Conversations Live with Stuart McNish

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. 

Canadians don’t get to vote in the upcoming US election, but its results will have an out-sized impact on our lives. The US is not only a world power with which we share an expansive border, the country is our largest trading partner and ally on the global stage. The two presidential candidates have very different visions for the role the US will play on the world stage and in cross-border trade.Join us 7 p.m. Oct 29 for a conversation with a panel of individuals offering keen insights into our stakes in the US election, drawn from their decades of experience in international politics, trade, and strategy. They are:Richard Mahoney – Managing Director, McMillan VantageMaria Rajanayagam – Founder and Chair, American Chamber of Commerce – Pacific ChapterStewart Prest – Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of British ColumbiaMario Canseco – President, Research Co.Gary G. Mar, K.C. – President and CEO, Canada West FoundationCalvin Chrustie – Partner, Critical Risk TeamIt should be a good one.Hope you can join us for the conversation.

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.

We are travelling to Calgary October 1 to delve into carbon capture – technologies that could play a role in combating climate change, but that are not without controversy.According to the Government of Alberta the province is a “global leader in carbon capture, utilization and storage and continues to safely lead the way.”All carbon capture technologies involve capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide and either repurposing it or storing it underground. Already, two major projects in the province have captured and stored more than 11.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide since 2015.Companies are exploring options for producing liquid fuels or hydrogen from captured carbon, or using it in the production of fertilizer, concrete, chemicals, and plastics.However, critics raise concerns about the high cost and additional power needed to fuel carbon capture processes. They say it will be an excuse to slow the energy transition, call it greenwashing.Join us online 6:00pm Mountain Time as we break down carbon capture in Alberta with a stellar panel:Ian MacGregor, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO of North West Refining; founder of Sturgeon RefineryZach Parston, KPMG Partner – Major Project AdvisoryClaude Létourneau, President & CEO of SvanteJustin Riemer, CEO of Emissions Reduction AlbertaPeter Tertzakian, Deputy Director of ARC Energy ResearchDeborah Yedlin, President and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of CommerceWe hope you can join us for the conversation – webcast with the Calgary Herald and on our own website.

Join us for a series of wide-ranging conversations with BC’s provincial political leaders the week of September 16.Kicking off our third season, the Leaders Series will be three conversations over the week – all unscripted, unrestricted, and focused on the topics on British Columbians’ minds as we come into the October election. As always, we will take questions from our webcast audience over Slido.The series will start with a conversation with Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau 7 p.m. Monday, September 16, followed by BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad 7 p.m. the next day – Tuesday, September 17. BC NDP leader Premier David Eby will join us Thursday, September 19 at 4:15 p.m. There’s a lot to discuss. The political landscape has shifted with BC United exiting the campaign. The economy, toxic drugs, health care, crime, housing, infrastructure investment, the climate, food & agriculture, our resource economy and tech sectors, education all feature in the upcoming election, less than two months away.  We hope you can join us for these conversations – as always, webcast by our media partner, the Vancouver Sun, and on our own website. 

Join us for a series of wide-ranging conversations with BC’s provincial political leaders the week of September 16.Kicking off our third season, the Leaders Series will be three conversations over the week – all unscripted, unrestricted, and focused on the topics on British Columbians’ minds as we come into the October election. As always, we will take questions from our webcast audience over Slido.The series will start with a conversation with Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau 7 p.m. Monday, September 16, followed by BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad 7 p.m. the next day – Tuesday, September 17. BC NDP leader Premier David Eby will join us Thursday, September 19 at 4:15 p.m. There’s a lot to discuss. The political landscape has shifted with BC United exiting the campaign. The economy, toxic drugs, health care, crime, housing, infrastructure investment, the climate, food & agriculture, our resource economy and tech sectors, education all feature in the upcoming election, less than two months away.  We hope you can join us for these conversations – as always, webcast by our media partner, the Vancouver Sun, and on our own website. 

Dryer summers and wetter springs mean farmers face too much water sometimes, not enough at others. Last winter’s cold snap killed Okanagan peach and apricot buds, which will curtail the yield this year. Record wildfire seasons and floods are threatening pasture and farmland.Add to these natural disasters the pressure on agriculture to protect the environment, use resources efficiently, reduce the use of nitrogen, grow more locally, support farmers and keep food affordable.Then add in the fact that by 2030, just six years from now, we’re going to need to produce 50% more food, use 45% more energy and 30% more water.These challenges are contributing to rising grocery prices, which in Canada have jumped more than 21 per cent since April of 2021.Yet, there is good news too. Food inflation has slowed, prices rose a more modest 1.4 per cent between last April and this April. Numerous companies are pursuing promising innovations – vertical farming and new techniques supporting soil health and environmental stewardship, more local processing and production, new export markets, new approaches in greenhouses.So the question is – can we continue to grow the food we need to nourish ourselves, and eight billion people around the world? When we do, can we afford it?Join us for the conversation – 7 p.m. June 18. 

A special edition from KPMG’s Vancouver AI Summit - Vancouver on the global tech stage.Vancouver is at the forefront of advances in artificial intelligence that are already transforming robotics, medicine, mining, and even permit processing. In a special edition of Conversations Live, we will webcast live from KPMG’s Vancouver AI Summit 5 – 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 29. With an outstanding panel we will delve into the state of AI today, what the future holds, and our opportunities and challenges. Our panel:Brenda Bailey – Minister for BC Jobs, Economic Development and InnovationOlivia Norton – co-founder of Sanctuary AI Walter Pela – Regional Managing Partner at KPMGDavid Seymour – Vice President and General Manager of Microsoft VancouverMurray Thom – Vice President at D-Wave Ken Sim – Mayor of VancouverWe hope you can join us for the conversation.