Host Rick Maddison talks with Ron Mattuissi, Jeff Cox and Scott Lanigan about healthcare in the Okanagan. With a declining number of physicians and an aging population are we heading for a crisis or are we currently in one? Did we know about it and could we avoid it? What are we doing to right the ship ? What role do varying levels of government have in this perilous situation? Do we have a path forward?

On this week's episode, the panel discusses the City of Kelowna's $27.8 million purchase of land from Westcorp, highlighting the debate over public versus private development.

Rick Maddison asks the panel, "if it's such a good deal. Why didn't another developer buy it? Why would the city wade into those waters?"

Mattiussi explains that the property has been vacant for years, and it has been rezoned several times as well.

"I think the city is, in this particular case, taking a risk," he said.

"Whether you're the city or not, and you enter the real estate market, you are taking a risk. But I think the risk is about controlling what actually gets built."

Mattiussi says in terms of locations in Kelowna, they don't get much more prominent. "I guess, the million-dollar question is, how aggressive should the city be entering the real estate market, and for what purpose?"

Cox says he understands what the city is trying to do.

"I would argue that if you've got an issue with this, then you've definitely got an issue with the new Parkinson Recreation Centre and the way that was done.

"You don't want to take a loss on it, but it's land in Kelowna. I don't think that's the case," says Cox.

Lanigan waded into the fray, saying, "I think they're not buying land, they're (the City of Kelowna) is trying to buy trust.

"We have a vision and a passion for what this could be. It's a prime piece of property. It's got waterfront, it's got the marina... but we want this to be a legacy move that has a long-term impact, because it needs to belong to the City of Kelowna. It needs to belong to the people, and it needs to be something we're proud of and proud to have as part of that," says Lanigan.

The conversation then shifted to the City of Kelowna spending $100,000 a month on security costs for the rail trail homeless encampment.

Lanigan says he believes the city knew what would happen when they made the move, "now we're hearing it across our city, these folks, unfortunately, are just spread out, you know, from Springfield to downtown."

Lanigan says he feels it's time for the province and the city to stop using band-aids and make a meaningful change.

"Day after day, the noise just becomes numbing when it comes to our homeless community, because when people don't see things moving along, and then we're just putting money after money after money, it just, actually hurts your heart," Lanigan says.

Involuntary care

From there, the discussion pivoted to the topic of involuntary care in British Columbia.

Mattiussi says, "I think there's a segment of our community that needs treatment, and they're not going to seek it on their own. I don't think a civil society lets people die in the cold on the streets. I think that every dollar we spend out there is a Band-Aid."

Cox says, "putting someone into involuntary or compassionate mandatory care makes a lot more sense to me than when I walk by them and they're curled up in a sleeping bag.

"Some people are just bad, and they should go to jail, and some people have remorse and should be rehabilitated and back on the street," Cox says.

"If you have Alzheimer's, at some point, don't you have compassionate, mandatory care? If you wander out, they put you back in and make sure you don't wander out again," says Mattiussi.

One Foot Off Center will be published monthly by Castanet, on YouTube and in an audio-only version on Spotify.

In this episode Rick Maddison moderates the discussion on safe supply, and the effects on homelessness on BC. Panel includes: Ron Mattiussi (Former City Manager Kelowna), Scott Lanigan (Former chair of Journey Home), and Jeff Cox (Former board member of Pathways). Lively chat with both right and left opinions. An excellent overview of the pitfalls and ways forward on a very complex and volatile subject.

On this episode, the panel discusses the upcoming federal election party leadership and policies. Jeff Cox criticized the Liberal Party's economic record and what he calls the mishandling of the drug epidemic.

"I can't support a party that, for 10 years, took the the country in one direction, and then did a 180 on almost every one of their policies that they said we needed to live and die by and then today... off we go under new leadership," Cox said.

"Chrystia Freeland couldn't balance the books to save her life, and she's still on the team. Melanie Jolie, not doing a lot. When did Israel not become an ally? When did this shift? Those people are still on the team. I think they're trying to get elected, and I think we're going to go back to exactly where we started," Cox added.

Former city manager Ron Mattiussi emphasized the importance of stable infrastructure grants to support local development, including housing.

"We got to the point now where we're so busy trying to save everything, nothing moves," he said.

"As a society, we want to build houses. We got to look back at what are some of the regulations we have in place? Why are they there? What are they protecting? Is that more important than housing? I think it's time."

Trinity pastor Scott Lanigan agrees there is a need for practical solutions to bureaucratic challenges.

"I think each party offers an element of a solution that actually can make a difference. I appreciate Ron saying, you know, I'm liberal, but there's been some things I didn't like and some things I did like and to me, that's the type of perspective that's going to get us to a better country and more prosperous in the years to come."

The entire panel agrees the largest threat Canada is facing is coming from the south of the border as a result of President Trump's erratic tariff policies.

Mattiussi believes Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is running the wrong type of election campaign to get elected.

"I think he's following a playbook that doesn't matter anymore. Let's face it, Justin Trudeau had lots of ways you could attack him. [Poilievre] never shifted to the role of a leader. He never shifted away from the fight, and now it's hurting them, because [the Liberals] they've taken away some bullets that he had."

"I think if he is a nice guy, he should act like it," says Mattiussi.

The conversation also touched on the importance of small businesses and the role of educational institutions in regional prosperity.

One Foot Off Center will be published monthly by Castanet on YouTube with an audio-only version on Spotify.

On this week's episode, the panel discusses the BC Conservative leadership review.

Maddison says the leadership review appears to be taking a very long time.

"I think what we saw was an election that was supposed to go one way. It went another way, and now we're looking at a review. We've had a couple of ridings turn... now we're left with the question, how is John Rustad, how are the BC Conservatives doing in this province?"

Cox says, "I would give John Rustad eight out of 10. He took a party from nothing to something and almost won an election."

"But if we are going to turn this province, which I'm telling you, if it does not happen soon, it is not going to end well, John's got to step aside, and they've got to put somebody that's more mainstream in there, and they've got to get ahead of it and vet candidates and start building a real party," Cox continued.

Mattiussi agreed with Cox's assessment.

"I agree with the idea that they can't win the way they are within this province," he said.

"It's got to be built from the centre, somebody that can speak to the centre with those principles, that could attract both centrist liberals and progressive conservatives and conservatives. It's a big tent, and it has to be bigger to win in this province."

Lanigan says B.C.'s political parties have to do a better job of explaining themselves to voters.

"I think that is actually the Achilles heel of our provincial political groups, and I think they need to spend some time clarifying who they are and what they're about and being crystal clear, especially for the younger generation."

But the panel agrees, it is a difficult challenge to unite diverse political views under one tent.

One Foot Off Center will be published monthly by Castanet, on YouTube and in an audio-only version on Spotify.

On this episode, the panel discussed the Agriculture Land Reserve in the Okanagan and the best way to cope with future wildfires.

Ron Mattiussi, former Kelowna CAO, says the ALR policies should be revisited, noting most of the policies were created and implemented in the 1970s.

"I'm not arguing the principle of preserving agricultural land, but do we? Are we doing it? Are we doing it well? Is it the right land? Is it in the right place? I think it's about time somebody started asking real questions," says Mattiussi.

Jeff Cox says he agrees with the concept of ALR but also wonders if we are doing it the right way.

"There are rules that exist around the ALR today that make no sense to me," says Cox.

Scott Lanigan and Mattiussi discussed the impact of fire management, noting the success of FireSmart programs in mitigating wildfires around urban areas. They also touch on the need for a collaborative approach involving municipal, provincial, and federal levels of government to address these issues effectively.

"Years ago... they used to be much more creative in using and empowering forestry crews and those types of things," says Lanigan.

Mattiussi says he doesn't believe that Canada and B.C has done enough fire suppression work, pointing to past Indigenous practices that managed to keep wildfire damage to a manageable level.

"I'm not a climate denier at all. Climate change is real, but there's such an attachment between, the climate is changing and we're burning down. Well, 300 years ago, Indigenous groups in this valley actually did fire suppression, so this is not new. They cleaned the forests around the areas that they were inhabiting," says Mattiussi.

Castanet is proud to present One Foot Off Center, a podcast tackling the big issues facing the Okanagan.

Rick Maddison, Ron Mattiussi, Scott Lanigan and Jeff Cox will meet every month to discuss how those issues impact everyday Canadians.

Maddison is a well-known entrepreneur in Kelowna and owner of Tempest Media. Mattiussi is the former chief administrator of the City of Kelowna and has worked in local government across the province.

Lanigan is the lead pastor of Trinity Church, one of Kelowna’s largest churches, who has served with various community groups like Journey Home.

Cox is the founder and CEO of Kelowna-based Simply Benefits.

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One Foot Off Center will be published monthly by Castanet, on YouTube and in an audio-only version on Spotify.

A podcast focusing on current events and political decisions in Canada and how those decisions might affect everyday Canadians. Hosted by Rick Maddison and Jeff Cox, featuring Scott Lanigan, lead pastor of Trinity Church and Ron Mattiussi, former Kelowna city manager.

A BIG WIN for the One Foot Off Center Podcast! After talking about how Elon Musk should label The CBC as state-funded media, he did! Obviously, our influence helped Elon make the final decision, so we are going to carry on with a few other topics that we hope to resolve sooner rather than later.

Rick and Jeff dive into a variety of topics ranging from the terrible timing of the PSAC strike to Justin Trudeaus fancy taxpayer-paid vacation at a high-priced resort that happens to be a donor to the Trudeau Foundation (of which he says he has no involvement) to LNG in Canada, and the Ethics Commissioner resigning.