On this episode of Rick and Friends, Rick Maddison sits down with Ron Cannan, former Kelowna-Lake Country Member of Parliament and Kelowna’s top voted city councillor in the 2022 election.
The two discuss local growth, budgets, demands on KGH, controversial SMART and 15-minute cities, the City of Kelowna’s 14 staff member communications department and more.
Before diving into citizen submitted questions, Rick and Ron chat about Ron’s return for city council after originally sitting on Kelowna’s city council from 1996 to 2005, before being democratically promoted for 10 years as the Kelowna-Lake Country Member of Parliament.
“You can either sit on the sidelines or get in the game,” Ron recollects of his community focused upbringing. “If you're going to complain, then you're better off to be part of the solution.”
“Decisions are made by people that show up, so I've tried to show up and make a difference.”
When Ron reflects on his past service on council, prior to his career as federal representative, he says he looks forward to now knowing the questions to ask and where to look.
“What I really enjoy about council is that we have nine different individuals,” he says. “We're not any part of a slate or political organization.”
“You can speak from the heart.”
This episode covers the following topics:
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Why the city is allowing more high density developments
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Department budgets
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What incentives can be added to get more cars off the road
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Downtown having only one large grocery store
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Population growth
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Council’s views on family subdivisions
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Drug decriminalization
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City department audits
Find more episodes of Rick and Friends on KelownaNow Streaming and Spotify.
