada and the EU has seen an exponential growth since CETA was implemented.” According to the report, France was the number four trading partner, valued at over $4.4 billion dollars trade in 2021.

 

“Now is the time to seize on strengthening and building on our trading relationship between British Columbia, Canada, and France,” says Nicolas Baudouin, the French Consul General in British Columbia. “The opportunities are vast and go beyond agri-tech, high value food, and aeronautices,” says Baudouin.

 

We invited Consul General Nicolas Baudouin of France to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the opportunities and the challenges of increasing trade with one of our oldest international partners.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

The 3% GDP Challenge Guest: Bridgette Anderson

The 3% GDP Challenge

Guest: Bridgitte Anderson

By Stuart McNish

 

“Whether it’s the rising cost of housing, unaffordable grocery bills, or an increasingly heavy tax burden, too many British Columbians feel the economy is not working for them,” says Bridgette Anderson, the CEO and President of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade. Earlier this year as the threat of American tariffs loomed, the Board called on the provincial government to focus on growing the British Columbia economy by 3 percent.

 

“To build a future worthy of our aspirations and one we can be proud to pass on to the next generation, British Columbia must pursue policies that will boost our economic growth and raise our collective standard of living,” says Anderson. The Board projects that by growing the provincial GDP by 3 percent, the economy will grow, government revenues will increase, and the standard of living for all British Columbia residents will improve.

 

Anderson says, “We project that a boost of 3 percent will raise personal GDP by $9,000 and will add an additional $4.0 billion dollars to government revenues by 2030.” The challenge comes at a time when the provincial debt and deficit are at all-time highs. The province optimistically projects GDP growth of 1.8 percent, a figure that TD Economics challenges. TD projects a 1.5 percent growth for this year and falling to 1.3 percent next year.

 

We invited Bridgitte Anderson of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the “Challenge” – the challenges and the opportunities to grow BC’s economy.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

British Columbia Forestry on its Knees Guest: Kim Haakstad

British Columbia Forestry on its Knees

Guest: Kim Haakstad

By Stuart McNish

 

Independent of Trump’s tariffs, the US Department of Commerce increased its duty on Canadian softwood lumber from 14 to 35 percent. Kim Haakstad, the President of the BC Council of Forest Industries, says, “It’s a blow to an industry in trouble.” The war in the woods in the early 1990s led to the Forest Practices Code, which led to ongoing changes in legislation that hampered the industry and has seen more than 40,000 jobs disappear.

 

The reasons the forestry sector is on its knees have more to do with regulations and approval processes that undermine the economics of forestry. Haakstad says, “Wood availability is at historic lows, permitting systems are gridlocked, and investment is retreating in the face of prolonged uncertainty. The risk is not a gradual decline – it’s accelerating closures, job losses, and the permanent erosion of the forest industry.”

 

Despite promises from the Premier and the Minister of Forests to restore the sector by increasing annual cuts to 45 million cubic metres, Haakstad says that “we need pragmatic actions” that will streamline the issues that are choking the industry.

 

We invited Kim Haakstad, the President and CEO of the BC Council of Forest Industries, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about saving the once mighty forestry sector.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

The Sensible Environmentalist Guest: Mark Jaccard

The Sensible Environmentalist

Guest: Mark Jaccard

By Stuart McNish

 

“We are all capable of believing things we know to be untrue…the only check on it is that sooner or later, a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield,” wrote George Orwell. It’s a quote that opens Mark Jaccard’s book, “The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success: Overcoming Myths that Hinder Progress.”

 

“The conversation about energy production in Canada is in transition and we need to  focus on the truth rather than the myths,” says Mark Jaccard, the Chair and CEO of the British Columbia Utilities Commission. His concerns about truth and myth come as a reversal of political policies led to the freezing or elimination of the carbon tax federally and provincially. 

 

“Societal interest in climate change is cyclical,” says Jaccard. He continues, “So, too, is political interest.” The realities of carbon concentration increases and the impacts of it run headlong into competing political and economic interests – myths propagated by climate activists and industry public relations campaigns cloud the debate with exaggerations that inhibit meaningful measures to meet climate and economic challenges.

 

We invited Mark Jaccard, the author of “The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success: Overcoming Myths that Hinder Progress” and the Chair and CEO of the BC Utilities Commission, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about finding a path to open dialogue and realistic strategies to address our climate challenges.

 

You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca