Conversations That Matter

Jane Talbot - State of Downtown Vancouver

Ep 557 - State of Downtown Vancouver

Guest: Jane Talbot, CEO of Downtown Van

By Stuart McNish

 

“Downtown Vancouver is a unique place!” says Jane Talbot, CEO of Downtown Van. “It’s literally surrounded by water, home to just over 140,000 people, 8,000 businesses and 1,000 storefront businesses, 130,000 people working, the centre of tourist activity, a world of culinary delights and on and on.,” It’s a vibrant and dense place.

 

In Downtown Van’s recently-published “State of Downtown 2025,” it is clear there are shifts underway. Office vacancies have fluctuated and sit at about 12% unoccupied; local visits into the city are down; retail visits on Granville and Robson Streets are up, but down on Alberni and West Hastings.

 

“It’s important to recognize that Downtown Vancouver is a remarkable jurisdiction,” says Talbot, “and at Downtown Van, we continually advocate and innovate to ensure it remains vibrant and resilient.”

 

We invited Jane Talbot, the CEO of Downtown Van, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the state of downtown Vancouver now and into the future.

 

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Krystal Wittevrongel - Decluttering Regulations in Canada

Ep 555 - Decluttering Regulations in Canada

Guest: Krystal Wittevrongel

By Stuart McNish

 

Vowing to get Canada moving again is one of prime minister Mark Carney’s promises – a promise he reiterated while introducing his new cabinet. As the economy has taken a jolt from the shifting relationship with the United States, politicians across the country have turned their attention to improving the regulatory environment.

Krystal Wittevrongel of the Montreal Economic Institute points out that “reducing regulation was stated as a priority in 2018. Unfortunately, that government failed to make it a priority and businesses have suffered as a result.” Recognition of the negative impact is only the first step, says Wittevrongel. “It’s much less clear how and when the government will actually address the complex issues that are clogging trade in Canada.”

We invited Krystal Wittevrongel to join us for a Conversation That Matters about unclogging the gears of regulation that have bogged down trade in Canada.

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Ryan Berlin - Real Estate Reality

Ep 554 - Real Estate Reality

Guest: Ryan Berlin, rennie & associates

By Stuart McNish

 

Metro Vancouver’s housing market is dramatically different that it was 12 months ago, when the provincial government stepped in to ensure affordable and ample housing. In a “Conversations Live” panel in March of 2025, Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley indicated that it didn’t work. In fact, the housing market is now upside down.

 

What happened? Why is the market behaving this way? And what can we expect to come next? Perhaps central to understanding what is happening to the real estate market in Metro Vancouver is a sense of uncertainty – the ongoing trade uncertainty with the United States, the uncertainty associated with a new federal government, and uncertainty over the way in which provincial regulations are affecting the market.

 

Ryan Berlin of rennie & associates has been examining the broader forces at work in the market and why it is moving in such unexpected and uncertain ways. “The factors at work include the economy, interest rates, rising household credit, demographics, government immigration policy and a reformation of the construction sector,” says Berlin.

 

We invited Ryan Berlin to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the uncertainties and what rennie & associates has identified about the Metro Vancouver housing market.

 

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Diraj Goel - Canada’s Anti-Success Mindset

Ep 553 - Canada’s Anti-Success Mindset

Guest: Diraj Goel

By Stuart McNish

 

“Trump’s economic warfare is hopefully bringing to light how woefully unprepared Canada is as a nation to build wealth independence,” says Diraj Goel, the founder and managing partner of GetFresh Ventures. That may be the silver lining in the unpredictable hostility the President of the United States has directed towards Canada.

 

Goel goes on to say that Canada needs to stop inflicting economic injuries that are crippling our ability to innovate and grow. “Our future is handicapped because we've engineered a system that punishes ambition instead of rewarding it. I’ve witnessed it firsthand; it’s a reality every Canadian founder lives with daily.”

 

“The challenge entrepreneurs and innovators face,” says Goel, “has nothing to do with access to capital and everything to do with government policies that are designed to hamper rather than empower.”

 

We invited Diraj Goel to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the hostile business and wealth generation environment in Canada and what can be done to change it.

 

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Andy Day - Conserve 30 percent of BC by 2030

Ep 552 - Conserve 30 percent of BC by 2030

Guest: Andy Day

By Stuart McNish

 

On April 22nd of 1970, Earth Day kicked off what would become an international movement to protect the environment. 55 years later, the winds of change are blowing in the opposite direction. In Canada, political leaders have stepped back from the environment in an effort to win votes.

 

Andy Day, the CEO of the BC Parks Foundation, says, “The Earth is where we live, work and play. This year, more than any in the past 55, it is vitally important for us to renew our commitment to protecting our precious planet.”

 

Day says, “The demand for parks and protected areas is growing. The pressure on wildlife, habitat, traditional uses, infrastructure, and ecosystems is increasing through rising use and threats like pollution and climate change. The most treasured places in our great province need support or we risk losing what makes British Columbia the beautiful place we all love.”

 

We invited Andy Day to join us for a Conversation That Matters about our need to protect our most glorious heritage, the environment.

 

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

David Williams Untapping Canada’s Potential

Ep 552 - Untapping Canada’s Potential

Guest: David Williams

By Stuart McNish

 

The untapped potential of Canada’s natural resource sector is staggering, says David Williams. Williams is the Chief Economist of the Business Council of British Columbia, who has worked in conjunction with business councils in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Collectively, they issued a report called “Untapped Potential: Driving Canadian Prosperity Through Natural Resources.”

 

The report focuses on the vital role that indigenous involvement plays in unlocking resource development. The challenge, according to the report, is “rather than making firm, accountable decisions on how to exercise its duties within project reviews, the federal government has left these matters in limbo, deferring tough choices to the courts to avoid political risk.”

 

The report is pointed and harsh, stating that “the Crown’s unclear process has increased an already uncertain business environment, making it more challenging for companies to navigate their Indigenous engagement efforts.”

 

We invited David Williams to join us for a Conversation That Matters about a path to unlocking Canada’s potential to the benefit of all of us. 

 

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Dan Woynillowicz - Tilting at Windmills

Ep 551 - Tilting at Windmills

Guest: Dan Woynillowicz

By Stuart McNish

“Tilting at windmills” is an idiom which means “attacking imaginary enemies.” Windmills are, however, real and they have real detractors and attackers – detractors who portray wind turbines as being an environmental blight that produces little power. 

There was a modicum of truth to the knock on windmills in the 1980s when thousands of them appeared in the San Gorgonio Pass in California. By 1987, there were more than 4,200 wind turbines in the Pass leading into Palm Springs that generated between 50 to 100 kilowatts of power. Today, the total number of wind turbines in the San Gorgonio Pass is 666, generating 628 MW or enough to power close to 800,000 homes.

Advances in design, construction, power generation and operation have seen the overall growth of wind generated power improve. The nine new wind farms in British Columbia will be home to 292 next-generation windmills that will produce enough energy to power approximately 500,000 homes, a substantial increase in power generation over California’s wind turbines.

We invited Dan Woynillowicz of Polaris Strategy to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the truth behind wind turbines and the increasing role they are playing in renewable energy in British Columbia and elsewhere.

 

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Pamela McDonald - “We’re all F**ked”

Ep 550 - “We’re all F**ked”

Guest: Pamela McDonald

By Stuart McNish

 

“British Columbians and Canadians are losing billions to online investment fraud,” says Pamela McDonald of the British Columbia Securities Commission. The perpetrator of the fraud is artificial intelligence and it’s happening online. McDonald says, “These fraudsters hide behind layers of technology and we can’t get to them. It’s offshore organized crime.”

 

To make matters worse, McDonald says, “the traditional enforcement tools of investigating, prosecuting and sanctioning don’t work in this environment – for us or for other law enforcement agencies.” That means as an online investor  you’re on your own. The BC Securities Commission says that “self awareness, diligence and education are powerful defensive tools.” 

 

The Securities Commission has taken an edgy, bold, and “out there” public awareness campaign to draw attention to a problem that AI investment scams are creating. The Securities Commission has created a music video to raise awareness about the online scams it says are “creating  massive social harm.” You can see the video online, titled”‘We are all F**ked.”

 

We invited Pamela McDonald to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the AI threats online investors are being bombarded with and what they can do to defend themselves.

 

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Kareem Allam - Elections Matter

Ep 549 - Elections Matter

Guest: Kareem Allam

 

By Stuart McNish

 

“Pierre Poilievre won 2024,” says Stewart Prest, a political lecturer at UBC’s Political Science Department, “but there wasn’t an election in 2024.” What seemed like a certainty in early December now appears to be a scramble to hold onto a fighting chance.

Political strategist Kareem Allam says, “I feel bad for him – the winds of change are blowing in the opposite direction. These things are out of his hands and they’re not breaking for him.” Poilievre made Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his carbon tax policy the issues he wanted Canadians to focus on. 

On Nov 26, 2024, United States President-elect Donald Trump posted, "On January 20th, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States." From that moment forward, Canada went from a so-called “post national country” to one where nationalism has soared. “That rise in populism, combined with a new Liberal leader, has swung the polls from an outright victory for the Conservatives to a questionable outcome for the Tories,” says Allam. 

We invited Kareem Allam to join us for a Conversation That Matters about the direction the country is going and who he believes will form the next government.

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Michael Goehring - The Minerals We Need: They’re Critical

Ep 548 - The Minerals We Need: They’re Critical

Guest: 

 

By Stuart McNish

“We’re sitting on a gold mine, in reality and figuratively,” says Michael Goehring of the Mining Association of British Columbia. “We’re sitting on it at the most critical time in our relationship with the United States… We’re not mining critical minerals because the permitting process is too long.” It’s a problem on a number of fronts. One of them is the foreign investment needed to support critical mineral mining in Canada: foreign investments that are needed to establish new trading channels – investment funds that are running out of patience.

 

In October, BHP Chief Executive Mike Henry told the Globe and Mail, “When it comes to these big capital projects, time is both money and risk… So permitting time frames have to be shorter.” A failure to speed up the permitting process means capital slated for investment here is starting to look elsewhere. Henry said, “Canada is a resource-rich nation, steeped in mining history, and has a really good talent base. But many other countries also have resources, they’ve spotted the opportunity, and they’re chasing after it pretty aggressively.”

 

Michael Goehring agrees: “Of course, we need to attend to environmental regulations; however, there are many areas where Canada and British Columbia can streamline the permitting process. It’s essential that we do to meet North American demands for the minerals and elements that power the green economy.”

 

We invited Michael Goehring, the President of the Mining Association of British Columbia, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about permitting prosperity.

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

 

Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca