Ryan & Lisa: The Podcast
New trade deal deadline & political fallout, local survivalist school reworks plans and the monetary cost of wildfires
Another day, another deadline; now Canadian trade negotiators are being told by the U.S. we need to secure an agreement to continue facing the threatened 50 per cent tariffs on many goods. What’s the latest in Washington D.C.? Kelly Geraldine Malone is a Canadian Press correspondent there, and she’s got the update. Plus, we are in the midst of Canadian Flowers Week, and one florist up in the Comox Valley is recognizing the occasion with an instillation of a floral display in a retired Optimist sailboat. The installation is actually a bit of a community project, with the local sailing association donating the retired boat while the flowers were grown with the help of a partnership with Project Inclusion. The florist leading this is Emily Yewchuk, the owner of Wildflower Mercantile. Meanwhile, we've all been thinking about the human cost of wildfires recently, but it seems there is also a significant monetary cost – with the cost of fighting wildfires in B.C. nearly matching the same amount of what the province collected in gas royalty revenues in roughly the same time period. That’s according to a new analysis by researchers including Andy Hira, a political economist and the director of Simon Fraser University’s Clean Energy Research group. After a narrow 5-4 loss to Coquitlam on Wednesday, the senior Shamrocks are getting set for game four of the championship series in Coquitlam tonight. General manager Chris Welch takes a quick call from us to catch us up. Plus, we have an update on a local story that sparked significant controversy. We spoke with the founder of One with Nature Survival and Bushcraft School a few months ago about his pitch to do wilderness survival education on a patch of crown land in and around East Sooke Park. His proposal generated considerable backlash in the local community and now the province has rejected his application. However, Vitaliy Svetlichnyy tells us there’s still an important story to tell about outdoor education, environmental stewardship and what he’s learned through this process as he looks towards his next endeavours. Meanwhile, as the U.S. renews pressure on Canada’s trade negotiators to secure an agreement before Saturday, we are already seeing waves in domestic politics. Tape of the U.S. vice president shows him mocking Mark Carney for framing the deal as a victory for Canada and characterizing opposition leader Pierre Poilievre a “non-entity” in negotiations. Here in B.C., Premier Eby hasn’t confirmed if he’ll walk back restrictions on U.S. alcohol after the Prime Minister asked premiers to do so. Meanwhile, Manitoba's Premier is under scrutiny for publicly characterizing Carney as nearly begging to see these provincial bans lifted. Royal Roads professor of communications and culture David Black is joining to help us make sense of what’s happening. Plus, Dallas from the Vic Food Guys joins us in studio for this week's edition to talk next level seafood, a BBQ pop up, Victoria's biggest Nigerian summer gathering and local Italian sandwiches and wraps.
